Off-line Inventory Builder

*** The Off-line Inventory Builder is not included in this release ***

The TecknaShop Off-line Inventory Builder enables you to set up your catalogue of products off-line. The Off-line Inventory Builder uses a predefined database, to allow your product entries to be directly compatible with your on-line store and is therefore; intended to complement, not replace the on-line equivalent.

Installation

To install the off-line inventory builder insert the TecknaShop CD, select the option, Off-line Inventory Builder from the menu screen and follow the instructions on screen. (If autorun is not active on your PC you will need to browse the CD and double click on the file menu.exe).

If you are planning to download the off-line builder program from the download page at www.clickandbuild.com you will need to save the file to a temp directory then run the setup.exe file from that location. This will install the program onto your hard drive. The installation will guide you through the set up procedures and will install the software into a TecknaShop directory.

Starting the program

Once this program has been installed onto your PC, you can access the program by clicking Start|Programs|Click and Build|TecknaShop. Note: This start up procedure is only for operating systems Windows 95/98/2000/NT.

Login

The Off-line Inventory Builder will prompt you for a password before enabling you to enter the main program. It is 'admin' by default, but it can be changed in the program settings (see below). When the password is keyed in, click the OK button to enter the program. The first time that you login you will be presented with an Introduction screen, which will give you a brief overview of the off-line builder program. All Subsequent logins will take you directly into the software.

Settings

Before compiling your inventory you are required to give the program specific settings to enable the software to be used in conjunction with the on-line TecknaShop software. To do this go to the menu bar and select Settings and then Settings again, this will open a form in which you are required to fill in the following local and Internet parameters.

Your local settings are:

Your Internet settings are:

Adding Products and Variants

Before putting any product details into the Off-line Inventory Builder you must have first completed the following on-line areas (if relevant), Image Library, Tax and Shipping Options, Discount Options, Instructions Options, and Downloadable Goods. This is necessary, as each product will call upon the values entered into sections.

Adding a product
There are two methods of adding a product to the inventory,

i) using the Product and Variants table view to enter the specific product details into the highlighted row (*) by filling out each of the product parameters into the labeled columns.
ii) click the Add Product button to call up a form that aids in the inputting of the product parameters.

Details upon the different product parameters are given in the Catalogue Options chapter of this Help.
To save the product details when completed click either the OK button in the input form or highlight another row in the table view.

Editing a product
To edit a product simply highlight the product's row in the table view and then change the parameters in the columns, or enter the edit form by clicking the Edit Product button.

Removing a product
Highlight the product's row from the table view and click the Remove product button to completely remove the product from the off-line builder. To remove the product from only the on-line store, enter a 'D' in front of the products ID number.

Duplicating a product
Highlight the product's row from the table view and click the Duplicate Product to copy the data into a new row within the table.

Allocating product ID numbers
When you have completed your product inventory you will need to upload the information into your store by clicking File|Upload Inventory, this will then assign each of your product details with a ID number. You will then need to download your inventory (File|Download Inventory) back into the off-line builder. Your product will now have an ID number, which is used in the off-line builder to associate your products to their categories.

Variants
Each product that you have entered can also have a number of variants. Further details upon variants and their parameters can be found in the Catalogue Options chapterof this Help. To add, edit, remove and duplicate a variant follow the same procedures as outlined for the product construction above.

Adding Product and Variants to Categories

To start to allocate your products to their categories you will need to first construct all of the categories on-line and then download them into your off-line builder by selecting File|Download Inventory. Details upon the how to construct the different categories is given in the Catalogue Options chpater of this Help. Next click the Categories tab to enter the category assignment form. Select a product from the list provided, and then click the Add Category button to assign a category to that product. This will display a Add Product Category form where you can select from a drop down list the category and enter how many days that the product will remain in that category. Once you have allocated a category or categories to the product, it can be edited by clicking the Edit Category button, or deleted by clicking the Remove Category button.

Uploading the Inventory

Once the inventory is complete and you wish to upload the information to the specified store, simply go to the menu bar and select File then click Upload Inventory, this convert all of your database into a CSV file and uploads it to your on-line store's automatically.

To reset the inventory data select File then click Import Last Inventory, this will reset the data back to your last download.

To view the table of content when viewing this help file in an early browser version click here

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