Example of Using the Same Product Characteristic for a Category and an Attribute in Magento

This question came from someone in Iceland. It is a good example of how to use a category and an attribute, for the same product characteristic.

The administrator wants to enable customers to sort shoes by style, and then drill down into the size. He also wants his customers to be able to start with size, and then see the styles available. I have edited the original question and my answer for clarity, but the content is the same.

Question

Hello.

I have been reading your book - the first chapters. It has FAR better descriptions then the magento user manual...

Here is the setup I will be using:

I will have 2 stores (to begin with).

Store1 will sell clothes and Store2 will sell shoes.

What I am trying to figure out is what to do with attributes for shoes - I would add color to them and some other attributes.. But should i add Size to them as an attribute? Almost all our shoes come in the same sizes. So if a user clicks the size in Layered navigation the will show the customer all shoes we have anyway. What i need is for the customer to be able to click a size and then magento will show them all shoes that we have size and are also in stock. Say a user selects size 39 - the website should only show shoes that we still have in stock in that specific size... is that possible ?

I know i must add each shoe as a configurable product and then simple products for each size of that shoe (because i want to count stock on each and every size)

Regards, Hedinn

Answer

To enable customers to sort shoes by style, and then drill down into the size:

1. Ceate a category for each style, such as high heels, pumps, sandals.
2. Then, create an attribute for the size of the shoe. Make that attribute filterable in the navigation menu.
3. For Position, enter 0 (zero). This will place Size at the top of the layered navigation menu, on the left side of the page.

Your customers will select a category to see the style of shoe they want. After they select the category, the layered navigation menu will display on the left side of the page. They will see Size at the top of that menu. Now, they can filter that shoe style by size, and see only their sizes.

To enable customers to see all shoes in their size:

1. Create a category called Find Your Size.
2. Put every pair of shoes that you have into that category.

Then when the customer clicks the Find Your Size category, she sees the layered navigation menu on the left. Remember, Size will be a filter at the top of that menu.

By the way, you're the first person who has written me from Iceland. Cool!

Regards,
William

Magento Question About Applying Sales Tax Based on Amount of Purchase

I received a question about how to configure Magento to apply sales tax to only purchases that are above a speficied amount. The question and my answer are below.

Question

Hello William Rice,

Ref Article: http://www.packtpub.com/article/creating-tax-rules-in-magento

First of all your article is really cool and help full. I gone through all the steps, but i'm unable to figure out how to set TAX based on Product cost?

I'm interested to learn how can we define TAX based on 'The amount' of the purchase. For example, some places tax clothing purchases only above a specific amount.

Criteria is like this:

• TAX should be calculated if Product cost is higher than 150$.


• if Product cost is less than or equal to 150$, TAX will be ZERO.


• TAX Rate is 5.50%.

Could you please guide me how can i implement above criteria in Magento?

Thank You,

-Shahil

Answer

Shahil,

The most expedient way to apply a tax rate based upon a product's price, is
to create a product class for the products in that price range. In your
example, you would need to create a tax class for those items, such as
"Clothing items costing$150 and above." Then, you would apply that tax
class to all of the clothing items costing $150 and above.

This means you would need to search through your catalog, find every
clothing item that costs $150 or more, and apply the product class to that
item. To find all these items:

1. Go to Catalog > Manage Products.


2. The top row of the catalog listing, the one that is shaded in blue,
   is for your search criteria.


3. For Price, enter From 150 To a very large number.


4. You might also use the Attrib. Set Name field to find your
   clothing. It depends on how you have your catalog set up.


5. Click Search and you will see the results.


6. Using the check boxes to select all of the relevant clothing
   products.


7. From the Actions drop-down menu select Update Attributes. Then
   click Submit.


8. This brings you to an Attributes page. Whatever you change and save
   on this page, happens to all of your selected products.


9. Select the tax class "Clothing items costing$150 and above."


10. Save.

Note that when you change a clothing item's price, you'll need to also check
its tax class. This will just need to be part of the store admin's job. We
all would like to see functions like this automated, but until Magento lets
you include the price in a tax rule, this will require intervention by the
store administrator.

Hope this helps. Good luck in your e-commerce endeavors.

Regards,
William Rice

Magento Beginner's Guide versus Magento User's Guide

The company behind Magento, Varien, recently published their own Magento User Guide. This is a few months after Packt Publishing released my Magento Beginner's Guide. If you're looking for a book to help you use Magento, you might want to know how Varien's book and mine compare. I'll try to answer that question for you in a way that enables you to decide which book is better for your needs.

Is there really a difference between a Beginner's Guide and a User Guide?

After 20 years as a technical writer and trainer, I have come to the conclusion that yes, you will notice a difference between a Beginner's Guide and a User Guide. The differences are in the scope and flow of the book. And I think you will see those differences between Magento User Guide and Magento Beginner's Guide.

Scope: Reference Librarian versus Coach

If you read the User Guide table of contents, and the Beginner's Guide table of contents, you can see that the User Guide covers more of Magento's functions. Yet, it has fewer pages. It covers more features than the Beginner's Guide, but usually with less detail.

In the Beginner's Guide, the step-by-step directions are usually more detailed than those in the User Guide. And, the Beginner's Guide includes some business intelligence. That is, not just how to use a feature, but also when and why.

If the books were people, the User Guide would be a reference librarian and the Beginner's Guide would be a coach.

Flow: Jump In and Out, or Go For a Ride

Both books work as reference material. The User Guide usually gives you just enough information to make a function or feature work. It answers the question, "How do I do this?" and then returns you to your work.

The Beginner's Guide tells you how to use Magento's basic functions while building an example store. The example runs through the book. So you will see not only how each function is used, but also when and why it is used, and what effect it has on your customer's experience. You can work through the book from front to back if you want to follow the example. Or, you can use it as a reference guide.

So which do I recommend?

Neither. I recommend that you consider your own situation. Do you prefer a reference guide, like the one supplied by the official Magento Online User Guide or Knowledge Base? Or do you prefer a step-by-step Beginner's Guide to coach you through building your store? You might find them both useful: the Beginner's Guide to show you how to create and run the store, and the User Guide to provide a quick reference for many of Magento's features.

You can read sample chapters for the books at magentocommerce.com and packtpub.com.

You can read reviews of the Beginner's Guide at Andi J's blog and the Milk Your Money site. It's available for sale at Amazon.

Do your research, dive in, and let me know how it goes!