CustomWare® can automatically upload data and password
files for your customers to log into your internet site and create orders,
view their account history and invoice details as well as make payments.
You must have the following information which is in SET UP (8), COMPANY VALUES
(7), WORLD WIDE WEB INFORMATION (17). The information required may be obtained
from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). In addition,
CustomWare® can make the Perl Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
programs automatically for you.
INFORMATION NEEDED FOR WEB PROGRAMS
You will need this information entered before making the Perl programs:
-
Your company e-Mail
-
Home page internet address
-
Background image name (optional)
-
Image directory path (optional)
-
Logo image name (optional)
-
Perl path (on ISP's system)
-
CGI e-Mail command
-
CGI program path (in your directory)
INFORMATION NEEDED FOR ORDER ENTRY
The following are options you will need to set in INVENTORY WEB SET UP
(10):
-
Log in customer option
-
Pricing option
-
Price break information
-
Freight option
-
Category/Matrix Option
-
Sales tax states
-
Credit cards accepted
-
Show part #
-
Show part description
-
Show retail price
-
Show style description
-
Show color description
-
Show size description
EXAMPLES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR WEB PROGRAMS
When first entering information in Set Up, an example will be shown. Extra
information may cause the Perl program to not function properly. On
the internet all addresses and names are case sensitive. An upper case
(capital) letter is different than a lower case letter: "B" is different
than "b".
A note on addresses: Your presumed upload directory and paths for programs
may not be what you expect.
Company e-Mail should be your default
e-Mail address for orders or general company information. Examples:
-
sysdes@xmission.com
-
orders@customware.com
Home Page internet address. The Perl programs
will create a link to your home (1st or main) page. This may be:
-
www.xmission.com/~sysdes (preferred)
-
www.customware.com (this is usually not an uploadable address)
Background image name. This is an option
which you may use or leave blank. If this option is used you will need to
type the exact name of the image.
-
graydots.gif
-
linedpage.jpg
Image directory path is crucial for the
displaying of your logo and background images. Depending on your ISP's operating
system you may not be able to use your dot com address. In addition, all
images of your products will be uploaded to this directory.
Note there is no slash on the end of the address.
-
http://www.customware.com/images
-
http://www.xmission.com/home/users/s/sysdes/public_html/images
Logo image name is the picture file of
your company's logo.
Perl path. This is extremely critical.
The first character is usually a pound sign (also called a number sign or
hash mark) "#" followed by and exclamation mark. Be sure you get this path
information correct!!
CGI e-Mail command line. This is the command
line that is used to automatically send you and your customer a confirmation
e-Mail of their order.
-
http://www.xmission.com/cgi-bin/cgiemail/~sysdes
CGI program path is also extremely important.
This may not be your dot com address but your exact address in your ISP's
computer. This is where the programs are uploaded to and run from and
sub-directories are made for data files, password files, etc. Note that in
the above e-Mail command line there is a dash in "cgi-bin" but here there
is not - depending on the version of Perl your ISP uses.
-
http://www.customware.com/cgibin
-
http://www.customware.com/cgi-bin
-
http://www.customware.com/programs
EXAMPLES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR WEB ORDER ENTRY PROGRAMS
Log in customer
option. If you do not want to perform actual order taking but
just want surfers to view your product line there is no need for a log in.
Depending on other options you set below, this may be automatically changed
to requiring the customer log in first. For example, if you have column pricing
and you want the customer to view only their price (and perhaps retail),
the column information comes from the customer's log in file so they need
to log in first. If you are using price breaks instead of column pricing
they would not have to log in first but to place an order they will. If you
want to accept orders from new customers this option should be set to not
require log in.
Pricing
option. There are two options
-
Column pricing as determined from the customer file or all columns
-
Quantity break pricing (default)
If you choose the default of quantity break pricing, you will be asked
for the break points. This information will default from your INVENTORY SET
UP values but you may change them for the internet if you wish.
Choosing column pricing can either show all 4 pricing columns plus retail
as defined below on SHOW RETAIL PRICE.
Price break
information. As described above, this is the actual quantity
break information or it is zeroed out if you chose column pricing above.
If you chose the quantity break option you should select the default of showing
all 4 columns. You will then be asked for the quantity break points.
If you chose column pricing, you may choose to show only the retail price,
only column 1, columns 1 and 2, columns 1,2 and 3 or all 4 columns. If you
do not choose option 1 - show only retail - the option below of SHOW RETAIL
PRICE may be set to show the retail price in addition to the column(s) you
choose to show.
Freight option. You may choose either by weight
or quantity of items purchased. The weight comes from the inventory file
and a maximum weight per box will be computed. If you choose by the quantity
of items purchased. In either case you will be asked for a maximum weight
per box or maximum quantity per box.
Category/Matrix
Option. This is perhaps the most critical of options for how
your customer views your products. If your inventory is large you will want
some type of pre-selecting by department or category or matrix description.
-
Use Category as first selection
-
Use Matrix description as first selection
-
Do not use any pre-selection but show all inventory by part # (not
recommended for inventory with more than 50 items)
-
Use Department as first selection
-
Use Style as first selection
By choosing to show all your inventory your customer may have a long wait
before your order page is displayed, depending on the size of your inventory.
This option is not recommended for any company that has more than 50 part
numbers in their inventory.
The other options use a pre-select screen. Using the CATEGORY, MATRIX
or STYLE options, there will be only one pre-select screen. The second and
last screen will be the actual parts for orders.
Using the Department option, the first screen is comprised of your
departments, the second of the categories within that department and the
last and third screen are the part numbers.
If you do not know, change this option, upload the Perl program (manual
upload), view the site and then settle on the one that suits you best.
Sales tax states. If you have sales tax in your
state you must have this option set up. Constitutionally, you do not charge
sales tax on interstate sales unless you have a physical office or actual
sales rep in any given state. Enter the state abbreviation and the sales
tax rate for each state that you are required to collect tax for. Currently,
there is only one tax rate per state.
Credit cards
accepted. The acceptance of credit cards and the processing
of the order two different things. Since there are many, many ways to process
online credit card purchases this program will not process the card but it
will send you an e-Mail with the information for you to manually process.
You may select the following options (if used) for credit card/payment
options:
-
American Express
-
MasterCard
-
Novus/Discover
-
VISA
-
On Account (this is for existing customers with an open account). Currently,
the customer's credit status or account balance are not integrated.
Show part
#. This is a Yes or No option. If you want a column on your
ordering page to show the part number, select Yes. If not, select No. This
may be used in conjunction with the other "show" options. Note that if you
select No on all "show" options, your customer will not know what they're
ordering!
Show part
description. You may show your part description on the last
(order) page. This is a Yes or No option. If you want a column on your ordering
page to show the description, select Yes. If not, select No. This may be
used in conjunction with the other "show" options. Note that if you select
No on all "show" options, your customer will not know what they're
ordering!
Show retail price. This is a Yes or
No option. If you want the retail price column on your ordering page, select
Yes. If not, select No. This may be used in conjunction with the other "show"
options. Note that if you select No on all "show" options, your customer
will not know what they're ordering!
Show style description. This is a Yes
or No option. If you want your ordering page to show the style description,
select Yes. If not, select No. This may be used in conjunction with the other
"show" options. Note that if you select No on all "show" options, your customer
will not know what they're ordering!
Show color description. This is a Yes
or No option. If you want your ordering page to show the color description,
select Yes. If not, select No. This may be used in conjunction with the other
"show" options. Note that if you select No on all "show" options, your customer
will not know what they're ordering!
Show size description. This is a Yes
or No option. If you want your ordering page to show the size description,
select Yes. If not, select No. For those using sizing (matrix option), the
size abbreviation will show automatically. If you select Yes on this option
your customer will see: "SMALL" instead of "S." This may be used in conjunction
with the other "show" options. Note that if you select No on all "show" options,
your customer will not know what they're ordering!
AUTOMATIC UPLOAD INSTRUCTIONS - FTP
For CustomWare® to automatically upload information to
your web site you will need an auto-ftp program. Most
CustomWare® customers use SCO UNIX or Linux. If you use Windows
and have an FTP program installed (such as WS FTP Pro or CutieFTP, etc.)
you will need to specify the path of the ftp program:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM21\FTP.EXE.
MANUAL FTP COMMANDS
Get to a DOS or UNIX command prompt (C:\ or $ or #). Type in:
-
ftp
-
open ftp.xmission.com (ISP address)
-
enter your login name
-
enter your login password
-
cd public_html/cgibin (the path for your Perl programs)
-
or cd public_html/cgibin/data (for data files)
-
or cd public_html/images (for image files)
-
lcd /cw (\cw or \progra~1\cw) this is the path to
CustomWare® on your computer.
-
ascii (sets the transfer type to text which will take out the carriage
return characters (_M) if they are there)
-
or binary (set the transfer type to binary for image files)
-
prompt (turns off confirmation of transferring each file)
-
mput *.cgi (to upload all program files at once)
-
or put filename.ext (to upload a specific file, one at a time)
-
or send filename.ext (to upload a specific file, one at a time)
-
For image files:
-
binary
-
lcd /cw/images
-
mput *.gif
-
quit (exits the ftp program)
AUTOMATIC FTP REQUIREMENTS
SCO UNIX/LINUX
For CustomWare® to automatically update your web site you
will need to have a ".netrc" file defined. You must be logged in as root
to define this file. If the file already exists, you will need to change
the permissions before proceeding:
The file created will automatically login, upload (data files) and download
(orders) and the quit the program returning you to
CustomWare®.
Type in (if the file is not present, it will be created):
SCO UNIX:
-
cd /usr/LOGINNAME (LOGINNAME is the name of the user that will run this
program. Each UNIX/Linux user may have different settings).
-
vi .netrc (there must be a period before the "n")
-
A (begins Add mode)
-
machine ftp.ISP.COM (this is the ftp address of your ISP. example:
ftp.xmission.com) login YOURNAME password YOURPASSWORD macdef init
Example: machine ftp.xmission.com login ronfish password abcdE123 macdef
init (This is all one line)
-
cd public_html/cgibin/data (path to your data files)
-
ascii (sets transfer mode to text)
-
prompt (sets the program to not ask questions)
-
mput 0* (uploads all customer files to data directory)
-
mget *.oe (downloads all current orders from web)
-
mdelete *.oe (deletes all orders from web)
-
quit (exits program and returns to CustomWare®)
-
ESC (hit the ESCape key)
-
: (colon)
-
x
-
chmod 100 .netrc
-
chown LOGGINNAME
-
chgrp sys
LINUX:
-
cd /home/LOGINNAME (Linux)
-
vi .netrc (there must be a period before the "n")
-
A
-
machine ftp.ISP.COM (this is the ftp address of your ISP. example:
ftp.xmission.com)
-
login YOURNAME
-
password YOURPASSWORD
-
cd public_html/cgibin/data (path to your data files)
-
ascii (sets transfer mode to text)
-
prompt (sets the program to not ask questions)
-
mput 0* (uploads all customer files to data directory)
-
mget *.oe (downloads all current orders from web)
-
mdelete *.oe (deletes all orders from web)
-
quit (exits program and returns to CustomWare®)
-
ESC (hit the ESCape key)
-
: (colon)
-
x
-
chmod 100 .netrc
-
chown LOGGINNAME
-
chgrp sys
The file should look like this when done (the user log in name is
"web"):
-r-------- 1 web sys 217 May 27 12:07 .netrc
When the user "web" logs in and runs the CustomWare WEB EXPORT program,
the .netrc program will run to do all transfers. When you run the WEB EXPORT
program you will have options to run it once, run it at specified time intervals
(every hour or other number of minutes) a specific time (and quit), continuous,
upload all data files or just files that are changed since the last upload.
Using SCO UNIX or Linux a different login name (such as "main") may have
.netrc file to upload and download password and customer data files. All
files should be in the same directory - a sub-directory of your program directory
(...cgibin/data).
Downloaded orders will be processed and printed and then the cycle (if
set) will repeat. Depending on connection speeds this process can take up
to an hour to transfer 1 million CustomWare records or as little as a minute
if there no changes.
PASSWORD FILE AND CUSTOMER
INFORMATION FILE UPLOAD
There are two common files used with accounts receivable and inventory:
-
Password File
-
Customer information file
The password file (pwar.txt) has 3 fields:
-
Customer' login name
-
Customer's login password
-
Customer's CustomWare number
The customer log in name does not have to be related to the customer's
actual name. These are set and saved in the CUSTOMER FILE. The process to
update the password file is:
-
Download the current password file (to ensure that you have the most update
file)
-
Change the customer information
-
Export (create) the password file
-
New/rebuild (recommended)
-
Update
-
Upload the password file to the web.
The customer information file has 16 or more
fields and each customer has a separate file which is their customer number.cif
(00001.cif):
-
Customer Name
-
Address Line 1
-
Address Line 2
-
City
-
State
-
Zip Code
-
Telephone Number
-
Fax Number
-
Contact Name
-
e-Mail
-
Sales rep name
-
Credit Terms
-
Credit Type:Credit Description (4:Open Account)
-
Credit Limit
-
Price Column
HIERARCHY/GRAPHIC DIRECTORY TREE
All files except the picture files (.gif, .jpg, .bmp, etc.) must be
transferred as ASCII (text) type.
directory
program file
data file
TREE |
public_html |
|
|
|
(where your home page is) |
|
cgibin |
|
|
(program directory) |
|
|
cwoe.cgi |
|
(Order Entry Program) |
|
|
cwar.cgi |
|
(Accounts Receivable Program) |
|
|
data |
|
(data directory) |
|
|
|
invent.txt |
(inventory file) |
|
|
|
pwar.txt |
(password file) |
|
|
|
upsz.txt |
UPS Zone File for Freight computations |
|
|
|
upsr.txt |
UPS Rate File for Freight computations |
|
|
|
xxxxx.cif |
(customer information file where xxxxx=customer #) |
|
|
|
xxxxx.arf |
(customer Accounts Receivable File - all invoice data) |
|
|
|
xxxxx.oef |
(customer Order Entry File - all open orders) |
|
|
|
xxxxx.ars |
(customer Statement file) |
|
|
|
workorder.txt |
(file for assigning a new order entry number) |
|
|
|
xxxxxwwwww.ord |
(new order entry file where wwwww=order #) |
|
images |
|
|
|
|
logo.gif |
|
|
(company logo picture) |
|
index.html |
|
|
(company home page) |
|
cwoe.txt |
|
|
(email mask for new order) |
|
cwpmt.txt |
|
|
(email mask for online payment) |
|