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    Duplicate Products

    Rick,
    I thought sure there would be feature in this release to add a new product by duplicating another product, just adding a suffix to the code. Do you think this will ever happen. There are so many times that I want to add similar products to the same category, sometimes with the same picture and inventory settings.
    Thanks,
    Ron Lund

    #2
    Re: Duplicate Products

    Ron,

    Will it ever happen? Probably, but it's a beast of a feature (and I know from the outside it doesn't seem like it should be).

    The underlying issue is that our API's don't know about third party modules (or any add on modules) added to a Product, so they can't simply duplicate what you have.

    It is on our list to first build those API's, then add those hooks to our modules internally and then ultimately third party mods will add them too.

    There is an add-on module in the App Store that does what can be done today. http://apps.miva.com/product/IDS-PRODCOPY.html
    Thanks,

    Rick Wilson
    CEO
    Miva, Inc.
    [email protected]
    https://www.miva.com

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Duplicate Products

      Originally posted by Rick Wilson View Post
      There is an add-on module in the App Store that does what can be done today. http://apps.miva.com/product/IDS-PRODCOPY.html
      Rick,

      I just purchased this module but the duplicated products don't show up in search results on website. I've emailed Interactive Design Solutions but haven't heard back yet. Any idea why this would be happening? The product looks just fine in the admin interface, but doesn't show up on the website ("active" is checked).

      Thanks,
      Eric

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Duplicate Products

        Originally posted by SpeakerRepair.com View Post
        Rick,

        I just purchased this module but the duplicated products don't show up in search results on website. I've emailed Interactive Design Solutions but haven't heard back yet. Any idea why this would be happening? The product looks just fine in the admin interface, but doesn't show up on the website ("active" is checked).

        Thanks,
        Eric
        Figured it out. I had to rebuild the Power Search File for it to show up.

        Thanks,
        Eric

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Duplicate Products

          Originally posted by SpeakerRepair.com View Post
          Figured it out. I had to rebuild the Power Search File for it to show up.

          Thanks,
          Eric
          Yeah, it's an easy step to forget. Slap a note on the monitor. Every time to make changes, rebuild via Power Search.
          Best,
          Pamela

          Consultant / Developer / Trainer
          Contributing Editor to Practical Ecommerce
          Author of the Official Guides for Miva Merchant
          pamelahazelton.com

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Duplicate Products

            By the way, I found I already had a module called "MvClone" by MvMonster which works wonderfully to clone products. It actually copies over everything, including custom fields (which the Interactive Design Product Copy module didn't do). Is this module no longer supported? I don't see it in the Miva App Store.

            Thanks,
            Eric

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Duplicate Products

              Originally posted by Pamela Hazelton View Post
              Yeah, it's an easy step to forget. Slap a note on the monitor. Every time to make changes, rebuild via Power Search.
              Or set up a cron job to do it while you sleep.
              Leslie Kirk
              Miva Certified Developer
              Miva Merchant Specialist since 1997
              Previously of Webs Your Way
              (aka Leslie Nord leslienord)

              Email me: [email protected]
              www.lesliekirk.com

              Follow me: Twitter | Facebook | FourSquare | Pinterest | Flickr

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Duplicate Products

                I don't believe MvMonster has ever sold via the Miva App store (although I could be wrong), I think they only sell direct via MvMonster.com
                Thanks,

                Rick Wilson
                CEO
                Miva, Inc.
                [email protected]
                https://www.miva.com

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Duplicate Products

                  I have MvClone, which we bought via MvMonster a few years ago. It's very good on basic fields but does not bring over any inventory variants (which we don't really use) or image machine data (which we use a lot). It looks like they still offer it and I'd say it's worth it to get a jump start on additional items. Just understand the limitations.
                  Keith Oratz
                  PrepareSmart, LLC - Emergency Preparedness Supplies and Professional Grade Search and Rescue Gear
                  www.preparesmart.com

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Duplicate Products

                    Originally posted by lesliekirk View Post
                    Or set up a cron job to do it while you sleep.
                    What is this "sleep" thing of which ye speak?

                    I don't believe I have ever heard of such a thing...
                    Mark Romero
                    ~~~~~~~~

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Could have used this ability again today. I understand it would be hard to do this so I wonder if it might be possible to instead create 'product templates' (similar in concept to attribute templates) that could be used to create boiler plates for say 'Diamond Plate Corner Guard' where I set items, description, basic title and such items as Miva can safely duplicate and then pick the template when I want to create a new product i.e. "Create Product/Use Template>New 'Diamond Plate Corner Guard' to create a basic product. Even if it duplicated 80% of the items and I had to duplicate a few item it could be useful.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Hi folks, I just saw the latest forum post about this. My forum account was broken for a while; that must be why I missed the earlier posts.

                        I've written several modules that help my clients create new products quickly. Some work by copying an existing product; others work by bringing all the various admin pages together on one long page, which speeds up the manual entry, especially if you're creating several products in a row that are similar to each other. If any of these solutions is of interest, drop me a line and left's talk!

                        Thanks --
                        Kent Multer
                        Magic Metal Productions
                        http://TheMagicM.com
                        * Web developer/designer
                        * E-commerce and Miva
                        * Author, The Official Miva Web Scripting Book -- available on-line:
                        http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/IS...icmetalproducA

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Cutting to the chase this is what you want to know if you haven't already heard. Product Copy now copies Custom Product Field data. And here's the hook, I am running a special again:

                          Product Copy in my store, southbound.com, at least until the end of the month.

                          Just add to basket...no need to create an account.

                          Also, No need to read what follows because I realize that you might not be curious or really care and this is long winded. But, Here is a two part explanation for those that are curious.

                          First, It's been thought that my module Product Copy does not copy all of the product data. On perception this is true but not technically correct. Product Copy does in fact duplicate the whole product table row for the specific product you want to copy. It's a 100% copy of the data. For example, the legacy thumbnail information is copied because this data is in the product table if the thumbnail has been assigned to the product. However, the image machine data is not in the product table. Image machine data has it's own table. This table has a column that references the product id. This is also true of other aspects of "attached" product data such as Custom Product Fields. That is the simple but technical explanation.

                          When duplicating attributes for example, it's a different set of functions that need to track various data. In essence, the module needs to grab the product data and the attribute data, create the new product and the new attribute data with its own table where the attribute data needs to reference the newly created product. So now, the perception is that the module only copies part of the product. I understand this perception and will continue to add the features to copy the attached product data.

                          The question of other 3rd party module data for products comes up on occasion. Rick Wilson addressed it too. With the current API and database tables, if Miva doesn't know about this data then it makes it very difficult for a 3rd party module to know about other 3rd party module data. The solution however is that I could code specifically for a 3rd party module such as Volume Pricing. The additional coding for a specific module's data this falls under a custom feature blanket.

                          habreu, I am continuing development of Product Copy because I believe it does what you ask. If not 100%, it will do a high percentage of what you're looking for. I think it saves you tons of time. Technically there is no one that needs to purchase this module. There are many that are willing to spend hours over all overcoming the basic benefits of computers just to save a few dollars. Most/All the capabilities exist in Miva currently to duplicate a product and the attached data. Mostly with the import and export. I think these are the basic steps: Export your catalog, Download the file, Edit the file in your favorite spreadsheet utility, Import the file with all the correct settings. This might be the best method if you're doing mass updates to the catalog, but, I think this is inefficient if you just need to duplicate a couple products here and there or hate/dislike spreadsheets and FTP clients. Now add the complication of updating custom product field data or attribute data. Might mean more spreadsheets depending how you break up the tasks at hand. Likely, using Product Copy it would take a minute or two to duplicate a product with attributes and cpf data. It might be 5 or 10 minutes with the editing and export/import steps. And what if you forget to save your spreadsheet correctly?

                          BTW: I've been considering doing a Page Copy module. I don't know if Miva is considering this or not. There was talk but If there is interested enough, I could put it on the map.

                          Scott
                          Need to offer Shipping Insurance?
                          Interactive Design Solutions https://www.myids.net
                          MivaMerchant Business Partner | Certified MivaMerchant Web Developer
                          Competitive Rates, Custom Modules and Integrations, Store Integration
                          AutoBaskets|Advanced Waitlist Integration|Ask about Shipping Insurance Integration
                          My T-shirt Collection is mostly MivaCon T-shirts!!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The original post was pretty old but the need comes up from time to time (for us anyway). We were able to solve it by rethinking the product attributes a bit and then a couple import/exports but I appreciate the responses.

                            Comment

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