MCart 4.0
User’s Guide
Advanced Internet Technologies, Inc.
June 1, 2004
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Revision History:
This is version 1.1 of the MCart 4.0 User’s Guide. All updates to this document will be noted below.
Version 1.1 /- Released after several graphical changes have been made to the User’s Guide.
- Released after the Human Verification system was implemented in the checkout program.
Version 1.0 / Initial release in February of 2000
Preface:
This document is the user manual for the free shopping cart called MCart 4.0 and the paid for version, MCart Pro 4.0, offered by AIT.
Target Audience:
AIT Customers using MCart 4.0 and MCart Pro 4.0
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Accessing your cpanel/SMT
1.2 Installation
Mcart Installation Program v4.0
1.3 Setting Up Shop
Installation Program v4.0
Mcart Files Installed
2. Administration
2.1 HTML Setup
2.1.1 Simple Setup
2.1.2 Custom Setup
2.1.2.1 Creating header and footer files
2.1.2.2 Custom Setup MCart Admin
2.1.3 Additional Options
2.1.3.1 Maximum Items per Page
2.1.3.2 Display Category Menu In Headers
My Shopping Cart
2.1.3.3 Target for Secure Pages
2.1.3.4 Alternate Checkout URL
2.1.3.5 Cookie Timeout
2.2 Order Info Setup
2.2.1 Order Dept Name
2.2.2 Phone Number
2.2.3 Fax Number
2.2.4 Email Address
2.2.5 Ecommerce User ID
2.2.6 Referrer Question
2.2.7 E-mail for Informational Messages
2.2.8 Commission Tracking Programs
2.3 Configuration Setup
2.3.1 Separate shop into categories
2.3.2 Disable search engine
2.3.3 Select allowed fields
2.3.4 Optional Field Labels
2.3.5 Inventory control
2.3.6 Display Stock Information
2.3.7 Default ETA Message
2.3.8 Default Currency
2.3.9 Sales Tax
2.3.10 Basic Shipping Model
2.3.11 Additional Shipping options
2.3.11 Order Tracking
2.4 Inventory Setup
2.4.1 Category Functions
2.4.2 Change listing order
2.4.3 Import/Export Menu
2.4.4 Setting up your inventory item-by-item
2.4.4.2 Update list
2.4.4.3 Edit Item
2.4.4.4 Copy Item
2.4.4.5 Remove Item
2.5 Change Admin Password
2.6 Purge Cart Database
2.7 Review Orders
2.7.1 TRACKING INFO SETUP
2.8 PGP Key
2.8.1 Generate public and secret key
2.8.2 Extract your public key
2.8.3 Insert Key
3. Common Errors
3.1 PGP Order Processing
3.1 Custom Setup Errors
3.3 Full Ecommerce Order Processing
4. Module Key Activation
5. Discounts
6. Additional Help
Introduction
MCart is a shopping cart, catalog and indexing webstore all rolled into one. Version 4.0 is provided free of charge to all AIT customers, and there is an upgraded version (MCart Pro 4.0) that is a paid for upgrade. The addition shopping cart modules that can be activated are a part of MCart Pro 4.0.
MCart Pro contains many different modules that will allow you to shape MCart to your own personal needs:
- Order Tracking Module – Allows your shoppers to track their orders through UPS or FedEx
- Discount Module – Allows you to offer special sales for certain periods of time. This module also allows wholesale sales.
- Miva® Module – Allows you to import data from a Miva® shopping cart.
Accessing your cpanel/SMT
To first install MCart, you must gain access to the control panel or SMT. The screen below can be seen when users open a web browser and go to or
The login for the SMT 4.1 is always ‘cpanel’ without the quotes, and the password is always the main server password. If this has not been changed by the user, then it is the same password that AIT provided the user after the setup of the account.
Once logged in, the user will see the cpanel/SMT Introduction screen, which should look something like what is displayed below in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1
Installation
To install MCart or to upgrade to the current version, select the Install Shopping Cart inside of the Web Services menu on the left in the SMT/cpanel.
- NOTE: If you are upgrading to the Mcart 4.0 from an earlier version, ALL character strings that are in place of an expected numerical value in your inventory (ex. “$2000 each” in the Sales Price field, etc…) or numbers in thesefields that contain commas (ex. “2,000” in the Price field, etc…) will automatically be installed in the appropriate Mcart 4.0 field only as the numerical value shown (ex. “2000.0”).
The installation interface is shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 12
- MCart Version – By default, the ‘PGP Version’ option is selected. This does not require that the shop is tied to a merchant account or gateway, but does require that the shop use PGP encryption and decryption for orders.
- Shop Directory – This is the directory under which the MCart files will be put into. This is very closely tied to the next option of ‘Virtual Host’. For example, if you wish to add an MCart for a top level domain, simply input the word ‘mcart’ into the Shop Directory section and the shop will install in the /www/htdocs/mcart directory. If you wish to install MCart for a virtual host directory, then inputting the word ‘mcart’ into this field and selecting the virtual host domain name from the ‘Virtual Host’ section will put the MCart into the directory /www/htdocs/virtualhost/mcart. Thus, the installer is smart and puts the MCart in the directory structure that makes sense for you.
- User Name – This is the username that will be used as the administrator for the Administrative section of MCart. The default is shopkeeper. You can change the username as long as it is at least 6 characters. This username can only be changed by reinstalling your shopping cart. Reinstalling your shopping cart will not delete data in your shopping cart; the newer version simply overwrites the older version and copies all the data in the process.
- Password - The password must be at least 6 characters. If the shop administrator forgets their password, you can re-install MCart to reset the password.
Setting Up Shop
Once all information is entered into the installation interface, click the "Setup Shop" button. If you see the message shown in Figure 1-3, you have successfully installed MCart and it is time to setup the administration of your new shopping cart. You may do this by clicking on "MCart Login".
Figure 13
After clicking the “MCart Administration Program” link, you’ll be asked for a username and password. Enter the same information you used to setup your shop.
Human Verification System
A new security feature inside of MCart 4.0 is that of the Human Verification System. This system will provide a security code that is a random set of numbers generated to force a human to input them. If a hacker or other attacker is attempting to exploit your MCart, they will not be able to get to the checkout system due to this security feature. Figure 1-4 below shows a small sample of what the interface looks like.
Figure 1-4
Administration
After logging into the MCart Admin area, you are ready to begin setting up your shopping cart. Figure 2-1 is the main administration interface for MCart.
Figure 2-1
It’s best to start at the top and work your way down through all of the options. This prevents overlooking any Setup features required to operate your shopping cart to your preference.
2.1 HTML Setup
Once you select the “HTML Options Setup”, you will see the interface shown in Figure 2-2. You will need to choose between “Simple Setup” and “Custom Setup”. Each option has its own requirements, which are discussed in the Simple and Custom Setup sections.
Bottom of Form
Figure 2-2
2.1.1 Simple Setup
If you select Simple Setup and enter the required information MCart will generate the HTML for your shop. MCart will generate the HTML dynamically; therefore the user or shop administrator does not need to know HTML.
IF YOU CHOOSE SIMPLE SETUP YOU MUST FILL OUT ALL INFORMATION SHOWN IN Figure 2-3.
Figure 2-3
2.1.2 Custom Setup
For Custom Setup, you must provide the location of your own pre-defined HTML files that MCart uses for the header and footer sections of all its pages. If you select this option, the user or shop administrator needs to generate HTML files to create and manage the header and footer of the shop.
IF YOU CHOOSE CUSTOM SETUP YOU ONLY NEED TO FILL OUT THE SECTION SHOWN IN Figure 2-4.
Figure 2-4
With Custom Setup you may use your own HTML to give your shopping cart your own personal touch. This is where MCart can have the same look-and-feel of your own website.
2.1.2.1 Creating header and footer files
Follow the areas below to create the required header and footer files.
HTML page editor
Start with your favorite HTML page editor. (Frontpage, Netscape Editor, Dreamweaver, etc…) Open a template of your website, or something that you’d like to use for your shopping cart
Page layout
Create the page layout that you want MCart to use. At one place in the page, put a line that says “Insert Shop Here”. (See Figure 2-5) This will be the place where the MCart program inserts its data (inventory, etc…)
Figure 2-5
Save the page
Save the page to an HTML file. This can be called anything, but we’ll suggest you save it as ‘mcarttemplate.html’
Plain-text editor
Open your favorite plain-text editor (Windows Notepad, vi, etc…). Open the HTML file in the text editor as shown in Figure 2-6.
Figure 2-6
Figure 2-7
Find the part of the HTML file that contains "Insert Shop Here". Select all of the text from the top of the file to just before this line. Cut and paste this to a new file, and save it as header.html. (See Figure 2-7)
Select all the text just after this line to the end of the file. Cut and paste this to a new file, and save it as footer, this will automatically save as a .txt so it will look like the footer file.
FTP
FTP (upload) these two files (header.html and footer.html) to your server. We suggest putting them inside the directory in which you have installed MCart. By default, this would be the /www/htdocs/mcart directory; but, if you changed the installation directory in 1.2, then place it in that directory.
Figure 2-8
NOTE: If you have Windows MCart, please call and ask for help because you will not have FTP access to your webstore.
2.1.2.2 Custom Setup MCart Admin
Enter the locations of the header and footer files into the custom setup section, and select Preview Page Setup at the bottom of the page to see how your layout turned out.
A bit of warning... some HTML editors (FrontPage for example) will use relative links to items in your page like style sheets or images. You will need to change these to absolute links to make sure the headers/footers work correctly when within MCart.
Go back to your MCart Admin section and enter the complete UNIX file path to both files. An easy way to ensure you have the correct path is to FTP to your server, change to the correct MCart directory, and copy the path (directory path) your file is located in. If you use WS_FTP, the path is in the top of the program. Copy each path and paste them into the HTML Header and Footer fields with the corresponding file names as seen in Figure 2-9.
Figure 2-9
Click on Preview Page Setup to see your new page. Figure 2-10 is an example of a shopping cart created using MCart’s HTML Setup.
Figure 2-10
If your page does not come up correctly, check your header and footer paths by first going back to the admin section of MCart and ensure both paths are correct.
2.1.3 Additional Options
Additional options can be used in both simple and custom setup options. Figure 2-11 shows the options available.
Figure 2-11
2.1.3.1 Maximum Items per Page
When a customer views a page containing a list of items, MCart automatically splits the list into separate pages if there are a large number of items. Set this parameter to the number of items you want listed on each page. (10 or 25 are good numbers to consider) If you use thumbnails in your shop, we recommend that you limit the items per page to 10 for faster loading time. If you choose not to use the thumbnails, 25 items per page are recommended.
2.1.3.2 Display Category Menu In Headers
If you divide your shop into categories, (see Configuration Setup), MCart will place a menu of links to each category page at the top of all shop pages as shown in Figure 2-12.
My Shopping Cart
Main Entrance | View Shopping Cart | Place Order | Help
Everything | cool | test
Figure 2-12
If you do not want the categories listed in the header, select “No”.
2.1.3.3 Target for Secure Pages
If you run MCart inside a single frame of a framed document, you will discover the browser does not show the security information correctly when the customer is transferred to the secure server to place his order. To fix this problem, you can set the TARGET attribute for the secure server links. If you insert "_TOP", in this field, the secure server page will automatically open in a new window, which will display the security needed for your customer. Figure 2-13 shows how the new browser opens for the checkout area.
Figure 2-13
2.1.3.4 Alternate Checkout URL
Alternate checkout may be used as a different checkout method other than PGP, MCPS, or Authorize.net. To use this option, enter the URL to redirect for checkout.
2.1.3.5 Cookie Timeout
MCart uses a "cookie" to store the customer's shopping cart ID between visits to your shop. Use this field to set the number of days to store cookies. After the expiration date has been met, the customer’s cart will be deleted. It is best to leave this field at the default of 14 days.
Once all information has been filled out, you can either preview or update your HTML Setup Options.
2.2 Order Info Setup
Order information is used to provide contact information to your customers placing offline orders. This is used by a customer that does not want to make a purchase using the internet interface of your shopping cart, but rather via USPS, telephone, fax, or email (See Figure 2-14).
The information below is used to tell your customers where to send their orders.Order Dept Name /
Postal Address
Required to accept
Check and Money Order
payments /
Phone Number
Program will allow
Credit Card Orders by Phone
if you provide this number /
Fax Number
Program will allow
Credit Card Orders by Fax
if you provide this number /
Email Address
Required to accept
Online Check and Credit Card
payments /
NOTE: If using paypal this must match the email address you use with paypal.
Ecommerce User ID
Figure 2-14
2.2.1 Order Dept Name
This is the name of the order department (Sales, Orders, Internet Sales, Internet Orders, etc.)
2.2.2 Phone Number
If you wish to accept phone orders from customers who do not want to put their credit card information on the secure order form, you will need to enter a phone number the customer can call.
2.2.3 Fax Number
If you wish to accept fax orders from customers who do not want to put their credit card information on the secure order form, you need to enter a fax number to accept orders.
2.2.4 Email Address
An email address is required to accept credit card payments. New order information is sent to this address, and it is the reply address given to the customer on their receipt. Remember that MCart will send all attempted, declined, and approved orders to this address. You will want to make sure that the orders you receive at this email address are approved before you ship out the product or service. If you use a PGP key, this email address will also be the email address that the PGP key is created for. The PGP Key configuration is discussed later. If you’re using Paypal for checkout your email address must be the same as you use for Paypal login.
2.2.5 Ecommerce User ID
The Ecommerce User ID field is used when MCPS or Linkpoint Gateway is enabled. Enter your gateway login ID name in this field. Figure 2-15. (This login is supplied by your MCPS gateway provider or Authorize.net if you are using their gateway services). This feature is only available if you have selected an option other than PGP in the Shop Version Control portion of the Configuration Setup.
Ecommerce User IDEnter your Login ID: /
Figure 2-15
Accepted Payment TypesThese are the payment types that this program currently accepts. Checks and money orders are assumed to be handled by postal mail. Online checks, credit card and COD orders are collected through a secure server and emailed to you via PGP, or they can be phoned or faxed in if you provided those numbers with your contact info.
Check / COD / Discover / Novus
Money Order / Visa / American Express / Diners
Online Check / MasterCard / JCB / Switch
2.2.6 Referrer Question