SmartSpace allows you to provide a wide range of options for any one product via two methods, Colour options and Size/Style options.  These two methods can also be combined to provide ever greater flexibility.

This document will show you how to;

• Set up Colour Lists,
• Create Size/Style combinations,
• Create and attach Colour/Style options,
• Manage inventory of each option in a product range (if enabled),
• Integration tips with the Graphic Template module.

Overview

Colour Options start with a Colour list which is created by the user.  A series of colours are configured which can include a colour plus an image.

After the colours are created, they are saved into a Colour List.  Any number of colours and Colour Lists can be saved.

A Colour List can be attached to each product, which then forms the basis for the Colour Options.  Styles and sizes can also be included in Colour Options.

Advanced features or Colour Options can be configured starting with the Colour Options selection in the Product Category record.

The Colour Options system can also be used to keep track of inventory (where enabled).  In this way you can accurately measure all stock at any time.

Colour Lists

Colour lists are accessed through the Manage Colours link in the Product/Prices area of the Control Panel menu.

Before creating a Colour List you need to create Colours;

• Click on the grey bar containing the text All Product Colours then click Create a New Product Colour Here.
• Name the colour plus add a Supplementary Name if required.
  • The Supplementary Name does not appear publicly, but may assist in the management of colours for website owners where many types of the same colour may be available.
• Enter the hex number of the colour (e.g. #e2e2e2),
  • The simple colour names black, red, green, blue, white may be used as well.
• You can add a colour image to the colour if required.  This will be rendered instead of the actual colour when viewing a product on the website,
  • This can be used where textures, patterns or fabrics need to be shown in a more realistic way,
  • In the product interface, colour options can be added to product images as well to view products in a range of colours.
• You can tick the Next box to present an empty form after saving a colour.
• Save or Update the colour.

Once you have created the colours, you create a Colour List.  Any one colour can be used for multiple Colour Lists;

• Click on the link Create a New Product Colour List,
• Name the Colour List,
• Using the Control key on your keyboard and your mouse select all the colours you want to place in the list,
• Save/Update the record,
• To access any colour list, click on the relevant grey bar,
• To remove a colour from the list, untick the box adjacent to it,
• To add colours to the list, select them from the list below,
  • Please note!!  Removing colours from a list may result in Product Options already created being disabled - delete with care,
  • You may need to add further Product Options in each applicable product if you add more colours to a list,
• Update or Delete a list as required.

Using Colour Lists with Products

Attach a list to a product in the main Product Details form in the product management area.

To fully enable the Colour List, you need to save the Product Options;

• Click on the Options grey bar to expose current settings,
  • This area will also show any sizes/styles which have been created,
  • Sizes/Styles can work with products on their own without the use of Product Options but it is not possible to manage inventory with sizes/styles alone,
  • You must create Product Options if you wish to fully utilise features in the Graphics Template module.
• To automatically create a complete combination of colours, styles and sizes, click on Create Manage Product Options Here;
  • This will list all possible combinations of options.
• To activate all options, click the Mark all options as active link;
  • Otherwise, click the Active checkbox adjacent to those you want to activate,
  • If Inventory is enabled, you can also set your inventory levels at this stage as well.
• You should also set a default colour option for the Product by ticking the Dflt radio button adjacent to the selected option.
• Save/Update the record as required.

Advanced Colour Options Features

As well as presenting options to users, other more advanced features can be activated using the colours saved in the applicable colour list;

• To add an image to each colour in the Colour Options, you can save an image in the image section and save it to a colour,
  • Please note that this is only available where you have configured the relevant Product Category to enable clickable colours,
  • For this feature to work fully, one image should be attached to each colour in the list.
• Any images attached to colours will not work in the normal way that other attached images work.  (They will not appear in the enlarged version of all images in the image overlay.),
• Clicki on the colour swatch and the main product image will be replaced with the image attached to the colour,
• If each of the attached colour images is identical except for colour, it will appear that the colour only changes when the colour is selected,
• Ideally, the main product image and the image attached to the default colour should be the same one,
• When this feature is activated, clicking on the colour swatch will also activate the colour selection for the product.

User Experience with Combined Colours and Styles/Sizes

• When a user browses a product and attempts to add the product to their shopping basket, the system will assess if the Colour/Style combination is avaiable.
• If a Colour is selected from the list, it will immediately retrieve all options which apply to the product and make those selections available for the user,
  • If advanced Colour Options are enabled (see above) option selection will be made when a colour swatch is clicked.
• If inventory is enabled, it will also check stock levels to ensure that sufficient stock is available for the selected option.