Help!!

[Sandie]

Hi, Just joined the community. Have been trying to get help setting up my web site. Can find none within PowWeb. I am a grandma with some, but not much, computer experience. If anyone can help me I would be very appreciative. I am selling some homemade items I have gotten my site up and added many pictures. I have gone to PayPal and added "Add to Cart" and "View Cart" buttons, they seem to be working OK, they go to a shopping cart anyway. My question is, If I have only one of an item to sell and someone buys it, how can I have it say "Sold" or deleted so that I don't have multiple buyers? And if I have more than one of the same item to sell how do I put that up on my site and have them "count down" when they are sold so that I do not sell more than I have on hand? Thank you for any help anyone can give me.

[YvetteKuhns]

The PayPal shopping cart does not use a database to keep track of inventory. If you want the quantity of products available to change as items are sold, you will need to use a shopping cart that uses a database. OScommerce and Zen Cart are examples of free shopping carts you can install on PowWeb. You can also have scheduled sales and other features and still use PayPal for payments.

[Sandie]

Thank you! This is so hard. I first tried the PowWebs ShopSite (spent days and frustrating days) but they only let me put in 15 items and to add more I had to pay them more money. So, I didn't like that, I have many, many things to sell. I will try the OScommerce and Zen Cart. Can I get to them through PowWeb or do I have to go to them separately like I did Pay Pal?

[Croc Hunter]

You can use Install Central or goto their websites and download the package and install it yourself. Most come with help files.

[Sandie]

Thank you Croc Hunter. I will try both ways. I am not up on terminology so may be coming back to ask beginner questions like on the OScommerce site they say you can use FTP or Direct Server Based installation. I don't even know what FTP stands for. But will spend a day trying to figure some of it out.
By the way, I see that you are in Australia. We live on a lake in Louisiana, USA and my husband is the licensed nuisance alligator hunter for our lake. He harvested 4 nuisance alligators between 8' 4" and 11' 6". Just thought it was interesting that we have something in common. Thanks again

[Sandie]

Hi, I need some info about putting OScommerce onto my site. I put Apache and Perl into my computer, even though I am not sure why I had to do that. Then CGI and am on the install OScommerce page. Question is in Step 2: Path to Application after I put in my domain name is has / and a box for me to put in "Installation Directory". I have no idea what this means nor what the #%^$# I am suppose to put in this box. Can anyone please help me?
Thank you so much!!!

[Croc Hunter]

You don't need Apache or Perl on your computer. The aim is to install oScommerce on Powwebs computer (servers - your hosting space here). Log into your OPS (your account here) and goto Services> Site Tools> Install Central. On the list there you will see oScommerce and a link to install it. Click it and foillow the instructions to install. Downloading the oScommerce package from their website and installing to Powweb is the better way to go but it is much more complicated.

Some people have a website in their home directory (folder) /htdocs/ and oScommerce installed in a subdirectory /htdocs/shop/ in that case the path to application is /shop Then visiting their domain.com will display their website and domain.com/shop displays the oScommerce. Others want oScommerce as their website and shop. They leave the installation path as / and install oScommerce straight into /htdocs Their domain.com will display the oScommerce straight away.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a way to upload and download (transfer) files from a host or remote server like Powweb. Back in OPS> Services> Site Tools> File Manager> you will see your htdocs directory. Anything you want visable on the internet must be put inside this directory and/or further subdirectories as in the shop example above. File Manager is what's called a web based FTP tool. Most prefer the added functionality of a true FTP tool like FileZilla (it's free) which is installed on your computer and connects to Powweb to transfer files.

What does he do with the alligators?

[Sandie]

Thanks again, I will take the Apache and Perl out of my computer. The info you have given me is great, learning all the time. I have gotten to PowWebs OScommerce link but am stuck on Step 2 Path to Application. I put in my domain name OK but then it has a / and a box that I am supposed to type in an "Installation Directory". I do not know what that is or what I am suppose to type into the box, could you possible help me.
My husband is licensed by the State Wildlife and Fisheries and he can only go after gators that people complain about and that are hanging around their boat houses or in the areas that their children swim in. He baits them with chickens on a hook and when he catches them he has to kill them. Then he sells them to an alligator farm that skins them and sells the hides. He keep some of the parts that they do not want and would just throw away like the head and claws. He usually won't kill any under 7' unless they have actually been a threat to someone. We like have some gators in our lake, they are just part of our environment. We have never had anyone hurt by one, just scared.

[Croc Hunter]

Cool, ok well if you want the oScommerce store front to be your website leave the box blank. If you plan to later build a website which links to the oScommerce then type in shop or store or whatever directory name you like. Ok? So if you only want oScommerce as your site leave it blank. If you plan to have a website which has a shop, image gallery, forum, blog, etc you would put them each in a directory.

[Doc C]

Croc, how tall are you? :D

[Croc Hunter]

How tall.. umm is that a trick question? lol. About 178 cm or 5' 10" -- not big enough to wrestle an 11' 6" gator on my own that's for sure.

[entrecon]

I think doc was more concerned about you becoming the hunted! Since you are under 7', you might be hunted...but not killed!

[Doc C]

Yeah, it was sort of a bad joke that got worse.

[Sandie]

I think I almost have it. I already have a web site set up and I want to link OScommerce to my web site. So do I put in my domain-website in the directory box also? Will that link OScomm. to my website? I already put the whole thing in leaving the directory box empty, but had no idea that that would give me an OScom. website, how do I get rid of that.

Also, I have PayPal "Add to Cart" buttons on some of the pages in my site. I have tried to delete them but they won't go away. Do I have to git rid of the paypal ones once I finally get the OScomm. set up on my site? And if so how? I will also go to the PowWeb support with my questions, but your answers tell me more than any of the ones I have gotten from them, Thank Again

[IanS]

Powweb support aren't there to support 3rd party software like OScommerce or Paypal, if you get any answer from them on the topic then it's certainly someone working outside their terms of reference.

[Sandie]

Thank you IanS for your input. I guess that I have more or less come to that conclusion, so you all are my only hope. Can anyone give me the answers to the questions that I asked earlier? Thanks for any help anyone can supply.

[Croc Hunter]

Yes, you want a subdirectory then. Select your domain from the "Domain / URL" drop down box and for "Installation Directory" type in shop (or whatever you like). Also tick the "Yes, install to this directory, even if the directory already exists " option. Then link from your web site home page to your oScommerce like this: http://www.domain.com/shop

You don't have to get rid of paypal buttons, I don't see why you would want to.

[Sandie]

Finally, I understand!!! Thank you for giving me something in plain English that a layman can understand. The people on the support just keep quoting me what it says in the instructions, and if I understood the instructions I wouldn't have to ask any questions. I know that they out source to India, and I have nothing again that,(well, I kind of do, it takes jobs away from people here) but I just don't think that they can relate in English very well, or understand my problems, and I sure can't call - then I really don't know what's going on. What?, Excuse me? Could you repeat that? seems to be all I say. Oh, well.
Thank the powers that be for this community forum, and Croc Hunter!!

[YvetteKuhns]

Sorry I have been away from the computer for a while. I still have bronchitis and pink eye!

I previously mentioned that PayPal shopping carts don't keep track of inventory in the same way that the "bigger" shopping carts do. PayPal has made many advancements over the years and it is still an easy start-up solution for people who already have catalog websites. Open source shopping carts still have features not offered by PayPal such as alternative payment options. Read more information and try them to see what suits your comfort level and needs.