Migrating to AbleCommerce 7Version: AbleCommerce 5.x Asp.Net and CFMX Applies to: Upgrading to AbleCommerce 7 Asp.Net Last Modified Date: 11/13/2008
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Migrating to AbleCommerce 7The purpose of this document is to help guide you through the steps of upgrading from AbleCommerce 5. It is not intended to explain, in detail, how to modify AbleCommerce 7 so that it matches your current store. The DataPort Utility can only transfer your database objects, such as categories, products, orders, users, etc., to AbleCommerce 7. To change the "look and feel" of your new store, we recommend choosing one of the 15 built-in themes and then following instructions in the Customization Guide to change the color, style, logo, header, footer, etc. Important: You should read through this entire document before beginning. The more familiar you are with the tasks involved will ultimately speed up the process of upgrading your store to version 7.0. Keep in mind that some features have significantly changed, so after importing, you will need to make some further adjustments. Integrations that use Order ID: The DataPort utility that is compatible with AbleCommerce version 7.0 will NOT import Order ID's, only the Order Number. We have been informed that there are some third-party integrations, such as AbleCRM, which utilize the Order ID field. As such, if you require both Order Number and Order ID, you will need to wait until the DataPort utility is released for AbleCommerce 7.1. Pre-Import Tasks
Export and Import Process
NOTE: Although the Client Tools are designed to export AbleCommerce 3.x, 4.x, and 5.x stores, the import to AbleCommerce 7.0 has only been tested thoroughly using the latest version of AbleCommerce 5.5 SR3a, build 1346. If you have an older version of AbleCommerce, you may want to test the import before continuing. Customizing Your StoreAfter the data transfer, login to your new AbleCommerce 7 store and select your default Store Theme, default Display Pages, and update your logo.
You can finish customizing your store later. This is described in detail in the Customization Guide.
TIP: The default home page of AbleCommerce 7 includes a Featured Products display. You can go to the product editing page and check the Featured box for some products. This will instantly populate the blank space on the home page with some product information. Product ImagesFor AbleCommerce 5.x stores, the images are located in the /store/images/ folder. In AbleCommerce 7, the images need to be copied to the /Assets/images/ folder. If you have created sub-folders beneath the primary /images/ folder, simply replicate the same directory structure for your images. Configure Your StoreAbleCommerce 7 offers some new features through the Configure menu. You should take some time to review the available settings for your store. In particular, the Configure > Store menu has some new global settings that you should be aware of. The following items are configurations that must take place after importing: Currencies A new AbleCommerce 7 store will automatically include the default USD currency. If you have multiple currencies, then you should add them to the Configure > Currencies menu and use the new automated exchange rate feature. For each additional currency you add, your customer will be able to select his/her choice of currency to display for all prices in your store. Payment GatewaysIf you have a live payment gateway, you will need to configure it for AbleCommerce 7. Make sure to assign the gateway to your imported payment methods. You can do this from the Configure > Payments > Gateways menu. Shipping Zones AbleCommerce 7 uses a new feature called Shipping Zones. This would be equivalent to the "Ships To" country for a shipping method in AbleCommerce 5. Since a Shipping Zone can now be more granular, you might want to review your imported shipping zones and determine if you want to expand your shipping options. You can do this from the Configure > Shipping > Zones menu. Shipping Gateways The configuration of shipping gateways has changed significantly. If you have previously setup a shipping gateway such as UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc., then you will need to configure the gateway in AbleCommerce 7. You can do this from the Configure > Shipping > Integrated Carriers menu. Taxes on Shipping If your AbleCommerce 5 store had taxes applied to shipping charges, you will need to make an adjustment in AbleCommerce 7. For each shipping method, you will need to select the applicable tax code. Warehouses A new AbleCommerce 7 store will automatically include a default warehouse. If you have multiple warehouses, they will be imported and the product association will be retained. You can safely remove the default warehouse if you wish. This is found under Configure > Shipping > Warehouses. You will need to enter your email settings. Go to Configure > Email > Settings. Enter the SMTP server information as well as the default address for any new email templates or subscriptions (mailing list). All of your existing email templates use different syntax and will not work in the new store. During creation of the new AbleCommerce 7 store, the Basic Data import option will automatically create all the new email templates which can be customized as needed. You can do this from the Configure > Email > Templates menu. For each email, you will need to update the FROM address. Order StatusesThe Order Statuses differ between versions so you should review the Configure > Order Statuses menu after importing. For your convenience, the new AbleCommerce 7 order statuses have been imported along with your 5.5 statuses. You will probably need to make adjustments and possibly even delete the older statuses, if you wish. TIP: Before exporting, you may want to rename your AbleCommerce 5 order statuses to something like "Completed (old)". This will allow you to easily differentiate between the old and new order statuses after import, as some order status names will be the same. Keep in mind that the old order statuses will not have any triggers associated to them. The table below shows the default order statuses in both versions. The last column shows the default triggers that you can use to modify your existing AbleCommerce 5 order statuses, or simply switch to the new ones.
If you delete an order status, you will have the opportunity to re-assign the orders with this status to the new one. Order Statuses can be customized to fit your business model. For more information, please see the Order Statuses for AbleCommerce 7.
ROOT folderAfter import, you may see a new category called "ROOT" from the Catalog > Browse page. If this should happen, you will need to move any products, webpages, or links within this category to another category. This happens because in older versions of AbleCommerce 5, you could add catalog objects at the root level. In the later version of AbleCommerce 5 and also in version 7, all objects in the catalog must reside within a category.
User NamesIn earlier versions of AbleCommerce, the username field was not required to be an email address. In version 7, the username field must be an email address, however, to retain backwards compatibility, there are still separate fields in the database for email and username. Upon import, if you have usernames that are not email addresses, everything will still work as before. If a user attempts to checkout with a non-email username, the program will prompt him or her to enter a valid username (email) before continuing checkout. Also, when an existing user record is updated, the program validates the username and will prompt for an email address instead.
User Groups for AdministrationAll AbleCommerce 5.5 user groups will import and members will be associated to those groups, with the exception of the users who are members of the "Admin" group. The User Groups for administration have significantly changed in AbleCommerce 7, so the permissions that may have existed on your imported groups will need to be added accordingly. This is done from the People > User Groups page. First, you will need to search on any user that was previously part of the AbleCommerce 5.5 "Admin" group and associate them to one of the new admin groups, either "Super Users" or "Admins". Next, you should review the permissions for each one of the built-in roles and assign any existing groups with applicable permissions. TIP: It might be a good time to review users that have had access to the administration of your store. Built-in roles for the AbleCommerce 7 Admin groups: Super User - This user can do anything including view audit logs and assign admin permissions. When you install AbleCommerce 7, the user you create will be a member of this group. (Required for PABP) Admins - Members of this group can do everything a Super Admin can do except for accessing other Admin user profiles, assigning Admin permissions to anyone else, and viewing of certain security features like the audit log, encryption keys, and database string. Jr. Admin - Members of this group can do everything an Admin user can do except for access the Security menus, edit any other Admin user, or change any User Group permissions. Order Admins - Members of this group can work with orders and nothing else. Report Admins - Members of this group can view reports and nothing else Catalog Admins - Members of this group can work with the catalog and nothing else. Website Admins - Members of this group can modify website settings, scriptlets, aspx pages and nothing else.
Digital GoodsThe digital goods feature is found under Catalog > Digital Goods. In AbleCommerce 7, you can now manage and search your existing digital goods files with ease. Additionally, you will be able to quickly access the products assigned to each digital good file. There have been some changes in version 7 that simplify the configuration of a digital good. The following list explains required changes if you sell digital goods. Location of Digital Files The files for digital goods are located in the /esd/1/ folder for each respective store number. You will need to copy them to the /App_Data/DigitalGoods/ folder. If you have created sub-folders beneath the primary /esd/1/ folder, simply replicate the same directory structure for your files. Email Notifications For each digital good file imported, you will need to assign an "Activation Email" and "Fulfillment Email" as needed. AbleCommerce 7 includes default emails for this purpose. Any email from version 5 will not work in version 7. File Names The names for your digital goods cannot be longer than 100 characters or the import will skip those instead of truncating the name. You can manually adjust the file names before import. Validation and Fulfillment Policies In AbleCommerce 5.5, the implementation of validation and fulfillment policies can be performed on multiple store events. While in AbleCommerce 7, the feature has been simplified so there are activation or fulfillment modes. Although an attempt was made during import to properly map your existing validation and fulfillment policies, these should be reviewed and modified as needed after import. New Download Policies:
New Serial Key Policies:
Serial Key Provider Since both AbleCommerce 5 and version 7 can have custom serial key providers, it is not possible to map them. If you are using the default serial key provider, your digital goods will automatically be mapped properly. If you have a custom serial key provider, you will need to edit those digital goods and select the correct Serial Key Provider option. If you had previously associated any license keys to these digital goods, they will be imported properly. Kit ChangesKit component display styles have changed slightly. The table below shows how the component displays are imported. You can manage your kits from the Catalog > Find Kits menu. Kit component display styles, before and after import:
Note the "Multiple Select" display style is deprecated and converted to a "Check Box" style in version 7. Product ChangesCustom Fields Product Custom Fields are imported as Product Templates. If you have created custom fields for products, these will be imported and found under Catalog > Product Templates. In AbleCommerce 7, you can now create a single product template and apply it to many products. During import, each product's custom fields are checked so that unique product templates are created and assigned to all the products that they were previously a part of. Products with Variable Price Variable priced gift certificates or products will need to be enabled with an option instead of using a special display page. For these products, check the Variable Price option from the product page. Inventory In AbleCommerce 7, the Reserve Stock* feature was removed. During import, the inventory levels have been adjusted to match the Available inventory number shown in AbleCommerce 5. The following example shows how inventory adjustments are made between versions. Inventory example, before and after import:
* The Reserve Stock feature, in version 5, was intended to allow a merchant to manually adjust inventory levels for items that were paid, but not shipped yet. In version 7.0, you will have more control over inventory settings. Using Order Statuses, you can have inventory levels adjusted with payment or shipment.
Value DiscountsFor any discounts created in AbleCommerce 5 that have "Value" as discount type, you will need to manually change them to discount type "Total Price of Line Item" after import into version 7.
Gift CertificatesIn AbleCommerce 7, Gift Certificates have their own management interface located under Manage > Gift Certificates. After importing gift certificates, they will appear in the Digital Goods section as well as the new Gift Certificate management area. You can delete any Gift Certificates found under Catalog > Digital Goods > Manage Digital Goods section. AffiliatesDuring the import process, you will have the option of preserving the Affiliate ID. If you are using the Affiliates, you should do this. However, if you have existing affiliate links, they may become invalid because some pages may not be available with the same names. For example, if you have an affiliate link like: http://my.ablecommerce.store.com/stores/1/index.aspx?AFID=1 The page "index.aspx" will not be available in version 7. It is also possible that the path or other pages are going to be unavailable as well. The best solution we can find is to notify your affiliates and let them know that your store has been upgraded and they should make sure the affiliate links are still working.
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