Adding an item to the inventory directory

In the following example, we use the Corefile demo store “coredemo”, to create an inventory item inside a web store category. For an overview of adding a category, see: Adding a category to the inventory directory.


Adding an item
First select the category to which you would like to add the item. Note that items can only be added to categories that do not contain another category. This rule enforces that categories only contain other categories, or items, but not a mix of the two. (Allowing such a mixture would create poor inventory structure, and confusing gallery displays.) After selecting a category that is either empty, or only contains other items, press the menu button on the lower left corner of the inventory directory window. Choosing "New Item" from the menu will cause an item to be created in the selected category.

Enter item information
Choose a SKU and name for the item. Also select the "type" of the item from the available list. If there is no type that matches the item, leave the type as "basic". Choosing a matching type for an item (example: "book"), alters the item fields, and adds an additional "Book Information" pane to the item. This allows book-specific information to be entered such as: Title, Author, Edition, Pages, ISBN, etc. Choosing the type that most correctly matches your item allows Corefile to better present your products in the galle>ry. It also helps Corefile perform more advanced searches for your items.

Item Description
Text entered in the "Item Description" field is presented with the item thumnail image on web store product pages. When "more info" is requested for the web store item, the "Item Description" is displayed in the right-hand column beside the item image. If the "Item Description" is quite large, it will continue under the item image. Sometimes you may just want to display a short "catchy" text phrase with the thumbnail. To do this would require that you write the "catchy" phrase at the start of your "Item Description". If there was additional information that you wanted to display when the user presses "more info" you would add that text after the "catchy" phrase. - But what if you did not want this additional info to be shown with the thumbnail image? You would have to put a few empty lines between the "catchy" phrase and the additional text. This would be a bit of a pain, because if you did not put in enough blank lines the extra information would "peek" into the thumnail view. On the other hand, if you used too many blank lines, your additional information would not start at a consistent location in the "more info" view. To help the style-concious, there is a "Long Description" text field located under the "Additional Item Information" pane. (see: "Additional item information" bellow)

Internal Notes
Text entered in the "Internal Notes" field is never displayed in the web store. It is a scratch pad for you to make private notes about the item.

Web store presentation
If "This item is sold in the store" is selected, the item will be displayed in the on-line galle>ry under the category to which it belongs.

Featured Item
If "This is a featured store item" is selected, the item will be displayed in the on-line galle>ry under the category to which it belongs, and the item will also appear as a featured store item. Featured store items are presented in the store window when customers first arrive at the store.


Additional item information
Item information is placed into more than one information pane. Pressing the pane labeled "Additional Item Information" displays a number of additional information fields for an item. These fields tend to be less used than those present on the "Item Information" pane. If you selected a specific item type for your item (example: "book"), you may have an extra information pane, specifically for this item type.

Long Description
The "Long Description" text is only displayed under the item image when "more info" is selected from the web store. By using "Long Description", "Item Description" can be used as a shorter "catchy" item text phrase shown with the thumbnail and on the right of the "more info" image.