Nexternal's ECommerce Software Updates

eCommerce Platform Updates

2/6/2012		Pinterest Product Sharing - Allow customers to "pin" products to their Pinterest pinboards via the Pin It Button
1/30/2012		MailChimp Integration - Synchronize your customers and affiliates lists to separate MailChimp lists, or export a subset of customers to a list
1/30/2012		Mail Wizard Enhancements - Schedule e-mails, e-mail affiliates, and receive completion notifications via the Mail Wizard
11/22/2011		Country of Origin - Specify a product's Country of Origin for use with international shipping labels and the Amazon Product Ads feed
11/22/2011		Prevent Duplicate E-Mail - Prevent customers from creating multiple accounts with the same e-mail address
11/22/2011		Amazon Product Ads and TheFind Marketplace Feeds - Automatically send your products to Amazon Product Ads and TheFind on a daily basis to drive additional traffic to your Online Store
11/17/2011		Coupons: Maximum Discount - Cap a Coupon Discount as a specified maximum value
11/10/2011		Gift Message Report - Create a printable report of Gift Messages, one per page, custom-styled via HTML
11/8/2011		FedEx^® 2Day A.M. - Utilize real time rates, and create shipping labels, for FedEx^® 2Day A.M. via FedEx Web Services
10/17/2011		Authorize Flat Amount - Perform a credit card authorization of a fixed amount for every order, regardless of the Order Total
10/5/2011		Coupons: Discount To - Create a coupon offering a dynamic discount to make the final price after the Coupon Discount equal to a specified amount
9/30/2011		Coupon Overrides: Customer Discounts, Customer-Based Pricing, and Override Application Only - Override Customer Discounts and Customer-Based Pricing when a coupon is activated; allow a coupon to override discounts only for products to which the Coupon Discount applies
9/28/2011		Marketplace Options: Condition; SKU Level UPC and MPN - Specify product Condition as New, Used, or Refurbished; specify UPC and MPN at the SKU level.
9/15/2011		Google Product Search Marketplace Options - Specify Age Group, Gender, Size, and Color on the product level to accommodate changes to Google Product Search
9/14/2011		Primary Category CSS Option - Ensure that primary category CSS classes are always included on Product Detail screens in the Online Store
7/19/2011		Modal Popup Background Close - Close a modal popup by clicking on any other darkened part of the page.
6/20/2011		FedEx^® SmartPost - Utilize real time rates, and create shipping labels, for FedEx^® SmartPost via FedEx Web Services
6/10/2011		Google Product Sharing - Allow customers to recommend your products on Google via the +1 Button
6/7/2011		XML Tools: OrderCalculate - Retrieve information related to an order before the actual order is placed.
6/7/2011		Facebook Like & Save - Offer an instant discount to customers who "like" your products on Facebook
5/19/2011		Retain Login - Keep customers logged in to the Online Store after placing or canceling an order
5/17/2011		New USPS/Endicia Shipping Methods, Packaging, and Options - Take advantage of new USPS Shipping Methods, packaging types, and shipping options with USPS Rates and Endicia Shipping
4/26/2011		Customer Tooltips - Quickly view details about a customer within lists of orders in the Order Management System
4/6/2011		Review Reminders - Automatically send e-mail reminders to customers asking them to review recently purchased products
4/5/2011		XML ProductUpdate: Create New Category - Create new categories and subcategories during an XML ProductUpdate.
4/5/2011		XML CustomerQuery, OrderQuery, ProductQuery: CurrentStatus Node - Query to return a simple status snapshot of customers, orders, and products via the XML Tools
1/20/2011		Product QueryStrings: Allow Multiple Products - Automatically add multiple products to the Shopping Cart via URL querystring parameters
1/19/2011		Product E-Mail Addenda - Add multiple addenda to Order Confirmation, Update, and Shipped E-Mails based on the products ordered
1/12/2011		Sales Tax by Country - Charge sales tax on products shipped to any country
1/4/2011		Search Engine Options: Image Alt Tag - Customize the alt tags included in product and category images for search engine optimization purposes
1/3/2011		XML OrderUpdate: Process Credit Cards - Process credit cards via the XML OrderUpdate Tool
1/3/2011		Add To Cart and Select Options Buttons: Use HTML Buttons - Replace the graphical Add To Cart and Select Options Buttons with HTML Buttons
1/3/2011		Attribute Export - Export attributes to Excel or Access in a format identical to that of the Attribute Import
1/3/2011		Additional Mathematical Keywords - Create dynamic, custom messages to your customers by taking advantage of keywords for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
1/3/2011		Order/Affiliate Addendum: Additional Order and Product Level Keywords - Increase the depth of integration with third party affiliate and order tracking programs by taking advantage of new order and product level Replacement Keywords
11/19/2010		Product Shipping Rates Override - Override Shipping Rates at the Product or SKU level for products that you wish to exclude for the standard shipping rate calculation
10/29/2010		Social Sale Preferences - Customize your use of Social Sale Coupons by taking advantage of a wealth of new preferences
10/25/2010		XML OrderQuery: Preferred Ship / Delivery Dates - Query based on Preferred Ship Date Range and Preferred Delivery Date Range via the XML OrderQuery Tool
10/22/2010		XML ProductQuery: Export SKUs - Include Exports SKUs specified in the Order Management System in the XML ProductQueryReply
10/22/2010		XML OrderCreate: Use New Customer - Create a new customer while creating a new order via the XML OrderCreate Tool
10/12/2010		Coupons: Categories at Any Level - Select categories at any level for Coupon Application and Additional Purchase Required
10/12/2010		Coupon Sharing - Allow customers to share coupons via Facebook, Twitter, and AddThis
10/12/2010		Coupons: Social Sale - Create a coupon that takes effect only after a defined store-wide threshold has been met
10/5/2010		Internal Order Layout - Employ a layout specifically for use with internal orders, separate and distinct from the Live Layout displayed to your customers in the Online Store
10/5/2010		XML Tools: OrderCreate - Add or import orders via the XML Tools
10/4/2010		In Stock Notification Tooltips and Exports - View at a glance how many customers are awaiting In Stock Notification for any given product, and export In Stock Notifications to Excel and Access
9/29/2010		Twitter Product Sharing - Allow customers to instantly "tweet" about any of your products
9/23/2010		Related Product Upsell Overlay Modes - Select from among 4 behaviors for the Related Product Upsell Overlay when a product is added to the Shopping Cart from the overlay
9/20/2010		New/Edit Customer Addendum - Add custom text or HTML to the top of the New/Edit Customer screen in the Online Store
9/20/2010		Related Product Upsell Overlay - Increase your average order by upselling Related Products during checkout
9/20/2010		Search Suggestions (Online Store and Widget) - Automatically suggest searches to your customers both in the Keyword Search in the Online Store, and in a widget that may be placed on any web site
9/14/2010		Related Product Add to Cart - Add products to the Shopping Cart directly from the Related Products section of the Product Detail screen in the Online Store
9/2/2010		Coupons: Threshold Excludes Application - Exclude the Coupon Discount, or the product to which it applies, when determining if the order has met the Coupon Threshold.
8/30/2010		Product QueryStrings: Advanced Parameters - Fully specify the details of the product to be automatically added to the Shopping Cart via querystring parameters
8/26/2010		Automatic Add: Allow Product QueryStrings - Automatically add products to the Shopping Cart using only querystring parameters in the URL
8/24/2010		Automatic Add to Cart Triggers - Automatically add a product to the Shopping Cart when a specified trigger condition is met
8/23/2010		ShipCompliant: Sync Placed By - Synchronize the method by which the order was placed (e.g. Phone, Fax, Mail) with ShipCompliant, for orders placed in the Order Management System
7/22/2010		Salesforce: Sync Start Date - Specify the starting Ship/Send Date for orders exported from Nexternal to Salesforce
7/20/2010		Coupons: Start Time and End Time - Specify an exact time at which a coupon becomes valid, and at which it expires
7/14/2010		VinNOW: Additonal Options - Further customize your integration with VinNOW to avoid accidential double shipping and billing
7/13/2010		Cart Addendum - Add dynamic custom text of your choosing just below the Order Total in the Shopping Cart
7/8/2010		Head Addendum - Add custom code to the HEAD section of your Online Store, including verification code required by Google Product Search and Facebook Product Sharing
6/29/2010		Customer Type Upgrade - Automatically upgrade a customer's Customer Type when a specified product is purchased
6/28/2010		Salesforce Integration - Allow Nexternal Order, Product, Customer, and Activity information to be merged into the Salesforce CRM system
6/24/2010		VinNOW: Sync Start Date - Specify a starting date for customers and orders exported from Nexternal to VinNOW
6/11/2010		USPS Rates Tool: Use Commercial Rates - Return discounted Commercial Rates on USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail via the USPS Rates Tool
6/9/2010		VinNOW Integration - Integrate with VinNow's Point of Sale system to automatically import products, export orders, and synchronize customers

2/6/2012 -- Pinterest Product Sharing

The new Pinterest Product Sharing feature (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking in the Order Management System) places a button (the Pin It Button) on your Product Detail screens in the Online Store, with which your customers may instantly pin any of your products to their online pinboard, saving the product for future reference and sharing it with friends and family. If the Count Box is on (via the Count Box Style option on the Preferences screen), the button also displays the total number of people who have "pinned" the product.

Note: The Pin It Button is supported only in the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout).

1/30/2012 -- MailChimp Integration

This update announces a new MailChimp Integration (Settings/Compatible Software in the Order Managment System)

MailChimp is an e-mail service provider which can be used for e-mail styling as well as many other advanced e-mail related features like the following:

A/B Split Testing
Social Sharing
Template Design
E-mail Reporting
Autoresponders
Geolocation based delivery timing

MailChimp offers many features for free accounts, which can send a maximum of 12,000 e-mails/month to as many as 2000 subscribers. More subscribers, unlimited sending, and other advanced features such as inbox inspection are available for paid Mailchimp accounts.

From the Customers screen, the export option now includes MailChimp as an export option. If a synchronized list which reports MailChimp user status to Nexternal, and reports Nexternal customer mailing list status to MailChimp, then use the "Sync Mailing Lists" option. The "Sync Mailing Lists" option can be found in the Order Management System from the Settings tab -> Compatible Software: MailChimp E-mail Marketing.

To see a 5 minute video detailing this integration, please click here.

1/30/2012 -- Mail Wizard Enhancements

The Mail Wizard (Customers/Mail Wizard in the Order Management System) has been enhanced and now includes the following features:

Scheduling - Users may now schedule a date and time to send the bulk e-mail.

Completion Notification – The Primary Company Contact, the User, and the e-mail listed in the “From” address will now receive confirmation when the e-mail script has completed.

E-Mail Affiliates - The Affiliates Screen now also offers its own Mail Wizard.

11/22/2011 -- Country of Origin

The new Country of Origin field, available on the product level in the Product Overrides section in the Order Management System, or via the Product Import (Products/Import) is used for alcoholic products included in the Amazon Product Ads feed (Products/Export), and with some Online Shipping Tools (Settings/Compatible Software) when international shipping labels are created. The default Country of Origin is the country of the products's Ship From Address (Settings/Ship From Addresses).

11/22/2011 -- Prevent Duplicate E-Mail

The new Prevent Duplicate E-Mail option (Settings/Boolean Options in the Order Management System) prohibits the use of an e-mail address in a customer account when that e-mail address is already in use by another active customer account. If this option is on, the restriction applies on the Register screen in the Online Store and in Direct Checkout; and on the New/Edit Customer screen in the Order Management System. If a customer or OMS user attempts to duplicate an e-mail address, he/she is presented with a warning and must either use a different e-mail address or cancel the form.

Tip: If this option is on, Nexternal highly recommends also turning on the Require Password option (Settings/Boolean Options).

Note: This option does not apply to other means to create or edit a customer account, including the Customer Import (Customers/Import), Customer Integration (Customers/Integration), the XML Tools (Settings/XML Tools), and VinNOW (Settings/Compatible Software/Alcoholic Beverage Tools); nor does it remove any preexisting duplicates.

11/22/2011 -- Amazon Product Ads and TheFind Marketplace Feeds

Amazon Product Ads and TheFind feeds have been added to the Marketplace Exports (Products/Export in the Order Management System). These feeds may be created manually, or you may participate in their respective Automated Feeds (Products/Export/Marketplace Exports Preferences) to automatically send a fresh feed to the appropriate service every weekday.

Amazon Product Ads: Amazon Product Ads provides targeted pay-per-click advertising on amazon.com. Signup is required, please refer the Amazon Product Ads Home Page for more information and to create an account. Once listed, your products are promoted in relevant category and product pages at Amazon.com, an effective way to reach targeted buyers.

Notes:

To complete the Amazon Product Ads signup process, you must set up a budget in Amazon Seller Central.
Amazon does not allow Product Ads in some product categories (currently Apparel, Automotive Parts and Accessories, Books, CD and Vinyl, Cell Phones and Accessories, DVD, Kindle Accessories, Motorcycles/ATV and Protective Gear, Music, Software and Computer Games, Video Game Consoles, Video Games, and Videos VHS). Other categories require preapproval by Amazon (currently Wine, Grocery, Jewelry, Shoes, and Watches). If you wish to list products in a preapproval category, first create your Amazon Seller Account, then contact Justin Sluyter (206-266-6196 or sluyter@amazon.com) providing your Merchant Token (from Amazon), Company Name, Website URL, and Amazon Product Ads Export File.
If you wish list alcoholic products in Amazon Products Ads, take care to carefully specify the appropriate Alcohol Options fields within the Marketplace Options section on the product level.

TheFind: TheFind is a rapidly growing online shopping search engine and traffic generator. TheFind also offers a popular, free location aware mobile app. Signup is required, but submission is currently free; please visit TheFind Merchant Center for more information, and to create an account.

11/17/2011 -- Coupons: Maximum Discount

The new Maximum Discount field, available when creating or editing a coupon in the Order Management System, or via the Coupon Import (Coupons/Import), allows you to cap the allowed discount from a coupon at a maximum value. This field is best used in scenarios where the Coupon Discount is unpredictable, and you wish to prevent an overly large discount. If this field is blank, no maximum is enforced.

Note: This field does not apply to shipping coupons.

11/10/2011 -- Gift Message Report

If you offer free Gift Messages (Settings/Site Options in the Order Management System), you may now use the new Gift Message Report field (Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers) to allow the creation of a Gift Message Report (Orders/Report) with which you may print all of your Gift Messages, one per page, based on the selected report criteria.

If you choose to populate this field, you may use HTML tags to enhance the formatting and presentation of your customers' Gift Messages. You may also use the following (case sensitive) Replacement Keywords:

GIFT_MESSAGE: the text of the Gift Message. This keyword is required and must appear if you wish to use the Gift Message Report.
ORDER_NO: the Order Number.
FIRST_NAME: the customer's First Name.
LAST_NAME: the customer's Last Name.
SHIP_FIRST_NAME: the recipient's First Name.
SHIP_LAST_NAME: the recipient's Last Name.
LINE_ITEM_TABLE: a table showing the Line Items (quantities, SKUs, and Product Names) associated with the Gift Message.

Tips:

Users unfamiliar with HTML are encouraged to use the WYSIWYG Editor (Settings/Boolean Options), as improper HTML may produce unintended results.
You may also choose to include Gift Messages on Invoices and Packing Slips via the Include Gift Message field at Settings/Site Options/Invoices and Packing Slips.

11/8/2011 -- FedEx^® 2Day A.M.

Nexternal's integration of FedEx Web Services (Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools) now supports FedEx^® 2Day A.M., a 2 day service that guarantees delivery by 10:30 A.M. to most addresses in the United States. You may select this service as a available shipping method at Settings/Shipping.

10/17/2011 -- Authorize Flat Amount

The new Flat Amount option for the Authorization Amount field (Settings/Site Options/Compatible Software/Payment Gateways/Authorization/Preferences in the Order Management System) allows you to authorize a fixed amount for every credit card order, regardless of the Order Total. This option is appropriate if you are using authorizations only to test the validity of credit cards, and not as a basis for future fund capture.

10/5/2011 -- Coupons: Discount To

The new Discount To option for Coupon Type allows you to create a coupon that offers a dynamic discount amount such that the price after the discount equals a specified amount. For example, you might create a coupon that offers a Discount To $10.00 on a particular product, meaning that the final price of the product after the Coupon Discount is $10.00. This enhancement would also allow you to run a promotion that sets a fixed price on a shipping method ($1 UPS Ground Shipping - Today Only). This option is available when creating or editing a coupon in the Order Management System, or via the Coupon Import (Coupons/Import).

9/30/2011 -- Coupon Overrides: Customer Discounts, Customer-Based Pricing, and Override Application Only

You may now choose to have a coupon override Customer Discounts and Customer-Based Pricing. These options are available when creating or editing a coupon in the Order Management System, or via the Coupon Import (Coupons/Import). Customer Discounts are percentage discounts defined at either the customer or customer type (Customers/Types) level. Customer-Based Pricing refers to special pricing defined by Customer Type when creating or editing a product. If Customer-Based Pricing is overridden, the customer receives the default (i.e. non-customer-based) price.

Additionally, the new Override Application Only option applies the override only to products to which the Coupon Discount applies (i.e. the Coupon Application). If this option is on, the customer may still receive the type of discount(s) being overridden, but not on products discounted by the coupon. Thus, this option preserves all discounts for products to which the coupon does not apply, and prevents double discounting for products to which it does apply. If this option is off, all selected discount types are overridden, even if the customer receives no discount from the coupon.

Notes:

The Override Application Only option does not apply if no type of discount or special pricing is overridden, or if the Coupon Application is a shipping method.
If Override Application Only option is on, the new Coupon Hide Discounts option (Settings/Boolean Options) determines whether or not overridden discount types are hidden in the Online Store's product catalog.

9/28/2011 -- Marketplace Options: Condition; SKU Level UPC and MPN

The Marketplace Options, available when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, or via the Product Import (Products/Import), now include a Condition field. The Condition options are New, Used, and Refurbished, defaulting to New.

Note: Shopping.com's current documentation states that they will only index new items.

At the SKU level, you may now specify UPC (Universal Product Code) and MPN (Manufacturer Part Number). These fields can be set from the SKU table on when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, or via the Attribute Import (Products/Import). When a UPC or MPN are set at the SKU level, this information is used in Google Product Search (Products/Export) for products with Size and/or Color variants, overriding the product level UPC or MPN.

9/15/2011 -- Google Product Search Marketplace Options

The new Age Group, Gender, Size, and Color fields on the product level -- available in the Product Overrides section when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, via the Product Import (Products/Import), or via the XML Tools (Settings/XML Tools) -- are used only by Google Product Search. They are newly required fields for any products categorized as apparel in Google's taxonomy, and are optional for all other products.

You may leave the Size and Color fields blank if the product has Attributes, Specifications, or Custom Fields (Products/Custom Fields) containing the word 'Size' or 'Color', case insensitive. When Attributes with multiple options are used, every possible size/color combination is included in the Google Product Search feed. Thus, you should only use the fields in the Product Overrides section if a single size and/or color applies, and they cannot be specified using Attributes, Specifications, or Custom Fields.

9/14/2011 -- Primary Category CSS Option

For the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout) only, the new Primary Category CSS option (Layout/Main Layout/Product Section Options/Products) controls whether or not CSS classes corresponding to the product's primary category are always included in the tag on Product Detail screens in the Online Store. If this option is on, the primary category classes appear in addition to those of the active category, if different. If this option is off, only those of the active category appear. Category CSS classes take the form nextCategoryCN, where CN represents the Category Number, and are primarily used for custom styling via the CSS Addendum and Advanced Layout Class Associations (Layout/Advanced Layout).

Note: Primary category CSS classes appear before those of the active category, when applicable.

7/19/2011 -- Modal Popup Background Close

A modal popup is a popup that darkens the rest of the screen and overlays itself on the main window (e.g. the Enter Coupon window), such that the modal popup is illuminated. Normally, a modal popup can only be dismissed by clicking the close button in the upper right. The new Modal Popup Background Close option (Settings/Boolean Options in the Order Management System) controls whether a web user can dismiss a modal popup by clicking on the darkened background surrounding the popup.

Note: This option applies to the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout) only.

6/20/2011 -- FedEx^® SmartPost

Nexternal's integration of FedEx Web Services (Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools) now supports FedEx^® SmartPost, a unique service whereby FedEx utilizes USPS for final delivery. To use SmartPost, you must first meet minimum volume requirements, and sign a service contract with FedEx. When you are ready to ship via SmartPost, specify the SmartPost Hub and Carrier for each of your FedEx accounts via the Manage link for FedEx Web Services. You should also review the SmartPost-specific options on the Online Shipping Tools Preferences screen.

For FedEx^® SmartPost shipments created via the FedEx Shipping Tool, it is necessary to perform a "close" operation at the end of the day, before your packages are picked up by your FedEx driver. This operation may be performed via the FedEx Close button on the Order List screen.

6/10/2011 -- Google Product Sharing

The new Google Product Sharing feature (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking in the Order Management System) places a button (the +1 Button) on your Product List and/or Detail screens in the Online Store (via the new Display +1 Button field at Layout/Main Layout/Visibility Rules), with which your customers may instantly recommend any of your products in Google, thus potentially improving your products' ranking and visibility. If the Count Box is on (via the Include Count option on the Preferences screen), the button also displays the total number of people who have "+1'ed" the product. The Preferences screen also contains other new options to customize your use of the +1 Button.

Note: The +1 Button is supported only in the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout).

6/7/2011 -- XML Tools: OrderCalculate

If you are using the XML Tools (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System) you may now use the new OrderCalculate Tool to retrieve information about the possible shipping rates and methods, any potential discounts and taxes, and the current inventory levels for each line item in a hypothetical order, without actually placing the order.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

6/7/2011 -- Facebook Like & Save

If you are using Facebook Product Sharing (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking in the Order Management System), you may now offer a discount to customers who click the Facebook Like button for one or more of your products via the new Sharing Discount option (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking Preferences/Facebook (Product and Coupon Sharing)/Sharing Discount). The Sharing Discount is only applied if the customer purchases the product that is being "liked". There is a limit of one Sharing Discount per order; if the customer "likes" multiple products, only the largest Sharing Discount applies.

The Sharing Discount may be applied globally by entering either a flat discount amount or a percentage (but not both). When a percentage discount is applied to products with VOLUME, CATEGORY, or SKU pricing, the discount is calculated, in all cases, based on the product's default price.

Notes:

The Sharing Discount is supported only in the .NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout).
The Sharing Discount may be overridden on an individual product basis in the Product Overrides section of the New/Edit Product (Page 2) screen, or via the Product Import (Products/Import).
The Sharing Discount is disabled for products using BID pricing.

More information including a video demonstration can be found on this page:
www.nexternal.com/ecommerce/facebook-like-and-save.asp

5/19/2011 -- Retain Login

The new Retain Login option (Settings/Boolean Options in the Order Management System) controls whether or not the customer is kept logged in to the Online Store after his/her order is placed, or, if the Cancel Order option is on, after the order is canceled. If this option is off, the customer is automatically logged out after an order is placed or canceled.

Note: This option does applies to the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout) only. With the Nexternal Classic Online Store version, the customer is always logged out when an order is placed or canceled.

5/17/2011 -- New USPS/Endicia Shipping Methods, Packaging, and Options

Two new USPS Shipping Methods are now available at Settings/Shipping in the Order Management System: USPS Parcel Select and USPS Critical Mail. If you are using Endicia Shipping (Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools) you may also create shipping labels for these new methods. Please refer to USPS and Endicia documentation for more information about these Shipping Methods.

Several new USPS packaging types have been added at Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools/Preferences, subject to override at the product level (in the Product Overrides section): Legal Flat-Rate Envelope, Small Flat-Rate Envelope, Window Flat-Rate Envelope, Gift Card Flat-Rate Envelope, Padded Flat-Rate Envelope, Large Flat-Rate Box, DVD Flat-Rate Box, Large Video Flat-Rate Box, Regional Rate Box A, and Regional Rate Box B. These packaging types are available for use with the USPS Rates and Endicia Shipping tools. The availability of these packaging types may be restricted to certain Shipping Methods; please refer to USPS and Endicia documentation for more information.

Two new Endicia Shipping Options have been added at Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools/Preferences, subject to override when creating an Endicia label via the Shipping Labels button at the bottom of the Order Detail screen.

The new Include Postage option determines whether or not Endicia labels include prepaid postage. If this option is off, you must independently add postage to each package.

Note: If this option is off, the Stealth Postage option does not apply.

The new Hold For Pickup option, applicable to USPS First Class Mail, USPS Priority Mail, USPS Parcel Select, and USPS Express Mail, causes USPS to hold the package at its recipient's local post office, instead of attempting to deliver. USPS notifies the customer via e-mail when a package is ready for pickup.

Note: This option is not available for packages sent to US Military addresses.

4/26/2011 -- Customer Tooltips

In the Order Management System, whenever a linked customer name is displayed within a list of orders (such as on the Order List screen, the Order Detail screen, the Product Detail screen, and the Affiliate Detail screen), positioning the mouse pointer over the link now displays a tooltip. The tooltip displays details about the customer, consisting of the E-Mail Address, Company Name (if applicable), Customer Type, Created Date, Last Updated Date, Total Order Count, Total Order Net, and Total Order Price.

4/6/2011 -- Review Reminders

The new Review Reminders (Reviews/Setup in the Order Management System) are e-mails automatically sent to customers asking them to review recently ordered products. Thus, they are an excellent means to increase the number of reviews submitted in your store, increase your products' visibility in search engines, receive feedback about your products, and induce customers to return to your store.

If you choose to use Review Reminders, the Time Delay (Days) specifies the number of days between the Line Item Ship Date and the sending of the reminder for the relevant product. The Time Delay field is subject to override on the product level.

The Enforce Mailing List option restricts Review Reminders to only those customers on your Mailing List. If this option is on, Review Reminder E-Mails also include a link to unsubscribe from the Mailing List.

The optional Custom E-Mail Text allows you to customize the text in the e-mail that describes the purpose of the Review Reminder to the customer. The text appears at the top of the e-mail, just below the customer's name. If no Custom E-Mail Text is specified, a simple default message appears in its place.

Notes:

Review Reminders for multiple products sent to the same customer are grouped together into a single e-mail when possible; customers who purchase the same product multiple times are not sent multiple reminders.
Only products that are Reviewable, and are available for sale to the general public (as determined by Product Visibility), are included in Review Reminders.
Once a Review Reminder for a given line item has been sent, the send date appears on the Order Detail screen, and in Order Exports (Orders/Export).

Tip: The Custom E-Mail Text supports HTML tags to enhance formatting. Users unfamiliar with HTML are encouraged to use the WYSIWYG Editor (Settings/Boolean Options), as improper HTML may produce unintended results.

4/5/2011 -- XML ProductUpdate: Create New Category

If you are using the XML Tools (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System) you can now create categories and subcategories when creating or updating a product via ProductUpdate using the Categories/Category node.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

4/5/2011 -- XML CustomerQuery, OrderQuery, ProductQuery: CurrentStatus Node

If you are using the XML CustomerQuery, OrderQuery, or ProductQuery tools (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System) you can now obtain a simple status snapshot of your customers, orders, and products by using the CurrentStatus node. By specifying a query range and including CurrentStatus you can retrieve a simple (flattened) list of nodes containing current status information.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

1/20/2011 -- Product QueryStrings: Allow Multiple Products

If you are using the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout in the Order Management System) and the Allow Product QueryStrings feature (Products/Auto Add Preferences), you may now add multiple products to the Shopping Cart simultaneously. To do so, modify method 2 (as documented in the About text for Allow Product QueryStrings) to include a sequential integer with each AddID/AddQuantity parameter pair (i.e. AddID1=PN1&AddQuantity1=Q1&AddID2=PN2&AddQuantity2=Q2 ...).

Note: If you use any of the Advanced Parameters (as documented in the About text for Allow Product QueryStrings) in conjunction with multiple products, you must also include the same sequential integer with each Advanced Parameter (e.g. Color1=Red, Size2=Medium, etc). You may, however, include a ShipToLabel parameter without an integer; which will apply to every product included in the querystring that lacks a ShipToLabel parameter with the sequential integer.

1/19/2011 -- Product E-Mail Addenda

The new product-level Order Confirmation E-Mail Addendum, Shipped E-Mail Addendum, and Update E-Mail Addendum, available in the new Product E-Mail Addenda section when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, appear in their respective e-mails to customers when purchasing the product. They are best used to provide additional, pertinent information regarding the product after order has been placed. The addenda can each be placed above or below the invoice table.

Note: These new product-level addenda are in addition to the E-Mail Addenda may be specified at Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers (which appear in e-mails for all orders) and at Coupons/Social Sale Preferences (which appear only for orders that use a Social Sale Coupon).

Tip: The Product E-Mail Addenda support HTML tags to enhance formatting. Users unfamiliar with HTML are encouraged to use the WYSIWYG Editor (Settings/Boolean Options), as improper HTML may produce unintended results.

1/12/2011 -- Sales Tax by Country

You may now charge sales tax on products shipped to any country. If you wish to change tax outside of the United States, the U.S. Protectorates, and Canada, turn on the new Charge Sales Tax in Other Countries option on Edit Sales Tax (Page 1) at Settings/Sales Tax in the Order Management System. Then, click the Next button to reach the subsequent pages on which you may specify the tax rates for other countries.

For each country in which you wish to charge sales tax, you must specify a flat sales tax rate that applies to all products shipped to that country via the Tax Rate field. You may also choose to charge tax on shipping rates to a given country by checking the TS (Tax Shipping) box to the right of the country name. If the TS option is on, the OIP (Only If Positive) option allows you to charge sales tax on shipping only if there is a positive (i.e. greater than $0.00) product total after discounts shipped to the appropriate Ship To Address. If you do not wish to charge sales tax in a given country, leave the Tax Rate field blank.

Notes:

Products are always considered taxable when shipped to a country for which a Tax Rate is defined. The Taxable field on the product level applies only to the United States, the U.S. Protectorates, and Canada.
For customers of a type not subject to sales tax (Customers/Types), the sales tax rate is always 0%, regardless of the country shipped to.

1/4/2011 -- Search Engine Options: Image Alt Tag

The Search Engine Options section on the Product and Category levels in the Order Management System has been enhanced to include an Image Alt Tag field. This field is available when creating and editing products and categories, and via the Product and Category Imports (Products/Import and Categories/Import). The Image Alt Tag appears within image tags in HTML, but is not seen by customers. This allows you to attach keywords to products and categories via their images (if any) that are heavily weighted by search engines.

1/3/2011 -- XML OrderUpdate: Process Credit Cards

If you are using XML OrderUpdate Tool (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System) and a Payment Gateway (Settings/Compatible Software), you may now use the new CapturePayment node in the OrderUpdateRequest to capture (process), refund, or void an order’s credit card.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

1/3/2011 -- Add To Cart and Select Options Buttons: Use HTML Buttons

You now have the option to use HTML buttons as the Add To Cart and Select Options Buttons (Layout/Buttons in the Order Management System). You may also choose to use one of the standard buttons or upload your own buttons, as before.

1/3/2011 -- Attribute Export

The fields included in new Excel and Access Attribute Exports (Products/Export in the Order Management System) are identical to those included in the Attribute Import (Products/Import). You may choose to export prices for all products or only active (non-Discontinued) products. If you have executed a product search (Products/Search), you may also choose to export the results of that search. To be eligible for inclusion in the export, a product's attributes must exactly match those specified on the new Preferences screen (Products/Export/Attribute Export Preferences).

Tip: Excel Attribute Exports may be used as Attribute Import files, allowing you to export attributes, make changes as needed, then upload the file as an import to update your Online Store. Remember, however, that the Attribute Import always deletes and replaces all preexisting attributes, options, and SKUs for each product included in the import.

1/3/2011 -- Additional Mathematical Keywords

Fields in the Order Management System that permit the use of the SUBTRACT(A,B) Replacement Keyword, including the Cart Addendum (Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers) and the Social Sale Addenda (Coupons/Social Sale Addenda), now permit the use of additional mathematical Replacement Keywords.

ADD(A,B): adds A and B (i.e. A + B), where A and B represent numeric values.
MULTIPLY(A,B): multiplies A and B (i.e. A * B), where A and B represent numeric values.
DIVIDE(A,B): divides A by B (i.e. A / B), where A and B represent numeric values.

1/3/2011 -- Order/Affiliate Addendum: Additional Order and Product Level Keywords

If you are using the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout in the Order Management System), you may now take advantage of many new Replacement Keywords in the Order/Affiliate Addendum (Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers). These new keywords allow you to more fully integrate third party affiliate and order tracking programs.

CUSTOMER_NO: the Customer Number.
FIRST_NAME: the customer's First Name.
LAST_NAME: the customer's Last Name.
EMAIL: the customer's E-Mail Address.
CITY: the customer's Contact City.
STATE: the customer's Contact State/Province (2 letter abbreviation).
POSTAL_CODE: the customer's Contact Zip/Postal Code.
COUNTRY: the customer's Contact Country (2 letter code).
CUSTOMER_CUSTOM_FIELD1, CUSTOMER_CUSTOM_FIELD2, ... CUSTOMER_CUSTOM_FIELD6: the customer's corresponding Custom Field value.
BILL_FIRST_NAME: the Bill To First Name.
BILL_LAST_NAME: the Bill To Last Name.
BILL_CITY: the Bill To City.
BILL_STATE: the Bill To State/Province (2 letter abbreviation).
BILL_POSTAL_CODE: the Bill To Zip/Postal Code.
BILL_COUNTRY: the Bill To Country (2 letter code).
ORDER_SUBTOTAL: the Order Subtotal (i.e. the Order Total before discounts, sales tax, and shipping).
ORDER_QUANTITY: the Quantity Total.
SHIPPING_TOTAL: the Shipping Total.
SALES_TAX_TOTAL: the Sales Tax Total.
DISCOUNT_TOTAL: the total of discounts that apply after the Order Subtotal but before Sales Tax (e.g. Customer Discounts, Coupon Discounts, Order Discounts, etc).
ADD(A,B): adds A and B (i.e. A + B), where A and B represent numeric values (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords).
SUBTRACT(A,B): subtracts B from A (i.e. A - B), where A and B represent numeric values (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords).
MULTIPLY(A,B): multiplies A and B (i.e. A * B), where A and B represent numeric values (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords).
DIVIDE(A,B): divides A by B (i.e. A / B), where A and B represent numeric values (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords).
CURRENCY(A): expresses A as a currency value (adding the appropriate currency symbol), where A represents a numeric value (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords). If you are using the XE.com Currency Converter (Settings/Compatible Software) and a foreign currency is in use, A is multiplied by the appropriate exchange rate.
FOR EACH_PRODUCT(A): iterates A for each unique product ordered, where A may contain any of the above Replacement Keywords, plus any of the following Keywords. This is an advanced feature that requires a basic understanding of iteration, and of the code you intend to produce.
- PRODUCT_NO: the Product Number.
- PRODUCT_NAME: the Product Name, including Attributes and Write-In Attributes.
- PRODUCT_SKU the product's SKU or Item Number.
- PRODUCT_CATEGORY the product's Primary Category, with the slash character (/) to separate names in the category path.
- PRODUCT_QUANTITY the quantity ordered.
- PRODUCT_PRICE the unit price.
- PRODUCT_CUSTOM_FIELD1, PRODUCT_CUSTOM_FIELD2, ... PRODUCT_CUSTOM_FIELD6: the product's corresponding Custom Field value.
- MEDIA_FORMAT: the Media Format, if any (from Marketplace Options).
- MANUFACTURER: the Manufacturer, if any (from Marketplace Options).
- MFR_PART_NO: the Manufacturer Part Number, if any (from Marketplace Options.)
- UPC: the UPC Code, if any (from Marketplace Options).
- ISBN: the ISBN, if any (from Marketplace Options).
Example: FOR_EACH_PRODUCT(
The total for the product PRODUCT_NAME is CURRENCY(MULTIPLY(PRODUCT_QUANTITY,PRODUCT_PRICE)).)

Additionally, for Nexternal.NET only, the new Encoding field allows you to ensure that the textual Replacement Keywords are returned with the proper encoding, based on the type of result intended. Generally, you should select JavaScript if you intend to produce JavaScript; URL if you intend to produce a URL (for an image tag, for example); and HTML if you are displaying the results within HTML form elements.

The new Addendum Position allows you to control the placement of the addendum. The End of Head option places the addendum just before the tag. The Body Paragraph option places the addendum in a <p> (paragraph) tag, below your Logo (Layout/General Layout), if applicable, and a short message thanking the customer and confirming the order. The End of Body option places the addendum just before the tag. If you are using the Nexternal Classic Online Store Version, the Order/Affiliate Addendum is always displayed in a body paragraph.

11/19/2010 -- Product Shipping Rates Override

The new Override Shipping Rates option, available in the Product Overrides section when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, allows you to override the shipping rates calculation specified at Settings/Shipping. If this option is on, a Shipping Rates table appears below the Product Overrides section, allowing you to specify shipping rates on a per unit basis, for each applicable Shipping Zone and Shipping Method, at either the product or SKU level.

Notes:

Override Shipping Rates overrides even Real Time Rates, when one or more of the Online Shipping Tools (Settings/Compatible Software) is in use; if you are using the UNIT Shipping Cost Calculation method (Settings/Shipping), that is the only effect of this option.
If this option is on, the Shipping Rate for each Shipping Zone and Shipping Method is optional; if you do not want to override a given rate, leave its value blank.

10/29/2010 -- Social Sale Preferences

The new Social Sale Preferences (Coupons/Social Sale Preferences in the Order Management System) relate to coupons that use the Social Sale feature, which requires that a store-wide purchase threshold be met before the coupon takes full effect. You may designate a coupon as a Social Sale Coupon while creating or editing it in the Order Management System.

On the Social Sale Preferences screen, the Block Real Time Payments option disables real time payment processing such as PayPal (Settings/Billing Options) and Flexcache Gift Cards, if redeemed upon order placement (Settings/Compatible Software/FlexCache Gift Cards Preferences), when an untipped Social Sale Coupon is used. Since an untipped coupon may never tip, you may wish to use this option to prevent customers from making payments that may later need to be adjusted or refunded.

Note: This option does not disable Paypal when it is the only Payment Option available to a customer.

The Apply Discount For Untipped Orders option determines how the Coupon Discount is handled if the Social Sale is untipped. If this option is on, the full Customer Discount is applied, both in the Online Store and the Order Management System, as if the order were tipped. If this option is off, the Coupon Discount appears as $0.00, but customers are still shown their potential discount in the Online Store; if the sale tips, untipped orders may then have the full discount applied via Batch Processing (Orders/Batch Process).

Note: The full Coupon Discount is always applied to tipped Social Sales, regardless of the status of this option.

The optional Tipped E-Mail is sent when uptipped Social Sale orders are tipped via Batch Processing (Orders/Batch Process), thus notifying customers who used the coupon before the Social Sale tipped that the coupon has now taken full effect. If in use, the Tipped E-Mail may be the standard Update E-Mail, which may be customized via the Update E-Mail Addendum in the Social Sale Addenda section; or a Custom E-Mail message. If you choose the Custom option, you must also enter the details of the e-mail (i.e. Message Format, From, Subject, and Body).

Tipped E-Mail Replacement Keywords:
The following (case-sensitive) Replacement Keywords are available for use with the Subject and Body of the Custom Tipped E-Mail. Inclusion of any one of these terms causes that term to be replaced with its corresponding value as appropriate. The Replacement Keywords apply in the order listed below.

ORDER_NO: the Order Number.
FIRST_NAME: the customer's First Name.
LAST_NAME: the customer's Last Name.
COUPON_CODE: the Coupon Code.
COUPON_SAVINGS: the applied Coupon Savings, now that the Social Sale has tipped.
ORDER_TOTAL: the Order Total (with the discount applied).
CURRENCY(A): expresses A as a currency value (adding the appropriate currency symbol), where A represents a numeric value (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords). If you are using the XE.com Currency Converter (Settings/Compatible Software) and a foreign currency is in use, A is multiplied by the appropriate exchange rate.

Social Sale Addenda

The optional Invoice Addendum appears on the Invoice (final checkout) screen in the Online Store, providing any necessary additional information to the customer at the final stage of the ordering process. This addendum may be placed just above or below the invoice table.

Similarly, the optional Order Confirmation E-Mail Addendum and Update E-Mail Addendum appear in their respective e-mails to customers using a Social Sale Coupon, and are best used to clarify points about the Social Sale after the order has been placed. These addenda can each be placed above or below the invoice table.

Tips:

Take care not to confuse the Order Confirmation E-Mail Addendum and Update E-Mail Addendum here with the fields of the same name at Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers. The addenda specified here appear only for orders using a Social Sale Coupon, while those in the Settings section appear for all orders. If both are in use and are placed in the same position, the addenda in the Settings section appear first.
The Social Sale Addenda support HTML tags to enhance formatting. Users unfamiliar with HTML are encouraged to use the WYSIWYG Editor (Settings/Boolean Options), as improper HTML may produce unintended results.

Social Sale Addenda Replacement Keywords:
The following (case-sensitive) Replacement Keywords are available for use with the Social Sale Addenda. Inclusion of any one of these terms causes that term to be replaced with its corresponding value as appropriate. The Replacement Keywords apply in the order listed below.

COUPON_CODE: the Coupon Code
CUSTOMER_COUNT: the number of unique customers that have already used the coupon.
QUANTITY_COUNT: the total quantity of all qualifying products sold using the coupon.
SUM_AMOUNT: the total dollar amount of qualified products sold using the coupon.
TOTAL_POTENTIAL_SAVINGS: the potential savings from orders that have used the coupon.
TOTAL_TRANSACTIONS: the total number of orders that have used this coupon.
IF_TIPPED(A): displays A if the Social Sale has been tipped, where A represents HTML or plain text.
IF_UNTIPPED(A): displays A if the Social Sale has not yet been tipped, where A represents HTML or plain text.
SUBTRACT(A,B): subtracts B from A (i.e. A - B), where A and B represent numeric values (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords).
CURRENCY(A): expresses A as a currency value (adding the appropriate currency symbol), where A represents a numeric value (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords). If you are using the XE.com Currency Converter (Settings/Compatible Software) and a foreign currency is in use, A is multiplied by the appropriate exchange rate.

Additionally, the new Direct Checkout Only option, available when creating or editing a coupon, restricts the use of the coupon to Direct Checkout (Settings/Site Options) only. This allows you to separate a product-specific Social Sale Coupon (particularly an Autocoupon) from the rest of the Online Store.

10/25/2010 -- XML OrderQuery: Preferred Ship / Delivery Dates

If you are using XML OrderQuery Tool (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System), the OrderQueryRequest can now be defined (or qualified) by including the date range for Preferred Ship Date and/or Preferred Delivery Date.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

10/22/2010 -- XML ProductQuery: Export SKUs

If you have specified Export SKUs at Orders/Export/Excel & Access Preferences/Export SKUs in the Order Management System, those SKUs are now included in the XML ProductQuery Tool (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System).

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

10/22/2010 -- XML OrderCreate: Use New Customer

The XML OrderCreate Tool (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System) have been enhanced to allow you to create a new customer while creating a new order. This is accomplished via the new nodes added within OrderCreate/Customer in the OrderCreateRequest. Additionally, the MatchingField attribute allows you to specify a field use for matching an existing customer -- if a match is found, the existing customer is used; otherwise a new customer is created.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

10/12/2010 -- Coupons: Categories at Any Level

When creating and editing coupons in the Order Management System, you may now select categories at any level in the Coupon Application and Additional Purchase Required fields. This gives you greater flexibility to apply coupons to specific intermediate and bottom-level categories.

Tip: If you wish for the coupon to apply to a particular group of products that do not correspond to any category in your Online Store, create a category with a Visibility of None to contain them, then select that category as the Coupon Application.

10/12/2010 -- Coupon Sharing

You may now allow customers to share coupons via Facebook, Twitter, and AddThis via the new options at Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking/Coupon Sharing in the Order Management System. The available options allow you to add the Facebook "Like" Button, the Tweet Button, and/or the AddThis Button/Link to the Coupon Activation Overlay, which appears when a customer first activates a coupon in the Online Store (and may also be accessed again by clicking the Coupon Code).

10/12/2010 -- Coupons: Social Sale

The new Social Sale feature, available when creating or editing a coupon in the Order Management System, allows you to create a coupon that requires a store-wide purchase threshold to be met before taking effect. Before the threshold is met, orders that use the coupon are considered untipped; once the threshold is met, the Social Sale is considered tipped, and the coupon takes full effect. If the coupon expires before the Social Sale tips, you may choose to cancel the relevant orders, or process them as-is.

For example, you might create a coupon that requires 50 unique customers. The Social Sale Coupon would be untipped until the 50th customer uses the coupon, at which point the coupon tips. As explained below, you may then use Batch Processing to tip the first 49 orders.

Tip: Social Sales work best in conjunction with Coupon Sharing (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking/Coupon Sharing), which gives customers an easy way to share the coupon. However, Coupon Sharing is not required to use Social Sale.

The Social Sale Enabled checkbox enables and disables the Social Sale. If an existing Social Sale is disabled, its settings are retained for possible future use.

The Social Sale Threshold is the store-wide threshold that must be reached before the coupon tips. The threshold options are as follows:

Unique Customer: the number of unique customers that must complete a purchase.
Total Qualified Quantity: the aggregate number of products to which the coupon applies (as defined by the Coupon Application) purchased across all orders that use the coupon and qualify for its discount.
Total Qualified Savings: the aggregate dollar amount of potential Coupon Savings across all orders that use the coupon.

Note: A Social Sale Order will not contribute to the Social Sale Threshold unless the requirements of the coupon are met. For example, if the Coupon Threshold is $40.00, orders that fall short of $40.00 do not contribute to the Social Sale Threshold.

Social Sale Order Processing

While a Social Sale Coupon is active, order processing is disabled for untipped orders that use the coupon, as the final disposition of those orders is unknown. Once the Social Sale tips, orders placed while the sale was untipped will require Social Sale Processing via Batch Processing (Orders/Batch Process) to apply the Coupon Savings (if the Apply Discount For Untipped Orders on the Preferences screen is off), and mark the order as tipped. If the coupon expires untipped, you may either process the orders as-is, or cancel them.

On the Order List and Detail screens in the Order Management System, you may determine the status of Social Sale orders at a glance via one of the crowd icons ( or depending on how close the Social Sale is to being tipped), while the crowd warning icon indicates orders that are in need of Social Sale Processing via Batch Processing.

10/5/2010 -- Internal Order Layout

If there are any layouts in the Layout Archive (Layout/Archive in the Order Management System), the Internal Order Layout allows you to utilize one of those layouts for orders placed and edited within the Order Management System. Thus, you may employ a layout specifically for use with internal orders, separate and distinct from the Live Layout displayed to your customers in the Online Store.

Additionally, the new Include Advanced Layout option controls whether or not all Advanced Layout field are used. If this option is off, among Advanced layout fields, only the Style Sheet Addendum is used for internal orders; if this option is on, all Advanced Layout fields are used.

10/5/2010 -- XML Tools: OrderCreate

The XML Tools (Settings/XML Tools in the Order Management System) have been enhanced with the new OrderCreate tool, which may be used to add new orders to the Order Management System (Add Mode), or to import pre-existing orders from an external system into the Order Management System (Import Mode).

Each OrderCreate node specifies the source of the order using a Customer container, one or more shipping destinations using the ShipTos container, and one or more line items using the Products and GiftCertificates containers. Additional information regarding the order can be specified using the Payment container, the Discounts container, the PlacedBy container, the Affiliate container, and the ShipCompliant container. In Import Mode, you may include other information that might be relevant to the order using the OrderDate node, the BillingStatus node, the LineItemStatus and ShipDate nodes, the TrackingNumber node, and the SalesTaxRate node.

For further details on the XML Tools and their features, please refer to the XML Tools Documentation.

10/4/2010 -- In Stock Notification Tooltips and Exports

If you are using In Stock Notifications (Settings/Boolean Options in the Order Management System), you may now determine at a glance which products have customers awaiting notification via one of the crowd icons ( or depending on the number of customers waiting) on the Product List and Detail screens in the Order Management System; positioning the mouse pointer over the icon shows the number of customers awaiting notification (by SKU, if applicable).

Additionally, the new Excel and Access In Stock Notification Exports (Products/Export) allow you to export data related to In Stock Notifications. For each notification included in the export, the Product Number, Product Name, Product SKU, Options (if applicable), SKU-level SKU (if applicable), Customer Last Name, Customer First Name, and Customer E-Mail Address are included.

9/29/2010 -- Twitter Product Sharing

The new Twitter Product Sharing feature (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking in the Order Management System) places a button (the Tweet Button) on your Product List and/or Detail screens in the Online Store (via the new Display Tweet Button field at Layout/Main Layout/Visibility Rules), with which your customers may instantly "tweet" about any of your products, thus sharing that product with their Twitter followers. If the Count Box is on (via the Count Box Style option at Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking Preferences), the button also displays the total number of people who have "tweeted" the product. The Preferences screen also contains several other new options to customize your use of the Tweet Button.

Note: The Tweet Button currently does not support the secure (https://) protocol. Thus, the Tweet Button does not appear when your store is displayed using secure protocol.

9/23/2010 -- Related Product Upsell Overlay Modes

If you are using the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout in the Order Management System) and the Related Product Upsell Overlay (Layout/Main Layout/Product Section Options/Products), the Upsell Overlay may now be operated in one of 4 modes, which concern the behavior of the overlay after one of its Add to Cart buttons (if any) is clicked.
Auto Update: The Upsell Overlay updates based on the new cart contents, potentially displaying products that were not displayed previously.
Static: The Upsell Overlay remains static, and does not change.
Auto Remove: The product added to the Shopping Cart is removed from the Upsell Overlay, while the others, if any, remain.
Auto Close: The Upsell Overlay automatically closes.

9/20/2010 -- New/Edit Customer Addendum

The new New/Edit Customer Addendum (Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers in the Order Management System) appears at the top of the New/Edit Customer screen in the Online Store, just below the instructions for the screen and just above the form fields. The New/Edit Customer screen is used to specify the customer's Contact Address, Custom Fields, Password, etc.

Tips:

Because the New/Edit Customer screen includes general instructions and a link to the Privacy Policy, if applicable, this is not the best use of the New/Edit Customer Addendum.
The New/Edit Customer Addendum supports HTML tags to enhance formatting. Users unfamiliar with HTML are encouraged to use the WYSIWYG Editor (Settings/Boolean Options), as improper HTML may produce unintended results.

9/20/2010 -- Related Product Upsell Overlay

If you are using the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout in the Order Management System), the new Related Product Upsell Overlay option (Layout/Main Layout/Product Section Options/Products) controls whether or not Related Products are upsold to customers in a modal overlay on the first screen of the checkout process (usually the Login screen). If this option is on, Related Products appear in the Upsell Overlay based on the current contents of the Shopping Cart, subject to the new Upsell Maximum Products field. Prices are included, as is either the Add to Cart or Select Options Button (Layout/Buttons), as determined by the Add to Cart Type field. When the Add to Cart button appears, Related Products may be added to the Shopping Cart in a single click, causing the Upsell Overlay to update based on the new cart contents.

Notes:

This feature applies to the Nexternal.NET Online Store, only. The Upsell Overlay does not appear when orders are placed or edited from the Order Management System.
Products that have relationships with multiple items in the Shopping Cart are displayed first. Products that are Sold Out, or are already in the Shopping Cart, do not appear.
The Column option for the Related Product Style field is not applicable to the Upsell Overlay. If Column is selected and this option is on, the Upsell Overlay uses the List style.
The Upsell Overlay appears once per shopping session, only.
Category Names do not appear in the Upsell Overlay, and Related Products are not grouped by category, even if the Related Product Categories option is on.
The heading of the Related Overlay may be customized via the new Related Products (Upsell) Label (Layout/General Layout/Labels). You may also add custom text to the top of the overlay via the new Upsell Overlay Addendum (Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers).

9/20/2010 -- Search Suggestions (Online Store and Widget)

The new Keyword Suggestion Option (Settings/Boolean Options in the Order Management System) controls whether or not Keyword Search textboxes in the Online Store list suggestions while typing. This feature thus assists your customers in finding what they are looking for by suggesting words and phrases that will return at least one result.

Notes:

If the Use Search (Store) option is off, this option is inconsequential, unless your create a direct link to the Online Store's Advanced Search screen.
The Keyword Suggestion feature is available only in the Online Store. It does not apply when orders are created or edited from within the Order Management System.

Additionally, the new Search Suggestion Widget (Products/Widgets) allows you to utilize the same functionality on any web site.

9/14/2010 -- Related Product Add to Cart

If you are using the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout in the Order Management System), the new Related Product Add to Cart option (Layout/Main Layout/Product Section Options/Products) controls whether or not Add to Cart and/or Select Options buttons (Layout/Buttons) appear for Related Products. The exact type of button used is determined by the Add to Cart Type field. If this option is on, prices also appear, just above the button.

Note: This feature applies to the Online Store, only. Add to Cart buttons, Select Options buttons, and prices do not appear for Related Products when orders are placed or edited from the Order Management System.

9/2/2010 -- Coupons: Threshold Excludes Application

The new Threshold Excludes Application option, available when creating or editing a coupon in the Order Management System, controls whether or not the Coupon Discount, or the product to which it applies (i.e. the Coupon Application) is disregarded, if applicable, when determining if the order has met the Coupon Threshold. This option is available only if (a) a Coupon Threshold has been defined, (b) the Allow Multiple Discounts option is off, and (c) the coupon is not a shipping coupon.

8/30/2010 -- Product QueryStrings: Advanced Parameters

If you are using the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout in the Order Management System) and the Allow Product QueryStrings option is on (Products/Auto Add Parameters), you now have the option of specifying additional querystring parameters to fully specify the details of products to be automatically added to the Shopping Cart. This is an advanced feature that requires a basic understanding of querystrings, and how they are passed, to properly utilize.

Attributes may be specified by passing AttributeName=OptionName (e.g. Color=Red). If the product has multiple attributes, all must be properly specified to prevent the use of the default SKU.
Write-In Attributes may be specified by passing WriteInName=WriteInValue (e.g. Monogram=NYM).
Bid Price may be specified by passing BidPrice=XX.XX (e.g. BidPrice=10.50).
If Multiple Ship To (Settings/Site Options) is in use, Ship To Address may be specified by passing ShipToLabel=Name (e.g. ShipToLabel=yourself).

8/26/2010 -- Automatic Add: Allow Product QueryStrings

The new Allow Product QueryStrings option (Products/Auto Add Preferences in the Order Management System) allows products to be added to the Shopping Cart using only querystring parameters in the URL, without the need for an Automatic Add Trigger. If this option is on, there are 2 possible ways to utilize the feature:

From the Product Detail screen in the Online Store, add AddQuantity=Q to the URL's querystring. URLs of this form are displayed on the Product Detail screen in the Order Management System.
From any screen in the Online Store that includes the Shopping Cart, add AddID=PN and AddQuantity=Q to the querystring.

In the above querystrings, Q represents the Automatic Add Quantity, and PN represents the Product Number of the product to be added.

8/24/2010 -- Automatic Add to Cart Triggers

The new Automatic Add Triggers feature, available when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, will allow you to define trigger conditions that will automatically add a product to the Shopping Cart. The trigger may be the addition of a different product to the Shopping Cart; the addition of a product in a specified category to the Shopping Cart; the use of a coupon; or the passing of a querystring parameter.

The new Automatic Add Preferences screen (Products/Auto Add Preferences) contains options that enable you to customize your use of Automatic Add Triggers. If you use this feature, it is strongly recommended that you carefully review the options on the Preferences screen.

For all Automatic Add Triggers, you must enter an Automatic Add Quantity. This value is the quantity automatically added to the Shopping Cart when the trigger is activated.

If you use Product as the Automatic Add Trigger, you must select a Trigger Product and enter a Trigger Quantity. The Trigger Quantity is quantity of the Trigger Product that must be added to the Shopping Cart to activate the trigger.

If you use Category as the Automatic Add Trigger, you must select a Trigger Category (on any level) and enter a Trigger Quantity. The Trigger Quantity is total quantity of products in the Trigger Category (excluding the Automatic Add Product, if applicable) that must be added to the Shopping Cart to activate the trigger.

If you use Coupon as the Automatic Add Trigger, you must select a Trigger Coupon. You should also pay particular attention to the Enforce Coupon Requirement option on the Preferences screen.

If you use QueryString as the Automatic Add Trigger, you must enter a QueryString Parameter and Value. The trigger then activates when the querystring parameter with the entered value is passed. This is an advanced feature that requires a basic understanding of querystrings, and how they are passed, to properly utilize.

Notes:

This feature applies only in the Online Store, and only if the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout) is in use. The feature does not apply to the Nexternal Classic Online Store version; to orders created or edited in the Order Management System; or to Direct Checkout.
For products with attributes, the default SKU is used when an automatic add to cart is triggered.
Once a trigger is activated, it is never activated a second time in the same shopping session, even if the product automatically added is subsequently removed from the Shopping Cart.
Automatic Add Triggers do not override other product properties that may restrict a customer's ability to purchase the product, such as Product Status, Inventory, Visibility, and Allocations.

8/23/2010 -- ShipCompliant: Sync Placed By

If you are using ShipCompliant (Settings/Compatible Software/Alcoholic Beverage Tools in the Order Management System), the Paced By field on the order level (e.g. Phone, Fax, Mail) now synchronizes with ShipCompliant. If you wish to have a particular Placed By value map to In Person in ShipCompliant, you may enter that value in the new In Person Placed By field on the Preferences screen.

7/22/2010 -- Salesforce: Sync Start Date

If you are using the Salesforce Commerce Connector (Settings/Compatible Software in the Order Management System), the new Sync Start Date field controls the starting Ship/Send Date for orders exported from Nexternal to Salesforce. Because Salesforce imposes a strict data storage limitation, an estimated storage use percentage will be calculated and displayed, based on the Sync Start Date entered.

Note: The estimated storage use always assumes Salesforce's standard data cap of 20MB. You may contact your Salesforce account representative to purchase additional storage space if required.

7/20/2010 -- Coupons: Start Time and End Time

When creating or editing a coupon in the Order Management System, you may now optionally specify a Start Date and Time as well as an End Date and Time. This allows you to specify precisely when a coupon becomes active, and when it expires.

Note: Time values are evaluated with respect to U.S. Pacific Time, subject to adjustment via the Time Adjustment (Settings/Site Options).

7/14/2010 -- VinNOW: Additonal Options

Three new options have been added to the VinNOW Preferences at Settings/Compatible Software/Alcoholic Beverage Tools Preferences in the Order Management System.

The Handle Shipping in VinNOW option controls how shipping is handled when exporting an order to VinNOW. If this option is on, every order is sent to VinNOW as To Be Shipped (or Hold For Pickup, if a Pickup Shipping Method is selected), regardless of its status in the Order Management System. If this option is off, every order is sent to VinNOW as Shipped, with the expectation that all shipping will be handled in the Order Management System.

If the Handle Shipping in VinNOW option is on, the Pickup Shipping Method option allows you to map a Custom Shipping Method (Settings/Shipping/Custom Methods) to Hold For Pickup in VinNOW.

The Handle Billing in VinNOW option controls how credit card processing is handled when exporting an order to VinNOW. If this option is on, VinNOW marks the order as Hold For Payment, regardless of its Billing Status in the Order Management System. If this option is off, every order is sent to VinNOW as Paid, with the expectation that all credit card processing will be handled in the Order Management System.

Tip: To avoid accidentally double shipping or double billing an order, Nexternal recommends choosing either Nexternal or VinNOW to handle shipping and credit card processing for orders placed via Nexternal.

7/13/2010 -- Cart Addendum

If there is at least one product in the Shopping Cart in the Online Store, the new Cart Addendum (Settings/Policies, Addenda, and Disclaimers in the Order Management System) appears in the cart just below the Order Total. The Cart Addendum has a large range of potential uses, including notifying the customer that he/she is approaching an important threshold value (perhaps at which a discount applies).

Replacement Keywords:
The following (case-sensitive) replacement keywords are available for use with the Cart Addendum. Inclusion of any one of these terms in the Cart Addendum causes that term to be replaced with its corresponding value as appropriate. The Replacement Keywords apply in the order listed below.

ORDER_SUBTOTAL: the Order Subtotal (i.e. the Order Total before discounts, sales tax, and shipping).
ORDER_NET: the Order Net (i.e. the Order Total before sales tax and shipping).
ORDER_AMOUNT: the Order Total.
ORDER_QUANTITY: the Quantity Total.
SUBTRACT(A,B): subtracts B from A (i.e. A - B), where A and B represent numeric values (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords).
CURRENCY(A): expresses A as a currency value (adding the appropriate currency symbol), where A represents a numeric value (and may be one of the above Replacement Keywords). If you are using the XE.com Currency Converter (Settings/Compatible Software) and a foreign currency is in use, A is multiplied by the appropriate exchange rate.

Example: You are only CURRENCY(SUBTRACT(100,ORDER_SUBTOTAL)) away from receiving 10% off!

Minimum and Maximum Subtotal and Quantity:
You may optionally define a Minimum Subtotal, Maximum Subtotal, Minimum Quantity, and Maximum Quantity for the Cart Addendum. If defined, the Cart Addendum appears only when the Order Subtotal and Order Quantity are within the ranges bounded by the minima and maxima.

Note: The Cart Addendum never appears when the Shopping Cart is empty.

Tip: The Cart Addendum supports HTML tags to enhance formatting. Users unfamiliar with HTML are encouraged to use the WYSIWYG Editor (Settings/Boolean Options), as improper HTML may produce unintended results.

7/8/2010 -- Head Addendum

The new Head Addendum (Layout/Edit Advanced Layout) allows you to add custom HTML code to the HEAD section of the pages of your Online Store (i.e. between the and tags). The Head Addendum is often used to add site verification META tags to your Online Store, as may be required if you are using Google Product Search (Products/Export in the Order Management System) or Facebook Product Sharing (Settings/Compatible Software/Social Networking). Many other uses of the Head Addendum are possible; however, the Head Addendum is an advanced feature that should be used only by experienced programmers with a deep understanding of HTML. Improper use of the Head Addendum can have severe negative consequences, including rendering your Online Store inoperative.

Notes:

If you are using the Nexternal Classic Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout), the Head Addendum appears in the top frame only.
The Head Addendum is also included in the ancillary and supporting pages that can be incorporated into your web site, such as the Affiliate Signup Form, Internal Help Desk, and Search Engine Friendly Catalog (Products/Export).

6/29/2010 -- Customer Type Upgrade

The new Customer Type Upgrade feature, available when creating or editing a product in the Order Management System, allows you to automatically upgrade a customer's Customer Type (Customers/Types) when the customer purchases the product.

Once the customer adds the product to the Shopping Cart, the customer's shopping session proceeds as if the Customer Type had changed to the upgraded Type (unless the product is later removed from the Shopping Cart), potentially impacting Product Prices, Product and Category Visibility, Product Allocations, etc.; however, the change does not become permanent until the customer places the order.

This feature is most commonly used to allow customers to become club members and receive the appropriate discounts that members of the club enjoy.

Notes:

This feature applies only to orders placed in the Online Store when the Nexternal.NET Online Store Version (Layout/General Layout) is in use. It does not apply to the Nexternal Classic Online Store Version, nor to orders created or edited in the Order Management System.
This feature may only be used to update a customer to a Customer Type of equal or higher Rank (as defined at Customers/Types). This feature will not downgrade a customer to a lower Rank.

6/28/2010 -- Salesforce Integration

The new Salesforce Commerce Connector (Settings/Compatible Software in the Order Management System) is a free Salesforce add-in application for exporting Nexternal orders with Order Status of Shipped or Sent to your Salesforce account. Customer information is mapped to the Salesforce Account object, and orders are mapped as Salesforce Opportunities, detailing product and shipping address information for each Line Item. Commerce Connector enables Salesforce users to view an Account and see all information pertaining to the customer, including order history, which products were ordered, and any related customer activity.

A Salesforce account is required before you can install this add-in from the Salesforce AppExchange. Links to sign up for a free trial of Salesforce, and to install Commerce Connector into your Salesforce account, are provided at Settings/Compatible Software for your convenience.

Note: The Order Management System user account used by Commerce Connector must have Administrator or Editor access; and have a User Name and Password of 15 characters or less.

6/24/2010 -- VinNOW: Sync Start Date

If you are using VinNOW integration, the new Sync Start Date (Settings/Compatible Software/Alcoholic Beverage Tools Preferences in the Order Management System) allows you to specify a starting date for customers and orders exported from Nexternal to VinNOW. If a date is set, customers and orders are exported to VinNOW only if they were created on or after that date. If no date is set, all customers and orders that are new to VinNOW are exported.

6/11/2010 -- USPS Rates Tool: Use Commercial Rates

USPS offers discounted Commercial Rates on USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail for users of Click-N-Ship, PC Postage, Permit Imprint, or an approved Information Based Indicia (IBI) metering system such as Endicia. If the new Use Commercial Rates option (Settings/Compatible Software/Online Shipping Tools Preferences in the Order Management System) is on, Commercial Rates are returned by the USPS Rates Tool when available.

Tip: If you are using the Endicia Shipping Tool in conjunction with the USPS Rates Tool, Nexternal recommends turning this option on.

6/9/2010 -- VinNOW Integration

VinNOW is a Point of Sale (POS) system designed for winery tasting rooms, now integrated with Nexternal (Settings/Compatible Software/Alcoholic Beverage Tools in the Order Management System). Upon successful setup of the integration with VinNOW, new products automatically import from VinNOW into Nexternal; new orders automatically export from Nexternal to VinNOW; and customers automatically synchronize bi-directionally between the two systems.

If you choose to use the VinNOW integration, enter any valid E-Mail Address over which you have control, and a Password of your choosing, in the fields provided at Settings/Compatible Software/Alcoholic Beverage Tools. The same E-Mail Address and Password must then be entered in the corresponding fields at System Option Settings/Integrated Web Shopping Cart in the VinNOW application. Please refer to the VinNOW Setup Guide for complete instructions on integrating Nexternal and VinNOW.