Catalog Spreadsheet
Product Options
In this section, we will answer some basic questions about product options. If you are using the Simple Spreadsheet you may skip this section, as this does not apply to you.

What are product options?


A product option allows your customers to configure their order of a particular product. You can either give your customers a or a , which they can use to give you special instructions for their order. A choice box allows shoppers to choose from a list of options and is useful if you offer a few variations on one product (for example a shirt that is available in three different colors). A text box allows shoppers to type in some text and is useful for custom-made products (for example, a trophy with the name of the recipient inscribed in it).

If you use a choice box, you can also add a replacement image and price adjustment to each of the choices (option values) in the choice box. Then when you select a different value from the list, the left or right picture will change, and the product price will change.

What product options composed of?

For a text box, the following spreadsheet fields are used:
  • Option Name - The name of the option
  • Option Format - The type of option (in this case, 'text')
  • Format Option 1 - The width (in # characters) of the text box
  • Format Option 2 - The maximum number of allowed characters
  • Option Description - A basic description
  • Option Status - 'A' for active, 'I' for inactive.
For a choice box, the following spreadsheet fields are used.
  • Option Name - The name of the option
  • Option Format - The type of option (in this case, 'choice')
  • Option Description - A basic description
  • Option Status - 'A' for active, 'I' for inactive.
  • All these for each value in the choice box option
    • Option Value - The name of a choice
    • Price Adjustment - How much to add or subtract from the price
    • Price Adjustment Type - Is the value in the price adjustment field a percentage or a dollar amount. Enter '%' or '$'
    • Replacement Picture - The relative path to a picture to replace the left or right image
    • Default Selected - Whether or not this particular value is the default for this choice box. Enter 'Y' or 'N'.

How do I create product options using a spreadsheet?

The table below is an example of how a soccer trophy product with a text box option. Note that many of the normal columns are left out for instructional purposes. In all of the examples on this page, the ellipses marks ('...') represent those missing columns.

Product Title
...
Option Name
Option Format
Format Option 1
Format Option 2
Option Description
Option Status
Soccer Trophy
...
Name of Recipient
text
10
25
The name you enter here will be engraved on the trophy.
A

The product option created will look like this:             Name of Recipient:

If one product has multiple options, you may carry them onto the next row in the spreadsheet, like so. Only the option fields should be filled on subsequent rows. Fields like product title and category and so on should only be listed on the first row. Here's how a product with three text box options should look.

Product Title
...
Option Name
Option Format
Format Option 1
Format Option 2
Option Description
Option Status
Soccer Trophy
...
Name of Recipient
text1025The name you enter here will be engraved on the trophy.A

...
Special Quote
text1040You may enter a quote to be engraved on the trophy, no longer than 40 letters.
A

...
Date Received
text1020This date will be engraved on the trophy as the date the award was won.
A

The product options created will look like this:
Name of Recipient:

Special Quote:

Date Received:


Choice Boxes

Creating choice boxes is a little more complex than text boxes. The table below shows a sample product with two options, and each option has two values. Notice how each option value is on it's own line.

 Product Title
...
Option Name
Option Format
Option Desc.
Option Status
Option Value
Price Adj.
Price Adj. Type
Replacement Picture
Default Selected
 T-Shirt ...Color
choice This is the color of the t-shirt.
A
Red
0.00 $/tshirt_red.jpgY
  ...    Blue1.50$/tshirt_blue.jpgN
  ... Size This is the size of the t-shirt.
 ASmall0$/tshirt_small.jpgY
  ...    Large15
%
/tshirt_large.jpgN

The spreadsheet entry above will create product options that look like this:
Size:

Color:

Text Boxes and Choice Boxes Combined

The product below is a combination of the ones above. It has many product options and is using both text boxes and choice boxes within one product.

Title
...
Option Name
Option Format
Format Option 1
Format Option 2
Option Desc.
Option Status
Option Value
Price Adj.
Price Adj. Type
Replace-
ment Picture
Default Selected
Best T-Shirt Design Trophy
...
Name of Recipient
text
10
25
The name you enter here will be engraved on the trophy
A
     
 ...
Color
choice


This is the color of the model t-shirt on the best t-shirt design trophy.
A
Red
0.00
$
/red.jpg
Y
 ...






 Blue1.50
$
/blue.jpg
N

...
Date Received
text
10
20
This date will be engraved on the trophy as the date the award was won.
A





 ...
Size choice
  This is the size of the trophy.
Small
0
%
/small.jpg
Y
  

    Large
15
%
/large.jpgN
   Special Quote  text10
40
You may enter a quote to be engraved on the trophy, no longer than 40 letters.
A
     

The spreadsheet entry above will create product options that look like this:
Name of Recipient:

Color:

Date Received:

Size:

Special Quote:



By now, you should have a good idea of how your products should be organized in your spreadsheet. If you're still confused, try our Catalog Spreadsheet Generator. It will ask you a series of questions about a product, and then generate one spreadsheet entry. You can then look at the entry it created to see how you're supposed to set your products up.
Section 4 - Field Reference
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