[Module] Froogle Static export

[Martin]

I've just finished rewriting the code on this to incorporate in many of the changes that Google require as well as some that allow me to export different feeds for different countries (currency, etc...).

It's still a work in progress as there's more I now want to incorporate in but once it's done it will be released as a paid mod'... Sorry, but as primary breadwinner in the household now that's become a requirement. Won't break the bank but it will be maintained better than the first release.

So, watch this space...

[CharlieFoxtrot]

...it will be released as a paid mod'...

That's cool with me. (And remember... lots of comments are GOOD. That's how I learn, and tweak.)

Charlie

[Martin]

...it will be released as a paid mod'...

That's cool with me. (And remember... lots of comments are GOOD. That's how I learn, and tweak.)

I'll make sure you get the annotated version Charlie but the standard distributed version will be comment clean.

You may have to tweak anyway as you're using the older ISC version...

[Martin]

I have to say... spending time looking through the specification for this I have to ask what on earth Google are playing at with their specifications.

One country has one set of rules, another does things a little differently, then another changes and it's a constant game of playing catch up.. My current approach is a hack of the existing ISC code but looking at it and the way that Google are constantly changing the way things work, the issues related to fields, versions and $deity knows what else in ISC itself... Well, I'm thinking a complete new approach is going to be called for soon.

So, expect a hack version initially and then a total rewrite of the code to allow for ISC versions, simpler change handling and a LOT more customisation from the Admin CP rather than the current mess... Probably a couple of months away with the latter but it's the only thing that makes any sense...

[Martin]

Right, it's not out yet but here's a very brief rundown on what I've written into it now..

• multi-target feeds using unique ID (eg: 1-GB, 1-FR)
  (USA, UK, [Germany, France, Japan, etc...]** (**Pending as you must have target feeds language available on your site for this!))
• sale price (USA only) shows when applicable
• departments deprecated/removed
• product types added (based on category(s) associated with products)
  This gets rid of the old duplication issue we had before as well
• price/sale-price now includes currency code as a postfix
• brand depends on show config... (defaults to storename if not set)
• mpn depends on sku show config... (defaults to calc'd code from storesubstr, brandid, productid, etc...)
• gtin included if available (based on UPC field - ver 6 ISC)
• quantity depends on inventory show config
• shows availability if quantity not shown (in stock/ out of stock)
  .
• No longer lists items that are not viewable for visitors (ie: nothing restricted to groups now listed)
• Limits title/product name to 70 characters (truncates to 67+... for anything longer)
• Sets expiry to 24 hours for foreign currency feeds to reduce chance of foreign exchange change discrepancies
• Zero tax shown for US feeds for non-US stores

I'll get this released as soon as I've had a chance to write up the blurb, decide on a price and get my son better... Poor mite has a nasty cold/bug.

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Other suggestions:

- Google prefers product names that are no more than 70 characters. I've tweaked mine to count characters and trim off the excess. If it splits in the middle of a word then I subtract three more characters and add "..." (Three separate periods, not the html ellipses.)

- Google dislikes "special" characters in product names. I often use the tilde "~" as a decorative separator, and Google would reject those items often (not every time, but often enough to be annoying.) For the product's display name, I convert all tildes into ordinary hyphens.

[novista]

Hi Martin,

If you want to submit multiple feeds, say to the UK and US, the product ids have to be different. What I did was modify your code so that the id's are unique based on the currency (484-US, 484-UK). Maybe you could incorporate something like that as well.

Thanks.

[Martin]

If you want to submit multiple feeds, say to the UK and US, the product ids have to be different. What I did was modify your code so that the id's are unique based on the currency (484-US, 484-UK). Maybe you could incorporate something like that as well.

LOL... where were you yesterday when I spent 45 minutes hunting for that nugget of intel... Already got it incorporated in thankfully but it was a right royal pain in the *** finding the info (Google doesn't exactly write great docs! )

@CF: Thanks for those tips... I'd missed those so I'll incorporate in...

[Martin]

- Google dislikes "special" characters in product names. I often use the tilde "~" as a decorative separator, and Google would reject those items often (not every time, but often enough to be annoying.) For the product's display name, I convert all tildes into ordinary hyphens.

Hmm... this is a bit trickier as it's a very subjective rule, rather than a hard one... Any suggestions for a regex to match against?


Got all the other bits incorporated in now..

• No longer lists items that are not viewable for visitors (ie: nothing restricted to groups now listed)
• Limits title/product name to 70 characters (truncates to 67+... for anything longer)

[CharlieFoxtrot]

- Google dislikes "special" characters in product names. I often use the tilde "~" as a decorative separator, and Google would reject those items often (not every time, but often enough to be annoying.) For the product's display name, I convert all tildes into ordinary hyphens.

Hmm... this is a bit trickier as it's a very subjective rule, rather than a hard one... Any suggestions for a regex to match against?


Got all the other bits incorporated in now..

• No longer lists items that are not viewable for visitors (ie: nothing restricted to groups now listed)
• Limits title/product name to 70 characters (truncates to 67+... for anything longer)

Re: Tildes ... Honestly, I can't recall if I actually *read* it somewhere, or if it was something that I just concluded on my own. When I first started submitting my google feeds, it would sometimes reject certain products... but would NOT LET ME KNOW WHY. Without a specific reason, I had to start guessing. The tilde in the titles was the only common link that I could discern.