Net result is that some of the "clever" functionality built in to the feed is going to have to be loosened in favour of end-users being more aware of the rules and ensuring that they apply the correct information to their listings or risk getting stung.
Changelog:
- Additional_image_link has been added with urls to any extra images (to a max of 10) being included for that product
- Custom items that do not have any identifier information can be expressly included in the feed by adding a product custom field of "MPN" with the value "CUSTOM".
Note: It is imperative that the value is in capitals with no spaces, etc... - Taxonomies for all languages/countries have been replaced (Not updated) so see below.
- New Add-on setting to determine if you want to use LIVE shipping modules (ie: those not marked as flat_rate)
Taxonomy replacement...
I fought this for months, trying to find a way to update existing taxonomies but it resulted in a year long delay, a lot of grey hair and considerable cussing of the stupidity of Google for writing their taxonomy in such a hamfisted, stupid way.
I finally decided that with this update to just toss the idea and instead replace all taxonomies with the latest versions produced in May this year.
This means the following:
- You'll need to wipe all your existing taxonomies from the database along with all associations you've applied to your categories
See below - You'll then have to
- Re-apply the Product Comparison add-ons to load the the new versions
- Re-associate all your categories with the new category
Live Shipping quotes on/off Changes
ISC has a system where shipping modules can be flagged as _flatrate or not. Flat rate modules are basically those where your store admin will have setup basic values for shipping based on cost, weight, etc... Others such as FedEx use an API which gets a live shipping quote from the fedex servers.
Previously the use of live quote shipping services was causing a massive headache for some users with the feed frequently timing out and a lot of load being placed on the various API services. Fedex in the UK appear to have blocked such heavy quote loads so it's actually a good idea to use this new option to stop this from being a problem.
Course of Action:
If you're using flatrate shipping modules and nothing else you needn't do anything. You can confirm by opening your shipping module code file (eg: /modules/shipping/[service]/module.[service].php) and looking for a line with $this->_flatrate. If it's not there the module would not be queried if you chose the option NOT to use live shipping rates.
Note: Some shipping modules are not indicated as flatrate when they really are (eg: RoyalMail) so you can add this line in as follows if you wish to use it as such.
Open the module.[mod_name].php file
Find:
Code: Select all
parent::__construct();Code: Select all
// Provide Google Product feed quotes
$this->_flatrate = true;Assuming you disable live shipping quote information you will want to look at either ensuring a flat rate module is providing shipping quotes or setting up your Google merchant Tax & Delivery options (ref: https://support.google.com/merchants/an ... 2?hl=en-GB)
This reference ( https://support.google.com/checkout/sel ... 9?hl=en-GB ) is the best I've found so far that explains how to actually do things... Google docs are just flippin' awful!!
NOTE: I will NOT provide support for Google Merchant account settings.. It's up to you to read, research and learn.
I'm updating the code but it's taking longer than expected due to the code needed to wipe the old associations and taxonomy out of the system without fubar'ing everything... That, and some delimiter issues with Googles taxonomy.
It's in hand though... Should be available by end of Monday.