Configuring EPiStore 2.4

Introduction

This technical note provides information on how to set up and configure EPiStore and also gives a basic understanding on how the session object in the .NET Framework works.

Table of Contents

• Overview of EPiStore
• Requirements
• Configuring EPiStore
• Item Attributes
• The .NET Session Object

Overview of EPiStore

EPiStore is an e-shopping module, built on the .NET Framework, with integrated shopping carts for EPiServer CMS. The main purpose of this module is to act as a simple e-shopping solution, where the customer can browse items and add them to his personal shopping cart. Users can browse and add items to the cart without having to identify themselves, although the sample solution included in the shop requires identification before the user can actually place an order.

EPiStore has two separate parts: the core that handles the shopping cart and the database transactions, and a sample solution. The shop is very flexible as most of the logic is contained in the code-behind classes in the sample solution.

Requirements

System Requirements

EPiStore 2.4 requires an installation of EPiServer CMS 5 R2 or later and the system requirements are the same as for EPiServer CMS 5 R2.

License Requirements

You need an EPiStore license to enable the EPiStore functions. Most of the store can be used for testing purposes without a valid license, but placing an order will require a valid license. The status of your license can be seen in the Shop settings page in Admin mode. You can create a demo license and place orders for licenses at http://license.ep.se/public.

Configuring EPiStore

The first step after installation is normally to configure the EPiStore installation. This is done in the Dynamic Properties for your store. The values in the table below can be stated. Note that the start page and search page cannot be stated until they have been created in the structure.

 

Label	Description
Root page for EPiStore	Links to your EPiStore root page.
Search page for the store	Links to the EPiStore search page.
Show price in store?	Indicates whether you want to show prices in the store.
Short currency	Short currency, for example, $, kr.
Long currency	Long currency, for example, dollar, kronor.
Page type for shop items	Enter the template to be used for products.
Search path to attribute file	Search path for attribute file. This is an advanced option that is described later in this document.
Checkout e-mail sender	From e-mail address for the checkout confirmation e-mail.
Checkout e-mail subject	Subject for the checkout confirmation e-mail.
Checkout e-mail text	E-mail text that will be sent as checkout confirmation.
Delivery e-mail sender	From e-mail address for the delivery confirmation e-mail.
Delivery e-mail subject	Subject for the delivery confirmation e-mail.
Delivery e-mail text	E-mail text that will be sent as delivery confirmation.

Item Attributes

Items in EPiStore can be configured to enable the customer to specify additional settings when ordering the item. For example, the item "sweatshirt" may be ordered in different sizes and colors. For this you only have to create one item and an attribute file that specifies the options for this item.

You can either specify the attribute file by the property EPiStoreItemAttributeFilepath on the item page or as a dynamic property. If this property has no value or the file does not exist, EPiStore will try to find an XML file with the name of the item page type in the shopping/itemattributes/ folder. Here is an example of an attribute file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>
<attributes>
  <attribute name="Size" defaultvalue="0">
    <option name="small" value="0" />
    <option name="medium" value="1" />
    <option name="large" value="2" />
    <option name="x-large" value="3" />
  </attribute>
  <attribute name="Color" defaultvalue="1">
    <option name="black" value="0" />
    <option name="green" value="1" />
    <option name="yellow" value="2" />
  </attribute>
</attributes>

Note Each option has both name and value. This makes it possible to change the name in the XML file without affecting saved orders. The default value setting is used when putting an item in the shopping cart without specifying any attributes.

The .NET Session Object

EPiStore uses the session object in the .NET Framework to store the shopping cart. The session object can use different forms of session-state storing. The options are:

• In process - the information is kept within the ASP.NET process. No additional setup is needed to use this
  option.
• Out of process – the information is handled by a Windows NT service. The service has to be installed on the
  Web server for this option.
• SQL Server – the information is stored in an SQL Server. The .NET Framework provides a script (state.sql)
  for installing the required database on the SQL Server. This script will use the temporary database in the SQL
  Server and therefore not fully support the persistence of data. A new script is available from Microsoft to fully
  take advantage of the data persistence of this option. For more information about this, see Microsoft
  KB311209 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311209/EN-US/).

This store has been tested with “In process” during early development and SQL Server mode under beta testing. We recommend using the SQL Server mode as it will ensure very good data persistence. The SQL Server mode can handle the following scenarios without losing data:

• The database server is restarted.
• SQL Server service is restarted.