Create a product kit?

[Toby Speed]

1. How do I create a product kit?

product A (can be bought by customer)
product B (can't be bought as a single item, not visible)
product C (can't be bought as a single item, not visible)

product D = product A + B (can be bought by customer)
product E = product A + C (can be bought by customer)

2. How do I create a selectable kit?

product F can be bought as
product F or
product F + product G (price = F + G - discount) or
product F + product H (price = F + H - discount) or
product F + product G + product H (price = F + G + H - discount)

(should be a dropdown list product F)

I hope somebody can help me.
all products need stock control.

[maxispin]

This is something I would like to do also..
Product Bundler is close this but it would be wise to have this in the core of VM.

Product A = Product B + Product C

Thus, Inventory goes like this:

Product 1X A(1) = 2X Product B(2) + 1X Product C(1)
Product 1X A(0) = 2X Product B(0) + 1X Product C(1)


What I thought is that it could be done with child products. In this case the child products together are the product. "Problem" is the multiples.
Or, the ProductBundle=PredefinedShoppingCart

Please, add this to VM..

WooCommerce has Groupped products..


https://www.woothemes.com/products/product-bundles/

https://www.sellwithwp.com/woocommerce-grouped-products/ 

[balai]

The links you submitted concern Woocommerce and not Virtuemart

[jenkinhill]

@maxispin,  if you want to see something similar in the VM core then feel free to write the code and donate it to the VM project.  Generally if there is a good third party extension to perform a task then it would not be added to the core, which is already huge. Unless, of course, a very high proportion of VM sites would use it, which appears not to be the case here.

[maxispin]

@Jenkinhill I would if I could.   

I can try but it will take so much time that there is not much point for doing it. The key problem is that I have to study the core code and find out how everything works - and I am not a coder. Then it goes with method trial and error.. When some one with skills could use the same time writing the code.

So. It would be better that these improvments are in the core's road map. I know its huge. This is however something that limits the use of VM in situations where the end product (=bundle/kit) is composed of several subproducts which each need to be in the invetory to be able to send the the end procuct.


My skills are on the side of customer need assesment and requirement planning. This is the reason why I suggest functionalities for the software. I must say that I haven't went to any other system, WooCommerce for instance even so that VM is not perfect. I believe it will be perfect if the user needs are listened and executed in a sensible time horizont.

I bought the Product Bundler but the challenge for me is that it is distinct from the VM.

E.g., it has own product views and I will lose the core's menu - category - procuct views. I would prefer if it would be like new Tab inside the VM in the way that I wouldn't need to think everything from the beginning. I am not sure, if I could combine those two views somehow together, meaning that I hack the module in the view / helper / folders&files. I am not sure but this is an idea. After I test and come to the solution I can't do it, I believe that the PB coder is willing to do changes when I get to the point where I can suggest him how I see it would be perfect product from the users' point of view.

Anycase, I suggest all to think how inside VM we could combine products together as packets (as a new product). Child products are close to that idea.

[maxispin]

I am more conviced this should be done in the core. It is very simple. What we need is a new db Table: Bundles that hold info of its products and amounts. Something like this (mysql).

TableBundle:
bundle_id
Bundle_name
product_id
product_id_amount

(someone skilled please correct me if not right)

ps. CatProduct seems to be close what I am looking for, however, the core should have this basic functionality.

[balai]

Have you looked at product bundles
http://breakdesigns.net/extensions/product-bundles

[maxispin]

Yes I have. It's not offering the way of creating bundles as I wanted but I could live with it If I could create my own view easily. However, I find it very hard to change the layout because every variable is in its own file. There is no simple one page view for product bundles. Sublayouts are nice but as not a coder, it is hard for me track the info where is what, even I use FileSeek for that

I want to present info like this

BundleName       

Product1Name | ProductinfoText | Quantity
Product2Name | ProductinfoText | Quantity


Thus,

Bundle
Product 1
Product 2

Total price 5 €

Cart: Bundle, 5 €  (Not listing individual products).

[balai]

However, I find it very hard to change the layout because every variable is in its own file

How did you end up in that?

It uses only 2 files for the layout generation (1 main and 1 sublayout).
They are about 30 lines of code.

These files can be overriden using the Virtuemart's plugin override process
http://docs.virtuemart.net/tutorials/templating-layouts/101-how-to-overwrite-plugins.html.

For more details please address to breakdesigns

[maxispin]

As you said there is only 30 lines of codes. Because I am not seeing the layout in one page, its difficult to understand how to change layout, but Thank you for the tip for templating. I try it later.