eCommerce frequently asked questions and troubleshooting

We recommend using the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome to access the site. Keep in mind that security settings on these browsers may cause issues if they are set too high. IE 6 is not supported.

The order is immediately entered in Inform with the Writer specified in your Inform eCommerce Screen. Contacts set up to receive email notifications will receive an email saying that an order has been placed, along with the customer who placed the order. With the proper web permissions, the customer can review the order under the Order Info >Order Status tab of the eCommerce site.

Customers can create manual Ship To entries for online orders. When the order is entered, users will receive notification that an order has been placed. When they access the order in the Sales Order screen, an Internal Note will pop up indicating the Ship To was created.

If your system is set to require an Order Type or Ship Via for Sales Orders (Company>Master), then you will need to set these defaults on the Main page of the Inform eCommerce screen. If necessary, the Order Type for individual orders can be changed after they are entered.

Also, if a purchase order number is required when ordering, but the Purchase Order # field is left blank when checking out, the user will receive an error message. You must either notify the customer that they need to enter a number in this box, or you must change the requirement by clearing the Cust P/O # RequiredIndicates that the customer must provide a Purchase Order Number to process the order. value on the General tab of the Customer Master.

Hiding a Unit of Measure will prevent it from being used on any Sales Orders placed online or in Inform. You can hide the unit of measure on an item-by-item basis through the Product Master. See Hide a unit of measure from the web page

You can change the default in File>Company>Master, Default Internet Branch Code.

First, double-check that you included all of the necessary information for the order. If your distributor requires a purchase order number and you did not enter one, the order will not go through.

Second, see if your login timed out. When you have been logged in to the site and inactive for an extended period of time, the site automatically logs you out to protect sensitive information. You can log back in and still access the Shopping Cart to complete your order.

If you are having trouble navigating the site or placing orders, it could be due to the browser that you are using. We recommend using the latest version of your web browser for online ordering. eCommerce is NOT compatible with Internet Explorer 6.

Wait a few moments, and then try again. If this error continues, contact your seller.

This error could be the result of insufficient licenses. Make sure you reserve an extra license in the Company Master.

Users can view all of the products included on the Order Pad (with the exception of hidden and unpublished items), and see the Unit of Measure, Current Price, Web Category, Last Purchase Date, and Last Purchase Quantity for each product. Quoted items will display in green on the Order Pad.

Yes. Your Order Pad only displays products purchased in the past. Once you have added products to your Shopping Cart from the Order Pad, you can use the Web Categories and Search functions to add products.

First check your Spam folder.

If mail is not going to the Spam folder, then check your Inform SMTP Server configuration in Inform. See Set up SMTP for email notifications

Also check your Spam folder to see if messages from the site have bypassed your Inbox.

First have your users' check their Spam folder.

If mail is not going to the Spam folder, check the Inform configuration: Make sure that each user that is set to be notified in Inform eCommerce >Options also has a valid email address entered in the User Master. Also verify that these users' initials are correct on the Inform eCommerce screen.

Budgets are applied to merchandise purchases only. Taxes, shipping, and freight are not included in your budget.

These products will still display in the Order Pad and are accessible through searches, but they will not display when the customer browses by category.

No. Products may belong to one and only one Web Category.

Product images should be stored in the folder specified in your Company Master in the Default Image Storage Network Path field. For more information, see Tips on linking images, S.D.S, and specs.

This can occur when two or more Sub Categories have the same code. Even if they belong to different parent Web Categories, no two sub category or sub category 2 codes may be the same. See Create categories and subcategories.

No. You cannot rearrange these elements. You must delete and re-add them if you want to change the order in which they appear.

All Inform eCommerce updates occur in real time, including your initial site setup. To prevent your customers from viewing your site as a work in progress, don't create a public button or link to your site until it is complete. You will still be able to view it using your public IP address, but customers will not have access.

First verify that any URLs you have used specify the domain name (mycompany.com) rather than the IP address (192.0.0.1). If the URLs are correct, then make sure you have the appropriate permissions on all image folders. You can check with your IT support team or contact DDI Customer Care.

If your website was displaying correctly, but is now down, too many users may be logged in to Inform for the site to establish a connection to the database. Try having a user log out, closing your browser, and then opening the site again. We recommend that you Reserve a User License for the website. See Reserve user licenses for eCommerce

You may also try restarting your server to refresh the connection.

Your IT support should be able to Configure the Server for public access through IIS. If not, DDI can provide this service for a fee. Please contact DDI Customer Care to receive a quote for this service. This may also be included in your original Inform eCommerce 2 quote.

When customers are assigned to a Web Contract, they are only allowed to order products online that are listed in that contract. For more information and configuration, see Limit web purchases using contracts

The Customer Purchase Analysis reporting tools are available as a separate module on a subscription basis. Please check with DDI Customer Care to ensure that you have access to this module.

If you do not want to subscribe to the Customer Purchase Analysis and would like to hide this menu from your site, clear the Read Reports value on the Permissions page of Customer>Master for all of your online ordering contacts.