I.STAR 5.2
From i.STAR Help
Retail STAR v8.5 or higher is required. Please visit this form to request the upgrade: http://istarhelp.com/upgradeform5-2.html.
Please note: If you are currently on i.STAR v5.0 or lower, upgrading to i.STAR v5.2 requires the use of an X-Web gateway account for credit card pre-authorizations. An X-Web ID must be obtained prior to the time of upgrade to this version or new installation on this version.
X-Web does not currently support First Data/Concord. Retailers with this processor will need to change to another processor for their online sales.
Build Updates
5.2 Build Updates : Build updates for i.STAR v5.2
New Features/Changes
Includes i.STAR v5.1 Features - Click to see v5.1 list
"Search engine friendly" URLs
Department browse pages and product detail pages will display without the "istar.asp?a=x" and other criteria in the URL and instead include Department/Class/Subclass for keyword strength in the URL.
Department product listing pages will look like this:
http://www.domainname.com/store/cat/DEPTCODE/departmentname+with+spaces+separated-by+plussigns
Example (Department level): http://store.camcommerce.com.com/store/cat/POS/Point+of+Sale+Equipment
Example (Class level): http://store.camcommerce.com.com/store/cat/POS/Point+of+Sale+Equipment/Barcode+Printers
Example (Subclass level): http://store.camcommerce.com.com/store/cat/POS/Point+of+Sale+Equipment/Barcode+Printers+Eltron
Product detail pages will look like this:
http://www.domainname.com/store/PRODUCTID/shortdescription+with+spaces+separated-by+plussigns
Example: http://store.camcommerce.com/store/25-000006-0-01!ITH/Barcode+Blaster+Advantage+LX
Custom Content Websites/Category Lister Users Impact:
- If CategoryLister or other DataSources are used without correct prefixing, it will cause the customized pages to error after upgrade.
- If the use of these urls is not desired in a section of a page or the entire page, the datasource needs to have useOldUrls="1"
i.e. <isdata source="IStarDataSources.CategoryLister" forcedept="1" forceClass="1" useOldUrls="1">
Server installation instructions:
In IIS Manager:
- Right click on the website that URL Rewriting is going to be enabled on
- Choose Properties.
- Click the ISAPI Filters tab.
- Click Add.
- Click Browse and navigate to c:\windows\system32\inetsrv.
- Choose isapirewrite4.dll as the file to open and set the Filter Name to "Ionic Rewriter".
No iisreset is required.
Admin setting changes
Product detail page layout choices
Previously there was only one product detail page layout include. With this release, there are a total of eleven (11) to choose from and it is set by Department.
Click on a link below to view the layout. To return from the layout view, click the back button on your browser.
- Basic
- Gradient Title Bars
- Gradient Background Groups
- Double Keyline Dividers
- Tabbed With Expanded Selectors
- Color Swatch Selector
- Keyline Borders
- Tabbed With Left Side Related Items
- Bordered Side By Side Attribute Sections
- Horizontally Aligned Page Buttons
- Dash Keyline Dividers
More product listing page layout choices
Previously there were four (4) choices for product listing pages (browse, search, and specials pages). This change will add more three (3) more choices for product listing page styles
Option to display Department image from Retail STAR across top of department browse page
This feature allows the retailer the ability to turn on or off the department image to display across the top of browse pages that is loaded into Retail STAR (Maintenance / Department). This setting is part of the Department settings copy.
Option to indicate on product listing page whether an item comes in additional colors
If a Style comes in more than one color, the product listing page (browse, search, and specials), this admin area setting will cause a note to display below the item name -- "(More Colors Available)".
Added sort by "New" to product listing pages
Sort options on product listing pages (browse, search, and specials pages) now have the added choice to sort by "New".
Related Items label setting in admin
Can set the Related Items label in the admin area. This will display on the product detail page by Department (not part of Department copy settings) when there are related items for a Style and also on the view cart page if the Style is added to the cart.
Ability to set note on viewcart page (top, bottom, both)
This is an optional setting in the admin area where retailer can enter a display note for the top and the bottom of the view cart page.
Kit item stock checking
Changed kit's stock status to depend on stock status of individual kit items. If stock checking for the kit parent item is turned on to not allow purchase of out of stock items and an item in the kit is out of stock, the kit will be considered out of stock, as well.
Gift Registry
Gift registry enhancements: portal page (create, manage and search), registry activation and delete confirmation, fields validation for registry creation and registry shipping address option integration.
Fractional Quantities
Changed quantity fields from integers to decimals in the Importer Exporter to prepare for fractional quantities in Retail STAR versions 9.5 and above.
Page Caching
i.STAR can now cache the output from templates. This should reduce the load on both the web and database server and increase overall performance. Changes need to made so the old visible shopping cart methods are replaced with the new AJAX visible shopping cart or the visible shopping cart will no longer work.
Templates with actions IDs of 3, 6, 29 will be cached, as well as any "tfile" page or asp page that specifies the template instead of using an action ID in the URL.
A new directory will be created beneath c:\istar called cache to hold the output of the new caching mechanism. Each site that is running will need a virtual directory in IIS under it called "cache" that is mapped to this new directory (with Read and Write permissions). Also, the virtual Admin site in IIS also needs a virtual directory under it called "cache", mapped likewise.
If caching is turned on in the admin area the output of processing a template will be placed into this directory and will be used if found instead of reprocessing a template. Cache is cleared at every import during communications and when any admin page is submitted.
If the cache needs to be cleared at any other time, you can do so by deleting all of the sub directories beneath the c:\istar\cache directory.
Caching is turned on in the admin area as follows: Site Options / General / Enable caching of i.STAR pages.
Style Sheet Locations
The display attributes can now be written out to a static style sheet to avoid hitting the database for that information every time a page is displayed. Enter paths separated by newlines. Replace the call to the displayattributes datasource with a link to the style sheet.
For example:
c:\inetpub\wwwroot\istar\css\displayAttributes.css
Replace:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/stylesheet.asp?a=39" />
with
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/istar/css/displayAttributes.css" />
Installation Instructions
Friendly URLS:
Server installation instructions for friendly URLs:
In IIS Manager:
* Right click on the website that URL Rewriting is going to be enabled on * Choose Properties. * Click the ISAPI Filters tab. * Click Add. * Click Browse and navigate to c:\windows\system32\inetsrv. * Choose isapirewrite4.dll as the file to open and set the Filter Name to "Ionic Rewriter".
No iisreset is required.
Page Caching:
Create new virtual directory in IIS called "cache" that maps to c:\istar\cache for each site in IIS with Read and Write permissions.
Also, the virtual Admin site in IIS also needs a virtual directory under it called "cache", mapped likewise.
Other Changes
New Gift Registry Buttons (in alphabetical order):
| # | File Name | Used on |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | add_more_items_to_registry.gif | Wishlist (a=74), My Account (a=53) |
| 2 | add_to_registry.gif | Product Detail (a=6) |
| 3 | cancel.gif | Wishlist (a=74) |
| 4 | create.gif | Gift Registry Search (a=44) |
| 5 | create_a_registry.gif | Wishlist (a=74), My Account (a=53) |
| 6 | delete_registry.gif | Wishlist (a=74), My Account (a=53) |
| 7 | manage.gif | Gift Registry Search (a=44) |
| 8 | shop_and_add_to_registry.gif | Wishlist (a=74), My Account (a=53) |
| 9 | submit.gif | Wishlist (a=74), Gift Registry Search (a=44), My Account (a=53), Advanced Search (a=67) |
New Templates
None identified.
Modified Stock Templates
The following templates and includes will need to be edited as part of the upgrade process to work with this release or the site will be unable to complete an order.
browse-istar.template
| File Name: | /templates/browse-istar.include |
| Description: | New department banner. |
| Severity/Summary: | Low/Medium The department image will not display. |
| Changes: | Add
<isif name="$displayDepartmentImage"> <img class="departmentImage" src="<isvar name="$selectedDeptImageUrl">" /> </isif> below the <isif name="$departmentValid"> |
newcustomer.template
| File Name: | /templates/newcustomer.template |
| Description: | New customer form to create an account. |
| Severity/Summary: | High New customer will not be able to create an account. |
| Changes: | Add <isdata source="istardatasources.registration"> and <isinclude name="/stock/registration.include">. Remove <@PLUGIN>IStar21Plugins.CustomerPlugin</@PLUGIN> |
productdetail.template
| File Name: | /templates/productdetail.template |
| Description: | Display the detail for a specific product. |
| Severity/Summary: | High Product detail page will have cosmetic issues and will lose some functionality. |
| Changes: | Add <isinclude name="/stock/productdetail/productDetailCss.include"> and Add <script src="/istar/js/prototype.js" type="text/javascript"></script> Remove <isinclude name="/stock/relateditems.include">. Keep this datasource: <isdata source="istardatasources.relateditems"> |
editshippingaddresses.template
| File Name: | /templates/editshippingaddresses.template |
| Description: | Add/edit shipping addresses from myAccount area. |
| Severity/Summary: | High Page will error when customer tries to edit or add shipping addresses. |
| Changes: | Add <isdata source="IStarDataSources.EditShippingAddresses"> |
giftregistrysearch.template
| File Name: | /templates/giftregistrysearch.template |
| Description: | Customers create/manage their gift registry or search for a gift registry from this page. |
| Severity/Summary: | High Page will error when customer tries to log in to create/manage their gift registry. |
| Changes: | Add this additional datasource: <isdata source="istardatasources.login"> |
department.template
| File Name: | /templates/department.template |
| Description: | Display all the departments |
| Severity/Summary: | Low/Medium Changed from legacy "plugin" style to "include" style. Allows for customization of page layout. . |
| Changes: | Add <isdata source="istardatasources.departments"> and <isinclude name="/stock/departments.include">. |
