@ Sizzler, yes I remember the email. And I think what we have is actually very close to your suggestion from a logic point of view (1 product description with all the variants as separate articles (models))
What we have in NBS is a workable logical method of keeping stock for options as multiple models, the fall-down is that the current interface is unclear on what "options" are and that to create all the variants needed in the current UI you need to add each one as a model!.... What you propose in your solution is a UI that acts like a wizard to create models based on "attributes" selected. I think it's a good idea and maybe it's a good idea to implement a wizard like UI using attributes and a virtual view of the product models based on the attributed selected, but that also give us an issue over how the front office works!!..... I suppose the natural method of doing that would be to auto create all the models based on what options with stock are added to a product and have the front end select the model based on what options are selected......so in effect it looks like options have stock, but really are just pointers to models!... of course this adds an extra level of difficulty on when certain models run out of stock.
But we must keep in mind, stock control in NBS does work at a models level...... because models are actual "products" that exist and have stock, NBS is basically exposing the real variant record (model) that is used for stock control in any e-commerce and the normal way of handling multiple products which are the same in NBS would be to create a master products with all the models which is hidden and then copy that to create more products, once you get your head around this, it's actually a quicker way of working with multiple variants and stock control!
But to be honest I don't think it'll change unless a client puts theirs hands in their pockets to sponsor the work, and in the past whenever we ask a client they always say the model solution is OK for them!!! :-)
Dave.
What we have in NBS is a workable logical method of keeping stock for options as multiple models, the fall-down is that the current interface is unclear on what "options" are and that to create all the variants needed in the current UI you need to add each one as a model!.... What you propose in your solution is a UI that acts like a wizard to create models based on "attributes" selected. I think it's a good idea and maybe it's a good idea to implement a wizard like UI using attributes and a virtual view of the product models based on the attributed selected, but that also give us an issue over how the front office works!!..... I suppose the natural method of doing that would be to auto create all the models based on what options with stock are added to a product and have the front end select the model based on what options are selected......so in effect it looks like options have stock, but really are just pointers to models!... of course this adds an extra level of difficulty on when certain models run out of stock.
But we must keep in mind, stock control in NBS does work at a models level...... because models are actual "products" that exist and have stock, NBS is basically exposing the real variant record (model) that is used for stock control in any e-commerce and the normal way of handling multiple products which are the same in NBS would be to create a master products with all the models which is hidden and then copy that to create more products, once you get your head around this, it's actually a quicker way of working with multiple variants and stock control!
But to be honest I don't think it'll change unless a client puts theirs hands in their pockets to sponsor the work, and in the past whenever we ask a client they always say the model solution is OK for them!!! :-)
Dave.