X-Cart:Contact Us Form Options

Overview

X-Cart provides a form that allows users to submit messages to the store's Help/Support department - the so-called 'Contact us' form.

Note: The email address for your store's Help/Support department can be specified in the 'General settings/Company options' section.

This form is available via the Help menu to:

• customers;
• providers (in X-Cart PLATINUM and PRO);
• partners (in X-Cart based stores using X-Affiliate module).

The 'General settings/Contact us form options' page allows you to configure the set of fields that should be included into the 'Contact us' form for each type of users.

Configuring the set of fields included into the 'Contact us' form

You can define, which of the 'Contact us' form fields should be active (visible to the user), and completion of which fields should be required (mandatory). Required fields will be marked by a red asterisk (*) sign so the user knows they are mandatory for completion; a special validation routine will ensure that all the required fields are completed by the user before the form is submitted.

To configure the 'Contact us' form field set:

1. Select the check boxes in the 'Active' column opposite the names of the fields you want to be available for completion.
2. Select the check boxes in the 'Required' column opposite the names of the fields you want to be mandatory for completion.
3. Click the Save button below the list of 'Contact us' form fields to apply the changes.

Adding custom fields to the 'Contact us' form

If the field set for the 'Contact us' form provided by X-Cart does not meet all of your needs, you can add your own fields to the 'Contact us' form.

To add a custom field to the 'Contact us' form:

1. Scroll down to the 'Additional fields' section of the 'General settings/Contact us form options' page.
2. Use the input box in the FIELD NAME column of the 'Add new field' subsection to enter a name for the field you wish to add.
3. Use the drop-down box in the TYPE column of the 'Add new field' subsection to select a type of field that needs to be added (Text, Check box or Selectbox)
4. If you have chosen the Selectbox type, provide variants for the selectbox (use the ';' symbol as a delimiter).
5. (Optional) Use the field in the POS. column to enter a position number of the field being created relative to the other additional fields (if any).
6. Click the Add/Update button at the bottom of the form to save the changes. The new field should be added to the list of fields in the 'Additional information' section.
7. Select the 'Active' and (optionally) 'Required' check box(es) opposite the newly added field.
8. Click the Save button below the list of 'Contact us' form fields to apply the changes.

FAQ

How to change Departments on 'Contact us' page?

Department titles are set in the following language variables:

• Marketing / publicity - lbl_marketing_publicity
• Webdesign - lbl_web_design
• Sales - lbl_sales_department
• Partners - lbl_partners

So, to rename the departments, you should edit these language variables (via the 'Content -> Languages' menu) in the admin area).

X-Cart 4.4or above

To add or remove departments, edit the 'skin/common_files/help/contactus.tpl' or 'skin/common_files/customer/help/contactus.tpl' template files.

<td nowrap="nowrap">
<select id="department" name="department">
<option value="All" {if $userinfo.department eq "All" or $userinfo.department eq ""}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_all}</option>
<option value="Partners" {if $userinfo.department eq "Partners"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_partners}</option>
<option value="Marketing / publicity" {if $userinfo.department eq "Marketing / publicity"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_marketing_publicity}</option>
<option value="Webdesign" {if $userinfo.department eq "Webdesign"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_web_design}</option>
<option value="Sales" {if $userinfo.department eq "Sales"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_sales_department}</option>
</select>
</td>

For example, to remove "Partners", delete this line from the code:

<option value="Partners" {if $userinfo.department eq "Partners"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_partners}</option>

To add a new department, e.g. "Management", add the respective link to the code:

<option value="Management" {if $userinfo.department eq "Management"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_management}</option>

You can also add the language variable for the new department in the 'Languages' section ('Add new entry'), e.g. lbl_management, in the admin area. In this case, the new code line in contactus.tpl would appear as:

<option value="Management" {if $userinfo.department eq "Management"}selected="selected"{/if}>{$lng.lbl_management}</option>