PrestaShop module info - Agile product review module has a new feature - Voting Reviews

Based on customers request, a few new features have been added to Agile Product review module.

- Voting on reviews : customer is able to cast a vote on reviews weather it is helpful or not
- Request review emails - send email to customers who placed order x days ago, the email will be send out automatically.

Voting on reviews
The "Voting on review" new feature allows customer/end users to vote on the reviews left by others customer to express his/her opinion on the reviews. For example, the customer can vote the review he is reading as "Like" it or "Dislike it", or "Helpful" or "Not helpful".

Also the poll/voting result will be displayed on the top of each review, this will be very good reference information for other customer.



Request review email
The module will send email to customer who made order x days ago. Ask customer to write a review/rating on the products that he/she purchased.

The email will automatically include the links the product pages so that customer can leave reviews. It is configurable on how many days the review request email should be sent after the date the order is received.

What is Agile product review?
Agile product review is one of best and most popular product review modules with many powerful and useful features. Such as Latest review on home page, language sensitive reviews displaying, different level of review criterion settings and and many more.

It has been installed on many PrestaShops.



You can find detailed information about Agile Product reviews module or purchase this module at http://addons-modules.com/

Interested in live demo?
If you would like to experience live demo of Agile product review module, you can visit here.

PrestaShop Tips - Online document of PrestaShop 1.4x

Most people don't know that PrestaShop has an official online document. Thanks PrestaShop team provide such a good and helpful online documents.


English version of online document PrestaShop 1.4x

http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS14/English+documentation

• Getting Started
• Updating PrestaShop
• User Guide
• System Administrator Guide
• Developer Guide
• Designer Guide
• Troubleshooting
• FAQ
• User-contributed documentation

If you would like a PDF version of the documents, you download it here

• Documentation PDFs

French version of of online document PrestaShop 1.4x
http://doc.prestashop.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=2424836

if you are looking for User's Guide for PrestaShop 1.3x, please download PDF document here
http://www.prestashop.com/download/Userguide_en.pdf

PrestaShop Tips - How to disable your PrestaShop smarty cache restaShop

This post is an introduction to PrestaShop smarty cache. This is a tip for a beginner PrestaShop owner or developer.

Basic information about Smarty
Smarty is PHP template engine, with smarty, you are able to separate business/program logic from your GUI design(theme or template). PrestaShop utilize smarty engine so that you are able to switch/change your PrestaShop theme easily. The theme files (GUI design) are saved in separated themes folder, and with .tpl file extension.

For example (PrestaShop standard theme)
YourStoreRoot/themes/prestashop/header.tpl
YourStoreRoot/themes/prestashop/footer.tpl
...

But in order to make your theme file work, it has to be compiled into native PHP file before your web server can render page HTML contents to your browser client. Compiling the themes file will reduce your server performance. In order to minimize the performance influences, PrestaShop uses smarty function so that the compilation is done only at first time of usage of theme file.

Potential issues
As mentioned above, when smarty cache is turned on, the compilation will only be done at first time use of the theme file. That means when you make changes on the theme file, the new change you applied to the theme file will not be in effect.

By default, the smarty cache is turned on after you install your PrestaShop. If you do not know there is a smarty cache is in action, you may not know why your changes on theme file does not reflect to your PrestaShop pages. If you want to make changes and test the changes, you will have to turn off the smarty cache temporary.

How to turn off or turn on smarty cache

PrestaShop 1.3x or lower
To switch smarty cache in PrestaShop 1.3x or lower, you need to change following two lines in smarty configuration file as listed below

Configuration file location:
YourStoreRoot/config/smarty.config.inc.php

To turn off, change lines to
(when your make changes on your store theme files)

$smarty->caching = false;
$smarty->force_compile = true;


To turn on, change lines to
(when your store is in production mode, no changes will be made)

$smarty->caching = true;
$smarty->force_compile = false;

PrestaShop 1.4x or higher
If you are using PrestaShop 1.4x or higher, you don't need to changes file directly, you can make changes from you back office directly.

log in to your back office
click Preferences tab
click Performance tab
switch the smarty cache on or off and click "Save" button"


Recommended setting of smarty cache

It is highly recommend to leave your smarty cache on if your store is in production or you are not making any changes to any themes files. This will rapidly improveyour store performances.

PrestaShop Module - Agile Home Featured Countdown timer module

Agile team has just released a new module Agile Home Featured Count Down timer module. This module is extension of PrestaShop standard Home Featured module.



What you can do with Agile Home Featured Count Down timer module?
By installing Agile Home Featured Count Down timer module, you will be able
1. Set a expire date for each home featured product
2. You can choose one main featured which will be displayed bigger than other home featured products.
3. You can choose different way of pick main featured products
A Randomly
B Fast expires
4. Once the home featured product expires, it will not be displayed as home featured, but the product itself is still active.



Main featured of this module
- You want to make time limit offer
- You want to set a expire date for your time limited home featured products
- You want to show countdown timer at home featured products
- You want to attract customer by displaying one of the home featured product bigger than others.


Home featured product with countdown timer




Module configuration screen



For more information or buy the module please visit
http://addons-modules.com/

PrestaShop Tips - How to translate PrestaShop tab menu names

PrestaShop has a very powerful translation functionality that allow you to translate most of UI elements, such as labels, message, errors. But you are not able to translate back office tab menu name through translation tool.

Usually original tab menu name from PrestaShop has been initialized in database when you install your PrestaShop. But sometime, you will need to translate some new added custom tab menus.

This tips is for PrestaShop owners who want to make his/her Prestashop back office support multiple languages for the custom tab names, or when you install new languages the does come from PrestaShop original.

Here is the steps that you can translate tab menu name.

1. Log in to your back office
2. Click Employees tab (the screenshot is for PrestaShop 1.4x or igher)
If you are using 1.3x or lower, you need to click "Tools" tab
3. Click "Tabs" tab
4. Choose the tab you want to translate
5. Click the flag icon to choose the language then input the name of tab in that language
6. Click Save


Screenshot 1 - How to get tabs menu




Screenshot 1 - How to translate tab menu name