ProductCart shopping cart software: system requirements

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ProductCart: System Requirements

What you need to run a ProductCart-powered storefront

ProductCart can easily be added to any Web site hosted on a Web server that meets the following requirements. Most Web hosting companies that provide Windows-based hosting plans will be able to support our shopping cart software. If you are unsure of whether your Web hosting company will be able to support our software, please send them a link to this page so that they may review the system requirements with you.

If you have specific questions for which an answer cannot be found on this page, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Web Server - Basic Requirements:

Web server
ProductCart requires a server that supports Classic ASP 3.0 and runs IIS 5.0 and above (most of ProductCart's source code is written in Classic ASP). The recommended server configuration runs Windows 2003 Server or above, with MS SQL database as the back-end database. Unfortunately, the software is not currently compatible with UNIX/Linux, even running under ASP emulation software, such as SUN's Java System Active Server Pages 4.0 (previously Chilisoft).

Database

  • A MS SQL database is recommended, although ProductCart runs with MS Access as well. MS SQL 2000, SQL 2005, and SQL 2008 are supported.
  • MS SQL Express should not be used as the database engine for live ProductCart-powered store, but can be used for testing/development stores
  • ProductCart is not compatible with MySQL databases.

When you purchase ProductCart, the default MS Access database file is included, as well as a SQL script to run on your MS SQL database to populate it with tables and fields. We do not recommending using a MS Access database outside of a testing environment.

For detailed information about this topic, see Choosing and Setting Up your store database.

Folder Permissions
Since the system writes and deletes files (e.g. images, import and export documents, etc.), you must be able to set folder permissions for the "Everyone" or "Internet" user. This is something that can easily be done in most Web hosting control panels. The specific permissions are:

READ/WRITE on the "productcart" folder and all of its sub-folders. The "productcart" folder can be renamed (e.g. "store").
READ/WRITE/DELETE on the "productcart/includes" folder and all of its sub-folders.

 

Web Server - Advanced Requirements:

In addition to the general system requirements mentioned above…

XML Parser

In order to use dynamic shipping providers for your shipping options and/or PayPal, Authorize.Net, and many of the other payment gateways supported by ProductCart, the web server must have the free Microsoft XML Parser 3.0 SP2 or greater installed. The ProductCart Activation Wizard will check the presence of the XML Parser during the activation process. This system requirement is met by the vast majority of Web servers.

Upload & Resize Image Feature

ProductCart allows you to upload images to your store from within the Control Panel. There are two utilities in ProductCart that allow you to do so: (1) a simple upload utility (the images are uploaded ‘as is' to the Web server), and (2) an Upload & Resize utility which allows you to dynamically create 3 images from a source image file that is uploaded to the server (thumbnail, standard, and detail image). The Upload & Resize utility provides great time savings when adding products and categories to your store. However, in order to use this feature your Web server needs one of the following combinations of 3rd-party components installed on the server:

  • ASPJpeg 1.1 or higher and ASPUpload 3.0 or higher installed. Both server components are published by Persists Software. This configuration allows you to upload & resize both Jpeg and Gif files.
  • SAFileUp and ASPImage, where SAFileUp is a server component published by Software Artisans and AspImage is published by Server Objects. This configuration allows you to upload & resize both Jpeg images, but not Gif files.

    If either of these server components are not detected, ProductCart automatically hides any link to using the Upload & Resize utility, and instead shows the standard image upload feature. These server components are rather popular, so there is a good chance that your Web hosting company has installed it on its servers. Enquire with your hosting company to confirm their presence. Please note that Early Impact does not provide support on issues related specifically to the Upload & Resize components. If there are problems with this functionality, you will need to contact your hosting provider.

SSL

If you are planning to use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) on your store to secure the checkout process (e.g. you will be collecting credit card information), please note the following:

  • You can always use a dedicated SSL certificate >>
  • You can use a shared SSL certificate provided by your Web hosting company as long as the certificate is installed on the same server where your Web site is hosted. You cannot use a shared SSL certificate if it's installed on a different Web server. In addition, you cannot use the Parent Path Disabled version of ProductCart with a shared SSL certificate.
  • In addition, please note that ProductCart does not support the scenario in which a hosting company forces a customer to place to-be-secure pages in a special directory on the Web server. This is a rather rare occurrence

Managing Your Store - Web Browser Requirements:

To access the administration console through which you will manage your store, the Control Panel, we recommend that you use the latest version of FireFox, which appears to be fully compatible both on the PC and the MAC. Specifically, our research shows the following:

  • FireFox 3.x appears fully compatible both for PC and MAC users.
  • Google Chrome appears to be fully compatible.
  • Internet Explorer 5.x and above for the PC is fully compatible.
  • Internet Explorer for the MAC has some incompatibility issues and should not be used.
  • The latest version of Netscape (7 and above) appears to be fully compatible with the Control Panel, although full compatibility with Netscape has not been tested and cannot be guaranteed. The only feature that does not seem to work properly is the Set Display Order feature in both the Payment Options and Shipping Options areas of the Control Panel (see the ProductCart User Guide for more information).
  • Known compatibility issues exist with Netscape Navigator 4.7x, and therefore we discourage you from using that and earlier versions of the Netscape browser.
  • The latest version of Apple’s Safari browser is compatible with ProductCart’s Control Panel, except for the built-in HTML editor. The built-in HTML editor is something that you may frequently use. For this reason, if you are using a MAC we recommend that you use either FireFox or Netscape.
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