In the next several pages, we will outline the steps to creating a CAMEO EZ web site. These steps need to be taken in order when first setting up a web site. Later, when updating information on an established site, sequence may not be as important. First we will list the steps, then we will explain each in turn.
A. Setting up a New Manufacturer
These steps apply to Manufacturer Sites. In the case of Rep Agency sites, some of these steps will need to be taken with the Manufacturer and others will be necessary with the Rep’s own site.
The steps outlined below relate specifically to loading product information and images to wholesale ordering web sites and do not address issues such as Gift Shows and Territories, which will be described separately.
- OmegaNet will create and upload the Navigation Headers and Footers according to your desired design.
- Choose from Available Features and Set Up Auto Response Messages in the Admin Console.
- Prepare the Item Spreadsheet.
- Prepare and Import Product Images.
- Import the Item Spreadsheet.
- Select and Import Category Images and Add Category Descriptions.
- Process the Product Images
- Open the Web Site.
DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1: Create and upload the Navigation Headers and Footers
OmegaNet Inc. will set up the navigation headers and footers initially. OmegaNet Inc. will make the design match your catalog and/or other advertising materials. Or, if you wish, you can supply a design created in-house or by a contracted designer. OmegaNet Inc. will then take the design and adapt it to the system, including the format for links, etc. In wholesale sites, there will be a header and a footer in each the Public Site and the Member Site, each with relevant navigation links.
Step 2: Choose from Available Features and Set Up Auto Response Messages.
The CAMEO EZ system is very flexible and allows for displaying or hiding many features. In the Admin Console, under “Account Setup” is a number of links to features that need to set for the site to work properly, such as Order Minimums, Billing Options and Feature Options. “Email Configuration” allows you to indicate what you would like the Auto Response messages to contain. Detailed information about completing each of these options is in the Reference Section. Click here for details.
Step 3: Prepare and Upload CAMEO EZ the Item Spreadsheet.
The Item Spreadsheet is the foundation of CAMEO EZ© web sites. A separate Item Spreadsheet needs to be created for each manufacturer or vendor. The way the spreadsheet is filled out determines how the products will display on your web site. Please read the instructions below and refer to the examples in the Spreadsheet Master Excel file. You will want to save the spreadsheet that is on this CD to your own computer’s hard drive so you will be able to save your changes. Refer to Section “J” for column-by-column instructions for completing the spreadsheet. Click here for details
IMPORTANT: The Excel spreadsheet MUST be saved as a Comma-Delimited CSV (MS-DOS for a PC and CSV (Macintosh) for an Apple Computer file BEFORE importing to your web site. DO NOT import an Excel format file. You may wish to keep the Excel format file for future editing, but always save it as CSV and upload the CSV file.
The default settings are correct for most situations:
” “File Format” can be either CSV or Tab-Delimited
” “Update Database” should be set to “Yes”
” “Clear All Items” should be used only in extreme situations where an incorrect spreadsheet was uploaded and the database must be completely replaced. This option will reassign system ID numbers to all SKUs and as a result past orders will not display correctly. Also, ID numbers for Categories will be reassigned and Category images will need to be reimported. Selecting “Yes” for this option will require you to enter your user name as a precaution against accidental selection.
When you have imported the Item Spreadsheet you will see a report on the screen of the number of items that have been imported. If there were any problems, errors will be reported. You will also have a link to “Process Images” in the Image Manager. Assuming you have already imported your images, you should now Process them to associate the images with your Item SKUs.
Step 4: Prepare and Import the Product Images.
Ideally, product images should include one item or SKU and be named with the exact SKU number. If that is the case, nothing is required in Column U of the spreadsheet (see above). If the image name is different from the SKU name then the image name must be entered in Column U.Click here for details
Example: for Product SKU is ABC1234, image name would be “ABC123.jpg”. Here are examples of image names that would not work.
Abc1234.jpg (lower case letters do not match the uppercase letters of the SKU)
ABC 123.jpg (with a space. Besides not matching the SKU, spaces are illegal in filenames for many computer systems and so are not wise to use.)
ABC123-Red.jpg (the descriptive word “Red” is not part of the SKU)
If your product images include more than one SKU, you will need to include the name of the image in the spreadsheet for all SKUs pictured in the image. The name of the image can be anything, but must exactly match the image name in Column U of the spreadsheet.
Image Type
A .jpg is the only types of product image that can be imported into the CAMEO EZ system. Make sure the image is in RGB format and not CMYK (used in catalogs).
Image Size
Some file types will be larger in file size than others. Images that are larger than 2 (two) megabytes (2,000 kilobytes) may not import. Tiffs are more likely to be under 2 MB if they are saved with LZW Compression.
Image Dimensions
Because the Image Processor creates thumbnails and full-size images from your single imported image, you will want to create your images as large as possible, while keeping in mind the 2 MB limit mentioned in “Image Size” above. In the Commerce Console under Account Setup, you can set the sizes for the small, medium and large images.
Importing Images
In the Admin Console under “Image Manager” there are a variety of image uploaders that you can use to send images to your web site. “Upload Image” has two uploaders that allow you to upload an image for a specific SKU, either by selecting the SKU from the dropdown list or by entering the SKU in the blank. NOTE: This uploader only works AFTER you import the Item Spreadsheet. In the Image Manager select Upload Image.
Select Batch Import in the Image Manager upload 10 images at a time and can be used anytime. Images are not associated with SKU numbers until the Item Spreadsheet is uploaded and images are processed.
A large number of images can be imported by using the File Manager. Select Manage Files and click on the link Click Here to use the Cameo EZ™ File Manager. Your CAMEO EZ username and password will appear in the login box. Click the Login button. Once you are in the File Manager double click on the images folder and then double click on the import folder. Click on the image in the tool bar that looks like a disk drive with a blue up arrow. Click on flashupload and then add files. A pop up window will appear to the left to give you the opportunity to select the images from your files. File Manager “Flash Upload” Issue. We have become aware of an issue relating to the “Flash Upload” feature of the File Manager. It may not work in all browsers because of changing support for Adobe Flash, which has fallen into disfavor and isn’t supported at all on iOS devices. If you have large numbers of files to upload, you should use an FTP client such as FileZilla. Information from the support site about using FTP is here.Once you have selected your files then will appear in the queue window. Next click on Upload File(s) and the files will move out of the queue.
If your line is very large, you may want to consider using a third party FTP client. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a method of uploading all kinds of files in great numbers and very quickly. An FTP client is software that allows you to make a connection and send and retrieve files. This is fully explained in the Appendix. There are free FTP products such as Filezilla https://filezilla-project.org/. The CAMEO EZ host name is ftp://images2.cameoez.com. The username and password is the one assigned to you by OmegaNet, Inc. and used in your CAMEO EZ admin console.
Step 5: Import the Item Spreadsheet.
In the Admin Console “Item Manager” is a link for “Import from File”. Use this to import your Item Spreadsheet to the web site.
Step 6: Select and Import Category Images and Add Category Descriptions
Each Category can have a representative image to illustrate it. In the Admin Console, “Product Categories”, click “View All” and then click “edit”. Here you can import an image and add a description for each Category. Simply select an image using “Browse” and type in the descriptive paragraph and click “Edit Category”. The Category image will be resized with the dimensions selected for the Medium Size image (see “Image Configuration” under Image Manager). In Manufacturer sites, these images and descriptions will appear on the Main product page as links to the products within the Categories.
NOTE: Sometimes these images will at first appear distorted or discolored until you “Process Images” in the Image Manager.
Step 7: Process the Product Images
If you did not Process Images when you imported the Item Spreadsheet (Step 6), do so now. This does several things:
” Creates three copies of each product image: Small, Medium and Large. The Small is the Thumbnail image, the Large is the enlarged version and the Medium is used only for Category images at present.
” Processes previously uploaded Category images.
” Associates product images with SKUs in the spreadsheet.
NOTE: It is good practice to Process Images whenever you upload new images or a new spreadsheet. If, after uploading pictures and/or a spreadsheet, items are missing their pictures, chances are re-processing images will solve the problem.
Step 8: Open the Web Site.
You are now ready to open your web site. There are several approaches, depending on several factors.
1. If yours is a new domain name and it was gotten for you by OmegaNet Inc., all that may be necessary to open your site is for OmegaNet Inc. to replace a “Coming Soon” page with the real home page of your site.
2. If you already had a domain name and/or an existing web site, the most obvious way to open your new site is to transfer your domain to OmegaNet Inc. This requires that the “Nameservers” for you domain be changed at your Domain Registrar (the company with which you originally registered your domain). OmegaNet Inc. can assist you in making this transition.
3. On the other hand, if you already have a web site, you may wish to remain with your current host so as not to disturb your email. In this case, there are a couple of possible approaches.
a. If your current host is agreeable, you can ask them to “redirect the A and www records” for you domain to the IP address of OmegaNet’s server(s). OmegaNet will supply you with this information and, if necessary communicate with personnel at your current host to ensure a smooth transition.
b. Another option is to install an auto-forwarding page at your current host in order to transparently send users to your new site.