AShop Deluxe New Feature Overview - Version 4.5.1

Below is an overview of major changes in AShop Deluxe,
which were added since version 4.4.0

For a complete list of new features and bug fixes,
see: AShop Deluxe Version Release Notes

There is a list with links to previous version release overviews at the bottom of this page.

Improved Shipping Options

Login to the administration panel. Click Store Configuration on the left navigation panel and then click Shipping & Taxes on the top navigation bar. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Several changes have been made in this area. UPS and FedEx shipping options are improved and there is now a weight based storewide shipping option.

Storewide Shipping for FedEx, UPS, or Flat Rate per pound

Storewide shipping options are set in Shipping & Taxes > Storewide Shipping. Each product may now be part of the storewide shipping calculation or may have an individual shipping option. The storewide shipping option can be one of the following: FedEx, UPS, or a flat rate per pound. The total weight of all storwide shipping products is used for the storewide shipping lookup or calculation. The maximum weight per package automatically adds each new package when looking up rates from FedEx or UPS.

UPS and FedEx Lookup Rate Options Improved

UPS rate options are improved to be more accurate under a wider variety of shipping conditions. In addition to US rate lookup, UPS online tools now looks up rates for Canada shipping origins and destinations. More shipping rate options are available for UPS and FedEx.

TeleSign Phone Verification Service Set For Each Payment Option

There is a new checkbox for each payment option in the admin panel to activate or deactivate TeleSign phone verification service. (The TeleSign checkbox only appears if TeleSign is activated by entering a TeleSign account number in Shop Parameters.)

Shipping Information Form - Telephone Number, Business Name

A customer phone number is now collected in the shipping.php form. It is labeled "Phone Number" and the label can be modified in the language file shipping.inc.php. Since a customer record is not actually created until after the payment response is received, the phone number is saved in the shipping table of the database. The phone number is then saved in the customer record when the payment response is received. This provides a way to collect a phone number when using PayPal since PayPal does not provide a way to collect it or pass it through the payment response. For payment gateways that support it, the phone number is populated into the payment form just like the other information that is collected through the shipping form. If the phone number is then changed in the payment form the shipping phone is stored in the main phone field for the customer and the other number is stored in the alternative phone numbers field.

If the business name field has an entry, then the UPS or FedEx shipping rates are set for commercial delivery rates. If the business name field is left blank, residential or home delivery rates are looked up for UPS or FedEx shipping options.

Watkins Shipping Rate Lookup - Truck Carrier Rates

You don't need to have any kind of membership with Watkins ML to use the shipping rate calculation. You only need to specify the options on the edit shipping page. The freight class must be entered. The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) tariff is a publication for motor carriers containing classes, rules, descriptions and ratings of all commodities moving in commerce. There are 18 classes ranging between 50 and 500. Most manufacturers and professional transportation managers are participating members of the NMFC, or are familiar with their products' classifications. If you are not sure of the correct classification for your freight, contact a Watkins Customer Service Representative at (800) 274-9099 or the National Motor Freight Traffic Association at (703) 838-1810."

Shipping Information Form Page - Pop-ups Removed

The form validation error message is now displayed at the top of the shipping address form instead of in a popup window, which eliminates trouble with pop-up blockers.

Wholesale Signup Form Verification Code

The wholesale account signup form now has the verification code, which eliminates most spam submissions.

Improved AShop Admin Panel - Quick Stats and Links

The number of active and inactive products is now listed in the AShop admin panel index page.

For a complete list of new features and bug fixes, see:
AShop Deluxe Version Release Notes (text notes going back a few versions)

Previous Version Release Overviews

Version 4.4 New Feature Overview (Released Aug 21, 2006)

Version 4.3.1 New Feature Overview (Released Feb 24, 2006)

Version 4.3.0 New Feature Overview (Released Jan 7, 2006)

Version 4.2 New Feature Overview (Released Nov 14, 2005)

Version 4.1.2 New Feature Overview (Released Sept 29, 2005)

Version 4.0 New Feature Overview (Released April 2005)