Copyright © 2001, William Weiland
Contact/inquiry email from your customers can be launched from a form within your Merchant program. This keeps your store's email address out of view of spammer email address harvesters. It also allows you to easily change the email address you want inquiries to go to without editing html pages. You can launch the contact manager form from a button in the category column or from a static page. You can also use a http link format for launching the contact manager form from static pages or within Merchant.
Use the Merchant admin upload feature to upload the module. Once uploaded, click the Add button to add it to the mall/domain.
In admin, under your store, click on the link for Utilities Configuration Screen. Assign the module and Update it to install it in your store.
Click the link for Contact Manager to enter the configuration settings.
The compiled version of this module licensed on or after November 7, 2003 has a new file called cim_new.mvc which you need to install. Install through admin as a store system extension module.
Enter data into the applicable input fields.
Category Column Button
Creates the text for the button at the bottom of the category tree.
Category Column Button Image
URL of the image file if you want to use an image for the button.
Email Subject
The subject line for the email the customer sends to your support/contact department.
Email To
The email address these contact emails will go to.
Screen Title
The text that appears at the top of the browser when the support screen is displayed.
Customer Email Prompt
Text the customer sees for them to enter their email address.
Customer Inquiry Prompt
Text the customer sees for them to enter their question.
Font Color, Size and Face
Font control for the text in the support screen.
Prompt Box Color
Background color for the support screen.
Customer Form Body
Message that the customer sees at the support screen.
Customer Send Button Text
Text used for the Send button.
Customer Send Button Image Optional Autoresponse After Inquiry Optional Technician List Extra Field List
URL to image if you want to use an image for the button.
Beginning with version 4.50 of this module you can send the customer an email telling them that you have
received their inquiry and will get back to them.
Beginning with version 4.50 customers can specify which department will receive the inquiry.
Leaving it blank will send the email to the default email above.
You can include extra fields in the form. Follow the onscreen instructions on how to format the extra field info.
Beginning with version 4.73 of this module you can add a math challenge question at the end of the
field list. For that, simply add validation| as the last line in the field list. This should cut down on
bogus entries.
If you are using the Miva Merchant User Interface (mmui) you will need to make some very simple edits to the core files. Be sure to do that with a text editor (NO WYSIWYG editors) such as Programmer's File Editor (PFE) so as not to damage the mv files. ALWAYS BACKUP your unmodified mv files in case you make a mistake.
1) Skip this paragraph if using compiled Merchant and you licensed this
module after Nov 7, 2003. In the mmui.mv file, function UIModule_Dispatch,
include the following code. Put this code in the latter half of the function,
not near the beginning of the UIModule_Dispatch function.
<MvIF EXPR = "{ g.Screen EQ 'SPTS' }">
<MvDO FILE="{g.Module_Root$'modules/util/support.mv'}" NAME = "l.supportstoreopen" VALUE = "{Support_Open_Store()}">
<MvIF EXPR = "{g.SptAction}">
<MvDO FILE="{g.Module_Root$'modules/util/support.mv'}" NAME="l.ok" VALUE="{ContactUs()}">
<MvIF EXPR = "{g.Support_Error_Msg}">
<MvASSIGN NAME="l.ok" VALUE="{MMUI_Begin_Screen(Stores.d.name $ ': ' $ Support.d.screenhdr, 0, 0 )}">
<MvDO FILE="{g.Module_Root$'modules/util/support.mv'}" NAME="l.ok" VALUE="{ContactUs()}">
</TD></TR></TABLE>
<MvFUNCTIONRETURN VALUE = "{ MMUI_Close_Store() }">
<MvELSE>
<MvASSIGN NAME = "l.ok" VALUE = "{ MMUI_StoreFront() }">
</MvIF>
<MvELSE>
<MvASSIGN NAME="l.ok" VALUE="{MMUI_Begin_Screen(encodeentities(Stores.d.name) $ ': ' $ encodeentities(Support.d.screenhdr), 0, 0 )}">
<MvDO FILE="{g.Module_Root$'modules/util/support.mv'}" NAME="l.ok" VALUE="{ContactUs()}">
</TD></TR></TABLE>
<MvFUNCTIONRETURN VALUE = "{ MMUI_Close_Store() }">
</MvIF>
</MvIF>
2) Skip this paragraph if using compiled Merchant and you licensed this
module after Nov 7, 2003. If you want to display the Contact Manager
(contact us) button below
the category list, you could include the following just before the last
</TABLE> tag in the mmui.mv file's MMUI_Begin_Screen function.
<MvDO FILE="{g.Module_Root$'modules/util/support.mv'}" NAME = "l.showsptbutton" VALUE = "{Support_Open_Store()}">
<FORM METHOD = "post" ACTION = "&[ g.sessionurl ]">
<TR><TD>
<INPUT TYPE = "hidden" NAME = "Store_Code" VALUE = "&[ Stores.d.code:entities ]">
<INPUT TYPE = "hidden" NAME = "Screen" VALUE = "SPTS">
<MvIF EXPR = "{len(Support.d.promptcati)}">
<INPUT TYPE = "image" ALT = "&[Support.d.promptcat:entities]" SRC = "&[Support.d.promptcati:entities]" BORDER = 0>
<MvELSE>
<INPUT TYPE = "submit" NAME = "supportbutton" VALUE = "&[Support.d.promptcat:entities]">
</MvIF>
</TD></TR>
</FORM>
3) Use this paragraph if using compiled Merchant and you licensed this
module after Nov 7, 2003. You can display this form in any screen header or
footer. Fill in the info for your domain. No editing of the mmui.mv is
required.
<FORM METHOD = "post" ACTION = "your full merchant.mvc url">
<TR><TD>
<INPUT TYPE = "hidden" NAME = "Store_Code" VALUE = "your store code">
<INPUT TYPE = "hidden" NAME = "Screen" VALUE = "NEW">
<INPUT TYPE = "hidden" NAME = "SubScreen" VALUE = "SPTS">
<INPUT TYPE = "image" ALT = "Contact Us" SRC = "path to your image" BORDER = 0>
</TD></TR>
</FORM>
If you are upgrading from a previous version of this module to the compiled version, this paragraph may apply to you. The compiled version of this module licensed on or after November 7, 2003 has a new link for calling the customer entry screen. So if you have a button or link on a static page to call the customer entry screen, you will need to change the Screen to NEW and include SubScreen=SPTS. You will also be installing a new file called cim_new.mvc.