Operation Manual

152 Adding Dynamic Web Objects
Inserting an e-commerce object (PayPal)
The creation of e-commerce objects within WebPlus takes a Wizard-based
approach. An e-commerce object can be added to the web page as a form or link
(i.e., a simple button) by completion of a series of dialogs. Whether you choose
to use forms or links depends on the characteristics of the items you are planning
to sell, and how you want to sell your goods.
For example, if you are a trader you could
create an E-Commerce button (as a Buy
Now link). This option would make an
assumption about the potential transaction,
i.e. that the quantity, size, style, and color
are fixed.
This is because a link is only a button and cannot host any "interactive" buying
options that would be need for more complex purchases. One buyer's click will
buy a standard product offering—nothing more. Useful in some situations but in
others completely inadequate.
More typical purchases use E-Commerce Forms which offer interactive buying
options such as quantity, size, etc.
Here the web visitor can choose a quantity and a size for the item.
For e-commerce scenarios, where many items are to be offered for sale, it's
possible to store items for sale in a Serif database (SDB) specially structured for
use with e-commerce. By adding repeating forms (or areas) on your page, the
database items can be listed after database merging, and offered for sale. See
Using database merge with e-commerce in online Help.