Configuring Your Directory Site « eDirectory User Manual

Changing Your Claim Setting

A claim is an act committed by Members to adopt a listing in the directory with no owner. When you say owner, this is the Member to whom a particular listing belongs. A listing with no owner occurs when the Site Manager uses the Claim feature for the listing that he/she creates, or when he/she imports listings with no owners in his/her account. It appears in the directory front as follows:

CHANGING_THE_CLAIMS_SETTING_img1

Claim feature is not available in other item types like event, classified, promotion, article, and banner.

To change the claim setting, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Claims. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
Check the necessary options that you want to apply to the claim feature (e.g., Sitemgr must approve the listing’s claim).
In the Claim Text Link box, type the text that you want to appear in the directory front as link to claim the listing (e.g., Is this your listing?).
Click on the Submit button.

Using The Claimed Listing Feature

Customizing Your Invoice's Standard Appearance

An invoice is a commercial document issued by the Site Manager to a Member, indicating the items, the item type and level they fall under, the extra categories purchased, the promotional code (if there is any) and the agreed prices for the selected items. If a member selects to pay by invoice instead of credit card or PayPal, the application will automatically generate an invoice and sent it instantly to the account of the member involved in the transaction. From this invoice, the Member can see the total amount to be paid, the invoice expiration date, and the address to where he/she should send the payment. Invoice payment should always be in the form of check.

Let’s say you’re a Member and you want to create a new listing. You logged in to your own account and filled out the form to add your new listing. After this, you are asked which payment method you prefer, as shown below:

CHANGING_THE_INVOICE_img1

If you select the option Printing Invoice and Mail a Check and you click on the Next button, an invoice like the one below will be generated.

CHANGING_THE_INVOICE_img2

Invoices are printable. Because of this, the application allows the Site Manager to customize its standard appearance. The Site Manager can set the headers and labels that are displayed in invoices.

To set the invoice headers and labels, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Invoice. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
To set the company header: In the Company Name, Address, City, Select a State, Country, Zipcode, Phone, Fax, E-mail boxes, type the company information being asked.
To put some notes on your invoice: In the Notes box, type the text (e.g., Please do not forget to write the invoice number on the memo section of your check). Notes appear on the footer area of the invoice.
To put a company logo: In the Invoice Logo, click on the Browse button and select the image file on your local PC.
Click on the Submit button.

Using A Custom Invoice

Choosing Your Payment Gateways

A payment gateway is an e-commerce application service provider that authorizes payments for e-businesses. It is used in eDirectory to send the Members’ credit card and PayPal transaction information to the acquiring bank and PayPal. A member undergoes the payment procedure after he/she adds a new listing, event, banner, classified, or article that is not in Free level.

When a transaction happens, the application generates a Payment Gateway Transaction ID. This ID is unique for every transaction and is recorded in the Member and Site Manager accounts. The application does not hold credit card data by default. If the Site Manager wants to have it stored in his/her account, he/she should purchase and install an SSL Certificate that will encrypt and protect sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

Every time a transaction happens, credit card or payment gateway account information goes immediately to the payment processor.

The eDirectory application supports ten payment gateways, namely:

PayPal
PayPal API
Payflow
TwoCheckout
PsiGate
WorldPay
iTransact
LinkPoint
Authorize

In eDirectory version 7.0.15, the application has included a new option for Members to pay for the eDirectory services they avail – the Amazon Simple Payment Gateway which can have a recurring option of per month or per year (image shown here). With this feature, Members can utilize their existing Amazon accounts.

By default, PayPal and Authorize are the enabled gateways. There is no way to enable or disable gateway/s directly in the Site Manager account. You need to edit the software code and turn on or off the specific gateway there. You can only have an access to the code if you purchased eDirectory Owned License software. If you purchased a different software package and you want to change your payment gateways, please contact us.

To turn on/off a payment gateway, do the following:

Access your server either by using FTP or SSH.
Once you already have the access, go to www (the doc root) > conf > payment.inc.php.
Download the file to your local PC.
Open the file in any editor and look for this block of codes:
___________________________________________________

define (PAYPALPAYMENT_FEATURE, “on”);
define (PAYPALAPIPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (PAYFLOWPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (TWOCHECKOUTPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (PSIGATEPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (WORLDPAYPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (ITRANSACTPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (LINKPOINTPAYMENT_FEATURE, “off”);
define (AUTHORIZEPAYMENT_FEATURE, “on”);
_________________________________________________
Go to the line containing the gateway name and change the text “off” to “on” if you want to turn it on. Do the opposite if you want that gateway to be turned off.
Save the file and upload it to the server.

For the application to use the payment gateway/s that you enabled, you must also provide the payment gateway account information. You can acquire this information when you register on a payment gateway website (e.g., https://www.paypal.com).

To set the account information for the enabled payment gateway, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Payment Gateway. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
Provide the account information for every gateway that you see in this page (e.g., Account for PayPal, Login and Transaction Key for Authorize), and click on the Submit button. Do this one at a time.

Monitoring Your Transactions

Managing Your Item Levels

The Site Manager is the one who decides on what item levels to offer to the Members. These levels are the options from which a Member chooses when he/she is adding a new directory item.

You are a Member and you are currently in the process of adding a new listing. Before you provide information about your listing, you are asked to select the level that you want. For this listing, you chose Showcase from the other available options like Free, Basic, and Premium.

The different item levels do not only vary in price and features. The order that items appear in a search result has a lot to do with levels.

When a site visitor searches for a specific listing, the related listings in Showcase level always appear at the top of the search results, followed by those in Premium and then those in Basic, and last are those in Free level.

To manage the levels for different item levels, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Manage Levels. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
Go to the area of the item level that you want to manage (e.g., Listing-Level Names).
To make the level/s available: In the Active column, check those levels that you want.
For the application to work properly, at least one level must remain active. We do not recommend turning off the Showcase listing because by default, promotions can only work with Showcase listings. Showcase listings are the most important listing level to sell and promotions are a great feature that Members can offer to their customers.
To change the default level names: In the New name column, place the new names.
Click on the Submit button.

In eDirectory version 7.0.15, the Site Manager can choose the listing levels that will have promotions (image shown here). This way, you can manipulate which listing level would you want a promotion to appear, and not only on the Showcase (default) level. To do this, check those levels that can have promotions in the Promotion column.

Customizing The Designations

A designation is a tag (an icon/image to be precise) that you attach to a listing. Every time this listing is viewed in the directory front, the visitor would also see the designation. Putting a designation to a listing is a marketing strategy. Site Managers and Members use this feature when they want a listing to be regarded as a good product/service.

You are a site visitor and you’re looking for a good dental product in the directory. While you are browsing the site, you come across this brand that has an “Editor’s Choice” tag on it. What would you think? For sure, you would think that this brand is the one to buy. Right?

A designation appears in the directory front as follows:

CHANGING_THE_DESIGNATIONS_SETTING_img1

The Site Manager and Members can only attach a designation to Premium or Showcase listings. They can select from the three designations available:

Best Service
Editor’s Choice
Best Value

Also, the Site Manager can customize the image/icon and name of a designation. Follow the procedure below to do this.

To customize the designation title and/or image, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Designations. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
Go to the area of the designation that you want to customize.
To set a new designation title: In the Name box, overwrite what is written there by default with the new title you want.
To set a new designation image: Click on the Browse button to select the image file on your local PC.
To enable Members to use the designation feature for their listings: Check the “Listing accounts can select this designation” option. Uncheck this option if you want to have a full control on the designation assignment. Be careful not to click the delete link for this will remove the designation from your directory.
Click on the Submit button.

Enabling / Disabling The Review Feature

The Site Manager can enable or disable the Review feature for listings and articles. If this feature is enabled, customers or site visitors can add reviews to any article or listing in the directory.

To enable / disable the review feature, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Reviews.
In the Reviews area (image shown below), do the following:
1. If you want to enable reviews for listings, check the first option.
2. If you want o enable reviews for articles, check the second option.
In the Options area (image shown below), do the following:
1. If you want the reviews to obtain your approval first before they appear in the directory front, check the first option.
2. If you want to require the review authors to supply their name and e-mail address, check the second option.
Click on the Submit button.

Using The Review Feature

Setting Up The Directory E-mail Address

The Site Manager can set the different E-mail addresses that are required for the system to work properly. There are two types of e-mail for eDirectory, namely:

General E-mail – The address that will be used by the application in sending e-mail notifications to Members. This will also be the receiving address for the inquiries sent by site visitors.
Specific E-mail – A notification will be sent to this address every time a specific action is made by a Member. For example, when a Member adds a new listing, the address you set for Listing add/update function will receive an e-mail notification informing you of the event that has taken place .

To change the General and/or Specific E-mail, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > E-mail.
If you want to set only one e-mail address for all important actions, go to General E-mail area (image shown below) and type the address that you want to use.

Uncheck the Send E-mail notification on this E-mail account option if you will also set the Specific E-mail Addresses. If you keep this checked and at the same time you set the Specific E-mails, it will result to multiple emails being sent to the provided email addresses.
If you want to set different e-mail addresses for different actions triggered by the Members, go to Specific E-mail area (image shown below) and type the addresses that you want to use.
Click on the Submit button.

Modifying Your E-mail Notifications

Setting Up Your Promotional Condition Text

The Site Manager can set the Promotion Condition Text that appears on the bottom area of the promotions displayed in the directory front. Usually, this text contains the parameters that the customers should observe for a promotion to take effect. It appears as follows:

SETTING_UP_YOUR_PROMOTIONAL_CONDITION_TEXT_img1

To change the condition text for promotion, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Promotion. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
In the Conditions box, overwrite what is written there by default with the new text you want.
Click on the Submit button.

Using The Promotion Feature

Changing Your Directory Site Template

The overall look and feel of a website depends hugely on its content and template. On eDirectory, a site template is a visual design or style for the directory front. It is very important that the Site Manager selects the one which will suit best to the site’s main function because this will help him/her communicate to the Members and site visitors more effectively.

Arca Solutions, the maker of eDirectory is continuously developing a variety of templates which the site owners can select from. It also offers template customization service to help the site owners achieve their desired website look. (If you want to avail the service, contact us here)

eDirectory application is supporting six templates, namely:

In eDirectory version 7.3.00, a new site template (or theme) named “Financial” is added to the list of site templates which the Site Manager can select from. This template is particularly designed to Clients whose business revolves around investments, banking, credit, and money management (image shown here).

In eDirectory version 7.4.00, eight more site templates (or theme) are added to the list. These are Magazine, Beauty, Hotel, City Guide, Buyer’s Guide, Dentist, Environment, and Lawyer templates.

The templates vary mainly in the positioning of blocks on the body area.

The block containing the login panel on the eDirectory Default template appears on the right corner of the site, while in the Real Estate template, it appears on the left.

To change the current template of your directory site, do the following:

In the top navigation panel, click on Settings > Themes. After doing this, a form will appear like the one shown below:
Select a template from the choices available in the dropdown list.
Click on the Submit button.

eDirectory

Changing Your Claim Setting

Customizing Your Invoice's Standard Appearance

Choosing Your Payment Gateways

Managing Your Item Levels

Customizing The Designations

Enabling / Disabling The Review Feature

Setting Up The Directory E-mail Address

Setting Up Your Promotional Condition Text

Changing Your Directory Site Template

Introduction

Knowing Your eDirectory

eDirectory

eDirectory Manual

Changing Your Claim Setting

Customizing Your Invoice's Standard Appearance

Choosing Your Payment Gateways

Managing Your Item Levels

Customizing The Designations

Enabling / Disabling The Review Feature

Setting Up The Directory E-mail Address

Setting Up Your Promotional Condition Text

Changing Your Directory Site Template

Introduction

Knowing Your eDirectory