Flash and Paypal?

[whispers]

again...it WAS not created with the intention of LOOKING good..this was JUST A DEMO in funtionality!!! (so no laughing)....and again..the 'cart' part..is crappy..only because I did NOT make it a sperate part (was too busy and wanted to see if it worked right away when clicking the buy button)

www.dmstudios.net/demos/cart

so when you BUY a product..the CART just kind of appears OVER the shopping/store part...

also the BLUE SQUARE in upper right corner is the check out button...

all functional..just not pretty or seperated into their seperate sections for now.

[N_R_D]

Basically the same thing.....

Good job Whispers

[whispers]

HAHAHA...(thanks) I know its UGLY as sin..and the "CART" should really be another section..but it was more a proof of concept.

I have a work on the PAYPAL side of passing in each products total (instead of the JUST the grand total) but so far so good...


I hope your around today.... Im working on a PMI (Product Manager Interface) (dub'd xPMI or PMIx) that is ALL FLASH and builds/edits my XML object/tree for me..(and php to save it)

So Im sure I'll have questions..LOL

First time using FLASH to create XML..

[N_R_D]

Yeah hit me up whispers...

There is no better way than XML and flash communication.

cept for SQl, but that is over the top for a cart

[whispers]

ok, back from lunch.. (was hoping someone would have replied to my post in the AS forum) I already ran into a snag finishing up all the "LOADING" parts of the XML.. before I could even get into the EXPORTING/formating the XML object

keep your eye open for XML posts soon enough though..LOL

and SQL (or mySQL) is next for sure!! I know very little about them....some books on the language and queries...only demo (SQL PLUS Worksheet) application though...nothing real world...nothing with using a server side script to dump to/retreive from... and I have not CREATED a DB or table..I think they were premade for us (cant remember)

[detroitwhat]

thats pretty sweet other than the cart, nothing i could do so nice job

[whispers]

thanks...

yeah the cart.. I just didnt wan to mess around with making another clip that loads/displays the cart when you click it.. I just wanted a quick visual feedback that told me the product was added to the cart correctly..

Oh..Im sure you do it...if you understand hwo to make/use a varObject

it shouldnt be a problem..that was the first one I ever did....not too long back a month or two maybe..

[N_R_D]

Wheres the source whispers.

[whispers]

I'll probably make it available on my site (in a few weeks)...I want to work on the xPMI (CMS) part of it... for a bit first..

[detroitwhat]

so whats the best way to creep up on your skills and ease my way into that kid of stuff

[whispers]

haha....serious? Dude..Im not really good.. (follow my posts)

the first thing I read that made the 'light' go on was a book called FLASH MX ActionScript for Designers... (didnt know 'jack' about AS before that)..then I got ActionScript the Definitive Guide by Colin Moock...by far "THE" best book I have ever thumbed through...

Its only for MX (AS 1.0) but still, seriously, this book whips ass. Im going to check out his AS 2.0 oe he has out see if it the same.

It is a dictionary... look up the 'term' read the explaination, see some examples..

not to metion hitting F1 while in your FLASH IDE (Flash program), has a plethera of knowledge in it...

But I chase guys like NTD, NRD, Catbert, and countless others around all day, the stuff I do is simple simon compared the stuff these guys whip up.

[relicpro]

Okay, so I just discovered this thread, read through the whole thing, and am really intimidated by the actionscripting. I have knowledge of html, a bit of javascript, and I've done some flash design, but never got far into the actionscript. So I guess my choice is to just go with the premade paypal cart.

So here's my question: Is it possible to just copy the code that they give you and reference the javascript action with my button in the .swf?

Has anybody already done this, or know if it might be done? I'd appreciate any help or advice, as this possibility will affect the layout of my design and whether I have to use frames *gag* or not.

Cheers,
Josh

www.relicpro.com

[whispers]

those are the PayPal required variables..(some of them)...Im not sure if the HTML versions will be the same or not..you'lll have to follow the links and go to the PayPal site..

[relicpro]

Ah, I found a nice walkthrough of the process at a forum specifically for paypal:
http://www.paypaldev.org/

Thanks anyways

[whispers]

awesome...

except I personally think its more complicated..and deals with editing yoru HTML pages..as well as adding javascript..the ways outlined here.. and in my footer deal with ONLY what you need to do for an ALL flash solution...

which is more or less the same....passing variables.. but with FLASH you have more options to do what you want to do.. a drag-n-drop cart system...sky's the limit..

[relicpro]

I'm all about whatever's easiest. But I've never done popups or sent variables without adding javascript. Is that possible? If so, all the better, as I'd hate to have to repeat all of the code for every product I'm trying to sell (about 20 with 4 variations of each).

And which link in your footer are you talking about? I'm okay with just using the premade paypal cart, and I just want to be as simple as possible. Just the add to cart and view cart. Is it possible to do this without HTML or javascript?

[whispers]

did you look at the "demo" link posted? (post #41)
the 'store' part of it is just a flash movie that reads an XML file..and creates the products.. (you dont have to do this)..you can do it simpler, and hardcode everything if you want...

on each of the 'buttons' (buy)..the code takes the properties of that product (name, color, size, price, qty..etc) and sends it to a varObject.

the blue square (checkout button...lol) takes that loadVar Object..and sends to PayPal.. thats it...

this example..happens to let you add more than one product..but you can easily do one product..... click the button...BAM!..your on PayPal checkout page..give price..and payment options... you can make it as detailed as you want to..sending the price..name..shipping.. or not...one the paypal site..there is alist of REQUIRED variables you have to send over..everything else is optional.

[relicpro]

Yeah, I saw that demo. It looks great, but a bit more complicated than what I'm familiar with. I've never done anything with xml, and the varObject and loadVar... well, basically I'm null with actionscripting. Is it worthwhile to learn how to do it in all flash if I just want to do "add to cart" and "view cart" buttons?

[whispers]

like I said..you dont even HAVE to use XML or loops to attach (create) your products.

you can have your movieClip (or whatever) on stage..with a picture of your product...and a price/desc..or however you set it up. and a BUY button. the buy button will be unique for each product..it will gather the details of the product..and add it to a variable.

the checkout button will then send this variable to paypal.. or you can directly to paypal..if you only want to let them buy 1 item at a time. or you can do it with javascript if you want..

[relicpro]

I understand the theoretical idea behind using flash for this, but have no idea how to pragmatically apply it. I don't know actionscripting beyond (stop) and (go to frame), doing popup windows with actionscript/javascript, and (primarily) copying code from tutorials. Maybe this forum is too advanced for me :P

It's good to know that I can do the buttons in flash though, as opposed to having thumbnails controling a reloading of html in a different frame everytime you switch products (pictures).

Anyways... thanks for humoring a semi-digeratus like me Whispers
Cheers.