Set global product and inventory rules
Control common product settings and how they affect sales, display, and inventory.
This guide is for those who manage the product range in Abicart. Open Catalogue → Settings. Basic settings are available in Go, Plus, and Pro, but features like product watch require Plus or Pro. In multi-store systems, some fields are shared and are changed in the main store; follow the instructions if a field is locked.
1. Choose product number and HTML mode
Product number
Choose whether to automatically generate product numbers when you create products manually. For automatic numbering, specify the template; %N is the number in the series. This setting does not replace product number handling during import. Check the import file’s numbers and how existing products are matched before you import.
HTML in product descriptions
Choose the limited tag mode or Allow full HTML. Full HTML provides access to the more extensive text editor when using the visual editing mode. This choice does not delete existing descriptions when the setting is saved. However, back up the content before editing or changing the editing mode; full HTML does not imply support for server-side code or a guarantee that any external scripts will work.
2. Decide how products without a price can be sold
Under Products without a price you choose between allowing the display and ordering of products without a specified price or requiring a price. Do not accidentally allow ordering of such products if the intention is for the customer to receive a quote first. Also, check price lists and the customer's actual price in the store.
3. Set up product watch and units
Product watch: check Let your visitors watch products that are out of stock if you want to offer this feature. In the Diversity theme, you also need to activate Appearance → Themes → edit active theme → Content → Product page → Product watch. Check a truly out-of-stock, inventory-managed product in the active theme. The feature is included in Plus and Pro.
Units for products: enable Use units for products and set the default unit per language. You can then set a different unit on an individual product. A unit text does not automatically change the product's price or stock quantity.
4. Distinguish stock warnings from purchasability
Never warn about out-of-stock products controls the display of stock warnings. It should not be used as a substitute for the product's setting for whether purchases are allowed when stock is depleted.
Hide sold-out variants by default on new products, if the option is available, sets the default for new products' customer choices. A possible separate action to apply it to existing products has a larger scope. Check the selection before using it.
5. Use stock reservation at checkout
Reserve item stock reduces the risk of multiple customers simultaneously buying the last item in stock. The reservation begins when the payment flow is initiated at checkout, not when the product is simply added to the cart. The exact button and timing may differ between payment methods.
- Enable Reserve item stock and save.
- Select Enable stock management on the affected products and set the correct stock balance.
- If purchases should be stopped when stock runs out, Allow orders even if stock is depleted and show stock message must be disabled on the product.
- Verify that any stock integration and your product settings follow the same intent.
The default time for a reservation is 10 minutes. The store may have a different configured time. The reservation can be renewed during continued checkout processing and is released when the order flow is complete or the time expires. It is not a guarantee that stock will be held for the entire time the customer has a cart open.
Another customer may have time to reserve the last item before a customer with a different cart begins payment. The latter customer may then receive a message that the product is no longer available. Reservation does not replace correct stock balances or backorder settings.
6. Select newness period and publishing delay
New for a set number of days: new products are marked as new for the number of days you specify. You can change the end date on the product later. An empty field provides no automatic newness marking for new products.
Number of days until publication: new products get a later publication date and are marked as hidden. The date can be changed on the product. Leave the field empty if no such delay should be added to new products. Still, check the product's other display settings and assortment membership before assuming it is visible to all customers.
7. Control product groups and discount selection
Show products from subgroups in product group lists affects which products are listed in a parent group. Show empty product groups controls the display of groups without products where this is supported by the store's presentation.
Under Discount settings you choose how group selections for discounts should be interpreted:
- Primary product group only (default): the product must have the selected group as its primary product group to be included in the group selection.
- All product groups: products that belong to the selected group without having it as their primary group can also be included.
This changes the selection for discounts with product groups and may affect more products than you expect. The discount's other conditions still apply. Check representative products with different primary groups before using the change in a campaign.
Quick start
- Go to Catalogue → Settings and check whether you are working in the main store or a sub-store.
- Change the correct rule for HTML, price, stock, or display.
- Save and check a representative product and customer type.
- In particular, check purchasability, stock, and discount selections after making changes that may affect sales.
Subscription
Basic product settings, HTML, and stock reservation are available in Go, Plus, and Pro. Product monitoring is included in Plus and Pro. Other options, discount features, and theme variants may affect which extra fields you see; this guide does not require you to activate features you do not use.