How to create a customizable product and enable Product designer tool for it

To create a product which will be available for personalization, please follow the steps below:

1. Prepare the Product designer tool for work

"Product designer" add-on doesn't have the predefined collection of fonts, colors and cliparts. Thus, first of all it is necessary to add these elements that will be used further for the design creation. 

To add fonts, colors and cliparts log into the administration panel and go to Content -> Product designer.

Read more about how to

• create font categories and upload fonts,
• create colors and color palettes,
• upload cliparts and create clipart categories.

2. Create a category for a product

In order to create a product, first create a category for it.

Login to your CS-Cart admin panel and go to Products -> Categories -> click "Add category" button. On the appeared page choose the category name, its location and an image for it, if necessary. You can also add a description for the category, choose a page title, META description and keywords, etc.

Once a category for your customizable products is created, you can create a product.

3. Create a product

In the admin panel, go to Products -> Products -> click "Add product" button. You will see the below page:

Complete the following fields:

Name - The name of your customizable product (e.g. T-shirt).

Categories - Choose a category for your product.

Price - Set up your product price.

Full description - Add a description to your product.

Status - Choose a status: Active - everybody can see your product; Hidden - you can preview the product in the customer area but customers will not see the product page; Disabled - nither you nor your customers can see the product in the customer area.

Images - Upload a main image for your product.

Also, if necessary, fill out Options settings, Pricing/inventory, SEO/Meta data, Avalability.

Important! Scroll down the page for "Extra" section and set a value for "Product details layout" field - "Product designer template". See below:

Click Create button to create the product. After creating a product you will be able to edit it.

4. Upload additional images

You have to upload additional images to your product - images where your customers will add their design.

To upload additional images to your product, go to your product editing page (Products -> Products -> Click "Edit" link next to your product).

On the product editing page click "Images" tab and upload additional images. For example, if you have created a product T-shirt, you can upload the following images - t-shirt front, t-shirt back, t-shirt sleeve.  If you sell t-shirts of different colors, you can upload images for each color.

Don't forget to press Save button.

5. Enable Product designer tool for your product

On the product edditing page go to the "Product designer" tab  and click "Enable for this product" checkbox.

That's all, you can use Product designer tool. Your following step is to specify Product designer settings for your product, add a product side and canvas.