News

Icecat Release Notes 167: Icecat PDF in XML for products with restrictions

In these Icecat Release Notes 167, we will discuss the publication of Icecat PDF in XML for products with restrictions. Furthermore, we will also update the next development phase for the new reseller invitation by brand functionality. Please find here the previous Icecat Release Notes.

Icecat PDF in XML for products with restrictions

In previous release notes, we announced that Icecat PDF is available for all products in the Icecat catalog. In this release, we launched the publication of Icecat PDFs for products with restrictions in XML files.

Icecat PDF – It’s handy for brands that don’t have PDF brochures available themselves. It helps their channel partners and consumers who like the PDF format. The PDF function generates a standard PDF based on the available product data if no PDF is available from the respective brand.

So, this PDF asset will be available for products with restrictions. When no branded PDF leaflet is available for a product, Icecat generates and publishes a PDF. This asset pushes the respective product’s XML file as a link. The Icecat PDF is published within the product multimedia object tag with the following structure:

<ProductMultimediaObject>
<MultimediaObject ContentType="application/pdf" 
Date="2022-06-07 15:13:21" 
Description="Generated PDF" 
KeepAsURL="0" 
MultimediaObject_ID="0" 
Type="leaflet" UUID="00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" 
langid="25" 
Height="0" 
PreviewHeight="0" 
PreviewSize="0" 
PreviewUrl="" 
PreviewWidth="0" 
Size="0" 
URL="https://icecat.biz/rest/product-pdf?productId=69438996&lang=uk&AccessKey={AccessKey}" 
Width="0"/>
</ProductMultimediaObject>

AccessKey is placed automatically by Icecat’s internal system if the user has the respective accesses for the product XML.

The next phase of development for the new reseller invitation by brand functionality

Our previous release notes announced we are working on a new feature called Reseller Invitation by Brand. This feature will enable brands within the PIM (Product Information Management) to invite resellers to use their product data via Icecat. Both existing and new users will receive invitations. Upon acceptance of an invitation, users will be automatically assigned to the brand.

For this release, we have developed a service to send emails to invited resellers once the brand-type users within the Icecat PIM create an invitation. The email will contain an invitation link. By clicking on this invitation link:

  • For registered Icecat users, a redirect will lead them to the login page. Upon successful login, the user will be assigned to the brand.
  • For new Icecat users, a redirect will lead them to the registration page. After successful registration, the user will be assigned to the brand.

It is important to note that while some of the services and user interface screens for Reseller Invitation by Brand have been developed, they are not yet live. We are working to ensure the functionality is fully implemented before it is released to users. To conclude, work on this project will continue.

Teymur Asgarov

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