AbleCommerce Shopping Cart Software

AbleCommerce for ASP.NET
VERSION: 7.0.86.6169
Release Label: GoldR6
DATABASE: NHibernate.Dialect.MsSql2005Dialect
.NET CLR v4.0.30319.34209
ASP.NET TRUST: Unrestricted

Hey folks,

We've been planning on migrating over to Able Gold from another platform, so I've been poking around on a local copy to get familiar. However, I noticed a difference between running/debugging locally through Visual Studio and a copy thats hosted on a dev server on our network.

On the local copy, when I browse to Admin > Website > Manage Layout > Edit Layout on Category.Master, I see the MiniBasket control under "Right Sidebar Controls".

If I try the same thing on the dev server, I dont see the MiniBasket control. The EditLayout page loads, and I see the Header, Left & Right Sidebar, and Footer, but there are no controls listed. If I try to "Add Control", I get the message "No more controls are available for selection. All controls for this section are already added." I get the same issue regardless of which layout master I look at. (Note: I use VS's Publish with file system to push the site to our dev server).

The controls work on the customer-facing side of the site, so I know that the controls' code is being published, otherwise I'd expect an error when loading a category page.

To test if it was the project not including a file to publish, I cleared my dev server and just copied the project folder directly. Now it works! I dont really like this solution, as it defeats the purpose of using the WAP solution setup, correct?

PS - I also had issues initially with using Publish in VS due to some assemblies not referenced in the project. Im not attached to the R6 release, it just what I have at the moment. We're these issues solved in future releases i.e. R11? Or does everyone use the WSP project to avoid this, and the WAP is not a reliable project model?

We use WSP version on all our sites unless the merchant wants to use WAP after we explain all the shortcomings to him. When you use WSP, you don't run into the problems you are finding and you can easily make changes to the site. Imagine this scenario using WAP on a site that is not handled in-house with a good, permanent developer.
Something is wrong on the site, customers can't check out, and that problem needs to be corrected in a code behind (By "source code" I don't mean the Commercebuilder source code, I mean the code in the Website folder.) Developer is on vacation and didn't leave the password to his computer with anyone. Or Developer quits in an angry mood and deletes the source code from his computer completely where even the FBI would have trouble finding it. Developer is a third party and quits the company he was working with and they don't have the source code. You are unhappy with the developer and want to move to another developer, but first developer won't give up the source code. You can't make the change to the site. In a perfect world, these situations wouldn't arise, but they do arise at times, especially with a non- world class size company.

In WSP version, you don't have that problem. You can pop onto the site and fix it. It does take the site longer to compile when the app pool restarts, but we have had that problem on only one site and that is because they had added 4000+ .aspx pages in a sub folder over a couple of years instead of making webpages within the site admin and they never deleted the ones that were no longer being used.

VERSION: 7.0.86.6169
Release Label: GoldR6

WSP is by far the most common download we see.

Also, if you are still in the demo phase, you might want to download the current version, AbleCommerce Gold R11 SR1. Gold R12 will be out sometime next month as well.