STCtoCart has several other settings you should be aware of. Some of the more used ones are available directly from the Home status page, others need to be selected under Setup link in the navigation bar. I'll use the Setup Links and work down from the top!
1. Choose Datafeed
2. Database New / Update
3. Global Price Settings <-- Already discussed at: Start Part 3
4. Setup Attributes <-- Already discussed at: Start Part 3
5. Out of Stock
6. Long Descriptions HTML
7. Ignore by Product Number
8. Ignore Categories <-- Already discussed at: Start Part 1
9. Ignore Long Descriptions
10. Ignore by Product Names
11. Email Notice Settings
#1. In this area you can choose from one of the six main data feeds available from http://faq.ordersupport.com/doku.php?id=wholesale:faq:csv2
The all-02.csv is not recommended due to the cost of shipping you could be liable for from different vendors on the same order. If you want to sell from multiple vendors available at STC then your best way to do this is have multiple domains each with a shopping cart dedicated to the vendor you wish to sell products.
#2. Perhaps the most important switch available with STCtoCart. Here you can choose from "Fresh New Database" or "Update Products Only". If you make any changes to the Category Ignore list, then you must put STCtoCart into "Fresh New Database" mode and the click the create categories button. If you have STCtoCart set for "Update Products Only" then even if the STC data feed adds some new category for example "Valentines Gifts", then STCtoCart won't add that category because it's not in "Fresh New Database" mode. In other words any changes to the categories that you or STC makes, STCtoCart must be in "Fresh New Database" mode to enter that new information!
Important NOTE: The above may sound like the best solution is to leave STCtoCart in "Fresh New Database" mode, however a web site that's been indexed by a search engine will be giving the wrong product or even 404 errors due to the products and categories changing in the shopping cart database. To keep your SEO efforts alive, you'll want to keep STCtoCart in "Update Products Only" for as long as you can. The rule is to setup everything and then keep it that way with "Update Products Only"
What happens in "Update Products Only" mode? Well when STCtoCart is in this mode, only New products and images are added when they become available. If they become a available in a Category you've deleted then that product won't be added. Only product categories you sell from will add new products and images. Also if you wish to delete a product with the "Ignore by Product Number" you can do this in "Update Products Only" mode so that one product does not affect your SEO efforts. However if you decide to change your mind about a particular product, the if you remove it from "Ignore by Product Number" then it will be added at the end of your data base. Essentially moving the URL for that product.
#3 and #4 See link above!
#5. Out of Stock is simple switch to show or hide Out of Stock items. This is purely a matter of personal preference.
#6. Long Descriptions HTML switch allows you to show or delete STC's HTML in the descriptions. This is really depends on your template. Some of their HTML might mess up your template system for your shopping cart. That is the only reason this option is available.
#7. Ignore by Product number allows you to do just that. Any product you don't wish to sell can be added in the text area locate here. Profit Safety Margin is also available on this page. Using the submit button updates both fields in STCtoCart.
#8. See link above!
#9. Ignore Long Descriptions, is another one of those little fixes done because of the way STC has the data feeds. If you ever look in phpMyAdmin at STC_csv table you would see several Descriptions that start out like this:
"No Description Available" or "No Description for this item yet!" and also "Your price is only"
The first two won't help get any sales, the last lists the wholesale and retail prices set by the vendor themselves, which is completely different from what STC has set. Ask yourself would you purchase an item with a price in the description that is completely different from the list price?
#10. Ignore by product names was added to assist the ignore category area. I personally don't want to sell Display Items like the category "Point of Purchase Displays", however I found that some items are missed categorized. With the Ignore by product names you can pick a key word in the product name and keep it out of your shopping cart.
#11. Email notice settings was requested to reduce the number email a cron job can generate. The normal setting is to email the admin whenever a cron task is completed for example an "Out of Stock" update. So if you're running a cron job every 20 minutes you could possibly get an email at each run. With the email notice settings you can choose to reduce those emails to once per day or once every other day. Whatever task is triggered first will be the email you receive for those to scenarios.