ThingyRecord links WebGUI's Thingy asset with WebGUI Shop. It allows you to sell a record inside a Thing. This allows users to build things like an online classifieds system. A Thing inside a Thingy asset is built to house data. Then, a ThingyRecord is built, and in ThingyRecord you indicate the fields you want users to fill out. Once they complete those fields, they purchase the record. Upon doing so, the data they provided appears in the Thing.

In this example, an online classifieds system will be built. Before beginning, make sure that WebGUI Shop is set up and configured for your site. More about WebGUI Shop can be found in the WebGUI Shop Guide.

To begin, a Thingy asset to house the classifieds system was created. In the Thingy and Thing was built for the classifieds category “Merchandise”. Additional Things could be created for other classifieds categories such as “Pets” or “Real Estate.”

In the Merchandise Thing, the basic fields for a classifieds ad were created.

The Default view of the Thing is the Search screen, and it has been set to allow site visitors to search by item name, which is the the “For Sale” field.

Once the Thing has been created, the ThingyRecord can be created to allow people to advertise their merchandise in your classifieds ad system. You can use ThingyRecord to charge a cost for placing the ad.

To create a ThingyRecord asset:

1. Navigate to the page you wish to place ThingyRecord on.

2. Select ThingyRecord from the New Content menu. The “Add Thingy Record” screen will open.

3. Enter a title for the ThingyRecord in the “Title” field.

4. If necessary, enter a different Menu Title. This is the ThingyRecord title for the site navigation. By default, this asset is hidden from the navigation.

5. The URL field can be left blank, or you can enter one.

6. In the Description field enter text related to this item of content. In this example a brief description of the purpose of the asset has been entered.

7. Below the Description field is the “Add to Thing” drop down menu. From this menu you can select the Thing whose fields you are using in ThingyRecord. In this example, the Merchandise thing from the Classifieds Thingy was selected.

8. The “Fields to Add” field lists the fields the Thing (selected in number 7) contains. Select the fields you want users to complete when purchasing a ThingyRecord. In this example, users must complete all four fields for their classifieds ad when purchasing the ad, so all fields have been selected.

9. The “Thank You Message” field displays the thank you message people will see upon submitting the ThingyRecord. You can change this text. The ^ViewCart; macro is what displays a link that allows users to link to their shopping carts and pay for this record. You will most likely want to leave the macro in place.

10. In the “Price” field, enter the amount that people will be charged for purchasing this ThingyRecord.

11. The “Duration” field allows you to indicate how long the record will appear in the Thing. For example, if set to 1 Month, the person's classifieds ad will appear in the Merchandise Thing for one month.

12. Set Display options in the Display tab. This is the standard Display tab.

13. Set Security permissions in the Security tab. Again, this is the standard Security tab.

14. If you wish to enter Metadata for this item, do so in the Metadata tab. The tab contains all the standard Metadata fields. In WebGUI Shop, you can dynamically pull in SKU assets for display on a Shelf using Keyword association. For example, I can enter a Keyword of Merchandise for a ThingyRecord asset. I can then create a Shelf asset in another location on the site. If I also give the Shelf asset a Keyword of Merchandise, the Shelf will pull in and display all ThingyRecord assets and other SKU assets that have that same keyword in their Metadata tabs. You can learn more about this in the WebGUI Shop Guide.

15. The Shop tab contains items related to WebGUI Shop commerce.

1. 1. “SKU” stands for Stock Keeping Unit. It is basically a special product code or inventory unit. WebGUI will create a unique SKU for you, or you can enter your own.

   2. “Vendor” is the person or company who gets credit for selling this item. Vendors are set up in the Admin Console Shop screen. This is used for sites where outside vendors sell items on your site and receive a portion of the sale. You can learn more about setting up vendors in the WebGUI Shop Guide.

   3. “Ships Separately?” allows you to indicate if this item should accrue additional (separate) shipping costs. In the case of ThingyRecord you can probably leave this field set to No.

   4. “Override tax rate?” allows you to override the default tax rate for an area. This is most often used in areas of the world where essential items, like food and clothing, are exempt from taxes. In the case of ThingyRecord you can probably leave this set to No.

   5. If “Override tax rate?” is set to Yes, “Tax Rate Override” is where you enter the new tax rate to calculate on this item.

16. Click the save button to create your ThingyRecord asset.

When site users visit the site they fill in the fields in the ThingyRecord. Then, they click the “Add to cart” button.

Upon submitting the form, the user will be shown (by default) a thank you message, the form with their data filled in, and a link to view their cart.

The user can click on the View Cart link to proceed to the shopping cart and finish the check out process.

More information about WebGUI Shop's shopping cart and checkout process can be found in the WebGUI Shop Guide.

Upon visiting the original Classifieds Thingy, users can search for items they would like to purchase.

If an item matches, it will appear in the search results. In the example below, you can see the classified ad purchased through ThingyRecord appears.