Magento 1.8 – Configurable Product with Different URLs for Simple Products

configurable-productmagento-1.8product-urlsurl

If I sell a t-shirt which has 2 colours, normally I would have 1 URL for the configurable product as the 2 simple products would be set to have a visibility of hidden.

However I would quite like to replicate the functionality offered on this site, http://goo.gl/55VLRt, where each time you choose a variant then the URL changes. Is this possible with Magento?

Best Answer

I don't have much code for this, but I have an idea.
You will have to do things a bit different than the default approach Magento has for configurable products.
By default, the configurable product is visible and the simple products associated are not visible.
You will have to do it the other way around. Configurable product is not visible and the simple products are visible.
And in the simple product page check if it's part of a configurable product.
You can get the configurable product ids that contain the current simple product like this:

$productId = $this->getProduct()->getId();
$parentIds = Mage::getSingleton('catalog/product_type_configurable')->getParentIdsByChild($productId);

This will return an array because a simple product can be part of more simple products. This usually does not happen, but it's possible,
Of you are sure you have only one configurable product for the simple one then you can use $parentIds[0].
If $parentIds[0] is not set, then the simple product is not part of any configurable products.
Now you have the configurable product id.

You will need all the simple products associated to the configurable product:

$parentId =  $parentIds[0];
$configurableProduct = Mage::getModel('catalog/product')->setStoreId(Mage::app()->getStore()->getId())->load($parentId);
$simpleProducts = $configurableProduct->getTypeInstance()->getUsedProducts();

Now you have all the simple products from the configurable products.
You need to display in your product page a dropdown with all the simple products that will change the url when you select a value.

something like this: Let's say that color is your configurable attribute.

<select onchange="setLocation($(this).value)">
    <?php foreach ($simpleProducts as $simpleProduct) : ?>
        <?php 
             $selected = '';
             if ($simpleProduct->getId() == $this->getProduct()->getId()) {
                 $selected = ' selected="selected"';
             }
        ?>
        <option<?php echo $selected;?> value="<?php echo $simplProduct->getProductUrl()?>"><?php echo $simpleProduct->getAttributeText('color')?></option>
    <?php endforeach;?>
</select>

I haven't tested the code, but seams like the way to go.

Related Solutions

Magento – Product Types: Custom Options vs Bundle vs Configurable

This is just my opinion, so don't shoot if you don't like it.
I would use configurable products if the only configurable attribute is 'color'.
Pro
Using configurable products you take advantage of what Magento offers. Each product has it's own SKU, you can set out of stock only a few combinations, you can even make (custom) reports of how many red shirts you sold, and the list can go on.
Con
I know it can be a pain to manage them...but I assume you are not going to manage 1k products (* configurations) each day.

I would not take the custom options approach.
Pro
Maybe this has an advantage, because It can be easier to manage. You can even create an observer that will add the custom options on save so you won't have to add them manually. (here is how)

Conn You cannot set a combination out of stock.
Red for one product and Red for an other mean 2 different things.

I may take the bundle products approach by making each color a separate product, not visible individually.

Pro Can make an observer to add them on save so you don't have to add manually (I don't have a link for that).
Can manage prices for different combinations easier than for the configurable products.
Conn
Cannot make a combination out of stock unless all "red" combinations become out of stock.

This is what I got so far. I will add more as soon as I remember.

Magento – Auto Select simple products for configurable product

Here is an idea.
In order to have something preselected for a configurable product you must rewrite Mage_Catalog_Block_Product_View_Type_Configurable::getJsonConfig.
More exactly this part.

    $preconfiguredFlag = $currentProduct->hasPreconfiguredValues();
    if ($preconfiguredFlag) {
        $preconfiguredValues = $currentProduct->getPreconfiguredValues();
        $defaultValues       = array();
    }

Or this part

        if ($preconfiguredFlag) {
            $configValue = $preconfiguredValues->getData('super_attribute/' . $attributeId);
            if ($configValue) {
                $defaultValues[$attributeId] = $configValue;
            }
        }

You can add your custom logic around these lines of code.
I would go with this approach.
If after executing the code above defaultValues is an empty array add your logic. If it's not empty it means that the use clicked on the 'edit' button from the cart and you shouldn't interfere with that.

Now the second part.
How to get the minimum price.
Here is an explanation about how to get the min and max price from the configurable product combinations.

Other than this, I can recommend you this extension. Among other features it allows you to set from the backend the default configuration for a configurable product just by selecting a simple product associated to the configurable one.
The downside of it is that you have to edit every configurable product to set this.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Magento – Product Types: Custom Options vs Bundle vs Configurable

Magento – Auto Select simple products for configurable product

Related Topic