Addons Library Frequently Asked Questions

About Phoenix Cart Addons Library

What is the Phoenix Cart Addons Library?
The Phoenix Cart Addons Library is a database of addons available to users to enable them to extend the functionality and appearance of their Phoenix Cart store. Free Addons can be downloaded here. Paid Addons can be purchased and downloaded from the developers website link provided in the addon details.
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Validation/Approval? What’s that?
Free Addons undergo validation before approval. This means it has undergone scrutiny as to the security of the code. Ensure to follow the guidelines in Creating an Addon shown further down this page.
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How to use the Phoenix Cart Addons Library

Finding a Addon
There are several ways to find a addon. On the main page you can see the recent addons that have been added. Click on FREE PHOENIX ADDONS, for example, to see the categories that are currently available that can be used to filter the addons displayed. There are also drop down menus (e.g. Most recently updated) to enable sorting and filtering. You can also use the Search feature next to NEW PHOENIX ADDON to search the Addons Library by addons title - note that the Search feature in the breadcrumb bar will search the main forum, not the Addons Library. You can also click on an author name in an addon to see the Author profile and a link to all of their addons. There is also a My Addons link in your username dropdown menu that will go to addons that you have submitted/uploaded.
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Downloading an Addon
Free Addons can be downloaded here as a zip file. Click on an addon to see the download link. Paid Addons will show a link to the developers website where the addon can be purchased and downloaded.
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Unapproved Addons
Your submitted Free Addon might show an Unapproved label until it is Validated and Approved which takes time. The addon can still be viewed by you but will be unavailable to others until approved.
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Addons Support

Rules
The rules involved are very simple. For Free Addons, you should seek support within the Addon Discussion/Support tab seen in the addon and NOT anywhere else on the forum. Some authors may not offer support for Free Addons and that warning will show if applicable. It is our hope that the author of an addon provides end user support. Please remember that all authors are volunteers who have spent their time in providing an enhancement to Phoenix Cart software so be nice in the way you ask. Support for Paid Addons must be requested direct from the author by their preferred means of contact and NOT anywhere on the forum.
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How to get Support
Each Free Addon is provided with a method to provide support to you. Within each is the ability for the author to post FAQ(s) concerning the addon as well as a discussion/support area for a type of one-to-one support. To access this area you simply click on the addon and a tab will be displayed, Addon Discussion/Support. Once you access this area you may post a question or comment to the author. Please remember that authors are under no obligation to provide support just as they are under no obligation to provide to you the addon. If you run across a post or comment that you feel is not in the best interests of the community, please feel free to use the Report this post button and a moderator will take the appropriate action necessary.
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Creating and Managing Addons

Creating an Addon
Authors are requested to follow certain guidelines. Authors acknowledge they have the legal rights and permission to publish the addon and make it available to others in accordance with the terms of the selected license. Authors must ensure the addon is not harmful. Authors must package the addon correctly - see how the Certified Developers do it. References or links within files to any third party software or website are NOT permitted with the exception of reference or link to phoenixcart.org, Certified Developer website or a third party website essential to the function of the addon. The Administrators of Phoenix Cart reserve the right to remove addons that do not follow the guidelines.
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Publishing a New Phoenix Cart Addon
To publish an addon, click NEW PHOENIX ADDON. Once clicked on you will be able to enter in the addon name, select the addon type, add some wording to describe the addon (this will appear in the description that shows when the addon is clicked - add as much detail as you want), add some wording as a summary of the addon (this will appear in the addon tile/card - keep this short and brief), select the category(ies) that the addon fits into, select the version(s) of Phoenix Cart on which the addon will work, add screenshots and upload your package. Only Certified Developers can publish a Paid Addon. Enter the price and your website link, where the addon can be purchased, in the addon description. You can contact admin@phoenixcart.org to apply and subscribe to be a Certified Developer. Please keep in mind that as you are publishing the addon it is your name with which the addon will be aligned.
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Managing Addons
Once your addon is uploaded successfully, you are able to manage and edit it. Click your Username in the nav bar to see My Addons link in the drop down menu. After selecting your addon, you can add additional information to it via the Edit Addon tab. You can edit the description, upload screen shots, change ownership (please note this is irreversible so ensure you really want to give another user ownership), change the categories the addon fits under as well as input a demo url so users can see firsthand what the addon looks like and how it works.
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Submitting a new Revision
You can upload new revisions. Once you click on the NEW ADDON REVISION link, you are presented a page where you can upload the revision, assign it a version etc.
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Giving Support

FAQ
Each addon provides to the author the ability to submit FAQ type of topics. These topics that you create should be written in a way that a user can understand and apply the topic to the addon whether the topic be concerning how to get the addon installed, accessing features of the addon etc. It should be noted that this area is just for you. Users can not edit or reply to FAQ entries.
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Support
Please keep in mind that users will ask questions or make comments concerning your addon. We ask that you support your addon as much as you can. We realise that you spent your free time in creating your addon and that real life can, sometimes, get in the way of fun. We just ask that you as the author provide as much support as possible. If you run across a post or comment that you feel is not in the best interests of the community, please feel free to use the Report this post button and a moderator will take the appropriate action necessary.
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Validation and Approval

Validation
Remember, every addon MUST have the correct licensing (currenty GNU GPL version 2), the correct version of Phoenix Cart and the correct packaging. If your addon does not have these rudimentary items then it cannot be accepted.
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My Addon shows Unapproved
Once an addon is published, it is then up to the relevant team who will validate your addon. You may find that you get a message stating your addon was denied but do not worry. We know things can get overlooked. The message you receive will contain items that were found.
If no items were found during validation of your addon you will get a PM stating that your addon has been approved. It is now time to relax a bit and revel in the knowledge that you have made a contribution to the open source community.
No matter the outcome of the validation, we appreciate the time and effort you have exerted in sharing your contribution.
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Who will be validating my addon
It will be validated by a member of the community team appointed by the Administrators of Phoenix Cart.
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