Is there any guide on how (if possible) to sell digital / downloads with the newer Shopping Cart?
As mentioned in the docs, CouchCart represents just the cart component of an E-Commerce setup. As of now, it does not store info about the placed orders (and their payment/shipping status etc.).
The way things work now is that once payment is successfully made, PayPal intimates the seller via email and the seller can then proceed to completing the transaction.
If the ordered goods are physical, he'll have to arrange getting them shipped.
If, however, the ordered items are digital, the seller can email the download links of the items to the buyer.
The 'Cloaked Link' feature of Couch (http://www.couchcms.com/docs/concepts/c ... links.html) is perfect for such secure download links.
The 'PayPal Button' (http://www.couchcms.com/docs/concepts/paypal.html) feature has an snippet that shows how to use the 'Cloaked link' feature -
- Code: Select all
<cms:send_mail from=pp_receiver_email to=pp_payer_email subject='Thank you for your purchase!' >
Dear <cms:show pp_first_name /> <cms:show pp_last_name />,
Thank you for buying <cms:show pp_item_name />.
You may download your file from the following link:
<cms:cloak_url link=downloadable_file force_download='1' />"
</cms:send_mail>
In the snippet above, the details of the order were taken from the IPN info sent back by PayPal.
Had CouchCart stored the order info, the same IPN notification could be used to auto-generate the email. However, since that is not the case, the seller will have to manually create and send such emails.
You, as the developer, can make the process a little easier for him by creating a Couch web-form where all the requisite info could be inputted manually. Submitting the form will then generate and send the email containing the download links.
Essentially the form will require only the buyers email address. You could create a checkbox list of the all the available products and the seller can simply tick the ones ordered.
Would just like to add that with 'User submitted contents' feature slated for the next release, you can expect CouchCart to begin manging the orders, inventories and users. For now, going manual is the only way out.
Hope this helps.