Intershipper Shipping Rate Calculator Plug-in Setup

Server Requirements

The Intershipper plug-in requires you to have the following Perl Modules installed on the server:

• Data::Dumper
• HTML::Parser
• LWP::Simple
• POSIX
• URI

While most of these are pre-installed perl modules and they should already be there, it does not hurt to double check. To test for these modules, we suggest getting a copy of PerlDiver:

http://www.scriptsolutions.com/programs/free/perldiver/

Once installed, it will show ALL of the Perl modules installed on the server. You can then contact your web host and have them add
the ones that are missing.

Registering at Intershipper

The first thing you need to do once the proper Perl modules are installed is register with InterShipper so you can get a username and password.

Go here to register http://www.intershipper.com

Plug-in Installation Instructions

NOTE: Please be careful reading this section. There may be a couple of entries that reference "UPS" below. That is because the "ups" entries are in the qs_main files by default. The plug-in name, ini, and template file names are what count.

Put the following files into your document root directory:

• intershipper.js
• graphics/intershipper.jpg

Put the following files in your cgi-bin/plug-ins directory:

• intershipper.pl
• intershipper.ini
• intershipper_enter_data.html
• intershipper_results.html
• InterShipper.pm
  

Open your quikstore qs_main.cgi file and set:

use_ups=yes
ups_plugin_name=intershipper.pl

NOTE: All of the other variables are now set in the intershipper.ini file. The remaining variables in the [UPS_SHIPPING] section of the qs_main do not do anything for this plug-in.

1. Open the intershipper.ini file and change the following variables:

   At a minimum, you need to set these 3 variables:

username=YOUR Intershipper Username
password=YOUR Intershipper Password

OriginationPostal=Your ship from zip code

2. Each variable in the intershipper.ini file has been commented as to its' purpose/settings. We do not list all the values that can be set here. Please open the intershipper.ini in Notepad for details on the individual settings. Be sure to save this as a TEXT ONLY file.

Defining the shipment "Packages" for your products

With the Intershipper plug-in, you can setup EACH product to allow for single, multiple, or order packages.

NOTE: If you do not define the package as shown below, it becomes part of an "order" package. This means that any undefined packages will all go into one box to be shipped. To define an "order" package product, simply enter the weight into the weight field for the product as you would normally.

You can define 5 parameters for each product. Each parameter is seperated by a colon ( : )

1. Weight
2. Dimensions
3. Package Type
4. Box
5. Origin Zip Code

This information is entered into the "Weight" field of the cart. For a database store, it would be entered into the "weight" field in the Catalog Wizard. In an HTML store, it would be entered into the weight field in the "item-" line for defining products in the HTML <FORM>. The is described in the Quikstore Help files under the HTML Store / Quikcode Wizard section.

An example of the USPS entry in the weight field would be:

10.02:12x14x20:S:NONE:13905

The Weight is entered in LBS and OZ like this: 10.02     (10.02 would equal 10 lbs. 2 oz.)

Weight Examples:

9.1 = 9 lbs. 10 oz.
9.10 = 9 lbs. 10 oz.
9.01 = 9 lbs. 1 oz.

NOTE: 9.18 will get recalculated to: 10.02

The OZ side of the decimal is a value from 0 to 15. If you want 1 OZ, you must put a zero in front of it (.01)

The Dimensions are defined as: 12x14x20

(length x width x height) - no spaces between the characters

The Package Type is one of 2 entries:

1. S = Ship each item in its' own box (if the user gets 3 of this item, there will be 3 boxes)
2. M = Ship mutiple quantities of this item together in one box.
   NOTE: You can also put a dash and a number after the M if you want to specify how many of an item go in each box. If you leave the dash and number off, all of that item will be in the same box.
   
   Examples:
   

   M-3 means use multiple boxes with up to three items per box.

   M means use multiple boxes putting all of that item in the same box.

3. PRE = Group items with similar id numbers together in one box.
   
   Example:
   
   

   PRE-2-5 means use the first two characters in the item id and put up to five items per box. This means that all items that have the same first two characters will be grouped together and put in the same box (if less than six) or boxes (if more than five).

The Box is defined below. The default value is BOX if left empty or set to NA.

Here's the list of available selections:

The Origin Zip Code is the zip code that the package will be shipped from. Used if you do drop shipping from a postal code OTHER than the default postal code set in the intershipper.ini file. If you leave this empty or set it to NONE, it will use the setting from the intershipperl.ini configuration file.

Handling/Special Charges

Handling charges are NOT set in this plug-in. However, you can do this by using your admin panel at Intershipper. It allows you to set special charges by carrier so it's much more versatile.

All other settings are located in the intershipper.ini and we encourage you to open that file in notepad and review it before putting this online.