Requirements

• Product Comparison VirtueMart extension is compatible with VirtueMart 1.1.9 and Joomla 1.5.x
• Product Comparison VirtueMart extension is NOT compatible with VirtueMart 2.0.x and Joomla 2.5.x
• Product Comparison VirtueMart extension is NOT compatible with VirtueMart 1.0.x and Joomla 1.0.x
• This extension requires code modification, it can not be installed via Joomla installer.

Features of Product Compare extension.

1. Product Compare has three configuration options, Global, Category and None.
   Global compare - products from 2 or more different categories can be compared.
   Category compare - products from within the category can be compared.
   None - compare is disabled.
2. Products can be removed either from the compare cart or compare page.
3. Shopper can add products to compare from the flypage (product details page) in addition to the browse list.
4. A default compare page can be set in VirtueMart global layout configuration.
5. In addition to default compare page, compare page template can be set in category configuration too. The category compare page template will be used only when compare type = category.
6. User can customize the compare_cart template independent of the browse page.
7. Added new $compare_cart tag to both browse and flypage template. $compare_cart can be placed anywhere on the browse page or flypage. The layout of compare cart is determined by the compare_cart template described in 6.
8. Added a compare_cart_product template. The user can now edit this template to customize the display of individual compare product thumbnails and the remove button.
9. User can set which fields to compare within the global configuration. If additional control is needed, the user can customize the compare template.
10. In addition to the normal product fields, product type fields can also be compared. Parameter fields are automatically added to the compare table. If a parameter field is not comparable, the user can modify the template to disable that comparison.
11. Multilingual
12. Added Disallow compare option to category to omit a category from being compared when global mode is selected.

Enable Extended Classes
Virtuemart Admin -> Configuration -> Security (tab) look for "Allow the inclusion of extended classes from the theme-directory".

Product Compare configuration screen
Virtuemart Admin -> Configuration -> Product Compare (tab).

• Product Comparison Type - Select Product comparison method, none, category, global.
  • None - Disables Product Compare Globally.
  • Category - Allow Compare only within category (Allow compare in Category must be enabled).
  • Global - Allow compare throughout the store.
• Max no. of Products Allowed to Compare - Set maximum number of products to be compared simultaneously by site visitors. It is important to set a value to avoid layout issues caused by the width of template.
• Fields to compare - The config is to specify exactly the fields that need to compare (can be set in template too).
• Compare Page Template - Selected template will be used throughout the site (2 templates provided), you can specify a different template for a category in the category configuration.
• Compare Cart Template - Specify how compare page is shown classic i.e. open compare page in a new window or popup.
• Compare Cart Product Template - Specify layout of compare cart.
  • Classic - Use classic template when 'Compare Module' is not used.
  • Image List - Use in conjunction with 'Compare Module', show compared products with image in list format.
  • Product List - Use in conjunction with 'Compare Module', show compared products without image in list format.
  
  
  
• Show Remove All - Show or hide 'Remove All' button from compare cart.

 

Category level control for Product Comparison - To enable/disable product comparison in category level three options are available.

• Global - Allow category compare throughout the store, when Global is selected in Compare Configuration.
• Allow - Allow Comparison within category, Category comparison must be selected in Compare Configuration.
• Disallow - Disable Product Comparison only for this Category

Category Compare Template - Option to select different Compare template for the category (2 templates provided).

 

+ = Added ! = Removed ^ = Changed # = Fixed

December-03-2012 : v5.0
+ Added product compare module with two templates.
+ Added highlight differences template.
+ Added popup compare page option.
+ Added print compare page option.

September-20-2011 : v4.2.0
^ Updated package to Virtuemart 1.1.9, no changes made to extension

July-20-2011 : v4.2.0
+ Added parameter tooltip.
+ Added content plugin to description.
# Fixed ItemID issue.

May-10-2011 : v4.1.0
^ Updated package to Virtuemart 1.1.8, no changes made to extension

January-21-2011 : v4.1.0
^ Updated package to Virtuemart 1.1.6, no changes made to extension

October-01-2010 : v4.1.0
+ Added product price to compare page.
# Fixed collapsible column issue in IE (compare_1.tpl.php template).
# Fixed SEF issue

August-27-2010 : v4.0.0
^ Updated package to Virtuemart 1.1.5, no changes made to extension

January-05-2010 : v4.0.0
+ Added collapsible column option to compare template (only compare_1.tpl.php template)
# Fixed a category level bug, even if a different compare template was selected for category level it still used global compare template.

March-02-2010 : v3.5.0
# Fixed a bug that when compare was set to disallow in category level, compare worked
# Fixed Product Types publish/unpublish issue, product type was visible in compare page even when product type was unpublished.
# Fixed Remove Product from compare page issue.

November-10-2009 : v3.0.0
+ Multilingual support
+ Disallow compare option added to category to omit a category from being compared when global mode is selected
# Fixed bugs

May-22-2009 : v2.0.0
# Fixed bugs

March-22-2009 : v1.0.0
+ Initial release

Customer Reviews:

mohamed.zidan  (Monday, 22 November 2010)
Rating:

i love this compenet, the developer done a great job and the support are great, i was looking for a function makes my clients able to compare products in virtuemart, and here it is, like a charmrnrngreat job

ijamaatlou  (Sunday, 17 October 2010)
Rating:

That's a very useful hack.Easy to use.Easy installation, and And good price for such powerfull hackrnthanks peter!

sandi  (Monday, 22 March 2010)
Rating:

Best VM extension! Worth every penny! Integration is easy, configuration - no problem, code is clean, understandable and it's easy to fix so it corresponds for use. Great work!

Viacheslav  (Tuesday, 29 September 2009)
Rating:

Very good VM hack! Excellent work!rnSimple installation and settings.rnAnd good price for such powerfull hack.