Set Up a Basic Maximum Purchase Rule

How does the rule choose what to look at in the cart? [Search Criteria]

Apply rule to all products in cart

Use Selection Groups

Use a single product's variations

Apply rule to single product

• by the cart contents as a whole
• by product and custom categories, and/or user roles
• by single product variation(s)
• by single product id

Role/Membership is used within Wordpress to control access and capabilities, when a role is given to a user. Wordpress assigns certain roles by default such as Subscriber for new users or Administrator for the site's owner. Roles can also be used to associate a user with a pricing level. Use a role management plugin like User Role Editor to establish custom roles, which you can give to a user or class of users. Then you can associate that role with a Maximum Purchase Rule. So when the user logs into your site, their Role interacts with the appropriate Rule.

How is the rule applied to the cart search results? [Rule applied to]

Application Method - All

Application Method - Each

Application Method - Any

• All – work with the total of the units/prices
• Each – apply the rule to each product in the Rule Population
• Any – Same as each, but limits the rule testing to the first X number of products

Does the Rule apply to Units Quantity amount or Price amount?

• Units Quantity Amount
• Price Amount

Here’s a sample of a maximum purchase rule:

• If the purchaser is a Subscriber - [search criteria:Subscriber]
• The maximum total for all purchases - [rule applied to: all]
• Must be less than $20. - [price amount: $20]

Cart Search Criteria Choices

Apply rule to all products in cart

Search just what's in the cart

Select 'Apply to all products in cart', and the rule will alway analyze the cart contents.

Search using Selection Groups

Use Selection Groups

Using selection groups allows the rule to apply to specified groups of products. You can use established (or new) product categories. If you want to apply the rule to a group of products which don't exist in product categories, using the custom 'Maximum Amount Categories', and adding products to one of those categories. (Using Maximum Amount Categories will not affect the usage or navigation of your regular product categories.) You can also use Role Membership to apply rules to only a certain class of logged-in (or not logged-in) users.

An advanced way of using selection groups, is to combine the possible group-defining criteria. You can select multiple categories, across both the Product Category and Maximum Amount category types. You can use the relationship modifier (And/Or) choice to combine category choices with categories and roles. For example, if you choose 'And', the rule will require that the product participate in both a category and a role, in order to be applied.

Apply rule to single product

Apply to Variation(s) from a Single Product

You can apply the rule to any in a list of variations belonging to a single product, by selecting this option, and supplying the product ID and hitting the button "Get Variations". A list of variations belonging to the product will appear to the left, and any/all of the variations can be selected.

Use a single product's variations

Apply to a Single Product

You can apply the rule to a single product, by selecting this option, and supplying the product ID. After the rule is published or updated, the product name will appear below the product ID, showing that the rule has validated the product ID number.

Set up Maximum Purchase Rule for User not logged in

Use Cart Search Criteria of 'Not Logged In'

Cart Search Criteria

• in Cart Search Criteria Box
• in membership List by Role Box
• Select 'Not logged in (just visiting)'

With this set up, the rule will act as an 'Apply to all products in the cart' selection, for any customer who is not logged in. This will be very useful, as many stores do not require a login to make a purchase.

Max Rule Type Selection

Max Rule Type - Cart or Lifetime

Selecting a Max Rule Type of "Cart" applies the rule to the current cart only. Selecting "Lifetime" allows you use all rule criteria to set cumulative lifetime limits on purchases by customer. Customers are identified by optional criteria, including IP addess, email address, billto name, billto address, shipto name, shipto address. You can select which of these optional criteria to use for comparison on the Options screen.

All Products in Cart - Venn

All Products in Cart - a Venn Diagram

A diagram representing how the 'all products in cart' search criteria works with the cart itself.

Category Setup and Usage in Search Criteria

Multiple Category Setup

Category Setup and Usage in Search Criteria

There's a number of ways to use the Product Category/Maximum Purchase (Custom) Category structure to your advantage.

• Use existing Product Category: If you've already got the products grouped in an existing Product Category, use that as your selection group.
• Create a new Product Category: If the product group you want the rule to apply to will make a useful new Product Category, create it and use that as your selection group.
• Create a new Maximum Purchase Category: If the product group you want the rule to apply to crosses existing categories, and a new Product Category would not fit in to your store's structure, create a Maximum Purchase category and use that as your selection group. Maximum Purchase categories are only accessed within the maximum purchase system, and have no other affect on your store.
• Combine using both Product Category and Maximum Purchase Category: The rule will look for participation in either category as its search criteria.

Creating new Maximum Purchase Categories and Adding Products to the new Category

A new Maximum Purchase Category can be created in either the Product page (just under the product category, you'll set the maximum purhcase category box) or in the Rule set page itself. In either location, just click the "+ Add New Maximum Purchase Category" and name your new category, then add it.

Be sure to add in all the products you want to participate in the new Maximum Purchase Category. This is done in the same way as product categories, by going to the individual product, and clicking in the appropriate box with the Maximum purchase category list, and then updating the product.

Role Setup and Usage in Search Criteria

Role Setup

Role/Membership is used within Wordpress to control access and capabilities, when a role is given to a user. Wordpress assigns certain roles by default such as Subscriber for new users or Administrator for the site's owner. New Roles with unique names can be created using a role manager plugin. (As these new new roles are used for search criteria rather than access level, the new roles can have the lowest possible access level.)

Role Usage

Role list

Roles have a separate use as well. Think of it as 'logged in as ...' or 'not logged in'. So if a user is 'not logged in', that means the rule applies to anything they buy. Converserly, your store can used the logged in state to separate out tiers of rules. If the user is 'logged in as XXX', any rule with Role XXX in the rule search criteria will be tested against that user's cart contents.

When roles are selected as the sole group criteria, "OR" must be selected in the "And/OR" relationship box just to the left of the Role selection box. Otherwise an error message will be produced, requiring that a category be selected.

Categories and Roles used Together in Search Criteria

Categories and Role Selection

Categories and Roles used Together with "and" Selected'

Using Categories and Roles together with "and" selected as rule search criteria, allows similar category criteria to mean different things, depending on the Role. For example, if someone is 'not logged in', the rule can require a maximum of $100 to be purchased for a specific category combination. But if they are logged in with a different role, say as a new role of 'Purchaser', that, one could set up a rule with the same criteria, but require only a $10 maximum purchase.

Categories and Roles used Together with "or" Selected'

Using Categories and Roles together with "or" selected does not add to the rule criteria. Without the role, the category criteria already apply to all roles, so additional role criteria is redundant.

All in Population - Error Msg

All in Cart Error Msg

All in Population - Error Message Results

When "all in population" is chosen, the rule acts on the totals of the population found to match the rule search criteria.

Apply to Each in Cart - Error Msg

Each in Cart Error Msg

Each/Any in Population - Error Message Results

When "each in population" or "any in population" is chosen, the rule acts on each individual product in the population found to match the rule search criteria.

Reset to Defaults Button

Fix Options Setup Page Problems (Reset to Defaults)

If the options setup is irretrievably messed up, there's an easy fix solution:

• Take a snapshot of your existing setup, to allow you to recover any settings you'd like from the current setup.
• Find the "Reset to Defaults" button (just below the "save changes" button)
• Hit the button and all will be returned to default settings.
• Re-apply those settings updates you desire.

Debug Options Switch

Show all Internal Data in Debugging Mode

If there are any issues that pop up during testing your Maximum Purchase rules, you have the option of turning on Debugging Mode. With Debugging Mode on, all of the rule, cart and decision structures used internally during processing are printed to the screen.