Prestashop release v1.2 alpha(1)

Prestashop have released the first alpha release of what will become the next significant release (v1.2).

There are a lot of bug fixes and enhancements as well as several new features, the most significant of which are summarized below :

jqZoom has been added as a new feature and there is now the ability to set multiples pictures for a combination. There is also the ability to attach files to the product page (for example a PDF)

Within the backoffice, you can now create Groups. Each customer then has to be assigned to one or multiples groups.

Groups allow you to;

• Input a discount to a group's members (currently this is just a percentage discount- hopefully in future you would be able to link a group to a discount table)
• Set group access to certain categories
• Specifiy which payment modules can be used for a given group

The search function in the frontoffice has been re-developed from the ground up ( when upgrading from 1.1 you need remember that you will need to re-index your products in Backoffice >> Preferences >> Search)

There are three new stats related modules which are "statsbestsuppliers", "statscarrier" and "statssearch" (using the keywords of the internal search engine) and there is now the ability to produce stats from a from/to date range. A further improvement in the stats reports is speed increases

A new hook called “shoppingCartExtra” for the shopping-cart has been added.

When the final 1.2 version is released, a new “PrestaStore” button will exist. The aim, according to Prestashop is to allow you to customize your PrestaShop website more  easily, thanks to direct access from the administration panel, “Modules” tab.

PrestaStore will enable you to obtain complementary modules for your shop, such as payment modules, logistics, export to price comparisons for example. PrestaStore will also be a marketplace, where developers will be able to propose their own modules so users of the software should end up with a rich and diverse range of new features that can be easily installed via PrestaStore link.

Other changes include;

New tab for your Tags, This makes it easier to manage these and add to multiple products
There is now a quick link to view your product sales enabling you to see sales statistic for this product
Ability to view your total sales in backoffice
Manufacturers addresses can now be input
You can now set your store's own timezone
The import tool has been improved
You can now generate .htaccess and robots files

For the full range of bug fixes and other enhancements and changes included with Prestashop 1.2alpha. Download the change log txt file