Emaze Auction Software Documentation, Version 2.1
Emaze Auction Software Documentation Version 2.1
Welcome
Welcome to Emaze Auction Software. The purpose of the following documentation is to enable ease of use in the installation, and management of your auction website. You can quickly access any of the topics from the menu below or use the Alphabetical List Of Contents Pop Up Menu. Each section of this help documentation is also lined with hyperlinks to create ease of use and allow you to quickly navigate through the help section learning about each aspect of the software.
Click Here For An Alphabetical Listing Of Contents
List of Contents
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Installation
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1)
Create a directory for Emaze Auction in your webserver's public directory. This can be named EmazeAuction or whatever you wish. For the sake of convenience, we assume you named it EmazeAuction.

2)
Copy all of the subdirectories within the EmazeAuction directory to the directory you just created on your webserver. There are 4 files you need to copy from the the EmazeAuction directory as well:

Application.cfm
initialize.cfm
index.cfm
category.cfm
lot.cfm
verify.cfm

3)
If you are using Microsoft Access 97, copy the database template, emazeauction.mdb, to your webserver. The database can be anywhere you choose. It does not need to be within the EmazeAuction/ directory. Rather, it should be outside of your publicdirectory. You are welcome to rename the file to anything you want.

If you do not have Microsoft Access 97, you may use any SQL database. Please email us at support@emaze.com for the file to create the database. We have a script that works for SQL Server versions 6.5 and 7.0. It will probably work with Oracle as well.

4)
Log into the ColdFusion Administrator and add the emazeauction.mdb database to the list of Cold Fusion datasources. You may name the datasource anything you want. Be sure to check that the datasource is working properly. If you are hosting with an ISP, you will need to have your ISP do this for you since they will not give you access to the ColdFusion Administrator.

5)
We highly recommend you use the CF Scheduler for closing auctions. Register for the Scheduler to do the following:
Run every hour or other time period you choose, depending on how often you close lots.
Run http://www.yourdomain.com/EmazeAuction/program/scheduler.cfm

6)
To initialize Emaze Auction, point your browser to: http://www.yourdomain.com/EmazeAuction/initialize.cfm . Fill in the appropriate fields and submit the form to initialize Emaze Auction.

7)
If using a database other than Access, run the createdb.cfm script to set up the database. If you did not FTP the createdb.cfm script to your server, be sure to do so. Point your browser to: http://www.yourdomain.com/EmazeAuction/createdb.cfm.

8)
Delete the EmazeAuction/initialize.cfm file from the server. If necessary, delete the createdb.cfm script as well.

9)
To set up your auctions, point your browser to the Emaze Auction Admin screens at
http://www.yourdomain.com/EmazeAuction/admin/index.cfm.

username: master
password: emaze
We strongly recommend you at least change the password after logging in. Just click on Master in the User section. You should also delete the initialize.cfm file.
Terminology
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  • ADMIN / MASTER:
    User who has access to the admin screens. At this time, the system supports only a single admin user.
  • LOT:
    What is being auctioned off. Can be a single or multiple quantity. If multiple, you can limit the maximum quantity each bidder may win. A lot can be public, meaning all users may bid on it; or private, where users must be given permission to access that lot.
  • CATEGORY:
    Each lot belongs to a category. Each category may have up to 3 sub-category levels, providing 4 category levels in all, e.g., Computers : PC : Laptop: Accessories. Please note that most of the Lot options are hidden in the Category section. Each lot is part of a category, so to perform lot actions (other than creating new lots) you must begin with the appropriate category.
  • AUCTION HOMEPAGE:
    Lists all primary categories (e.g., Computers). Our template lists up to 10 lots which open today, and up to 10 which close today. Provides space for a special message or hot deal, and a form for users to edit their information or check the status of all of their bids. Also includes header and footer options.
  • CATEGORY HOMEPAGE:
    Page for that category. Lists all lots in that category. Our template lists open lots and all lots which have closed in the past 7 days. Lists all categories and sub-categories for the category you are in. Provides space for a special message or hot deal, and a form for users to edit their information or check the status of all of their bids. Also includes header and footer options.
  • TEMPLATE:
    Design for how the auction home page, category home page, or lot page is displayed. We include a single template for each type of page. You may customize these templates or create your own. In the future, we will offer additional templates. In the meantime though, you may use our templates as a reference for your own. The templates are not encrypted, so you have full access to the Cold Fusion code.
  • BIDDER / USER:
    Must be registered to bid on a lot. For private auctions, bidders must log in to ensure they have permission. You will notice the terms "user" and "bidder" used interchangably. Users and bidders are the same thing. However, we typically use the term user because Emaze Auction was designed to integrate with Emaze Forums, our discussion forum program. This enables you to maintain a single user database for both programs, enabling bidders to easily join a discussion forum on that lot or on other topics.
  • BID:
    Bidders bids with their initial bid, desired quantity (if more than 1), whether they will accept partial quanlity or full quantity only (if more than 1). They can also use the auto-bid feature, if Admin permits it.
  • AUTO-BID:
    Admin must enable this feature. Allows users to enter the initial bid and their maximum bid. Emaze Auction will automatically increase their bid the necessary amount to ensure they win at least one quantity. If they will accept only the full quantity, it will stop auto-bidding once they can no longer with the full quantity with their maximum bid. Some auction sites automatically do auto-bidding, but we decided against this to allow Admin to deterine whether to allow this. Our method also allows a bidder to choose their initial bid
  • SELLERS:
    A seller is an individual who when registered may begin creating lots of items which he or she would like to auction off. As the Admin, you may choose to have the option of having to approve each lot before it opens so that sellers are restricted in that sense.
  • COOKIES:
    Small text files that are used by browsers to most commonly either track users and enhance their online experience, or to track users and learn abou visitors' browsing habits.
    • URLS
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    General URLS
    Admin Screens: http://www.domain.com/EmazeAuction/admin/index.cfm
    Auction Homepage: http://www.domain.com/EmazeAuction/index.cfm
    Category Homepage: http://www.domain.com/EmazeAuction/category.cfm?categoryID=#categoryID#
    Lot: http://www.domain.com/EmazeAuction/lot.cfm?lotID=#lotID#

    Other URLS For Bidders
    New Bidder: http://www.domain.com/program/user.cfm
    Edit Bidder: http://www.domain.com/program/editUser.cfm
    Help: http://www.domain.com/program/help.cfm
    List All Lots: http://www.domain.com/program/list.cfm
    Bid Status: http://www.domain.com/program/status.cfm
    Bid Form: http://www.domain.com/program/bidForm.cfm
    Automated E-Mails
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    Currently the Emaze Auction software handles a number of automated e-mail processes that benefit both the end user and the website owner. Here is a list of the automated e-mail processes that can be turned on or off by default, or defined by the bidder or seller. Note: Each of these e-mail messages may be edited for default content that is contained within, in the Admin area.

  • Winner
    (you won the bidding)
  • Loser
    (you lost the bidding)
  • Outbid
    (you need to raise your bid to win)
  • Losing Bid Wins Again
    (winning bid again - recovered or winning bid has increased)
  • Losing Quantity
    (you will only win partial quantity with your current bid)
  • Auto Bid
    (your bid was automatically increased to keep you in the lead for the lot)
  • Verify Email
    (verifying email regarding a bid)
  • Register
    (verifying registration information)
  • Lot Closed
    (notifies lot contact person that the auction has closed - optional to include winning bidder information)
  • Sellers E-Mail All Winning Bidders
    (this option turned on or off allows you to determine whether you want to allow sellers to email all winning bidders)
  • Sellers E-Mail All Losing Bidders
    (this option turned on or off allows you to determine whether you want to allow sellers to email all losing bidders)
  • Send Automatic E-Mail to admin with seller and lot information when created
  • E-Mail seller with lot information regardless of approval of rejection of lot by Admin
    • Closing Lots
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    Closing lots in Emaze Auction is a 2 step process:

  • Update the lot status so that users do not mistakenly believe the lot is still open to bidding.
  • Send the necessary e-mails to the contact person for that lot, and to all winners and losers who requested to be notified (assuming the Admin permits the automated emails).

    The two components are separated because Cold Fusion is not inherently designed to create applications which require actions to be performed at a specific time. The Enterprise version of Cold Fusion (which costs $1000) offers a Scheduler in the Administrator, which enables you to automatically run a Cold Fusion script at a designated time or interval. Other than the Scheduler though, it is not possible to say, "Close the lot at 5:00 PM." and have Cold Fusion just do it. So we had to hack it for our purposes.

    Emaze Auction maintains 2 lists:

  • Lots which are currently open
  • Lots which are closed, but the emails still need to be sent

    Every time a page is loaded by a user, Emaze Auctions checks whether any open lots need to be closed. If so, Emaze Auction adds the lot(s) to the queue of closed lots waiting to have the e-mails sent. This is a simple script that will not significantly affect user's experience or place undue burden on the server. Emaze Auction does not automatically send the emails because that takes additional time, and would affect the user's experience. (This is because Cold Fusion does not allow you to send HTML to the browser while the page is still being processed.)

    If you have the Enterprise version of Cold Fusion, or are hosting your site with an ISP that uses the Enterprise version, you have access to the Scheduler via the Cold Fusion Administrator. The Scheduler enables you to run a script without requiring a user to wait while it executes. Most ISPs will allow you to run a simple script through the Scheduler. However, if your ISP is wary of doing this, feel free to have them contact us at sales@emaze.com and we will be happy to assure that the script will not place undue burden on their server.

    The script that you should run via the Scheduler is:
    http://www.domain.com/program/scheduler.cfm

    If you have lots which close at all hours, we recommend running the script every hour. However, if your lots tend to close at the same times, you can set up the script to run only at those times. If you are using the inactivity setting, such that an auction will remain open past the closing time as long as there is still active bidding, be sure to run the script after the closing time, e.g., 30 minutes. This will provide enough time for most auctions to actually close.

    If you do not have access to the Scheduler, either because you are not fortunate (and wealthy) enough to have the Enterprise version of Cold Fusion or because your ISP will not allow you to use the Scheduler, all is not lost. Emaze Auction can still send the emails automatically. When Emaze Auction checks whether any lots need to be closed, if the scheduler is not being used and no lots need to be closed at that time, it will send the automated emails for one lot in the queue. This ensures that each user will not endure a long delay.

    In the Options section of the Emaze Auction Admin screens, you are asked to designate whether you are using the Cold Fusion Scheduler. If you are not, then you can choose to either have Emaze Auction send the automated emails or choose to send them manually. (Manually does not mean that you must send the email to each user individually. Rather, the Admin screens provide a button for each lot to automatically send the emails to the winners and/or losers if the emails have not already been sent.

    • Use of Cookies
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    The use of cookies, in the Emaze Auction software allows you to

  • Enhance Admin access security.
  • Enhance the bidding and selling experience of your online users.

    Here are the cookies that Emaze Auction Software currently employs. The first cookie is mandatory while the last two are optional:

    EmazeAuction_master :
    Temporary cookie used only for the Emaze Auction admin screens to ensure that only the Master user may access these screens.

    EmazeAuction_user :
    Temporary cookie for users who have bid on a lot during that browser session. This enables them to bid on additional lots without entering their username and password each time. This cookie will automatically expire when the browser is closed. Admin may decide whether to implement this cookie.

    EmazeAuction_login :
    Permanent cookie for users who choose the automatic login via cookie option. This enables them to bid on lots without entering their username and password everytime they come to your site, including between sessions. Admin may decide whether to implement this cookie and users may decide whether to use it.

    • Use of Javascript
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    Emaze Auction utilizes client-side JavaScript to move some of the processing from the server to the client. JavaScript is used extensively in the forms to ensure that all fields are properly completed. This is much more efficient than submitting a form, only to have the server send back an error message that either a required field is not completed, or the field does not contain the proper type of data. Because it is done using JavaScript, the user will not be permitted to submit the bid until the form is completely properly.

    JavaScript is used extensively in the Admin screens. However, it is also used in various parts of the user interface, primarily on the bid form for the following purposes:

  • Ensure the user enters their username and password if they are not using a cookie.
  • Ensure the user enters a bid as a number value, the bid is at least the minimum bid necessary to win at least 1 quantity, and the bid is at least greater than the previous bid by the bid increment.
  • Ensure the user enters a quantity as a number and that the quantity is less than or equal to the maximum quantity allowed.
  • When using the auto-bid feature, ensure the user enters a maximum bid which is at least one bid increment greater than their initial bid.

    Please note that Emaze Auction uses JavaScript only via Cold Fusion's integrated JavaScript functionality for web forms. While we are not currently aware of any browser or platform incompatibilities in Cold Fusion's JavaScript code, we recommend that users be using at least Netscape Navigator 3 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3. Regardless, Emaze Auction incorporates server-side checks for these tests as well. However, use of client-side JavaScript can reduce stress on the server for those users who have a browser which supports these JavaScript features.



    • Documentation and HTML compiled by: Sebastian Arciszewski, Virtual Vendor Inc.
    June 4, 1999