Everybody will be able to see its contents. Do not include usernames, passwords or any other sensitive information.
We already use the Membership Pro component and want to use the user data. Membership Pro allows synchronization with Joomla User Fields via settings. This means we already have fields according to the following scheme/structure and the corresponding values:
first_name
last_name
…
It would be extremely convenient for our members if these were used during checkout and automatically transferred.
Peter,
I am sort of understanding the question but could use more information:
Are you looking into switching from Membership Pro to J2Commerce with the subscriptions app, but want to make sure the first/last names that you currently have set in the user custom fields are able to still be used without having to "rewire" everything on your existing site? If so, I can tell you how I would handle it to keep those fields and switch subscription apps. If that wasn't what you were asking, please provide additional information so I can give you a better answer :)
Adam
No, it does not involve migration. The idea is that J2Commerce will also be synchronized with com_users (Fields) (see attached organizational chart). For the sake of customer convenience, our existing members should not have to fill out all the fields again during the checkout process when placing their first order.
Peter,
Thanks for sharing the chart, it helps me better understand your question.
To help me better understand the top-level idea:
The site currently has some sort of membership that uses Membership Pro to accept payment, manage their subscriptions, and restrict/allow access accordingly?
You wish to offer J2Commerce as a second payment system to sell other items and let Membership Pro sell continue selling the memberships?
In better understanding your end-goal I can give you a more informed answer. :)
Adam
The idea is that existing Joomla users with extended fields do not have to re-enter all input fields at checkout. An integration of com_users functions like a star-shaped distributor and integrates all components.
Peter,
I've thought about this more over the weekend and here is what I would do in your situation and why I would do it.
Customers can have more than one Billing or Shipping address so building a plugin to connect specific user fields to a specific address field would essentially add the users' addresses into the address table the first time seems to be a lot more work than simply importing the existing customer data into the addresses table and letting the users/customers manager their own addresses in the future. I have done the import method many times without any issue. If the purpose is to make the use of J2Commerce checkout seamless for existing customers , this would satisfy that without then having to account for what if the customer has multiple billing addresses but only user custom fields for one? Without seeing your user fields - some of this is speculation, but existing users would have their imported address already in the checkout waiting for them and they would have the ability to add new addresses if they should choose to and manage their imported one without having to think twice (and without you having to constantly maintain a link to user fields (since they can manage their addresses in the the front-end of the site anyways...
Of course, if there are other reasons that have not been mentioned for needing them to be synced - there is nothing stopping anybody from building a plugin that does just that - but based on the information you have provided thus far, I would go with the simplest method first.
Adam
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation of the issue and your thoughts on it. I will probably try to create a plugin that at least synchronizes first and last names via com_users.
