D2 StoreFront - Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are posted below for some of the more frequent questions posted about D2 StoreFront. If you have a question not answered here, please contact us. Click here for the D2 StoreFront version history.
| Q. What do i need to run D2 StoreFront and is it easy to install? |
A. D2 StoreFront is an ASP.NET based web application so you will need a Windows .NET based hosting package that provides SQL Server 2000 or 2005. There are numerous hosting providers that offer this sort of package but we can recommend the Crystaltech .NET hosting package at: http://www.crystaltech.com/dotnet.aspx. Note Unix/Linux hosting packages are not suitable to host .NET applications and the free packages often offered with domain name purchases are also unsuitable as they seldom offer the option to use your own SQL database. As for ease of installation, full instructions are provided in our documentation section and the application is designed to be simple for users with limited website knowledge to set up. With the retail versions of D2 StoreFront, we offer full support via our forums and direct support via email. We also offer a full installation service should you wish to have the store set up for you. |
| Q. I currently use an MS Access database/MySQL with D2 Sitelock, is this supported in D2 StoreFront? |
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A. No, sorry, D2 StoreFront only supports SQL Server 2000 or 2005. There are no plans to support Access or MySQL. SQL server was chosen for performance reasons and ease of support. When the first version of D2 Sitelock was originally developed years ago, SQL Server was still a luxury as far as mainstream hosting packages were concerned due to the high costs involved. For this reason, it always supported 3 database platforms (SQL/Access/MySQL) to offer the user the maximum amount of choice. These days though, the majority of Windows hosting providers offer SQL Server space as a free part of their standard packages or for a small additional fee. D2 StoreFront is compatible with all the flavours of SQL Server that you are likely to be offered in a hosting environment - 2000, 2000 MSDE, 2005, 2005 Express. We appreciate this decision may not be popular as a large proportion of D2 Sitelock users use MS Access as their database platform of choice. However, the fact is that the performance and scalability offered by SQL Server is light years ahead of Access which was never designed as a web database. For this reason it was decided to finally cut the ties to Access and concentrate solely on SQL Server. |
| Q. Can i get a copy of the D2 StoreFront source code? |
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A. Yes, a full source code version of D2 StoreFront is available for purchase. The code is compatible with Visual Studio 2005 or later and also the free Visual Web Developer packages from Microsoft. |
| Q. Does D2 StoreFront run under the .NET 3.5 Framework? |
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A. Yes, D2 StoreFront will run using either the 2.0 or 3.5 versions of the .NET Framework. The older 1.1 version of .NET is not supported. |
| Q. What language is D2 StoreFront written in? |
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A. D2 StoreFront is written in VB.NET. |
| Q. The store demo is in UK £. Are other currencies supported? |
| A. Yes, of course! when setting up D2 StoreFront you are asked which currency you wish to use within your store. Selectable currencies are US Dollars, UK Pound, Euros, Canadian Dollars, Japanese Yen and Australian Dollars. You can also select the locale ID so date formatting etc will be set to your own regions format. |
| Q. Are language packs provided so i can deploy the store interface in my own countries language? |
| A. Unfortunately not at this time, the store is provided in English language only. This feature is planned for the future though. |