So many things about this program (Shopping Cart Pro) are just fantastic - I think the flexibility built into the program is just great! What I just can't get over, though, is how the biggest hurdle I've faced so far is in the simple entry of numbers. It seems that the whole program is set up for ease of use and speed of entry, but from the very first item I entered, I couldn't believe how difficult it was to enter something as simple as numbers!

There seems to be no way to just "tab" or "enter" into a field and just enter the number. Try that and only the 2nd or 3rd digit entered shows up. You have to mess around with the "backspace" or "delete" keys (and not ever sure which) to get rid of the numbers (usually zeros) that are there, or swipe it with the mouse. For anyone used to spreadsheet data entry, it's incredibly time-consuming and tedious.

I thought it was maybe nit-picky and hardly worth mentioning - UNTIL I started adding the values for weight-based shipping! As has been mentioned in other posts, the typical number of weight ranges - combined with the number of states (can hardly do less than all 50) - combined with the number of shipping methods - add up to an incredible number of entries! Unnecessarily doubling or tripling the number of keystrokes for each entry - or requiring the hand to go back to the mouse with each entry - makes setting up the shipping table essentially unbearable.

I can understand the programmers not being able to come up with some magic way of having all those fields fill automatically for weight-based shipping, but I do NOT understand why numerical entry can't be as simple as it is in all the rest of the software we use every day. I don't recall ever using a piece of software before in which the numbers are entered this way.

I'll be the first to admit that I may be missing something - and I remain convinced that there's some easier way I just haven't come across yet. The rest of the program is just too streamlined for the programmers to not have considered this.

So, is there maybe a way to "copy" the shipping values for one state (i.e., the entire row), and "paste" them into another state? (so far I have not been able to do that).

Or is there maybe a way to create an Excel spreadsheet and import it? (I haven't found a way).

Or is there a way to make a template somewhere for various parts of the country (e.g., "Level 1", "Level 2"; or "zone 1", "zone 2", etc.), and just plug a particular template into each state? (I haven't seen any sign of that).

Please help - this could otherwise be SUCH an easy program to use!

That sure is a lot of text for just asking about copy and paste. I am not sure if I understand it all 100% because you never actually stated where in the software you were trying to do this. From the questions below, I guess this is all about the way to configure shipping values?

Your questions:
"So, is there maybe a way to "copy" the shipping values for one state (i.e., the entire row), and "paste" them into another state? (so far I have not been able to do that)."

-Sure, you can do that now. Just copy the first cell and then select all the cells below it and paste. It works just like it would in Excel.

Or is there a way to make a template somewhere for various parts of the country (e.g., "Level 1", "Level 2"; or "zone 1", "zone 2", etc.), and just plug a particular template into each state? (I haven't seen any sign of that).

- No, there is nothing like that in the software.

You can download a video of the process here.

Sorry about the length - I guess I did kind of ramble!

The question was about numerical entry throughout the program, but in weight-based shipping in particular. It seems cumbersome. I know some people just love the mouse, but I find it much faster to use just the keyboard if at all possible - and number entry with just the keyboard doesn't seem to work as easily as it could in the program.

But what you showed me in the movie is just the kind of thing I was looking for! It looks like I can easily set up the same values for all the states in each shipping class, then change the few that are different (which is less than half). That should at least make it bearable. Thanks!