PayPal Community

Botunkus · ‎Nov-03-2013

When my customers checkout from my website they are sent to PayPal to complete the transaction. I need to be able to add a couple of input fields to gather a bit more information related to the products they purchased. Is there a way to do it?

Thx

snowshoe · ‎Nov-03-2013

What you need to do is collect the required information before being redirected to the PayPal Checkout Screens because there are very few modifications that you can do to the Checkout Screens.

The PayPal Checkout Screens you see are limited to changing the scheme and/or allowing you to display a business logo graphic (Business Accounts only) and/or changing the text for the "cn" variable value and/or changing the text for the "cbt" variable.

The "cn" variable value is a the Label that appears above the note field. This value is not saved and does not appear in any of your notifications. If this variable is omitted, the default label above the note field is "Add special instructions to merchant." The "cn" variable is not valid with Subscribe buttons or if you include no_note="1". The "cn" variable value is limited to 40 characters.

The "cbt" variable default value is displayed as a link which says "Return to Merchant". If you are utilizing Payments Standard and have a return page set up, you will find that your non-PayPal members will need to click on the "Return to Merchant" link to be directed back to the return page. In some instances this may not be the best way to alert customers that they can return to your website by clicking on the link. The good news you can change the value to what ever you would like. The "cbt" variable value is limited to 60 characters and only takes effect only if the return variable is set.

That's all you can do.

If you want total control over your checkout screens, you would need to use Payments Pro. Pro does not redirect customers to the PayPal Checkout Screens. The customers remain on your web site thru the entire process therefore you can design any checkout experience you have in mind. (Payments Pro however, is not free, it costs $30 a month.)

Having said all that, you may need to customize your item button code by using the "option" variables. Thru the use of these variables, you can create additional text input boxes to collect the data you need. Note, if you need more than 2 text field inputs for Add to Cart or Buy Now, you need to manually code your item button as the online button creator has it's limitations.

See the examples below, feel free to tweak for your needs:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>

<title>Button Example Code</title>

<!-- START META TAG SECTION -->
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en">
<!-- END META TAG SECTION -->
   
</head>

<body>

<!-- START SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->


<!-- PARAGRAPH 1 -->
Basic Examples

<br><br>

Add to Cart and Buy Now Example, Multiple Text Input.

<br><br>

Notes:
<br>
* This example demonstrates how to do the same thing using either a Buy Now Item Button or Add to Cart Item Button.


<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>

<!-- START CONTENTS -->

<!-- START BUTTON EXAMPLES -->

<!-- START BUTTON EXAMPLES -->

<!-- Start of Buy Now Form -->
Widget Statue Trophy - $100.00 plus $20.00 shipping

<br><br>

<!-- Start of Buy Now Form -->
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Widget Statue">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="WS-1001">
<input type="hidden" name="amount" value="100.00">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="2">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after a successful transaction -->
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after item cancellation -->
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Cancel.html">
<!-- Note: shipping override variable is used with this example -->
<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="20.00">
<input type="hidden" name="button_subtype" value="products">
<input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="Add special instructions to the seller:">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-BuyNowBF:btn_buynow_LG.gif:NonHosted">
<!-- -->
Name Plate Engraving Information:
<br><br>

First Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="First Name">
<input type="text" name="os0" size="20">
<br><br>
Last Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on1" value="Last Name">
<input type="text" name="os1" size="20">
<br><br>
School:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on2" value="School">
<input type="text" name="os2" size="20">
<br><br>
Event:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on3" value="Event">
<input type="text" name="os3" size="20">
<br><br>
Date:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on4" value="Date">
<input type="text" name="os4" size="8">
<br><br>
Team Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Team Name">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
Place:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Place">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
<!-- -->
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>
<!-- End of Buy Now Form -->


<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>



<!-- Start of Add to Cart Form -->
Widget Statue Trophy - $100.00 plus $20.00 shipping

<br><br>

<!-- Note: target="_self" was replaced with the variable target="_self" -->
<!-- Note: shopping_url also added to code -->
<!-- These two changes allow better functionality with IE and Firefox --> 
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg"> 
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart">
<input type="hidden" name="add" value="1">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Widget Statue">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="WS-1001">
<input type="hidden" name="amount" value="100.00">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="2">
<input type="hidden" name="button_subtype" value="products">
<input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="Add special instructions to the seller:">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-ShopCartBF:btn_cart_LG.gif:NonHosted">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to -->
<input type="hidden" name="shopping_url" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Shop.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after a successful transaction -->
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after item cancellation -->
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Cancel.html">
<!-- Note: shipping override variable is used with this example -->
<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="20.00">
<!-- -->
Name Plate Engraving Information:
<br><br>

First Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="First Name">
<input type="text" name="os0" size="20">
<br><br>
Last Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on1" value="Last Name">
<input type="text" name="os1" size="20">
<br><br>
School:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on2" value="School">
<input type="text" name="os2" size="20">
<br><br>
Event:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on3" value="Event">
<input type="text" name="os3" size="20">
<br><br>
Date:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on4" value="Date">
<input type="text" name="os4" size="8">
<br><br>
Team Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Team Name">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
Place:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Place">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
<!-- -->
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_cart_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>
<!-- End of Add to Cart Form -->

<!--  Start of View Cart Button Code  -->
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg"> 
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart">
<input type="hidden" name="display" value="1">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to -->
<input type="hidden" name="shopping_url" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Shop.html">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_viewcart_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form> 
<!--  End of View Cart Button Code  -->



<!-- END BUTTON EXAMPLES -->



<!-- END SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->

<br><br>


<br><br><br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>
NOTES:
<br>
In order to test the code, you must replace the &quot;business&quot; value variable with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID.


</body>
</html>

View solution in original post

snowshoe · ‎Nov-03-2013

What you need to do is collect the required information before being redirected to the PayPal Checkout Screens because there are very few modifications that you can do to the Checkout Screens.

The PayPal Checkout Screens you see are limited to changing the scheme and/or allowing you to display a business logo graphic (Business Accounts only) and/or changing the text for the "cn" variable value and/or changing the text for the "cbt" variable.

The "cn" variable value is a the Label that appears above the note field. This value is not saved and does not appear in any of your notifications. If this variable is omitted, the default label above the note field is "Add special instructions to merchant." The "cn" variable is not valid with Subscribe buttons or if you include no_note="1". The "cn" variable value is limited to 40 characters.

The "cbt" variable default value is displayed as a link which says "Return to Merchant". If you are utilizing Payments Standard and have a return page set up, you will find that your non-PayPal members will need to click on the "Return to Merchant" link to be directed back to the return page. In some instances this may not be the best way to alert customers that they can return to your website by clicking on the link. The good news you can change the value to what ever you would like. The "cbt" variable value is limited to 60 characters and only takes effect only if the return variable is set.

That's all you can do.

If you want total control over your checkout screens, you would need to use Payments Pro. Pro does not redirect customers to the PayPal Checkout Screens. The customers remain on your web site thru the entire process therefore you can design any checkout experience you have in mind. (Payments Pro however, is not free, it costs $30 a month.)

Having said all that, you may need to customize your item button code by using the "option" variables. Thru the use of these variables, you can create additional text input boxes to collect the data you need. Note, if you need more than 2 text field inputs for Add to Cart or Buy Now, you need to manually code your item button as the online button creator has it's limitations.

See the examples below, feel free to tweak for your needs:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>

<title>Button Example Code</title>

<!-- START META TAG SECTION -->
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en">
<!-- END META TAG SECTION -->
   
</head>

<body>

<!-- START SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->


<!-- PARAGRAPH 1 -->
Basic Examples

<br><br>

Add to Cart and Buy Now Example, Multiple Text Input.

<br><br>

Notes:
<br>
* This example demonstrates how to do the same thing using either a Buy Now Item Button or Add to Cart Item Button.


<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>

<!-- START CONTENTS -->

<!-- START BUTTON EXAMPLES -->

<!-- START BUTTON EXAMPLES -->

<!-- Start of Buy Now Form -->
Widget Statue Trophy - $100.00 plus $20.00 shipping

<br><br>

<!-- Start of Buy Now Form -->
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Widget Statue">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="WS-1001">
<input type="hidden" name="amount" value="100.00">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="2">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after a successful transaction -->
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after item cancellation -->
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Cancel.html">
<!-- Note: shipping override variable is used with this example -->
<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="20.00">
<input type="hidden" name="button_subtype" value="products">
<input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="Add special instructions to the seller:">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-BuyNowBF:btn_buynow_LG.gif:NonHosted">
<!-- -->
Name Plate Engraving Information:
<br><br>

First Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="First Name">
<input type="text" name="os0" size="20">
<br><br>
Last Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on1" value="Last Name">
<input type="text" name="os1" size="20">
<br><br>
School:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on2" value="School">
<input type="text" name="os2" size="20">
<br><br>
Event:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on3" value="Event">
<input type="text" name="os3" size="20">
<br><br>
Date:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on4" value="Date">
<input type="text" name="os4" size="8">
<br><br>
Team Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Team Name">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
Place:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Place">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
<!-- -->
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>
<!-- End of Buy Now Form -->


<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>



<!-- Start of Add to Cart Form -->
Widget Statue Trophy - $100.00 plus $20.00 shipping

<br><br>

<!-- Note: target="_self" was replaced with the variable target="_self" -->
<!-- Note: shopping_url also added to code -->
<!-- These two changes allow better functionality with IE and Firefox --> 
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg"> 
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart">
<input type="hidden" name="add" value="1">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Widget Statue">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="WS-1001">
<input type="hidden" name="amount" value="100.00">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="2">
<input type="hidden" name="button_subtype" value="products">
<input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="Add special instructions to the seller:">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-ShopCartBF:btn_cart_LG.gif:NonHosted">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to -->
<input type="hidden" name="shopping_url" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Shop.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after a successful transaction -->
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after item cancellation -->
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Cancel.html">
<!-- Note: shipping override variable is used with this example -->
<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="20.00">
<!-- -->
Name Plate Engraving Information:
<br><br>

First Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="First Name">
<input type="text" name="os0" size="20">
<br><br>
Last Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on1" value="Last Name">
<input type="text" name="os1" size="20">
<br><br>
School:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on2" value="School">
<input type="text" name="os2" size="20">
<br><br>
Event:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on3" value="Event">
<input type="text" name="os3" size="20">
<br><br>
Date:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on4" value="Date">
<input type="text" name="os4" size="8">
<br><br>
Team Name:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Team Name">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
Place:&nbsp;&nbsp;
<input type="hidden" name="on5" value="Place">
<input type="text" name="os5" size="20">
<br><br>
<!-- -->
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_cart_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>
<!-- End of Add to Cart Form -->

<!--  Start of View Cart Button Code  -->
<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg"> 
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart">
<input type="hidden" name="display" value="1">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to -->
<input type="hidden" name="shopping_url" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Shop.html">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_viewcart_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form> 
<!--  End of View Cart Button Code  -->



<!-- END BUTTON EXAMPLES -->



<!-- END SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->

<br><br>


<br><br><br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>
NOTES:
<br>
In order to test the code, you must replace the &quot;business&quot; value variable with your PayPal Email Address or Account ID.


</body>
</html>

Botunkus · ‎Nov-03-2013

Thank you so much! That was very helpful.

snowshoe · ‎Nov-03-2013

LDMartin1959 · ‎Nov-15-2013

Can HTML variables as described be used with non-busness accounts?

snowshoe · ‎Nov-15-2013

You have to have either a Premier or Business Account.

LDMartin1959 · ‎Nov-16-2013

I thought that was probably the case but was not finding anything which specifically stated so.

Thank you.

LDMartin1959 · ‎Nov-15-2013

Whoops. Unintended dupe

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Adding extra fields to checkout page

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