How to pass "Order ID" in PayPal Payments Standard form

Balzac
Contributor
Contributor

Hello,

 

customers pays us on our website using a PayPal Payments Standard form (i.e. the typical form that goes to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr)
In this form we can add many hidden fields among the ones listed here 
E.g. custom, invoice, amount, ...

 

One of the field we added is "item_name", but we realized that when we enter our Paypal account and go to "Activity > Search for transactions" there is no way to perform a search based on the "item_name", the available options are: "Email Address, Transaction ID, Last Name, ..."

 

Is there a field that can be used to pass an "Order ID"?

In this way we could go to "Activity > Search for transactions" and search by "Order ID"

 

For example the "invoice" field will allow us to search a transaction by "Invoice ID" in "Activity > Search for transactions"

 

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Balzac
Contributor
Contributor

"Invoice ID" and the "Invoice #" DO not seem to be separate fields.

 

We enter PayPal payment using this simple form:

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
   <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">                        
  <input type="hidden" name="invoice" value="helloworld">

  ...

 

If the transaction is executed (i.e. the customer pays), then we can go into "PayPal > Activity > Search for transactions" and pull a result for "Invoice ID > helloworld"

 

And the transaction is shown correctly!

 

Hence the  <input type="hidden" name="invoice" value="helloworld"> that is passed during transaction matches the "Activity > Invoice ID"

 

Capture.PNG

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MTS_Carlos
Moderator
Moderator

Hi @Balzac,

 

Custom variable fields such as "Order ID" are not searchable through the PayPal Activity page. Instead, in order to search variables withing this field, you would first need to download your history. 

 

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Balzac
Contributor
Contributor

Good to know, it's a workaround, but actually we were looking for a way to make a transaction being searchable directly in Activity search box, by using a variable we send during payment.

 

We found out that the variable "invoice" could be used because it's searchable in Activity search box by looking for "Invoice ID"

 

Are there any other variables among the dozens listed here that could be used to pass a variable into payment that can be directly searched in the Activity search box?

 

Thanks

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MTS_Carlos
Moderator
Moderator

@Balzac

 

The "Invoice ID" and the "Invoice #" are two separate fields. The "invoice ID" is assigned by PayPal and will begin with "INV2" and is visible in the transaction details page when a customer pays your invoice. The "invoice #" is a variable field that you can assign yourself. For example, if I am sending my first invoice, I may assign number "0001" to the field. When searching in Activity using the Invoice ID filter, it will not pull a result for "0001", but would pull the result if if I search by the PayPal assigned Invoice ID (the one that begins with "INV2") in the transaction details. 

 

What you are describing would be a "feature request." If you'd like, you can submit the idea to https://www.paypal-techsupport.com and one of our Engineers can get in front of a Product Manager. By me stating this does not make certain any guarantees other than it will be reviewed. But it is feedback like yours that drives change to the PayPal live site and continually transforms our products and services.

 

I hope this clarifies. 

 

Thank you,

 

Carlos

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Solved

Balzac
Contributor
Contributor

"Invoice ID" and the "Invoice #" DO not seem to be separate fields.

 

We enter PayPal payment using this simple form:

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
   <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">                        
  <input type="hidden" name="invoice" value="helloworld">

  ...

 

If the transaction is executed (i.e. the customer pays), then we can go into "PayPal > Activity > Search for transactions" and pull a result for "Invoice ID > helloworld"

 

And the transaction is shown correctly!

 

Hence the  <input type="hidden" name="invoice" value="helloworld"> that is passed during transaction matches the "Activity > Invoice ID"

 

Capture.PNG

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MTS_Carlos
Moderator
Moderator

@Balzac

 

Ah, yes. Under that circumstance, it will populate. What I was referencing was the standard PayPal Invoice option/tool that will automatically apply an invoice ID. 

 

For all other variables, we are limited to the constraints of the existing Activity filters. 

 

Thanks,

 

Carlos

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