# Disable variant preselection in Shopware: setup manual > Manual for the variant preselection plugin: installation, the four settings, snippet, custom CSS, direct links and licensing. Quelle / Source: https://stoneandwater.online/en/manual-variant-preselection.html # Manual variant preselection. Installation, the four settings, snippet and custom CSS, direct links, caching and licensing. As of version 1.0.23. [To the product page](https://stoneandwater.online/en/variant-preselection.html)[Ask us directly](https://stoneandwater.online/en/contact.html) #### Contents / ## System requirements Shopware 6.7 with storefront. The plugin requires `shopware/core` and `shopware/storefront` in version 6.7. Older Shopware versions are not supported. **No theme build needed:** the storefront logic runs inline in the template. A `theme:compile` is not required after installation. ## Installation Upload the ZIP in the Shopware admin under Extensions, My extensions, then install and activate it. Afterwards enter the licence key, see Licence. ## Opening the configuration The plugin ships its own admin module. It sits under the Stone & Water plugin suite and is called **Variantenanzeige Listing/Detailseite**. The settings only appear once the licence has been activated. Every option can be set separately per sales channel. Without an explicit value the respective default applies. ## Plugin active **Default: on.** Disables the variant preselection on the product detail page. Customers have to select all variant options before the product can be ordered. While the selection is incomplete, the buy form is replaced by a notice text. The configurator itself stays fully visible and usable - only the buy area is replaced. The notice box sits above the variant selection. The requirement also applies when a main variant is set in the admin. ## Show master product price **Default: on.** Shows the price of the master product while no variant is selected. With the option disabled, no price at all is shown until a variant is chosen. **Which to choose:** for variants that share one price the master price is the better option, because customers get an immediate anchor. Where variant prices differ widely, hiding the price can be the more honest choice. ## Show master product in category listing **Default: on.** Shows the master product in category listings and search results instead of the preselected variant. A click leads to the detail page with the selection configurator. The replacement applies in three places: the category listing, the search results and the search suggestions. Several variants of one product collapse into a single entry, and the order of the listing is preserved. With the option disabled, standard Shopware behaviour with a preselected variant applies. ## Unlock direct links **Default: on.** Visitors opening a variant URL directly immediately see the normal buy view with the variant preselected. This covers entries via an external link, a bookmark, a search engine or the address bar. Inside the shop the selection requirement remains. The distinction is made through the browser referrer, so without server involvement and without any effect on caching. **Why this matters:** a visitor arriving from a search engine on a specific variant has already made their choice. Making them choose again costs conversion. ## Changing the notice text The text on the detail page is a Shopware snippet and is edited under Settings, Shop, Snippets. The key is: `stawVariantSelectDirect.detail.selectVariantNotice` Shipped English text: "Please select a variant first to be able to order this product." German: "Bitte wählen Sie zunächst eine Variante aus, um diesen Artikel bestellen zu können." ## Custom CSS The admin module has a card called **CSS customisation** with a field for custom CSS. The notice box carries the class `.staw-variant-gate-notice`. The CSS is only emitted on pages where the requirement actually applies. Closing style tags are stripped server side so the style block cannot be broken out of. ## Caching and hosting The plugin is built to work with the HTTP cache rather than defeat it: - The buy view is rendered hidden and unlocked in the browser, so a cached page stays valid for every visitor. - The marker for a completed selection sits in the URL fragment (`#stawSelected`). Fragments never reach the server and therefore cannot be stripped by hosting proxies. - Variant switching runs through the Shopware core route `frontend.detail.switch`, which is cached and well proven. - The switch URL is produced through the SeoUrlPlaceholderHandler, so real SEO URLs are used. **Background:** version 1.0.15 revealed that some hosting proxies strip unknown query parameters via redirect. Since then the marker travels as a fragment. ## Licence The licence is activated on the gate screen of the admin module. Only then do the settings appear. Verification runs against our licensing platform and is fail-closed: without a valid, active licence key matching the domain, the feature stays off. A positive result is cached for 15 minutes, and there are three days of grace should the licence server ever be unreachable. The domain used is the first sales channel domain of the shop, normalised without `www.`. The gate screen shows the detected domain and names the concrete reason on failure: inactive, not found, wrong domain or server unreachable. ## Troubleshooting **The buy button does not appear after selecting.** Clear the shop cache and reload the page. Check whether the licence is active - without a valid licence the plugin does not engage at all and standard Shopware behaviour applies. **Listings still show variants.** Check the "Show master product in category listing" option, in the correct sales channel, then clear the cache. **Visitors from search engines see the configurator.** That happens when "Unlock direct links" is disabled. The detection needs a referrer - without one, the selection requirement applies. **The admin page stays white.** This affected version 1.0.18 and is fixed in 1.0.19. Update to the current version. ## Support Questions and requests go straight to us: [contact](https://stoneandwater.online/en/contact.html). Support comes from the developer, not from a hotline. ## All settings Every setting of the plugin with its default value and explanation, in the same order as in the administration. The texts come straight from the plugin (version 1.0.23). ### General Behaviour on the product detail page and in listings **Plugin active** Default: on Disables the variant preselection on the detail page. Customers have to select all variant options before the product can be ordered. **Show master product price** Default: on Shows the price of the master product while no variant is selected. If disabled, no price is shown until a variant is selected. **Show master product in category listing** Default: on Shows the master product in category listings and search results instead of the preselected variant. Clicking leads to the detail page with the selection configurator. If disabled, the Shopware default behaviour applies (preselected variant). **Unlock direct links** Default: on Visitors opening a variant URL directly (external link, bookmark, search engine) immediately see the normal buy view with the variant preselected. Within the shop, the selection requirement remains active. ### CSS customisation **Custom CSS** Default: empty Custom CSS for the notice box on the detail page. The box carries the following CSS class: .staw-variant-gate-notice ### License **Licence key** Default: empty The licence key from your Stone & Water customer account. ## Through the store or *directly from us*. Two routes, the same feature set - pick whichever suits your setup. Directly from Stone & Water ### Available right now Monthly 1,99 € Best value Yearly 20,30 € 15 % cheaper All prices net, plus VAT. You buy the licence directly from us and get an invoice from us. Install by upload in the admin without SSH, updates through our licensing platform, support straight from the developer. [Ask us directly](https://stoneandwater.online/en/contact.html)[+49 2555 9997342](tel:+4925559997342) Shopware Store ### In preparation The plugin will be listed in the official Shopware Community Store. Installation and automatic updates then run through the plugin manager, billing through your Shopware account. We will link it here as soon as it is live. [Image: Stone & Water] Shopware e-commerce agency from Schöppingen, Germany. 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