Vendor registration (incl address): where & how?

-- url of the page with the problem -- : local
-- HikaShop version -- : 2.5.0
-- HikaMarket version -- : 1.6.3
-- Joomla version -- : 3.4.1
-- PHP version -- : 5.5.3
-- Browser(s) name and version -- : any
-- Error-message(debug-mod must be tuned on) -- : none

Hi Jerome,

Sorry, I can't get my head around the vendor registration system. In brief, I have two questions:
1. Where and how does a vendor register as such, especially if he's already a registered Joomla user with only basic user account data?
2. How can the vendor's address be made required during vendor registration?

Why am I asking? Well, here goes the lengthy part...

What I have:

First, a very basic (Joomla) user registration with only name, email (as username) and password, to make it simple for people to "come in" and get access to specific information.
Then, on the shop side, in checkout a customer must fill in his addresses to sort of complete the registration. Or, as usual, he can maintain his address via the shop cPanel.

What I want for vendors:

I want every existing Joomla user to have an easy option to become a vendor, but he MUST fill in at least one address, either by having done so before in cPanel, or during "application" as a vendor, no matter what the other validation settings are.

E.g. you're saying in the documentation:

Automatic validation - A Joomla/HikaShop user will be able to use the HikaMarket registration form in order to create a vendor in your store. You will be notified and the vendor will be automatically published.

Except, as far as I can see there is no such thing as a "HikaMarket registration form", not as an available menu item, and not in any cPanel. When set to "Automatic validation", all a vendor applicant sees for all relevant sorts of HikaMarket menu items is a message "Please login as vendor." But how can he register as one? And with his address required?

If a registered Joomla user with only basic account information uses the link to the HikaShop registration, he only gets to the shop cPanel, but again, not to a "vendor registration/application form" or something like that.

Unless I'm overlooking something or making a mistake, with the available options it seems impossible for a vendor to apply/register as such. If I'm doing wrong, please tell me where. If there's a step missing, I'd say it's rather urgent to include it.
Also making the vendor's address required, and if only as an option, because I'd think that this makes really good sense for pretty much every market owner for many reasons. In the configuration you're offering the system to ask for all sorts of stuff (like currency, description, terms, etc, though I wonder where this is being asked for), but not for what's ultimately important, IMHO: the vendor's address. And only THEN the validation/creation options must apply.
I've seen this post , which seems to be about the same... what's going on in that regard?

So - and if it really doesn't exist yet, this is maybe a "feature request" - I imagine somewhere in cPanel, and optionally as a menu item, a link to "Vendor registration" or so - even for registered Joomla users or shop customers.
Plus, in the configuration an option "Ask for address", so that only if an address is present and confirmed as vendor address, or a new one being entered, the vendor registration can be made and be successful.

Obviously, "Manual validation" is not an option.
"Vendor automatic creation" is also not an option for at least two reasons:
a.) No check on address being present, and no "enforced" address entry form if not present.
b.) The vendor list becomes too full, and manually cleaning up is horrible as vendors stay forever: even if I delete a Joomla user, his vendor account stays in the system (why?!), although HikaShop customer accounts are correctly being deleted if a Joomla user gets deleted. (Worst: there can be multiple vendor accounts with identical user data such as email etc. You'll have to disallow that one of these days, please!)
IMHO, "Vendor automatic creation" makes only sense if both of the above points are taken care of. But then it'd be the thing to go for, at least for me.

Looking forward to your reply - thanks!

Edit:
Sure you're aware of it, but thinking about it, a vendor needs options for multiple addresses, too, e.g. a "billing" and a "ship from" address...

Many thanks for your quick reply, Jerome.

Maybe I'm stupid or blind, but I still can't get there.

1. This is what I have as HikaMarket menu items:

I'm not seeing a "vendor registration" menu... where is it? This was my question #1 in my previous post...

As stated before, most of these menu items are leading a non-vendor to the cPanel. After much trial & error I figured that only "Vendor edition" leads to a page with a "register" button. Hmm, at least something, haha.

But it only shows two fields, "Vendor name" (empty, and unnecessarily as the logged-in user already has a name), and "Contact email" (with the user's email as value, but ditto, plus the risk of him overriding it without any reason and double-check).***

2. As stated, I do have the shop set up to require the address in accordance with the documentation you're linking to. And it works perfectly fine in the shop, e.g. on checkout.
But the "Vendor edition" page does not show address fields at all, and certainly no required address. What to do so "HikaMarket will do the same"?

Anyway, if clicking "register" on this page, it does confirm the vendor being registered without address show/entry/verification of any sort.

Since it's not a dedicated registration page but the vendor (profile) edition page instead, it's the same link as profile edition, but even if a vendor is registered and calls up his profile again for edition, there are still no address fields, not even a possibility to enter or select one. Actually, the only difference is that then the name field isn't empty anymore, and the "register" button is missing. Nothing else.
BTW, there is nothing unchecked in the ACL which could prevent from displaying it. Actually, it makes no difference if I change the ACL settings for anything "vendor" or "user". It seems as if right now an address is not even part of a vendor profile?

3. That's something, thanks - I can't wait for it. However, IMHO there should still be at least the option to ask for the address already during vendor registration. I strongly believe that this is the right time to do so, especially when considering point b.) in my previous post, as otherwise a single click on "register" is what makes the only difference in between registering consciously and "Vendor automatic creation" - at least if no other "Ask for" options are selected.

*** When testing, I figured that, although these fields are "required", a logged-in user can click "register" despite leaving the name field empty, and he shows up in the backend vendor list with his Joomla name and email. Not what one would expect, but great!!! So, I can simply take these fields out in a view override. Trouble is that right now there'll be only the "register" button left, haha.

Oh Jerome.
I am stupid. Totally. I apologise for my oversight and wrong assumptions.

Until now I had always dealt with automatic vendor creation (which isn't an option anymore for aforementioned reasons), and so far vendor addresses were never needed. So, I've only now looked into the scenario. And guess what, I somehow assumed that the addresses of the same Joomla user in HikaShop and HikaMarket were linked per field mapping or so. Thought that would also make good sense as HikaMarket isn't a standalone extension, and why would the same Joomla user need to enter the same address twice, once as shop customer and once as market vendor.

So, I now set the custom fields of vendor_address_* tables to display in vendor registration and published them, and bingo - they show and work. And now all makes sense. Even to me. Once again, sorry for my ignorance... all that bla-bla for nothing... mea culpa.

Leaves very few questions for now, hopefully forever on this subject. But I'll first think about them again, triple-check documentation, and if still open then, I'll make it a new thread since they don't fit under this exact subject line.

Sorry again, and thanks for your wake-up calls!