Firebug - What the Heck Am I Looking At?

[uruharacosplay]

So I love Firebug - but how in the heck am I supposed to know what file to edit in Zen Cart?!

Does Firebug show you the address of the file you need to edit?

Example:
includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/theme150/stylesheet_tm.css

[dbltoe]

When you inspect an element, a section will open on the right side showing the css code for that element. Also, on the very right and aligned with the call (body, head, etc) is a link to the css. Clicking that link will open the stylesheet AND hovering over it will bring up a tool tip with the complete URL for the stylesheet.

[uruharacosplay]

The issue though is that I need to edit .html files and .php files which do not show up in firebug. I've used a search program which can not find the files. I've used the developer's tool kit which can not find the files. I've tried every last web search to find files that don't exist.

Quite frankly, I am going to need a lot of alcohol if my Zen Experience will be like this.

I am totally not feeling the Zen. I am feeling stress.

~Indi

[dbltoe]

Remember that the html you see is generated by the underlying PHP. If you are looking for text, it may have been inserted by a variable that is set in a totally different file.

You seem to be finding the right tools but are having trouble using them.

You'd be better served if you asked more-specific questions ... that may get more pertinent results.

[RodG]

I've tried every last web search to find files that don't exist.

Unlike this response, I'm sure you didn't mean this to be funny, but exactly where do you expect to find files THAT DON'T EXIST?

Perhaps you should change tactics and look for files that DO exist instead?

Cheers
Rod

[g1smd]

The HTML page you see is the output sent by a series of PHP scripts in many different files. One PHP file might assemble the header part of the page, another might be for the navigation part, several others deal with the main content, and another does the footer. However there are many more that don't directly send anything to the browser, they instead access the database or manipulate data in various ways.

So, once you know where on the page the problem is, this is a pointer to which files might be responsible. It can take a while to find where things are sometimes. When you search the PHP files, you usually need to search for hard-coded text not variable data, as the latter is inserted by the script and is not visible as code in those files.

You are better off copying the files to your PC via FTP before changing anything - and keep regular backup copies of everything.

[lat9]

If you use FireBug's HTML tab and expand the content, when you hover over an item (like div id="navSuppWrapper) its content on the page will blue. If that's the section you're interested in, you can go to your admin's Tools->Developer's Toolkit and search for navSuppWrapper in all files catalog/admin. That will let you know which files (PHP and CSS if you're running 1.3.9x) that 'tag' is present in.

[uruharacosplay]

If you use FireBug's HTML tab and expand the content, when you hover over an item (like div id="navSuppWrapper) its content on the page will blue. If that's the section you're interested in, you can go to your admin's Tools->Developer's Toolkit and search for navSuppWrapper in all files catalog/admin. That will let you know which files (PHP and CSS if you're running 1.3.9x) that 'tag' is present in.

Thank you - that is truly the most helpful advice I have received so far on this issue.

Here is the file I am trying to locate:
>>View Attachment<<

[lat9]

Sorry, that image is too small (even squinting) to see ... are you running on a server or localhost? If you're on a server, having your site's address (and the page/area in question) would be a big help.

[uruharacosplay]

Try clicking the link instead of the attachment - I included a Google Doc link.

I use http://www.hostingduo.com
My web address is http://www.akihabaracosplay.com
I use Firbug and Developer's Tool Kit
When I view my site, I hit the search bar just below the CSS drop down menu and hit "Inspect Element" because I want to change the graphic as well as input some Japanese characters there. When I inspect the element, this is the code that I get:

View My Image