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  1. #421
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    KRahall,

    Start here: https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=36

    Here:https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/i...hp?article=230

    And here:https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/i...hp?article=143

    Print out the last one for a chart on where you may put a custom (your_template_name) folder, or download one here:
    http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=298

    Download and unzip a copy of Zen Cart to your computer so you can see the files structure. I do hope you are starting out with the newest version, 1.3.8 ?
    [FONT=Arial]Country Kitty Crafts[/FONT][FONT=Arial]
    [/FONT] [FONT=Garamond]
    [/FONT]

  2. #422
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Krahall- please, don't post the same problem in multiple threads.
    Please do not PM for support issues: a private solution doesn't benefit the community.

    Be careful with unsolicited advice via email or PM - Make sure the person you are talking to is a reliable source.

  3. #423
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Quote Originally Posted by Sermonzone View Post
    PRE-EMPTIVE EDIT:

    A lot of documentation has been added to the Knowledgebase:
    https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/i...hp?category=16

    Further, you will find great value in the eStart Your Web Store with Zen Cart users manual, which walks you through setting up your Zen Cart site from start to finish, along with many day-to-day tasks.
    You can get your copy of the book here: http://www.lulu.com/content/466605


    ----------------------------------------------
    Original discussion:
    New Zen Cart users get easily frustrated. They often do not know how to find answers to their questions and if they stumble onto the right answer they don't realize it's the right answer. The recent 'reboot' for the forum so closely on the heels of the upgrade to 1.3 seems to have made things worse.

    I am considering writing a "Getting Started" style document that focuses on templates, overrides, colors, text, images and the like. Perhaps a reasonable title will be "Top 10 Questions asked by New Zenners" or "10 things every New Zenner should know but doesn't know where to find."

    I would like to hear from New Zenners about this project. What did you have the most trouble with? What documents did you feel were lacking? What were the top problems and questions you had? -- Things like that.

    Part of the rationale for this project is that as users can perform more tasks without having to post a thread like "I am such a newb and have no idea what I am doing" it will free the Devs for more time in core upgrades. Hopefully, users that are more successful at the beginning will press on and have a viable online business and donate back to Zen Cart.

    I will be away from the forum for a few days (niece's wedding) this weekend. Further, I don't plan to reply to every post. This is a place to collect feedback from new users.

    If more experienced users post, perhaps you could list the mistakes you most often see.

    The final location for the project is uncertain. In many ways, it will be a duplicate of material in the FAQ and Wiki. However, much of that material needs to be updated and New Zenners seem to not read it or not understand it. I will continue to try to coordinate this with the Devs so that it benefits the most in the community.

    Please presume a successful install of ZenCart 1.3+. I would like to focus on customizations issues that every new users is likely to experience.

    Feel free to PM with info you would rather not be in the forum.
    Since you asked! I'd sure encourage someone to write a decent beginners tutorial.

    1) One major problem. Just started a store, added a couple categories and a few products. Made sure every product was marked "in stock" and with a positive number of "items on hand". All seems to be in order in the back end. Yet every product displays the red "sold out" icon on the front end. If you could help solve this it would be greatly appreciated.

    2) The things just about any new zener will want to do first is change the colors, fonts, sizes, images etc. Even just a simple sheet listing the full path to all the files that need to be changed would be helpful.

    Other problems: went thru the menus trying to determine how to control box layout etc. The boxes listed as active on the menus didn't seem to jive with what was actually on the front end.

    3) It really surprises me that developers spend enormous amounts of time and effort developing these sophisticated applications, but then can't be bothered to write basic documentation for new zeners for whom this is their first exposure to shopping carts.

    4) I'm also surprised that modifying and developing new themes isn't a simple menu function,i.e, click a button and have a page/form come up with all the options to set. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do. And it would give you a big leg up on the competition. I've looked at several shopping carts and haven't found one (including zen-cart) yet with decent beginner level documentation. Changing the theme in all of them is a real pain, in part because of the poor documentation.

    Thanks for asking.

  4. #424
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Since you asked! I'd sure encourage someone to write a decent beginners tutorial.

    1) One major problem. Just started a store, added a couple categories and a few products. Made sure every product was marked "in stock" and with a positive number of "items on hand". All seems to be in order in the back end. Yet every product displays the red "sold out" icon on the front end. If you could help solve this it would be greatly appreciated.

    2) The things just about any new zener will want to do first is change the colors, fonts, sizes, images etc. Even just a simple sheet listing the full path to all the files that need to be changed would be helpful.

    Other problems: went thru the menus trying to determine how to control box layout etc. The boxes listed as active on the menus didn't seem to jive with what was actually on the front end.

    3) It really surprises me that developers spend enormous amounts of time and effort developing these sophisticated applications, but then can't be bothered to write basic documentation for new zeners for whom this is their first exposure to shopping carts.

    4) I'm also surprised that modifying and developing new themes isn't a simple menu function,i.e, click a button and have a page/form come up with all the options to set. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do. And it would give you a big leg up on the competition. I've looked at several shopping carts and haven't found one (including zen-cart) yet with decent beginner level documentation. Changing the theme in all of them is a real pain, in part because of the poor documentation.

    Thanks for asking.

  5. #425
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Southport, UK
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Quote Originally Posted by a7t View Post
    but then can't be bothered to write basic documentation
    A grossly unfair statement. For a start, "basic" documentation is written, starting with the docs directory in the ZC download package, then the tutorials and faqs, followed by thousands of answers in these forums supplied by the members of the dev team.

    There is now the "eStart your web store with Zencart" manual available which covers almost every aspect of the admin side - and if I recall correctly, that took the author over 6 months of work, and the ZC Dev Team gave up time to ensure that this is the excellent document it is.

    To write a book on building a template is an absolutely massive undertaking, and one of the main problems is that those who would be qualified to write such a book are too busy to do it.

    Remember that right now the DevTeam work for free in their own time as donations are nowhere near enough to support them on a full time basis. If everyone who uses ZC donated just a few $$ a month then progress towards the ideal would be quicker - yes, building the template from within admin would be great, although your comment of
    I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do
    provokes me to suggest to YOU - "OK, if it's not that hard, then do it"
    Development Manager @ JSWeb Ltd
    Over 15 years with Zencart

  6. #426
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    It matters not how good a script is, some people will always find fault with it.

    Zen Cart is a good script but like the majority of scripts, far from perfect. It can also be said; being as it is freely available, works well at what it does and the features provided, and is the only Open Source eCommerce script (that I know of) with a printed Manual available, does put it far above all the others.

    As far as improvements go, faster progress would be made if the Zen Cart Team expanded itself a bit. I understand the Subject has been discussed in the past but not sure if the Core Team has grown in numbers. Until it does, the bottleneck will remain.

  7. #427
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Can you help me how to change "Sales message goes here"
    I have searched all header.php files

  8. #428
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    Colorado Springs, CO USA
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Quote Originally Posted by sabasree View Post
    Can you help me how to change "Sales message goes here"
    I have searched all header.php files
    www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=127

  9. #429
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    A map of some sort would be helpful explaining what everything is for and what you can and can't change
    I am a begginer with zen cart and shopping carts in general and that was the first thing I started looking for, some form of diagram explaining what all the masses of files do and especially what I should not touch.

    And I know some will say buy the manual - But me like most people will not splash out money until we know what we can and can't do with the system, as it may not do what I want.

    I would also suggest a map of the useful links in some sort of order as I have tried the search on here about five times so far and it has either found a mass of info that was not much help or nothing at all, which possibly could mean that the use of carts is almost like a new language. In that I mean the terms you are using are not what would natturally come to mind for the novice.
    I have seen that on a few web forums where people come on asking for something but what they are asking for has a proper name and they are using a descriptive name.

    Hope that make sense

  10. #430
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    Default Re: Things every New Zenner needs to know

    Quote Originally Posted by NattyCat View Post
    1) How to add a logo and remove "sales message goes here"
    2) How to centre a logo
    3) How do attributes work - in plain english
    4) How to understand what a CSS file is telling you, so you can edit it yourself!
    5) What are the main PHP files that zenners tend to edit for layout, and what does each one do? For example, to work on my sideboxes...which php?

    6) Why is it a bad idea to modify the custom template and install a blank one in a "custom" folder. I have this, and still don't understand why.


    Nat
    I am not computer illiterate,but I am dumping this system and going to another. I am unable to modify the "header sales" option. define..I think I am going to dump this and go to oz

 

 
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