Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
After much confusion and hair pulling I decided to setup Zen Cart on my home system running XP Professional. I've got to say that when you see a test site running on your own comp it really makes things much clearer.
I'll try to give as concise as possible step by step procedure for getting this all working and hopefully this will help all you fellow Zen'rs setting up and configuring a site (which can later be uploaded to a server).
Files to download
Download Zen Cart
zen-cart-v1.3.7-full-fileset-12302006.zip
http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...kage_id=171544
Download Xampp for Windows
xampp-win32-1.6.0a-installer.exe
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html
Xampp is the program which runs MySQL, PHP and Apache webserver on your local system (make sure you have the disk space as this is a 250+ mb download)
Install Xampp
Double-click on xampp-win32-1.6.0a-installer.exe to start the Xampp installation. Follow the install instructions up to where it asks if you want to run Apache/MySQL/FileZilla as a service. (I chose to run MySQL & PHP as a service. Filezilla is an ftp program and is non-essential for testing on a local system) Running these applications as a service means that they will run at bootup on Windows. If you don't want this then you can manually start them from the Start Menu>Programs>Apache Friends>Xampp>Xampp Control Panel
Open Xampp control panel (if installed as a service the icon will be in the systray or start manually as indicated above). Start Apache and MySQL (if not already started).
Create the Database
In your browser's address bar type:
http://localhost/xampp
If everything is installed successfully you'll see the Xampp opening screen. Choose your language to proceed to the next page.
Towards the bottom of the navigation bar on the left side click on "phpMyAdmin". You will now see a page that shows information on Server & Protocol hosts etc.
There are only two fields that need to be populated in order to create your database:
CREATE NEW DATABASE - enter in the name of your database (zencart, zen ... whatever ... make note of whatever you call it as you'll need this info when setting up Zen Cart).
COLLATION ... click on the down arrow and at the very bottom of the list select utf8_unicode_ci ... this should match identically the field a little higher up "MySQL connection collation:".
Once you've populated the Create New Database name field and Collation field click Create ... when you see the screen that says " Database <name you selected> has been created." You are done!
Install the Zen Cart Files
For Zen Cart to work correctly with Xampp it needs to be installed in the Xampp subdirectory htdocs
C:\Program Files\xampp\htdocs\
Unzip the file zen-cart-v1.3.7-full-fileset-12302006.zip to the above directory. By default this will probably create a directory called:
zen-cart-v1.3.7-full-fileset-12302006
rename this to something simple (ie: store, zen, zencart)
Install the Zen Cart Program
In your browser's address bar type:
http://localhost/<name of your store> (the directory you just changed in htdocs)
You should now see the Zen Cart Installer page:
Follow the steps up to the Database Setup page ...
You now need to enter the name of the database you created earlier with phpMyAdmin into the Database Name field. Click "Save Database Settings " and you should see all the pretty ~'s scrolling across the screen.
On the Store Setup page I found it very helpful to install Zen Cart with the Store Demo. This is a mockup store with products etc. Some of the things that are very useful are the attributes set for certain products, tax rates etc which you can access via the admin page. Seeing actual examples really makes all the difference and takes the pain out of trying to find answers.
After you successfully have installed Zen Cart you given the option to visit either the online store or the admin area. This part is up to you.
http://localhost/<name of your store> to access your test store
http://localhost/admin ... to access the admin panel
bookmark these for easy access
When you first access the test store the first thing you notice is that there are two red warning signs at the top of your page ... these will always be present on your test site until you follow the instructions on the warnings.
Anyway, I hope this works for you.
See this link:
https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=54
on how to migrate your files up to your server
Brian
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
xampp-win32-1.6.0a-installer.exe
Goh Koon Hoek suggests an EARLIER version???
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
Quote:
Originally Posted by
schoolboy
xampp-win32-1.6.0a-installer.exe
Goh Koon Hoek suggests an EARLIER version???
I never understood what you meant by that.
NOW I KNOW!!!
You're trying to promote your book!
I just bought and received it,
very informative ...
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
1 down ... 399 pages to go ... :smartalec:
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ajeh
1 down ... 399 pages to go ... :smartalec:
399 pages exactly! (I had to check)
:cool:
oh .. buy the book ... everything I posted about setting up a local configuration is in there! with much more detail!
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
This thread was incredibly helpful and easy to follow. It's been over six months since I did any Zenning and I was dreading things - now I'm all charged up! Thanks.
hint for the challenged - rename the zc-install and for includes/configure just right click the file - properties - read only (this will probably be located C:\xampp\htdocs\<your_store_name>)
The Zen - eStart book is on the way but now I don't have to wait!!
life is good!
:cool:
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
You are more than welcome! Thank You :cool:
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
It's great to see folks having fun...
May I intrude with a question?
CURRENT CONFIG
I already have a ZEN CART store hosted on a Windows platform using IIS Server 6.0. I bought THE book when it was first released... and it is one of the best user/developer/ document I have ever purchased.
MORE DETAILS
I have decided to assist a friend in developing his web site. He is using an Apache server -
I have the latest Apache/PHP/MySQL combo as my localhost for port 80; however, I do not use it for the ZEN-CART web site previously mentioned - because it is on an IIS server.
THE book says to use an earlier version of XAMPP - and before installing it, UNINSTALL the current Apache Server/PHP/ etc.
I respect the book, and he states in the book to use xampp-win32-1.4.16-installer.exe because the current version of ZEN-CART (1.3.7) cannot utilize the latest version of xampp.
QUESTION:
Can I use the latest version of XAMPP now? Will 1.3.7 work with the latest updates using the latest version of XAMPP? I will uninstall Apache, PHP, etc per GHK - I truly respect him and his advice - but, for me it seems that it would be smarter to install the latest version of XAMPP, provided it will work.
What is the consensus? (or is that conZENsus :smile: ) of opinions?
Respectfully,
jund
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto
He wrote the book off of 1.3.7...that being so, I am sure what he says to use to run it was based off the advice of the zen cart team.
You could also pm him and ask him his advice, he posts on this forum.
Re: Setting up Zen Cart on Windows XP using Xampp - a howto