Catagory Description not showing

[sadfurry]

I think maybe I have missed something obvious, does the catagory description only show if there are no items in that catagory?
I went to my other site, www.heavenlysoaps.co.uk and added a catagory bath melts and added a description, but no items, the catagory description showed for this. So I went to another product bath bombs where the catagory description was not showing, deleted the items listed in it, and the catagory description then appeared.

[Ajeh]

This code is used when there are not products ...
Could you check the file:
/includes/templates/templates_default/templates/tpl_index_product_list.php

Do you see this code in it around lines 30 to 35:

<?php
// categories_description
    if ($current_categories_description != '') {
?>
<div id="indexProductListCatDescription" class="content"><?php echo $current_categories_description;  ?></div>
<?php } // categories_description ?>

This code is used when there are products ...
Could you look in this file around lines 58-63:
/includes/templates/templates_default/templates/tpl_index_categories.php

<?php
// categories_description
    if ($current_categories_description != '') {
?>
<div id="categoryDescription" class="catDescContent"><?php echo 'MY DESCRIPTION: ' . $current_categories_description;  ?></div>
<?php } // categories_description ?>

Now check your overrides for these two files ... is the code there? Is the code commented out?

[sadfurry]

Ooh, that second file, index_categories.php, mine is different, the bit that is different is I don't have this bit in it

?php echo 'MY DESCRIPTION:

[Ajeh]

Sorry I put that in there so you could see the difference when each peice of code runs at various points of the Product Listings when the categories_description runs ...

[sadfurry]

Apart from that one line in the code where there are products listed, I have the same code, do I need to add that bit that is missing perhaps?

[Ajeh]

You don't need it ... that was just so you could see which one was running when you should see the description ... one would have the text and the other would not ...

[jjfloss]

I am having the same exact issue. I do have a custom template installed and when my categories are empty, they will display the description but once i add a product the description disappears. Any luck finding a fix for this?

[Ajeh]

Check your template ... there are a lot of custom ones that mark out the oddest things ...

A search with the Developers Tool Kit for:
categories_description

might help spot if this is commented out ...

Also check your View Source ... if you see the description in there, then you have something in the stylesheet hiding it ...

[sadfurry]

This has just got even more strange, because one catagory IS showing the catagory description and it does have items in that catagory

[Ajeh]

That is the point of my comment that I added to the code ...

The code runs two ways based on is there a categories_description or isn't there ...

One of two files are running:
/includes/templates/template_default/templates/tpl_index_categories.php

/includes/templates/template_default/templates/tpl_index_product_list.php

You are not getting the categories_description based on a change to the file ...

Check the files to see if you have the code or if it is commented out ... be sure to check your template files too for overrides of these ...