Basic 'simple button to URL in sidebox - HowTo Example needed

[Beau91324]

I have created a sidebox that I want to but some basic/simple buttons, like the search button in the search sidebox. My problem is I'm a novice at PHP programming (I am an experience programmer I just don't know PHP that well yet) and I'm having some problems understanding what I'm seeing in the see, so I'm asking for a good explination of just what is going on in tpl_search.php.

All my button needs to do is a simple href to an external URL like www.google.com.

[stevesh]

Do you want a button to an external URL, or do you want some sort of search function attached to it?

[Beau91324]

I just want a button to an send the user to an external URL when pressed. I'm using it to send my users to our Forum support site: audiobookstownsquare.yuku.com

I'm looking for the simplest, cleanest way to do this is a sidebox because I will be adding other links to other places later.

[gjh42]

If you want this separate from the existing sideboxes, you can install the Blank Sidebox mod and put your button code in it.

If you don't want the button in a box, you can hide the box heading and border in your stylesheet, using the box id to limit the effect to that box.

[Beau91324]

Yes, I understand that, but what is the code I put in the sidebox to create the button itself? That's what I need to understand, know.

[Kim]

Use simple HTML -

<a href="YOUR_URL"><img src="path_to_your_image.gif" /></a>

[Beau91324]

thanks, any idea how I could get the button type used in the search sidebox, or is it a gif too?

[Kim]

You can use a GIF, JPG or PNG image

[Beau91324]

Newbie question time: How do you figure out the path to a graphic. I have tried <img src="free.gif" /> with the free.gif in the images folder in the same level as the sidebox folder that has the sidebox php file with the code and I see nothing. As you can see in the code below I'm using the Blank Sidebox as a starting point.

<?php
/**
 * blank sidebox - allows a blank sidebox to be added to your site
 *
 * @package templateSystem
 * @copyright 2007 Kuroi Web Design
  * @copyright Portions Copyright 2003-2007 Zen Cart Development Team
 * @license http://www.zen-cart.com/license/2_0.txt GNU Public License V2.0
 * @version $Id: blank_sidebox.php 2007-05-26 kuroi $
 */

  $content = '';
  $content .= '<div id="' . str_replace('_', '-', $box_id . 'Content') . '" class="sideBoxContent">';
  $content .= '<a href="http://audiobookstownsquare.yuku.com"><img src="free.gif" /></a>';
 
  $content .= '</div>';
?>

[stevesh]

You'll need the path in the img tag. A relative path would be: <img src="../images/free.gif"> That's two dots before the slash. You can also put in the entire path (http:// etc.), but you can run into problems on secured pages that way.