Creating your own template - HELP

[nxsteven]

I'm using the most current version. I know HTML and I understand how to DESIGN a website, cut it up, all that. I'm completely unfamiliar with how PHP and CSS really work or what exactly to edit, I should say. I normally use Dreamweaver or Expressions.

All I really need to know is if I'm using Dreamweaver or any WYSIWYG editor, how the heck do I open up a custom template to edit it? Once I get there, I can usually figure out what is being changed and where those files reside.

Any and all help would be great. I've already read a few of the FAQs and have googled a few things but everyone is saying something different so it's becoming confusing.

PS: I have zen-cart up and running on my webserver just fine. Fully functional. I even read a "tutorial" that says I should edit it directly from there. No idea how I would do that.

Thanks in advance!

[kobra]

All I really need to know is if I'm using Dreamweaver or any WYSIWYG editor, how the heck do I open up a custom template to edit it? Once I get there, I can usually figure out what is being changed and where those files reside.

You can not use a WYSIWYG like dreamweaver to design a php application as pages do not actually exist as one normally thinks of them.

php assembles a page from many pieces at the server and then sends this to a browser

Have a look at the classic template files and the css

[nxsteven]

You can not use a WYSIWYG like dreamweaver to design a php application as pages do not actually exist as one normally thinks of them.

php assembles a page from many pieces at the server and then sends this to a browser

Have a look at the classic template files and the css

I read about an application called XAMPP that turns your PC in to a webserver in order to use a WYSIWYG editor. It allows you to run Apache, MySql... from your PC. It's running in my Systray right now. Just don't know how to use it properly

[gjh42]

XAMPP is an excellent development tool, though I don't know if it will allow you to use Dreamweaver in wysiwyg mode. It will make it easier and faster to make and test repeated edits while working on various aspects of design and function.
You install Zen Cart in the /xampp/htdocs/ folder just like a regular server.

[nxsteven]

I know this will sound like a silly question but what is the main index file I should be viewing? Last time I really designed a page I would just open up index.htm or upload that to a directory and that would be what I view. I'm getting kind of frustrated and I refuse to use a template from a template site :\

[afo]

Forget about editing html to achieve the look you want. Most of work needs to be done in the stylesheet (css). The free templates are a great way to learn how to create your own template. You can see them in action at http://(sorry, site offline)/. Use the pulldown menu to change the template and see what it looks like.

Another handy tool is the Firefox browser with the webdeveloper addon which allows you to play with the css and see the effect immediately. You have to save the changes separately and FTP them to the site to make them permanent.