I need help...seriously.

[joyjoy]

Hi everyone, I would like to connect with someone that is patient and knowledgeable and definetly not condescending. I have a few questions that I just cannot seem to get to the bottom of basically regarding layout. I thank you in advance for your help! Please respond. :)

[andreitero]

Why don't you post your questions here so people can try answering them?

[joyjoy]

I was hoping to connect with someone to exchange with I have several questions and I didn't want to scare away any help...but if you got the time and know-how I'd appreciate it:

1. I see all this stuff about CUSTOM changes. I'm confused about this. I have been making changes but directly to the default areas.

2. I also am confused about the default templates...I see some in languages, come in includes, common, etc. How do I know which codes to change to generate the edits?

3. How do I change the headers on the side boxes.

4. How do I remove the top banner on the webpage. And am I able to move those links so another area (in my header)? Or can I just adjust the size of the banner?

5. On the default side box for category. Am I able to create additional categories and have the content generate automatically into the appropriate areas?

6. In the best sellers area, is there a way that I can generate photos with the descriptions?

7. I would like to add a live chat side box. I've reviewed several posts about this but would like to have the cleanest method suggestion.

THANK YOU TO ANYONE THAT CAN HELP!!

I haven't done much of any modifications to the default layout. I wanted to know of all the things I need to cover before I begin. So far, just colors/fonts have been changed. Thank you again!

[sonik_fury]

The first 4 or 5 questions are in the FAQ section here-->https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php

[joyjoy]

Thank you! I'll check it out...I'll post on my success.

[joyjoy]

I gave it a try, still a lot of unanswered questions. Thank you.

[afo]

You'll have to be a bit more specific about the "unanswered questions" you have. Creating a custom template is simply a matter of creating folders, copying content and making changes to the copied content.

This list is a bit outdated, but it'll give you an idea where to start to create a very basic custom template (you can build from there):

• includes/languages/YOUR_TEMPLATE/english.php
• includes/languages/english/YOUR_TEMPLATE/index.php
• includes/languages/english/YOUR_TEMPLATE/meta_tags.php
• includes/languages/english/YOUR_TEMPLATE/header.php (to change the logo and header text)
• includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/template_info.php
• includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/common/tpl_header.php <- may not be necessary
• includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/common/tpl_footer.php <- may not be necessary
• includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/images/logo.gif (or .jpg or .png)
• includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/css/stylesheet.css

Anywhere you see a /classic/ folder, you can create a folder for your custom template. You can copy the necessary files from either the /classic/ folder, the /template_default/ folder or the parent folder.

Edit includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/template_info.php to give your template identifying information so you'll recognize it in the admin under tools->template selection.

Note: if you've changed the height of the logo in header.php, you may need to change it in your stylesheet as well:

#logoWrapper{
background-image: url(../images/header_bg.jpg);
background-repeat: repeat-x;
background-color: #ffffff;
height:75px; <-adjust this line if necessary
}

There are also free templates available which may give you a head start on customizing your site. You can see them in action at http://(sorry, site offline)/. Use the pulldown menu to change templates and see what it will look like on a site.

[joyjoy]

Thanks for the help guys. So after doing A LOT of reading I'm finding that I may have used conflicting advice from different posts at one time or another.

As of right now I know the layout I want, I'm having a hard time to make certain adjustments here and there, however they are not crucial.

For the ENGLISH/CUSTOM advice that is given at times I also came across someone who posted that you should created an entire CUSTOM directory with all components listed. Yet I have also seen that they should be added individually to specific groups (like listed above). Is there a way to reset my codes completely back to the default? Orignally I had made some changes into the classic templates. Thank you!

[gjh42]

It can't hurt to make a complete /custom/ folder tree, with a folder everywhere there is a /classic/ folder; but you should only copy files into the /custom/ folders when you need them. If you want to start from the Classic layout/look, you should copy all files from /classic/ into /custom/, and then modify from there. Just don't copy /template_default/ files into /custom/ until you need them.

If you are sure you have not modified any files in /classic/ folders, you can start fresh with a complete copy of those files and no others in /custom/ folders, but if you are not sure, you may be safer starting over with a fresh upload.

[bonnit]

in terms of layout changes, aethetics, if you make a mock up of these changes you require you will find it an awful lot easier, also when asking for help on the forums you could post this as an attachment and gain help that way - or at the very least be told wether or not this is even possible to do.

people are patient and extremely helpful on here but you need to be outright with your questions and have already tried to resolve them yourself by reading all of the faq's and the parts of the wiki that apply to you first.