This really isn't a question, but more of a tip for those wishing to incorporate forums with their Zen Cart site. I'm fairly certain that I am not the first person to think of this, but I wanted to toss it out there anyhow.

After reading through all 11 pages of tips, notes, questions and other pieces of advice in this topic regarding the integration of Zen Cart and phpBB:
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/newrep...ote=1&p=936394
I realized that there seems to be some common issues encountered(database connection errors, username in use, etc.) and the only real true benefit from this bridge is to automatically create an account with a username in phpBB and "cross-platform" logons are not supported for a variety of reasons.

Now, not being one for dealing with errors and issues on a regular basis, and after about 34 cups of caffine the fuse on my temper becomes quite short, I opted for a simpler solution. Sure, the user has to create their own account in Zen Cart and phpBB individually, but there are no "cross-platform" communication or database errors. Here we go.....

1) Create an EZ-page in Zen Cart which is nothing more than an external link which OPENS IN A SEPARATE WINDOW directing the user to the forums(eg. www.yoursite(dot)com/forums)... opening this in a separate window keeps the user from being directed away from your store.

2) Place an icon/button in the header of phpBB directing the user to your storefront which OPENS IN THE SAME WINDOW(eg www.yoursite(dot)com), the instructions for doing this can be found on the phpBB site, are easy to follow and will not be supported here.... opening this in the same window directs users to your store.

3) Display the EZ-page in the header/footer/sidebox or even as a hyperlink within your Zen Cart store, depending on where you wish the link to appear.

That's it! Since users need to log into each account individually, the only additional step for them is the account creation within phpBB. I'm discovering that my users really don't have a problem with this and everything runs quite smoothly.

Please keep in mind this is not an attempt to bash the bridge which has been developed to interconnect the two platforms, it's simply another method of accomplishing a connection between the two.

Good Luck!!!

N