switching templates

[onakat]

how difficulty is it to switch templates? i am currently creating/getting familar with creating one from the classical skin. eventually i want to switch to one that has a different look.

i guess my question is, "should I discontinue testing with the current template and find the new one now or would it be relatively painless to do so later?".

thanks.

[Sketchy]

Very easy to switch templates... but, the difference between easy and hard would boil down to the version of Zen Cart that you currently have. Then, the plot may thicken.

If you are working with the older version of "Classic" with stylesheet_new and stylesheet_original... then, yes, abandon the project and start with a more current version template.

If you have a relatively current version, then you could just download a contributed template from the 'downloads' section here and/or use it as a base to build a totally different look.

As you are probably aware, Admin has a template switcher; Admin-Tools-Template Selection; `Choose and save your new selection. Then; Admin-Tools-Sidebox Layout Controller; `Reset all the sideboxes and then choose which ones you would like displayed and the relative sort order.

[misty]

http://(sorry, site offline)/135/index.php
Top right hand box at above url allows you to preview most of current template contributions
available in downloads section here at zencart forums(link at top of page)

[onakat]

thank you. i think i will select my "new" template and go from there instead of getting frustrated trying to migrate.

[wowemall]

http://(sorry, site offline)/135/index.php
Top right hand box at above url allows you to preview most of current template contributions
available in downloads section here at zencart forums(link at top of page)

i want to template switcher like http://(sorry, site offline)/135/index.php
but not found in download section. can you provide me link?

[Merlinpa1969]

Thats a custom file Im not sure it Kuroi is making that public

[kuroi]

Merlin is correct. This is a piece of custom code and a custom database table built specifically for the zencarttemplate.info site and is not available as a module or for download. Indeed, it's not even complete as it has no back end for entering template information (I didn't need one).

However, building template switchers is relatively straightforward. The switching is done in the includes/init_includes/init_templates.php file and then you build a front end for the switcher to appear in your catalog and a back end to appear in your admin to reflect the specific needs of your site. Most switchers probably don't need a database table - an extra definitions file should suffice and even replace the back end completely.