upgraded and now nothing shows...

[ungeziefer]

The database name, user name and password are correct. No prefix.

So what about the fact that these files, as I said, do not even exist? Is that a bug? Or is that a normal (but never explained) phenomenon?

Did I do the right thing, then, in just copying my old versions of these files?? (And, if so, why should I have to do this, exactly?)

I think this is the section that has me confused:


. . . . . . . .
// NOTE: be sure to leave the trailing '/' at the end of these lines if you make changes!
// * DIR_WS_* = Webserver directories (virtual/URL)
// these paths are relative to top of your webspace ... (ie: under the public_html or httpdocs folder)
define('DIR_WS_CATALOG', '/zencart/');
define('DIR_WS_HTTPS_CATALOG', '/zencart/');

define('DIR_WS_IMAGES', 'images/');
define('DIR_WS_INCLUDES', 'includes/');
. . . . . . . .


What are these "catalogs"? Where should they go? Do I have to create these directories, or are they part of the install? What should the path/hierarchies be, relative to my shop?

In particular : What does this mean? :


// these paths are relative to top of your webspace ... (ie: under the public_html or httpdocs folder)


(My store is a subdomain of a web site, so there is no real way to make a path relative to the root. Or is there?? Do I have to do some crazy directory path with a bunch of ".."s? -- like ../../../../store/ or something?)

Am I even making any sense?

Is it a bad idea to even use a subdomain?

Thanks for your patience.

[Ajeh]

Zen Cart does not include the 2 configure.php files otherwise you would risk overwritting an existing site on an upgrade ...

Instead, for NEW INSTALLS, there are the dist-configure.php
/includes/dist-configure.php
/admin/includes/dist-configure.php

On a NEW INSTALL, these could be rename to:
/includes/configure.php
/admin/includes/configure.php


On an UPGRADE you would copy the two files:
/includes/configure.php
/admin/includes/configure.php

from your LIVE site to your UPGRADE site and edit them to alter the paths, database name, username and password ...

[ungeziefer]

I wasn't using an "upgrade" site -- just replacing my old one (which was completely deleted).

In any case, that doesn't make sense to me because even when there were no "configure.php" files on my server, my store still showed an error message ("warning: I am able to write to the files includes/configure.php" ... "this is a security risk" ... etc.). Changed the permissions on the "dist-configure.php" files, error persisted.

So I tried to (as you suggested) rename the "dist-configure.php" files to just "configure.php" and give them read-only permissions. I then went to my store, and it did not seem to exist -- instead, it defaulted to the installer folder (which I had renamed). So I entered the URL of the installer (with my re-named folder), and installed again. And again. And again.

This is weird. But eventually (for no reason that I can discern), after the 3rd re-intall, suddenly the "configure.php" files existed again. (Though the "dist-configure.php" files are ALSO still there -- which I find bewildering, given your last post.)

So:

1.) when you "install" ZenCart, and it asks you for your database info, does that info get written to a file ("configure.php" and/or "dist-configure.php"), or does it not? If not, why not?

2.) when you're doing a fresh install -- not an upgrade (though I fail to see much difference, frankly) -- why would the "configure.php" files not be installed?

3.) if it is this "configure.php" file that is the crux of the shopping cart -- telling the cart where the database is and how to connect to it -- why aren't instructions for setting up / editing this file in the FIRST LINE of the first page of the FAQ / documentation?

It seems to me ZenCart so frequently puts the cart miles before the horse. (And I'm still putting my boots on ...)

Probably I am still missing something. Maybe someone can clarify.

[ungeziefer]

By the way ...

Nothing actually works in my store (regarding the database). ZenCart is installed, but I still have none of my products or anything.

Regarding "configure.php" and "dist-configure.php" files -- which one "overrides," or supercedes, the other?

Because right now I have this in "configure.php" :

// Define the webserver and path parameters
// HTTP_SERVER is your Main webserver: eg, http://www.yourdomain.com
// HTTPS_SERVER is your Secure webserver: eg, https://www.yourdomain.com
define('HTTP_SERVER', 'http://store.zippermosaics.com');
define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://store.zippermosaics.com');

(Which looks right)

and I have this in "dist-configure.php" :

// Define the webserver and path parameters
// HTTP_SERVER is your Main webserver: eg, http://www.yourdomain.com
// HTTPS_SERVER is your Secure webserver: eg, https://www.yourdomain.com
define('HTTP_SERVER', 'http://localhost');
define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://localhost');

(which seems wrong to me, but on the other hand I believe when I installed ZenCart the server was in fact "localhost" -- which my host company said was correct. Should it be my domain name instead??)

I have this in "configure.php" :

define('DIR_FS_CATALOG', '/var/subdomains/store/');

And I have this in "dist-configure.php" "

define('DIR_FS_CATALOG', '/');


???

Can I simply DELETE these bloody "dist-configure.php" files, or what?

Very confused.