THE MANUAL IS HERE!! Wayheeey!!

[Ryk]

There is a frequently asked question in the forum - “Where can I find the manual?” Well, we now have the answer - it’s here!

I was fortunate enough to be asked to review an advanced copy of e-Start Your Web Store with Zen Cart by Goh Koon Hoek

Checked for accuracy by the Development Team prior to publication, this book contains the answer to just about every basic “How do I … ?” question that has appeared on the forums (and some that haven’t!) and is going to be an indispensable administrative tool for every Zen Cart store owner and anyone engaged in building Zen Cart stores for other people.

The author starts by giving a detailed guide on how to set up your own PC as a local server to allow you to install, test and build your Zen Cart store prior to putting it live, before going on to explain every admin setting in an easily understood way - for the first time in over 2 years of building Zen Cart stores, I finally understand Price Factor and Offset!

There are plenty of screenshots and examples throughout the book, aiding the excellent descriptions of the admin functions and settings, as well as guidance on template creation. The latter is aimed at beginners and is appropriately at a basic level but there is certainly enough information to help you make your store look different from other Zen Carts.

The Table of Contents is logically laid out, with chapter headings and sub-headings aligned very closely with the admin menu headings and sub-headings, so it’s fairly easy to find things; just remember that if you come across a setting in your Zen Cart admin that you want more information about (e.g. One Time Factor) you need to be aware of the general area you’re working in – in this case, Attributes.

Everybody with a Zen Cart store needs this book – my copy will be by my keyboard for quick reference when asked those questions that I really ought to know the answers to!

To get yours, just click the banner at the top of this page.

[TShooters]

Thanks, Goh Koon Hoek, ZC Devs, and Ryk for getting this manual out there.
Always something new to learn.

[Ryk]

Whoa! I had no part in this whatsoever, apart from being the lucky guy who got to see it first.

But you're spot on with the rest.

Incidentally, while you're going through the ordering process, do take note that it's not quite as slick as a ZenCart checkout...you have to go all the way through before you find out the shipping costs (unless I missed something along the way, in which case I apologise to Lulu.com).

It's only fair to point out that the shipping is not exactly cheap, but the book does weigh just over 2lbs/1kg...and look at it another way - you've got hundreds of $$$ worth of software for free; paying around $50 to get your hands on this is going to save you HOURS at whatever your time is worth or having to pay someone like me to do it ... so OMG, what have I done? Why the heck am I promoting this??? I don't even get a cut of the profits

[TShooters]

@ Ryk

Lulu says you can check shipping before entering pay info, but I didn't notice it, either. They do have several choices on how you want it shipped, and UPS is
first in the drop down list (and probably default) if you don't choose another
method. USPS Media Mail is reasonable, at a few cents over $3.00 to my area.
It'll taken a little longer to get here, but maybe by then things will
have settled here and I'll be able to dive into it.

[hareslade]

Yes but actually the manual is only over there in the U.S

Shipping is not too bad to U.K at nearly £9 ($17.50), total was stated as $62.45 all in with standard delivery (but what is standard....).

Lulu refused to show me shipping until I created an account user and entered ALL my details, an imaginary phone number, and pretended I was going to pay by Paypal. Unslick indeed..

But its a great leap forward, a manual for an open source software!

Is anyone going to stock it in the UK?

[Ryk]

There's an economy shipping to the UK that costs £5.95 with a timescale of 5-15 days (useful for "professional" ZenCart builders to purchase for client as part of the service) - but as I said, it weighs a fair bit so the prices aren't unreasonable; just seem a lot because the book is so cheap!

I thought the printing was being done in Spain - where did I get that idea?

[Merlinpa1969]

lulu is a print on demand,
I dont see anyone "Stocking it"

and if they do the price will go up ALOT

[wtashby]

What happens when Zencart is updated and new releases come out? Does the book get updated too? Will it eventually become obsolete? Will we have to purchase adendums, or an entire new book everytime a new version of Zen comes out?

Am I rambling?

[Ryk]

Fair comment, and I can't give you a precise answer, but let's be realistic - ZC will change over the years; as the only Dev Team approved hardcopy manual, this book should sell well and thus the author/publisher would be foolish not to pursue an income stream by bringing out periodic revisions, but it would then be up to the individual to decide when the time is right to renew.

However, having read this, the information packed in here is about the heart of ZenCart. The author has explained every single admin menu option in detail; it is most unlikely that there will be any major changes to that structure for some time to come*, but the important thing is that if you are building your first Zen Cart now, then this manual is current and will be invaluable. The more you use it, the less you'll need it - but when you forgot what you did, you'll be easily able to go back and find out how you did it!

Remember, this is primarily aimed at beginners (although my opinion is that none of us know everything about ZC so this is a vital reference tool) , and by the time an edition is "out-of-date" one will hopefully have one's store up and running and no longer be considered a beginner!

*If you look at the Roadmap you will see that the vast majority of planned enhancements in the next 3 point releases are unlikely to have much effect on HOW to use the various admin options.

[ellivir]

I'm wondering if this book can be get as pdf or similar? I know it has almost 400 pages but with search functions etc. would be great and always with me since I always use portable computer and I'm always changing my physical place as well...
(and also a funny thing it is sold in a webshop that is non-ZC)