Strictly a discussion of something I feel may be confusing to a newbie. They are addressed briefly in items 4 and 5 of Documentation Requirements in the Rules for Plugin/Addon Contribution Submission.

First of all what constitutes YOUR_TEMPLATE. Several definitions make it unclear and sometimes infer that it is something OTHER than the template you currently have selected in the ADMIN >> Tools >> Template Selection. In other words, YOUR_TEMPLATE might be Classic Contemporary Green, Responsive Classic Template, or some other template. Indicating that files should be placed anywhere other than YOUR_TEMPLATE in a mod or addon, IMHO, can create a load of problems for the newbie.

For example, a mod might want the installer to place a copy of the file in template_default and merge the file with any other copy IF it is in YOUR_TEMPLATE. I read this as put tpl_somethingnew.php in the template_default directory and (if the tpl_somethingnew.php exists in YOUR_TEMPLATE) make sure any changes in template/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_somethingnew.php be merged into templates/template_default/templates/tpl_somethingnew.php. Isn't this exactly backwards from what we want? This method will lose all changes upon cart upgrade. The exact opposite of what we want to happen on upgrade.

Likewise, should there really be a need to put the same file in YOUR_TEMPLATE and template_default? To me, this is unnecessary even if one is using Classic Contemporary Green. Is not template_default only "called" if the file being used is NOT in YOUR_TEMPLATE?

It appears that, until 1.6.0, any upgrade will continue to replace Classic, Default, and Responsive thereby losing any changes done for a mod.

We recommend that our customers, whether starting new or upgrading, use lat9's clone a template immediately after installing ZC. Of course, we recommend cloning the responsive template for its responsive qualities and recommend a naming convention based on their store/site. If the customer comes with a template in hand, we make sure the template is compatible with ZC to avoid the

The immediate benefit is that, when a mistake occurs, the customer/storeowner has something to refer back to and compare. <off-topic>Clone a template should be added to core and recommended for use BEFORE making changes to a template.</off-topic>

I suggest that we standardize all template mods to refer to YOUR_TEMPLATE exclusively as we do with YOUR_ADMIN. A notice might be included with each mod's readme something like:

In this mod, you will see references to files and/or folders as YOUR_TEMPLATE. YOUR_TEMPLATE is that template that is currently controlling the "look" and layout of your site/store. If you do not know which template that is, you can find out by clicking on the Template Selection of the Tools Menu in the admin menu of your store/site. If YOUR_TEMPLATE is one of those shipped with the Zen Cart install, it is recommended that you clone the template prior to installing this mod. Installing this mod's YOUR_TEMPLATE files/folders to templates shipped with Zen Cart can or will cause them to be lost during a future upgrade of Zen Cart.


 Flame on.