Newby needs to costumize

[mskala23]

Hello, here are my details:

version 1.3.8a
first install
no addons
I have started a costume template and started dabbling around with the style sheet.
url: http://originoftheliquidman.com/fundraiser_zen/
trying to match design of site at www.originoftheliquidman.com

I am designing this Zen Cart site for a fundraiser for a short film and would like to integrate it into the films site at originoftheliquidman.com.

The products are photographic prints and I will eventually need to add options to the products for framing and sizes. I have added a few products to start getting an idea of the layout but would like to start customizing the design before getting into all the products and shopping cart details. I am thinking of using a lightbox add on.

I have been experimenting a bit with the style sheet and was able to put my design elements in the background.

I have looked through the forums and tutorials for the additional things I would like to do but I am not sure where or how to start. I also purchased the e-start your web site with zen cart manual but found limited instructions for customization.

I would love some help on how I should move forward, I am not a programmer and have little to no knowledge about HTML, CSS, or PHP except that I can follow instructions very well. I created the film site using Photoshop and go-live

maybe I am getting in over my head?

some of the things I would like to do is:

remove the main header bar where the logo and stuff is, I have no need for this part of the header.

place the home and log in links to the right of the "fundraiser" graphic on the background.

use the footer for the category links or move the category links bar to the bottom of the page to mimic where the links are on the rest of the site.

There are many other little things but this stuff should get me started. If there was a CSS resource for the stylesheet to tell me exactly what everything means there in reference to the visuals on the template, that would be great.

any recommendations on how to move forward would be wonderful.

Thanks,
Matthew

[mskala23]

"remove the main header bar where the logo and stuff is, I have no need for this part of the header."

I tried this with the change logo tutorial editing the header.php file but could not get rid of everything completely, should I just delete the file all together?

[mskala23]

ok, well, deleting it didn't work. back to square one, restored the file, will wait for replies.

[gjh42]

To turn the header off, edit /includes/templates/your_template/common/tpl_main_page.php and follow the instructions in the comments.

$flag_display_header = false; 

[mskala23]

great! thanks for the quick reply. I did not have this file in my common directory, in fact my common directory is empty.

I copied the file over to my common directory. It says to copy it to
"templates/your_template_dir/pagename" is that the same as adding it to the common directory? I looked in the source code for $flag_display_header = true; but did not find it. Do I just add $flag_display_header = false; somehere?

It also says to edit the tpl_header.php to disable the header. I tried to add the code there after adding the file to my common folder but nothing happened.

Maybe what I am missing is where it says to "uncomment the following line" I am not sure what that means. Can you explain.

Sorry, thank you so much for your help so far.

[gjh42]

Do I just add $flag_display_header = false; somehere?

Correct. Add it somewhere inside the php tags but not within the comment section. That is all you really need to do.
And since you want the header gone sitewide, you would copy the file into /your_template/common/. The /your_template_dir/pagename/ is for making the change only on a specific pagename.

[mskala23]

Doesn't seem to be working... ?

[gjh42]

Post the section of the file where you added that line (and a few lines before & after for context) so we can see if you did it right.

[mskala23]

Ok Here it is:

// the following IF statement can be duplicated/modified as needed to set additional flags
if (in_array($current_page_base,explode(",",'list_pages_to_skip_all_right_sideboxes _on_here,separated_by_commas,and_no_spaces')) ) {
$flag_disable_right = true;

}

$flag_display_header = false;
$header_template = 'tpl_header.php';
$footer_template = 'tpl_footer.php';
$left_column_file = 'column_left.php';
$right_column_file = 'column_right.php';
$body_id = ($this_is_home_page) ? 'indexHome' : str_replace('_', '', $_GET['main_page']);
?>
<body id="<?php echo $body_id . 'Body'; ?>"<?php if($zv_onload !='') echo ' onload="'.$zv_onload.'"'; ?>>
<?php
if (SHOW_BANNERS_GROUP_SET1 != '' && $banner = zen_banner_exists('dynamic', SHOW_BANNERS_GROUP_SET1)) {
if ($banner->RecordCount() > 0) {

[gjh42]

Oof... I was thinking "display header" when I said to use "false". You need "disable header" to be true.