some 101 for zen dummie on installing addons

I have successfully installed Zen cart and about to try to tackle a few addon's that are needed for my store.

is there a basic tutorial that will explain the basics of installing the ad on's

like what exactly is the root of your site?
do you unzip the file or upload it as is?

looking for just where a beginner should go to learn before he does something stupid?

I am not sure that there is a tutorial for this as such, but, hey, I may be wrong. A good add-on will have good instructions about how to install it but, you are right, they assume a certain amount of knowledge.

In general add-ons are composed of a set of files that you upload by FTP to your server. The files either replace existing files or are new files that are added.

If you download a add-on the first stage is always to un-zip it.

Then have a look for a file that is the install instructions. They will hopefully help a bit.

Again, different add-ons are a bit different but in general the files should be arranged in the same structure as they need to appear on the server. So, once you have un-zipped it have a look at the files in the add-on folder. If you see a file that is in the 'includes' folder in the un-zipped add-on then it is going to need to go in the 'includes' folder on the server.

A good add-on will have the same structure as the folders on the server. This means that, with a good FTP program, you can simply put all the files in one go into the root of the store.

The root for the shop is the folder/directory that holds all the files of the store. It might be https://www.mydomain.com or it might be https://www.mydomain.com/shop - it just depends what you have called it. But it is simply the folder / directory that hold all the files.

I hope that helps a bit. It is confusing to begin with when working with websites but will soon make sense :-) If you say which add-ons you are thinking off then people may have more specific advice.

I wrote step by step instructions for installing one of my mods; most other mods will be similar, so this might help:

http://www.thatsoftwareguy.com/zencart_install_mod.html

Add Customers from Admin

Admin login as customer
and
Edit Orders

are the three I need the most. thanks for all the help I will be reading your advice over and over in hopes it starts click to me.

Thanks again for all the help.

Add customers from admin looks like a fairly easy one so let's talk about that one.

If you un-zip it you should see a folder that has four things in it.

1. admin (folder)
2. addresses.csv (an example file)
3. install.txt ( install guide which is quite brief)
4. license.txt (file about the license to use the add-on)

The bit that you are interested is the folder 'admin'. That is the folder that you are going to upload to the server. It seems to me that this is all new files so you will not over-write anything at all.

Do you have a FTP program that you use to upload files to the server? Which one is it? I may be able to give more complete advice if I know.

If it is a good FTP program you can just connect to your server and navigate until you see the 'admin' folder that is already there. Then just drag the 'admin' folder from the add-on to the same place on the server. All the files will be installed in the right place.

And the add-on should work!:smile:

Let us know how you get on....

I have been useing filezilla ?

so I would upload the admin file of the addon to the
/public_html/admin/ on my server?

That might be right. I do not know where the shop is on your site!

It could be

public_html/admin

or it could be

public_html/shop/admin

It depends if zen cart is in it's own folder. Use filezilla to see where the 'admin' folder is for zen cart. You want to put the new admin folder in the same place. filezilla will merge the two.

I uploaded the Admin file of the addon to public_html/admin
But nothing changed on the site what so ever.

We'll need a link to your site.

javamaduro:

I uploaded the Admin file

Do you mean file or folder? It should be folder.

Also, and not meaning to overwhelm you here, but you will need to change the name of your admin folder when you next get chance, to help avoid the recent plethora of hacks.

Related tutorial:
https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=33

Well where i'm working is not my actual site, I'm testing and trying to learn on a fresh install of zen cart 1.3.8 I did on a new server before I go messing with my up and running site.

How ever I did use fantastico to install Zen cart if that makes a diff?

Mostly we need to know where your Zencart installation is (root of your site, or a subdirectory) to advise you specifically. Most of the mods have installation instructions included.

Using filezilla have a look in the 'admin' folder on your server. There should now be a file called add_customers.php. (It is one of a few that have been installed, but if this one isn't there then you have not put the add-on in the right place)

If it is not there then you have not installed it correctly.

I have just added it to my test server. What you get if you succeed is an extra option in the customers menu in administration. Screenshot attached.

Also, here is a screenshot of me using fireftp (which is not filezilla but I am sure it is similar but have never used filezilla ) to upload the add-on. The images are resized by the forum so if larger versions would help you then let me know....