The order of categories on the sidebar

Hi there

I'm brand spanking new at zen-cart, so be nice! I've tried searching for the answer but just cannot find it.

www.mfhandbag.co.uk

On the left of the page, there is the list of categories. All in alphabetical order. I would like to force a New Arrival category to the top of this list. How can I do this?

I've tried using the sort order at the bottom of each individual category page. All that does is sort the featured products in the centre of the page (with images). It has no effect on the sidebar.

Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it.

David

You have some kind of table inserted directly in your left column with the categories menu in it. It does not use the built-in categories sidebox logic, so does not follow sort order settings. The only thing in your categories sidebox is the twitter link.```html

<div id="navColumnOneWrapper" style="width: 205px"><table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=100% style="padding-top: 0px;"> <tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=74>Accessories</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=94>Backpacks over £2.50</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66>Backpacks up to £2.50</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=93>Beach Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=73>Belts Gentlemen’s</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=104>Belts Ladies</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=107>Belts Studded & Webbing</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=75>Bum Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=96>Camping & Outdoor Backpacks</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=79>Canvas Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=92>Children's wheeled trolley</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=99>Childrens Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=110>Credit Card & ID Holders</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=91>Crochet Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=103>Evening Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=83>Fashion bags over £2.50</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=101>Fashion bags over £5.00</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=86>Fashion bags up to £2.50</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=115>Gloves</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=88>Holdalls over £2.50</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=67>Holdalls up to £2.50</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=85>Laptop and Business Cases</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=65>Leather and PU Handbags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=70>Leather Handbags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100>Microfibre Handbags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=81>Patchwork Leather bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=111>Pet Accessories</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=80>PU Handbags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=105>Purses over £2.00</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=108>Purses up to £2.00</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=106>School & College Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=87>Shopping & Storage Bags</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=76>Shopping Trolleys</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=112>Soft Leather Goods</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=114>Suit Carrier</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=71>Trolley Case & Suit Case</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=89>Umbrellas</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=77>Wallets</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=109>Wallets Branded and Childrens</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=102>Wheeled Backpacks</a></td></tr><tr><td class=nav_bg><a href=index.php?main_page=index&cPath=69>Wheeled Bag</a></td></tr> </table> <!--// bof: categories //--> <div class="leftBoxContainer" id="categories" style="width: 205px"> <h3 class="leftBoxHeading" id="categoriesHeading"></h3> </div> <div style="border:1px solid #999999; margin:10px 0;" align="center"><a href="http://twitter.com/mfhandbag" target="_blank"><img src="images/new-follow-us.gif" alt="" /></a></div> <!--// eof: categories //--> ```

You could style the standard sidebox to have about the same look as your custom menu, and it would be dynamic and obey sort orders. To get that look with the dividers working correctly, try Categories Dressing.

Hi Glenn

Thanks for your reply. I was very sad when the sort order wouldn't work.

Your explanation makes sense. I'll e-mail my web developer and get him to sort it out.

Happy New Year

If a professional web developer is inserting layout tables directly into the Zen Cart column structure, they don't know (or perhaps care) much about how to properly work with this program. Point them to forum resources if necessary, and request them to follow standard ZC practices where possible so that your store can be maintained/upgraded in the future.

MF Handbags:

Hi Glenn

Thanks for your reply. I was very sad when the sort order wouldn't work.

Your explanation makes sense. I'll e-mail my web developer and get him to sort it out.

Happy New Year

Such radical departures from important core behaviour would ring alarm bells for me... I'd seriously look at getting a developer who has at least a basic understanding of how ZC works...

If I were you I start firing a LOT of questions at this developer... like - "What else of core importance have you altered?"

gjh42:

If a professional web developer is inserting layout tables directly into the Zen Cart column structure, they don't know (or perhaps care) much about how to properly work with this program. Point them to forum resources if necessary, and request them to follow standard ZC practices where possible so that your store can be maintained/upgraded in the future.

This is critically important advice...

Much of my time this past year has been spent laboriously unpicking horrible code that was spliced into zencart core files by "freelancers" in places like India, China, Vietnam. Phillipines, etc - and here in the UK too, in a few cases!

If you are using such "freelancers" then you could be buying a barrel-load of future trouble.

Caveat Emptor

Thanks for the advice folks.

We are using a web design company based in the UK, but they outsource the development to India. The most frustrating thing is that I can never talk to the developer because of time & language differences. It's all done via e-mail.

To be honest, we've had a dreadful experience with this lot and are looking to switch. The design of the site looks like somebody's untalented uncle made it in the 1992. Drop shadows, diagonal pin-stripes, you name the poor design elements chances are we've got it. That's without even talking about what changes they've made to ZC core stuff.

Ah well, thanks for listening. Have a happy new year everyone.