OK, where did I go wrong?

I needed to make a change to /includes/modules/pages/shopping_cart/header_php.php.

Per my understanding of the instructions in:

https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=143

I created a file includes/modules/CUSTOM/pages/shopping_cart/header_php.php.

But my changes in that file aren't being picked up.

What did I do wrong?

Thanks.

I don't think there is an override for PAGES in the modules directory.

What I do is rename the ORIGINAL to a bak file

(header_php.bak)

Then edit a COPY of it which is saved in the same folder, under the php extension...

schoolboy:

I don't think there is an override for PAGES in the modules directory.
Correct.

Ahh...OK, that would explain it, then. Thanks, guys.

Schoolboy: doesn't your method for doing this risk losing your changes during an upgrade?

mzimmers:

Ahh...OK, that would explain it, then. Thanks, guys.

Schoolboy: doesn't your method for doing this risk losing your changes during an upgrade?

Only if I fail to keep written records of what I've done, and a COPY of the edited file in an appropriate location on my local machine...

Hmm...written records, you say? Yeah, I suppose that would have been a good idea...

I handle SCORES of sites... without a well-kept notebook (has now become a set of files) I would be well-and-truly lost...

Get into the habit of noting down what you do. You'll be surprised at how quickly you forget what's been done and where.

Another technique is to create a full MIRROR of ALL FILES on your local machine - - - in effect, a DUPLICATE of all the FILES in the current working website.

What I now do is make edits to the LOCAL copies first, and then FTP them to the server, after re-naming the server's copy to .bak as described above.

In this way (editing the LOCAL file first), the version of any file on my local drive is as up-to-date as whatever is on the server.

This is useful from a number of points of view...

1. If I make errors in my edits (as I OFTEN do :blush:) then the server version is ORIGINAL and "un-sullied" - and I can try again.

2. I ALWAYS have a FULL CURRENT BACKUP of all files on my local machine - and you never know when that can be useful to you. A crashed server will soon tell you, though!

... and NEVER keep the ".php" extension when renaming a backup file!!!!

ie: header_php.php ---> header_php.bak == GOOD
ie: header_php.php ---> header_php_original.php ==== BAD

Similar with stylesheets. If renaming a stylesheet file, DO NOT call it "styleXXXXXXXX.css", because that's the pattern that automatically is loaded by the system.
Use .bak instead of .css

And .bak instead of .js

etc.

Actually, you can create the folder for an override of "pages" even though it won't be used, but you can use it just to store a copy of the files you changed so that you can refer to them after and upgrade/update and copy your modifications to the new files.