Menu in footer needs repair?

schoolboy:

... because:
/public_html/includes/templates/ocean_front/custom_pages/chat.html

... is not a valid web URL.

Try:

http://www.your_website.com/includes/templates/ocean_front/custom_pages/chat.html
This is what I used:
http://astringofpearls.biz/public_html/includes/templates/ocean_front/custom_pages/chat.html

Let me get this right. While creating ez-pages, if I include an address, it makes it a link to an existing page and will not accept input into the text editor. But creating ez-pages with content, the address fields are ignored. If I have it right, how then is the internal address for the new ez-page with content determined?

rdcast:

Essential distinction. The ez-page creation editor generates the internal address? How do I discover what that address is so I can make use of it?

Internal links are always characterized by:

index.php?main_page=

For EZPAges, the remainder of the link will be:

page&id=18

ending up as:

index.php?main_page=page&id=18

... where 18 is the EZPAge ID number.

You can see this ID on the LEFT HAND side of the admin console's EZPages general management screen.

But you will not need to concern yourself with the internal link actually generated by a CONTENT ezpage. This becomes "embedded" into the page's TITLE when it is rendered in any one of the EZPage menu locations (header, footer, sidebox).

Let's say you want a SIDEBOX link to a specific PRODUCT, and you intend using EZPAges internal link feature to do this.

Let's say your product is called Whizz Bang Candy Bars

You want a LINK called "AMAZING Whizz Bang Candy Bars!"

The first thing you do is locate the product in its normal place so that the Product Info page displays in the browser. There you see the Product name, image, description text, price and add-to-cart button.

You then look in the browser address bar and you see:

http://www.your_website.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_85&products_id=498

So you copy this bit:
index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_85&products_id=498

Then you open up the EZPages Management screen and create a NEW ezPage.

Your title will be:
AMAZING Whizz Bang Candy Bars!

You determine where you want the link to appear (sidebox, header, footer) and make sure there is a sort order greater than 0.

You then scroll down to Internal Link, and you paste:
index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_85&products_id=498

SAVE the page.

In your main website, you will now see a link TITLE:
AMAZING Whizz Bang Candy Bars! in whatever location you specified (header, footer, sidebox). It will carry the embedded link index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_85&products_id=498

If your visitors click on AMAZING Whizz Bang Candy Bars!, that product's Info Page will display

I created the "content ezpage" without an address. How do I navigate to it in order to copy the internal address? There is nothing listed under the "ID" column in the ezpages manager for any of my ezpages.

excuse me, the ID# is pressed up against the page title. It's ID# is 9 and title is "Live Public Chat"

Let's go back to square one:

Go to the EZPages management screen and click NEW FILE button.

In the NEXT SCREEN, type Test Page into "Page Title" input box.

For:
Open New Window and Page is SSL, click NO radio buttons

For:
Header - Click Yes radio button
In "Order" field, type 1

For:
HTML Content

Type in:

This is a TEST PAGE to see what happens

Scroll UP and click INSERT BUTTON

Go to:

admin >>> configuration >>> EZPages Settings

For:
EZ-Pages Display Status - HeaderBar
Make sure it is set to 1

Go to your website...

schoolboy:

Go to your website...
All tasks done. I'm in my site's home page. I see no link to the newly created "test page" in the header.

It would appear that the functionality for the EZpages header has been hard-coded out of your template.

You can either try re-configuring

admin >>> Configuration >>> EZpages Settings - to show the SIDEBOX.

Then, edit that TEST PAGE to show in a sidebox rather than the header.

You will need to switch on sideboxes/ezpages.php in tools >>> Layout Boxes controller (Left Column)

... and see what happens...

or

Switch to CLASSIC template to see if it all works under a DEFAULT setting.

If it works under CLASSIC, then your custom template has been modified to remove the EZPages features.

But you didn't indicate an address for the link to be scripted.

The internal link address is for using the ez-pages system to show a link to a separate (non-ez-page) Zen Cart page in a menu.
You ignore that if you are creating an ez-page with content entered into the textarea.

Zen Cart does everything automatically; you don't need to think about an internal address.

You don't "script in" a link...

If you exactly follow my instructions for the TEST PAGE (above) - and nothing shows in your website, then the conclusion is that the functionality for EZPages header has been removed from the template.

In a STANDARD install of zencart, using the "Classic" template, my instructions will deliver a header to the page (just under the logo) in which the following link will be displayed:

AMAZING Whizz Bang Candy Bars

I suggested that you recall that TEST PAGE, and instead of trying to get it into a header menu, try it in a SIDEBOX. This involves calling up the page in the EZPages editor screen, clicking the header radio button to NO, clicking the Sidebox radio button to YES, then in the configuration for EZpages, making sure that the sidebox is TRUE, and then also making sure that in admin >>> tools >>>Layout Boxes Controller, the ezpages.php sidebox is switched on for the left column.

If you STILL do not see the sidebox and its link, then your template has been "doctored" to remove this functionality.

That is why we have "Classic" template, and you should temporarily switch to it to see if the behaviour for EZPages exists under the default display.

If you then see the EZPages functions, you can make the logical deduction than your CUSTOM template has errors, or has been edited to remove the functionality.

The process from then on involves deciding whether to FIX the custom template, or perhaps use another one.

If you like, send me (via PM) your website admin LOGIN and I will soon tell you if you are making errors, or if your template is at fault...

(I'll need as well theURL to your admin login).

gjh42:

The internal link address is for using the ez-pages system to show a link to a separate (non-ez-page) Zen Cart page in a menu.
You ignore that if you are creating an ez-page with content entered into the textarea.

Zen Cart does everything automatically; you don't need to think about an internal address.
That explains why there is no link, but how can the page be used without one?

Go HERE

Just under the header logo is my EZPages header bar. All these are either FULL Ezpages in their own right, or in the case of "Our Address", "Privacy" and "My Account", are internal EZPages links - created in exactly the manner I describe above for the TEST PAGE.

Unfortunately I must abandon this thread now. No more can be said that hasn't been said.

If your EZPAges are not showing on your site after following what is said here, then the conclusion has to be that your custom template has had the functionality removed.

schoolboy:

Go HERE

Just under the header logo is my EZPages header bar. All these are either FULL Ezpages in their own right, or in the case of "Our Address", "Privacy" and "My Account", are internal EZPages links - created in exactly the manner I describe above for the TEST PAGE.

Unfortunately I must abandon this thread now. No more can be said that hasn't been said.

If your EZPAges are not showing on your site after following what is said here, then the conclusion has to be that your custom template has had the functionality removed.
It's not going to show without an address which your direction never generated.

That aside, your breakdown of the internal address structure was very important and allowed me the ability to formulate the proper address for the ezpage with content. That accomplished, it was a simple matter of creating the ezpage w/o content having the internal address formulated for the other. Now I have a wonderfully working ezpage, but I have two ezpages with the same name in the ezpages manager, one with content and the other without content but equipped with the internal address. Should I now delete the ezpage w/o content ?

The ez-page menus in header, sidebox and footer all "know" how to generate the ez-page addresses; all they need to know is the ez-page ids to use, which you tell them in the settings at the top of each creation page.

You have a perfectly functioning ez-pages footer menu now (including the Sopping Cart:), and the link to your Live Public Chat ez-page works fine. If you have another one with the same name and no content, you can delete it.

When I viewed source, it appeared that the code section of your tpl_header.php that displays the ez-pages header bar was missing. Whether it was deleted or just commented out can only be seen by examining the actual file on your server.

Thanks Glenn, I'll compare it with the default template. I wish to thank both you and Schoolboy for working so hard to shed light on the finer points of ez-page functionality. Having this understanding obviously is important.

Robert