Load Zen Cart to Windows 7

I just started following the steps to load Zen Cart to my PC. I got some of the way but it is not working. Most of the istructions are for XP or Vista. My files don't always match. Is there a trick to loading to Windows 7. Are there support notes anywhere that would help me.

Thanks
I wish I could.

My files don't always match
What do you mean by this?
What files
What mis match?

Zen Cart is a dynamic PHP + MySQL based site which needs a web server to run. You cannot load working PHP pages into your browser (the way you can HTML pages) unless you have a web server installed. There is a way to do this on your PC, by installing an offline web server (Intranet). The easiest to install is called XAMPP, which is an all-in-one install, containing all you need - an Apache server, PHP, MySQL and phpMyAdmin.

The thing to note about XAMPP is that it is constantly updated by developers who always use the latest version of everything, so it's best to download an earlier version (such as 1.7.1) from Source Forge (https://www.sourceforge.net). Get the Windows Installer version (a .msi file) and it's a 1-click install.

Vger

kobra:

What do you mean by this?
What files
What mis match?

Hi Kobra
I have followed all the following steps found on page 37 of the book (see below) until I get to the last line below.

When I use the web browser to point to http://www.example.com i am not presented with the XAMPP
welcome screen. See last few lines below. Note I am using Windows 7. Not XP.

To set up a domain in Windows XP:

1. Edit the file C: \WINDOWS\system32\dr ivers\etc\hosts with a text editor. Change the drive letter (C:)
   to match your own computer setup.
2. Add the following lines to the end of the file.
   127.0.0.1 https://www.example.com # For browser access
   127.0.0.1 mail.example.com # For email access
   127.0.0.1 example.com # For mercury mail server
3. Remember to save the contents of the file.
   You should now be able to use “localhost” and “www.example.com” interchangeably when accessing your web
   server via a web browser. The “mail.example.com” domain will make more sense to you when you learn how to
   configure Zen Cart to send emails in “Mail Server Settings” on page 72. The “example.com” domain will be used in
   “Configuring Mercury” on page 38.
   Configuring Apache
   We have to configure our local Apache to accept connections for any requests to the domain -
   http://www.example.com, instead of allowing such connections to go through the Internet.
   To configure Apache to use the new domain you created:
4. Edit the file <xampp-home>/apache/conf /ht tpd.conf with a text editor.
5. Delete and add the following line in the file.
   ServerName localhost:80 ServerName www.example.com:80

To test whether Apache has been configured properly:

1. Start your Apache service via the XAMPP Control Panel.
2. Use your web browser to point to http://www.example.com and you should be presented with the XAMPP
   welcome screen if your configuration is successful.

I wish I could :frusty:

Vger:

Zen Cart is a dynamic PHP + MySQL based site which needs a web server to run. You cannot load working PHP pages into your browser (the way you can HTML pages) unless you have a web server installed. There is a way to do this on your PC, by installing an offline web server (Intranet). The easiest to install is called XAMPP, which is an all-in-one install, containing all you need - an Apache server, PHP, MySQL and phpMyAdmin.

The thing to note about XAMPP is that it is constantly updated by developers who always use the latest version of everything, so it's best to download an earlier version (such as 1.7.1) from Source Forge (https://www.sourceforge.net). Get the Windows Installer version (a .msi file) and it's a 1-click install.

Vger

I now have my site with a server and am setting it up there. Should I also have my site on my PC so I have my site in two locations? Would I still install on my PC the way you suggested above?

I wish I could

You should definitely have your site files on your pc, to make it easier to make edits and have an up-to-date backup of your live site at all times. It is easier to test edits if you actually have xampp set up so you can view your local copy in it. You can do much of this without going through mail server etc. setup, and you should be able to use http://localhost/mysite.com to view your local site without editing driver files.

I don't know how or if windows 7 is different from xp in the drivers\etc\hosts aspect.

You are over-thinking this. You don't need to be able to access your Zen Cart site offline in XAMPP using a domain name. You just add a folder e.g. "zen" to the htdocs folder in XAMPP, install it from there and then access it via http://localhost/zen

Vger