Showing a specific category if the shopping cart is empty.

I have a customer that wants to display a specific category when a customer goes to an empty shopping cart.

I've identified the file "tpl_shopping_cart_default.php" as the logical place to add the code to do this, but I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what include/require (or whatever) I need to use to make this function.

The existing code to have it display new products, featured products and specials looks quite simple

<?php require($template->get_template_dir('tpl_modules_whats_new.php',DIR_WS_TEMPLATE, $current_page_base,'templates'). '/tpl_modules_whats_new.php'); ?>

but I need it to display the same as I'd get when loading
mystore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=258_260

Does any have any ideas or suggestions? (is this even possible?)

Thanks in advance
RodG

Hm... I understand it's not exactly what you're asking for, but would you settle for a simple alternative until you get this figured out?

EDIT: Basically, a centerbox just like what's new, featured etc... Hope it helps...

RodG:

I have a customer that wants to display a specific category when a customer goes to an empty shopping cart.

I've identified the file "tpl_shopping_cart_default.php" as the logical place to add the code to do this, but I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what include/require (or whatever) I need to use to make this function.

The existing code to have it display new products, featured products and specials looks quite simple

> 
> but I need it to display the same as I'd get when loading 
> mystore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=258_260
> 
> Does any have any ideas or suggestions?  (is this even possible?) 
> 
> Thanks in advance
> RodG

When you say "go to a specific" category, you do mean that there should be a redirect/load of the categories page that is desired, not just to keep the current page, but add the content of the category's page into some sort of tab, correct?

balihr:

Hm... I understand it's not exactly what you're asking for, but would you settle for a simple alternative until you get this figured out?

EDIT: Basically, a centerbox just like what's new, featured etc... Hope it helps...

Thanks for this. I think I might find it useful for another site I've been working on, but it doesn't suit this customers needs.

Cheers
RodG

mc12345678:

When you say "go to a specific" category, you do mean that there should be a redirect/load of the categories page that is desired, not just to keep the current page, but add the content of the category's page into some sort of tab, correct?

Either solution would be acceptable.

Cheers
RodG

RodG:

Either solution would be acceptable.

Cheers
RodG

I would add a switch in to the configuration panel to fill in the number. Then do a test where the redirect is It's of redirect is empty then normal page is shown.If it is not empty then check or use the number and redirect with the below.

zen_redirect(zen_href_link( FILENAME_DEFAULT, zen_get_path(cat#)));

Forgot to mention that if need to also through a redirect code (wasn't sure which would be appropriate), then before the last closing parenthesis, add , "redirect code'

Where redirect code would be substituted with the applicable # such as 302, 400, etc. (Pick one number though. :)

mc12345678:

I would add a switch in to the configuration panel to fill in the number. Then do a test where the redirect is It's of redirect is empty then normal page is shown.If it is not empty then check or use the number and redirect with the below.

zen_redirect(zen_href_link( FILENAME_DEFAULT, zen_get_path(cat#)));

That's good in theory, but in practice it doesn't work due to the headers already being sent

Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/www/mysite/includes/templates/mytemplate/common/html_header.php:41)

Cheers
RodG

Okay, so the next thought would be wherever the link to the shopping cart is generated, to use a test of the quantity of items in the cart, if zero, then the link should be as identified in the redirect (everything in that line except the zen_redirect() portion. If there are items, then goto the cart. That's the "dirty" approach I would take at that point.

Though I would think that there was a better approach knowing that the headers had already been pushed. :/

But, the approach I just described doesn't handle the condition of everything being deleted from the cart when viewing the cart. Wouldn't putting the previous code in the shopping_cart header_php.php file make it possible to do the redirect without error? (Sorry I'm somewhat guessing now.)

The quick and (VERY) dirty solution:

In the file yoursite.com/includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_shopping_cart_default.php

find around line 211

while (!$show_display_shopping_cart_empty->EOF) { 
?> 

Directly below insert

<?php 
zen_redirect('http://yoursite.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=0'); 
?> 

Replace cPath=0 with the category of your choice - eg 64 or 73_3

Works, but it is (as said before) a quick and dirty way.

Cheers / Frank

mc12345678:

I would add a switch in to the configuration panel to fill in the number. Then do a test where the redirect is It's of redirect is empty then normal page is shown.If it is not empty then check or use the number and redirect with the below.

zen_redirect(zen_href_link( FILENAME_DEFAULT, zen_get_path(cat#)));

frank18:

The quick and (VERY) dirty solution:

In the file yoursite.com/includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_shopping_cart_default.php

find around line 211

while (!$show_display_shopping_cart_empty->EOF) {
?>

> 
> Directly below insert
>  
> ```php
<?php 
zen_redirect('http://yoursite.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=0'); 
?> 

Replace cPath=0 with the category of your choice - eg 64 or 73_3

Works, but it is (as said before) a quick and dirty way.

Cheers / Frank

Combine these two and tada then it sounds like. :)
The switch add in makes the solution a little more robust and universal, but is not necessary. I would however, go with the implementation of using the zC functions over the hard coded link. Like frank said, truly dirty version in that regards.

mc12345678:

Combine these two and tada then it sounds like. :)
The switch add in makes the solution a little more robust and universal, but is not necessary. I would however, go with the implementation of using the zC functions over the hard coded link. Like frank said, truly dirty version in that regards.

That would be my approach, not more 'robust' but certainly more flexible and elegant.

BUT: I don't have the time to get this up as a mod - so leave it to someone else to make it CLEAN (as opposed to quick and dirty :P)

At least RodG can satisfy his customer's needs - and work on it from here ..... in the background.

Cheers / Frank

Btw, took a look at the tpl_shopping_cart_default.php file and the location suggested. I'd put the new code above the while loop, and probably right in line with the TEXT_CART_EMPTY section of code. That would be the default action, and this new redirect would be the alternate direction. Also, if in the while loop and there are no keys returned from the SQL, then the redirect would not occur.As for generating a plugin for all to use? Isn't that what this thread is for? :) found problem, found solution, use it? :)

frank18:

The quick and (VERY) dirty solution:

In the file yoursite.com/includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_shopping_cart_default.php

find around line 211

while (!$show_display_shopping_cart_empty->EOF) {
?>

> 
> Directly below insert
>  
> ```php
<?php 
zen_redirect('http://yoursite.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=0'); 
?> 

Replace cPath=0 with the category of your choice - eg 64 or 73_3

Works, but it is (as said before) a quick and dirty way.

Cheers / Frank

Doesn't work. Headers already sent.

Cheers
RodG

RodG:

Doesn't work. Headers already sent.

Cheers
RodG

Worked fine on my local dev site

This worked for me... Same file: includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_shopping_cart_default.php
No error message generated...

?>
<h2 id="cartEmptyText"><?php echo TEXT_CART_EMPTY; 
zen_redirect(zen_href_link(FILENAME_DEFAULT, zen_get_path('2'))); ?></h2>
<?php
$show_display_shopping_cart_empty = $db->Execute(SQL_SHOW_SHOPPING_CART_EMPTY);
while (!$show_display_shopping_cart_empty->EOF) {
?>
 

mc12345678:

Forgot to mention that if need to also through a redirect code (wasn't sure which would be appropriate), then before the last closing parenthesis, add , "redirect code'

Where redirect code would be substituted with the applicable # such as 302, 400, etc. (Pick one number though. :)

For anyone else that has read this or is following it, there is no reason to throw a redirect code for this situation as far as I can think. I'm not 100% sure what I was thinking other than trying to finish off the redirect statement and for some reason I was thinking of the situation where a product is not found instead of the goal to show a category when the cart is empty and the guest goes to the cart.

What's happening downstream? Ie, regarding the particular category to which the guest is being sent? Is there yet another redirect somewhere there? Can you enter in the browser the path to the category without getting the error?

mc12345678:

This worked for me... Same file: includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_shopping_cart_default.php
No error message generated...

?>

Still got me fcked.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
[19-Jun-2014 13:46:16 UTC] PHP Warning:  Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/www/xxxxxxx/includes/templates/xxxxxxxxxxx/common/html_header.php:41) in /home/www/xxxxxxxxxxx/includes/functions/functions_general.php on line 46
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a step by step of whats going on. 


Customer clicks on the shopping cart link. 


ZenCart loads and outputs from 
/common/html_header.php 
which then loads 
shopping_cart_header.php
which in turn loads 
tpl_shopping_cart_default.php 


tpl_shopping_cart_default.php performs a check for shopping cart contents, and displays them if available. If none are available it executes
$show_display_shopping_cart_empty = $db->Execute(SQL_SHOW_SHOPPING_CART_EMPTY); to determine what should be displayed instead. 


It then runs through the loop to output new products, specials, featured products, etc. 


All quite simple, and yes, it seems like it should be a no brainer to just add a redirect (conditional or otherwise) to call/load/display any other page, as per the suggestions, but this doesn't work because the headers have already been sent by /common/html_header.php 


It makes no difference where in tpl_shopping_cart_default.php I add the redirects, it's always going to be sent too late to avoid the 'headers already sent' error. 


This suggests/implies two viable solutions that I can think of. 


1) As suggested by balihr, call a custom module to output the data needed, or 
2) create/add code to the tpl_shopping_cart_default.php code itself to output the data needed. 


or 
3) I don't know. Any ideas? 


At the moment I've gone with #2. It doesn't do exactly what the customer is after, but its the next best thing (so far). The data being output is the categories list. ...