Upgrade strategy ... (and server move)

montello1984:

I have decided to tweek the new template rather than carry forward old stuff. I am pretty close to standard any way.

It is going quite well.

Couple of challenges.

How do I get rid of that test "Sales Message goes here" from all pages? I have removed it from the header.php file but it seems stubborn.

Also - how do I make the header image box deeper for a larger image ... I have already changed the width to 1000pxl.

DrByte:

How exactly did the old store do shipping and payment? Why not use those same strategies on the new one?

montello1984:

I wish I'd made another purchase test before I flipped the DNS servers to remind me.

Basically you completed the order without payment.

SO we just got an email from the zencart shop with the customers order which we then process manually due to the complexities of shipping as the items in the shop are often large and bulky and going to overseas locations.

Currently I get to step one and it says:

Sorry, we are not shipping to your region at this time.

How do I change it to ship to any region?

DrByte:

So, now comes the part in the upgrade process where you inspect the template and language (and really all) files to understand what things you'd customized on the old version so you can re-customize them on the new version.

That comparison process is documented in the main upgrade instructions.

In a nutshell it's this:
a) on your PC make 2 folders: 1 containing all the files in the old site, and 1 containing all the files for the original ZC for that old version. Earlier you mentioned that you're upgrading from v1.3.8a, so on your PC you'll have a folder of the original v1.3.8a files, unzipped, and another of your old "live" site's files.
b) use a tool like WinMerge (free) or Beyond Compare to compare the two, and make note of the things you'd added, changed, removed, etc
c) re-make relevant changes in the new version.

When doing the compare, you may have added additional folders for your custom template and language overrides, etc. You'll need to compare that custom template against template_default to identify things that need doing in the new version. Same with language files, since the new version will have some new language things that you'll need to merge with your customisations.

If your old template is something you're thinking of retiring, you could use a newer template already updated for v1.5.4 and then tweak it as necessary.

This last quoted text is probably your best answer... Seeing that the database now is basically as the database was, if the associated code follows the same process as it did (using whatever database information is applicable) then the process that Dr. Byte suggested would reveal what was done to get your site to work the way it did and essentially what needs to be changed on the new site to work like the old...

The reason that "Sorry, we are not shipping to your region at this time." appears is that no active/installed shipping module fits the conditions of the product being added to the cart. There are requirements to meet the free shipping aspect, as I said one would/could be that the product is virtual (individual product page), another is that it has no weight (this may affect other factors of your business if you reset the weight to zero or leave it blank), another is the setting for the product that it be free shipping, etc... All sorts of things that weren't necessary in your previous version (code) of your shop because something was done to bypass that aspect... You still have the code and are still able to do the comparison/investigation...

OK I think I have pretty much cracked it.

I allow only walk in shipping and payment option of cash on delivery so then the system will process and place the order.

Result!!!!

Thanks for all the help.

Only thing left to do is to try and work out how to remove that bloody "Sales Message Goes Here" text from the header!!!

montello1984:

Only thing left to do is to try and work out how to remove that bloody "Sales Message Goes Here" text from the header!!!

DrByte:

Sales-message-goes-here -- see the FAQ article you mentioned earlier. Change the define from 'Sales message goes here' to just ''

the green on the sideboxes is CSS. If you right-click on that green bit and choose Inspect Element, it'll show you which things are affecting it, and that will inform you what to change. At the very least it'll show you the colour number creating the green and you can change that in your stylesheet to whatever alternate you want.

montello1984:

I have followed these instructions without success:

http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?165

It must be picking this up from elsewhere ...

And if you are having difficulty following the FAQ, please identify what you are having problems with, otherwise this message/FAQ is likely to be provided yet again...

mc12345678:

And if you are having difficulty following the FAQ, please identify what you are having problems with, otherwise this message/FAQ is likely to be provided yet again...

I have followed exactly that instruction; the classic folder is empty.

I have updated the header.php file to read:

// added defines for header alt and text
define('HEADER_ALT_TEXT', 'Petticrows Online Shop');
define('HEADER_SALES_TEXT', '');
define('HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH', '192px');
define('HEADER_LOGO_HEIGHT', '64px');
define('HEADER_LOGO_IMAGE', 'logo.gif');

yet still that text is there ... I have even viewed the file on the remote server and get the same file contents.

The installation must be picking that file up from elsewhere ... I can even see that the alt text you get when you mouse over the site logo (which is now a clear gif) is the old text from the header file ...

Somehow this text is coming from another file or set of definitions that is overwriting the definitions detailed in the header.php file

Ah ... cracked it ... there was another copy of the header.php file lurking in the classic folder on the remote server ...

Dunno how that go there!!!

montello1984:

Ah ... cracked it ... there was another copy of the header.php file lurking in the classic folder on the remote server ...

Dunno how that go there!!!

Glad you figured it out.

One thing though, by making all these changes in the classic folder(s), troubleshooting in the future will be complicated slightly because there will not be a "classic" unmodified template to switch to for identifying if the issue is template related or related to something else. Also, when performing the next upgrade, care will have to be taken to ensure that the files in the classic folder(s) get updated with the new code of the template_default files while maintaining whatever changes have been made for the site.

So ... Do the contents of the classic folder always override the contents of the template folder?

Should I just copy over the files I have changed to the classic file and replace the others with the originals?

montello1984:

So ... Do the contents of the classic folder always override the contents of the template folder?

Should I just copy over the files I have changed to the classic file and replace the others with the originals?

Yes.

The "classic" template is provided only as an example, but lots of people choose to use it for making their own customisations.

As I wrote earlier: the files in your custom template folder (ie "classic" in your case) always override the template_default.
Same with the language files. I won't rewrite here everything I already typed in my previous post where I described all of this.

Although one should always take the time to review the thread as well as other areas of the forum, one post related to Dr. Byte's discussion of templates in this thread was: http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.php?215599-Upgrade-strategy-%28and-server-move%29&p=1271286#post1271286

DrByte:

Yes.

The "classic" template is provided only as an example, but lots of people choose to use it for making their own customisations.

As I wrote earlier: the files in your custom template folder (ie "classic" in your case) always override the template_default.
Same with the language files. I won't rewrite here everything I already typed in my previous post where I described all of this.

Sorry if I am being a bit slow on this but I think the terminology and multiple directories are confusing me.

includes/languages/classic is an empty directory

includes/languages/english/classic is an empty directory

includes/languages/english/ has got many files.

So, I had assumed I was using the default template not the classic as the classic directories are all empty.

includes/languages/english/html_includes/classic has files in which I have been changing ....

There are so many directories called classic I fear I am getting confused ...

I think one last question:

I have changed the file storepickup.php as required:

define('MODULE_SHIPPING_STOREPICKUP_TEXT_WAY', 'Select this options for your shipping');

But I can seem to change the text "Walk in" that features by the radio button. The above define was "Walk In" and I have changed it ... but the site is still referencing "Walk In" although the other areas I have changed in this file are showing.

montello1984:

I have changed the file storepickup.php as required
In which directory?

montello1984:

Sorry if I am being a bit slow on this but I think the terminology and multiple directories are confusing me.

includes/languages/classic is an empty directory

includes/languages/english/classic is an empty directory

includes/languages/english/ has got many files.

So, I had assumed I was using the default template not the classic as the classic directories are all empty.

includes/languages/english/html_includes/classic has files in which I have been changing ....

There are so many directories called classic I fear I am getting confused ...

The Overrides system explained: http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?228-understanding-the-override-system

DrByte:

In which directory?

includes/languages/english/modules/shipping

montello1984:

I think one last question:

I have changed the file storepickup.php as required:

define('MODULE_SHIPPING_STOREPICKUP_TEXT_WAY', 'Select this options for your shipping');

But I can seem to change the text "Walk in" that features by the radio button. The above define was "Walk In" and I have changed it ... but the site is still referencing "Walk In" although the other areas I have changed in this file are showing.

montello1984:

includes/languages/english/modules/shipping

If your changes are in /includes/languages/english/modules/shipping/storepickup.php but there is a /includes/languages/english/modules/shipping/classic/storepickup.php then the one in classic will be used.

It uses the one in the override folder if it exists, and then uses the original/master/default/whatever-you-want-to-call-it as a fallback if there is no override/customized one in the (in your case, classic) folder.

DrByte:

/includes/languages/english/modules/shipping/classic/storepickup.php then the one in classic will be used.

This directory is empty so I'd expect the standard file to prevail.

in this file we have:

define('MODULE_SHIPPING_STOREPICKUP_TEXT_TITLE', 'We will call to arrange shipping options - SELECT "WALK IN" below then continue.');
define('MODULE_SHIPPING_STOREPICKUP_TEXT_DESCRIPTION', 'Customer In Store Pick-up');
define('MODULE_SHIPPING_STOREPICKUP_TEXT_WAY', 'Select this options for your shipping');

The top one seems to be working and if I edit it I can see the edit flow through onto the site.

But MODULE_SHIPPING_STOREPICKUP_TEXT_WAY is not flowing through onto the site ... there must be another place this is defined that is overriding this file.

I have even tried placing that storepickup.php file in the classic directory to no avail ...

Hmmm ... I forgot that store pickup also allows entering some text via the Admin. Go to Admin->Modules->Shipping, click on Store Pickup, and click Edit. Then set your descriptions there. Be mindful of the commas, colons and semicolons; they're important.

Bingo ... thank you very much for your assistance this week.

I don't think I could have finished the project without your excellent, and patient, support.

You're welcome. Glad you got it sorted out!

DrByte:

You're welcome. Glad you got it sorted out!

One last question ... should I do a chmod on the admin directory for security?