Installed? Now create your own template

The initial Zen Cart installation has just one template available for installation. This template is called the classic template, and it's not a good place for newbies, or anyone building a new store, to start.

Why? Well, because the classic template is designed for backward compatibility with previous more table-based versions of Zen Cart. To allow store owners to upgrade it uses two stylesheets and hacks them about a bit to achieve the desired result. Anybody building a new store would do much better to start with a simpler template based on the current template_default included in the release of Zen Cart that you have just installed. Although it doesn't look as good at the outset, it's much easier to understand, edit and maintain, and if you need help from the forum, it is much easier for us to give it.

How do you create a template based on the template_default? There is a step-by-step guide in the wiki.

Warning: at the time of written the links at the top of the page don't work as the articles referenced are not yet back in the rebuilt FAQ.

Kool, thanks for the tips and the link...

this will help others in the future

Thanks for the encouragement Merlin. I wonder if the dev team would consider pinning this thread temporarily until the FAQ is fully back in action? I must have directed at least half a dozen struggling new users struggling with the classic template to it in the last 24 hours.

Thanks for the info..I have been beating my head against the wall tryin to get thing working correctly. retacing my steps is not nearly so daunting since I am now on the right path.
Also..thanks for the link..made a world of difference.

Perhaps some of the designers among us here could come up with some clean, generic, yet attractive "template_default"-based template sets so newbies are not overwelmed? :wink2:

Perhaps some of the designers among us here could come up with some clean, generic, yet attractive "template_default"-based template sets so newbies are not overwelmed?
Good idea. I had actually already added that to my "one of these days" list after mucking my way through our site. Still not happy with it (not the templates fault, I'm playing with different color schemes), but at least I'm getting closer.

... as a matter of fact there is going to be a Zen Cart template design contest very soon. Keep watching for how to enter. :smile:

kuroi:

The initial Zen Cart installation has just one template available for installation. This template is called the classic template, and it's not a good place for newbies, or anyone building a new store, to start.

How do you create a template based on the template_default? There is a step-by-step guide in the wiki.

Used the instructions successfully, and it was not too difficult - fantstic. However, got stopped yesterday. Tried editing product info page. Used the tpl_product_info_display.php from /templates/template_default/templates/tpl_product_info_display.php

Copied the file to mytemplate/templates folder, edited lines inside, but no change in the presentation of information. Tried to delete
"Product 1/XX"
" Previous "
" Return to the Product List "
" Next "
" Tell a Friend "
" Write Review "
from that file, but index.php?main_page=product_info&product&... pages remains unaltered. Am i editing the correct file?

Thanks in advance.

simple:

Tried editing product info page. Used the tpl_product_info_display.php from /templates/template_default/templates/tpl_product_info_display.php

Copied the file to mytemplate/templates folder, edited lines inside, but no change in the presentation of information. Tried to delete
"Product 1/XX"
" Previous "
" Return to the Product List "
" Next "
" Tell a Friend "
" Write Review "
from that file, but index.php?main_page=product_info&product&... pages remains unaltered. Am i editing the correct file?
You method seems fine and I retraced your steps in my test database and it worked perfectly. This suggests to me two things to be checked. Firstly that you have put the new file precisely where you said, and secondly that you applied the changes to the new file and not to the one in template_default (I freely admit that I have made both these mistakes myself and will no doubt do so again).

Question - Why would you be messing in the template when you can simply turn all those features OFF in the Admin?

i put the tpl_product_info_display.php into the templates folder in mytemplate/

i am working with the demo pages included in install. should i first create new category and insert a product into it and then work with that produt page?

trying to get a hold of someone's workable code for this template. happy to post my code here when finished. trying to achieve a very minimal look and feel for product page.

Kim:

Question - Why would you be messing in the template when you can simply turn all those features OFF in the Admin?

Tried that. But for some reson it doesn't turn things off. Here are my settings:

Product Listing
Title Value Action
Display Product Image: 1
Display Product Manufacturer Name: 0
Display Product Model: 0
Display Product Name: 2
Display Product Price/Add to Cart: 3
Display Product Quantity: 0
Display Product Weight: 0
Display Product Price/Add to Cart Column Width 10
Display Category/Manufacturer Filter (0=off; 1=on) 0
Prev/Next Split Page Navigation (1-top, 2-bottom, 3-both) 3
Display Product Listing Default Sort Order
Display Product Add to Cart Button (0=off; 1=on): 1
Display Multiple Products Qty Box Status and Set Button Location: 0
Display Product Description 150
Product Listing Ascending Sort Order: +
Product Listing Descending Sort Order: -

Product Info
Previous Next - Button and Image Status 0
Previous Next - Navigation Includes Category 0
Previous Next - Navigation Bar Position 2
Previous Next - Button and Image Settings 0
Previous Next - Sort Order 1
Previous Next - Image Width? 50
Previous Next - Image Height? 40
Products Info - Products Option Name Sort Order 0
Products Info - Product Option Value of Attributes Sort Order 1
Product Info - Show Option Values Name Below Attributes Image 1
Product Info - Show Sales Discount Savings Status 0
Product Info - Show Sales Discount Savings Dollars or Percentage 2
Product Info - Show Sales Discount Savings Percentage Decimals 0
Product Info - Price is Free Image or Text Status 1
Product Info - Price is Call for Price Image or Text Status 1
Product Quantity Box Status - Adding New Products 0
Product Reviews Require Approval 1
Meta Tags - Include Product Price in Title 1
Meta Tags Generated Description Maximum Length? 50
Also Purchased Products Columns per Row 3
Site Map - include My Account Links? No

I am working with the latest version of zen cart.

simple:

Tried that. But for some reson it doesn't turn things off.
Kim is absolutely right. If all you want to do is suppress these parts of the product info display, it is easiest to use the switches provided. I suspect that the reason this isn't working for you is because you're not turning the right ones off. The switches you need to use are not amongst those you listed in your reply to Kim, but those you will find by going to Catalog > Product Types and then selecting "edit layout" for your product type.

simple:

i put the tpl_product_info_display.php into the templates folder in mytemplate/{/QUOTE]
Another mistake I sometimes make is to edit a file, but then forget to upload it to my webserver leaving the template_default version to run instead.

[QOUTE=simple]i am working with the demo pages included in install. should i first create new category and insert a product into it and then work with that produt page?
To be be strictly accurate, you are working the baseline Zen Cart pages and demo data. As a result adding a category and a product just swells the data without telling us anything about why your Zen Cart isn't functioning as expected.

simple:

trying to get a hold of someone's workable code for this template. happy to post my code here when finished. trying to achieve a very minimal look and feel for product page.
With the caveat that this is not the best approach for suppressing items on the product_info page (see another branch of this thread for the preferred approach), I am attaching a version of the file you are trying to edit- Attachment #36. Put this in the correct place on your server and it will, under all circumstances, replace the review and tell a friend buttons with messages in red text.

kuroi:

To be be strictly accurate, you are working the baseline Zen Cart pages and demo data. As a result adding a category and a product just swells the data without telling us anything about why your Zen Cart isn't functioning as expected.

With the caveat that this is not the best approach for suppressing items on the product_info page (see another branch of this thread for the preferred approach), I am attaching a version of the file you are trying to edit- Attachment #36. Put this in the correct place on your server and it will, under all circumstances, replace the review and tell a friend buttons with messages in red text.

thanks so much for this (found the product layout).

put your file into mytemplate/template folder. the product pages are shown as before. here is an example: http://clothing-shop.allfavourites.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=95

simple:

put your file into mytemplate/template folder. the product pages are shown as before.
The folder name is templates

kuroi:

The folder name is templates

how silly do i feel now! thanks very much, it solved the problem.

simple:

how silly do i feel now! thanks very much, it solved the problem.
Hey, in the course of getting to this point, I've admitted- editing original instead of copied files

• putting the copies in the wrong place
• doing everything correctly, then forgetting to upload to my serverWe all make these mistakes from time-to-time

kuroi:

• editing original instead of copied files

• putting the copies in the wrong place

• doing everything correctly, then forgetting to upload to my server

Hey!

I thought I was the only one the did that silly stuff. :oops:

Kick ###### help! Especially that last part about going to the layout tools and resetting all of the damn boxes. It cost me a good hour plus of troubleshooting until I understood why i needed to do that. Thank you!!!