Lissy:
I don't agree with that.
Whether you agree or not is irrelevant.
The fact that you apparently wish to 'argue' the matter with the programs' author merely highlights your lack of understanding.
Lissy:
For various reasons I had to start again with another clean ZenCart installation on another server, and had exactly the same problem again - nothing showed up in the shipping modules.
Yet hundreds of other people have installed the exact same module with the exact same zencart version and yet they DIDN'T have the same problem as you. Don't you find that somewhat strange?
Lissy:
This time I was ready for it, copied the files into the correct locations, and it worked perfectly.
Well "Duh!".
Lissy:
In the download, the files are located in
catalog\includes\templates\template_default\images\icons\image files
catalog\includes\languages\english\modules\shipping\austpost.php
catalog\includes\modules\shipping\auspost.php
That is correct.
Lissy:
whereas on the server they're basically all in the same directories MINUS the directory of catalog.
You didn't read the installation notes did you. Or, if you did, you read what you wanted to read, rather than what they said. A common problem, unfortunatly.
Lissy:
When I installed it this time there wasn't even a directory called catalog in ZenCart -
No, nor should there be. It isn't a 'real' directory. It is a 'placeholder' name.
Lissy:
I copied it across. And of course nothing worked, because ZenCart didn't recognise that directory as having anything to with shipping.
Actually, zencart wouldn't recognise that directory as having to do with anything.
Lissy:
In INSTALL.TXT the instructions say quite specifically "Unzip and copy the files into their default destinations (ie, same file structure as the zip archive)."
Correct.
Lissy:
The files under the admin directory work just fine, so there's no reason to look at the catalog directory and think oh, that's obviously wrong, all that stuff should just go in the includes directory.
Further down in the instructions it talks about files such as /includes/templates/template_default/images/icons/austpost.jpg which is a tipoff that there's no such directory as catalog required.
All that's required is to take out the directory level of "catalog" in the download file and start it at the "includes" level.
Yeah, I could do that, but then I'd get 100's of people copying the files into /admin/includes rather than /includes, and frankly, I'd rather them put the files anywhere but under /admin/.
I think your problem is that you are only seeing the installation from your own perspective and own setup.
Both the 'admin' and the 'catalog' directories specified in the AP module archives are, as I have said, placeholder names. They need to be substituted with the REAL path names applicable to any given server.
Many of us DON'T have a zencart 'admin' directory, We place our admin files into a directory of an alternate name - it helps improve security if outsiders don't know where your admin files are located.
As for the 'catalog' directory ... well, none of us have one of that name. Typically, the 'catalog' files are stored in a directory called:
/var/www/shop/
/var/www/zencart/
/docroot/htdocs/store
Or any one of dozens of other variants. Even your store catalog will be located under a similarly named directory. so rather than try to cover all possible variants, I have simply called the directory to use 'catalog', it is up to the person doing the install to know exactly where THEIR catalog files are stored.
Now, before you try to redeem yourself again with whatever you 'think' is the 'right' way to do things, please be advised that this is all basic zencart stuff. As you continue to work with the store and add new modules you'll find quite a number of modules will use the exact same naming practices. Will you be telling those authors they've got it wrong too?
RodG