Things every New Zenner needs to know

Since you asked! I'd sure encourage someone to write a decent beginners tutorial.

1. One major problem. Just started a store, added a couple categories and a few products. Made sure every product was marked "in stock" and with a positive number of "items on hand". All seems to be in order in the back end. Yet every product displays the red "sold out" icon on the front end. If you could help solve this it would be greatly appreciated.

2. The things just about any new zener will want to do first is change the colors, fonts, sizes, images etc. Even just a simple sheet listing the full path to all the files that need to be changed would be helpful.

Other problems: went thru the menus trying to determine how to control box layout etc. The boxes listed as active on the menus didn't seem to jive with what was actually on the front end.

3. It really surprises me that developers spend enormous amounts of time and effort developing these sophisticated applications, but then can't be bothered to write basic documentation for new zeners for whom this is their first exposure to shopping carts.

4. I'm also surprised that modifying and developing new themes isn't a simple menu function,i.e, click a button and have a page/form come up with all the options to set. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do. And it would give you a big leg up on the competition. I've looked at several shopping carts and haven't found one (including zen-cart) yet with decent beginner level documentation. Changing the theme in all of them is a real pain, in part because of the poor documentation.

Thanks for asking.

a7t:

but then can't be bothered to write basic documentation

A grossly unfair statement. For a start, "basic" documentation is written, starting with the docs directory in the ZC download package, then the tutorials and faqs, followed by thousands of answers in these forums supplied by the members of the dev team.

There is now the "eStart your web store with Zencart" manual available which covers almost every aspect of the admin side - and if I recall correctly, that took the author over 6 months of work, and the ZC Dev Team gave up time to ensure that this is the excellent document it is.

To write a book on building a template is an absolutely massive undertaking, and one of the main problems is that those who would be qualified to write such a book are too busy to do it.

Remember that right now the DevTeam work for free in their own time as donations are nowhere near enough to support them on a full time basis. If everyone who uses ZC donated just a few $$ a month then progress towards the ideal would be quicker - yes, building the template from within admin would be great, although your comment of > I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do provokes me to suggest to YOU - "OK, if it's not that hard, then do it"

It matters not how good a script is, some people will always find fault with it.

Zen Cart is a good script but like the majority of scripts, far from perfect. It can also be said; being as it is freely available, works well at what it does and the features provided, and is the only Open Source eCommerce script (that I know of) with a printed Manual available, does put it far above all the others.

As far as improvements go, faster progress would be made if the Zen Cart Team expanded itself a bit. I understand the Subject has been discussed in the past but not sure if the Core Team has grown in numbers. Until it does, the bottleneck will remain.

Can you help me how to change "Sales message goes here"
I have searched all header.php files

sabasree:

Can you help me how to change "Sales message goes here"
I have searched all header.php files

www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=127

A map of some sort would be helpful explaining what everything is for and what you can and can't change
I am a begginer with zen cart and shopping carts in general and that was the first thing I started looking for, some form of diagram explaining what all the masses of files do and especially what I should not touch.

And I know some will say buy the manual - But me like most people will not splash out money until we know what we can and can't do with the system, as it may not do what I want.

I would also suggest a map of the useful links in some sort of order as I have tried the search on here about five times so far and it has either found a mass of info that was not much help or nothing at all, which possibly could mean that the use of carts is almost like a new language. In that I mean the terms you are using are not what would natturally come to mind for the novice.
I have seen that on a few web forums where people come on asking for something but what they are asking for has a proper name and they are using a descriptive name.

Hope that make sense

NattyCat:

1. How to add a logo and remove "sales message goes here"

2. How to centre a logo

3. How do attributes work - in plain english

4. How to understand what a CSS file is telling you, so you can edit it yourself!

5. What are the main PHP files that zenners tend to edit for layout, and what does each one do? For example, to work on my sideboxes...which php?

6. Why is it a bad idea to modify the custom template and install a blank one in a "custom" folder. I have this, and still don't understand why.

Nat

I am not computer illiterate,but I am dumping this system and going to another. I am unable to modify the "header sales" option. define..I think I am going to dump this and go to oz

Sandhya:

I am not computer illiterate,but I am dumping this system and going to another. I am unable to modify the "header sales" option. define..I think I am going to dump this and go to oz

Don't people look around in the menus and try things? For instance, everyone who's looking for a roadmap to this or to that, how about "Tools -> Developer's Tool Kit"? Geez people. A silver platter and it's still not good enough.

actually, if you read the date on this post and my other posts, you will see I got to the point where I did try everything, and ended up finding out you are not able to do everything from the tools, that you do have to go into the html edit (ftp),

so the pull down does not do the most important thing and that is change the main page title...which is pretty significant in starting a webpage when you have never done so. The main page spot where it says "sale message goes here" is a very large portion of the standard page, and if I was going to do things the easy way, you still have to go into ftp to do so.

so it ends up not being as simple as looking around and feeling things out, which is what I have been doing for 32 hours now.
Frustrated by the fact the most simple and obvious altering of the main page cannot be done from the tools "define" menu.

I dont consider myself a beginner, but I truely am. So if you can tell me how to change the "sales message goes here" without switching into the ftp mode, please let me know. Or change the template..it cannot be done from the admin standard mode.....:frusty:

Raquel:

Don't people look around in the menus and try things? For instance, everyone who's looking for a roadmap to this or to that, how about "Tools -> Developer's Tool Kit"? Geez people. A silver platter and it's still not good enough.

tools- developers tool kit does not provide an editing mode, a roadmap telling me that "this is where it is", is not the same as saying..."this is how you get there"
kind of like looking at a town map in Turkey...but not telling you how to get to that town...makes the map kind of worthless to me, I think you can see where I am coming from now, I am not advanced enough that the roadmap is going to help me...

Sandhya, I doubt there are many who will disagree with statements made in your last 2 posts and, if wanting a Shopping Cart where everything can be done from the Admin section then Zen Cart is not for you. Mind you, most any other Shopping Cart will not be for you either as with most Carts, many things have to be manually changed and/or FTP'd to your hosting account.

Hi I am so happy you asked!!!!

I have a problem with everything! I don’t understand the jargon to even understand the answer!

With that being said…is there a new zenner book (jargon explained) for dummies. This is extremely frustrating,

I have a website that should be launched in a few weeks and I can not upload the product! So I came here to learn. I can read well enough to understand the questions that relate to what I need to know, however the answers leave me completely exhausted! I need an interpreter.

I have decided to pay someone to tutor me and my husband. I have read just about every question and answer, went to sites referred by writers and I still don’t know anything, except my eyes hurt…LOL

HELP!!!!!!!!!
Char Jack

Hi I am so happy you asked!!!!

I have a problem with everything! I don’t understand the jargon to even understand the answer!

With that being said…is there a new zenner book (jargon explained) for dummies. This is extremely frustrating,

I have a website that should be launched in a few weeks and I can not upload the product! So I came here to learn. I can read well enough to understand the questions that relate to what I need to know, however the answers leave me completely exhausted! I need an interpreter.

I have decided to pay someone to tutor me and my husband. I have read just about every question and answer, went to sites referred by writers and I still don’t know anything, except my eyes hurt…LOL

HELP!!!!!!!!!
Char Jack

Hello Char and Welcome to the Forum. :smile:

I used 'Char' as your name presuming 'Jack' is Husband. Please correct if wrong.

A major drawback to things Internet or Web site related is that people seem to think, or believe, that everything should be easy to understand and operate. This is not true most anyplace on the Internet and especially with scripts (like Zen Cart) that offer a lot of built-in features. By definition; "The more features there are the more complicated it will be."

Think of the first time driving a car or just getting into one now. Sit in the Driver's seat and just look at all the options/features one has within arm's reach. Remember the first time driving a car? Trying to stay inside your lane, watching the rear view Mirror, watching what's coming at you, checking your speed and heaven forbid if you wanted to turn on the radio. And now, driving a car is mostly routine and pretty easy to do.

So it is with scripts, control panels, Registering at a Web site, etc. Most times we are viewing a setup for the first time and must figure things out -- on the spot. Else we leave and go somewhere else. This is why, scripts try to make it easy to setup & customize the Frontend (what your Visitors see) so you can get many Visitors. Unfortunately, this means learning the Backend (the Admin section) from Step one.

We can usually teach ourselves how to use something or, with enough time & patience, use trial & error to figure things out. You have definitely taken a smart approach if you are willing to pay someone to teach you as that is always the faster route. For most of us though, we muddle along and learn a few things here 'n there.

We all start out knowing nothing and go from there. :smartalec:

She is Char, I'm Jack ,Thank You for the encouragement,

Raquel:

Don't people look around in the menus and try things? For instance, everyone who's looking for a roadmap to this or to that, how about "Tools -> Developer's Tool Kit"? Geez people. A silver platter and it's still not good enough.

Developer's Tool Kit

You mean things like "Look-up CONSTANT or Language File defines" are going to mean a lot to people who are searching for answers.
How many people who are just starting out on working with a shopping cart would have a clue what that means?

And the explanation to what it does is: "NOTE: CONSTANTS are written in uppercase.
Language file, functions, classes, etc. lookups are performed when nothing has been found in the database tables, if selected in dropdown"

And I just looked for a helpfile for the options on the developer toolkit but can't find it

and if you are still not sure how complicated this is for a new user consider this I was looking for an answer to one thing and ended up reading the answer to something else, as seems to be the way with this. To change one thing that on a normal css xhtml website would be a simple change, but on here you have to find and change five different files that are in three different file systems and then you have to save them in two new files. EASY?

Hats off to the person who came up with the question and realising there is a problem.

On the other hand, if, as is often suggested to noobies but we oldies just as often get berated for suggesting it, you could try reading the tutorials/FAQs where you would have found the cunningly named How do I use the Developers Toolkit?

:wink:

Website Rob:

A major drawback to things Internet or Web site related is that people seem to think, or believe, that everything should be easy to understand and operate. This is not true most anyplace on the Internet and especially with scripts (like Zen Cart) that offer a lot of built-in features. By definition; "The more features there are the more complicated it will be."

Think of the first time driving a car or just getting into one now. Sit in the Driver's seat and just look at all the options/features one has within arm's reach. Remember the first time driving a car? Trying to stay inside your lane, watching the rear view Mirror, watching what's coming at you, checking your speed and heaven forbid if you wanted to turn on the radio. And now, driving a car is mostly routine and pretty easy to do.

Probably one of the most succint and real descriptions of web development I've ever read.

Ryk:

On the other hand, if, as is often suggested to noobies but we oldies just as often get berated for suggesting it, you could try reading the tutorials/FAQs where you would have found the cunningly named How do I use the Developers Toolkit?

:wink:

And which of the 16 FAQ lists is that hidden in that is leading to 367 FAQs. That is a lot of reading for someone who does not even know what that tool is.
and I have to say until it was mentioned on here I did not even give it a second thought, when I looked at it, as there is no real explanation as to what it can do unless I knew to look for it.

But you have brought up a good point maybe all the information is allready there but burried in all the inforamtion a bit like the file system.
So maybe rather than making a new helpfile to be burried with the rest it would be a better idea to add some form of search fecility to the inforamtion allready available or a simple link page with more of a beginers view of what is available.

But for me I would still prefer the map of the zencart files, so I had some idea what I can delete and what I should not touch.

But thanks for the link

meknownowt:

I would still prefer the map of the zencart files, so I had some idea what I can delete and what I should not touch.You probably don't want to delete much of anything.

Nevertheless, the documents at these links may be of helpful reference to you:
http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=product_contrib_info&cPath=40_54&products_id=378
http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=product_contrib_info&cPath=40_47&products_id=298