How to run different shops from one zen-cart install ?

Simply by installing the Multi-Site Module !

http://www.medea.co.uk/dev/

/!\ WARNING /!: This is a Beta release; I have only tested it on 1.3.7 shop freshly installed. You might encounter problems if you install it on a "modified" zen-cart, or a previous version of Zen-cart. Also, you might encounter some problem of compatibility with other modules.

This is why I advice you to use that on a test store first and give me some feedback of any problem you will encounter; so I can fix them and update the release.

Any advice about anything relating to this release is the Welcome !

Thank you.

Thanks, is very interesting!

Please post your contribution to the downloads section.

Yaaaaay Yaaaaaay!!!!!

:smile: :smile: :cool:

I have it now working thanks to Gerome.

http://dcinet.com.au/catalog/
http://shop1.dcinet.com.au/catalog/
http://shop2.dcinet.com.au/catalog/

Dave.

:)

Hi David and Gerome,

Fantastic idea! :yes:

However, I've gone to David's 3 sites, and I don't seem to be able to log-in to any of them, and hence I can't actually test the functionality.

Let me see if I understand how the system is supposed to work from the buyer's point of view:

1. Buyer logs-in (in any of the 3 stores) (and this logs him/her in really into the 3 stores.

2. Buyer moves back and forth from 1 store to another (within the 3 stores) making purchases if he/she wants.

3. Buyer is able to see total cart in any of the stores, including purchases from any of the 3 stores.

4. When buyer is ready to check out he places the order at any of the stores and the order reflects the total cart from the 3 stores.

5. Once the order is processed, the buyer is returned to the last site he/she was at (perhaps).

From the administrator's point of view:

1. There's only 1 database for the 3 stores
2. Each store has its own template and products
3. There's just a SSL in one of the stores through which the order is actually processed
   4a. There's only one administration for the 3 shops or
   4b. There 1 administration for each of the 3 shops and it connects to the same and only database

Am I in the right track in understanding what this contribution does? Or the idea is not what's above?

We've been dreaming of something like this. We are happy on contributing with donations, provided the contribution actually works, (which I can't be sure yet from Daniel's beta sites). Many people will be very happy to see this contribution working, and I can only hope everybody will be willing to compensate the effort with well deserved donations .

I understand there was a developer ('Absolute') that was getting ready something similar, and apparently he discontinued it. I hope this one won't end up that same way for lack of support.

Thank you.

Peter Larson.

Yes Peter, you points you made are right, however, there is still a problem that I didn't solve:

It is suposed to have one ssl for each stores (https://www.site1.com, https://www.site2.com, etc...)

However, I don't know yet how to setting these SSL on from the same server...

It should be fixed shortly has I need it in order to make our shops working...

This module has been made by Medea International at the first place, but with their agreement, we are providing this module free. A paypal account will be open for donations soon, also we will provide our services for installing and updating multisite module on zencart shops too.

Thank you for the interrest you bring to the development of this module!

Gerome.

Peter,

There isn't any reason that I am aware of that you can't log in to the sites.

Can you see the sites but not create a new account, or can you not even get to the sites?

Dave.

:)

Hi Gerome,

Presently, with the normal single shop scheme, I've solved the problem of having 1 SSL certificate for several shops using subdomains (which of course is not as good as having domains for each shop).

For instance, my certificate is attached to
https://www.mysite.com
and my shops are:
http://shop1.mysite.com,
http://shop2.mysite.com,
http://shop2.mysite.com

but I've set up the configure.php files to point at:
https://www.mysite.com/shop1
https://www.mysite.com/shop2
https://www.mysite.com/shop3

I'll keep using this system unless there's some way, as you're trying to do, of using one domain with the SSL for serving the rest of the shops (also domains by themselves) which is the ideal situation.

I'll be setting up a test of your module in the next few days, which we find extremely exciting. Keep me posted about the payPal facility.

Hi David,

I think I may have been able to create an account in one of them, because I got the e-mail (I think) from the site confirming the account. I had wondered if the ordering process is disabled, as I was never able to progress with the logging and the processing of any order in any of the 3 sites. I'll give them a try again, as perhaps I was a bit hasty because I was in the middle of something, and I may not been paying enough attention to what was happening and to what I was doing.

Thanks and regards,

Peter Larson.

Hah,

Could be.

I haven't really done anything with the shop since I got the three working, (displaying), correctly off the one database.

When I have time in the next couple of days I'll log in to the admin bit and check out the settings.

:)

Cheers,

Dave.

PS. I also need to see which email addresses I have set up in the admin control panel, I can't remember if the email is going to me or to my boss, or to the bit bucket.:smile:

Bubblegum:

Hi Gerome,

but I've set up the configure.php files to point at:
https://www.mysite.com/shop1
https://www.mysite.com/shop2
https://www.mysite.com/shop3

Yes, I was thinking the same solution for the SSL, however, as we use different DNS, it might confuse the customer to endup on a different URL; therefore we think of not using SSL for now.

Peter,

I had a quick look and you have two accounts.

:)

Have a play and let me know what you find out. all should be good though.

I also checked what email addresses I had configured and they all point to my work account, so if anything fires off an email to the shop admin types then I should get it.

:)

Thanks for the interest in this module.

Laters,

DAVE

:)

ok so i have installed this and i get a wierd template with nothin in it, no boxes or anything what am i doing wrong, https://www.youngwaypc.com can anyone point me in the right direction.

OK I had the same thing on my sub shops.

What you need to do is go into the admin section.

Select your template in the admin bit and then go to the part of the admin section where you can assign side-boxes.

Hit the go button and you should be good to go.

If you ahve no products in your categories, then you need to add the comments to the description field as indicated in the documentation for the multishop module.

:)

Hope that this helps. If you need more help just post back.

:)

shopyoungway:

ok so i have installed this and i get a wierd template with nothin in it, no boxes or anything what am i doing wrong, www.youngwaypc.com can anyone point me in the right direction.

Also, did you need to have:
$template_dir = "youngwaypc";
define('SITE_NAME','youngwaypc');

in the file: includes/config_sites/www.youngwaypc.com_config.php

This tell what is the template name for your site. you also have to rename all the folder of your template to youngwaypc (this can apear annoying but it will really help if have more sites...)

And you need to add that at the beginning of your configure.php:
include_once('includes/config_sites/sites_switch.php');

ok i have done as the readme says, and what the info says but must bemissing something, i got all the way to the constant query not sure how to use it. but cannot get this to work can someone let me know what i am doing wrong. i got the system to show the right template, got it to show the boxes but no categories more then likely has to do with it pointing the wright way with the switches, but cannot get it to work after that. none of the info links work nothing.
https://www.youngwaypc.com

OK So if you have sideboxes, but no categories or products then you missed the bit about adding the <!-- sitename--> comment to the category description.

sitename must equal the 'sitename' that you have in your config files.

:)

Hope this helps it is being typed after not much sleep.

:)

Dave

everything is correct all configs, and site name etc. i have www.youngwaypc.com_config.php

sitename is youngwaypc
etc.

but something is just not right. i have the system set up to show one category as a test but once you click on any information link, etc. it just does not show up.

That is some weird behaviour.

I see that you only had the 'Hardware' category. You might want to add the <!--sitename--> comments to one of the sub categories that actually has some products in it.

:)

I tried to have a look at your ....._config.php file but I got an access denied error.

Could you please post what you have in the www.youngwaypc.com_config.php file please.

:)

<?php define('DIR_WS_CATALOG', '/'); define('DIR_WS_HTTPS_CATALOG', '/'); $template_dir = "youngwaypc"; define('SITE_NAME','youngwaypc'); ?>

the template dir. is youngwaypc

the sitename was changed as well in template_info.php:

<?php $template_name = 'youngwaypc'; $template_version = 'Version 1.5'; $template_author = 'Jade True - Sage Fish.com'; $template_description = 'This template set is designed to be easily modified using only the style sheet to change colors, fonts, and the store logo. Three images are required; logo.jpg, header_bg.jpg, and tile_back.jpg.'; $template_screenshot = 'scr_nifty_zen.jpg'; ?>

and the configure.php:

<?php /** * * @package Configuration Settings * @copyright Copyright 2003-2006 Zen Cart Development Team * @copyright Portions Copyright 2003 osCommerce * @license <http://www.zen-cart.com/license/2_0.txt> GNU Public License V2.0 */ include_once('includes/config_sites/sites_switch.php'); /*************** NOTE: This file is similar, but DIFFERENT from the "admin" version of configure.php. ***********/ /*************** The 2 files should be kept separate and not used to overwrite each other. ***********/ i finally got the hardware category to show up, but its actually if you click on any of the information pages like: Information * Shipping & Returns * Privacy Notice * Conditions of Use * Contact Us * Site Map it will actually just disapear, now i have made no changes to the DB other then the order_site update, i could not figure out the other update: /* This query will add the constent names to the description of the configuraion settings in the admin section */ UPDATE configuration SET configuration_description = CONCAT(configuration_description,"<br /> ",configuration_key) WHERE configuration_description NOT LIKE CONCAT("%<br /> ",configuration_key) /* end of query */ but have seperated all the "youngwaypc" folders as it says etc. and did the <!---youngwaypc--> in the hardware category just to get it to show. but did nothing to any info boxes. i just cannot see where to figure it out

Yeah I see the dissappearing bit.

Really weird.

I also tried to log in / register but IE told me that there were errors on the page

Two things that I would try first.

1. revert back to the classic template for testing purposes.

See what happens when you set things back to the default template. There should be nothing that can go wrong on that template. Just modify your www.youngwaypc.com_config.php file and replace 'youngwaypc' with 'classic' for the template name.

:)

2. I found several times when I was uploading stuff if I was overwriting a file it didn't always overwrite correctly. I found it better to delete the file I had updated from the server and then republish.
   So what I am saying here is delete everything, except your database, from the server and republish the lot. It's a long shot but it might help.

Cheers,

DAVE

:)