Categories Dressing

And you see /includes/templates/12volt/sideboxes/tpl_categories.php and /includes/templates/12volt/css/stylesheet_categories_dressing.css in your test store?

Glenn,
I really want to say thank you for your time and help on this.
I figured out what the problem is.

My test store is semi broken. It seems as though anything I click on takes me to the original live store.

I installed this mod on the live store for just a few moments to verify that it works. It Does!

Thanks again,
John

I do have another question for you Glenn.

What is your best advice for using this mod with lots and lots of categories?

If the images are only 25px the site will go on for miles and that's only cat tops.

Thanks
John

The standard advice for information display is to have no more than 5 to 7 or so items in any one group, so they are easily comprehensible. With such a large total number of categories, instant legibility is critical.

Rather than making each category name an image, you might do best to use the heading function to break the list down into related groups of categories, or otherwise provide "anchor points" at intervals in the list so the customer's eyes don't slide around so much but are able to focus on chunks of navigation information. The divider function may also be useful.

The range of products in your site is such that it may be a challenge to make rational groupings, but that's where I would start working.

Hi, I've installed categories dressing mod and for me it's great! But when I use a wide screen in the categories I can see a lines in different colour in cream in the end of each category button and subcategory as well.
Have any idea on how to solve this?
Thank you for reading my terrible english!

Can you give a link to see the problem?

I have looked and overlooked but can't find how to remove (hide) the category test from the sidebox when no image is available. I put the categories in question in a center table as images with links to make the main page look more uniform. I want to be able to hide the text from the right sidebox.

Well-Grounded Kids

Thanks in advance for your advice.

tin

Tinman0650:

how to remove (hide) the category test from the sidebox when no image is available.
tin

Sorry, the word test should have been TEXT.

Thanks,
tin

Find this near the top of your tpl_categories.php:```php
$current_path = str_replace("cPath=","",$box_categories_array[$i]['path']);
if (zen_get_product_types_to_category($box_categories_array[$i]['path']) == 3 or ($box_categories_array[$i]['top'] != 'true' and SHOW_CATEGORIES_SUBCATEGORIES_ALWAYS != 1)) {
// skip if this is for the document box (==3)
} else {

$current_path == 15 or $current_path == 16 or 

to get:```php
	$current_path = str_replace("cPath=","",$box_categories_array[$i]['path']);
    if ($current_path == 15 or $current_path == 16 or zen_get_product_types_to_category($box_categories_array[$i]['path']) == 3 or ($box_categories_array[$i]['top'] != 'true' and SHOW_CATEGORIES_SUBCATEGORIES_ALWAYS != 1)) {
      // skip if this is for the document box (==3) 
    } else {
```This will skip those categories in the sidebox output.

You may need to add a bit of code to hide subcategories of those top cats. If this is the case, one thing that may work correctly is to use (int)$current_path in place of $current_path.
If that does not do the right job, there is another method thai I know will work.

Glenn you are a giant and a genius. It worked perfectly! I have been racking my tiny brain for a couple days over this. Your categories dressing contrib is the best.

Thank you,

tin

I think this is the mod I'm looking for but have no idea how to get it to work for me.

If anyone could help greatly thankful, What I would like it to do is I have 3 catergories and I would like each caterory with it's own heading as a image and then the list of products under it. Like each catergory has it's own side box.

Is is the mod I need and how would I do It.

Categories Dressing does not deal with the products, only the category/subcategory list. You would need something like the Expanded Category Tree mod which displays all categories, subs and products, and then apply some of the Categories Dressing code to that mod's tpl_ file.

Thank you I'll give it a go

Glenn, with your infinite wisdom would you show me how to hide a categorie from the Nav Categories Tab? I am assuming this is the correct file to edit: includes/templates/your_template/templates/tpl_modules_categories_tabs.php
hide $current_path == 16 from the navcattabs?
Thanks,
tin

That file would be difficult to modify to single out one category for hiding. A better place would be /includes/modules/your_template/categories_tabs.php, where the output is built. Find this:```php
$links_list = array();
while (!$categories_tab->EOF) {

// currently selected category
if ((int)$cPath == $categories_tab->fields['categories_id']) {
$new_style = 'category-top';
$categories_tab_current = '<span class="category-subs-selected">' . $categories_tab->fields['categories_name'] . '</span>';
} else {
$new_style = 'category-top';
$categories_tab_current = $categories_tab->fields['categories_name'];
}

// create link to top level category
$links_list[] = '<a class="' . $new_style . '" href="' . zen_href_link(FILENAME_DEFAULT, 'cPath=' . (int)$categories_tab->fields['categories_id']) . '">' . $categories_tab_current . '</a> ';
$categories_tab->MoveNext();
}

and add a test to get this:
```php
$links_list = array();
while (!$categories_tab->EOF) {
  if ((int)$cPath != 16) {//skip cat id 16
  // currently selected category
  if ((int)$cPath == $categories_tab->fields['categories_id']) {
    $new_style = 'category-top';
    $categories_tab_current = '<span class="category-subs-selected">' . $categories_tab->fields['categories_name'] . '</span>';
  } else {
    $new_style = 'category-top';
    $categories_tab_current = $categories_tab->fields['categories_name'];
  }

  // create link to top level category
  $links_list[] = '<a class="' . $new_style . '" href="' . zen_href_link(FILENAME_DEFAULT, 'cPath=' . (int)$categories_tab->fields['categories_id']) . '">' . $categories_tab_current . '</a> ';
  }//skip cat id 16
  $categories_tab->MoveNext();
}

I haven't tested this and can't guarantee it will be free from oddities, but I think it will work ok.

Glenn, I made the changes but no effect. I tried adding } here and there but just ending up not seeing anything on the page. Set it back to the mod above. cpath 16 still there.

Any other options you can think of?

Thanks,
tin

I was testing the wrong variable. This will work:```php
$links_list = array();
while (!$categories_tab->EOF) {
if ($categories_tab->fields['categories_id'] != 16) {//skip cat id 16
// currently selected category
if ((int)$cPath == $categories_tab->fields['categories_id']) {
$new_style = 'category-top';
$categories_tab_current = '<span class="category-subs-selected">' . $categories_tab->fields['categories_name'] . '</span>';
} else {
$new_style = 'category-top';
$categories_tab_current = $categories_tab->fields['categories_name'];
}

// create link to top level category
$links_list[] = '<a class="' . $new_style . '" href="' . zen_href_link(FILENAME_DEFAULT, 'cPath=' . (int)$categories_tab->fields['categories_id']) . '">' . $categories_tab_current . '</a> ';
}//skip cat id 16
$categories_tab->MoveNext();
}

Brilliant! Again!
Thank you Glenn!
Your humble follower,
tin

I am fairly new and setting up a site;
https://www.pillownpillows.com
I have a questions in the sent up:

My expanded categories skips 2 lines for each product when I dress categories

reply:

Specifically, when using display: block; or display: list-item;, the <br /> after each category link needs to be deleted. Compare the tpl_categories.php file and the expanded tpl_ file to see the difference in that spot (marked by $disp_block in tpl_categories.php).

I could not locate expanded tpl_ file
there is only : tpl_category_list_box.php

which does contain display: block; or display: list-item;

Please advise
thank you

tpl_category_list_box.php will be the tpl file for the expanded categories mod you are using. The file that Categories Dressing uploads when you install it is tpl_categories.php.

You will need to compare the two files and, where tpl_categories.php has $disp_block and tpl_category_list_box.php has <br />, delete the <br />. There will be several of these.

display: block; or display: list-item;
will not be in the php files; they are in the stylesheet (stylesheet_categories_dressing.css if you have uploaded it correctly).
You have put two declarations from stylesheet_categories_dressing.css into your main stylesheet and modified them to fit the stock class tags, which is fine. If the list-item markers are all you want, you only need to delete the <br /> tags as noted above. Test after each deletion to make sure you are not removing a necessary line break (you will not want to remove the <br /> tags after the specials/featured/new/all links.)

You also need to upload either the bullet1.gif and similar images that came with Cat Dressing, or your own marker images, unless you want to use the default disc markers.