editing through the admin page editor

"You can quickly edit this content via Admin->Tools->Define Pages Editor, and select define_main_page from the pulldown."

this is what it says on my page, but when i go to the Define Pages Editor it says none of the pages are writable, and thus cant be edited.

ive changed the permissions to 600, 644, and 777 and none of these settings (which all have read/write) allow me to change the pages in the page editor.

i went into my file manager and used the code editor to change the html to say what i wanted ti to say, and the changes were not reflected on the pages.

im at a loss for how to edit these pages beyond taking off banners and the extraneous search fields, etc.

i cant figure out how to get the files onto my desktop to edit them in text edit and upload them to overwrite the current ones, the ftp program that he zen cart instructions suggested, filezilla, doesnt open when i click on it for some reason. the icon jumps like its going to do something (the way mac icons do when you click on them) and then nothing loads.

can anyone tell me what i need to do to edit things?

What method did you use to change the permissions? If you tried to use FTP, some hosts do not allow full write permissions to be applied with a client FTP. You may need to change the permissions in your C-Panel. (Additionally, the relevant directory may need 755 permissions too.)

fairestcape:

What method did you use to change the permissions? If you tried to use FTP, some hosts do not allow full write permissions to be applied with a client FTP. You may need to change the permissions in your C-Panel. (Additionally, the relevant directory may need 755 permissions too.)

cPanel is the only way i know how to do it, thats what i used to change permissions, i tried them on 600, 644, and 777, and i supposed i can try 755 as well. i tried the code editor in there as well to try to edit the pages through the cpanel file manager and was unsuccessful =( the changes were saved in the file manager but they were not reflected on the actual pages

This is a long shot, Geoff...

Could you perhaps be changing permissions on ANOTHER set of folders/files - not the ones relevant to your working shop?

I once had a set of zencart files in a sub-folder, and I spent days trying to figure out why my changes weren't showing - I was editing the wrong set of files!

it could be, but i am pretty sure i was following the ones on the site.

the correct folder is in the public_html folder, then its includes/languages/english/html_includes/

and then whatever page you are trying to edit.

is this not the correct directory?

i can confirm its not the wrong files. i just moved them out of the folder and back into the folder and they moved out of the drop down menu and back into it. i also tried setting permissions to 755 (and 600, 644, and 777) and it still did not allow me to edit pages in the admin define pages editor =(

Did you set the FOLDER (directory) permission to 755?

i just did, it still says
"Error: I can not write to this file. Please set the right user permissions on: /home/geofkarr/public_html/includes/languages/english/html_includes/define_checkout_success.php"

all those folders are set to 755, do the contents of every single one of them all have to be the same?

... time to chat to your host?

/home/geofkarr/public_html/includes/languages/english/html_includes/define_checkout_success.php"

You should never be concerned or need to edit permissions, with the first 3 dir.
/home/geofkarr/public_html

These directories should be left at 755.
/includes/languages/english/html_includes

This dir. should be 777.
/classic

This file should be 777.
/define_checkout_success.php

You see, you've been trying to edit the wrong file.

Your path:
/home/geofkarr/public_html/includes/languages/english/html_includes/define_checkout_success.php

Correct path:
/home/geofkarr/public_html/includes/languages/english/html_includes/classic/define_checkout_success.php

theres nothing in my classic folder

am i supposed to move the .php page files from html_includes into there? should there already be files there?

*edit: i moved them from the html_includes folder to the classic folder and now they do not appear in the pull down menu in the page editor

Yes, you need a 'classic' dir. but not not move the files, copy them.

All files shown in the 'html_includes' dir. should also be in a dir. called 'classic' and the name of your custom Template if using one.

success! i can now edit the files, thank you very much guys =)

Geoff, the principle of OVER-RIDES is relatively simple once you get to know where the over-rides must go.

Basically, zencart provides a mechanism for customised changes to be made to core code that achieve the following:-

1. That the CORE FILE (original file) remains UN-edited, in its ORIGINAL location.
2. That an edited copy of a core file is stored in another folder so that when you upgrade your zencart later on, you don't overwrite the edited copy.

A STANDARD install of zencart includes the CLASSIC template, and (unless you install another template) CLASSIC becomes your custom template.

Rule of thumb: Wherever you see a CLASSIC folder in your zencart directory tree you have an over-ride facility.

If you are using CLASSIC as your template, then you will copy a relevant core file into this folder, and make edits to this copy.

If you install another custom template (let's say it's called "darkblue") then wherever you see a CLASSIC folder in your tree, you should ALSO have a folder called "darkblue".

So, lets say you want to EDIT a copy of:-

includes\templates*template_default*\templates\tpl_account_default.php

you will COPY "tpl_account_default.php" to

includes\templates*darkblue*\templates\

to get

includes\templates\darkblue\templates\tpl_account_default.php

... and that is the copy you edit.

Because you have selected "darkblue" as your chosen template in ADMIN>TOOLS>TEMPLATE SELECTION...

...zencart will know that it must look there FIRST for tpl_account_default.php .

If it does not find that file in the darkblue folder, it looks for it in template_default folder.