New user... love the program, but custom templates are not working...

I just finished installing Zen cart and have the system up and running with the default template. I read through the forums and found a very detailed post on creating a new custom template, which I followed step by step.

Here's my first problem:

I can now select my CUSTOM template in the admin>tools>template selection, then went to tools>layout boxes controller and clicked the "reset" button as described in the FAQ post.

I then retuned to my web browser and attempted to load the zencart store and received a blank white page. Attempting to view the source of this blank white page gives you what you'd expect: nothing... no code.

Using the admin tools, I switched back to the original classic template and everything works fine once again.

Obviously there is something I haven't done correctly, or more specifically, it appears that the FAQ post on creating a custom template is incomplete. Any ideas any has on why this may be happening would be very much appreciated!

Thanks all, and I'm looking forward to getting our store fully operational.

Best Wishes,

Greg Steiner
[email protected]

The instructions in the FAQ section DO work. You missed something/bad upload in the FTP program you are using.

Can you expand on how you are uploading files?

And, I find it helpful to print the instructions, grab a pencil, and check off each and every step of creating a custom template. :bigups:

I am using Fetch on Mac OSX platform to upload the files. I actually did print out the instructions and followed them step by step, which is why I'm so confused...

I would tend to agree that if the instructions work for other people then there must be something happening during the upload of the files (though i can't imagine what that could be.)

Incidentally, the upload method in Fetch has always been set to Automatic. Should I force Fetch to upload as either ASCII or Binary instead? Perhaps something here is causing the glitch? If I re-download the files from the sever and compare the original "classic" files to my "custom" files, they appear identical when viewed in a text editor.

I saw on the forums that one of the recommended FTP clients was Cyberduck, so I downloaded and installed that application and used it to transfer the files.

Same result. That would seem to indicate that it's not necessarily an FTP transfer problem specific to Fetch.

I also tried downloading the entire "classic" folder from the includes/templates directory, renaming the folder "custom" modifying the .php file and uploading the entire modified folder back into the includes/templates directory.

Once again, I can select the new template from the pull down list in the admin area, but when I try to view the store, I get a blank white page and no code is present when you attempt to "view source" in a browser.

Anyone have any other ideas?

The only file you have edited is the template info, correct? Please post the contents of it.

Here is some additional info... I installed some code to display errors and here's what I got when I tried to load my custom template:

Notice: Constant OFFICE_IP_TO_HOST_ADDRESS already defined in /home/content/q/s/t/qstation/html/zencart/includes/languages/english/email_extras.php on line 52

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/content/q/s/t/qstation/html/zencart/includes/languages/english/email_extras.php:52) in /home/content/q/s/t/qstation/html/zencart/includes/init_includes/init_templates.php on line 78

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/content/q/s/t/qstation/html/zencart/includes/languages/english/custom/index.php on line 103

---

As of yet, I haven't actually tried to MODIFY anything. All I did was follow the instructions to create a new custom template, select it in the admin tools and activate it. If I'm understanding the overrides correctly, it should be exactly the same as the default template at this point. Instead it's just a blank page with the above error...

Can anyone translate the above and put it into plain english so I know where to go next? lol

Here's the template info (I don't believe there are any syntax errors):

<?php /** * Template Information File * * @package templateSystem * @copyright Copyright 2003-2005 Zen Cart Development Team * @copyright Portions Copyright 2003 osCommerce * @license <http://www.zen-cart.com/license/2_0.txt> GNU Public License V2.0 * @version $Id: template_info.php 2306 2005-11-05 21:34:28Z wilt $ */ $template_name = 'Q Station Default Template'; $template_version = 'Version 1.0'; $template_author = 'Greg Steiner'; $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 = ''; ?>

Alright... getting closer here... Apparently, there was a stray "custom" file in the languages area that was casing a conflict... I now actually can view the default template (which looks pretty interesting with it's wash of various colors...)

I'm going to attempt to duplicate the "classic" template and see if I can use that as a starting point. If that works then I'm set...

Well, apparently that stray "custom" folder was the problem... specifically, there was an index.php file inside that custom folder that was the problem :)

In any event, everything is now working correctly, and as expected. Thanks to everyone to offered advice!

Best Wishes,

Greg Steiner
Producer/Director
Q Station
https://www.q-station.com