Rickasaurus

Robert, The best way to achieve what you want from your layout, and keep everything under control is to use tables. Put each item (buttons, images, sections of text etc) inside a table cell. You can even put tables inside other tables. Not sure if you are doing that already, but if not, it should help. Rick

Sam, I agree with Don. better to leave it as it is, until there is some conclusive proof one way or the other. Perhaps one thing you could do, if not already, is put the year you discovered it, which in a way disputes his authorship, without making a definitive statement that he is not the author, which could be incorrect. Rick

Aha, looks like I have started something!! Well I am quite proud of myself because I had already found the "switch" to change the store status. But I will take your advice Ellen and check the Zen Cart forums and FAQ on how to customise. Looking, looking, looking... Rick

Hi Groovy, Oh dear, how embarrassing to completely screw up your name!! Sorry Ellen. Guess I will just have to learn the language. I have recently returned to Australia after living in China for 5 years, so learning Mandarin took all my language learning energy! Well the good news is that Zen Cart works!! Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate the speed and accuracy of your responses. I guess the fun starts now, customising it for my need. Don't leave town... cheers Rick

HTH, Thanks again for your quick answers. I have uploaded the files (both zen cart and the patch) but not yet unzipped them. I have put them in public_html folder. I assume the unzipping will create a new folder in public_html which I can rename to "catalog". My question is about the installation of the patch. I have read the posts in the zen cart forum but there seems to be several different answers. I guess you have done it so perhaps you can help to clarify for me. My understanding in my case, which is that the install is not done yet, is the following: 1) unzip both files into the "catalog" folder. 2) run the zen cart installer in the normal way 3) the new files in the patch should overwrite the old files during installation (or perhaps during the unzipping?). Is this correct? I was confused by one post which said to run the UPGRADE, not the INSTALLER. I would appreciate your advice, then away we go! Sorry to take so long over this, but I prefer to get it right in the beginning, rather than have to unscramble a mess later! thanks Rick

HTH, Thanks for your very helpful reply. Yes I did initially try installing OSCommerce. Now I understand where that database came from. Can I delete that? I will create a new database for Zen Cart. I have just one question from your answers, then I will go ahead to upload the zip file and proceed as you have suggested. Re "your server number". Do I have a server number, and where will I find it? I am in Australia so I only get your answers overnight! thanks Rick

Well I am almost ready to upload and install Zen-cart. Please hold my hand on this one, I have a few questions from the installation instructions before I press the upload button: 1) MySQL database: I notice on Cpanel that there is a database called osc1. I assume this is created by default. Can I use this database for Zen-cart, or should I create a new one? 2) File permissions: I note that certain specified folders/files need to have their permissions changed. I think I can do that. However "other folders and files can be CHMOD 644 or 444, depending on webserver configuration". Do I need to change anything with these other files/folders? 3) How do I determine the "physical" path to the new Zen Cart directory? 4) What will be the "Virtual HTTPS Server" and "Virtual HTTPS Path"? I would appreciate your advice on the above questions. I think that will get me to the installation stage. Who knows what will happen then!! thanks Rick

Thanks guys. I will give it a go - but don't go away, I may be back!

Sam, thanks for the links. They will certainly do the job if I cant get the shopping cart solution to work. thanks again, Rick

Rob, thanks for the advice that Zen can be installed to run on your servers. Is it my responsibility to set it up to run on your servers, or is that something you normally do? If I have to do it, can you refer me to a "how to do it" document. thanks Rick

Sam, thanks for the suggestion. I assume you are referring to your famous "side strip" gallery. I did think about that, but was trying to get sophisticated with the shopping cart system. If I use the gallery, I guess it is possible to include a search engine so customers can find the products. I also want to be able to set it up so that the client can manage the catalog admin. Rick

I took a look at Zen-Cart. It seems very interesting. Is it possible to have it installed and running on TCH servers like the other shopping cart scripts? Am I on the right track here?

Do you know if the OS Commerce catalog add-on functions as a catalog only, without the shopping cart functionality?

Hi, I need to develop a website including an online catalog of about 1000 items. Can anyone point me in the right direction to do this in a simple way. I can use Dreamweaver and CuteSite Builder, but only know a little HTML. thanks