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Originally Posted by paula
Also, before going any further, can you explain why I need a text editor and ftp client? I don't understand where that fits into all this. I did figure out that I can edit code in X-Cart. Are you copying code from X-Cart, pasting it into your editor, editing it and then replacing it in X-Cart? If so, why?
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Easy.
1. An ftp client and text editor are but 2 of the "features" of GoLive. BUT - golive also has an opinion about how html should look (and it doesn't always respect current xhtml standards), and it also doesn't know (therefore doesn't like) smarty.
2. an ftp client gives you the power/flexibility to move files, rename, deal with permissions, etc... and it only does what you tell it to do. GoLive will always have an opinion.
3. Although GoLive has some powerful find/replace functions, it is nowhere near as powerful as the most basic of text editors - which will allow real time editing of files, live on the server. No need to upload, or update or reconcile.
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And why would I need to make a new class?
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What if the class is used in more than one page? What if you only want to change a single instance of the element? What if you want the .VertMenuTitle on the left side of the page to have one style, and the right side of the page another?
Your house painting analogy is not really the best -- because the painter will not be asked to move a wall (and if they are, they will have the skills to frame, sheetrock, tape and prep before painting). Whereas, a site designer may need to move a wall (table, css) and various structural stuff...
For example: if you are "only" designing the look, you may have to deal with the header. Or the footer, or a variety of other templates, hence
WEBMASTER MODE!
My suggestion to flow-chart the entire structure of x-cart was only if you wanted to get your head around it quickly. Otherwise, you can treat xcart on a "need-to-know
basis -- and dig for the answers as needed... webmaster mode (as customer) is your best friend.
YOU do not need to learn every in and out. BUT -- know your basic page structure and how a page is constucted -- but in xcart, since templates (and tables) are nested, it's sometimes a 4D cluster-f*#k
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I have to go through "page by page" and determine what elements are on that page, and what images etc. are linked to that page, and what CSS has been applied.
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Yes.
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Basically it's like downloading a site somone else built and figuring out every element of how they built it.
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Yes! Except you're not flying solo here -- you have webmaster mode guiding you. Webmaster mode will tell you what templates are involved... use a good ftp client/text editor combo and you will find most edits only take a few minutes.
Use your wysisyg editor to play with color, tables, etc... BUT don't rely on it for layout.
AND you have the resources of the community... I learn something new every day here... don't be shy!
Jeremy