How to edit homepage?

MattL · #11 02-12-2008, 10:50 AM

I'm working on it...

But I don't see welcome.tpl addressed in the template guide. Am I missing something? That is the file I needed to edit.

rectangle_top.tpl - this controls the overall width and height of your layout. By default, it is set to 100% high and 100% width. You can set it to a fixed width (like 900px) or a percentage. Keep in mind that this is a shared template between the admin and customer sides, so you might want to put in an {if} statement to show something different for each side.
skin1.css - this is the master stylesheet for the customer side. All of the classes that are referenced in the tables themselves are defined here. This is where you control the size and color of fonts, background colors, spacing, link colors, etc. The admin side is controled by skin1_admin.css.
dialog.tpl - this is the main 'wrapper' of all content in the main window of X-Cart. It is essentially a table that contains a row for the title and a row for the content. It also has a border around it. By default, the title has a graphic background. This template is shared by the admin and customer sides, so again you may want to write an {if} statement to show a different version for each. The style of the border, title and box are controlled by the Dialogbox, DialogBorder and DialogTitle classes in skin1.css.
menu.tpl - this is the 'wrapper' for the side menu boxes. It is similar in structure to dialog.tpl in that it has a title row and a content row. The style of the border, title and box are controlled by the VertMenu classes in skin1.css.
head.tpl - this is the 'header' row. By default, it contains the logo, tabs (which are in customer/top_menu.tpl), the search box (in customer/search.tpl) and language selector (if you have multiple languages). The admin side version of this file is head_admin.tpl
bottom.tpl - this is the 'footer' of the site. It contains the Powered by (poweredby.tpl) and 'copyright' text (copyright.tpl). The style of this row is controlled by the .bottom class in skin1.css
rectangle_bottom.tpl - this closes the main table of the 'wrapper' (counterpart to rectangle_top.tpl). It is shared by the admin side as well.
dialog_message.tpl - this is that little confirmation dialog box that pops up at the top of the main window, mainly in admin.
auth.tpl - this is the side menu login box. Shared between admin and customer side
authbox.tpl - this is the side menu login box for logged in customers. Shared between admin and customer side
currency.tpl - this controls the format of the currency. If you want to change the location of the symbol, this is the place to do it
help.tpl - this is the side menu help box containing links to the help pages. It also contains the code that automatically adds a link when you add a new embedded static page
location.tpl - contains the code for the breadcrumb navigation (at the top of the main content area)
news.tpl - the side menu newsletter sign-up box
product_thumbnail.tpl - controls the thumbnail of a product.
today_news.tpl - the side menu that shows the current news blurb

Customer sub-directory

customer/categories.tpl - the side menu category template
customer/home.tpl - this is the main template that controls the customer side of the store. In it are the main components of a web page including the <title> and <head> tags, along with the table structure of the actual layout. You will also see all of the other templates that are called within it. This is where you would move around the side menu boxes such as the news and categories menus.
customer/home_main.tpl - controls what is displayed when in the main content area
menu_cart.tpl - the side menu cart template and member options template
search.tpl - the search box
special.tpl - the side menu Special template
tab.tpl - formatting for the Speed Bar tabs
top_menu.tpl - within the head.tpl template, this template has the include for tab.tpl, as well as the company phone information

Customer/main sub-directory

customer/main/cart.tpl - the main shopping cart structure page.
customer/main/checkout.tpl - the checkout process structure
customer/main/subcategories.tpl - this controls the sub-category display, and also is the 'wrapper' for the products display.
customer/main/products.tpl - controls the products display under a category for a single column layout (if your setting in General Settings/Appearance options is empty)
customer/main/products_t.tpl - controls the products display under a category for a multi-column layout (if your setting in General Settings/Appearance options has a number in it)
customer/main/product.tpl - the product detail page
customer/main/order_message.tpl - the confirmation screen for checkout. Where you would place tracking conversion codes (Google AdWords, Yahoo, etc)

balinor · #12 02-12-2008, 11:39 AM

Not every template is listed there, but it explains how to determine which template is which was my point.

MattL · #13 02-12-2008, 11:44 AM

Yea got your point...I just kept looking in...

customer/home_main.tpl - controls what is displayed when in the main content area

Sorry not trying to cause problems just trying to get this all figured out.

balinor · #14 02-12-2008, 11:48 AM

You'll get the hang of it...just keep digging through the templates and stylesheet and you'll know what is where after a while

dire_lobo · #15 02-17-2008, 07:26 PM

MattL,
Greetings, Just thought I'd say hi, and offer some insight based on my experiences here and with X-Cart in general.

1) Sometimes the learning curve looks like a wall... be patient. Once you start to 'get it' you'll feel better, but it can be intimidating at times.
2) Balinor and the other mods and kind folks here are your best friend (and they really know their stuff) listen, learn and ask the board - and you'll find this place is an outstanding resource. However, the traffic and such here is such that mods don't have the time to provide a bunch of individual support. Look where they point and ye shall usually find.
3) Most of the questions you'll have in the first few months have been answered before (I know I'm not the only one who has asked them too

so don't be afraid to go searching through the threads here. It's always a good first step.
4) Read, read read. Reread. Backup. Attempt. Restore

5) There are no stupid questions - well, except for most of mine.
6) Like most communities, the more you put in to it, the more you get out of it.

May your journey be both fun and profitable - and welcome aboard!

shocktheory · #16 02-22-2008, 08:48 AM

Ok, guys - i'm reading this and for some reason. I still don't get it. It may be easy for you - but this opening all these windows is very interesting. So, here's my question (because as long as I've been in Web Development, I've never seen this one).

I am in Wedmaster Mode - I have two windows open. I roll over the area I want to change - BUT HOW IN THE HECK DO I CHANGE IT.

I see where there is a tag that appears? I can't click on the tag. I'm trying to change that "welcome message" - I see the tpl - but there again - I don't see how I actually change that text. Any help would be great, as it was kind easy to skin it - I'm just confused on how to update the titles/text.

balinor · #17 02-22-2008, 08:54 AM

Double click on the green text, it will open a box to edit it in. Alternatively, you can go right to the language variables in the 'Languages' area of your admin.

dire_lobo · #18 02-22-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shocktheory

Ok, guys - i'm reading this and for some reason. I still don't get it.

You will. But it takes time. In my experience, the process structure seemed convoluted at first. heh... still does most of the time

Quote:

Originally Posted by shocktheory

It may be easy for you -

Not always... mebbe not even most of the time - but it does come easier.

Once you figure out how it's done, you'll be plasantly surprised and what you can do with that knowledge. Hope Balinor's hint helped. For me, getting into the language variables was a little intimidating, but if you can't get it done in Webmaster, it's the place to go.

Oh, and I've noticed some differences in the way the Webmaster mode behaves in different browsers. uhm... I don't remember exactly what, but you may want to switch things up and see if it helps.

Acquamarina · #19 03-19-2008, 06:53 AM

Hi,
The easiest and safest way to edit regular text on the pages like welcome, featured and any other regular text is by using the Languages feature. Set the Languages to the default, most cases English, then search for the words you would like to change, for instance "Welcome" and it will be in one of the search results. The WYSIWYG comes in handy too.
Have fun!

MattL · #20 03-19-2008, 06:58 AM

I just ended up editing directly in the .tpl files. That worked best for me.