1. WARNING: Assigning a previously created MySQL database for use by osCommerce will clear contents of all its tables.

   The databases used by osCommerce will show among your MySQL databases marked "(Locked By osCommerce)".

   You can manage osCommerce databases with any MySQL GUI client or the built-in phpMyAdmin control panel.
   * For more information on MySQL please refer to MySQL Support chapter of this manual.

2. Set permissions to the "admin" directory using the htProtect utility. This is done to restrict public access to osCommerce configuration.

Now let's take a look at the osCommerce controls:

 

Updating osCommerce to version 2.2-MS1

osCommerce 2.2 Milestone 1 contains lots of bugfixes, so if you run the prior version, we highly recommend you to update your online store building software to version 2.2-MS1:

Important: Please make sure that your current osCommerce version is older than 2.2-MS1 before performing the upgrade.

When updating osCommerce IGNORE the following message:
Warning: Installation directory exists at: /hsphere/local/home/your_account_name/domain_name/catalog/install. Please remove this directory for security reasons.
Complete the update and only then remove this directory.

Don't forget to set permissions on the "admin" directory using Web protect (Quick Access INFO) to restrict access to osCommerce configuration.

This message is simply a reminder to password protect your "Admin" directory. The Admin directory holds the backend of the osCommerce cart and enables you to manage your cart settings etc., at anytime via the web at: http://yourdomain.com/admin

To Web Protect your Admin directory follow these steps:

1. In the Quick access menu click on "Web Protect"
2. Click on the "Admin" directory
3. In the "Name" field type in anything, for example "cart admin"
4. Click on "Add user"
5. Follow the pop-up prompts to create a username/password for this directory.
6. Click "Save", "ok" and close the window.

 

PHP

If you already are familiar with the PHP scripting language skip the rest of this tutorial. The following is for beginners or those who have never edited code before.

Basic Configuration of your main Storefront page: www.yourdomain.com/catalog/default.php

Assuming your cart is in English:

There are basically 2 PHP documents you must edit in order to customize your storefront.

Login via FTP to your site and Download these 2 documents.

1. Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/includes/languages/english.php
2. Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/includes/languages/english/default.php

Were not going to get into a PHP lesson here, just the basics -- two (2) important things to remember if you've never edited PHP before:

1. Any line that starts with "define" can be edited, for example:
   define('HEADING_TITLE', 'What\'s New Here?') could be changed to:
   define('HEADING_TITLE', 'Welcome to Our Store!')
2. Don't touch anything else in blue unless you know what you are doing!

Open default.php using WordPad:

define('TEXT_MAIN', 'This is a demonstration online-shop, <b>any products purchased will not be delivered nor billed</b>. Any information seen on these products are to be treated fictional.<br><br>If you wish to download this sample shop, or to contribute to this project, please visit the <a href="http://osCommerce.com"><u>support site</u></a>. This shop is based on <font color="#f0000"><b>' . PROJECT_VERSION . '</b></font>.');
define('TABLE_HEADING_NEW_PRODUCTS', 'New Products For %s');
define('TABLE_HEADING_UPCOMING_PRODUCTS', 'Upcoming Products');
define('TABLE_HEADING_DATE_EXPECTED', 'Date Expected');

if ($category_depth == 'products' || $HTTP_GET_VARS['manufacturers_id']) {
define('HEADING_TITLE', 'Let\'s See What We Have Here');
define('TABLE_HEADING_IMAGE', '');
define('TABLE_HEADING_MODEL', 'Model');
define('TABLE_HEADING_PRODUCTS', 'Product Name');
define('TABLE_HEADING_MANUFACTURER', 'Manufacturer');
define('TABLE_HEADING_QUANTITY', 'Quantity');
define('TABLE_HEADING_PRICE', 'Price');
define('TABLE_HEADING_WEIGHT', 'Weight');
define('TABLE_HEADING_BUY_NOW', 'Buy Now');
define('TEXT_NO_PRODUCTS', 'There are no products to list in this category.');
define('TEXT_NO_PRODUCTS2', 'There is no product available from this manufacturer.');
define('TEXT_NUMBER_OF_PRODUCTS', 'Number of Products: ');
define('TEXT_SHOW', '<b>Show:</b>');
define('TEXT_BUY', 'Buy 1 \'');
define('TEXT_NOW', '\' now');
define('TEXT_ALL', 'All');
} elseif ($category_depth == 'top') {
define('HEADING_TITLE', 'What\'s New Here?');
} elseif ($category_depth == 'nested') {
define('HEADING_TITLE', 'Categories');
}
?>

What\'s New Here? Which is the page "heading title" can be easily modified. As can anything I've highlighted in RED.

Tips:

• Make copies of english.php and default.php in a separate folder before editing the source code. This way, if you inadvertently mess up the syntax you can always start over with the untouched file. Failure to do so could destroy your cart.
• You can insert some HTML tags like <b> or <font> in between the ' ' where the text resides. For example: define('TEXT_SHOW', '<b>Show:</b>');
• When you are done editing any php file, upload it back where you got it from and refresh your storefront page to see the changes.

Custom Colors and Graphics

All colors for your storefront are controlled by one single document:
stylesheet.css

Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/stylesheet.css

You can easily change the colors, font sizes, font colors, margins, etc. for the entire cart using this document.

All Changeable attributes are marked in RED, but for .css you can edit just about everything.

Excerpt from stylesheet.css:

--------------------------------
BODY {
background: #ffffff;
color: #000000;
margin: 0px;
}

A {
color: #000000;
text-decoration: none;
}

A:hover {
color: #11366D;
text-decoration: underline;
}

FORM {
display: inline;
}

TR.header {
background: #ffffff;
}

Images

The first thing you may want to do is replace the osCommerce logo with one of your own:

Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/images/oscommerce.gif

The fastest and easiest way to do this is to make a logo using a graphics editor, save the file as oscommerce.gif and upload it, thus replacing the osCommerce logo with your own. Note: Your logo DOES NOT have to be the same size as oscommerce.gif

Other images to note:

Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/images/infobox/corner_left.gif
This is the little left half-circle at the top left side of your categories table:

Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/images/infobox/corner_right.gif
Same thing, but on the right side:

Path: /yourdomain.com/catalog/images/infobox/corner_right_left.gif
The square one in every table:

If you decide to change the table colors in stylesheet.css, you will want to replace these with matching colored graphics of your own. For best results make sure the new replacement graphics you make are the same width and height as the above samples.