osCommerce tutorials

NEW! osCommerce admin VIDEO tutorials

Basic osCommerce Tutorials

Below are the basics to help get you started with the initial setup of your new osCommerce store.  Getting to know the admin section of your new online store can take several hours as there is a great deal that can be configured to your own requirements.

However, for many store owners most of the configuration options will NOT be used and the basics shown within the Initial setup and adding your own image will be the only necessary work to be completed.

**WARNING:
BACKUP ALL FILES BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!!!
Refer to this page later by clicking here to add this page to your Favorites

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Login to the Admin section of your osCommerce store

Then follow the Configuration link, then the link My Store - here you should update/change the following:

1. Store name - The name of the store.
2. Store owner - The company name that owns the store.
3. E-Mail Address - The "from" email address in the customer's order email.
4. E-Mail From - Your store general email address.
5. Country - The country you are from.
6. Zone - The zone your store is located, necessary for taxes later.
7. Send Extra Order Emails To - The email address to send duplicate order details.

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Use FTP to change the default logo

The main logo is located here:
www.your--domain.com/catalog/images/oscommerce.gif

The easiest method to replace this logo is to over-write the original with your own logo.

Other images that you may find useful to change are located in this folder:
www.your--domain.com/catalog/images/infobox/

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Your sites style sheet

The style and colours of your store are controlled by a single css file:
www.your--domain.com/catalog/stylesheet.css

Changing the colours, font sizes, font colours, margins, etc. can be done very easily for the entire store using this file.

Detail on how to change css files can be found here: http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/

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Altering default settings within PHP files

The two PHP files below that hold many default settings including the footer text and page title that appears on all your store pages, and the date format that will be used within your store.

www.your--domain.com/catalog/includes/languages/english.php
www.your--domain.com/catalog/includes/languages/english/index.php

Below is a guide to editing PHP files for those that do not have any previous experience of the PHP scripting language.

1. Copy the following file from your server to your PC:
   www.your--domain.com/catalog/includes/languages/english/index.php
   
   (make a separate backup of the file to a safe location, in case you break the original!).

2. Then open the file with notepad or your favourite text editor. 

3. On line 23 the following text appears:
   define('TEXT_MAIN', 'Add your own text message here<br> - open <i>/catalog/index.php</i> and change the text for TEXT_MAIN.');

4. We are going to change the value assigned to TEXT_MAIN to My Store Name.  Change the entry to:

   define('TEXT_MAIN', 'My Store Name.');

   All we have done is change the text on the right.   The main objective to note here is the text which we changed is on the right between the single quotes ('), the constant TEXT_MAIN does not change.

   You MUST ensure the text you add is within the single quotes.    If you need to add a single quote within the text you are adding for example:
     Seiretto's Shop
   You must add a slash to the text, so it is entered like this:
     Seiretto\'s Shop

   Double quotes can be added in the same way.

   For more in-depth details see: http://uk.php.net/manual/en/function.define.php

    

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TIP:  If you wish to change a text phrase displayed on any page of your store and need to find which PHP file holds the details:

1. Copy the whole of your /catalog/*.* files and sub folders from your server to your own PC.

2. Select and copy the text phrase which you wish to change from the page on your store.

3. On you PC highlight the "\catalog\" folder and right click your mouse button and select search.

4. In the input box named  "Search for files or folders named:" enter:
        *.php
   In the input box named "Containing text:" paste in your:
      text phrase

5. Then open and edit the PHP file as described here.

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Login to the Admin section of your osCommerce store

Then follow the Localisation link, then the link Languages

- here you should update/change the Languages required.

OR, if you do not need the languages box to appear at all:

1. open the following file with notepad or your favourite text editor:

   \includes\boxes\languages.php

2. and delete all contents (note that you are deleting the CONTENTS of the file, and not the file itself).

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Login to the Admin section of your osCommerce store

Then follow the Configuration link,

- here you should update/change Send Extra Order Emails To  as required.