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| CRE Loaded FAQ |
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Frequently asked questions about CRE Loaded software usage and site configuration. If you don't see your question here, contact us!
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- How do I charge a new TAX?
- How do I configure a tax zone?
- How do I configure Gift Voucher handling in the cart?
- How do I configure Shipping ?
- How do I create a Gift Voucher (or Gift Certificate)?
- How do I create a new tax class?
- How do I create a new tax rate?
- How do I create a payment zone?
- How do I create a shipping zone?
- How do I limit shipping or a payment type by country/region?
- How do I setup a downloadable product?
- How can I install CRE Loaded 6.
- I just installed CRE Loaded 6.x and can not log into Admin, help!
- Will installing a patch overwrite my file modifications?
- Error Message : This page contains secure and non secure items
- I get this message when I try to use the USPS module : United States Postal Service An error occurred with the USPS shipping calculations. If you prefer to use USPS as your shipping method, please contact the store owner. What can I do?
- I have an error : 1016 - Can't open file '.MYI' (errno: 145)
- I have an error : Cannot Add Header Information - Headers Already Sent
- I have an error message : Cannot redeclare tep_db_connect()
- I have configured shipping modules, but can only get Free Shipping, help!
- I just added Urgently Needed Admin Contribution and can NOT find it in the menu I added it to! Whats up with that?
- Why do I get a 404 error when I click on ?
- Why do I get a message : 500 Internal Server Error ?
- What contributions have been added to CRE Loaded 6?
- How can I make my store send HTML emails?
- How can I change the "Let's see what we have here" heading on my site (product pages, categories)??
- How do I change my store's header title?
- How can I add language controls to the header in my template so that the display of the control can be configured from the cart admin?
- Where and how you do you modify or remove the fields in the contact us form?
- When adding a new administrator, where do I set the password??
- How do I charge a new TAX?
You may create and charge for as many taxes as you need to in order to comply with the law as it applies in your locale. The osCommerce tax system depends upon 5 things. Basic geographical Country definitions which define countries and states geographically, Zone definitions which define relationships between political areas, Tax Zone definitions which define the area legally affected by a tax, Tax CLASS definitions which define classes of goods which may be taxed in different ways, and Tax RATES which define the tax itself.
To charge a new tax, you must assure that all 5 of these factors are addressed. The tools needed to configure the tax system are found in Admin / Locations and Taxes .
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- How do I configure a tax zone?
The tax zone setup in osCommerce (and it's CRE Loaded Edition) is versatile and more useful than it would appear at first glance.
The term Tax Zone is in fact, a misnomer. Looking at the title of this tool could lead you to believe that you are simply selecting a zone in which to apply a tax, which is not the case. This is a precursor of other terminology ills which afflict this otherwise elegant feature so pay close attention to the following details.
Tax Zones are USER DEFINED. You may define a new tax zone (as many as you wish!) by selecting the Tax Zone option under the Admin tool's Locations / Taxes menu. The Insert button is used to Insert a new zone. Pressing it presents an editing area on the right of the screen which asks you to enter a zone name and description. Doing so is simple enough - fill in your choices and press the insert button, which will promptly present your first opportunity to go wrong.
On inserting the new zone you will be presented with a zone list entry that features the name of your zone and an infomation / control area to the right of it which contains some current information for the selected zone. It will contain the information you entered and a line that tells you the number of zones, which at this point should be zero (0). Now, this seems contradictory because obviously you are looking at at least ONE zone in the list, having just created one. This should be a clue!
Having created a zone, you must now DEFINE the zone. This is done by selecting the zone you wish to define and pressing the details button. You will then be presented with an empty screen with a header line with 3 headers, country, zone and action, with buttons below the action heading labeled back, and insert. Don't zone out on me, just press the insert button now.
This takes you to a screen that tells you it is now displaying 0 of 0 countries with an action area on the right of the screen that is titled New Sub Zone and contains two drop down menus labeled country and zone. At the bottom are two buttons labeled Cancel and Insert. The country box contains a list of countries, and at this point the zone box says Type Below and contains no other options.
Use the country box to select the country in which your sub zone is located. The zone dropdown will now contain a list of regions within the selected country and the default value of All Zones. Select the zone you wish to include and press the Insert button. Congratulations, this User Defined zone will now allow you to charge taxes in one region of one country. To add other regions to this zone (as for VAT charged throughout the EU), simply add another country entry (they need not be unique) and add the desired subzone as before. Thats it!
As you can see, you may create very versatile zoning structures that will allow you to handle just about any zoning related task. These zones can be used for shipping, and for payment in some modules depending on the features supported by the module author. New Installations may include flawed Zone example data. Take care to completely delete all zone information and build zones from scratch for all new installs. Test Carefully before going live. |
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- How do I configure Gift Voucher handling in the cart?
Gift Voucher handling is done via Modules / Order Total using the Gift Voucher module. As with any other module clicking the install button installed the module into the cart, following which you may click the Edit button to configure the settings.
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- How do I configure Shipping ?
Before starting to sell products it is necessary to configure shipping. This is done in two places. Admin / Configuration / Default Shipping Settings and Modules / Shipping.
Default Shipping Settings include :
Country of Origin United States
This is the country of origin given in shipping quotations.
Postal Code Example: 94558 - a postal zone. Code will vary by country.
Enter the Maximum Package Weight you will ship Example 50.
The maximum weight of a package you will shio, entered in the units you will be using to measure weight for shipping. Note that osCommerce 2.2 MS2 does NOT have support for multiple units of weight. You must convert all weight data before entry.
Package Tare weight. Example : 0
The estimated weight of the packing material in a small to medium package as you expect them to be shipped from your store. Used to refine shipping estimates.
Larger packages - percentage increase. Example : 10
A percentage by which the cost of a larger package should be increased.
Allow Free Shipping Example : true
Will your store allow free shipping or not. If this isn't true, it shouldn't happen.
Free Shipping For Orders Over Example : $5,000.00
The size of an order which must be exceeded before Free Shipping comes into affect for shippable products. Note : This does not affect Virtual Products.
Provide Free Shipping For Orders Made Example : national
You may limit Free Shipping to National orders, International orders, or both.
Shipping Estimator : True or False.
Turns off default display of the shipping estimator on the Checkout Shipping page. Note that the Estimator will be available via a button if this display option is False.
Modules / Shipping
Here you can select which shipping modules to use, and in what order you wish for them to be displayed. Settings will vary from module to module and are not documented here.
Final Note :
Before shipping can be used at least one product in the cart must have a weight. Should the weight of all products be zero, your shipping options will be limited to free shipping.
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- How do I create a Gift Voucher (or Gift Certificate)?
Creating a Gift Voucher is as simple as creating a product with a model number that begins with GIFT. Ideally this should be all uppercase. The price of the product is the value of the Gift Voucher - though this need not necessarily be so. (IE : The cart does not force you to describe a $25 Gift Voucher as a $25 Voucher - you can describe it as a $50 voucher if you want - though the cart will not give the client credit for more than the price of the voucher). It is sound practise to keep the description in line with the price of the Voucher, and with the model number as wel - I suggest GIFT25 for a $25 Gift Voucher , GIFT50 for a $50 Gift Voucher, etc. Configure Gift Vouchers via the Admin's Coupon / Gift Voucher tool.
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- How do I create a new tax class?
Tax Classes are created using Admin / Locations and Taxes / Tax Class
On clicking the link for this tool you are presented with a list of Tax Classes in a display that looks much like the standard catalog display. Each line contains a Tax Classes name and the currently selected tax class will have a control panel on the Right allowing you to Edit or Delete the class. The control panel will also contain a brief discription the types of goods which would belong to the class.
Beneath the list of existing tax classes is a button which will allow you to create a new tax class. When you press the button you are presented with a new panel at the right of the screen which will allow you to enter the name of the class and a description of what type goods should belong to this class.
The actual Tax Class code does nothing more or less than label a product to allow other parts of the cart to apply Tax Rates bases on these definitions. If no tax rate is defined for a particular Tax Class it will not be taxed.
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- How do I create a new tax rate?
You may create a new tax rate by using the tool at Admin / Locations and Taxes / Tax Rate.
This menu appears like the category menu - with one line for each tax rate defined. It contains columns for the Priority of the tax (which affects how the tax is applied), the Tax Class (defining goods to which the tax rate is applied), the Tax Rate (expressed as a percentage) and a control panel on the right which offers the option of Editing or Deleting the entry. The control panel offers some information about the tax rate including the date added, the date last modified and a brief description of the tax rate.
Below this list is a button which allows you to add new tax rates. When you press the button a new blank entry is created and the control panel changes to allow you to enter information for the new tax rate.
Tax Class and Zone are selected from drop down menus, with the options created using the Tax Class and Tax Zone tools displayed for your selection.
The Tax Rate is entered as a percentage. Decimal points are allowed, but no other symbols should be used. (ie - it is not necessary to enter the percent sign either before or after the number).
The Description field is an alphanumeric label for the tax. This is not a matter of convenience - this field also serves as the name of the tax and is used to label the tax on the Invoice and Order pages. You must fill out this field.
The Priority is an integer (whole number) which need not be unique. Tax rates are applied to the product sub-total based on these priorities. Tax rates which share a priority level are calculated based on the same subtotal amount and added together before being added to that subtotal. Tax rates with different priorities are applied to the product subtotal in sucession - with higher priorities taxes being applied to a subtotal which includes taxes previously applied. (ie - the taxes are compounded.)
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- How do I create a payment zone?
See "How do I configure a tax zone?" as they use the same zone structure.
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- How do I create a shipping zone?
See "How do I configure a tax zone?" , as shipping modules use the same zone structure as the tax code.
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- How do I limit shipping or a payment type by country/region?
Follow the procedure to create a tax zone. In it, add only the country and/or regions in that country that you want to limit shipping or payment type.
Then, configure the shipping or payment module. It will have a drop down for the zone you want it to be specific for in admin.
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- How do I setup a downloadable product?
A product becomes downloadable when it is assigned an attribute including the downloadable file option. In CRE Loaded 6.15 and earlier versions this is a special option presented each time an attribute is added to a product, or edited. In order to make a product downloadable you must :
1. Create an attribute
2. Create one or more options associated with that attribute
3. Assign the attribute to the product completing all of the required fields which include :
Attribute
Option
Sort Order
Price
Filename
Expiry Days
Maximum Downloads
4. Set configuration values in cart admin / configuration / downloads as follows :
Enable Download
Download by Redirect
Expiry Delay (days)
Maximum Number of Downloads
Downloads Controller Update Status Value
Downloads Controller Download on hold message
Downloads Controller Order Status Value
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- How can I install CRE Loaded 6.
Make sure your site meets the minimum needs for a CRE Loaded 6 install - it should support PHP, and mySQL. Create a database for your store, or use the database designated by your hosting company. Download the distribution archive from our download area and decompress the file on your system. FTP the contents to your web site. If you intend for the cart to be your entire website, upload just the contents of the catalog directory. If you want to call it from a custom frontpage, you should upload the catalog directory and its entire contents. Set the permissions on catalog/includes/configure.php and catalog/admin/includes/configure.php to 777 (all read and write permissions must be set to 'on')
Once you have uploaded the site and set permissions, you should use your browser to call the install program. The URL will depend on what directory you uploaded the files in. If you used the catalog directory it would be http://www..com/catalog/install . Follow the directions. You will have to have your database user ID and password. Other values will be filled in with values detected by the install program. If in doubt about the 'persistant connections' setting, do not select it. Choose mysql for sessions. If you do not have a cert installed for SSL (or your Host doesn't provide you with SSL), do NOT select SSL support. Select YES when asked if you want to upload the test database. Follow the prompts and you should soon be up and running with a basic store that simply needs configuring to your particular needs and populatoin with your products in before you can open.
Set permissions on the configuration files you changed above to 444. You should change the permissions on other files and directories as follows
catalog/images chmod 666
catalog/templates/ chmod 666
catalog/admin/images chmod 666
catalog/includes/languages//mainpage.php chmod 666 (for each language in use)
admin/backups chmod 644
admin/images/graphs chmod 644
The default login for the Admin Tool is admin@localhost.com and the default password is admin. You'll need to set your name, email address, physical address and other parameters in the Store Configuration menu, setup a shipping and payment modules, and your tax structure at a minimum before you open. You will also want to set up your Tax structure. Your main page can be set via the Admin Tool - look in the Catalog menu and select Define Mainpage.
Note: Your hosts server setup may dictate different permissions in order for the software to function correctly. Confer with your host to assure the best possible security for your site. Some files may need to be set to 777 during write operations only. Your admin tool will notify you when this is necessary. It is recommended that you reset permissions to 644 or 755 after completeing such operations.
For help on these and other issues, see the Installation and Configuration forum.
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- I just installed CRE Loaded 6.x and can not log into Admin, help!
The login user and password for a new Loaded installation prior to version 6.15 was
user: admin @ localhost.com
password: admin
As of version 6.15 this is no longer the case. You must select a user id and password during installation.
If you 'lose' your admin password for any reason - you may be able to restore it if you can still access your database. In the admin table, find your admin login id and change the password field contents to '1060bdf4e47bc8b4ab3fb0cfea9ef70b:77' (without the single quotes). This will change your password to admin. Then logon using your previous user ID and change your password. If you do not recall your user ID, simply open the database table and read it.
Another potential cause would be an admin sessions error. This could be due to a directory not existing, or your host not allowing you access to it for security reasons. In this event, change the sessions system from the default "file based" system to the database "mysql" system.
This can be done by manually editing the includes/configure.php and admin/includes/configure.php files and changing the contents of the session type definition near the end of the file to "mysql".
If its a new store, simply reinstall, selecting mySQL or database based sessions during the install.
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- Will installing a patch overwrite my file modifications?
Almost certainly yes. The exception is that we will not patch your custom template directories. So, in creating a new design for your cart it is always best to create a new custom template just for your store. Keep in mind that a template is just that - a set of code for affecting the appearance of the store, not its basic functionality. A well behaved template restricts its code to the contents of its own directory within the template space. Any changes made by a template outside this space are subject to being overwritten without warning. Note: CRE Loaded 6.2.09 and later offer some hope in this regard. They include the Runtime Code Inclusion system and if your modifications were made using the RCI method, they will very likely survive. See my book Inside CRE Loaded - Volume 1: The Essentials for more details.
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- Error Message : This page contains secure and non secure items
When the user enters a page protected using SSL they get the following error message :
This page contains both secure and non secure items
This is caused by hardcoded images or flash animations. To fix this make sure all images are referenced in the following way.
echo tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . 'any_image.gif', 'any ALT text', '200', '250');
?>
All images which are also hyperlinks should be referenced using tep_href_link - like so :
echo '' . tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . your_image.gif) . '';
?>
If you are using images in the stylesheet for backgrounds they should also use the relative address ... e.g. images/my_background.gif
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- I get this message when I try to use the USPS module : United States Postal Service An error occurred with the USPS shipping calculations. If you prefer to use USPS as your shipping method, please contact the store owner. What can I do?
You have to sign up at http://www.usps.com/webtools/ . You will get your webtool username/password via email. Then call the following number and mention you're using osCommerce:
The ICCC is staffed from 7:00AM to 11:00PM Eastern Time.
Telephone: 1-800-344-7779
They will activate your account right over the phone. Make sure you enter your username/password in shipping admin.
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- I have an error : 1016 - Can't open file '.MYI' (errno: 145)
Problem Summary :
The following error message is shown when a database table is corrupt and can no longer be accessed nor read properly:
1016 - Can't open file '<database table name>.MYI' (errno: 145)
The error message will always be shown until the database table involved has been repaired.
Solution
The following methods are available to repair damaged database tables, depending on whether the database server is still running or not:
* Using the "myisamchk" command
The <database table name> part in the commands below must be replaced with the actual database table name as shown in the error message.
Using the "repair table" SQL statement
The following SQL statement can be executed when the database server is still running:
repair table <database table name>;
This can be done using phpMyAdmin or, if the backup tool is available you can create a text file containing the command, upload it to your admin/backups directory and "restore" that file. This will feed the command to the server.
Using the "myisamchk" command
The following command, which is part of the MySQL installation, can be executed on the server when the database server is no longer running:
myisamchk /path/to/database/directory/<database table name>.MYI
References
MySQL Documentation : Corrupted MyISAM TablesMySQL Documentation : REPAIR TABLE SyntaxMySQL Documentation : myisamchk Invocation Syntax
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- I have an error : Cannot Add Header Information - Headers Already Sent
Problem Summary :
The following warning message is shown when PHP experiences a problem:
Warning: Cannot add header information - headers already sent by (output started at /directory/to/starting_file.php:XXX) in /directory/to/calling_file.php on line XX
The problem occurs when content has been sent to the client and PHP has been instructed to set header parameters via the header() function, or when starting the session via the session_start() function. PHP can only set HTTP headers when no content has been sent to the client.
Solution
The problem can be solved by walking through the code logic flow in the files involved, which are mentioned in the warning message, to make sure no headers are being set after content has been sent to the client.
A common cause of the problem is the inclusion of "whitespace" (characters that may be printable but not visible to the eye) before the first tag with the files involved. By removing all spaces, tabs and other such characters so that is at the very end of the file, you can prevent content from being sent to the client and headers can be set safely.
Open the file in a text editor -> place your mouse cursor after the very last ?> tag at the very end of the file and press the 'delete' key on your computer keyboard. Make sure that whitespace does not exist before the opening
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- I have an error message : Cannot redeclare tep_db_connect()
The error Can't connect to ... normally means that there is no MySQL server running on the system or that you are using an incorrect Unix socket filename or TCP/IP port number when trying to connect to the server.
Warning: mysql_connect(): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (111)
in /var/www/html/store/catalog/includes/functions/database.php on line 19
Unable to connect to database server!
Solution : contact your host's tech support department.
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- I have configured shipping modules, but can only get Free Shipping, help!
You must have a weight for at least one product before any shipping module will work.
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- I just added Urgently Needed Admin Contribution and can NOT find it in the menu I added it to! Whats up with that?
CRE Loaded has Admin Access with Levels, a multiple security level system to help secure your admin area. In order to use a new contribution in the Admin area, you must use Administration/ File Access to ¨Save¨ the new file into the menu folder in which you want it to appear. As the top level administrator this will allow the file to be visible to you. You may still have to change access levels on it in your Administrative Groups in order to allow or deny access.
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- Why do I get a 404 error when I click on ?
Good question really. How does my web browser get so mislead? Let me count the ways....
The 404 error means the page is not found. This could be because :
1. Its really not there.
2. Its really there, you just don't have permission to see it because :
A. You don't have ownership of the file.
B. You own it, but you aren't sharing with the web server.
C. You own it, but you aren't even allowing yourself to read it. (You selfish thing!)
3. Its there, you have permission, but the web server just doesn't have the right directions to get to it. This is a whole other story.
What does this mean? Well, the serve either can not locate the page, or does not have access to the file.
If it beleives you rdon't or should not have access to the page, the server should issue a 403 erro. This is however, configurable, and some webmasters / system administrators configure the Apache web server to issue a 404 ininstead to enhance security by obscurg errors which might be helpful to a system cracker.
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- Why do I get a message : 500 Internal Server Error ?
This is a message from the Apache Web Server. It means that the servers configuration does not allow it to serve the page for some reason.
Contact your hosting provider ASAP.
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- What contributions have been added to CRE Loaded 6?
The major contributions added to Loaded are the BTS system, FAQdesk, NEWSdesk, Ultrapics (with some Dynamic Mopics features), Infobox Admin, Template Install and Configure, Credit Class/Gift Voucher/Discount Coupons, Admin with Access Levels, Meta Tag Controller/Generator, Specials on Main Page by Default, XSell MS2, Easypopulate 2.74, OSC-Affiliate, Define Mainpage, Category Box Enhancement, Edit Orders, Salemaker, WYSIWYG Editor added to Coupons, Gift Vouchers, WYSIWYG Editor for Admin, UltraPics, Down for Maintenance, Paypal IPN 2.7a, Monthly Sales and Tax 1.55a, All Products, UPS Choice, USPS Methods, FedX 1.11 MS2, EFSnet Payment Module, Authorizenet, GeoTrust/SkipJack Payment Module, Download Controller , Attribute Sorter Copier 5.1, osC-Print Order with Store Logo, Banner-in-a-box, and more.
As you can see, Loaded brings a lot more features than a standard osCommerce distribution - accelerating your business into the fast lane!
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- How can I make my store send HTML emails?
In stock CRE Loaded stores - sending HTML emails requires that you embed HTML into each file where a set of email content is build. Those files include checkout_process.php, admin/edit_orders.php and admin/c_orders.php. The invoice display is created in the catalog printorder.php file.
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- How can I change the "Let's see what we have here" heading on my site (product pages, categories)??
This is set in /includes/languages/<your language>/index.php. So, for those speaking english - it would be found in /includes/languages/english/index.php. This is a conditional statment, and requires a bit of knowledge of PHP quoting to change correctly. Back up the file before editing.
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- How do I change my store's header title?
In CRE Loaded 6.2 and higher, the header title is controlled via the Header Tag Controller system. It may be formed by combining several language definitions, or by direct replacement using the HTC's Page Controller to set values for newly added pages and the Text fill system to revise content for pages already in the system. Your includes/language/<Your Language>/header_tags.php files will need to be writable for any changes to take affect.
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- How can I add language controls to the header in my template so that the display of the control can be configured from the cart admin?
The code to do this is located in an inclusion file at includes/language_in_header.php . Use this code in your template (either in the header.php or main_page.tpl.php file) and the display will be configurable - provided that you use the right conditional as follows: <td width="77%" bgcolor="#D2DBF5" align="right">
<?php
// show languages in header
if (SHOW_LANGUAGES_IN_HEADER=='yes') require(DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'languages_in_header.php'); ?></td>
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- Where and how you do you modify or remove the fields in the contact us form?
The contact us form is constructed and managed by the contact_us system - including the catalog/contact_us.php, template/contents/contact_us.tpl.php and catalog/includes/languages/< Language >/contact_us.php files. This is a pretty well constructed example of a properly split ATS/BTS file, with the data management done in the root or "front end controller" file and the display managed in the template file in the contents directory. There are some display components located in the language file. These are straightforward HTML. Modification or removal of fields will require changes to both the front end conroller and the template for a completely clean change set, though some changes can be done fairly quickly in the template alone depending on what modification is desired. Additional fields will require changes to both files.
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- When adding a new administrator, where do I set the password??
You do not. This is randomly generated and emailed directly to the new administrator.
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