Zen Cart?

[emdmx]

Has anyone here used Zen Cart? http://www.zencart.org/

Looking to go free on my next cart, but am a little hesitant to go with osCommerce after reading posts regarding config/customization difficulties.

Thanks,
John

[stevel]

Interesting. Seems to be osCommerce in disguise.

[toastmaster]

Yes, I'm setting up a store with it right now. Even though it's still in beta, it's WAY ahead of OsCommerce. It's not a "disguise", it's a "fork" of the code. The main advatage is that you don't touch any of the core code: you simply over-ride it with a template.
So when it comes to update time, you just update the core code, without spending hours looking for file differences.

And I think you'll probably find the forums a lot friendlier too - a few of the people (and one certain moderator) seem to be quite "up themselves" on the original Oscommerce site!

[stevel]

Sounds like a good idea. Keep us posted on your experience with it.

[kelvyn]

Well, initially it takes quite a bit of "getting your head round the concept". But it seems to work OK! Take a look:
http://bigpartystore.com/ - we've gone minimalist to start with, so most of the modules and sideboxes are hidden. Once the sales over (hopefully to generate interest!) then we'll expand it a bit. Only a couple of OsCommerce mods missing that I would like (edit customer orders, easypopulate) but they're being worked on anyway!

[emdmx]

Not sure I can get my head around it. Been at it for a couple days now.:(

[wrapdida]

i tried it too and been at it for 3 days now. cant get admin section to work. its a bit buggy.

[emdmx]

I haven't had time to get back to it for the last few days, but I was not able to access the admin section at all. The database looks good (59 files) and the configure files were written on install.

After trying everything I could think of, I'm hoping to have time this morning to post to the forum at ZenCart.org and see what help I can get. From past experience, I'm thinking I did something stupid.

[LordGoliath]

I converted my OSC store to a ZenCart .Store (http://bulliedogstyle.com) and I love it. Like others have said, I lost a few contribs that I used to use but they are not critical. The community is very responsive and are working to include those things.

Definitely post in their forums and you'll likely get a speedy reply.

Good luck!

James

[marsz]

hi, i uploaded zencart without problems.....until i reach the database set up when it says:
A connection to your database failed because either your host, username or password are incorrect.
but the thing is, that all the information i added is correct. what's wrong?? :(
thanks in advance guys

[LordGoliath]

Double check those things and then try again , but make sure you don't have the box for CREATE DATABASE checked. The database is already created at Powweb. Make sure you use the database name that is listed in OPS/

[emdmx]

Looks like the problems I was having were due to a bad upload of the cart files.

I'm in the process of reinstalling w/o the demo store. Looks like a great app....

Life is good again :D

[urbanpromoter]

I need help, can't set the config file to 444 it only wants to go to 644. Any suggestions so I can get ride of warning sign on my site to those of you who installed zencart.

[stevel]

See the details on this in the "OSC Setup info" sticky topic in this forum. You need a PHP script to set the protection.

[ryk]

I need help, can't set the config file to 444 it only wants to go to 644. Any suggestions so I can get ride of warning sign on my site to those of you who installed zencart.

Just been there myself! I found the only way I could set to 444 was through cPanel - some hosts don't allow 444 through FTP chmod.

As a newbie to "serious" e-commerce I've found the only drawback to zencart is the lack of a single comprehensive manual; however, as has been said, the support forum is very helpful and in searching for the answer to a question, one ends up reading a lot of other stuff which is often as useful as the answer you're looking for!

First time setting-up is a very steep learning curve - but it is an amazingly flexible package. To view a few sites established with zencart, go to their showcase at http://www.zen-cart.com/modules/showcase/ and especially this one (http://www.supercarexperiences.com/) which has made considerable use of the flexibility.