I Really Need Some Help, Please.

[russellr86]

Ok, so far I'm loving Prestashop, but I'm getting frustrated because there are a couple of things I can't figure out. I've read the documentation both on here and various websites, there is just so much information I'm having a hard time putting all the pieces together and figuring out what I need to do. But I hate to be the guy asking for a handout, I'm not lazy, asking for help was my last resort, I spent 10 straight hours last night banging my head against my monitor, reading, and re-reading the documentation.

 

I'm a Pro with HTML and CSS. So.. styling my theme will be no issue, it's just working with the structure of the template that has me befuddled, I understand PHP on a basic level and I can usually tweak it to my liking. It is so frustrating when you can't understand something no matter how hard you try.

 

The first thing I can't figure out is how to actually modify the header.tpl file in terms of DIV tags. I tried modifying the header.TPL file directly, that doesn't work. I have a feeling this has something to do with hooks and/or the smarty protocol... But I don't understand, because the TPL files are just read and then wherever you put the hooks is where the dynamic content goes right? So why can't I just put a static div wherever I want to? Anyway, this is kind of a basic example of what I was trying to do:

 

<div id="page">
  <!-- Header -->
  <div id="header">
   <a id="header_logo" href="" title="My Website">
 <img class="logo" src=""  />
   </a>
   <div id="header_right">

   </div>
  </div>
<DIV ID="MY NAVIGATION"><UL><LI></LI></UL></DIV>
  <div id="columns">

 

Note the navigation DIV before the columns. Obviously there will more to it. But that's pretty much it, just a horizontal navigation div before the content and after the header.

 

Ok now secondly, Adding a custom CSS file into the head, I had a little bit more success with this, but still cannot get it working exactly like I want it. . I actually accomplished this using the override class method. It works, but with one problem, the module CSS files are still coded BELOW my custom CSS file, meaning any css changes for module related blocks are overwritten by each modules own css.

 

What I need instead, is to just place my custom CSS outside of that loop (or at the end) so that my CSS is very last in sequence in the HTML. I tried to do this manually in a number of ways.. putting the tag inside and outside the if loop, using the $css_dir variable within the <link href> tag and also using the full path to the css file. Neither worked.

 

Example of what I have using a class override of frontcontroller:

 

<link href="/themes/jungle/css/global.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />
 <link href="/themes/jungle/css/MYCUSTOM.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />
 <link href="/themes/jungle/css/modules/blockcart/blockcart.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />
 <link href="/themes/jungle/css/modules/editorial/editorial.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />

 

Example of what I want it to look like:

 

<link href="/themes/jungle/css/global.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />

 <link href="/themes/jungle/css/modules/blockcart/blockcart.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />
 <link href="/themes/jungle/css/modules/editorial/editorial.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />
<link href="/themes/jungle/css/MYCUSTOM.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" />

 

Any help you can provide will be VERY appreciated. Once I figure out how to do this, I can then work backwards and figure out WHY it works then hopefully give back to this community by helping someone like me in the future.

[russellr86]

Ok, so... after a few more hours of googling... I finally found out that you have to have 'force compile' on in the preferences -> performance menu for any changes to the tpl files to actually take effect. I remember turning caching off so I thought I was fine, had no idea about the whole force compile thing.

 

I'm sure I'll run into some more issues, but at least now I'm making some progress.

[Carolina Custom Designs]

Glad you found that out Russell! As I was reading your post I figured you were a victim of the 'force compile'/'cache' monster The reason being is because everything you were asking (and doing) is certainly possible.

 

Best of luck with the site! If you run into any more problems there are some knowledgeable and friendly people here in the forum that will assist you.

 

Marty Shue

[russellr86]

Marty,

 

Thank you for taking the time to read through my post So far since I turned off force compile, things have been going pretty smooth. And it's definitely really cool to have a forum like this for support.