Cart-Lab Blog

Append Manufacturer names to CDSEO links mod.

2007-01-27T13:06:00.000-05:00

By default the CDSEO links from WebsiteCM doesn't include the manufacturer name. Alot of sites I like to append the manufacturer name to the title of the product, just for SEO and relevancy purposes. So I developed a simple script to run over the xcart_products and the xcart_manufacturers table and append the values as well as updating the database with the new entries. Please be cautious when

Question about quote from X-Cart manual.

2007-01-20T16:59:00.000-05:00

...your customers' data stays protected even if your database gets stolen - provided, the malicious person does not have access to your config.php file and has not stolen your Blowfish key in some other way.What the manual is referring to is the simple fact they have implemented "Blowfish" encryption when storing sensitive data, such as credit card information and passwords, within the database.

100+ Social Bookmarks for X-Cart released

2007-01-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

Social bookmarking sites are a hot and popular way to store, classify, share and search for relevant links through the practice of folksonomy. Other than bookmarks some services specialize in: feeds, books, videos, music, shopping items, etc.Allow your customers to easily share your products and/or static pages with these bookmarking services. With the ability to simply click their favorite

Simple mods to make X-Cart admin life easier

2006-11-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

One of the anoyoing bits of X-Cart's modify product area is the javascript prompt about how I need to remember to click save to actually associate the uploaded image.Since I already know that changing the thumbnail on a product requires me to click "Save" or else the temporary image is lost. By removing the js confirm from the "Change Image" under the product thumbnail. You can skip a click!First

Server Move

2006-09-29T04:14:00.000-04:00

Currently Cart-Lab.com is being transfered to a new faster, more efficient server. A suspected down time is currently under way. Purchases and Support have been temporarily rendered useless until I can make proper changes from the move. Both abilities will be back up within 1 business day.

CSS Skin for 4.1.x progress

2006-09-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

UPDATE - Pre-Order for the 4.1.x CSS Template is now available, save 20% on the release cost of $99.99. Estimated Delivery Date will be December 12th, 2006. More details here:X-Cart CSS Template CSS Template for 4.1.x is still under development and testing, however the majority has been completed and official x-cart add-ons and other not-so-common Os/Browser versions are being tested. I now have

Google Mini X-Cart integration released

2006-09-01T18:23:00.000-04:00

The number one item in 2005, "Top Ten Mistakes of Web Design" according to Usability Expert, Jakob Nielsen is that Search has become the quintessential element used on the web for customers/users trying to find exactly what they are searching for.X-Cart's internal Search capabilities are not very up to date. As of Version 4.1.x OR logic was finally implemented. Something that has been around for

14 Search Marketing Questions, Answered.

2006-08-04T23:25:00.000-04:00

Cristian Mezei has posted a very nice list of forum user posted questions from digitalpoint.com. While I agree with the whole article and think its a definate read, the only problem I have is with number 11:Many people are saying that CSS plays a big role for ranking HIGH on the search engines, and that Table sites are getting old and they don’t rank high as CSS (tableless) sites. How true is

func_print_(d,f,r) X-Cart 4.1.x

2006-06-19T06:01:00.000-04:00

Apparently X-Cart decided NOT to include, func.debug.php on every page. Why I don't know, 4 function definitions won't cut down on speed or memory optimization much. I suppose it could cause security concerns but I highly doubt it. If your security conscious, remove my addition or comment it out immediately after debugging!Since I'm a huge fan of using func_print_r(); when developing I decided to

Why Dynamic Rewrites are a bad idea.

2006-06-12T19:15:00.000-04:00

I'm seeing more and more people going after dynamic search engine friendly url's. Which most all solutions i've seen utilize apache's mod_rewrite.Dynamic rewrites of pages just adds even more overhead to your pages. From most of the sites I've been working on recently have very high number of concurrent customers browsing at one time, such a solution wouldn't be worth my time as it would merely

10 Reasons Why X-Cart 4.1.x is an improvement.

2006-05-31T04:00:00.000-04:00

After finally getting enough time to sit down and really evaluate the latest release of X-Cart version 4.1.1. I've found many advantages to this new release compared to its little brother 4.0.1) All images are now able to be storred via the File System, this includes, Manufacturer images. Not to mention the ability to easily copy/paste image urls into your products, and simply check a checkbox "

Un-used Google SiteMap Creator with PHP

2006-04-18T01:51:00.000-04:00

I had spent many hours on a Google SiteMap crawler to be used with X-Cart but was eventually abandon after I saw how much time and effort it would take to perfect. Not to mention the number of perfectly good desktop applications that appeared shortly after I had took the plung to write such. Anyhow, I'm sure some of you may find it useful if your trying to write your own Spider. I Offer no

Internet Explorer ActiveX update

2006-04-14T11:42:00.000-04:00

Microsoft can kiss their ever dropping browser margin By-By.Eolas Technologies seem to be money hungry like everyone else these days. Thank you Eolas Technologies for making my life SO much easier. I plan to boycott your company for time to come. Surely your money hungry execs. Can come to a decision that doesn't completely piss off every IE user but I say...Firefox here I come!Internet Explorer

More analytics site profiles available

2006-03-10T02:12:00.001-04:00

I logged into Google Analytics to find a nice welcome message.As part of our effort to expand system capacity, your account now has the ability to utilize additional profiles. The total number of profiles enabled is: 5. It seems Google is starting to allow some existing users the ability to invite friends/collegues. Related Blog on Google Analytics site profiles available.My previous posting in

Keith Devens - PHP XML Library, version 1.2b

2006-03-06T21:09:00.000-04:00

I needed a quick way to parse an XML into an Array and happen to stumble upon Keith Devens - PHP XML Library, version 1.2b I'm defiantly going to make it a common library as it makes un/serializing a snap!

Google Mini Implementation with PHP/X-Cart

2006-02-04T19:19:00.000-04:00

1) Customer enters "foo" in search which submits to custom PHP file created for the steps following (2-5).2) "foo" is normalized within the PHP file in different manners to help prevent any unwanted characters. (URI Escaping, white space removal, etc.)3) A request is formed that will be passed to the Google mini via PHP function: fsockopen(); This is a normal HTTP 1.0 GET method request with our

Hubble Face?

2006-01-13T18:04:00.000-04:00

HubbleSite - Hubble's Sharpest View of the Orion Nebula - Image - 1/11/2006Is it just me, or does anyone else see a face in the new Hubble high def. shots of the Orion Nebula?I defiantly see two eyes, a nose and what appears to be a mustache or full beard?

Download Links on Invoice / X-Cart Modifications

2005-12-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

New Modification released today: Download LinksAllow customers the ability to download their purchased E-Good products right after they have completed their order with you. Download links are displayed upon the invoice or "order_message.tpl" page of X-Cart. Multiple products are supported as well as mixed orders: tangible and electronic goods combined.More Details Here.

Yahoo Shopping Data Feed for X-Cart

2005-11-28T14:41:00.000-04:00

Finally got around to releasing a new modification today. Yahoo Product Submit Data Feed. This mod will generate an appropiate file of all of your available products from X-Cart. Any product set available for sale and has atleast 1 available quantity. More details here: Yahoo Shopping Data Feed for X-Cart Version 4.0.x

Google Analytics & X-Cart

2005-11-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

Here's a simple method to integrate Google Analytics with X-Cart 4.x. A few of the fields are missing like affiliate, however majority are populated based on order data:http://www.cart-lab.com/tmp/g_analytics.tpl.txtCopy the above code (keeping line feeds/carriage returns in tact) to skin1/g_analytics.tpl. Open skin1/customer/home/order_message.tpl and locate: {/section} insert the following <

Yahoo! Search Results for x-cart

2005-11-14T20:48:00.000-04:00

It appears Yahoo has taken a strong liking to cart-lab.com; Ranking above X-Cart themselves for the keywords "x-cart" and "x cart".Yahoo! Search Results for x-cartNow if only Google will start re-ranking pages that have been 301 redirected.

Improving X-Cart's Search

2005-10-27T01:40:00.000-04:00

After dealing with X-Cart more and more on a daily basis one aspect it is lacking in is the search capabilities.We've all used google or yahoo search at one point in time. Compare how friendly Google's results are compared to X-Cart's. You'll notice a significant amount of difficulty finding what your looking for.Here are some ideas I've put together on how to perhaps improve X-Cart's ability to

X-Cart CSS Template

2005-10-22T14:41:00.000-04:00

Next Generation X-Cart CSS Skin for X-Cart version 4.x. With many great enhancements and modifications that allow for greater Search Engine Optimization & Usuability. Ultimately increasing your conversion rate and increasing your return on investments.This is the perfect skin to use as a skeleton or starting point. Easily customizable cascading style sheet makes creating a new look quick and

Instant Product Search

2005-09-16T14:01:00.000-04:00

Instant Product Search modification has been released. Allowing customers to instantly see product search results without ever clicking or pressing anything other than the customer simply typing in their keyword. Excellent mod for those who are looking to really spice up their site with the latest and greatest features to offer your customers. Ultimately generating a higher conversion rate.

Writing your own X-Cart modifications

2005-05-23T09:01:00.000-04:00

New 4.0.x Skin and Modification!

2005-04-09T19:46:00.000-04:00

A new Template for X-Cart 4.0.x has been released. http://www.cart-lab.com/Red_Orange_Skin_40x-p-68.htmlDemo:http://www.cart-lab.com/demo_4x/home.php?skin=redorangeAlso an Ecommerce Log Formate 2 (ELF2) Generate modification has been released. Now you can easily use X-Cart and Urchin and other Web applications that supports this common log format so that you can easily get detailed statistics

Speed up your X-Cart Site! (Revised)

2005-04-01T12:46:00.000-04:00

For those who want to speed up your X-Cart site, If you're getting a high server load, a few recommendations:Install IonCubes PHP Accelerator or Zend Accelerator.Login to the admin under modules, disable advanced tracking.Edit include/atracking.php find the line update_statistics(); and comment this out with a # or //Add php_flag zlib.output_compression On to your .htaccess file, if your having

Convient way to debug template variables.

2005-03-25T21:28:00.000-04:00

Been doing alot of customizations lately, and I really was tired of enabling and disabling the debug/smarty console to take a look at variables available to the .tpl files. A quick and easy way to find those pesky variables is to simply use this line anywhere in your .tpl:{php}func_print_r($this->_tpl_vars);{/php}You can also take a peek at some of the compiled php files in templates_c/ to get a

Contest Plus X-Cart 4.0.x compatible & 3.5.x Button Sets

2005-03-22T00:55:00.000-04:00

Contest Plus Modification is now X-Cart 4.0.x compatible. Easily create a contest where your users can submit their photos of your products. Run contests and giveaways to winners. Highly configurable. More Details Here.All of our X-Cart 3.5.x compatible buttons have been combined into one 11 button set package for only $19.99, That's almost $2 per button! More Details Here.Cart-Lab.com:

"Serenity" X-Cart Skin (4.0.x compatible) released.

2005-03-20T00:31:00.000-04:00

A Lighter more friendlier X-Cart 4.0.x compatible skin has been released. With blue and green highlights and subtle CSS effects, details here:http://www.cart-lab.com/Serenity_Template_Skin_40x-p-66.htmlDemo:http://www.cart-lab.com/demo_4x/home.php?skin=serenityCurrently in development are: CSS2 Skin Conversion will soon be available also. With SEO optimizations for better placement. Skin/

X-Cart 4.0.x Template/Skins

2005-02-23T02:50:00.000-04:00

New X-Cart 4.0.x Skin released, Here are the details:http://www.cart-lab.com/Blue_Tech_Green_Skin_40x-p-65.htmlDemo:http://www.cart-lab.com/demo_4x/home.php?skin=bluegreentechCurrently in development are: More 4.0.x skins, hopefully they will be released weekly, so expect to see a wider selection for 4.0.x templates.Cart-Lab.com: X-cart Resources, and More!

New Products & Dirty Diapers!

2004-10-05T00:27:00.000-04:00

Been slacking on adding new products for you X-Cart junkies out there. Much less keeping this Blog updated. Shame on me. None-the-less here are some of the new products I've gotten around to releasing for public consumption:Tabbed Product Menu's for 3.5.x & 4.0.xCompletely CSS/DHTML Driven Tab Menu's added to help remove the clutter of default modules that comes out-of-box with X-Cart. You can

Total X-Cart Flash Support

2004-07-15T01:08:00.000-04:00

Add Macromedia® Flash® support to your product thumbnails and detailed images. Great for site owners who need to easily add audio clips, movie clips, demos and more. More Details...

WIN $1000+ of X-cart Enhancements!

2004-07-09T15:10:00.000-04:00

The great guys over at FireTankSoftware are having a free give-a-way contest for X-Cart'ers out there. Some of the stuff you could win: 1 License Marketing Manager 2.0 Pro Bundle AND installation (worth $225) 5 Licenses of Marketing Manager Standard (worth $99 each) and 5 x 10% off coupons 10 X-cart inspector security scan subscriptions! (worth $19.99 each!) 20 x 20% off coupons for use on

Tracking Number Import and Templates

2004-07-03T21:04:00.000-04:00

All X-Cart templates available are now much more affordable to those who need a quick, snap in solution without much hassle. All prices have been cut almost in half! Also a new Mod has been released that makes importing of tracking numbers and setting orders to complete once the tracking numbers have inserted. Making the updating of your orders and notifying of your customers a breeze. More

X-Cart Fraud Detection System

2004-06-28T20:06:00.000-04:00

Just recently released a X-Cart Mod that will help detect and detour fraud orders from ever getting passed you. It uses the API from the guys over at MaxMind.com. Who have a extensive GeoIP technologies as well as other factors to help locate and determine which orders are false and which are good. Cart-Lab.com: X-cart Resources, and More!

E-Commerce News

2004-05-10T22:02:00.000-04:00

Recently added a RSS news browser with some related E-Commerce news feeds, to help make Cart-Lab.com your one stop resource for X-Cart, E-Commerce and Marketing resource. Be sure and suggest your favorite RSS feeds to me if you'd like to see them added. The source is also available for anyone who'd like to add RSS feeds to their X-Cart. View the latest E-Commerce News! Cart-Lab.com: X-cart

X-Cart Security (Revised)

2004-04-29T13:45:00.000-04:00

Security Focus - X-Cart vulnerabilitySince a rather large hole was recently discovered in X-Cart versions, 3.2.x to 3.4.11. It seems to have brought a lot of bad people out of the shadows, since bugs like the Security Focus above have been appearing I am hearing more and more of people getting fraudulent orders as well as some X-Cart's compromised completely. So, I've decided to write this

Setting up files/ folder for images properly

2004-01-09T23:13:00.000-05:00

Best method for setting up your thumbnails/icons/images in your files/ area is to create a subdir under files where you would like to keep your secure files, move the .htaccess file out of files/ and into a directory called "secure" persay. So: files/ (no .htaccess) files/secure/ (has .htaccess) files/images/ (no .htaccess) Now you can tell all images, etc. to use files/images/ and will

Discount Coupon Modification

2003-10-12T03:11:00.000-04:00

Keep Customers from using Discount coupons to get a zero amount total or from going below the Minimum Total Allowed in the X-Cart Admin->General Settings. The following code was added to customer/cart.php: # Keep discount coupons away from free totals if($cart["discount_coupon"]!="") { if ($mode=="checkout" && !func_is_cart_empty($cart) && ($cart["total_cost"]<$config["General"]["

Page break each order while printing Invoices

2003-08-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

Okie so I've found a method of making "Print All" in the Orders area of the admin to page break for each order invoice instead of printing them all together (running together). More Details Here NOTE: If your using HTML enabled templates you shouldn't need to make copies and the adjustments below. Here's what I did: make copies of mail/order_invoice.tpl & mail/order_data.tpl I made my copies: