Remember to search the osCmax forums carefully … it is more than likely that your question has already been answered.

However, here are a few of the more regular queries.

Q. Why does osCmax keep skipping the shipping page?

A. When a product weight is 0, shipping is skipped because osCmax is assuming that it is a digital product for download.

Q. When I enable SEO URLs why do I keep getting 404 Page not found errors?

A. You need to edit the .htaccess file to enable the Rewrite functions.

Q. Where has the english.php language file gone?

A. This has been moved into the language folder and renamed core.php.

Q. I've just installed osCmax, why do I get a blank page on my shop?

A. You need to re-read the installation instructions, with regards to the configure.php.new/configure.php files.

Q. I have finished installing my new admin module but it doesn't show up anywhere!

A. You need to set the permissions correctly for your new admin files.

Q. I have a problem and want to see error messages for my store

A. Edit catalog/includes/application_top.php and change the file so that it looks like the following: (Basically commenting out the two lines using two backslashes)

// set the level of error reporting
//  error_reporting(E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE & ~'E_DEPRECATED');
  
// KISS Error Handling & Debugging by FWR Media 
//  include_once 'includes/kiss_error_handler.php';

Q. Okay, but I have a problem with my admin panel how do I see the error messages?

A. Edit catalog/admin/includes/application_top.php and change the commenting out of the error reporting. Change the code to look like this:

// Set the level of error reporting
  error_reporting(E_ALL);
//  error_reporting(E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE & ~'E_DEPRECATED');

Q. How do I upgrade to the latest release?

A. Normally there's no simple answer, due to the customisations to most installations. Each public release has an upgrade directory included and check on the osCmax forum for details, in Announcements and Blogs. Furthermore, look in this wiki.

Q. Briefly, how do I change the look of my shop?

A. osCmax uses a facility called Basic Template System (BTS) - a vague understanding is needed, to make modifications a lot easier.

• Equip yourself with a means to analyse the served up pages of your website. Firefox with Firebug is an excellent choice, otherwise use your favoured browser with an appropriate method. This will make editing the CSS entries simpler.
• Using fallback (or other osCmax supplied template) as a basis for your modifications, copy the catalog/templates/fallback to /catalog/templates/yourtemplate - files only, not directories.
• Modify /catalog/templates/yourtemplate/stylesheet.css to change colours/fonts and some layout elements.
• Say that you wish to change the layout of the product page: copy catalog/templates/fallback/content/product_info.tpl.php to catalog/templates/yourtemplate/content/product_info.tpl.php and make changes to the newly copied file.

Do NOT make changes to any files in fallback.

Q. I noticed there are some files i have never seen before in my admin. They look like this pThumbBckeXy any idea what these are?

A. Your environment doesn't like the location of the phpThumb cache - possibly due to permissions.

Simple solution: delete catalog/your-admin/phpThumb*.* and set admin directory to read only (eg. 555). Alternatively, locate and change $cache_dir = 'cache/'; in catalog/your-admin/includes/functions/instant_update. Notice any future updates will likely revert this to the default, so the first solution is better.

Q. What is .htaccess.new for and why is it not called .htaccess?

A. Many people have a custom .htaccess file on their website. Rather than cause issues with an existing website, it is safer not to assume that this file can be overwritten. If you don't already have a .htaccess file, then the .new file should be renamed as such. Otherwise, compare the .new file with your existing .htaccess file. It is recommended that you check the contents of this file, in any case, as it is assumed that you will install osCmax into a catalog directory. Also, if you wish to use SEO URLs, then this file will require modification.