Template Monster: Public Service Announcement

The point has been that TM templates look beautiful, but they don't really work for almost any customization in function or looks - and very many people want some little customization. We want them to be able to make their simple adjustments without having to battle with TM or the code.

:shocking:

Thanks, I am not going to buy anything from them guys! I almost was going to in about a week. This forum, is one of the best for support I tell ya'!!!

So sorry about the rip off. Get a hold of the Better Business Bureau, file a complaint. And buy only with sites that have signed up with the BBB, you will be guaranteed a better purchase backed by better support!!

www.cosmickodiak.com/

Richard

SolarTrees:

:shocking:

Thanks, I am not going to buy anything from them guys! I almost was going to in about a week. This forum, is one of the best for support I tell ya'!!!

So sorry about the rip off. Get a hold of the Better Business Bureau, file a complaint. And buy only with sites that have signed up with the BBB, you will be guaranteed a better purchase backed by better support!!

www.cosmickodiak.com/

Richard

In about a week, templates will be compatible with V1.3.7. Don't get detered yet.

Zen Cart blew up in popularity with the releases of V1.3, therefore there is an increasing need of compatible templates. They'll be released as they're made compliant.

Template Monster has now categorized templates according to compatiblity; Version 1.2 & Version 1.3 Templates.

They'll all be compatible soon enough, give some time!

So you're saying that Template Monster is alright, just that they are not yet with the program of Zen?

At 160 I won't take chances or wait for them to catch up to Zen, I'll go elsewhere. I don't diss Template Monster, I just feel for dandy's terrible customer service woes. Attitudes are rising !:smartalec:

testuser:

In about a week, templates will be compatible with V1.3.7.Do you know that for sure?

If that's true, I'd be a bit worried, since the underlying structure fellis published just over a week ago still needed work and to finish that, convert 75 1.3 templates to this approach (even in a semi-automated way) and then test them thoroughly in all the browsers that he listed previously would require a lot of people, or a lot of skimping.

I don't think it could be done within one week or even one month. As Kuroi mentioned we need to do it very carefully and test them a lot to avoid the same situation repeated.

We also need some time to train our staff to create templates in new standard and then trace how much time it takes to convert the old one into a new standard.

Then I will be able to forecast what time needed to convert all previously released templates into a new standard.

I am going to ask one more time.

Will the test.zip of the recent template be updated so it can be checked before you start revising templates?

kuroi:

Do you know that for sure?

If that's true, I'd be a bit worried, since the underlying structure fellis published just over a week ago still needed work and to finish that, convert 75 1.3 templates to this approach (even in a semi-automated way) and then test them thoroughly in all the browsers that he listed previously would require a lot of people, or a lot of skimping.

I did not mean all of them would be ready. In the next week, new templates will be being released compliant with v1.3.7. It would take me personally a day to to do each template, fellis says the same as well. To knock them all out would take a full month, just the two of us.

Sorry if I my statement above was unclear.

EXCUSE ME? When did you become a member of the Template Monster staff?

Kim:

EXCUSE ME? When did you become a member of the Template Monster staff?

I'm not a member of their staff, just merely assisting in helping get them on the right track. The above is a brief synopsis of conversations with fellis. We talk pretty much on a daily basis. The one-a-day (Get your vitamins today? :eek:) was meant to give a timeline ... generally anyone who's developing the templates shouldn't take more than a day to complete. Hope that makes sense...

Everybody wants to tell them what's wrong rather than show them the correct way of making it work. He came here asking for support. When everyone found they had something to gain it appeared he (they were) was shut out. Others started ranting how they didn't want to "Show" them how to do anything, for whatever reason. I understand that is some "level" of support, but it could go without the derogatory comments towards the company.

Fellis appears as though he's trying to rebuild TM's image, give him the chance. He's taken care of every urgent issue posted here in this thread, and in a "Timely" manner. An issues it appears that was common before.

Kim:

I am going to ask one more time.

Will the test.zip of the recent template be updated so it can be checked before you start revising templates?

Sorry Kim, I will ask Fellis to come and report. We are not going to go further until we update the test file.

If and when template monster does successfully update all their zen templates, will the "good" versions be available for re-download to people who have purchased the "bad" ones in the past?

testuser

I see one side constantly being polite, trying to work through it, and one side/person, consistently bashing, even to the point of whining because they did not get a brand new bright and shiny Corvette instead of a remodeled Cavalier.

I dont get it. I am about to go back to VM, at least over there there seems to be some core designers who are working with people.

WoosterOh:

testuser

I see one side constantly being polite, trying to work through it, and one side/person, consistently bashing, even to the point of whining because they did not get a brand new bright and shiny Corvette instead of a remodeled Cavalier.

I dont get it. I am about to go back to VM, at least over there there seems to be some core designers who are working with people.

I'll agree with you there is definitely two sides, and depending on the day, you'll get one or the other.

Check PM

testuser:

Everybody wants to tell them what's wrong rather than show them the correct way of making it work. He came here asking for support. When everyone found they had something to gain it appeared he (they were) was shut out. Others started ranting how they didn't want to "Show" them how to do anything, for whatever reason. I understand that is some "level" of support, but it could go without the derogatory comments towards the company.

Well, they are a design company, who should be held up to a certain compentency standard. In the beginning, with the whole "template design contest" I got the feeling that they wanted everything handed to them. "Here look at this, tell us what we're doing wrong and how to fix it, then fix it, and upload it for us". I did personally state that I would not show them how to totally re-do a template, and that's my prerogative. The fact that they were in the business of selling zen cart templates without taking time to understand how it works (and REALLY screwing things up for a lot of people in the process), really rubs me the wrong way. Up until very recently, when people here would suggest a change, TM was saying things like: "well if it interferes with the way the .psd was designed, we are not going to do it", and "well, if they do not want a currency menu, they should choose a different template". I still don't know for sure if they actually get it, as the zip file hasn't been updated. At the last upload, they still had hard coded drop down menus in the header.

I'll personally help a person with their zen cart template till the cows come home, but to be completely frank, I have no desire to help TM make more money, as I feel they are in the business of quantity not quality (even though they look nice), and have a history of substandard support. I am happy to answer TM's questions on things that can be improved, and they can use the forum like everyone else, but I'm not going to redesign their templates. Though testuser, here's your pat on the back for being so selfless and magnanimous.

WoosterOh, testuser, & others,

I have been trying to be silent for some time on this but have to interject that if you have not ripped into one of their templates to correct the deficiencies - then you do not share the point of view that those who have done this have.

Their designs(some very attractive), are just assembled using older somewhat dated methods or their own methods with hard links over the dynamic variety that can be controlled from the admin in many cases. Initially, the stance was that this was "required" to allow the design - but I think that this has changed but maybe also the design elements along with it. Changing the basic design is not required to make their templates function/be compatible with the cart code. One can have the looks and also the expandable/collapsible areas depending on how the purchaser wants the display to look.

Most of their templates work around the default cart code by creating their own code, styles etc. Fixing one of these normally requires re-writing it so that items are placed back into div's that are recognized by the core code and this allows some control through the admin that a purchaser expects or is not forewarned that this is not the case.

I think that the goal from many of our perspectives is to either use their design teams to produce truly compatible templates designed within the basic Zen Cart framework or to cease making the claim that they are compatible. Hopefully the former!

Hello all!
Sorry for delay.

2 Kim:

I tested http://osc.template-help.com/zen_new.zip - it is the latest version (we discussed html validation and began to use <table> in code).

What things are still not updated in zip?

2 WoosterOh

You are right. There are two sides here.

On one side there are Zen Cart users who purchased templates from Template Monster to support their dreams of owning and running an online store - only to have those dreams turn sour when they discovered that the templates didn't work properly and that TM's support was slow, unhelpful, disinterested and often simply unable to fix them. They are supported by the professionals who hav received a constant flow of enquiries from people seeking help to resolve the problems that TM couldn't and have consistently dedicated their time (often unpaid in this forum) to try to help them to salvage something from the wreckage.

On the other side is a company whose CEO has realised that he has a PR disaster on his hands and is taking appropriate steps to deal with it.

It seems to me both sides are using tones that are appropriately reflective of the history.

fellis:

Hello all!
Sorry for delay.

2 Kim:

I tested http://osc.template-help.com/zen_new.zip - it is the latest version (we discussed html validation and began to use <table> in code).

What things are still not updated in zip?

At 7:17am, I downloaded what is supposed to be the updated Zen_New template. Unpacked it to my desktop and FTPed it to a clean 1.3.7 installation. Here is the URL : http://64.5.47.37/zencart/index.php?main_page=index

After thinking I had messed it up somehow I got out my handy dandy file comparison tool. I downloaded the style.css from the TM demo site and compared it to the one in the distribution.

The one in the distro says:

.body{margin:0 auto;  width:100%; background-color:#FBF9E1; display:table;}

The one downloaded from the demo says:

.body{margin:0 auto;  width:766px; background-color:#FBF9E1; display:table; text-align:left}

Now - granted that is only one line and an easy fix for someone with experience.

But, the point is that it isn't correct, it hasn't been updated and OBVIOUSLY wasn't tested.

It is those types of errors that throw new users into a tizzy.

I haven't yet gone through any other files, but so sorry - y'all are not ready to begin producing templates that work properly

2 Kim & Fellis

I too have downloaded the zip again today and was surprised to see no obvious difference.

I also loaded it on a clean install (several in fact under different circumstances). Running the SQL on site that already has a template setup causes problems, specifically the multiple display of sideboxes that you can see on the site that Kim has referenced.

I'd also recommend to Fellis that you test on a site where you haven't used the SQL to turn off some of the Zen Cart features. A couple of very obvious problems will leap out at you.