My Checkout Without Account Mod

So I figured out that the ordersteps addon included these 5 new css files:
checkout_shipping.css
checkout_confirmation.css
checkout_payment.css
checkout_succes.css
no_account.css

And they are all exactly the same!
I tried taking what I had in no_account.css, copying it to stylesheet.css, and then basically blanking out the 5 css files, but that didn't work. I had to replicate the edits that I had made to no_account.css to each of the other 4 files. So there are still 5 .css files for this addon, and they are all exactly the same.

I still have the dropped float issue in IE7. Will post back when I figure that one out.

There looks to be something in there that is breaking the rules of CSS.

Ignoring, for the moment, Zen Cart's own rules of precedence for stylesheets, the usual thing is that any stylesheet loaded after the first one takes precedence, if there are any style definitions in it that are for the same elements that are styled in any previously loaded stylesheet.

If there are no such definitions, then the newly defined elements get their style from the second sheet anyway. And if the normal rules of precedence are being followed, it matters not one bit whether those newly defined elements are styled in a separate stylesheet or in the first one. If there is any doubt that these elements may have been styled already in the first sheet, then simply make sure they are defined again at the bottom of the first one.

Or a little more clearly: rules at the bottom of any one stylesheet are read and interpreted after rules above them. And rules in a stylesheet loaded after another are interpreted after rules in that previous stylesheet. And any rule interpreted after another takes precedence.

That's the way things should work.

But ZC has code in it which loads stylesheets in a certain, slightly arcane, order -- for good and necessary reasons I'm sure. First comes any stylesheet the name of which begins with style*; then they load language stylesheets, category and page stylesheets, and so on. The order is given in the readme file in the css folder.

The net result of all this possibly irrelevant discussion is this: what you did should have worked. :blink:

Obviously there is code somewhere calling these particular stylesheets rather than letting the natural order of things take care of it. But the good news is it doesn't really matter. In modern browsers, working over fast networks, the loading of a stylesheet -- especially one that contains as little as these do -- is a minor issue. It should take less than a second to get all five of those redundant stylesheets loaded. So if redundancy works, let it go.

But it does make future edits and upkeep more complicated than necessary. So you might try this ...

In one of those 5 stylesheets -- say, no_account.css -- leave all the styles defined. Put only this one line in each of the other four:
@import url(no_account.css);
You might have to experiment to get the right one to leave the styles in.

That, at least, will make it easier to do changes to your styles and will make furture upgrades easier too.

Good suggestion. Thanks. Any idea on the dropped float?

It worked beautifully! Changing all of these files:

checkout_shipping.css
checkout_payment.css
checkout_confirmation.css
checkout_success.css

To only contain the line:
@import url(no_account.css);

worked like a charm.
Still have the dropped float in IE7 though - and only when checking out WITH an account.

I fixed the float drop problem! :clap:
This problem was in the ordersteps addon to CWOA.
It was happening in IE6 and IE7 but not in Firefox. And only when checking out WITH an account.
The fix: in no_account.css, under #order_steps, change this line:
margin: 10px 10px;
to this:
margin: 5px 5px;

And if you haven't used the "@import ... " kluge mentioned directly above this post for the other 4 css files, you'll need to edit those files as well.

I guess that IE just needs a little more "breathing room".

alicia1234:

It worked beautifully! Changing all of these files:

checkout_shipping.css
checkout_payment.css
checkout_confirmation.css
checkout_success.css

To only contain the line:
@import url(no_account.css);

worked like a charm.

Now, he said with an evil grin, I wonder if you can put ...
@import url(stylesheet.css);
into all 5 of them, and add the styles from no_account to the bottom of stylesheet.css?

Rob

I'm not sure I even want to try this! :unsure:
It seems like it would be recursive. stylesheet.css is obviously already being loaded somehow. It's too confusing to even think about!

You're right. Bad idea! :ohmy:

Rob

I sell digital web forms for people with websites. I've found that there are many people out there who greatly resist entering their email address anywhere for fear of being spammed. So is there a way for this mod to not require the purchaser's email address? I realize that I would not be able to initiate contact with them. But if they have some problem with their digital download, then they can send us an email at that point.
Any ideas?
Brent
PS. I don't mind paying for some customization.

The requirement to enter an email address is with the original Zen-Cart code, not necessarily with this mod. I'm sure it would be fairly easy to diable this field in the form. Do you already have Zen-Cart integrated into your site, or are you just starting out?

I looked at this some more. If you don't have their email address then you can't confirm their order, etc. Maybe a better approach would be to add language that says ... don't worry, we are not going to give away your email address. In actuality, if they give you their email address, the only way for them to get spam is if YOU initiate it. So perhaps this could all be handled in your privacy policy.

Yes, I put right in our cart login:
"Billing Information - We Keep Your Information Private - Our Privacy Policy Is Below".
But this assurance is still not enough for many. Since one of the key features of our web forms is to stop spam originating from an unprotected web form or email link on a person's website, my customers are extra concerned about submitting their email address. Also, I don't need to confirm their order, since if they have some technical problem with their download, then they can send us an email at anytime.
I appreciate your thoughts. Any more?
Brent

Well you could just eliminate that field (the email field) in the information that you collect. I assume that you are doing everything with "checkout without an account" ? Let me know. It will take a while but maybe I can figure out how to eliminate the email field altogether. I can't get back to you until at least tomorrow.

Another thought: are you also collecting their name, address, etc? So do they have no problem with providing that information?

I am collecting their address, because I believe it may be required by the credit card processor - cybersource, but I would prefer not to. I also use paypal as an added payment option, which about 1/3rd opt for.
So are you say the email field is not needed for the cart to function properly, and the "hidden" account for them will still be setup in the background so they can continue with their transaction?
Brent

I don't know if the email address is required or not for the cart to function properly. Maybe someone else could help out here?

I hope so.
Thank you.

Hello All,

Forgive me if this has been discussed before. Does anyone know how to check the order status with orderstatus add-on to this module when one places an order without creating an account?

I added a link to the standard tool-bar to do this. I will post here tomorrow with the details. Too late now to do it.

The Order_Status addon adds the page "order_status.php" but it does not - at least as far as I can tell - provide a link to it. So you need to add an "Order Status" link to the menu bar. Note that the link does NOT display if the user is logged in, but that's ok because when they login they automatically get a list of their orders. So this is really for the benefit of customers who did not create an account.

Here's how to add the link ("custom" is the name of my customized folders):

You need to edit two files.

First file: tpl_header.php
Make a copy of includes/templates/template_default/common/tpl_header.php
OR, if you have already customized that file, start with your customized version* (in my case, that was includes/templates/custom/common/tpl_header.php).*

Find this section of code:

<?php if ($_SESSION['cart']->count_contents() != 0) { ?>
    <li><a href="<?php echo zen_href_link(FILENAME_SHOPPING_CART, '', 'NONSSL'); ?>"><?php echo HEADER_TITLE_CART_CONTENTS; ?></a></li>
    <li><a href="<?php echo zen_href_link(FILENAME_CHECKOUT_SHIPPING, '', 'SSL'); ?>"><?php echo HEADER_TITLE_CHECKOUT; ?></a></li>
<?php }?>

Then, add this code just BEFORE it:

<!-- custom edit (addition) to add "Order Status"  link to the main navigation if user is not logged in -->
<?php if (!($_SESSION['customer_id'])) { ?>
<li><a href="<?php echo zen_href_link(FILENAME_ORDER_STATUS, '', 'SSL'); ?>"><?php echo HEADER_TITLE_ORDER_STATUS; ?></a></li>
<?php }  ?>
<!-- -->

Place the edited file into your customized directory (in my case, that was includes/templates/custom/common).

Second file: header.php
Make a copy of includes/languages/english/header.php
OR, if you have already customized that file, start with your customized version (in my case, that was includes/languages/english/custom/header.php).

Find this section of code:

define('HEADER_TITLE_LOGOFF', 'Log Out');
define('HEADER_TITLE_LOGIN', 'Log In');

Add this code directly AFTER it:

// custom edit - addition - to add order status link in menu bar
define('HEADER_TITLE_ORDER_STATUS', 'Order Status');

Place the edited file into your customized directory* (in my case, that was includes/languages/english/custom).*

Note that the header.php already has a definition for FILENAME_ORDER_STATUS so no edit was needed to define it.

Here is another edit that some may find useful. It **removes the words "log out" from the menu bar **when a customer is checking out without an account.

You need to edit tpl_header.php, as follows:

Make a copy of includes/templates/template_default/common/tpl_header.php
OR, if you have already customized that file, start with your customized version* (in my case, that was includes/templates/custom/common/tpl_header.php).*

Find this section of code:

<?php if ($_SESSION['customer_id']) { ?>
    <li><a href="<?php echo zen_href_link(FILENAME_LOGOFF, '', 'SSL'); ?>"><?php echo HEADER_TITLE_LOGOFF; ?></a></li>

And REPLACE it with this (you're basically adding an "if" statement):

<?php if ($_SESSION['customer_id']) { ?>
<!-- custom edit for COWOA addon - to not show log off link in nav bar -->
<!-- added this "if" line -->	
<?php if (!($_SESSION['COWOA'])) { ?>
    <li><a href="<?php echo zen_href_link(FILENAME_LOGOFF, '', 'SSL'); ?>"><?php echo HEADER_TITLE_LOGOFF; ?></a></li>
<!-- and this line -->
<?php } ?>

Place the edited file into your customized directory (in my case, that was includes/templates/custom/common).