Tag / 1.3

If you navigate to System -> Magento Connect -> Maganeto Connect Manager and find no packages listed similar to that shown in the following screenshot, it means that you've not initialised PEAR yet.  This can happen if you used the full distribution bundle to install Magento.  If you used the 'Downloader' option then PEAR will have been initialised and used to download and install the necessary packages. To resolve the issue all you have to do is initialise PEAR by running the following commands via SSH on your web server: [code] <pre>./pear mage-setup ./pear install magento-core/Mage_All_Latest [/code] If...

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I was recently upgrading a Magento installation from 1.3.2.4 to 1.4.1.0 using the fresh installation technique, which I'll discuss in an upcoming video tutorial.  After entering the database name, username & password in the 'Configuration' area, I got the "Exception printing is disabled by default for security reasons" message. Upon checking the error report I found the following: [code lang="php"] a:5:{i:0;s:263:"Error in file: "/WWW/mydomain.com/magento/app/code/core/Mage/Sales/sql/sales_setup/mysql4-upgrade-0.9.51-0.9.52.php" - SQLSTATE[42000]: Syntax error or access...

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Here's a quick Magento developer tip for you.  At some point in your career as a Magento developer you'll need to get data from the database or put data in to the database.  Here' how it's done. READ Queries [code lang="php"] // Prepare the SQL $sql = "SELECT * FROM mytable"; // Execute the SQL and return the results in to $getData $getData = Mage::getSingleton('core/resource')->getConnection('core_read')->fetchAll($sql); // Parse the results for($i=0; $i < count($getData); $i++){ /* your code */ } [/code] WRITE/UPDATE Queries [code lang="php"] // $write is an instance of Zend_Db_Adapter_Abstract $write...

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Packt Publishing have recently release a new book aimed at Magento Commerce store owners who want to boost sales entitled "Magento 1.3 Sales Tactics Cookbook". Magento is a feature-rich, professional open source e-commerce solution that offers users complete flexibility and control over the look, content, and functionality of their online store. Although Magento provides users with the power to create dynamic e-commerce sites, it can be challenging to get beyond the basics and create sites that are tailored to your unique business needs. This book gives you a hands-on experience on Magento,...

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There are many places on the net to obtain free and premium themes, templates, and extensions for Magento Commerce 1,3 or 1.4.  Here's a list of some of the best sites. AlgoZone is a graphics design company that offers online business owners a line of products and services that improves their store's presence on the internet . Established in 2003, AlgoZone has been focusing on designing and developing e-commerce templates and modules that will help many companies and individuals save time and money running their shopping cart. Using the latest techniques , AlgoZone helps business owners...

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It is sometimes necessary to redirect an old CMS page or URL to a new one.  Redirects are useful not only to prevent 404 Errors from existing inbound links, but also help to prevent loosing link juice (for search engine ranking).  Using the integrated "URL Rewrite Management" facility within Magento 1.4 we can create custom 301 (Permanent) or 302 (Temporary) redirect rules. As the names imply, a 301 Permanent, also known as "301 Moved Permanently", indicates that the resource has moved permanently and people should update their information for this URL.  A 302 Temporary, also known as "302...

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Here's a quick tip to reduce the frequency that your Magento Store will check for Notifications from Varien/Magento. If you log in to the Magento Admin backend you'll sometimes see new notifications along the top similar to this one: Notifications will occur when Varien release a new update to Magento.  It's actually an RSS feed which is why you'll see a message saying "Magento CE Version 1.4.0.1 Stable is now available" even through you've just installed or updated to 1.4.0.1.   To remove the notification simply click on the "Read Details" link or navigate to System -> Notifications...

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If you're a Magento Commerce Store Owner or Web Designer looking for a nice Magento theme to use or customise, here's a huge list of FREE Magento Themes and templates I found during my travels across the internet.  I'll try to keep the list updated as I find more so please come back regularly to see the updates. Name: Pet Store Magento Theme Created by Template Monster Description: This free Magento theme is a perfect layout for online pet store or online veterinary store. The header image looks pretty good and inviting. The product showroom is in the center of the homepage. Widgetized...

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If you've upgraded your Magento Commerce site to 1.4.x you may have run in to the problem where any attempt to send a response via your 'Contact Us' page fails with "Unable to submit your request.  Please try again later". If you look at the code /app/code/core/Mage/Contacts/controllers/IndexController.php [code lang="php"] public function postAction() { $post = $this->getRequest()->getPost(); if ( $post ) { $translate = Mage::getSingleton('core/translate'); /* @var $translate Mage_Core_Model_Translate */ $translate->setTranslateInline(false); ...

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A question that is often asked in the Magento Forums relates to the "Order confirmation email not sent" message you see on the orders page. Some may see this as a bug, but it's not.  It is by design, and supposed to work like this.  Unfortunately the documentation isn't clear which I think is the real bug here.  If you use PayPal Standard, Google Checkout, or any Payment Gateway that redirects customers from your site to the payment gateway's site you'll get the "Order confirmation email not sent". The following is taken from 1.3.2.4 code so things may be different in earlier or later...

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