The app is free for basic use, but it will nag you every 5 minutes to buy the paid version.  The full version is $20 and comes with the nice addition of Intellisense-like code completion and a desktop version of the app.  Future upgrades are free for the full version.

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Now being more experienced with Magento we definitely feel the need to share our findings with the masses. We only wish we knew these things prior to trying to the hack the crap out of magento to make it do what we want.

Turning on Template Path Hints
If you’re new to Magento you will realize that it is quite a hassle to understand the logic behind the file structure and block structure of a magento layout when trying to customize your storefront. There is a very under-publicized built-in magento feature that we’d like to share with you that should help you on your journey. Magento actually has the ability to display hints showing where the different files of your layout is contained so that you can edit it.

To achieve this, Follow these simple steps…

• Log in to your administration panel. Go to Sytem > Configuration.
• From the left navigation column on top there will be “Current Configuration Scope”. In the drop down menu select “Main Website”
• Then navigate to Developer > Advance, also in the left navigation column.
• Under “Debug” you’ll see Template Path Hints. Select Yes and click the Save Config button.

Now when you navigate to your storefront you’ll see a bunch of red boxes displaying the underlying structure of the pages regarding templates and blocks.

Note: This should only be used in a development environment, considering this will make your storefront look hideous with big red blocks everywhere.

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Never edit core files
Problem: When developing with Magento you will find it necesary to edit core files to achieve certain functionality. However, By editting a core file you are basically blocking yourself into a corner. DON’T DO IT! If you ever wish to upgrade at any point in the future you will not be able to because any changes that you have made in the core files will be overwritten. Never fear, there is a way around this.

Solution: The “local” folder (\app\code\local\) is your saviour. Say you need to edit the “Shipping.php” file located at “\app\code\core\Mage\Shipping\Model\Shipping.php” you can create the same basic directory structure in the local folder and copy and paste the Shipping.php file into the new directory. So, your new “local” Shipping.php file will be located at \app\code\local\Mage\Shipping\Model\Shipping.php. You will be able to safely edit anything and everything within that local file and never have to worry about it being overwritten during an upgrade. This trick works because Magento will look for files in a local directory before looking for a file in the core directory.

Note: The above solution will only overpower files that exist within the \app\code\core\ or \app\code\community\ directories. Also note that any files within your magento theme (\app\design\frontend\default\YOURTHEME\) or (\skin\frontend\default\YOURTHEME\) are not considered core files and you are free to edit them as you please.

These are just to name a few… Follow our blog to read more!

There are a lot of references out there on this, but you have to sort of pull it all together on your own for this particular combination.

Verify that mod_deflate has been installed in Apache:

1. Open /etc/sysconfig/apache2.

2. Find the line that starts:

APACHE_MODULES=…

3. Verify that “deflate” is one of the modules listed (may not be in alphabetical order).

Now, enable compression in the virtual host file for your site:

1. Open /etc/apache2/vhosts.d/.conf.

2. Add the following lines inside the tag:

    <IfModule mod_deflate.c>
	DeflateBufferSize 32768
	DeflateCompressionLevel 5

	<Location />
		SetOutputFilter DEFLATE
		BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4 gzip-only-text/html
		BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4\.0[678] no-gzip
		BrowserMatch \bMSIE !no-gzip !gzip-only-text/html
		SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI \.(?:gif|jpe?g|png|tiff)$ no-gzip dont-vary
		# Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary
	</Location>
    </IfModule>

Now restart Apache using:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

and you should be in business!

Validate that compression is working

A great, handy online site that you can use to validate that compression is working is http://www.gidnetwork.com/tools/gzip-test.php.

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“e-commerce done right”
http://www.ifuelinteractive.com

ajaxAddToCart.zip

Step 1: Create the server side script.
My sample script is called “addToCartTest.php” and I put it in a /scripts folder in the root of my Magento installation.

<?php
include_once '../app/Mage.php';
Mage::app();

try{
     // usage /scripts/addToCartTest.php?product_id=838&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;qty=1
     $product_id = '';

     // get query string
     if (!isset($_GET['product_id'])) { $product_id = ''; } else { $product_id = $_GET['product_id']; }
     if (!isset($_GET['qty'])) { $qty = '1'; } else { $qty = $_GET['qty']; }

     $product = Mage::getModel('catalog/product')->load($product_id);

     $session = Mage::getSingleton('core/session', array('name'=>'frontend'));
     $cart = Mage::helper('checkout/cart')->getCart();

     $cart->addProduct($product, $qty);

     $session->setLastAddedProductId($product->getId());
     $session->setCartWasUpdated(true);

     $cart->save();

     $result = "{'result':'success'}";
     echo $result;

} catch (Exception $e) {
     $result = "{'result':'error'";
     $result .= ", 'message': '".$e->getMessage()."'}";
     echo $result;
}

Step 2: Create the ‘html’ page
Obviously, you’d be putting this code into your product detail page or wherever you’re trying to add the item to the cart from.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
<title>Ajax add to cart sample</title>
<script src="/scripts/jquery-1.3.2.min-noconflict.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
     $("#buyNowButton").click(function(){
          var qty = $("#qty").val();
          var product_id = $("#buyNowButton").attr("product_id");

          var params = "product_id=" + product_id + "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;qty=" + qty;        

          var result = $.getJSON("/scripts/addToCartTest.php", params, function(data, textStatus){
               if (textStatus == "error"){
                    alert("There was an error adding this item to your cart.  Please call customer service for assistance.", "Error");
                    return;
               }

               if (data.result == "error"){
                    alert("Sorry, an error occurred while adding the item to your cart.  The error was: '" + data.message + "'");
                    return;
               }

               alert("Thanks!  The item has been added to your cart!")
          });
     });
});
</script>
</head>
<body>
     <input type="text" id="qty" value="1" />
     <a id="buyNowButton" product_id="972" href="#">Buy Now</a>
</body>
</html>

That’s it!

Prerequisites:
1. jQuery (Because Magento uses prototype and scriptaculous, you have to use jQuery in “no conflict” mode);
I’ve included the source code, along with the no-conflict version of jQuery in the zip file attached.

Let me know if you’re using this code (helps my ego)!

=============================
“e-commerce done right”
http://www.ifuelinteractive.com ]]> http://blogs.ifuelinteractive.com/2009/10/15/jquery-magento-and-ajax-add-to-cart-redux/feed/ 12 http://blogs.ifuelinteractive.com/2009/09/17/tools-i-cant-live-without/ http://blogs.ifuelinteractive.com/2009/09/17/tools-i-cant-live-without/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:13:56 +0000 Andy http://blogs.ifuelinteractive.com/?p=39 Updated: 10/14/2009

Over the years I’ve collected together a list of the tools I use all the time. I know there are lots of other lists like this out there, but, well, they’re not mine!!

I’m going to try to keep adding to this list on a regular basis as I find new tools, or decide to move on from others.

Linux Connectivity

NX from NoMachine.com

One of my favorites is NX from http://www.nomachine.com/download.php.  This is the closest I’ve come to “Remote Desktop” for the Linux machines we’re using.  I’ve tried VNC and, yeah, it works, but NX is so much smoother and nicer to work in day to day.

Putty

Ok, I’m definitely just scratching the surface of what this can do.  But just being able to get to a terminal on our Linux boxes quickly and easily – without starting a whole X session – is soooo nice!

Remote System Control

mRemote

I spend half my day connecting to other systems – Windows systems, Linux systems, even our Macs.  The best tool I’ve found to manage all those connections is mRemote.  Unfortunately, development has stopped on the free version and they’ve gone commercial.  But, no worries, so far, I haven’t come up with a good reason to go for the paid version.  It supports, remote desktop (rdp), VNC, SSH, Telnet and a bunch more.  Great tool.  Now if only it could handle NX…

Editors

Notepad++

Ok, I know, probably everyone in the world knows about this one.  But this is sooo much better than notepad.exe, ESPECIALLY when doing cross platform development (dumb notepad doesn’t recognize ascii 10 as a valid line-feed).   There are so many other reasons to use notepad++ instead, I haven’t even scratched the surface myself.

=============================
“e-commerce done right”
http://www.ifuelinteractive.com

We’ll be posting lots and lots of Magento information in the weeks and months to come as we continue on our journey with this great tool!