I just bought an add-on and could use some help getting it installed. The author is Russian, so my communication with him has been less than ideal.
The add-on contains 2 folders: “addons” and “var”.
After several email exchanges with the developer, I think what I'm supposed to do is open File Zilla and simply take the “addons” folder from my local computer and drag&drop it onto the “addon” folder in my CS cart installation. I should then do the same thing with the “var” folder (drag it from my local computer into the “var” folder in my CS cart installation).
Is this correct? I know I could discover if it works in 2 seconds if I just went ahead and did it, but the thought of dragging a folder onto another folder with the identical name gives me pause, as with my luck I can just imagine overwriting something unintentionally and corrupting my entire cart.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Michael,
That is the general idea of addon installation. If the addon author is reputable and claims that there are no core file changes or conflicts then it should be as easy as uploading both folders (assuming that you are using the “basic” skin and then going to Settings->Addons and activating the addon in question
Yes, that's what you should do.
In your addon, you should have a folder structure similar to this:
/addons/mycustomaddon/
/var/skins_repository/basic/customer/addons/mycustomaddon
Therefore in your addon, upload 'addons' and 'var' folder to the root of your install, therefore both directories will install in the correct location.
The majority of addons won't have any effect on your file structure, therefore take a backup of your database and you should be good to go.
To ensure you get proper ownerships and permissions, suggest you:
- copy the archive the provided to the root of your store
- Open the cPanel File manager (or file manager for whatever admin tool you use for your site) and “extract” or “explode” the archive. Usually you can do this by right-clicking on the archive name in the file listing.
- After you “extract” the files from the archive, go into your Admin Panel/Administration/Add-ons and “install” that addon.
While you can “extract” on your local computer and ftp the files to your server, the above method is really easier and gets greater consistency in results.