osCommerce text editing

[Stevens]

Any idea why I might not be able to edit the defined TEXT_MAIN on a new osCommerce installation? The text is defined as such:

define('TEXT_MAIN', 'This <img src="images/main_bar.jpg">is a default setup of the osCommerce project, products shown are for demonstrational purposes, <b>any products purchased will not be delivered nor will the customer be billed</b>. Any information seen on these products is to be treated as fictional.<br><br><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="2"><tr><td class="main" valign="top">' . tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . 'default/1.gif') . '</td><td class="main" valign="top"><b>Error Messages</b><br><br>If there are any error or warning messages shown above, please correct them first before proceeding.<br><br>Error messages are displayed at the very top of the page with a complete <span class="messageStackError">background</span> color.<br><br>Several checks are performed to ensure a healthy setup of your online store - these checks can be disabled by editing the appropriate parameters at the bottom of the includes/application_top.php file.</td></tr><td class="main" valign="top">' . tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . 'default/2.gif') . '</td><td class="main" valign="top"><b>Editing Page Texts</b><br><br>The text shown here can be modified in the following file, on each language basis:<br><br><nobr class="messageStackSuccess">[path to catalog]/includes/languages/' . $language . '/' . FILENAME_DEFAULT . '</nobr><br><br>That file can be edited manually, or via the Administration Tool with the <nobr class="messageStackSuccess">Languages->' . ucfirst($language) . '->Define</nobr> or <nobr class="messageStackSuccess">Tools->File Manager</nobr> modules.<br><br>The text is set in the following manner:<br><br><nobr>define('TEXT_MAIN', '<span class="messageStackSuccess">This is a default setup of the osCommerce project...</span>');</nobr><br><br>The text highlighted in green may be modified - it is important to keep the define() of the TEXT_MAIN keyword. To remove the text for TEXT_MAIN completely, the following example is used where only two single quote characters exist:<br><br><nobr>define('TEXT_MAIN', '');</nobr><br><br>More information concerning the PHP define() function can be read <a href="http://www.php.net/define" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</td></tr><tr><td class="main" valign="top">' . tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . 'default/3.gif') . '</td><td class="main" valign="top"><b>Securing The Administration Tool</b><br><br>It is important to secure the Administration Tool as there is currently no security implementation available.</td></tr><tr><td class="main" valign="top">' . tep_image(DIR_WS_IMAGES . 'default/4.gif') . '</td><td class="main" valign="top"><b>Online Documentation</b><br><br>Online documentation can be read at the <a href="http://wiki.oscommerce.com" target="_blank"><u>osCommerce Wiki Documentation Effort</u></a> site.<br><br>Community support is available at the <a href="http://forums.oscommerce.com" target="_blank"><u>osCommerce Community Support Forums</u></a> site.</td></tr></table><br>If you wish to download the solution powering this shop, or if you wish to contribute to the osCommerce project, please visit the <a href="http://www.oscommerce.com" target="_blank"><u>support site of osCommerce</u></a>. This shop is running on osCommerce version <font color="#f0000"><b>' . PROJECT_VERSION . '</b></font>.');

That all is a lot of crap just to define the text that index.php will use on its main page. It's all one define() statement.

I tried to add an image by entering the code in red above in that location (<img src="images/img.jpg">) just to get a feel for how the engine will interpret it...I received an errror:

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/ineedc2/public_html/bnbs/includes/languages/english/index.php on line 13

So I tried to do as the page said and defined the TEXT_MAIN constant as an empty string:

define('TEXT_MAIN', '');

Still same error.

I have tried changing just one letter of the default defined text...I get the same error when I reload...THEN, when I put it back, SAME ERROR AGAIN! I then have to upload the the default version of the default catalog/includes/languages/english/index.php from the install package and start over...???????

Is there a permission thing here that I am not getting right or something??? Any help appreciated...

ERIC

EDIT: You can preview at www.brandnamebarsupplies.com

EDIT:Same happens when I try to change a defined heading in english.php in osCommerce. I tried to change the red in:

// manufacturers box text in includes/boxes/manufacturers.php
define('BOX_HEADING_MANUFACTURERS', 'Manufacturers');

...to 'Licensed Brands' and received the error:

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/ineedc2/public_html/bnbs/includes/languages/english.php on line 79

When I changed it back, I got the same error which I could not get rid of until I uploaded the default file from the installation package. WTF!!!

EDIT: Is there something going on with the cache and the defined constants or something else that is conflicting? Permissions, anything?

[Stevens]

Well...looks like I've stumped everybody...I'll try other forums and stuff to see if I can find the answer and I'll toss it up here...

ERIC

[Stevens]

Thanks for the effort...but I found a way around it. Turns out that if I need to edit a file I have to edit on my local wysiwyg editor then ftp it up to its directory replacing the old file. For some reason, I can use neither my hosting company's cPanel nor osCommerce's built-in file manager to edit php code in any files. Weird, I know...you'd think code was code...guess not! I have no idea why, but if anyone run's into it and figures out the problem let me know...

ERIC

[Chris]

Just checking, you're editing the

/includes/languages/english/index.php file right?

[Stevens]

Yeah...If I change just 1 letter (i.e. from "This" to "That") I get that error...and keep geting the error until I replace the file. I can edit html just fine, like <title> tags or something, but not php scripts.

[GTech]

I bet the problem is, it's trying to escape the " and/or ' characters in the text. I've seen this before in other programs where you can edit from an admin area or control panel.

I use Dreamweaver to edit, so don't directly see this, but if you try editing through OSC or the file manager in cpanel, then download the file and go to where you know there are quotes in the text, my guess is, it's revolving around that.

[MarkB]

Or its not putting in correct line breaks. I always advise editing PHP and CGI files in a plain text editor (and you should do it locally, anyway, just so you have a copy to hand).