Admin: Views Manager

Overview

Designers can build and supply you with a collection of files that work together to define how all of the customer-facing commerce pages look.  These files are called "viewsets."  Your site comes pre-installed with a viewset that's called _default.  However, you can and should have your own created to match your brand identity and goals for your store.

Requirements

The following prerequisites will be necessary to accomplish the goals of this article:

  • Have access to your Hotcakes store administration
  • Have a basic understanding of how themes/templates generally work in any website

Getting Started

Before you can switch from one viewset to another, you should consider grabbing one from our downloads area, or waiting until your designers supply you with your custom viewset.

Views Manager Settings

You can find the Views Manager in the Admin menu of the control panel.

The views manager allows you to manage which viewset is currently active, as well as install or create new viewsets.

Setting Description
Current Viewset This is a drop down list that will be populated with all of the viewsets that are currently installed on the site. 
Make and Editable Copy Sometimes you want to work directly on the site, but you really shouldn't change an existing viewset.  Clicking this button will make a copy of whichever viewset is currently selected in the Current Viewset field.
Upload Viewset This button allows you to install a new viewset.  This is discussed in more detail below.
File Location This is a read-only value that lets you know where your viewsets are located on the web server or computer.  This is useful for designers to know where to go to edit the files.

Installing a Viewset

In order to install a viewset, you should click the "Upload Viewset" button.  When you do, a popup will appear, allowing to perform the installation process.

Setting Description
Viewset Upload Use this button to navigate to the location on your computer where your viewset is located.
Save at Host Level This checkbox will change which folder location is used.  If you choose to check this setting, the viewset you're uploading will be made available to other stores on your site installation (if you have multiple stores running on the same installation).  If you wish to not share the viewset with other stores, leave this unchecked.

Once you upload your viewset, you'll be returned to the views manager, with a status message letting you know if everything went okay.  If everything went well, you'll see the message below, and your viewset will be available in the drop down list.

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