In this section:

• AppB: Customizing the EDatCat templates
• AppB.2: Understanding the templates
• AppB.3: EDatCat Shortcuts
• AppB.4: EDatCat Functions
• AppB.5: Various Notes and Resources

EDatCat employs the use of templates for a variety of reasons.  The primary reason is that templates give you complete control over the appearance of your content.  Second, it makes the alteration and maintenance of the appearance much easier than if all of the HTML code was buried within the guts of the software. 

The templates are transferred to your server and stored in the /templates directory during the second phase of installation.  These templates contain default HTML code.  This code is designed so that you can use these templates "as is", meaning that your web site is fully functional as soon as the second phase of installation is complete.

EDatCat's templates are designed to be used in conjunction with "functions" and "shortcuts" and various other html elements you want/need to use on your pages.  We'll get to those in a moment.  First, let's examine how the templates themselves are designed.

Click here for a printable list and description of EDatCat templates.

They way these templates work is very simple.  There are two kinds of templates:

A partial template is a section or snippet of html code....not a complete html page.  Partial templates are used to specify everything from your body and head tags to the layout of your catalog product listings.

Below is a diagram of how EDatCat builds a page using the partial templates.

In addition, if your users should happen to encounter any errors, the error messages will also be displayed within the page templates.   Even the frustrating parts of shopping online maintain your business identity!

By utilizing templates in this manner, you can create a seamless shopping experience where all of your pages contain the same theme and appearance.

The complete templates are used "as is"....a complete html page.  EDatCat just plugs in your information wherever you have specified (using the shortcuts).

The beauty of this design is that you only have to create a single product page...a single category page...etc., etc.  It makes site-design a much easier process.

However, with EDatCat, you are not limited to just one template design.   You could, if necessary, have a different template for each product in your catalog...or each product category/subcategory.  For more information, see the article entitled "Making the most of your EDatCat templates" -Jan 15, 2001 in our notes section.

Now that we have covered the basics of how EDatCat utlizes templates to create dynamic pages, let's move on and talk about customizing the appearance and content of the templates...