This bug is explained in detail below, you are welcome to skip ahead to the fix.

What is pagination?

For the web, pagination refers to the process of taking your content and splitting it up into separate pages. Pagination is typically reserved for large pieces of content.

For example, if you have a 1000 word article, you may wish to split it up over 4 pages limiting each page to 250 words. In the case of CubeCart, pagination is used to split up the content within the category view of products, search results and product reviews.

Here is an example of how the pagination in CubeCart may be displayed:

What does the pagination bug do?

The pagination bug I’ve discovered will only affected CubeCart 4 stores which have search engine friendly URLs enabled. All pagination links generated by CubeCart will contain URLs which are not “clean”.

Fore example, with search engine friendly URLs enabled, you would anticipate pagination links to look something like this:

http://mycubecart.com/shop/category-description/cat_1.html?page=1

What you get looks more like this:

http://mycubecart.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=1&page=1

As you can see from the example, the search engine friendly urls are much cleaner and easier for the user to understand.

The good news is this bug does not prevent your store from being used.

The Pagination Bug Fix

This bug was discovered in version 4.3.0 but appears to be present on all versions of CubeCart from 4.0.x – 4.3.0.

The bug fix outlined below references line numbers from CubeCart version 4.3.0. Though the line number may differ from older versions, it appears the fix is identical.

This bug requires the alteration of the following CubeCart 4 files:

1. cubecart root/includes/functions.inc.php

Part 1 – All Version CubeCart 4.0.x – 4.3.0

1. Open functions.inc.php

2. Find:

386

    global $lang;

3. Replace with:

386
387
388
389
390
391

// BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com
    global $lang, $config;
/* Replaced
    global $lang;
*/
// END: MyCubeCart.com

4. Find:

410

        $currentPage = sanitizeVar($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']);

5. Replace with:

410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419

// BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com Mod
    if($config['sef']) {
        $currentPage = sanitizeVar($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
    } else {
        $currentPage = sanitizeVar($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']);    
    }
/* Replaced
    $currentPage = sanitizeVar($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']);
*/
// END: MyCubeCart.com Mod

6. Save file and upload.

Bug Fix Complete!

After saving your updated functions.inc.php file and uploading to your sever, all pagination results will be formated to the desired search engine friendly parameters.

When working frequently with any piece of software there is a good chance you will discover a bug or two of your own. This has at been the case in my time working with CubeCart. I’ve uncovered my fair share of bugs. Hopefully in doing so I have improved CubeCart, even if in the smallest way.

I will be dedicating a new section of MyCubeCart.com to detail some of those bugs I encounter. With each bug I not only intend to give you information on the bug itself, I aim to provide you with a workable solution to fix it, fast.

Though I can’t guarantee my fixes will be accepted as permanent solutions within the CubeCart codebase, it can hopefully serve as a means for you to keep your store running smoothly and efficiently before the next official release is issued by CubeCart.

To kick of this new section, I bring you a pagination bug I’ve encountered tonight.

If you ever do encounter a bug, please report your finding to the official CubeCart bug tracker.

A small issued surfaced with the recent redesign of MyCubeCart.com. The Gooogle Checkout button had a white background, my content area did not. The button looked out of place and I was pressed to find a solution. The Google Checkout API offers a handful of button customization options, a transparent background was one of them.

After digging around in the code a bit, I was pleasantly surprised to see that CubeCart was for the most part aligned to receive the type of customization I was after. A few small updates later, I had my transparent button.

Here’s how I did it.

This modification requires the alteration of the following CubeCart 4 files:

1. cubecart root/modules/altCheckout/Google_Checkout/admin/index.inc.php
2. cubecart root/modules/altCheckout/Google_Checkout/button.php

Part 1 – All Versions CubeCart 4.2.x – 4.3.0

1. Open index.inc.php in a text, html or php editor.

2. Find:

93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102

  <tr>
    <tr>
    <td align="left" class="tdText"><strong>Button size:</strong></td>
    <td class="tdText">
	<select name="module[size]">
      <option value="large" <?php if($module['size'] == "large") echo "selected='selected'"; ?>>Large</option>
      <option value="medium" <?php if($module['size'] == "medium") echo "selected='selected'"; ?>>Medium</option>
	  <option value="small" <?php if($module['size'] == "small") echo "selected='selected'"; ?>>Small</option>
    </select></td>
  </tr>

3. Add immediately after:

103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113

<!-- BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com Mod -->
  <tr>
    <tr>
    <td align="left" class="tdText"><strong>Button Background Color:</strong></td>
    <td class="tdText">
	<select name="module[bgcolor]">
      <option value="white" <?php if($module['bgcolor'] == "white") echo "selected='selected'"; ?>>White</option>
      <option value="trans" <?php if($module['bgcolor'] == "trans") echo "selected='selected'"; ?>>Transparent</option>
    </select></td>
  </tr>
<!-- END: MyCubeCart.com Mod -->

4. Save file and upload.

Part 2 – All Versions CubeCart 4.2.x – 4.3.0

1. Open button.php in a text, html or php editor.

2. Find (line 167 or 168, determined by version):

168

            return $cart->CheckoutButtonCode($module['size']);

3. Replace with:

168
169
170
171
172
173

// BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com Mod
            return $cart->CheckoutButtonCode($module['size'], $module['bgcolor']);
/* Replaced
            return $cart->CheckoutButtonCode($module['size']);
*/
// END: MyCubeCart.com Mod

4. Save file and upload.

Modification Complete!

To use this feature, login to your CubeCart 4 control panel. Under the Modules heading, click on Alternate Checkouts. From here you will click the configure link next to the Google Checkout logo.

You will see a list of options for configuring this module. You will now have a dropdown menu in place to select the background color of your Google Checkout button!

Please note, the Google Checkout API only permits white and transparent as valid options for the button background color. Do not attempt to expand the color selection beyond what is provided in the tutorial, all attempts will fail to render a button in your stores frontend.

If you are using CubeCart version 4 there is a fairly good chance you are making use of the search engine friendly URL features. This will replace a “dirty”, query laced URL with a much cleaner search engine and user friendly URL modeled off of traditional static page URLs.

In making the URL clean, a .html extenstion is added to the end of the URL. For users like me, it’s not quite clean enough.

By leaning on WordPress in many of my web development projects, I’ve grown accustom to having my URLs end with no file extension, just a slash (eg. mycubecart.com/some/friendly/url/). This is what we aim to accomplish here.

This modification requires the alteration of the following CubeCart 4 files:

1. cubecart root/index.php
2. cubecart root/includes/sef_urls.inc.php

Part 1 – CubeCart Version 4.3.0 Only

1. Open index.php in a text, html or php editor.

2. Find:

53

	if(preg_match('#([a-z]{1,6})_([a-z0-9+]+).?([a-z]+)?(?.*)?$#i', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], $matches)) {

3. Replace with:

53
54
55
56
57
58

// BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com Mod - cleaner urls
	if(preg_match('#([a-z]{1,6})_([a-z0-9+]+).?([a-z]+)?(/)?(?.*)?(/)?$#i', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], $matches)) {
/* Replaced
	if(preg_match('#([a-z]{1,6})_([a-z0-9+]+).?([a-z]+)?(?.*)?$#i', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], $matches)) {
*/
// END: MyCubeCart.com Mod - cleaner urls

4. Save file and upload.

Part 1 – CubeCart Version 4.2.x

1. Open index.php in a text, html or php editor.

2. Find:

53

	preg_match('#([a-z]{1,6})_([a-z0-9+]+).?([a-z]+)?(?.*)?$#i', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], $matches);

3. Replace with:

53
54
55
56
57
58

// BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com Mod - cleaner urls
	preg_match('#([a-z]{1,6})_([a-z0-9+]+).?([a-z]+)?(?.*)?(/)?$#i', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], $matches);
/* Replaced
	preg_match('#([a-z]{1,6})_([a-z0-9+]+).?([a-z]+)?(?.*)?$#i', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], $matches);
*/
// END: MyCubeCart.com Mod - cleaner urls

4. Save file and upload.

Part 2 – All Version CubeCart 4.2.x – 4.3.0

Line numbers below are based on that of 4.3.0. The replacements demonstated are consistent but the line numbers will vary based on the actual version of CubeCart 4 you are using.

1. Open sef_urls.inc.php.

2. Find (5 occurrences – lines: 86, 121, 147, 158 and 168):

86

	$ext	= ($config['sefserverconfig'] == 3) ? '.php' : '.html';

3. Replace each occurrence with:

86
87
88
89
90
91

// BEGIN: MyCubeCart.com Mod - cleaner urls
	$ext = '/';
/* Replaced
	$ext	= ($config['sefserverconfig'] == 3) ? '.php' : '.html';
*/
// END: MyCubeCart.com Mod - cleaner urls

4. Save file and upload.

Modification Complete!

Now your CubeCart URL’s will be so clean, the glare may hurt your visitors eyes!

More updates about the shop to come soon.

I hope to have everything smoothed out and running by the end if the night.

Please use the contact form with any questions or problems you may be experiencing in your visits.

Why the lengthy delay?

I’m on the tail end of completing a great deal of updates to the MyCubeCart.com site. 7 weeks ago I intended to have these updates complete. As it goes, work got in the way. Over the past 7 weeks I was only able to dedicate small amounts of time to complete the updates. My schedule has leveled off a bit and I’m committed to getting this site back up and running as soon as possible.

For all of those who have wished to make a purchase in the past 8 weeks and have not been able to, I want to make it up to you. A sale of all sales will help get things rolling again. Mark your calendar, you won’t want to miss this.

Be sure to check out the MyCubeCart.com Blog for additonal news and site updates. Much more will be introduced in the coming weeks.

So what exactly is changing?

The simple answer, everything.

It started with a design. I was growing a little tired of the MyCubeCart.com design. I had new design concepts for the site previously but never took them to the next step. This time around there was no holding back. While there are some bits of formatting to finalize throughout the site, what you see now is pretty consistent with what will be the finished product.

The second order of business was to bring the CubeCart version up to date. This task in itself was not monumental I was previously running a lightly customized version of 4.2.1.

The big task in front of me was that I wanted to expand the boundaries of what this site is and how it will serve the CubeCart community. Previously it was really nothing beyond a cookie cutter CubeCart site which I used as a platform to sell my skins and mods. While that in itself has served me very well over the past year, I want to do more. Much more.

CubeCart and WordPress Mashup

MyCubeCart.com is presently powered by a CubeCart and WordPress mashup. Both CubeCart 4.2.2 and WordPress 2.6.2 are serving up the content of and features of every MyCubeCart.com page you see.

This is not the first time I’ve done a CubeCart and WordPress mashup, I’ve actually completed previous integrations of the two in the past.

Updates and maintenance on the previous sites can prove to be a bit more laborious then desired. I sought to squash that problem this time around and feel I’ve successfully done so. My present integration has less than 5 core CubeCart files modified and none of the core WordPress files. Updates to either solution should be much more simplified.

There are various levels of integration achievable with a mashup like this. I plan to detail my process and other possibilities in a tutorial series in the near future.

Did you say Tutorial?

Sure did. I have a great deal of experience developing CubeCart sites for my clients. It’s rare that a vanilla CubeCart installation fits the bill. In fact, I don’t think thats every happened.

I find myself tweaking and modifying CubeCart to serve any number of needs a client may present, large and small. There is no replacement for experience and I wish to share mine with you.

MyCubeCart.com Skins

All of the existing MyCubeCart.com skin inventory will be updated and released again in the weeks to come. A new inventory of skins will continue to be released each month.

The current MyCubeCart.com design will also be released by the end of October. It will be available in at least 4 different color combinations.

MyCubeCart.com Mods

MyCubeCart.com had only a brief inventory of mods, presently there are none. This is set to change as well.

Some of the mods planned for release will be complimentary of MyCubeCart.com tutorials and provided free of charge.

If you have a custom modification request, fire off a message. I’d be glad to help you explore making your request a reality.

Come Back Soon

Now that the foundation of the new MyCubeCart.com has been laid out, things will continue to move quickly. Be sure to check back often as you don’t want to miss out on a few surprises.

Our store is currently down at the moment but will be back up very soon!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or problems you may have in the mean time.

While I remain a fan of CubeCart, I’m far from a “fanboy”. No cart solution out there is perfect, and CubeCart is not an exception to that rule. If something better comes along, you’ll likely see MyNewFavoriteCart.com shortly thereafter.

From a developer standpoint, CubeCart remains quite workable to meet the custom functionality requirements of my clients. Things are laid out fairly well in the backend so I spend more time implementing my modifications and less time digging through the site to find the files to update. I hope with each new release they will continue to improve on this and further make it easier for developers such as myself.

What Can I Expect From MyCubeCart.com?

Though I don’t have the direction of this site etched in stone as of yet, I do have a pretty good idea of what I’ll being doing for some time into the future. I plan on releasing skins and mods, both free and commercial, for use in CubeCart versions 3 and 4. I aim to release one new skin or mod each month. You may see some things roll out more frequently for the first couple of months but ultimately time will tell.

You can also expect to hear a few words of praise and a few rants along the way. Be sure to stick around, it could get interesting.