New Installation
When having met all the requirements and when you are running Joomla or Mambo you have to choices:
The automatic installation with Joomla's / Mambo's Element (Component-, Module-, Mambot-) Installer.
The manual installation.
Some users can't use the automatic Installer because of some 'safe_mode=On' issues or smething like that.
In case you're running into troubles with the automatic Installer try the manual installation instead.
Upgrade from mambo-phpShop
You want to upgrade to VirtueMart from mambo-phpShop? This is easy.
All you need to do is install VirtueMart! It will convert your installation of mambo-phpShop, rename the tables and copy all customer information into its own table #__vm_user_info.
So just follow the instructions for the automatic installation (or if you have difficulties with it: the manual installation).
Note
It is recommended to uninstall the old mambo-phpShop modules after you have installed the VirtueMart component and then install the new VirtueMart modules.
Caution
It is absolutely necessary to make a backup of your whole site before you upgrade your shop! An upgrade failure can always happen! So please: BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!
Upgrade from VirtueMart 1.0.0 / 1.0.1 / 1.0.2
We have fixed a lot of bugs! An upgrade is highly recommended. Just get the "Patch Package" for your current VirtueMart vewrsion and overwrite your exising files with the ones from that package.
The are two small changes to the database, so you must run two SQL queries on your database to update it.
Just open phpMyAdmin and run those queries:
############################################# # SQL update script for upgrading # from VirtueMart 1.0.x to VirtueMart 1.0.3 # ############################################# ALTER TABLE `jos_vm_product_mf_xref` CHANGE `product_id` `product_id` INT( 11 ) NULL DEFAULT NULL; ALTER TABLE `jos_vm_orders` ADD `order_tax_details` TEXT NOT NULL AFTER `order_tax`;
If you have another database prefix than "jos_" you must change the "jos_" to your prefix.
The queries can be found in the file /sql/UPDATE-SCRIPT_VirtueMart_1.0.x-to-VirtueMart_1.0.3.sql.
VirtueMart is a complex script. It's not component-only, but also requires a Module. So it comes to you in a file called 'VirtueMart_x.x_COMPLETE_PACKAGE.zip'. This file contains various Elements for VirtueMart.
Important
This file is not installable! Its contents are, but they must be unpacked first.
Package Contents:
1 Component (com_virtuemart_x.x.tar.gz)
1 Main VirtueMart module (mod_virtuemart_x.x.tar.gz)
10 additional Modules
2 Mambots (1 Search, 1 Content Mambot)
Unpack the file 'VirtueMart_x.x_COMPLETE_PACKAGE.zip' to a local directory.
Log in into Mambo's Backend (using the URL ' http://joomla_url/administrator') to access the administrative interface.
Backend Login Screen
You need to have the priviliges of an Administrator / Superadministrator to install Elements.
Click 'Components' -> 'Install/Uninstall' in the Top Menu.
List of installed components
Caution
You must check if th directories listed above the component list are writable! When they are not, you can't install the component. Browse to these directories then usiong ftp or joolaXplorer and change the permissions!
In the part 'Upload new component' select the file 'com_virtuemart_x.x.tar.gz'. This is the package file which contains all files for the VirtueMart Component, located on your computer (see Step 1).
Now click on 'Upload File & Install'. Since the tar.gz file is about 1 MB in size, you will have to wait a moment while the file is being uploaded to your server and unpacked.
If the upload takes too long, try Step 4 or do the Manual Installation.
Alternative: You can unpack the contents of 'com_virtuemart_x.x.tar.gz' and upload those files to a remote directory using a ftp connection. Now specify the directory on the server from where you want to install the files and click 'Install'.
Note
Package Files are mostly a ZIP or tar.gz compressed file directory, which includes all information for the installation. The main file is an XML document which describes the installation process. In order to use this function for your installation, your web server must support the zlib extension. You can check this in the Admin Section Menu item, System > System Info > System Information.
The VirtueMart Component should be installed now. You'll see the Welcome Message Screen with some options how to go on:
Installation Welcome Screen
You can now choose wether you want to install some Sample Data (18 products, with attributes, in 5 categories) to see how things have to be set up.
Or you can 'go directly to the Shop >>' without installing Sample Data.
Caution
This step again takes some time & the VirtueMart installer is running a lot of Database Queries now. So please be patient!
Click 'Modules' -> 'Install/Uninstall' in the Top Menu to proceed to the installation of the VirtueMart Main module.
Choose the file 'mod_virtuemart_x.x.tar.gz' in the File Dialog and click 'Upload File & Install'.
Repeating this step you can install the additional modules for VirtueMart.
Publishing the Module:
Click 'Modules' -> 'Site Modules' in the Top Menu. Now browse through the list of installed modules and find the one with the name 'VirtueMart Module'. Select it (click on the name) and modify its settings/details. You can now choose where to put the Module on your Mambo site. For more information about modules please refer to the Mambo documentation (http://mamboserver.com).
Important
Anywhere you place the module on your site, IT MUST BE PUBLISHED. This is because all category navigation is done via this module. So using the VirtueMart Component without the module is somehow 'difficult'.
Additional modules
- mod_product_categories
"Product Categories Module"
It can display the product categories you have set up.
- mod_productscroller
"Product Scroller Module"
It can scroll certain products somewhere on your site using a marquee tag.
- mod_virtuemart_allinone
"All-in-one module"
Can display the latest, featured, top-ten or random products in one module using tabs.
- mod_virtuemart_cart
"Mini-Cart Module"
Displays the mini-cart for the customer with a link to the cart page.
- mod_virtuemart_featuredprod
"Featured Products Module"
Can display featured products in your store. Featured products are those which are "on special".
- mod_virtuemart_latestprod
"Latest Products Module"
Displays the newest products in your store.
- mod_virtuemart_manufacturers
"Manufacturer Module"
Shows all manufacturers from your store with a link to find all products of the selected manufacturer.
- mod_virtuemart_randomprod
"Random Products Module"
Does what the name says: displays random products from your store or a certain category.
- mod_virtuemart_search
"Searchbox Module"
Displays the VirtueMart searchbox (which lets the customer search for products).
- mod_virtuemart_topten
"Top Ten Products Module"
Displays the bestsellers from your store.
Recommended: Mambot Installation
Click on 'Mambots' -> 'Install/Uninstall' in the Top Menu.
SearchBot: Performs a search on the product table and delivers search results for Joomla's / Mambo's site search.
Select the file 'virtuemart.searchbot_x.x.tar.gz' and click 'Upload File & Install'.
Mambot ProductSnapshot: Displays product figure/price/add-to-cart link in Mambo Content.
Select the file 'mosproductsnap_x.x.tar.gz' and click 'Upload File & Install'.
Publishing the Mambots:
Mambots need to be published before they do ANYTHING. Click on 'Mambots' -> 'Site Mambots' in the Top Menu. Now browse through the list of installed Mambots and find 'virtuemart.searchbot' and 'mosproductsnap'. Select one (click on the name) and modify its settings/details. Remember to publish it. For more information about Mambots please refer to the Mambo documentation ( http://mamboserver.com).
You're now done with the Installation of VirtueMart and its elements.
The installation has failed? You have safe_mode = On ?
You don't need to pull out your hair! You can still use the manual installation.
Manual Installation is a little bit harder than the automatic installation. It will need some file copying.
Download the Manual Installation Package. This is just another Package Form of VirtueMart.
Unpack the archive file VirtueMart_x.x_Manual-Installation-Package.tar.gz your have downloaded in Step 1 to a local directory.
You should now see at least four directories. The directory structure in those directories is the same as in your Joomla / Mambo site:
/administrator /components /mambots /modules Open up an FTP Connection to your site (you should use an FTP Program like SmartFTP...) and upload the directories to the root of your Mambo site.
/site-root/administrator /site-root/components /site-root/mambots /site-root/modules Login in to the Administration of your site (http://www.your_site.com/administrator/).
When having logged in, you see this URL in the address bar:
http://www.your_site.com/administrator/index2.php
Now just add "?option=com_virtuemart" after index2.php, so it looks like this in your browser's address bar:
http://www.your_site.com/administrator/index2.php?option=com_virtuemart
and submit (press Enter).
You should now see the "Installation was successful..." Screen. There you can click on "GO TO THE SHOP >>" or "INSTALL SAMPLE DATA >>" (when you want to have some sample Products and Categories in your Shop).
That's it.
To install the Modules and Mambots for VirtueMart, follow the instructions of the Automatic Installation, Steps 6 and 7. If this doesn't help you, because NO automatic installations are possible, you can manually upload the files (you have probably already done this in step 3).
Modules and Mambots require an entry in the table jos_mambots / jos_modules.
You can add these entries by uploading an SQL file (using phpMyAdmin) that contains all necessary queries:
/administrator/components/com_virtuemart/sql/virtuemart_modules.installation.sql
Now you should have installed VirtueMart correctly.
Q: The Installer tells me "ERROR: Could not find an XML setup file in the package". What's wrong?
A: Mostly this problem arises because you don't have unpacked the file VirtueMart_x.x_COMPLETE_PACKAGE.zip before and tried uploading / installing this file.
Q: The Installer tells me "Another component is already using the directory com_virtuemart"
A: Please delete the directories /site_root/components/com_virtuemart and /site_root/administrator/components/com_virtuemart.
Q: When using the automatic installation nothing happens after clicking on "Upload & Install" What's the cause?
A: VirtueMart is a big component, its installer file archive has a size of more than 1.1 MB. When uploading this file to your server you can wait a long time until the file is completely transferred to your server. You can use the Remote Installer for VirtueMart instead! http://developer.joomla.org
Q: On an upgrade from mambo-phpShop, the VirtueMart installer won't recognise my existing tables! What to do now?
A: Sometimes the tables beginning with jos_pshop_ or mos_pshop_ are not found. Before you click on "Install sample data" or "Go directly to the shop" you can just type in this URL in the addess bar of your browser:
index2.php?option=com_virtuemart&install_type=update12pl3
After that the upgrade procedure begins!
Q: After having installed the component, I add a Main Menu Link to the VirtueMart component. But clicking on that link only displays the text "Welcome to Washupito's....." What's wrong?
A: VirtueMart is no component-only script. It's programmed to be used together with the corresponding VirtueMart Main Module. Without the module you'll always get the shop.index page. That's the cause.