Ecommerce Templates > ASP Version Help > F.A.Q.

Ecommerce Plus FAQ - ASP Version

Can I get updates for my Ecommerce Plus Template?

  • Yes, we have built the Ecommerce Plus Templates in a modular system with the ability to upgrade in mind. You can get the latest updater here, you can check the your version number in the main admin page of you control panel. Updaters are cumulative so you will only ever need to apply the latest release. For a full list of features in recent releases, please check out our updaters forum.

Do I need a local copy of Microsoft Access to use the Ecommerce Templates?

  • No. All changes can be made via the online administration.

Do I need a SSL certificate for my web site to use the Ecommerce Templates?

  • Not always, all credit card numbers are usually taken at the site of the payment processor using their SSL connection with the exception of PayPal Pro, Paypal PayFlow Pro and Authorize.net AIM method.

When I open my asp pages in Dreamweaver, I don't see the products that are entered in my database

  • To view ASP page dynamic content correctly, you must use a webserver. You can use a local webserver such as Personal Web Server to test, but you have to view the page in a browser using a URL such as
    http://localhost/mypage.asp

Can I use a Data Source Name (DSN) to connect to my Access Database?

  • Yes you can. Just change your connection string to...
    sDSN =
    However, we don't recommend these for a couple of resons. Firstly they are slower, and secondly, you normally have to ask your host to set one up, and that can take time.

Can I link directly to a product category?

  • Sure. To find out the url that you need to link to, set up your store and click on one of the product categories from the categories.asp page. You should see a URL something like this in the address bar in your browser...
    http://www.yoururl.com/products.asp?cat=3
    Just copy and paste this into your link and it will link directly to your category.

I don't know if my host supports ASP. How can I tell?

  • Normally you can just ask your host, or look at your hosting plan. Failing that, just create a simple page, and in HTML view between the <BODY> and </BODY> tags add this line of code...
    <%=Response.write("Hello World")%>
    Now give the page a extension of .asp and upload it to your server. If when you view this page in a browser you just see the text "Hello World" then you probably can use ASP.

I can't get my database connection right. How do I find out?

  • One way is to copy and paste this code into notepad.
    <HTML>
    <BODY>
    sDSN =
    </BODY>
    </HTML>
    Now save the file with the name test.asp
    Upload this file to the database folder on your web and open the page in your browser. You should see one line of text such as...
    sDSN =
    Now you just need to paste this line into your db_conn_open.asp file using notepad. Make sure there are no line breaks and that all other entries in db_conn_open.asp are commented out or deleted.

    If you get an error that the test.asp page cannot be found then it is very likely that the page cannot be executed. In that case place the test.asp file in your images folder and browse to yoursite.com/images/test.asp, copy the connection string you get there, paste it into vsadmin/db_conn_open.asp replacing the \images\ in the string with \fpdb\


SECURITY TIP
The best place for your database is outside the web root. Most hosts provide a special folder for this with the database permissions already set. Using a folder outside the web root will make it difficult for anyone to download your database and gain access to your username and password. Otherwise you must set the permissions on your database folder so that your database cannot be downloaded. More information is available here.

SECURITY TIP
Rename your database from vsproducts.mdb to a name of your choice, (keeping the .mdb extension of course).
Examples would be (though don't use ours) yourstore591.mdb or database2221.mdb
This will make it harder for anyone to find your database if your database folder permissions are set incorrectly.

How about if my database folder is below the web root?

  • This is the ideal place for the database really, but it is a tiny bit more difficult to set the database connection. What you need to do is to perform the above test, but in the web root. Most hosts have a structure something like this for your hosting plan . . .
    /htdocs - where your html files go. May be called wwwroot, wwwdocs etc.
    /database - where your database goes. May be called private or similar.
    /logfiles
    Now, if the above test returned for instance . . .
    sDSN =
    . . . just replace the folder name for html files with the database folder name . . .
    sDSN =
    . . And That's It ! !

Can I change all the text that the store generates?

  • Yes you can, open the file vsadmin/inc/languagefile_en.asp and search for the text there that needs modifying.

Can I change the order of my product listing and have products side by side?

  • Both these options can be changed in the file vsadmin/includes.asp - there are a number of tweaks that can be made and they are outlined here.