Modifying Your Initial Store Configuration

The Configuration Files:

The "Main" configuration file is called qs_main.cgi. This is where most all of the standard settings are kept. This file maintains things like the name of your store, the store email address, shipping and sales tax configurations, etc.

The "Strings" configuration file is called qs_lang.cgi. This is where all of the words that are used internally by the Quikstore program are kept. This strings file is where you would make changes to such things as error messages or currency settings. If you are changing the language for use in another country, this is where you make those changes.

NOTE: We strongly suggest that you ONLY make the changes listed below to this file right now. If you try to change everything at once, you could run into a major problem with your setup. 

During the installation process, the Installation Wizard will set a few of these parameters for you based on server settings. That is why we do this as the first step in the Quikstore setup process. While these settings will work fine 99% of the time, you should validate them as shown below.

Using The Configuration Editor:

The Configuration Editor allows you to modify some of the basic settings in the qs_main.cgi file through an easy-to-use interface.  The more common sections have their own tabs such as 'BASIC_PARAMETERS' and 'SERVER_PARAMETERS'.

If you need to change a setting that is not under one of these tabs, the 'Config File' tab contains a list of all the sections in the configuration file.

NOTE: Some tabs will only be enabled if you have the correct plug-in, these include 'Credit Card'.

Manually Editing The Configuration Files:

When you edit the configuration files, make sure to use a TEXT ONLY editor like Windows "Notepad" or "Note Tab Pro" (www.notetab.com). Using editors like MS Word or WordPad may convert these files into the RTF format. This would not be good since it will add invalid characters to the file and it may cause the quikstore program to not operate properly.

Configuration Sections:

Each section in the configuration files have a heading like this: [BASIC_PARAMETERS]. This is how we identify sections for you to edit.

The Basic Settings:

There are 10 basic settings you should modify to start with.  Each variable is  commented in the qs_main.cgi file to provide you with more detail about that particular parameter. Open the qs_main.cgi file in a text editor and modify the following settings:

[BASIC_PARAMETERS]

Store Name:

store_name=QuikStore

Email Address:

store_email_address=me@mysite.com

Sending Email:

send_email=yes

Order Encryption:

use_local_encryption=yes

[SERVER_PARAMETERS]

Operating System:

os=unix

The Web Site URL:

web_site_url=http://www.yoursite.com

The name of your cgi-bin directory on your HOST web server:

cgi_directory_name=cgi-bin

The Script URL:

script_url=http://www.yoursite.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi

If your web host has you on an NT/2000 server:

mail_server_ip=mail.mysite.com

Those are the basic settings required for your store. We will go into more detail later in the setup process regarding shipping, discounting, etc. Those types of things come later once you decide what type of store you intend to build. So, please be patient and move to the next section before making too many changes to the configuration files. 

Continue to Select a Store Type