Skip to the content
Documentation
Help Start
Reading in:
  • German: 9,059 of 9,059 pages
About the help in other languages
All help pages

Shop settings walkthroughs

Every settings file that shapes an Exponential store, with where overrides go, how to check the value that is really in effect, and a walkthrough page per file - shop.ini, site.ini ShopSettings, shopaccount.ini…

Download as PDF

Address: https://doc.exponential.earth/exphelp/viewer/help/e-commerce/settings/README.md

On this page

Shop settings walkthroughs

This part is for developers and administrators who configure an Exponential store. The shop reads its behavior from five kernel settings files and from the settings of the payment extensions. Each page of this part walks through one file block by block: the shipped value, what it does, and when to change it.

Contents

  1. The files
  2. Where shop settings go
  3. Checking the value in effect
  4. After a change
  5. A minimal store configuration

The files

FileDecidesWalkthrough
settings/shop.iniCurrency, rounding, exchange rates, shipping, basket info and VAT handlers, basket name, receiptsshop.ini walkthrough
settings/site.ini [ShopSettings] and [Session]Basket clearing, redirect after add, order mail, price datatypes, basket cleanupsite.ini shop settings walkthrough
settings/shopaccount.iniThe customer data form and the order mail handlershopaccount.ini walkthrough
settings/workflow.iniWhich event types and shop triggers exist; the flat shipping amountworkflow.ini for the shop
settings/paymentgateways.iniWhich payment gateways are loaded and from wherepaymentgateways.ini walkthrough
paypal.ini, ezauthorize.ini (extensions)The provider settingspaymentgateways.ini walkthrough

Where shop settings go

Never edit the shipped files in settings/; an update overwrites them. Put your values in one of these places, from the most general to the most specific:

PlaceApplies toUse it for
An extension's settings/<file>.ini.append.phpEvery siteaccess where the extension is activeHandlers and gateways you ship with an extension
settings/override/<file>.ini.append.phpThe whole installationStore-wide decisions: currency, VAT handler, receipts
settings/siteaccess/<siteaccess>/<file>.ini.append.phpOne siteaccessPer-site differences, such as a currency per store front (Multi-store and multisite)

The .php ending with the content wrapped in a PHP comment keeps the file from being served as text. Secrets, such as a gateway's API key or [OrderReceiptSettings] Secret, belong in settings/override/ and never in a repository.

Checking the value in effect

Overrides stack, so the value that counts is not always the one you last edited. Check it before you debug:

  • Setup > Ini settings (settings/view) shows, for every setting, the value in effect, the file it comes from and every file that sets it, and can compare two siteaccesses (The settings page).
  • From a shell, ./console exp:ini where and ./console exp:ini get answer the same questions, for example ./console exp:ini get shop.ini/VATSettings/Handler.
  • The Store dashboard's "How your shop works" section describes the checkout as this installation is configured, naming the setting behind each step (Store dashboard and order statuses).

After a change

php bin/php/ezcache.php --clear-tag=ini

Clear the template caches too when a setting changes what templates show (for example OrderLinkView). On servers that keep PHP running between requests, reload them as your hosting documentation describes (Caches).

A minimal store configuration

A store in one currency, with flat shipping, PayPal and VAT by country, needs these overrides:

# settings/override/shop.ini.append.php
[CurrencySettings]
PreferredCurrency=EUR

[VATSettings]
Handler=ezdefault
ProductCategoryAttribute=tax_class
UserCountryAttribute=country

# settings/override/workflow.ini.append.php
[SimpleShippingWorkflow]
ShippingCost=6.50
ShippingDescription=Shipping

# settings/override/paypal.ini.append.php
[PaypalSettings]
Business=<your PayPal business account>

Then the workflows in the administration: Simple shipping on before_shop_confirmorder and the payment gateway event on shop_checkout (Workflows on shop triggers).

Become an Exponential Partner

Partners share their information, provide funding, contribute back and develop the products with us, and that is how Exponential grows. A partner website and dashboard are planned for mid-2027: please become a partner today to speed up our growth rate and land new features faster.

Something wrong on this page? Report an error

Documentation license

This documentation is free documentation, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 or later.

Exponential Copyright © 1998-2026 Exponential Foundation and 7x