If you have an OpenCart store, but you don’t know what the vQmod is and what it is used for, here you’ll find some information why you may need it in your store, and how to install it.
What is vQmod
vQmod is a simple modification system that lets developers make changes in OpenCart core files (main files) without actually editing them.
For example, if you want to remove “Powered by OpenCart” text in your default OpenCart theme, you don’t need to edit theme file itself – you can create (or download) vqmod extension file that will remove the text without modifying the actual theme file. It’s all done by search/replace technique – vQmod makes changes while loading your OpenCart store.
What is the benefit of using vQmod instead of directly editing core files? Since there are no OpenCart core modifications, it’s much easier to update OpenCart system and themes, and add new functions to the existing store.
Where to download vQmod for OpenCart from
Official vQmod website is here. All the official releases are in the download page (you’ll need file named vqmod-x.x.x-opencart.zip).
There are lots of vQmod versions in the download page, and you should always install the latest one, even if you use older OpenCart versions (vQmod is backwards-compatible).
How to install vQmod to your OpenCart store
The most straightforward way to install vQmod to your OpenCart store is to upload it via FTP (with Filezilla or any other FTP manager). Just extract the .zip archive you downloaded from vQmod download page, and upload it to your store’s main catalog (usually it’s named public_html). So you should have admin/, catalog/ and vqmod/ catalogs in the same directory, like here:
After uploading vQmod you need to install it – just visit http://www.yourstore.com/vqmod/install/ (change http://www.yourstore.com with your store url). If you uploaded the files correctly you’ll see the message that vQmod was successfully installed.
After installing vQmod you’ll be able to use vqmod scripts in your OpenCart store.
How to know which vQmod version is already installed in the system
One of the common problems with upgrading OpenCart to later versions is that often vQmod needs to be updated too. For example OpenCart v2.0 and later versions require vQmod v2.5 or later installed in the system. If you don’t know which vQmod version is installed you can check it by opening the main vQmod file via Filezilla. Open your store’s vqmod/vqmod.php file with default text editor (just click the right mouse button and select view/edit). You’ll see vQmod version at the top of the file (like in example – vQmod version 2.6.2).
How to update vQmod to the latest version
If you want to update vQmod that is already installed in your OpenCart store, you need to download the latest one and just upload it the same way as in installation – vQmod files will be replaced with the latest. No other actions needed – the latest OpenCart will start working once files are uploaded.
