Why can't I find the default Magento theme being loaded?

Question

Should be pretty simple. I am trying to find what theme is being loaded in Magento to create my own custom theme. The problem is the mine (ver. 1.7.0.2) has no files in the frontend->default->default folder so I can't put any print statements there or see which template Magento is loading to learn more about it. Print statements in base->default don't seem to work either.

And where is the home page template located?

I don't know why Magento makes this so hard or maybe I'm just looking at old info that's not applicable anymore.

Answer 1

+1 for other answer suggesting you turn on template path hints. That is a great way to figure out the structure of how things work in Magento.

I would also recommend the user guide. It's been updated to apply to 1.7. You used to have to pay for the guide but they make it available for free now.

http://www.magentocommerce.com/resources/magento-user-guide

As well as the latest designers guide that has info specific for templates etc.

http://www.magentocommerce.com/design_guide

Answer 2

Turn on template path hints. Also disable the cache from System > Cache Management while you are doing any theme work.