How to control "product code, Brand, Availability"

I'm thinking about building a site with the newest version of opencart. So I'm pretty new to opencart.
Wanted to make sure about a few things:
- Can you change in the admin whether "Product Code", Brand, "Availabilty" etc. shows up on the product info page? Do you have control of which of those things show up? (I looked in the demo admin and couldn't find anything)
- How in the admin do you turn on and off catagory counts? (couldn't find anything) I think I saw something about an add-on but seems like that should be something basic you do in the admin.
- Does opencart have a system with dealing with not editing the core files, so that you have no problems with future updates etc....If so, can you point me to instructions on how to deal with that?
- also a similar question - what should I make sure of (and look out for), when I am looking at theme templates from 3rd parties, so that I don't have problems in the future.

Thanks! I hope to start installing opencart and building the site as soon as I clear some of these things up!

I'm thinking about building a site with the newest version of opencart. So I'm pretty new to opencart.
Wanted to make sure about a few things:

Opencart is extremely easy to use even for someone without experience. themes and modules are easy to install and work very well.

- Can you change in the admin whether "Product Code", Brand, "Availabilty" etc. shows up on the product info page? Do you have control of which of those things show up? (I looked in the demo admin and couldn't find anything)

Here is a mod that will allow you to control what is shown and where it shows.
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... order=DESC

- How in the admin do you turn on and off catagory counts? (couldn't find anything) I think I saw something about an add-on but seems like that should be something basic you do in the admin.

here is a mod to remove the category counts
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... order=DESC

- Does opencart have a system with dealing with not editing the core files, so that you have no problems with future updates etc....If so, can you point me to instructions on how to deal with that?

they include upgrade scripts so there shouldn't be a problem upgrading to newer versions.

- also a similar question - what should I make sure of (and look out for), when I am looking at theme templates from 3rd parties, so that I don't have problems in the future.

If you get a theme from the extensions part of this website you should not have problems. Make backups and if you have any problems use the comments section for the modules or theme to get help to fix the issue. most authors of mods and themes check them and reply to them. you can also ask for help in the forums if you do not get a reply.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Concerning the following:

- Does opencart have a system with dealing with not editing the core files, so that you have no problems with future updates etc....If so, can you point me to instructions on how to deal with that?

they include upgrade scripts so there shouldn't be a problem upgrading to newer versions.

What if you need to customize some code in the core files, is there a system or a way to add just that change in like a custom folder or something? (sorry I don't know all the terminology) Is there some information on this somewhere?

thanks!

What if you need to customize some code in the core files, is there a system or a way to add just that change in like a custom folder or something? (sorry I don't know all the terminology) Is there some information on this somewhere?

you do not add custom changes to a "custom folder". all changes that do not include a module need to be done in the core files. and need to remain in the folders from which they came. because you do not want to make permanent changes to core files keep a "changed" copy of opencart. you can make the changes then upload the files from this folder to your server and if you have problems you can upload the original to keep it working until you find the correct way to make the change. the information available will depend on what you want to do. as far as i know there is not a book about "How to Make This Change" for opencart. Think about some of the changes you would like to make and search the forums for information about it. These forums are your How-to Book for opencart.

What if you need to customize some code in the core files, is there a system or a way to add just that change in like a custom folder or something? (sorry I don't know all the terminology) Is there some information on this somewhere?

regarding the above, OC is an excellent system. You do not have to make any changes to the core file.

You can use vQmod to make any changes to the core file without editing the files itself. You can read more about it at http://code.google.com/p/vqmod/