How does an OpenCart template work?

Question

virtual box

I can not enter the principles of the OpenCart template.
1. In the public_html/catalog/ folder are the source template files, right? These files are used when the site is running if they are not in storage/modification/catalog/ right?
2. In the storage/modification/catalog/ folder, the template files after applying modifiers to them, i.e., those that are used when the site is running, right? These files are replaced if I click "Update modifiers" in the admin panel, right?
3. If I try to edit the template from the admin panel through the editor, then the file does not change either in public_html/catalog/ or in storage/modification/catalog/ where is it written? in cache?

In general, how to work with all this stuff? I correctly understood that if I want all changes to be saved after updating the modifiers and clearing the cache, I must edit the theme files directly in public_html/catalog/, be sure to use FTP (well, or through the hosting PU), and not from the admin panel and after editing in admin panel delete theme cache and update modifiers?

Answer 1

so it looks like you wrote everything correctly:
1. Yes /catalog/ - initial template.
2. storage/modification/ - ready files after applying modifiers.
3. If you edit through the admin panel, then the changes are saved in the oc_theme database, and loaded from there. By the way, there is a separate "theme" cache https://disk.yandex.com/i/fmy0H_BzA-Zpjg , try resetting it if the changes made are not visible.
IMHO, of course, it's easier to change data in ftp in /catalog/. After editing, update the modifiers and, if necessary, the cache. If you need to quickly look at certain changes, you can make temporary edits directly to the folder with modifiers - otherwise it sometimes takes a while to clear the modifiers a hundred times, but then I made it - I looked - it's normal, then I already rewrote it to the main file in /catalog/
ps if it's important , so that changes are not overwritten when updating, say, themes or cms, it is better to make them modifiers.