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Joined: Sep 2006
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Like the title says, I'm going to be upgrading from 6.5.5 to 7.5.8 and I want to be able to exactly replicate the look of my site, but also still offer users the newer looks.

I'm assuming that this will require playing with the .tpl files.

My question is simply: Are there any directions or tutorials on creating styles that use a different set of templates while allowing others to use the default templates?
e.g. How do I set up Style 'Foo' to use Templates in the 'Foo' directory while users using Style 'Bar' still use the stock Templates in the 'default' folder?


Secondly, and I'm guessing the answer is 'Yes' to this, will I need to recreate ALL of the .tpl files?




Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
Joined: Dec 2003
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Joined: Dec 2003
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WOW a lot to answer here.
Exactly is subjective.
are you talking font(size,color)
Color scheme
Image set.
If so then that only requires a custom style, using css in the style editor.
You can add as many styles as you wish and make all of them available to members to over ride the default style if they wish.

If you are talking about the layout of table content:
Such as adding in the extra info at the footer that does not exist in ubb 7.5.8 and items such as the hot topic icon moved to the left,
would be a template change.

That would usually be a global change that applies to all of the different styles.

I have never heard of or seen a site that uses different template files per style.
But I guess it could be done.

I also am not aware of any tutorial on the subject, other than searching here for misc. modifications to styles and the WIKI.


Anyway my suggestion would be to install v7.5.8 as a test board and add some of the other styles posted here to experiment with.
If you can achieve what you want with only style changes. You can export them.
Then when you migrate your board you can import them back.

Last edited by Ruben; 08/07/2014 2:40 PM.

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Originally Posted by Ruben
I have never heard of or seen a site that uses different template files per style.
But I guess it could be done.
It's how I envisioned theming working in v7 (as opposed to styling)...

As for the topic at hand, once you start tearing templates apart you are going to forefit your rights to support from the powers that be, they may still work with you, but they cannot support 3rd party code modifications. That being said, that's what UBBDev was made for, but you're not going to find much info on v7 for making a theming system.

You can style quite a bit with the default editor, www.agardenersforum.com or my Development Forums are both stock as far as the style goes, everything is done with CSS. Though none of them are stock, I modify all of my sites.


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Joined: Sep 2006
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Originally Posted by Ruben
WOW a lot to answer here.
Exactly is subjective.
are you talking font(size,color)
Color scheme
Image set.
If so then that only requires a custom style, using css in the style editor.
You can add as many styles as you wish and make all of them available to members to over ride the default style if they wish.

Well, ideally, yes... as close to the same as possible. Making some concessions to things like relocated functionality isn't an issue, but the one time I played with this briefly, I was able to get the simple junk like colors, font, etc... to match up quite simplistically, but getting the overall look of the site to FEEL the same wasn't so easily done, and this is why I started to think that perhaps I had to modify the templates.


Originally Posted by Ruben
I have never heard of or seen a site that uses different template files per style.
But I guess it could be done.

Neither had I, and while I don't post on here much, and didn't even register until '06, I've been a Threads user since around 2000... but, I figured that since there is a subdirectory to organize the templates into a folder named 'default', that it should be very doable to have something that isn't the default, and it should be easily switchable. I'll scan the WIKI to see what I can find smile


Originally Posted by Ruben
Anyway my suggestion would be to install v7.5.8 as a test board and add some of the other styles posted here to experiment with.
If you can achieve what you want with only style changes. You can export them.
Then when you migrate your board you can import them back.

Yeah, this is the route I first attempted a couple of year back under an older version... I just don't recall which one.
I'll definitely give it another shot - path of least resistance, and all that. I just wanted to do due diligence in case I had to go the route that I thought I might have to go.

As for support... not worried about that at all. I've been tearing apart the 3WT/UBBT code for a while wink


Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
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i worked on an EVE ( social strata ) importer and they also wanted a 'clone' of the way it looked.

it involved modifying .tpl files ( about 10 of them ) as well as css and also html.inc.php to send a different header.

it's all possible 2c

screenie below
Attachments
onecnc.png

Joined: Sep 2006
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Nice!!

That seems to be just the critter I'm lookin' for.


Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 35
Newbie
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 35
for the record, getting what I needed via CSS was WAY simpler than I thought.
I'm not very certain of what it was I did wrong the last time I attempted this a few years back (other than being a n00b with CSS back then), but it was pretty smooth this time around.

Thanks, all!


Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,560
Likes: 78
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,560
Likes: 78
Glad to see you found a way with CSS.
Then if we ever get a update then you can just import the style back in.
Then there is no need to re-edit all of the tpl files every time.


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There is no such thing as stupid questions. Just stupid answers

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