 Hi, I have searched the net and I can't seem to find a decent guide on how templates on Dolphin are configured. Can anyone help me with linking me to a good tutorial or maybe pointing out how the structure works to get me started. I know how to work with Joomla and Wordpress if that knowledge helps anyone with their answer. I am really looking to either create a completely custom template or heavily overhaul the default. Thanks in advance. :-) |
Templates, how are they made... Boy I could have fun with this... LOL
We have inside of templates the following:
Please note, the base has the following:
Please note the tmpl_uni has the following:
Now, keep this in mind:
Your colors, widths, image calls (most, not all) are all done in the css files and there is an order of hierarchy to them.
Lowest to Highest:
templates/base/css/general.css
templates/tmpl_uni/css/general.css
templates/base/css/index.css
templates/tmpl_uni/css/index.css
What this means is both base/css/general.css & ..._uni/css/general.css will load for every page, but if an item is called from .../base/css/index.css then it will over rule the general.css files and if it's called from ..._uni/css/index.css then that is trump. Go ahead and take a look at the files.
Now, for columns on most pages (those that don't utilize page builders) please take a moment and look at:
base/scripts/BxBaseIndex.php & ..._uni/scripts/BxTemplIndex.php files. note that tmpl_uni/ is always the trump and gets the final say. Where as inc/classes/BxDolIndex.php is the primary (lowest hierarchy) in the run. Obviously that puts base/scripts/BxBaseIndex.php in the middle of it all.
I hope I've thoroughly confused everyone with this, but it's really not. At least not until you start to notice that anchor.css likes to throw it's weight around once in a while, it tends to make development drag until you remember to raise your anchor.css. LOL... Of course, you also need to look sometimes at the index.php page to see if it's calling a custom /css/file.css or not. Also, you might have some extra Java or SWF thrown in that you need to take into consideration.
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Also look in the the install docs folder->template-makers-manual.txt it helps a little. |
thank for the advice so far. Although I didnt find the template maker manual, maybe thats because I am using 6.0 I am actually trying to upgrade it before playing with the template (as perhaps the template format changes with the latest version) I am reading the instructions for upgrading but I don't quite understand. http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/6.0to6.1.1 There it says upload the files according to the location on the script? Which files exactly, am I misunderstanding an instruction there. Sounds like just overiding everything with what comes in the zip would do it. >_> edit:nvm the upgrade bit, i see the folders each have specific files. I assume i have to copy those over selectively |
This depends on if your site is modified or pretty much a base 6.0.
If it's a base 6.0 then just upload the files according to the file paths, do not upload an entire folder, instead open each folder and upload the files. Run the upgrade/sql and so on as the instructions go.
If you have modified your site, then you will need to do file comparisons and pay attention to what your upgrading one at a time. Take your time to make sure you get everything that needs to go in and watch for your mods. |
Thanks for the reply. Luckily its not modded so this should be a pretty basic process. I'll get back on how the css goes when I tackle that. For anyone that uses Joomla as well tho. Just to make a bit easier to understand how the code is wrapped into the actual design (html/css) side of things. Can anyone draw any parallels? I know in Joomla you insert a module code into the html to build your template file and the code goes something like <blah blah Module=Blah blah Type=Blahblah> and that would sit between some Html code. I'd like some pointers for controlling where widgets and stuff go where. :-) If you can. Thanks again. (It is strange this doesn't have a big guide) |
hey, thanks for the help from before. I am back to ask another question, :-). I was going over the template files and I can understand some of the structure. The website seems to load by having one page call for includes on other pages like Header.php and footer.php which all have code in them (brought together to create a page with proper css) I have seen this before and I have used my php include commands to make websites easier to use so I understand that. What I am curious about is what and how it is calling this information and from where. I see things like _top_member_ _hidden_menu_ and _main_logo How does that work? where is main logo exactly? lol, and why is it written in that format. Hopefully when I understand that better I can edit further without ruining anything. And if anything gets out of place I will know hwo to fill code back in. I made an example before where joomla uses an <include module=> etc. Code, I want to understand how this plugs in its information. Thanks in advance. (p.s' is there any reason we have about page 1-45 each with a seperate bit of code? I am assuming each page loads seperately when its asking for, say, a members profile page. How do I know which is being called for which links.) Edit: A good example of what I am asking would be - what if I was starting to build a template from the ground up. Starting a website design I had. Banner, Navigation, maybe a content and footer section. How would I go about plugging in and separating that code to make it work with dolphin. |
