okay, today I cannot find anything about skin design guidelines in BW. But I got some questions:
I understand the basics about skin design: * create a folder in farm/skins/ , example: farm/skins/skinname/ * create a basic skin template in it with file name 'code.skin.skinname' * add 'skinname' as skin: skinname to site.config *edit this template from within the wiki ** first glitch: if I edit it as file in my text editor, I need to update a copy of it created automatically in wikifield/pages/ otherwise my edits will go unnoticed, as the skin used is now the one in wikifield/pages/code.skin.skinname This caused considerable confusion. I am also confused as some other files have been automatically copied to the wikifield/pages/ folder, including javascript files. * add styles: this seems to need a <<style>> markup in the skin template head, which picks up style code confusingly not from page code.style, but from page code.style.name (another period of confusion, second glitch) * the style page needs a heading <style type='text/css'><!-- and an ending --></style> i.e HTMl tags, and the styles are inserted into each page's HTML head, not added as a true style page. so this method adds a lot of bulk to each browser page download. Nice for editing styles inside the wiki, but not good for speedy page delivery. * Then I thought I can just add <link ...> tags and have a style page that way fetched by a browser. ** I can add <link ...> to the skin template page or the skin style page, seems no different, but adding to the template page seems more direct. * I then can add skin variables in the template, and so for instance create style page switching. But skin variables are defined on page code.snippets, so i need to tell a future admin who wishes to use my skin what to add there. Or I create a page code.snippets.skinname and define my skin variables there. But this seems to override anything defined in code.snippets, so that would annoy any admin installing my skin. * so i get to another variation: create a skin.php file in my skins/skinname folder, and boldly use $BOLTpluginHeader to get HTML code into my skin. Instead of using skin variables, i can now use proper config variables, to let them be set in page site.config. This may be much nicer for an admin. But editing the template from within the wiki suffers, as important parts are now defined in skin.php. Still, this will give me as designer much more possibilities. But i wonder what those skin variables are good for, and what those snippet pages are good for... * which leads me to consider Zones. I used to call them subpages. As admin installing a new wiki i would look at it, change the skin perhaps, then immidiately want to change the header, only it is not called 'header' but 'top'. I would go to page top, a sthis is the relevant part of the skin's layout, and change the wiki name and slogan there. The fact that it is defined as a skin variable in page code.snippets is just confusing. I would not look there, unless heavily poked to do so. Intuitively i want to change the zone pages, as it is there what i see. * For a skin designer and a wiki admin the zone subpages are cool. And i understand zone pages can be changed in the page hierarchy and pass on their content down the page hierarchy. This is even cooler. * But i miss a mechanism like a markup function for selectively disable zones. I think we should add that, so a zone can be taken out via a markup, and nothing of it will be delivered as HTML. This needs some special markuop for the template to mark beginning and end of a block of HTML, referenced to the zone page name, which the function can act on. Anyway, enough said for th emoment. You can see the points i got confused about, and perhaps see the potential for admin confusion, as there are so many places things are added and defined. Plus some skin pages get copied for unknown reasons from the skin folder into the pages folder, which is not only confusing but can be quite frustrating. Cheerfully, ~Hans --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BoltWire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/boltwire?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
