| Chapter 1. Introduction | ||
|---|---|---|
   | ||
| Chapter 1. Introduction | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Table of Contents
The downloaded XOOPS package contains 3 themes: default, x2t and phpkaox. Of these three, the default theme is the most commonly used. It is the theme used by www.xoops.org
Most custom themes are modified versions of the XOOPS default theme. It is highly advised to study the structure of the XOOPS default theme before starting to create custom themes.
This document describes the basic structure of the default theme. Although some basic theme-building tips are given, this document is not an extensive theme-building tutorial.
In XOOPS, themes and templates are 2 different things
Themes provide the basic structure and overall layout of the whole site. Unless heavily modified with Smarty tags, Style Sheets or PHP codes, themes dictate the common elements found in all pages of the site, e.g. site colors, location of site logo, banners, width of left column and presence of a header bar or footer bar.
Templates, on the other hand, control layout and design of page elements. Almost all page elements, unless rendered from the PHP script, are controlled by templates. These include both blocks, e.g. Main Menu, User Menu, Newest Members, Recent Topics and custom blocks, and module content, e.g. index page of News, layout of NewBB posts and layout of individual link information in MyLinks module.
Themes are modified and edited outside of the XOOPS Admin Control Panel, often using an HTML editor and FTP client. Templates are modified from within the XOOPS Admin Control Panel through the Templates Administration.
These two concepts provide flexibility in designing a XOOPS site. Themes provide gross control of the whole site, while templates provide fine manipulations of page details.
| | |
| Anatomy of the Default Theme | Home | 1.2. Theme Directory |