I was editing the default template, and after completing all the changes I updated XOOPS via the option in preferences/general settings.

Now the module that should be in center bottom is no more displayed! if I move it on another place it shows up again and even the stylin of the page gets back as it was originally.

I have just worked on minor changes of the style.css and theme.html and I even restored the originals but nothing happens!!! the block (main menu) doesn't display anymore!

How can it be possible!? XOOPS is a vary good system but I think it's unstandable to have such a poor theme managment.

please somebody help me out.
I worked a lot on module configs and so on, I don't wanna see all my work gone for a #OOPS#ed template malfunction!

first let me note that as I have always seen XOOPS since I met it, is that it has the most versatile way of managing the theme files to achieve really great results without having to go through a great dilema into learning a whole complicated programming language to be able to achieve something, try doing something for typo or making something for oscommerce and you'll see what I mean. Calling it "poor theme management" I think is a mistake.

To your problem it seems you probably have chopped off some of the necessary code for it display correctly, and will either need to make a very close comparison with the original version to detect the problem or restore the default.

After restoring the default, if you don't have your Admin > System > Preferences > General Settings in option: Check templates for modifications ? Set to Yes, you will have to delete the files found in the templates_c folder, keeping the index.

If you want to move something around in the theme check that all the <{if}> and other tags are correctly placed, each opening tag needs a closing tag and the code follows certain rules of embedding.

I would definitely agree with you if I didn't already checked the two themes and restored the default one as you said.
Still no change, and the cache is clear!

As for the layout managment I do not totally agree with you.
Yes surely is simple (tho there are other systems which handles it better - e.g. coranto for home made layouts), but it's not flexible. OScommerce is a mess but once got it on the work it's surely very useful.

Moreover the layout is still tabled...something I don't really get, I assume many of the block problems could be reduced by implementing layers.

Hope we'll have another time to discuss it!

Back to the problem, any other ideas?

hmm, it's not only browser cache it's templates_c file also. If this way doesn't make whatever you had display again, then it could be that the default theme you have is corrupt and you'll need to restore the default one first or it is something in your admin configuration.

Tables are turning to be archaic but ¿Layers ? ... you mean layers as in what dreamweaver creates in layer mode? Nobody uses layers anymore. Espn was once many years ago a layered based site and it has been redesigned as css site with all the content enclosed in div's, that's the advanced way of designing now.

If you want to see an example of a completely tableless, css based XOOPS theme, you can see Zeta Reticuli as perfect example, Leo did a really superb work on the structure of this one, just do a search for it, it's in the news.

There are other tableless themes at xoopsfactory.com

yeah, pardon me I meant tableless design css driven.
I usedt to call them layers for the div thing coming out in html code.


back to the problem again, it has happened:

this time I JUST CHANGED the name of the block in the block admin panel. And the module disappeared! so I set it back and didn't reappear!

why?
still the template_c folder?