[thelist] Re: [theforum] TOevolt - there's only a short time left - register today

Tara Cleveland evolt at taracleveland.com
Thu Sep 2 12:29:04 CDT 2004


> "Tara Cleveland" <evolt at taracleveland.com> wrote:
>> There's only a short time left to register for TOevolt 2004!

On 2-Sep-04, at 12:29 PM, David Kaufman wrote:
> *how* short a time?? is there a set deadline for registration?

Well, I have to give numbers to the caterer next week on the 10th. I 
suppose I should put an absolute deadline on the web site - but I hate 
to discourage someone who needs to make a last minute decision since I 
could *probably* sneak an extra person in. But *don't* count on it!

If you (or anyone else) is seriously interested in registering but 
haven't made a final decision please let me know.

> i just realized my wife will be in Detroit that week and i could
> probably tag along, and make TOevolt!

Oh! Well you *must* come then. It's gonna be wicked fun. ;-)

Okay we're really getting into OT territory now so I suppose I owe a 
tip...

<tip type="drupal theme design" author="Tara Cleveland">
For designers drupal can be a complete mess to figure out (yes, yes, I 
know they're working on it). Especially if you're trying to modify a 
design so that it works in drupal and you don't want to muck about with 
PHP. One point that's handy to know right at the beginning...

There's an important distinction between a *theme* and a *template*. To 
totally simplify it... a theme is the whole PHP kit and caboodle of how 
the interface, the modules and the content work with drupal and the 
template is the way that theme *looks*. So for example, xtemplate is a 
*theme* and PushButton is a *template* in the xtemplate *theme*.

Confusing, right?

In fact, in most themes there's a jumble of HTML, PHP and CSS, so it 
can be quite difficult to heavily modify a template - so that it looks 
like the design you want - without working with the PHP in the theme. 
To best avoid hacking the PHP, it's important to find the theme that 
best matches the structure of your design.

So, for instance, if you want a CSS layout it's best to pick an all CSS 
theme like Marvin_2K or PHPtemplate and *not* xtemplate, which uses 
tables for layout. Even if you change the (X)HTML and CSS in the 
template files so that they *look* like your design, when you actually 
install the templates, they may no longer *work* properly with the 
theme.

It's better to:
* copy an existing template within the theme that closely resembles the 
structure of your design,
*change it's name to "custom_template" (or whatever you want),
* and then modify the (X)HTML and CSS in the template rather than 
trying to hack the PHP in the theme...

...unless you are a PHP-(X)HTML-CSS-designer-wizard-type, in which 
case, ignore my advice and hack away.
</tip>

--
http://www.TOevolt.org
info at TOevolt.org



More information about the theforum mailing list