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By jnorris235 on
I really have spent two weeks searching, reading etc but I seem to understand very little (perfectly good with HTML and CSS) but Drupal has me completely baffled. My head is exploding with a type of panic, I think, because there is too much to learn and understand!!
Can blocks have backgrounds?
I create a View (fronpage) but cannot stop it listing everything on the site.
I have a Page and a Node but cannot stop the 'Submitted by' and date appearing.
There's a Search box in the header that won't go!
The Primary links wont go horizontal.
I edit page.tpl.php (copied from /zen to my theme folder - nothing changes...why not?
Many simple things that if there were someone sat here just saying 'yes' and 'no' I'd be doing it in no time. I guess its under my nose - but I am giving up!!
My site that was written and the business are just wasting away - hence I am posting this to ask for a handholding session of basic questions as a new topic. Anybody?
Comments
It's usually considered poor
It's usually considered poor form to cross post the same questions in multiple threads... i replied to most of these in your other thread (http://drupal.org/node/303048).
Here's some info on the new ones:
you'll have to provide more info than that for anyone to be able to assist. see Tips for posting to the Drupal forums
again, this requires more info. where is your theme? Did you follow the instructions (in the readme.txt i believe) for creating a zen subtheme precisely? Did you flush the cache? What changes did you make?
The quality and usefulness of the responses you receive will be directly proportional to the quality and usefulness of the original post/questions.
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"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." -- Lao Tzu
"God helps those who help themselves." -- Benjamin Franklin
"Search is your best friend." -- Worldfallz
I didn't cross post
My post actually said thank you to a guy on a previous question. The first line of my post said 'I am going to post this as a new topic' because it comprises completely different questions. Geesh! It's embarrassing enough asking what will undoubtedly be simple questions - albeit beyond me at the moment without being ticked off!!
OK - I didn't give too much info but then I thought they were one sentence answers.
Yes I did everything exactly as it says in the Zen Starterkit. Yes I did flush after use.
The primary links are a vertical bulletted list. Although there is a block-menu class in the provided theme, amending it to 'display:inline;' had no effect.
I can't think how else to say that I copied the page.tpl.php from the Zen folder into my own theme and as I say above, apparently followed the instructions.
Sorry.
Hmm. These are all problems
Hmm. These are all problems related to themeing except for the one you mentioned about the frontpage.
If you already understand CSS, you should be able to read up on Drupal themeing and get some answers. After you understand what comes from where in Drupal, things start to make a lot more sense.
Also, don't forget that your changes may not show up until you empty the cache. It can really drive you nuts to make a change and then not understand why it isn't showing up only to later realize that you needed to clear Drupal's cache (There is a button for this in Drupal 6). Occasionally, you may also need to clear your local browser's cache.
Thank you
I think I need to go to a Drupal designer, maybe someone here (who may then charge?). Or am I transgressing the rules again?
>>After you understand what comes from where in Drupal, things start to make a lot more sense.<< Two weeks have gone already so as I said, a little handholding takes seconds, saves days. Done the cache thing too!
I have read the theme guides, lullabot, Cookbook and many others, listened to the podcasts but there are still some things that I can't change. Unlike some posts here that demand help having done no research I was hoping to be accepted as intelligent but stuck.
Maybe some Drupal things don't change. But plenty of commercial sites look cool, so I know it can be done and just needed two or three pointers. Just needed to know.
Sorry to take your time up.
Tail between legs and back to html and css I guess!
Ok man calm down. You are
Ok man calm down. You are right and most of these have simple one line answers. I will try to give those and you tell me which ones might need more for you to understand.
Can blocks have backgrounds?
Yes of course. At the (x)html level a block is merely a block level container i.e. a DIV. Use css and give it any background you like.
I create a View (fronpage) but cannot stop it listing everything on the site.
The special view (frontpage) is designed to show everything on the site. Drupal is originally a community driven CMS and as such all new posts were designed to go on the front or home page of the site. You can make views that only show certain types of content or content from certain dates. That discussion is beyond this answer and the Views docs will server you well there.
I have a Page and a Node but cannot stop the 'Submitted by' and date appearing.
The setting for this is in the themes settings. Un-check 'Display post information on' for the content types you do not wish to see this for.
There's a Search box in the header that won't go!
Either shut down the search module or disable the search block on the blocks administration.
The Primary links wont go horizontal.
If you are 'perfectly good with HTML and CSS' then this should be obvious. display:inline is barely supported and will not usually fix butkiss. A bulleted list as you call it is a UL LI structure. As such both the UL and the LI are block level elements. Usually this would require floating them to get them 'inline'.
I edit page.tpl.php (copied from /zen to my theme folder - nothing changes...why not?
I am not familiar with the zen theme so without some more information I am afraid I can not help with this one.
I'm calm!
Thanks very much for your help - it has moved me along.
Block backgrounds - I know they should be able to have backgrounds! I couldn't find where to amend the css. There seem to be umpteen node and block files and templates in the Drupal and Zen folders, just got fed up fiddling, thought I'd try asking.
I have a Page and a Node but cannot stop the 'Submitted by' and date appearing. - I have looked under (Content Management) Content Types, Post Settings and various other places but cannot find where the option to stop listing that information is. Especially for a page (static content). You say>>Un-check 'Display post information on'<< Can't find it!
There's a Search box in the header that won't go! - it went when I simply obliterated it in the tpl.php file. Where it came from I don't know - it seems to be part of the package of Primary and Secondary menu display. Nowhere in Adminster can I find it as an option to control. The Search Block itself is fine.
>>If you are 'perfectly good with HTML and CSS' then this should be obvious<< - now you're at it! >>display:inline is barely supported<< News to me! Obviously I'm not that good then! I had tried float as well. The point was, I wondered where the chief code was for this particular item.
I'll just keep hacking at the page.tpl.php file and the theme css til I find a designer. Cheers.
If you cant see result of
If you cant see result of editing the page.tpl.php make sure the color module is not activated or resave the color definiton on the theme administration page.