Creating a new theme from scratch
iamchel - October 27, 2009 - 02:49
Hello all. I've taken quite a long break from Drupal to find myself a bit confused by version 6. Ive been trying for about an hour or so to create my own theme but Im at a bit of a loss. As I understand the .info file is now required..but what I dont understand is how or where its getting all the code for my themes pages. I have no page.tpl.php (even if I do create one or copy an existing one it doesn't do anything) and yet its still generating the code for all the necessary parts.
Here's my theme's .info file
name = my test theme
description = Theme for my test theme
version = 1.0
core = 6.x
engine = phptemplate
stylesheets[all][] = mastersheet.css
stylesheets[all][] = stylesheet.css
stylesheets[print][] = print.cssI seem to remember things being quite a bit easier when I used to work with drupal lol. If anyone can provide me with some clarity or point me to a link where this topic is addressed I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
The default page.tpl.php and
The default page.tpl.php and node.tpl.php files are found in modules/system and modules/node, respectively.
You can override these files by copying them into your theme directory and editing them. In order to get Drupal to pick up the changes you need to clear the theme registry cache. You can do this by going to admin/sitebuilding/themes and choosing the Save Changes button.
devel.module
getting the devel.module and enabling the theme developer will help enormously in locating where the template 'suggestions' are derived from and found.
There's a big cascade there, which mostly works by just creating magically-named files and letting them be auto-detected. After you remember to flush the theme registry cache continuously.
.dan.
I'm also developing my own
I'm also developing my own theme from scratch (going very well so far) but I'm new to Drupal. I'm sure the following will shed some light as (for some weird reason) most people seem to be using some pre-built theme by reverse-engineering it. Building from scratch is the way to go. That said, a theme called "Framework": http://drupal.org/project/framework can really help out a lot.
1. Your static index.htm needs a name change. Rename it "page.tpl.php".
2. **EITHER** change your default css file's name to "style.css" or add them to your .info file like so:
stylesheets[all][] = style.css
stylesheets[all][] = screen.css
stylesheets[print][] = print.css
conditional-stylesheets[if IE][all][] = ie.css
Those are the first two biggest steps. Please post back if you need more direction and I'll try to help.
Regards,
Tofu
Start simple.
The simple reason that most beginners should start from an existing theme is because if they don't, they leave out important things they didn't know about and then a while later wonder why some modules don't work and ask questions that are really hard to debug, because they were so clever that they didn't need to have something useless like $closure in their HTML. Or they forgot to leave a space for $messages. Or hard-coded their $styles.
Many people would start their efforts in customizing a car by taking an existing, well-made automobile and making changes to it. After a while they would get a feel for the difference between well-built and awkward designs. Maybe after three or four, maybe after a dozen different customization jobs that engineer would be qualified to built an all-new car completely from scratch without re-using any pre-engineered parts.
However, I wouldn't trust a vehicle designed and built by someone who's never taken an existing machine apart before, nor would I suggest to someone that that approach (starting from scratch) was the best way to start engineering.
.dan.
This is true and you are
This is true and you are right.
However, since the person posted that he's making his own theme from scratch I feel abliged to help him do just that :)
I'm in the same boat - new to Drupal but as a matter of circumstances beyond my control (welcome to being in business lol), I was not able to spend the time reverse-engineering a pre-built theme.
But yes, I can see your point :)
Tofu
Pointers and tutorials?
I am also building a new theme in drupal and am trying to have a site with a page divided into two halves, with each half having it's own customizable columns.
Does anybody know any good tutorials that will help me understand nodes,blocks,features etc and get me on the road to further customizing my site.
Thanks
This site really helped me to
This site really helped me to understand Drupal (and therefore, theming) a lot!
http://mustardseedmedia.com/podcast
Regards,
TC