How to customize a create content form in drupal 6
Hi,
After 2-3 hours struggling with this, I would like to share what I've found, make a little list of resources.
It seems that the Drupal way of doing it is described in this thread :
http://www.lullabot.com/articles/modifying-forms-5-and-6 which is really awfully long, and is really for some people wanting to dive into some code...
In this second thread http://drupal.org/node/466464 there is the suggestion of creating a node-edit.tpl.php file, but I wanted it just for one content type and couldn't find how to name the file (node-type-edit.tpl.php didn't work, even with node-type.tpl.php created... any tips on that ?)
But I don't have enough development skills, so I looked for a module, and a few adress this problem which is, to me, really a missing feature of this amazing Drupal:
Form panel , once again, for those who want to develop a module...
Form defaults , which still has too many critical issues
So I finally decided to mix Nodeformcols and Vertical Tabs
Which is a bit of a struggle but good results without bugs.
I wanted to share that because I think it may save some time to the other ones looking for this, and who have few programming skills, still wanting to play with Drupal...
, and also to beg for some advice / modules / tips to deal with this problem of customizing a create content form...
So if you are dealing with this, feel free to share :)
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with reference to node/466464, after creating a new tpl.php file it is import to clear the theme registry. There is also a great deal of information on theming in the theme developers guide. However, if you don't want to read (at length) or play with code at the theme layer you likely won't find any answers there either.
devel.module helps a great deal with themeing but again, reguires some understanding and desire to sharpen your tools or expand your skillset.
Hi, Thanks for your answer, I
Hi,
Thanks for your answer,
I did clear the theme registry and got my hands on Devel before, without success... but I just found this module:
http://drupal.org/project/node_form_template
which should help me start from a template file in a more friendly drupal way :) (and filling my desire of sharpening my skills... I did read the theme guides, but I also think this shouldn't require that much time and effort as a lot of people probably want this... ?)
But really, I think this particular problem is badly documented. This is by the way confirmed in the first thread I mentioned... Anyway, if you have some resources... :)
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Learning will always take time and effort. Technology is always changing and will always require more learning and therefore more time and investment. In the end the learning is an investment in yourself.
If you seek an admin UI with a ton of point and click options to control 'ALL' elements of presentation drupal isn't there yet. For that matter no CMS is there yet.
... I think you misunderstand
... I think you misunderstand the goal of this message and you think I'm lazy/stupid... thanks !
Re-read what I said and maybe you will understand I just wanted to:
- spare some time for the other ones in my case by providing some links,
- point out that this feature would be awesome if it was accessible to non-programmers
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And your assumption is entirely incorrect, where it concerns what I think of you. However ...
Both of the above quotes are statements you've made regarding how much time and effort is required when wanting to work with themeing or documentation provided to handle a specific task with regards to theming.
Essentially, the point I was trying to convey is that in order to theme/customize drupal (or any script) "exactly" as you envision your drupal install (or any scripts install) requires time and effort on the part of the person developing the site, unless you are happy with the out of the box experience. Obviously you aren't and you want to alter "stuff"
There is a tradeoff here:
learn to work with the theme layer to get exactly what you want = your time
install a module or multiple modules and only get a part of what you want = server resources
Ultimately you are only going to get "so far" with modules when one can get all the way there with obtaining the knowledge needed.
Those who come to drupal with little to no experince in HTML and CSS will certainly have a more difficult time with customizing than those who take the time to learn HTML and CSS
More modules to investigate where it concerns non programmers who don't want to work directly in the code at the theme layer = http://drupal.org/project/modules?filters=tid%3A73&solrsort=sis_project_...
The addition of modules for handling some parts of themeing can make some things easier while making other things more difficult when it comes to css and underlying technologies that drupal is built on, as you now have to take those modules into consideration when working with or around them when at the theme layer doing other tweaks, customizations or alterations. Modules also by nature can only handle a certain "piece" of the puzzle where themeing is concerned and in some cases one must understand HTML and CSS in even a minute way to understand how to use modules like blocktheme, blockclass and the like.
While HTML and CSS knowledge help it is important to understand that Drupal is not simply HTML and CSS. It's XHTML and CSS. XHTML includes some PHP.
I encourage you and others who read this thread to work through understanding as much HTML and CSS as possible with tutorials found elsewhere on the internet. Then apply what is learned to Drupal rather then trying to understand everything in one sitting when it comes to customizing drupal (or any script) to fit a vision one has.
I also encourage those who want to work with the theme layer and are stuck to ask specific questions on the forums or in IRC channels when they are stuck or don't understand something. The drupal community is very helpful in that regard.
Lastly for those who are looking to learn to theme consider using the firefox browser with the firebug addon to untangle how drupal uses HTML and CSS to style a site. These two tools alone can help bring a non-programmer from complete confusion of HTML and CSS to a far greater level of understanding after working through some HTML and CSS tutorials.
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Hi,
I entirely agree with you...
However (there is always a however :) ), I do have some reasonable knowledge in HTML and CSS, but I find that one must also have also some knowledge in PHP to start diving into theming, play with variables and so on. I would also advise some tutorials on this one.
Anyway, we go far away from the thread title... but thanks for your thoughts.
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playing with variables certainly thats php. HTML doesn't use variables it uses tags. XHTML and HTML aren't completely the same.
there are tutorials available for learning how to work with variables and the devel.module helps a great deal and has documentation.
There are also print commands, print_r (I think) which can be added to templates to see what is being printed by the variables. Though devel does much of this without too much work on the part of a developer. Essentialluy though with little to no understanding about how arrays work and how drupal uses them devel or any other method won't be easy to decipher immediately and without some study.