By kbellcpa on

Is there a way to open your node.tpl.php file in notepad (I know how to do this), copy the script to a an editor and work on it from the front-end on your computer? Then ftp it back to your site? Is this a customary way to edit your pages? What editor should I use?

I am having the hardest time getting my content to be arranged in a format that I want. I used CCK to create all the fields that I want and also included a field to upload a photograph, but when you look at the front-end, everything is all over the place. I want to put the fields in a certain format and not sure how to do this.

Thanks in advance.

⋅ Categories: Drupal 6.x

Comments

vm’s picture

vm commented

.Is there a way to open your node.tpl.php file in notepad (I know how to do this), copy the script to a an editor and work on it from the front-end on your computer?

it can be done that way sure. Many work on local machines though so we're adjusting files directly on our machines, in the project, then pushing them to a version control system or the server. depending on how advanced/complex your dev environment is.

you will want to look into the devel.module the tpl.php file merely handles display of the fields. if you want to alter the way the fields themselves are layed out in the form investigate hook_form_alter and begin to learn how to make custom modules that alter the way drupal behaves.

mshepherd’s picture

mshepherd commented

As an additional comment, the devel_themer.module is an addition to the devel.module that can help you decide on the names of the tpl.php files you need to edit/create in order to get your fields looking the way you want them. (devel.themer used to be part of devel.module but has been taken out)

joseonate’s picture

joseonate commented

>> What editor should I use?

You would be better off with a PHP editor that will allow you to edit both HTML and PHP with ease. There are many very good free and commercial PHP editors out there. Most have generally the same bells and whistles, including syntax highlighting and direct FTP access.

Although a quick search will return at least a dozen worthy applications, I can personally recommend PSPad as a free editor (for code only), and Dreamweaver as a code and WYSIWYG editor.

Zend also makes a great commercial editor for advanced programmers.

Regards,