New user questions

[196]

Hi all!

As a senior linux sys and network admin I don't spend much time in the realm of content. Not to say I'm green by any stretch, just my tools of choice have been vi, nano, kwrite, notepad, using bits and pieces of python, php, html, yada yada.

So my up and coming flash developer son has started asking a lot of questions, "how do I...?" Now that he has a dedicated Debian server at his place that dynamically updates my DNS, accessable 24x7 from anywhere he starts on serving his content.

I put together a little template based foundation for him to work on. Nothing major, something to get him used to the basics of administration and content management.

We're hanging out, learning a little cron, looking at his subscription on lynda.com (I never heard of it), seeing what tutorials are out there, explaining what some of these tutorials/apps are and we get to Joomla. "What's Joomla?". CMS, content management system, like what I gave you with a web based front-end admin and content management interface/GUI. "I'm not a big fan of these things but you may like the idea". "You mean I don't have to install a bunch of junk on my windows box like flash?"

Well, you can guess where this goes. So there we are after 30 minutes, both of us have a couple Joomla sites on each of our servers, checking out the readme's, help files, tutorials, videos etc figuring out how to run the thing, tearing it up.

In typical fashion, the cobbler has the ratty shoes, so I figured perhaps it's time for be to burn a little time working on my own stuff as well.

While he if far more patient than I, accepting the technology that's dished out as gospel, I don't. Within 24 hours I was like, dude, I installed Drupal, another CMS, major improvement, I've got x, y and z done in a few hours, far more than I did with Joomla in 24.

Next we're playing around w/Drupal for a few days. I hacked come of the code to get RSS feeds to display the way I wanted and liked the simplicity. With still a few odds and ends I wanted to change, some googleing around got me to a thread about CMS Made Simple. I even like the name, simple = fast in my book. I install 2 instances, one with pre-populated option, one without that I hack on.

Now for the questions...

I'm not interested in creating themes, I'll let my artsy fartsy kid do that. What I do want to do is change them. Simple enough, right? hey, whats this ncleangrey admin theme? Hey that's pretty nice! Uses 100% of my browser window, nice layouut, menus right out the box. I think I'll add that to my default site.

Not so simple. What's the trick????

Perhaps you have to be logged in, I'll add a login menu, user management section in admin.

Not so simple. What's the trick????

I know I'm going to have to burn some time and am looking to get past just a couple basics with the app and could use some help, see what the community support is like.

TIA

[Ziggywigged]

To control which theme is used, you must login to admin and go to My Preferences > User Preferences, then select the theme you want from the 'Administration Theme:' select-menu.

You can also control which theme is used for all other users under Site Admin > Global Settings, then select the theme you want from the 'Default Administration Theme (for the login page and new user accounts):' select-menu.

[196]

To control which theme is used, you must login to admin and go to My Preferences > User Preferences, then select the theme you want from the 'Administration Theme:' select-menu.

You can also control which theme is used for all other users under Site Admin > Global Settings, then select the theme you want from the 'Default Administration Theme (for the login page and new user accounts):' select-menu.

Yeah, the ncleargery is my admin theme. Like I said, nifty, let's make it sitewide.

Then I chose "Default Administration Theme (for the login page and new user accounts - ncleangrey):"in sysadmin -> global settings and I don't have an updated theme for the world. Don't have a login page tho, is that part of the problem???

Perhaps I'm missing something, hence my question.

[Nullig]

nCleanGrey is an admin theme, for the backend of CMSMS. If you wanted to create a frontend theme that was similar in appearance, you'd have to take the "style.css" file from the "admin/themes/NCleanGrey/css" directory and copy/paste the contents into a new stylesheet, making the appropriate changes to reflect your frontend divs, classes, ids, etc. Paths for the theme graphics would have to be adjusted accordingly, as well.

Nullig

[Pierre M.]

Welcome,

I install 2 instances, one with pre-populated option, one without that I hack on.

BTW : nice idea to learn CMSms.

hey, whats this ncleangrey admin theme? Hey that's pretty nice! Uses 100% of my browser window, nice layouut, menus right out the box. I think I'll add that to my default site.

Yes, it is an admin theme, for admin users, as already answered above. You are coming from Mamabo/Joomla and Drupal, I haven't tried them but I have read that "users" in Drupal are "sitewide" and not frontend/backend divided as in CMSms 1.4.x. In CMSms 2.x things could be sitewide too.
Have fun discovering/testing CMSms

Pierre M.

[196]

nCleanGrey is an admin theme, for the backend of CMSMS. If you wanted to create a frontend theme that was similar in appearance, you'd have to take the "style.css" file from the "admin/themes/NCleanGrey/css" directory and copy/paste the contents into a new stylesheet, making the appropriate changes to reflect your frontend divs, classes, ids, etc. Paths for the theme graphics would have to be adjusted accordingly, as well.

Nullig

I took the style.css, replaced "themes/NCleanGrey" with "admin/themes/NCleanGrey" and copied the entire .css to a new stylesheet.

Created a new template, attached all stylesheets including the newly created one.

I don't understand the comment "changes to reflect your frontend divs, classes, ids, etc".

Looks like I'm missing something.

[196]

Why can't I go to the theme manager and import the ncleangrey theme?

Learning from the top-down is no fun without short term results and instant gratification, learning some things from the ground-up, starting with the architectural aspects, can just take more time than one has.

So much to do, so little time.