CMS Made Simple Forums

Ok, Yes I get what your saying. and I didn't thing you under stood what I'm trying to say

I had to go back in the admin panel to find the area I was telling you about

Its the theme manager. Here as you know you can edit and change the lay out and look of your web site. what I was thinking was an option that where any one using cms can download and install new themes to add to their web site. So that they can change the layout or any thing they want. Thats the only part I don't want to teach myself how to use.

The css and the html is not a problem. Its just the templates that are used to create your pages with. I just want more options in that area. In the Theme manager. there wasn't an area where I could download and install other themes. Then I could use them in other pages. I can change colors and as background colors. I could change titles and headers as well as footers.

I just want options in the theme manager.

thanks

Joe

bigjoe11a wrote: Hi! moorezilla, and your right, what I'm trying to say is that I just spent the last 4 months learning PHP and CSS. well then I find out cmsms, and what happens is that now I have to learn something new and start from scratch. Well thats true too. Maybe your not getting the idea. I mean I don't want to spend 4 more months learning how to make templates, or mods. Because of the health. thats just not possaible for me. I get headaches that I can't control. 

To build a standard website with CMS requires no extra knowledge except for the the following simple understandings:
a) CMS Separates (for the purposes of re-use) stylesheets, page templates, and page content
b) Page templates use markers to control the page layout.  You simply place the appropriate marker where you want something to appear.
c) You can create stylesheets and associate stylesheets with a particular template (thereby re-using stylesheets on multiple pages).  (you don't really need to use this feature if you don't want to, but once you learn to use it, it is a very convenient feature).
d) You create pages, type your content into the text area, and in that form, tell it which page template to use.
e) In the end, all that happens, is that some markers are replaced with some html text.  the {content} marker embeds the page content (assuming one content block) into the resulting html.  The {stylesheet} marker embeds the appropriate code to link in all associated stylesheets into the resulting html for each page that uses that template.  The {menu} marker generates some text to indicate where the menu should go, and what it should look like.
f) You don't need to use the {stylesheet} or {menu} tags in your page template if you don't want to.  You can do everything the old static way.

To build static websites with CMS Made simple doesn't require very much knowledge at all, other than some CSS and some HTML.

Now, to build websites which take advantage of the database, and allow for easy administration of content, you may (optionally, i.e: no learning required) want to use modules like news {news}, or Search {search}.  You can put these tags into your page content, or into your page template.  There are many other modules availble to you.  The way to embed each of them into your page or page template may vary, though it is always similar.

Most of the addon modules provide templates that allow you to control how 'that particular portion of the page' will be laid out.  They use markers for their templates, and provide forms, and numerous options for manipulating the database tables that those modules read.  It's simple really, but again, the use of these addon modules is entirely optional.  meaning: no learning required.

For dynamic web pages (pages that appear differently based on different conditions i.e: username, group, date, time, season, ip address), you may need CustomContent.  And THIS is where you may have to learn smarty syntax.  This is where there may be some learning involved. 

I been playing with cms, and I like it. I like the idea that you can add mods to do all kinds of things. from a forums message board to the formsBuilder. Build email forms and theres lots more that you know of.

Now for me to do this would mean months more of headaches. and trying to under stand the template codes.

Plus I would have to under stand the use of the templates. How it connects to a mydql database. how to display information from a database and so on. or if thats how that works. I would also have to under stand how to edit the CSS and templates to create my web site.

If I new more about the templates. This project of mind would be simple.

any how, let me play with it some more. or if you have a simple way for me to learn templates and use them. Let me know

CMS Made Simple is designed for use by people with a reasonable understanding of the concepts that are used to build websites.  These concepts include (but are not limited to):  CSS Re-Use, XHTML, Templating, and to some extent databases.,  Web site designers and developers should have a reasonable understanding of these concepts, and these are the people that CMS Made Simple was designed for. 

CMS Made simple was not designed for my grandmother to build sites with.  My grandmother is set in her ways, and doesn't really want to take the time to learn new things (even if they are 10 years old or more).  However, my grandfather was interested in learning, and in learning new things, or learning new ways to do things., and was appreciative when he sees something in a new light.  CMS Made Simple is made for my grandfather (too bad he isn't here to enjoy it).  My grandmother could learn to revised and add pages easily though.  She learns quickly when she put s her mind to it.  She would enjoy the wysiwyg editors, and learnto use them quickly.  Which type are you?

And my last comment is (not to offend anybody) IMHO.  This is the simplest content management system I've seen (I've used four or five)... It distictly separates appearance, layout, and content.  and if people can't learn to use this one even at a basic level, or they are unwilling to learn, then maybe they should stick with FrontPage.

bigjoe11a, I don't think I underderstand what you mean. 

Ok, I know.

The problem is having to learn to make templates. See when I load cms in my browser. All I see is the same thing. In order for me to change that. I would have to make new templates.

Get it.

I all ready been adding pages. and content. Mods and more. Thats not where the problem is.

See what I was hoping for was a way in the Theme Manager. is to download and install other themes for pages that we can setup with out having to teach our selfs templates. At some time or another would be good. That would be too fast, If you get the idea. That way we could have a new look. or other templates can be downloaded and installed that have new and other options.

Look at this..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------








{sitename} - {title}


{metadata}


{stylesheet}


{cms_selflink dir="start" rellink=1}
{cms_selflink dir="prev" rellink=1}
{cms_selflink dir="next" rellink=1}



{literal}

=b){nw=b+"px";}if(w<=a){nw=a+"px";}return nw;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a small part of one of the templates that comes with cms. well it would take me 6 months of reading playing a round with it before I could under stand the code and what it does. If I could under stand.

Oh, and support for the mods sucks too. I'm still waiting on a reply.

any way thats what I mean. If you under stand what I'm trying to say. I don't know of any other way to explain it. Sorry!

Joe

You dont actually need to know evertyhing that the template does.

lets play with the idea that you want to create new layout for your site.

First thing you do is create some kind of mock up in and then slice the picture so that you have a header image and so on.

then you create new template:

first you need a basic html template like
as you see there is nothing special about the html code yet.

now to get your site dynamic (which is the idea of using cms system) we need to tell cms where to put the dynamic parts.

so My site becomes {sitename} - {title}. { character tells cms that starting from here it needs to do something until } character is found. "sitename" is a dynamic content part which is basically just a placeholder for cms to know what to place there. In this situation {sitename} gets replaced by your site name you defined when you installed cms ms (and you can change it in admin).

Then you just create rest of your template and insert other dynamic elements like {content} (the page content) and so on, you dont really need to know what happens behind the scenes, just remember that dynamic content gets replaced from your template.

After you have your template ready you start styling it with css. Again this is just like editing basic html page. only difference to normal html and css files is that the css is saved in a database and html is created on the fly from template and those dynamic elements.

For menu templates, there is usually no need to edit them. css.tpl creates valid ul li link structure with good css classes and id's for your styling pleasure.

And actually the default page template is also quite easy to change just by changing css.

Oh, and support for the mods sucks too. I'm still waiting on a reply.

Please remember that this project is run by people who also have day jobs and might not be available all the time. People create modules for their own pleasure and give it the community for free. If you need immediate answers there are multiple commercial products that promise support 24/7.

hope this helps

Thanks Tsw. I'm more screwed than I was before. I copy each of the samples. The one you made and the one I got from the cms ms. well the codes are not the same.

Your saying that this is a part of the template code that you use in the pages






My site


This is my site



My sample! from cms ms.








{sitename} - {title} // I know what this does

{metadata} // I know what this does

{stylesheet} // I know what this does

From the sample you gave me, The {} insert the info into the page. Now ever. So I think your talking about how to setup a page. well like I said thats not the problem. It setting new templates. Or again I just don't under stand.

or are you talking about 2 kinds of templates.
I just don't under stand.

bigjoe11a,

I'm starting to get more than a little annoyed with this thread and your line of questioning in particular.

It has been explained to you in no uncertain terms that this CMS is designed for people with an understanding of basic Web technologies such as HTML and CSS. You clearly DO NOT fall into this category by your own admissions thus far.

Through your general ignorance you have also managed to insult the kind and patient efforts of everyone who has tried to help you. I would have been one of those people except for the fact that I consider life to be far tooo short and precious to be frittered away in this manner.

I simply CANNOT believe that despite the clear and precise instructions provided to you by tsw you have managed to paste a complete CMS template WITHIN the basic template strucutre he provided you. Can you NOT see just how stupid this was? This gaffe goes well beyond a clear and present lack of any of the knowledge required to operate a CMS, let alone a motor vehicle or toaster.

DO NOT reply to this thread. Instead, try reading it again form start to finish. Several times if need be. Then go and read all the documentation, tutorials and instructions already in existence for the CMS. Then try installing it again as per the instructions and, taking baby steps, make some effort towards trying to understand how it all works BEFORE coming in here and posting a bunch of ill-informed and ill-framed questions.

Hey, I had 2c to spare. So sue me.

BigJoe, you are confusing the issue. You are doing it so extravagantly I must wonder if you aren't doing it for fun & just trolling.

All, I would suggest moving on from this, he's clearly not looking for real help ("because of the health i get headache")

Seriously, who writes that? He's clearly just having fun at our expense, or he understands English at a 2nd grade level. if either is the case, he needs to do some work on his own.