TXP Make
PHP in templates is so last decade
Beware, experiments ahead
TXP Theming
This section was hidden away, since I decided to approach distributing Themes quite differently, via footer links to source files. Makes it so much easier to get the freshest copies of a Theme, cause you’re grabbing it as it evolves.
Most TXP Themes have but 1 Page and 1 Style, just click on the footer links and copy/paste it into your backend. Sure beats downloading a .zip file, then uncompressing it somewhere to your local machine, then what?
- Copy/paste into your backend from your preferred text editor? FTP the Theme up to your server to import via the backend?
Once you’ve copied the Theme into your backend, and assigned it a section, it’s not going to look like this Business Frontpage, it will look more like this Business Frontpage starter template page.
- Images to display, that would be your job, give the page a personality all your own. Breaking Bad is cool though :)
An example template makes it’s way to a client, Carousel example at Bootstrap, Carousel on TXP Themes, Carousel on UnderPressure.VIP
- Once a template gets fitted with txp:tags, it’s very easy to adapt it to a client. Images and verbiage, that’s all you’d have to worry about.
Textpattern tags are used to give each Theme it’s database access to settings, like Site name and Site slogan. When a Theme has forms, like the Blog Theme, it’s because the Form is associated with the output of a tag, like txp:article.
- Forms can also be used to break out a portion of a long Page, for easier maintenance, but I’ve kept things simple.
This article will evolve over time, serving as the basis for a Themes HOW-TO.
The only constant in life is change
- Now that Textpattern 4.7+ has built in import/export capabilities, the hcg_themes plugin is no longer needed, unless you’re running TXP 4.6.2.
- Early on I was designing the Themes with the Bootstrap files locally, but decided on using CDN instead. I didn’t notice degradation in speed via CDN vs. serving the CSS locally. But hey, you can download the latest Bootstrap files and have them locally, it’s a free country.
- Building a Debian package, looks like it’s been a while, is in the plans.
It’s poetry in motion
She turned her tender eyes to me
As deep as any ocean
As sweet as any harmony
txp:rockin'
