V7 Site Design Change.

[Wizzo]

Hello.

I am hoping someone out there can help me with this puzzle.

I am designing a new site for the company I work for. We currently have an active site and I am looking to just change the styling all other functionality is fine. I have trawled through the forum and have download the Advanced User Guide and the Getting Started with Design in Actinic v7, all with little success.

So here are the questions I cant seemed to find the answers for.

1. To change the design of the site do i need to create a new Theme or new templates?

2. If it is a Theme can i copy an existing one and edit that to my needs?

3. If it is a template, do I edit the ones found in. Actinic v7/Sites/Site1?

I have looked at this a lot and just cant get me head round it.

Thanks for your help.

Wizzo

[acompton]

Welcome to the forum, Wizzo.

Firstly, if you're planning to update the site, you might want to consider upgrading from V7 as that version is no longer supported by Actinic.

If you do want to carry on with V7, I would strongly suggest backing up the Site1 folder before makingn any changes

1. To change the design of the site do i need to create a new Theme or new templates?

2. If it is a Theme can i copy an existing one and edit that to my needs?

You can get Actinic to apply a new theme, selected from one of the standard ones. This will overwrite all the template files

3. If it is a template, do I edit the ones found in. Actinic v7/Sites/Site1?

Yes

[Wizzo]

Hi Alan

Thanks for the reply and tips. We will be sticking with version at the moment.

Just another points.

Am a bit confused by your answers.

When you say to point 1 & 2, I have worked out how to apply the preset themes, and I guess I am right in saying that when doing this all the files in Site1 are overwritten? Can I create my own theme based on one of the preset themes?

With point 3, If I edit the templates in Site1 will these change the site?, or do I have to do it another way?

Thanks

Glen

[NormanRouxel]

Since you have an active site it would be a lot safer to install the same version of Actinic onto another system. Then copy the entire Site1 folder from your active site into the same place on the development system. Now you can develop without breaking the existing site and only upload for real when you get done. I usually add XXX to the FTP server name in the Network Settings on the test system so that there's no chance of accidentally uploading.

When you change themes in V7 all the core Templates get replaced by new copies. You then can edit these Templates to give you the look and feel you want.

[acompton]

With point 3, If I edit the templates in Site1 will these change the site?

Yes. Norman's reply says the same thing. If you start with one of the 'basic' themes, the template are fairly simple to edit. I believe it is easier to edit the templates in Dreamweaver if you have a copy.

[Wizzo]

Thanks Norman / Alan

So if I can just clarify so that I am totally sure.

If I took a copy of the files within Site1 and edited these in Dreamweaver and then replaced after I have edited them then Actinic will pick these up and change the site?

I will backup Site 1 before hand so there is a backup just in case.

Thanks

Glen

[NormanRouxel]

Thanks Norman / Alan

So if I can just clarify so that I am totally sure.

If I took a copy of the files within Site1 and edited these in Dreamweaver and then replaced after I have edited them then Actinic will pick these up and change the site?

I will backup Site 1 before hand so there is a backup just in case.

Thanks

Glen

Yes. That's exactly it. Note that only the Primary Template(s) are complete HTML pages. All the others are just sub-page snippets of HTML code so you may find it quicker to edit them in Notepad or similar.

It may still be safer to do this on a different machine. Then just copy the .html files (and any supporting CSS and images) from Site1 back onto the production one once you're ready to use the design for real.