Forums / Setup & design / Templates - Beginner HOWTO?
Alistair McRonald
Tuesday 07 September 2010 12:37:00 pm
Hi,
I'm evaluating Exponential for a company to replace their existing website with. I have been very impressed with what I have seen of Exponential so far in terms of the structure. However, I would like to create a demo for the company and in order to do that I need to create a new template system with their style.
I've read through all the documentation and unfortunately it is not very clear exactly what files I need to create/alter. For example, I have heard reference to "override.ini.append.php", "full.tpl" and many other ".tpl" files but it is not obvious what to use when. I have created a folder for my design in /Exponential/mysitedesign but then how do I tell Exponential to use which files in this folder?
I would really appreciate a beginners guide in step by step format of what files I need, where and what purpose they serve. I am quite technically proficient but I think the documentation is somewhat lacking in this area.
Many thanks in advance.
Romeo Antony
Tuesday 07 September 2010 5:53:48 pm
Alistair,
Welcome to the ezcommunity. You are the right place.
When u start with ezp , feel a bit hard to follow. But doesn't matter. Once you understand the concepts it will be smooth going.
I suggest you to read the following link where is precisly explained, how to develop a web in ez .
It is so easy to follow step by step instructions in that sample web creation.
http://ez.no/Exponential/documentation/building_an_ez_publish_site/creating_the_tscm_site
But before you start reading above example , I would recommend you to read the ez basic
http://ez.no/Exponential/documentation/ez_publish_basics
First try to understand the basics about designs, ezp architecture etc.
hope you will be able to get it soon.
Reagards
Romeo
Wednesday 08 September 2010 6:41:56 am
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately the links you have provided say that they are no longer maintained.
However, can you confirm that this is correct about what I need to do.
The question that follows this is then in order to modify the main page template what files do I need in each of these folders?
Wednesday 08 September 2010 11:39:20 am
To follow-up, I have tried creating the folder structure described above. The only file in this is /Exponential/settings/siteaccess/[sitename]/site.ini.append.php
The result of this if I try to go to http://mysite/Exponential/index.php/sitename is the default site look but in the breadcrumb part "Error / kernel (20)". Presumably I must be missing some files?
Thursday 09 September 2010 1:13:04 pm
Interestingly I turned up this thread from a year ago: http://share.ez.no/forums/setup-design/how-to-start
Someone expressing exactly the same frustrations as myself. I really like the Exponential platform and keen to move forward with using it. However, just creating a simple template seems to be an absolute nightmare. I've been comparing Exponential with Drupal and ironically the situation with that is reversed - it was quite easy for me to create some styling for it, however the content management side appears to be very confusing.
What the documentation really needs is a step-by-step guide as to exactly what folders and files are needed to create a completely plain template into which a design can be added. I would really appreciate it if someone could take the time to do this. All it needs is the layout of the folder structure and the content of the key files. If someone is able to do this I am happy to create a Tutorial on the site to explain to others how to go about this too.
Thanks in advance.