New commers general remarks
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Been playing around for a few days now with C5. Initial impressions were bordering on euphoric! Was a programmer in a previous life but no real current skills so this product looked great, and it is. Yes of course there's a but. But .. I've struggled a bit trying to find a theme I can use, one that really offers a right or a lefthand side bar. One where I can customise the header a little, or even just get rid of the "site id". Thanks to some help I found on here I've edited PHP files for green salad and got my logo in place. But the left (only) sidebar is a little too narrow blah blah. I don't expect to find lots of Themes that are custom built for me, but its a shame that a general pupose theme isn't available that's a bit more tailorable. Likewise I've paid for a menu system because the default is .... well lacking. I can see the calendar purchase on the horizon. I don't mind paying, thats perfectly reasonable, but its a bit of an uphill climb using the standard Themes. I suppose really there's no choice but to pick up the manuals and teach myself. Sadly that wasn't what I wanted to do.
Anyway, just a slight moan, but overall I am really impressed with this product.
Anyway, just a slight moan, but overall I am really impressed with this product.
Thanks for your comment, I've used dreamweaver in the past but the whole idea really was to get away from that as much as possible. However I can see that in order to get the basic design sorted I'm perhaps going to need to read rather a lot to create rather a little. Such is life.
If you like a theme like Green Salad, you can also look at adjusting the CSS to adjust the column widths.
I use Opera as my web browser, and it has a tool built in that will let you edit CSS in the browser. Live previews in Dreamweaver are also helpful. That way you can play with the CSS until you find what works right
I use Opera as my web browser, and it has a tool built in that will let you edit CSS in the browser. Live previews in Dreamweaver are also helpful. That way you can play with the CSS until you find what works right
Whilst I really appretiate your comments, I had no intention of dipping down to such depths. You seem to be proving the point that I'll have to. My problem really is not understanding the basic mechanics of how it all hangs together, so although adjusting the css may be simple, getting to that point is rather eluding me. Maybe I'll just have to take a deep breath, or drown ...
sewfan99
Don't feel bad. Over the last year that I have been using C5, I have seen many posts on new users saying very similar things.
Attached is a beginner's guide I am writing. It isn't the end all of working with C5 and I am expanding the themes chapter.
I would suggest you go to the Marketplace and look at the themes. You may find one you like. MOST themes are the same except for the graphics and css. Graphics, your on your own. CSS, it isn't difficult. When you start reading your css file, it will really make sense if you have a small understanding of (X)HTML. You really won't have to read a whole lot.
Private email if you need too, or, go to IRC and join irc.freenode.org and come into the irc channel #concrete5 to ask more questions.
Bill
Don't feel bad. Over the last year that I have been using C5, I have seen many posts on new users saying very similar things.
Attached is a beginner's guide I am writing. It isn't the end all of working with C5 and I am expanding the themes chapter.
I would suggest you go to the Marketplace and look at the themes. You may find one you like. MOST themes are the same except for the graphics and css. Graphics, your on your own. CSS, it isn't difficult. When you start reading your css file, it will really make sense if you have a small understanding of (X)HTML. You really won't have to read a whole lot.
Private email if you need too, or, go to IRC and join irc.freenode.org and come into the irc channel #concrete5 to ask more questions.
Bill
How very generous of you, I shall be reading this this evening over a pint of warm English beer. I did look at the Themes by the way in some detail, cosmetically at least. But very few seem to offer left and right sidebars. I'll say no more until I've thorougly read what your've kindly sent. Cheers!
A nice bitter please.
That guide isn't the be all/end all but should get your started.
The CSS file is the important one for your understanding of the themes. If you have downloaded them (the themes), many if not all have a left_sidebar/right_sidebar.php file.
You then have to go into the page type that you want your site to look like and select it.
You will get it:) and welcome to the C5 community.
That guide isn't the be all/end all but should get your started.
The CSS file is the important one for your understanding of the themes. If you have downloaded them (the themes), many if not all have a left_sidebar/right_sidebar.php file.
You then have to go into the page type that you want your site to look like and select it.
You will get it:) and welcome to the C5 community.
It's actually really easy to turn a static layout into a Concrete theme. There's a snippet you should put at the top, a snippet for the bottom, and a snippet for each area where you want blocks to show up. After that it's all HTML, CSS, and PHP if you want.