I've been searching all over. Wanted to give it a week or so before posting on this board.
I wanted a nice simple theme where I can at least edit some of the top /gifs or pics to at least give some sort of semi theme as I am new to PN and would like to slowly learn everything.
I looked around and either the themes are so overwhelming where you can't edit anything unless you contact the author $$$, or I simply can't find a theme where I can at least edit "part" of the program. I know I maybe asking for alot but i came up with this after my search.
(Oh yeah, a lot of the themes for "free" i found were not at all integrated with PNphpbb2, required some other 3rd party stuffs, or simply did not mend well)
In the theme downloads section of this site, I founda a DL called
Fragilex
Does anyone know if this is verified and working with 7.2x "726" and if it is still being supported? I am about to dive in hardcore and I surely want something supported.
In the end you get what you pay for :/
So, I guess I might have to wack out the ol wallet :)
Lookng to spend about 20-50 US Dollars on a simple lay out, PNphpBB2 FRIENDLY :), with a few options at the top for my own personal .gif header(s) and also the default footer at the bottom. The site is built around a gaming info site, fantasy, and all of the sites I've been looking at have heavy tech mechanical unwieldy looking things :).
TY
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Another looking for theme post
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**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 05:01 AM
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 05:46 AM
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**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 07:31 AM
At lite them. AutoTheme. To utlilize these "theme extensions" what do i need to install into my PN?. I see a lot if not all yer free themes are AL or AT needed. Im actually looking at yer first black pack, and can't decipher if i need any other extension before possibly getting locked out of my website if it doesn't work with my current set up. I can't seem to find a read me or install file.
TY
To Reclarify all I have installed is the core PN726 and PNphbbb2 12f. I do not have things I see around this board called "pnreder" "xanthia"
etc installed. I am such a noob but trying to learn TY lol.
So, I am looking for basic, clean format where I can start to build and posibly edit while having my website look "ok" and have the theme crossover to PNphbBB2 as well. TY -
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 09:17 AM
You can download the free AutoTheme lite from http://spidean.mckenzies.net/
You can also buy the full version with that money you mentioned above to show support for the author. ;)
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Zikula Themes -
**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 03:36 PM
Warning: the following is strictly IMHO. As PostNuke has matured, as with most maturing free software projects, the "knowledge entry bar" is constantly raised.
Also with that maturity, a good deal of the zeal of amateur hackers has diminished. This is especially true in the theme arena. I remember a year or two ago there were free themes constantly being released. Now, what we have left is relatively little real theme development, and we're living off the generosity of those past efforts.
For themes, the primary activity today is done with AutoTheme. But of course that's a commercial module with a crippled freebie come-on.
Many of the existing PostNuke-native themes for PN .726 are older, and encompass a variety of writing styles -- some okay, a few good, and some pretty weak. Unfortunately, that's the state of things in PostNuke. One of the problems I see is that PN's development has slowed some as it has matured and there seems to be little effort in generating new developers.
I'm hoping that the inevitable release of PN .750 and XTE (Xanthia) will breathe some life into this part of PostNuke, but of course, that's in the future.
As for now, the main site for PostNuke-native theme development seems to be dev-postnuke.com. You might want to try that site.
For selecting a free, PostNuke-native theme to hack on, you can pick one from the pnThemeCollect archive that's relatively well written and clean; one I'd recommend is the MTmodular theme. Either way, it'll be a learning experience and will require a lot of tweaking, but that's half the fun of it. -
**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 03:48 PM
Oh, one more thing Krypt. As far as the "support" goes for a theme, I don't think you'll find much support for you hacking on commercial themes. In fact, I would cross that out as a consideration in your purchasing decision.
For the $20-50 you want to spend, the vendor simply cannot afford to spend much time on support if they want to make a living. If you think about it, it only takes a couple of questions at 10 or 15 minutes per question to turn the sale of the theme into a net loss for the vendor. Such is the reality of life in the commercial software industry.
I think you'll find your best source of support for hacking on themes right here in this (or a similar site's) forum.
And one last tip. Read through Nate's "sticky" thread about theme development at the top of this forum. Even if you don't grok all of it, it'll be a worthwhile read and will help you in IDing what is a strong or poorly written theme. -
**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 03:56 PM
rgr intnsred. I sat down and thought about even all the work I just put into my website. I feel very "wary" that the new code, or whatever the case may be, with PN and also new versions of PNphpbb2 will bring forth problems to my theme needing something "3rd partyish".
After putting in hours and hours into my forum and database and modules etc, I for sure do not want to run into a theme problem layout further on in my site.
I've decided to cling onto the tan postnuke for now while I tinker with new modules and blocks for my website. Since that's the default theme, there is less worry for me working towards the future and actually learning a lot more about PN itself while having fun as you stated.
However I do have a semi important website to run and maybe would like some originality. So yes, a clean layout where I can get my hands dirty and also learn the backend info without too much worry of the future and that theme. I will surely check out those clean layouts you posted. Maybe a site where I can add my own artwork in .gif as a header etc as well. We will see.
TY -
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Posted: Aug 10, 2004 - 11:03 PM
intnsred
For themes, the primary activity today is done with AutoTheme. But of course that's a commercial module with a crippled freebie come-on.
I really don't see how you can call AutoTheme lite a "crippled freebie come-on"
There is absolutely no reason to buy the full version except to show support to the author.
As for support of a theme, I fully support all of my themes, whether free or not. I also include the PSD files for the headers of the free ones, and the FULL PSD file for any customs that I do.
I have released over 20 free themes in the past 6 months or so, so I would hardly say that theming is dying.
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Zikula Themes -
**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 11, 2004 - 12:20 AM
Krypt, a few other thoughts. For changing the logo, just do a search in a theme for "logo". Once you get used to reading/viewing a theme -- it takes time -- you'll notice that themes typically use one of several techniques to display the header graphics. But remember, it's only HTML and so spotting the IMG SRC= or BACKGROUND= tags isn't all that bad.
As for PNphbbb2, I'm not real familiar with it, but when I last took a look at it, that was one of the things I didn't like about it -- the lack of integration with PN. Duplicating a theme or creating a matching theme was just too much work for me. I think PN modules should pick up all of PN's color statements from the main PN theme and change appropriately -- that's integration. This -- full integration -- was the main reason I went with the phpBB_14 forum: it is completely integrated rather than a different, full system hacked to seem like it's integrated. -
**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 11, 2004 - 12:56 AM
MMaynard
I really don't see how you can call AutoTheme lite a "crippled freebie come-on"
I know AT is popular, but that literally is what it is. AT is commercial and there is a feature-reduced "lite" version. Those are just facts.
IMHO, the "lite" version works as a come-on to get people to buy the full version.
Of course, there's no law that says you have to buy the full version, but you are encouraged to buy it to "show support" (as you stated above), or you have to buy it to get the full features of the non-free commercial version.
I don't think it is any sort of a stretch to know that we're talking about crippleware here.
People react very strongly against that statement, but it's a simple statement of fact. If someone doesn't like the term, that's too bad, because using the term is a dead-on accurate use of language.
MMaynard
There is absolutely no reason to buy the full version except to show support to the author.
No, the full commercial version of AT has a greater feature set. To get those features you have to pay.
I can show you dozens of feature-reduced shareware programs that you do not have to pay for unless you want to get the full feature set. What is the common, accepted term for such software? It's crippleware.
MMaynard
As for support of a theme, I fully support all of my themes, whether free or not.
So if I spend $5 or $10 on one of your themes, I can hack at that theme (the original post talked about editing a theme), screwing things up and being completely clueless, and I can continually ask you clueless questions and you will support that theme and all of my hacks and mistakes, forever and for free?
If true, you're a saint. (And IMHO you'll live as poor as a saint because it just isn't an economically viable equation.
)
From any realistic or capitalistic perspective, we know you cannot afford to do that.
MMaynard
I have released over 20 free themes in the past 6 months or so, so I would hardly say that theming is dying.
First, thanks; but a question: 20+ PostNuke-native themes or 20+ AT themes?
In my original post I clearly stated "the primary activity today is done with AutoTheme" and noted that "real theme development" (meaning PostNuke-native development) has greatly diminished and that we are living off the work of past authors. A survey of themes.postnuke.com will confirm this -- it reads like a big ad for AT. -
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Posted: Aug 11, 2004 - 02:21 AM
So in your world, people shouldn't "hack at" PostNuke either because the support will eventually go away.
Quote
So if I spend $5 or $10 on one of your themes, I can hack at that theme (the original post talked about editing a theme), screwing things up and being completely clueless, and I can continually ask you clueless questions and you will support that theme and all of my hacks and mistakes, forever and for free?
If true, you're a saint. (And IMHO you'll live as poor as a saint because it just isn't an economically viable equation. )
From any realistic or capitalistic perspective, we know you cannot afford to do that.
I don't do this for a living and never expect to be doing it for a living.
The vast majority of my themes are free, the few I charge for are to cover the bandwidth costs.
Stop by my forums sometime and you will see that I support the themes whether free or not.
It isn't all about money ya know.
As for AT replacing "Pure" PostNuke themes, I use AT so my themes are available on just about any fork of Nuke, not just PostNuke.
There is no functionality in the Full version that you NEED in order to use ANY theme created using the AT Engine.
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Zikula Themes -
**unknown user**
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Posted: Aug 15, 2004 - 02:08 PM
Intnsred..... you just can't lump all the theme developers into one group. Some of them are very good and support their product 100%. One example is MMaynard. Not only did he provide me with a cool theme, but provided some great support after the sale. He answered about 30 theme questions and even helped me through a few Photoshop problems. Try getting anything close to that with the free developers.
http://www.gridiron-glory.com -
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Posted: Aug 16, 2004 - 08:44 AM
jusme
Intnsred..... you just can't lump all the theme developers into one group.
Sure I can. I just did. :)
jusme
Some of them are very good and support their product 100%.
Having worked for multiple software companies in many varying support positions, there are economic realities to consider here.
Note the above. MMaynard may or may not support things wonderfully; I can't say. But what I can say is that in the reply where I queried about unlimited, free, lifetime support for a clueless user who is hacking at a theme, I did not get a straight yes/no answer. What I got was a statement that he's not doing this commercially and that he gives good support. I believe that, but that doesn't answer the query. Of course, my query was loaded -- no one is going to commit to free, unlimited, lifetime support: they'd be foolish to.
(Heck, if I could find such support that was reliable, I'd consider organizing PHP classes around it; I'm sure people would pay more than the cost of a theme for a lifetime of PHP advice and question-answering. )
For a business such a support claim is just illogical and financially unsustainable. Even the most ardent hobbyist saint doing things out of the good of his heart will burn out dealing with exceptionally clueless users. There are many ways this burn-out can happen; it could be just to tell the person to go away, it could be just to ignore the person; but everyone has their limits. -
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Posted: Aug 16, 2004 - 12:43 PM
Hi there,
I agree with a lot of what Intnsred wrote, especially about the support side of things; It is impossible to provide free continuous support and still run a commercially viable business. I have found that the best way to do things is to make the theme in such away as support will not be required (very hard to do), as it is I would spend on average a few hours a day on support and even these few hours cut into the profit margin...
I try never to ignore or "say no", my way is to direct users to appropriate tutotials/articles giving information on on what they are trying to acheive. One thing, if it is a bug with my theme I do fix it :)
NOw onto the subject of AutoTheme - I have been using AutoTheme for over a year now, and have good communication with the author or AutoTheme, he actually sends me new versions of commercial AutoTheme for free as I am a theme developer and it helps him for me to test it. In all this time I have never been compelled to use the commercial version of AutoTheme on any of my sites, this is becuase the lite verison has always been adequate for what I am doing. The commercial version has many features that do help with high usage sites and add to userfriendliness, but none that I can't live without.
The main thing to remember here is that AutoTheme makes it simple to create a theme AND IT WORKS, just the same as any other theming technique. I have used it with my products for over a year and I have found it to be a stable platform, reliable and viable for the themes i create which are mission critical to my business.
Making themes is my day job and has been for over 2 years - I fully recommend AutoTheme lite or commercial as the solution with the shortest learning curve to get your theme up and running quickly and without the need for a 2 year study of PHP.
That is "IMHO"....
Kindest regards
Lobos
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-Lobos
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