UBB.Developers Forums UBB.threads 6 V6 Modifications Templates UBB.classic skin (template) help request!

Hi Allen!

As suggested by yourself I'm moving the discussion to the Threadsdev forum.

The changes would be quite staightforward to someone who's comfortable with modifying the Threads template. I think it would basically involve moving the colouristic data from my current UBBC board to the Threads UBB skin.

I would also like to remove the 'topics' count on the forum summary page as well as the 'views' count and 'rating' on the separate forum listings. Would this involve only modifying the template or would I also have to make changes in the Threads admin section (for instance to switch off ratings)?

The UBBC skin looks great and I'd love to move to Threads as soon as I have the right template, and it would be great if you could help with the template so that the Infopop team performing the professional upgrate could drop it in in no time.

You are basically wanting your styles converted to the css file? That shouldn't be difficult.

I'll need to go back over the ubb.skin to make sure there aren't any "gotchas", it's been a while since I looked at it

What version threads are you upgrading to? 6.0.3?

It's pretty much just the styles that I need help converting. As for the other things such as topic ratings, do you switch those off by modifying the template or does Threads make the appropriate changes through a control panel option?

I would like to upgrade to Threads 6.1 as soon as it comes out. I guess I might as well wait because I have custom graemlins, and the new 6.1 importer is a lot better than its predecessor.

One last thing, is it possible to display the member # in the Classic skin? Just curious if it's possible to preserve that...

BTW I really like this quick reply box in Threads. The guys running UBBC should give it some consideration.

I like the quick reply too... very handy

If you aren't in a huge hurry and got a good sized forum to import, I'd recommend waiting for 6.1. The importer really does do a much better job of the import process. I need to update the ubb.skin templates for 6.1 as well.

Turning off the ratings can be done in the templates just by removing the part that calls them. Fairly simple to do, once I update the skin, I'll make one without the ratings

Making a css file to match your current style is relatively easy as well...

Hey Conrad,

Well you've taken the big leap as I can see. Any chance you give a big yell when yours is finished? I'd fancy a good look and see what's the same and what's different.

Cheers mate!

OK, this looks like it's going to be a loooong post.

I agree that it would be best to wait until 6.1 before importing as I do run quite a large board and the importer is greatly improved as well. The rush to upgrade isn't that great as long as my web host can hold out (server resources are huge at the moment). Plus I'm paying for 1.5GB of transfer each day and if Threads can bring that down (even by 5-15%) then that would also be a big plus.

And now to the questions that have been accumulating in my head over the last hours...

1. Are most options, such as topic ratings or adding attachments, controlled (on/off) by directly toggling the template as opposed to doing the changes in the Threads control panel? For instance can I switch off the threaded view option in the control panel or must I remove it by changing the template itself?

2. Are post extras (such as 'Print Post' or 'Remind Me') toggled in the template as well?

3. If I apply a custom UBBC-style template in 6.1 then can I later revert to the standard one and use the UBB-skin as an optional template (once the multi-template feature becomes available)? I assume the answer is yes, but I thought I'd better ask just in case.

Just thought I'd add a shortlist of things I'm don't like in Threads as a UBBC user (would be great if some of these could be control-panel toggled one day):
- repeating the topic title in each post
- using "edit, reply...", links next to every post (don't people scroll all the way down to the last post anyway)?
- seeing only one post after clicking on reply as opposed to all posts on the page
- and the main one: TINY, TINY box/area to write the post (post message screen). Threads only has 5 lines whereas UBBC has 12 (I bet this is a really simple template alteration).

Overall I would like my users to feel as much at home as possible after the change (especially since I'm sure there'll be login issues, etc., to keep me busy). Thus the plan to use a UBBC template so that initially the change to Threads looks minimal from the stylistic perspective. Afterwards, once multi templates become available, I think it would be good to swing the other way but at the same time leave people the option to stick to the Classic look.

Don't know anything about Classic... but I can answer one:
[]- and the main one: TINY, TINY box/area to write the post (post message screen). Threads only has 5 lines whereas UBBC has 12 (I bet this is a really simple template alteration).

---

Thats a user setting.
Under "My Home", edit the "TextArea Columns" field and "textAreaRows" field. Users can make this box as big as they'd like.

As the Admin, you can edit the Theme settings. This won't override people's existing settings, but will apply to new users and users who aren't logged in.

Not sure how the import works... but you might wish to set this theme, then import the users, as I'm guessing the default will be applied.

A "FAQ - Site Help" post on display preferences and step by step to "My Home" are things that I am updating on my site, soon to be posted here for all to use in their own site. I'm guessing a forum like that, on your board would help the transition from Classic to Threads.

We don't have the forum here yet, but Maybe I'll post what I've got as a preview somewhere here.

1. In most cases you will have to edit the option out of the templates. Many of these have been done already and can be found in the template forum here at threadsdev. A few are changed in the config and theme pages in the admin area.

2. Yes, you will have to edit the templates to remove these.

3. It shouldn't be a problem since you would only need to have separate directories with the different template sets.

To remove the repeating the subject in every post would need some small hacking to accomplish. Depending on how you would like to have it, the script could remove the topic if it is the same as the topic of the post above it. Or it could just remove it for all, but then you should remove the possibility to change the subject as well.

The edit links needs to be next to the post to edit, otherwise you wouldn't be able to edit each post.
The reply is at every post because you are able to reply to any post that you want to, not just reply to the thread as a whole. You could of course cripple the program and remove these links and instead install the part of the quick reply hack that adds a reply box at the bottom of the page.

You only see the post you are replying to, since you are replying to that post and not the whole thread. It is a different, more detailed way of discussing that some (including me) likes better than a complete flat mode. If someone really wants this it shouldn't be too hard to include showflat in newreply.

You can change the size of the post textarea in the theme config on your admin page. Also, users can set the size of this box individually on their own control panel.

Regarding your thoughts on the move I believe that is the best way to go.

Hi Kayjey!

I'll definitely give a big shout once I finally make the move to Threads 6.1. I'm really looking forward to it and the template option seems like it can do wonders.

Guys,

thanks for the info. I'm starting to understand things a but more now with Threads and I'm anxiously awaiting the release of 6.1. I'll go with a UBBC template for a while but once users can choose their own template I'll give them the option to use the standard Threads look.

Follow up to your tiny, tiny box comment.

You might want to duplicate something like this post on your site to help your users get comfortable.

Wow, that's a very nice write-up for users. I will definitely include a translated version of this when I upgrade.

Just out of curiosity, can the admin switch off some of these options such as post order (date, subject, poster) or style sheets? I'm thinking of switching off most of these (if possible) when I move to Threads, and then introducing them one by one as opposed to all at once.

You can give them only one stylesheet to choose from and not mention it to them

Conrad, seems like just like me you're looking for a MySQL version of UBB.classic.

Want my bet? I Infopop would release a MySQL UBB.Classic you would see many switching to that.

The thing is Threads offers a bit too much of it all. Letting users customise so many things doesn't make things easy on the support field.

Next time I see a falling star, I'll know what to wish for.

Kayjey,

I too have been after a MySQL version of UBB and would have upgraded a long time ago if such an option was available.

I'm getting ready to upgrade to Threads (6.1.1 when it comes out) as my board is basically "enslaving" the server by hoarding system resources.

Allen, I have a few questions to ask with regards to a possible Classic template for Threads.

My main query is with regards to the complicated 'reply' function in Threads which differentiates which post in particular you are replying to. In Classic you only had one button which didn't distinguish between anything.

If we use a Classic 'skin' in Threads than how is the universal reply button treated?

1. Does it make everyone reply to the original post or the last post in the thread?

2. Does the post message screen bring up all previous posts on the page (as opposed to "In response to")?

3. What are the benefits of Threads' system where there is this discinction of who you're replying to? I haven't seen this in any other bb software.

4. If I stick to the regular Threads default template then as the admin can I switch off this system so that all replies are treated the same?

The advantages of this reply method are kind of nice. Say you have a 20 reply thread, and you want to kind of reply to someone in the middle more directly. If you click the reply button for that post, it automatically puts the "RE: reply topic here... and then a Re: username"

So at a glance you can see who you were directly responding to.

Thanks, I guess it can come in handy. Can it be switched off though (from the control panel) if necessary?

Allen, it would be great if you could answer some of the other questions when you find the time. 6.1.1 is out and I'm really eager to upgrade - in fact so much so that I've already bought a Gold licence!

hehe.. ok, will look at it later today. Are there some things particularly pressing?

Nothing particularly pressing, just the few questions numbered above (relating to the reply function/structure).

Also, is there a list of Threads functions split into those that can be set from the control panel itself and those that can only be altered through templates?

Also, does the Classic template work well with 6.1.1? Is there a sample url you could point me to?

the ubb.skin hasn't been tested on 6.1.1 yet. I need to go over it and update some things. I have found tho that using the posting pages that are updated for 6.1.1 (like we use here) go a long ways in easing into the new style

1. the universal reply button replies to the last topic in a thread, fine for flat viewing, can be odd for threaded.

2. brings up the last post

3. the benefit is people know who is being replied to within a thread... with flat forums, that just doesn't happen. Can be very nice in busy threads with people posting quickly. Can also be nice for longer threads where points are being made and you wish to reply to a specific person. I'll admit it took me some getting used to, but I look for it now and miss it when it's not there

4. you can, but then you'd miss out on the benefits

We plan to develop some 'newbie' templates that can be used either in specific forums or the whole site, it requires a mod that justdave has done, but works nicely

Many thanks Allen. Could you please email me ([email protected]) the CSS used in the Threads site with the Classic template?

On a side note, how can I turn off the little flag next to the admin/moderator?

Easiest way to "turn off" the little flag is to replace adm.gif and mod.gif with a 1x1 transparent pixel graphic.

Thanks Josh. Is there also a way to do this by altering templates through the control panel?

Allen,

Is it possible to build a CSS by using the info from the Classic style-sheet?

Page Background Color #FFFFFF
Text Color #000000
Link Color #2f2f4f
Active Link Color #800000
Visited Link Color #2f2f4f
Table Border Color #5d7790
Table Header Strip Text Color #000000
Table Header Strip Background Color #8FBC8F
Time Color #a62a2a
First Alternating Table Column Color #FAFAFA
Second Alternating Table Column Color #c0d9d9
Category Strip Background Color #8FBC8F
Category Strip Text Color #000000
Copyright Text Color #5d7790
Message Board Title Font Color #5d7790
Horizontal Rule Color #5d7790
Poll Result Bar Color #000000

Would it be possible to document which of these colours go where in the Threads CSS? This would be of great help to people like myself who are making the transition from Classic to Threads.

One last question, is it possible to receive the same cool template that Threadsdev uses?

Check the "blam!" template thread for the templates we are using here... please read the whole thread as I need to update somethings in the original post

Thanks Allen. Could you please email me the CSS you used on the Standxx.com site that used the Classic skin?

I believe that was our 'moss' or 'frost' css file from the css forum

Doesn't appear to be any of the two. The one on Standxx.com was part of the Classic skin and seemed to emulate the Classic set of fonts perfectly. Would be great if you could tell me where I can download it or if you could mail it to [][email protected][/]