Feedback on the template / style system

[Sharg]

Hi, the way the current template / style system works make it quite painfull and time waste to manage.

Currently I have two styles set. The only difference between the two style are two templates: forumhome and forumdisplay.

When I created style 2 it created 367 template for this style.

So each time I want to make a modification, I must make them twice for the two styles tempales sets, even if its not for forumhome and forum display.

It would be MUCH easier if it would work like this:

- You define your default template set (i'm not talking about original set here).

- If you want to create a second template set, you ONLY put in it the template you want different (in my case forumhome and forum display). Otherwise, style 2 would use ALL same template as default style EXCEPT its two custom template.

So instead of creating a whole template set each time you create a style, you just put the template you need to in the new template set so they will be used instead of default.

So in my case if I would expand list of style two templates set, I would see only 2 templates: forumhome and forumdisplay. All others template, because unspecified, would be the one of style 1 (assigned default set).

Does this make sense ?

[Wayne Luke]

Actually when you created the new style set it created 2 new templates with the option of creating 365 more.

If you export the style set and look inside the vbulletin.style file you will see it only contains the two templates you changed.

[Sharg]

Wayne, style 1 has 100% of its template modified already, so it did created again all the template, and I really must duplicate any change I do. Its really boring.

Style 2 has 2 template modified from style 1.
What I would like is set style 1 (100% template customized) to be the default, and any other template set use all the default template (from style 1), except the new ones I specify specifically for set 2.

What happens now if I create a style 2 ?
I duplicate style 1. and call it style 2 so it will contain all my customization. But I only want style 2 tu use new forumhome and forumdisplay.

So what happen if I find a typo in calendar template ? I must modify calendar template in style 1, and apply the same change in style 2. I'll be adding more styles, each one with ONLY different forumhome and forumdisplay, and I will have to apply the typo fix to calendar template style 3, 4 ,5 .... only because I need different forumhome, and forumdisplay, even if the customized calendar tempalte is the SAME for all the sets.

Thats not viable.
Its very very boring and you always end up to forget to do it for one style....

[Sharg]

To sumup the idea:

Example:

- Style called style1. You should be able to assign it a "default" value.
Its your first style so it contains all the original template from VB.
Now lets say like me you customize 100% of your template.

- Then you create a style2.
Its template set is EMPTY when you expand list, because each unspecified template tells vbulletin to use the template of the default set (in this case style1).

-Now you want style2 to use the same templates as style1, except for forumhome.
So you import forumhome from style1, apply your change and save it. When you expand style2 template list, you see only 1 template: forumhome. So style2 will use its own forumhome, but for all the other template it will use style1 's templates.


Of course, you can import or create as many specific template per template set/style. The KEY idea here is that if you don't specify a template for your different styles, they must ALL use the same template from default style1.

This doesn't prevent you from creating totally different template set, but the benefit is that if you want several template set/Style to use a default packet of template, you'll have the opportunity and dramatically save your time if you want several styles/template set to share the same templates.

[Wayne Luke]

New version of vBulletin comes out...

Let's just say Version 3.0 has integration for news groups, Everyone.net or Bigmailbox.com email addresses, user homepages and user driven sub-communities.

These add 200 new templates. But since you aren't using the Jelsoft global templates as your default, you don't inherit these templates in your new styles. So now you have to redo all the new templates in each style.

It will be like this in each and every upgrade which is why it was developed in this fashion to begin with.

[Kier]

That is why I made my alternative suggestion here (http://vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11504).

I have implemented this on my own forum and it works perfectly.

[Sharg]

These add 200 new templates. But since you aren't using the Jelsoft global templates as your default, you don't inherit these templates in your new styles. So now you have to redo all the new templates in each style.

I'm not sure I get what you meant.
If you use jelsoft default template it doesn't change anything.

What I suggest doesn't affect at all the way the original jelsoft templates are used.
All the template i'm talking about in the default set style1, are the jelsoft template modified, with the [revert to original] close to it. If you add the 200 new template you are talking about for vb3, they will replace original jelsoft template value AND add the new template to the default set, which will be reflected on ALL sets since ALL sets use all the templates of the default set if unspecified.

So if on your default set you add a template called customcommunity, this template will be used on ALL your style "as is". Now if you want to make this custom different for each style, you will have to import it in all your style, but thats is what you have to do anyway if you want a different one for each style.

My system let you do this, but it let you also add the new template only once, customize it, and have it used from ALL your style right away without having to import it on all styles.

[bira]

I already made this complaint a month ago, and none of you were on my side then! ;)

http://vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9008&highlight=templates

Anyway, yes, I totally agree that this system sucks if you need to change merely one-two templates per style-set (eg a different forumdisplay for every forum).

[jojo85]

Originally posted by Kier
That is why I made my alternative suggestion here (http://vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11504).

I have implemented this on my own forum and it works perfectly.

Kier powAaaaaaaaAAA :p