Huge number of additional requests for custom templates

**slinky** · Thu 28 Oct '10, 11:30am

Anyone have any idea about why all of these items are generated? It creates a HUGE drag for someone with a custom style that is anything other than stock vbulletin with a color and logo change.

**tarzan22** · Mon 1 Nov '10, 9:24am

Si,tambien me ocurre y desconozco el motivo.

**cellarius** · Mon 1 Nov '10, 10:52am

Originally posted by slinky

(1)Additional.css files
forums/images/styles/mystyle/vbadditional.css

This is a css-file that comes from your style. vB does not save anything in that folder, which obviously has been created when you installed that style.

forums/clientscript/vbulletin_css/style00046l/additional.css?d=1288109860

This is the standard additional.css template. You save css templates in the file system, obviously, and so this is called as it should be. Nothing untowards.

OK, this is generated when you add code to a special vb style sheet. OK, I can live with that although I'd prefer to just stuff it into the stock vB style sheet since I only use one style, but fine. But why yet another additional request for a second css style sheet

As I said - the first one comes from your style, the second is stock.

(2) Several CSS "rollup" files
forums/clientscript/vbulletin_css/style00046l/forumdisplay-rollup.css?d=1288109860
forums/clientscript/vbulletin_css/style00046l/main-rollup.css?d=1288109860
forums/clientscript/vbulletin_css/style00046l/threadlist-ie.css?d=1288109860
forums/clientscript/vbulletin_css/style00046l/replacement-vbulletin-ie.css?d=1288109860

What is this and why is it being generated? What is "main-rollup.css" and what is the need for this to be separately generated?

rollup-css-files are created when saving css templates to the file system. When serving css from the database only those css templates are called that are actually needed on a certain page. If you did the same when saving css in the file system, you would actually have to call much more single files, resulting in more file requests. That's why those rollups are created for certain pages or tasks; they contain the css code that would normally be found in several single files. On the other hand you don't want to put everything in one single big file, since you don't need all css all the time, and in case of the IE specific stuff you never need it if you're on another browser.

(3) Several Additional Javascript files:
forums/clientscript/vbulletin-threadbit.js?v=407
forums/clientscript/vbulletin-read-marker.js?v=407
forums/clientscript/vbulletin-threadlist-ie.js?v=407
Why are these files being downloaded on my site's forum browse page but not on vBulletin's site?

Maybe you have them in cache already for vB.com.

(4) Images uploaded but not appearing in list of http request in stock vb
/forums/images/styles/mystyle/buttons/newthread.png
/forums/images/styles/mystyle/statusicon/thread_hot-30.png
/forums/images/styles/mystyle/pagination/last-right.png
/forums/images/styles/mystyle/pagination/next-right.png
I don't understand - all the button explanations on the bottom of the page, new reply button, etc. all appear to be separately downloaded on my site but none of them appear in the less than two dozen http requests made in the stock vbulletin theme. Part of what is hurting my page load are all these requests for stock buttons that are just using my own custom buttons. This shouldn't show a different result but it is.

In stock vB, the buttons are not image files, but are created using css. Probably your style uses images instead. The last two images would not be used unless you're in RTL-mode (hence the -right suffix).

**slinky** · Tue 2 Nov '10, 7:56am

Thanks for the explanation - yes, additional does what it does... but what about these:

(1) The Roll Up Files: From what I've read, it's better to just load all the CSS into one file and be done with it rather than separating it into 4 or more separate files, each with a separate http request. The size of these files aren't that large anyways and better to have one 25k file than 4 or 5 files that are 2-10k.

(2) The JS files couldn't have been cached since I used the webtester. Could it have had those files cached? I don't know but I think it downloads the pages as if it hadn't visited the site before... hmmm... perhaps it couldn't see the page since it doesn't have an account. That might explain it. Still, that's four more JS files to add, perhaps better off as one for common functions - I don't know.

(3) The vB buttons are images. I don't know what "created using css" means since the css seems to refer to the images that correspond to new posts, no new posts, locked thread, etc. If you right click on the images you can see the images and where they are located. For example:

404 Not Found

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/images/statusicon/thread_new-16.png

That one is located on that page but for some reason doesn't seem to appear in the web tester. It should also be referred to in the css file as well.

**cellarius** · Tue 2 Nov '10, 8:23am

Originally posted by slinky

Thanks for the explanation - yes, additional does what it does... but what about these:

(1) The Roll Up Files: From what I've read, it's better to just load all the CSS into one file and be done with it rather than separating it into 4 or more separate files, each with a separate http request. The size of these files aren't that large anyways and better to have one 25k file than 4 or 5 files that are 2-10k.

I would doubt that. Example: The IE specific stuff. Why should non-IE users burdened with that? Or the editor stuff - the vast majority of your visitors - guests - on a normal setting never ever will see the editor. Why push that on them? You need a balanced solution, and that's what the rollups do pretty well. The alternative would be to serve them dynamically - but then you just could serve them out of the database.

(2) The JS files couldn't have been cached since I used the webtester. Could it have had those files cached? I don't know but I think it downloads the pages as if it hadn't visited the site before... hmmm... perhaps it couldn't see the page since it doesn't have an account. That might explain it. Still, that's four more JS files to add, perhaps better off as one for common functions - I don't know.

It also could depend on the settings, and, as you say, whether you are logged in or not. All makes a difference. Maybe some js scripts could be put together, but a single mega js file just won't do. Why push such a file containing bunches of unnecessary code to the user, who might hardly need it, because, for example, you have deactivated certain functionality or the user has no permission?

(3) The vB buttons are images. I don't know what "created using css" means since the css seems to refer to the images that correspond to new posts, no new posts, locked thread, etc. If you right click on the images you can see the images and where they are located.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Created by css means there is no image involved in standard vB. Well, no image involved is not completely correct as the little icons next to the text are images, but the buttons themselves are created by css.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/image...ead_new-16.png

That one is located on that page but for some reason doesn't seem to appear in the web tester. It should also be referred to in the css file as well.

I can't find that image in neither of both reports linked by you.

**slinky** · Tue 2 Nov '10, 8:59am

Originally posted by cellarius

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Created by css means there is no image involved in standard vB. Well, no image involved is not completely correct as the little icons next to the text are images, but the buttons themselves are created by css.

I can't find that image in neither of both reports linked by you.

Regarding the answers, fair enough... still there seem to be a couple of files that are there although for some reason stock vB isn't generating them. I'd love to know why. Moreso, I'd like a better way to combine the JS files I KNOW that I will use. Right now that isn't really an option.

Regarding the image and CSS - yes, I don't understand why I can't find that image at all. That isn't be "created" by css as the image is referred to in the CSS and must be downloaded. Take a look on this page:

Customizing vBulletin - vBulletin Community Forum

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?26-Customizing-vBulletin

It's there right on the bottom along with several other icons. Right click on them and you can see the image and path.

**cellarius** · Tue 2 Nov '10, 9:15am

Maybe that's just an issue with WebPagetest. If I check the page you just linked, I perfectly well see all the graphics in Firebug.

Huge number of additional requests for custom templates

[vB4] Huge number of additional requests for custom templates

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