Creating a 3 column template

[chrisk]

I'm trying to find my way around customizing templates & haven't been able to successfully crack the code.

Here's what I want the end result to be:

http://www.cyberschmooz.com/gen.php

The top ad, left bar, skyscraper ad on the right, & links and disclaimer is pulled in by php includes.

1. How do I get rid of the default vBulletin colors & get the background graphic pulled in?

2. How do I get the php includes to be recognized? They are currently in the default php include directory on the server (usr/local/lib/php)

I need to have this customized & up within a month.

[rockergrrl]

Total Code:

<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
  <tr> 
    <td colspan="3">TOP AD ROW</td>
  </tr>
  <tr> 
    <td width="20%">SIDE COLUMN</td>
    <td width="69%">VBULLETIN HERE</td>
    <td width="11%">SKYSCRAPER AD</td>
  </tr>
</table>

ADD THIS TO YOUR HEADER (at very top):

<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
  <tr> 
    <td colspan="3">TOP AD ROW</td>
  </tr>
  <tr> 
    <td width="20%">SIDE COLUMN</td>
    <td width="69%">VBULLETIN HERE

ADD THIS TO YOUR FOOTER (at very bottom):

</td>
    <td width="11%">SKYSCRAPER AD</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Edit percentages to your liking, etc.

Edit colors by changing the style in the control panel.. as well as change table/td/tr properties to point to those colors as well (or to whatever you wish).

If you need more help, just let me know. But really, its not very hard to do. If you know HTML, you'll do fine.

Tonya

[TYorke]

That's what I did with my board http://community.nhl-league.com but I had to copy and paste the HTML for the top and bottom parts accordingly.

I tried to use include statements but didn't work, is this the best that can be done? copying and pasting HTML code?

[chrisk]

Hi Tonya,

Thanks, I added the code, but am still having problems. It seems like the changes don't take effect.
Here's the url where I'm working:

http://www.cyberschmooz.com/index2.php

Here's the header code:

<TABLE BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="10" CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TD>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0">
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="3">
<!-- TOP AD ROW -->
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="10">
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP">
<A HREF="index.php?s=$session[sessionhash]"><IMG SRC="http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/graphics/cs/cs_banner_2.gif" WIDTH="300" HEIGHT="34" BORDER="0"></A>
</TD>
<TD VALIGN="TOP">
<?php include('468x60_top.inc');?>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR BGCOLOR="#FF9900">
<TD COLSPAN="2" NOWRAP ALIGN="right">
<!-- toplinks -->
<SPAN ALIGN="right">
<A HREF="usercp.php?s=$session[sessionhash]"><IMG SRC="images/top_profile.gif" ALT="Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences" BORDER="0"></A> <A HREF="register.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&action=signup"><IMG SRC="images/top_register.gif" ALT="Registration is free!" BORDER="0"></A> <A HREF="calendar.php?s=$session[sessionhash]"><IMG SRC="images/top_calendar.gif" ALT="Calendar" BORDER="0"></A> <A HREF="memberlist.php?s=$session[sessionhash]"><IMG SRC="images/top_members.gif" ALT="Find other members" BORDER="0"></A> <A HREF="misc.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&action=faq"><IMG SRC="images/top_faq.gif" ALT="Frequently Asked Questions" BORDER="0"></A> <A HREF="search.php?s=$session[sessionhash]"><IMG SRC="images/top_search.gif" ALT="Search" BORDER="0"></A> <A HREF="index.php?s=$session[sessionhash]"><IMG SRC="images/top_home.gif" ALT="Home" BORDER="0"></A>
</SPAN>
<!-- /toplinks -->
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="180">
<!-- LEFT BAR -->
<?php include('boic_left_bar.inc');?>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="100%">
VBULLETIN HERE



And, here's the footer code:

</td>
<td width="120"><?php include('rightads.inc');?></td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- /content area table -->


<P><IMG SRC="http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/graphics/general_w/bars/blue.gif" WIDTH="100%" HEIGHT="2" BORDER="0"></P>
<P>
<?php include('textlinks.inc');?>
<P>
<?php include('disclaimer.inc');?>
<P>
<?php include('copy.inc');?>

<p align="center"><smallfont>
<!-- Do not remove this copyright notice -->
Powered by: vBulletin Version $templateversion<br>
Copyright &copy;2000 - 2002, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.<br>
<!-- Do not remove this copyright notice -->
</smallfont></p>



And, current style settings

I've got the background color set to black, the body tag includes the speckled background graphic. Also, margin height & width are set to "0"

Also wonering
What special setting to I have to do to get php includes to pull in? (for both header & footer above)

I've got a good handle on html, it's just figuring out how to get the templates to play together that's confusing me. Also the fact that the changes I'm making aren't seeming to take effect.

Thanks again

[chrisk]

Quick Addition to above post

I guess changes did take effect in the forums, just not on the front page - go the the url I gave above & go into one of the forums like "Comfort Food" - I've got some more tweaking to do - need the table columns to be a different color.

Now, how do I get those changes to be made on the main page? (index2.php)

One hurdle passed, now, to get those php includes to work. (One reason they're vital is b/c our community is a part of a several thousand page site. The only way to halfway keep up is to run as much as possible off of includes)

Thanks again!