A couple of (fairly easy..?) questions

Michael3185

1. I have widescreen monitor, and find that with a maximised browser my Vanilla discussions and comments are far too 'long and thin'. I want to modify the CSS so that the lower part of the screen, below the tabs, is of a fixed width. Preferably centred too, so the side panel moves in a bit, and the text container has a wider right hand side border. I've hacked around in the default stylesheet for ages, but all I managed to do is wreck the layout. 2. Is there a simple way to re-order the navigation tabs? I'd like to have Categories first, followed by Discussions, as it's less confusing for those who aren't used to forums. Seeing a stack of seemingly unorganised threads when they first enter will give some of them the shakes! Is there a way to re-order them and make Categories the default 'first page'? I have to say that I love Vanilla - beautifully simple to use, and good on the eyes.

sirlancelot

You will run in to problems when centering the content area because the sidebar background (the gray gradient) is positioned relative to the HTML body tag.

Add this code to the end of your stylesheet and you'll see what I mean:#Body { width: 900px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; }
The #Body selector selects all of the content after the tab bar.

Michael3185

Ooh - it's broken. I guess it must be possible to position the sidebar relative to, erm, something else..? Not much good with CSS myself, hence the question. Think I'll put it back as it was for now. Thanks for the advice. While I'm at it... Is there any easy way to move the Whisper name edit field below the Comment input box? Again, my users won't understand what/how to use whispering (and I have to admit, it threw me for a minute).

sirlancelot

1. Have a look at some other Themes for Vanilla. Many of them offer the fixed-width layout you desire.

2. Re-arranging the tabs will not change the home page. For that, you need an extension like DefaultPage

3. Whispers are honestly the best feature of Vanilla. If you're users don't understand it, direct them to the documentation: vanilla:users#whispering. It is much better than any other direct messaging system.

Michael3185

Am just about to try Default Page. I've spent the last hour changing all the font sizes so they're just a tad larger and easy to read. Found that going too large spoiled the whole look of Vanilla. I tried a couple of themes and styles, and to be honest I like the default best. With all fonts just a pixel larger it looks and reads better, so I'm happy with it. I got a bit confused by whispering myself, as I'm the only one on it at present. Just read the link page, and I see what you mean. I just need to explain it in simple terms, and they should cotton on well enough. Cheers sirlancelot.

TomTester

Hmmm, I think whispers are the *worst* feature of Vanilla, not as a feature per se, the in-line private comments are very convenient in many discussions, but the present (1.1.7) implementation, server-based in-line arrangement of whispers. Because of this, the simplest caching schemes, i.e. time- and/or update-based caching (store cached copy every x seconds, or store new cached copy whenever someone adds a comment), are not possible without turning OFF the whisper feature. If you have a non-performing vanilla forum, turn off whispers and things will greatly improve... (there are a couple more 'tricks' incl. turning off IP tracking).

Michael3185

I did turn off IP tracking, figuring that would slow things down (well, once it sees some use). I wondered about a PM extension, but the ones I tried failed with errors. I'm steering clear of hacking around too much to try and fix things, not least because I'd only make it worse! The Default Page extension works well, but is there a way to make the Categories tab the first in the row? I've been trawling through php files, but can only find where the tabs are set, not the actual titles or order.

TomTester

You can use the PageManager extension to move tabs, add custom pages, include third party content etc.: http://lussumo.com/addons/index.php?PostBackAction=AddOn&AddOnID=60 Another very very useful add-on is the Nuggets add-on (add content at various locations on the vanilla page): http://lussumo.com/addons/index.php?PostBackAction=AddOn&AddOnID=283

Michael3185

I've just started installing Page Manager, and noticed this in the ReaMe file; If you have mod_rewrite enabled (and are taking advantage of that in your vanilla install), add these lines to your .htaccess file: #Pages RewriteRule ^page/(.*)$ index.php?Page=$1 [QSA,L] I have an idea that a .htaccess allows/blocks access from search engine spiders and such..? But what's mod_rewrite, how do you turn it on, and why? All help appreciated!

Michael3185

Urkh! Now I got; PAGEMANAGER ERROR: An error occured in attempting to save your tabs. Please check that your file permissions are correct and verify that PageManager::CustomPageFile (./extensions/PageMng/CustomPages.php) is a valid file name. {edit} Read the extension download page and found the answer. Sweet mod!

sirlancelot

For this good of this thread (I know you already found it, Michael) I'm posting a link to the just-released Bushido theme, which is a fixed-width version of the default Vanilla theme.