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Okay people, I have found a way to make alternate layouts a bit easier to create. It’s still not the wiz-bang solution we used to have. I still have to do a lot of tinkering, but it’s better than nothing. The only problem is, it doesn’t work at all for the blog or podcast pages. [...]
September 6, 2007 2:10 PM
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Okay people, I have found a way to make alternate layouts a bit easier to create. It’s still not the wiz-bang solution we used to have. I still have to do a lot of tinkering, but it’s better than nothing. The only problem is, it doesn’t work at all for the blog or podcast pages. In fact, it causes a lot of problems.
What does this mean? Well it means I can do something like this:
But when it comes to the blog and podcast pages, it would take me so much time and effort to place each object on the page, one by one and troubleshoot its settings until it works. Each object has unique IDs, an associated paragraph style, layout style and graphic style all that have to be created and aligned to the object. None of this data can use the IDs already in use somewhere in the approximately 18,000 lines of code.
:-O
It would be very easy for me to knock out themes left and right if it weren’t for the blog and podcast pages. Complex themes like the one in the picture could be created fairly easily. But if I do blog and podcast pages, I have to limit the items on the page to just a few, primarily the background images for the header, navigation menu and footer because it’s just too difficult to insert items manually.
So here’s my question… would you be interested in a theme that does NOT have blog or podcast pages? Please comment with your thoughts on this.
First off, this theme is GORGEOUS and I’d buy it in a heartbeat. No…podcast or blog pages aren’t necessary. Also, is it possible to populate the tabs with words?
BTW, this comment box didn’t appear in Firefox so I launched Safari and logged in from it and it appeared.
NOTE: Just posted the comment above in Safari and then refreshed this page in Firefox and lo-and-behold the box appeared.
Cue ‘The Twilight Zone’ theme music…
Suz,
Personally, I can live without the podcast page, but I do use blog pages. Is there a happy medium - can you create a blog or podcast page that uses the same colors and looks similar enough to ‘pass’ even thought it’s not -exactly- the same? Perhaps that might work for some themes.
Just my 2 cents.
Ron
BTW, this theme rocks! (as usual!!!!!)
Hey Steve, glad to see you pop in the mix. Thanks for the feedback and the FYI about Firefox. That’s no good. I’ll have to look into that :-O
The tab thing… yes you could type your own words and link them on there. The way I have them in there right now, you’d have to manually manage them but yes, you can.
OMG - this theme better be for sale soon!!!
I don’t mind there not being a blog or podcast page. Really, I could just select a different theme style for that particular page. Or if you do decide to make a blog or podcast page - have it incorporate the same colors so that it looks like it all ties in somehow. Or for the geeky folk, you can include all the images for those pages so they can be inserted by the user if they wanted to. Just a thought.
You are AWESOME!! Go Suzanne!!!!
Hola Ron - yes, I could also create the theme with a blog and no podcast. It’s less of a pain to do one, but still that blog page could take a week to create all by itself… and those are seven days of “Suzanne time” which means about 14-16 hours a day.
Thank you for your comments on my work :)
Oh Reina! You bring up an excellent point. One thing I CAN do easily is style the text and hyperlinks and nav bar for you. That’s easy. But getting the stuff on the page is hard.
HOWEVER!!! Yes, all you need to do is copy and paste the items on to the page yourself. Since the main blog page and the archive page never change, you do it once and you’re done. For the blog entry, all you’d have to do is create the first entry and the duplicate it from then on. Blamo! You have the real deal.
THAT WOULD WORK! :D
This theme you’re viewing by the way, was a test theme I was using to find a better “custom layout” process. I succeeded obviously, but fell short on those two pages. It’s complete for all intents and purposes so you might see it show up in the store soon under this “revised” approach. Maybe I will use this theme as market research to see how well people will tolerate that inconvenience.
I think we’re either going to have to live with that limitation, but have more themes to choose from, or have less-interesting themes that are fully prepared. More to antipcate for iWeb 3 ey?
Hi Suzanne :)
First of, you could just do the blog and or the podcast pages with the same bg colors images and skip the “extra” imagery, since i think people in general who use iweb have some knowledge of the basic cut and paste functions.
So you should only do whats easy for those pages :)
I for one like to customize the designs even further to fit my needs, so theme switching is pretty out the window for me anyways :)
Keep up the good work but don’t work TO hard! OK?!
Btw, i still haven’t found a completely working solution for the iframe content resize script…:(
There are several out there, but most of them are only working in IE on the PC. The one i have had the most success with is the SSI script i first told you about.
The problem with it is, that it isn’t resizing correctly, so i have to go in to iweb and hit the apply button for the frame, and re-publish…then it looks ok, till i put in a post that requires resizing again, and i have to do the iweb thing all over again…
But im looking for solutions! :)
hmm….my post “dissapeared”…
I don’t think it was submitted Jimmy. I haven’t gotten an email indicating one was posted. There is a “preview” function on this form that you could have triggered somehow. I have the button hidden, but it’s possible that showed up on the page rather than the actual post. Use your back button to see if you can recover the comment.
Nope…couldn’t retrieve it…
Well what i meant to post was:
First of GREAT job with all the themes Suzanne :) You make me want to create tons of sites, which i normally don’t like to much!
Make sure you take time “off” for yourself so you don’t wear yourself out! OK?!
Secondly i think you should keep the blog / podcast pages as simple as you can, just make it “blend” in with the theme in general, color wize and bg image wize, if thats not to hard offcourse!
I think most of the people with basic knowledge on how to use a computer, and most definete those who uses iweb, know how to cut and paste and such, so there shouldn’t be any problems with those pages.
I for one customizes the themes to fit my needs, so the whole theme swapping is pretty much out the window for me anyways :)
Cheers :)
Oh and about the iframe resize script…
I haven’t had any luck on gettin one that works completely yet!
There are lots of them out there, but most of them is designed to work wit IE for the PC…
So the one i’m using right now is the one i first talked about…It “semi” works, it resizes partially, but cuts the page off, so i have to work around that by opening iweb and hit the iframe apply button for it to get the correct size…and then re-publish!
But i will keep searching for a solution….
Suz!
First, this theme is beautiful! Second, I have NEVER used the blog or podcast pages in iWeb. Ever. I’ve always found them to be clunky and load-heavy. I use Wordpress (on your recommendation!). So it wouldn’t bother me AT ALL to purchase a theme with no blog or podcast pages.
My 2 cents..
Deane
Jimmy you mention something here that really hits at why I do all this theme stuff…. because it evokes that creative spirit in people. I love that.
Yes, I take some time for myself too… little bits right now. It’ll get better once I complete the other themes. I’m planning to go away for the weekend of Sep 15th. I’ll be in northern Wisconsin (booo Packers!!!) with some people that went to Peru with me. That will be a great break. I’ll try not to post entries in my blog via my iPhone!! :) hee hee
It isn’t hard to style the blog and poscast pages with basic styles that match the theme. That’s just an issue of updating objects already in the XML so I’ll use this approach and we’ll try it out with this first theme. I may have to go this route with Mail room as well.
Dean - hey you should go in your profile and enter your web site so your name is linked to your site. People should see that - it’s uber cool!
Thanks for the kudos and your feedback. I have so many very beautiful design ideas it’s hard to pick which to create. I have about 100 iWeb 1.0 domains all with various different themes designs :-O
I’m off to have some dinner and prep the yard for yet another storm. No rain all summer and then we get like 10 inches in one week LOL.
You do that, and im off to bed :)
It’s 1.42 am here…LOL and i have to get the kids to school…hee hee…
YES! I’m actually looking for a theme w/out a blog or podcast page. I already have a blog on wordpress and I don’t plan on doing any podcasts anytime soon. So if you can hook us up with a few other color variety of said gorgeousness I’m sending you some of my rent $.
WOW! Another beautiful theme.
I am not much of a “blogger” myself - and definitely not a “podcaster”, so it doesn’t matter to me. I do like the idea of keeping the color scheme for a simple blog and podcast page for those who want it.
Considering that I personally love the more “complex” themes that you have made in the past I would gladly give up “blog” and “podcast” templates which I never use anyway.
I see a lot of people using the blog pages, at least the ones that send me their links for the Live Examples page. But I bet they’d be okay with the situation. I’ve only seen 2-3 people doing podcasts though.
Another vote “for” :) Thanks John!
Themes without blog or podcast would be fine. I doubt too many people are podcasting but many are blogging. I think most would be happy with a graphically simple blog page if it meant the rest of the pages were as nice as those you’ve shown.
How’s that Lightside coming? Love ya… :-)
Hello Paul - you know I always think you’re Mr. Feeney from that kid show LOL. I’m sure you hate that :)
Lightside! I’m glad you asked about this. Lightside is complete with the exception of this very issue. That’s sorta good news :) I’ve been battling this problem for about 10 days now and I’ve tried using different Apple themes to beat it - found some interesting things by doing that, but - couldn’t find the key.
So Lightside will likely be one of those themes where you’ll have to paste all the fancy stuff into the header and I’ll get the basic stuff in and styled for you.
Watch for that one, Mailroom and Solingo over the next three days. Arcturas is next and that one will be a similar situation.
Start making the themes. If we can have the same colour sheme in the blog and the podcast pages i personally would be happy. As long as the feeling that you get over all the pages is the same, it’s ok for me (but who am i?) :)
It can be a blank blog or podcast page and i will still be happy.
cheers
Guy - you’re one of my most frequent readers and you run a great Aerolite site. Your opinion matters around here ;-) Yes, the pages can be very close to what the others are. They will contain the same basic styling. The issue is simply getting the extra items onto the page. It’s very difficult to do manually. I’m going to make a little movie about it - I *finally* purchased Snapz Pro X so I have to get some good use out of it.
Suzanne,
yep I run a blog and my movies page as you probably know is a podcast (only as it was far simpler to show the oldies how to press subsribe and then just lok out on itunes for updates, rather than follow link on honepage.. gradparents eh!)
Would I buy a template without blog or podcast, hell yeh if it looks like this!
That said I can think up a zillion reasons to buy and use stunning designs like this one, make me a nice pastel coloured one!
Now do any templates have sumenu’s, zillion and one ideas - off to check your other templates now ;)
LOL oh I feel for these older folks trying to keep up with all these young whipper snappers and their computer toys. I remember when my grandmother was absolutely opposed to getting a cordless phone - of all the ridiculous things to have!!
I will do Solingo in a few different themes. This one will be Autumn of course.
Sub-menus… well there’s no automated way to do sub-menus. I can put things on the page that look like a sub-menu, but there’s no functionality behind it. I could make a widget that acts like a sub-menu, but you would have to edit the code to insert your own links and then copy the widget to every page, every time you make a change. Cross your fingers and hope that Apple includes a sub-menu widget in the next release :)
Here is a suggestion. Start out with the template with out the podcast and or blog. Sell it for a slightly lower price than the themes that have them. Tell the users that after you have got the themes down that you will return to work on the podcast and blog pages. Also tell them that there will be an additional charge when they are released. that way those of us who could care less about them we can get a better price and those who need them can make sure you are paid to deliver them.
I agree with Matt - sounds like a logical idea and I would surely pay a little more for a blog/podcast page if I needed it. This way I would be able to customize what I wanted based on the project I am working on.
:)
Well two problems with that approach…
1) It’s really hard to go back to an old theme and monkey with it more. Once I’m done with a theme, I want to move on. Psychologically, this work is really tough because you don’t see instant results. I get tired of the theme before it’s even complete so having to release it (the prize) and then continue to work on it is hard on my sense of motivation.
2) To re-release a theme with an optional “upgrade” means I now have to manage and maintain two different versions, on my computer and on the server and in the database. It’s a lot of extra work I’d like to avoid. When iWeb 3.0 hits the planet, I may have to do all this again and then we’re talking twice as many themes to fix :-\
The idea itself is good - but ultimately the end result is, I spent the time to do the blog and podcast pages so why even bother with a preliminary version that will make more work for me. If I’m going to do them, then I’m going to do them. I just have to bite the bullet and push through to the end.
By the way, after about five hours of beating my head over some errors, I finally figured out the pattern for getting stuff on the page and I was able to get nearly everything onto the pages I wanted minus just a few. So the blog and podcasts won’t be exactly as I would like to see but will be very close.
Ideally I would love to over additional layouts, page types, but I haven’t found a way to do this. I thought I was onto something the other day when I was following a trail of files that made it appear you could add pages to a theme. If you use Pages, you know that you can build custom page types for any template :D iWeb uses the same shared framework so it should be possible for a theme designer to provide unique pages for a theme regardless of whether other themes have them or not. I was not successful making that work however. I had everything in place and configured, but I didn’t see what I expected. I’m sure I missed some small detail or maybe the final switch just hasn’t been thrown in the code. Who knows.
Anyway - rambling. I’ll do “almost perfect” blogs and podcasts and we’ll see how that goes.
I understand about not wanting to go back after you have release something. When I finish a project, I just can’t stand to see it come back for more changes.
And I too would love to see the additional layout page types. Lightside has my favorite page with the jigsaw photo frames. I have a sinking suspicion that I will have to build that from a blank page, and copy and paste from my old site.
I’m sure it is just an exercise in patience to build my character!
Oh my dear, you’re wrong on that one :D I was able to successfully recreate the Lightside “jigsaw” page without any effort at all TA DA!!
It’s in there! I’ll see if I can release Lightside this weekend. Just have to do the blog and podcast pages surprise surprise.
I know I told you this, but for the rest of you - busy day today for me. I have to color my hair and then I’m going out with my mystic friends for a break tonight. I’ll be back at it in the morning.
I agree with u 100% Suzanne…beeing an artist myself, having to go through an old job again is totally un-inspiring, and can suck the creativity right out of you….It’s much like that in my regular job, where there are revisions all the time on different projects…
But privately, once i finish a painting, then thats it! Done, finito, no changes! I have stuff thats waiting for me to finish them, but i can’t do them till i get inspired again, so for now they’re in storige :)
Good news on the Blog/Podcast pages!
Cheers
Yeah it’s one of those human nature things. It’s just plain hard to go back and revisit stuff you’ve already stamped as complete.
There are a few reasons why I’ve pursued this little hobby. One reason is that it’s a great creative outlet for me. The finished product needs to come fast enough to satisfy that creative bent otherwise it’s no longer fun, it’s just work. If that happens, then all of this disappears.
I think I’ve done a pretty good job of maintaining that balance between “fun for me” and “fun for you”. Too often I think software developers forget that this is a key to success. They start off with a great idea that others would enjoy, they build it, but then allow the situation to become out of balance… “all fun for you” “all work for them”. Then people wonder why the developer never communicates well with the community.
You cannot leave your humanity behind when you choose to do things like I’m doing. No one wins if you do. :)
Hello. Firefox just refreshed the page after I entered my login info, but didn’t let me in.
Anyway, I’m with Ron and Reina. I don’t need podcast pages, but do need blog pages. They can be over simplified though, so long as the color matches. Some matching imagery that might download with the template would be welcome, then we could manually place any of the elements that were difficult to code.
That’s not a big issue with blog pages, because the main page stays the same, and we can duplicate any entry pages that we’ve customized.
Very pretty design.
PS!!! I’d pay extra for a blog page that wouldn’t show dates. :-D
Oh I can remove dates ;-) How much can you afford??? LOL
Totally kidding… but dates are entirely removeable. Are you talking in the summary on the main page or on the archive or on the entry itself? Or all three? It’s just HTML and CSS that creates that layout, those layouts so I’d just put a display:none on that DIV and blamo - no mo dates.
I can probably explain how to do this too if you wanted to alter your current themes.
Why o why did Apple make it more difficult?
Acknowledging that this is a rhetorical question :) far be it from me to pass up yet another opportunity to geek out on everyone.
I don’t know on this one.
In iWeb 1.0, all of your site pages were combined into one giant XML file. I guess that was dumb. Maybe they didn’t realize people like Lorna from the forums would create 100-page web sites and sink their Macs with a domain XML file that was 50 mb in size ha!
In 2.0, the XML for your actual pages is now stored in individual pages - each one zipped up and compressed. The blog and podcast pages are all separated now and they don’t contain the key code needed for the templates. This is why our little widget no longer works and never will. It can’t just create the template code out of thin air and re-insert it where it needs to be. BAH.
I’m sure they did this to optimize the way your site is stored and managed as you update it. It’s more efficient. But yes, it makes template creation more of a chore.
Let’s all hope that with 3.0, they enable the “save as template” function that you find in Pages and Keynote. Eventually you’ll see that :)
Well, removing the dates from the individual entry pages is easy. You can select and delete it and it works.. This ‘used’ to also remove it from the main blog page in 1.0, but now those dates are stubborn. My customers hate the dates, so currently, I’m covering over the dates on the main blog page with a shape layer, which is a SUPER pain, because i have to move all of them each time I make a single adjustment, or a new entry. Also, I discovered, that even though the shaped layer is the same color as the background on my mac, PCs are displaying the image as a slightly different color, so it’s obvious.
So yes, I’ll even buy a template that I don’t need yet, if you’d let me know where to remove the date. If I can do it permanently in the xml, that would be fine, or if you know where I can change the html/css after I publish, I could set up massreplaceit to do that..
And, you’ll have my undying respect forever! :-D
iWeb converts the shape to an image during publishing and then compresses it which changes the color slightly. Can’t escape that.
I’ll ping you via email about changing the XML. I haven’t actually done this yet so I’ll test it first in order to get you the right instructions. I have to fix a bug in Foshay though first. Nasty blog bug.