[FAQ] Simple Guide to basic Skinning

Ages ago I wrote a little tutorial for the old forum, basically it's a simple way of making a skin to suit your site beter than the stock one:

The only thing you need to do is grab the "modern" theme HERE

Follow it's install instructions & make another copy of the folder, call it "modern2" or whatever. You'll need to rename the "modern.skin.php" file to "modern2.skin.php" (or whatever)

Open the graphics files with your fave graphic's app & play with them, use gradients, fades, colours to match your current site, just basically mess about

When saving the new graphics, use the original filenames but add a 2 on the end, like so: mdrn_bottombg2.gif

You'll also need to edit your new "skin.php", find the image filenames & add a 2 on the end blahblah2.gif so the new theme will use your graphics.

The results can be quite simple but effective, like this:





Like I said, it's only a minor alteration, but it'll make things look more like your site, if that's what you need.

Good Luck & have fun okay.

Dubs'

[HACK] Advanced Image Module

Name: Clickable Thumbs
Author: MadMac
CuteNews Compatibility: 1.3.6 - * (no incompatibility reported yet)
Description: This is an easy solution for having clickable thumbs. A more advanced way can be found in the next post.
Popup-Images lets you upload 2 versions of images you want to include in your news, one full image & one thumbnail.
It then asks if you want to insert the image as a popup or standard image.
If you choose pop-up it inserts the code & thumbnail for you, so when a reader clicks the small image a larger one opens in a pop-up.
Demo: Click here for Download, Info and Test-Installation
Discussion Topic:
Instructions:
This hack written by MadMac - recoded for Cutenews 1.3.6 - August 2004

You have to modify some code in images.mdu (or replace the file with my version),
add some JavaScript to the page that includes your news, and upload one new file to your cutenews-directory.

Detailed instructions are on the page under the above link, and in the downloadable zip file.
Hope you like it...
>>Download Page<<

[FAQ][INSTALL] A Basic Site With Cutenews Tutorial

OK, for starters, make a new page in Dreamweaver or whatever web design program you prefer.

Add a table, 1 row x 2 columns (2 boxes - left & right)

Align the table center or left, depending what you want to go for.

In the left cell, put a new table, 1 column wide, 5 rows high. This will be your nav bar.

In that 5 high table you made, write each page name in a cell of it's own, (home, news, sport, blog, guestbook for example) in the "url" box for each one, write the name of the page it's going to link to (index.php, news.php, sport.php etc)

Now save that page as index.php & make 4 copies of it, renaming the copies to suit. (index.php, news.php, sport.php etc)

Index will be your main entry page, so put relevant info in the right hand cell of that page.

news.php will be your main cutenews page, so in the right cell place the standard include code from the readme, making sure you're in code input mode, not wysiwyg!!


In all other pages, just place your content in the right cell, or if it's a php guestbook, you can use the same include code from CuteNews, but pointing at the guestbook script instead, like this for example:
include("../guestbook/index.php");

This system is REALLY basic, but it'll get you up & running, you can make it look pretty once it works properly!!
In the CuteNews zip file you download you have example.php and example2.php which are pretty much a demo for this tutorial.


Hope that's given you some ideas.
Dubs'