Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/22/2008 4:13 PM |
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I'm a graphic designer completely new to DNN. Working on a client site
that is hosted and installed by someone else. I spent yesterday and
today watching tutorials and experimenting. I'm made good progress,
successfully adding a new skin, adding containers and modules and
editing, etc. I do have some pretty basic questions that are still
unresolved...
1) I don't seem to have the ability to choose an image module. Is that
something the host who installed and maintains this DNN site may've
restricted? Or is there something else I'm missing about how to add an
image to an image pane? The work around seems to be to make it a text
container then upload the photo in it. But clearly (from the tutorial)
there's supposed to be an image module.
2) Is there a way to move the start of the horizontal navigation bar to the right so it's not flush left?
3) I see there's a way to have a module show on every page. But what I've found is that if I then decide to change the container I have to go to every page and change it seprately. How do I work more efficiently? Is there a way to have not only the module but the content of the module appear on all pages?
4) Is there any way to wrap text around a photo within a block of text?
I didn't see that option and it's usually available in WYSIWYG editors
like this.
5) And my biggest bugger-boo... the skin I'm using came with a homepage
layout and two internal page layouts. I know I can go into
Admin/SiteSettings/Appearance and select a portal skin and container
and separate ones for the admin. But how do I get it so the homepage
uses one and other pages use the other? Is there here or elsewhere?
6) And finally on a related note... the background of the content edit
panel is taking the site's background image which is a black-red
gradient and using it as the background. Obviously this makes it
difficult to read and edit text. How can I change this to a white
background just for editing, not for displaying when the content is
saved? I did change the admin skins and that helped with some stuff but
not with this edit interface.
Thanks so much. I eagerly await your words of wisdom.
Sheila
(edited to remove quesitons I've figured out and add new ones!)
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Joseph Craig DNN MVP Posts:11667
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04/22/2008 7:54 PM |
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Hi, Sheila! 1. Yes, only Host can add modules. So, if there is a module that you need and isn't installed, you'll have to get Host to install it for you. 2. I assume that the "horizontal navigation bar" is the menu. You change it's placement and appearance in the skin file and the accompanying skin.css file. Assuming that you don't want to have the bar flush left, you'd change the skin file to do that. 3. I'm not sure about this, but when you have the module appear on all pages, it may still use the default container for each page. If that's what you're seeing, that's what it is. The content, though, should appear on every page. If you aren't seeing the same content on every page, then something is wrong. If you want a certain kind of module to appear on every page, you can create a page template (there's a tutorial on page templates: How to create Page Templates in DotNetNuke) and use it when you create new pages. Unfortunately, at least part of that process seems to be broken in 4.8.2 and, possibly, 4.8.1. 4. Yes, the editor supports inserting images and wrapping text. If you are putting images in Text/Html modules, use the menu item to insert images from the "gallery" (from where you can also upload files) and then use the Image Properties to select alignment, wrapping, etc. You'll want to take a look at: 5. Set the site's default skin and container to those that will be used by "most" pages. Then, for other pages, click "Settings" in the control panel to select the skin and container for the site. For modules, you can also go to their settings to select a special container for a module. 6. For this (assuming that I'm understanding the question correctly) you probably want to select a skin for Admin pages with a white background. That should do it. |
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Joe Craig, Patapsco Research Group Complete DNN Support |
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/22/2008 10:12 PM |
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Joe: Thank you so much. That was a lot of GREAT info. I think part of the reason I had so many questions is that I didn't start from scratch. I was given a site to work with that already had pages in place with navigation and content. My job was to choose a new skin and customize how it's arranged, etc. So for instance that template approach makes perfect sense (it's how I work in all my Adobe programs) but since these pages are in place with content I couldn't really start all over again. WOW...I hadn't discovered the page settings yet! That sure explains a lot. And re: your response to #6, I think you understand correctly. I did choose an admin skin with a white background and it didn't change the background of the editing interface. But I just checked and apparently I'd only changed the container and not the skin. So I'm good there now. Thanks. Is there any advantage to having the host install an image module? It seems to be working to use a text box. But not having had the image module I don't know what I'm missing. I expect I'll be back with more questions tomorrow. Thanks again. You've been a true blessing. Sheila http://www.hoffmangraphics.com |
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Lee Sykes DNN Creative Staff
Nuke Master VI Posts:4945
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Joseph Craig DNN MVP Posts:11667
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04/23/2008 7:40 AM |
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And, as for the Media Module, this is great for displaying galleries or single images. As you've discovered, you can include text and images with the Text/HTML module. If that's what you need, you don't need the Media Module. |
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Joe Craig, Patapsco Research Group Complete DNN Support |
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/23/2008 10:40 AM |
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You guys are AWESOME. Thanks so much. I did try the edit for the CSS and it didn't fix it so I'll just revert back to using a hosted white background for editing. It seems odd that the person who made this skin left the background of the edit box anything other than white. But I'm OK. So I just discovered that the hosting company did some custom shopping cart work for this client before I came on board. And now they must be paid again to revamp the pieces to fit within the new skin. I thought the whole point of DNN and skins is to NOT be reliant on someone outside. Is this typical or are they scamming my client? Sheila www.hoffmangraphics.com |
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/23/2008 11:29 AM |
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If there was content in old panes using a different skin and the new skin uses different panes so some of that content isn't displaying... Can I just switch to the old skin, copy the old content, switch back to the new skin and paste it in? OR...will that process mess up the work I've done in the new skin?
I guess the other related question is, if I change the default skin selection (home, 1 col or 2 col) will it change all pages or just the ones that I have not yet custom selected. And what happens to any content in panes that go away?
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Joseph Craig DNN MVP Posts:11667
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04/23/2008 7:43 PM |
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You can easily move modules to new panes using the dropdown menu. |
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Joe Craig, Patapsco Research Group Complete DNN Support |
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/23/2008 8:28 PM |
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I'm sorry Joe but your comment doesn't seem to address my questions (unless I'm missing something). I was asking about changing between different skins and not everything showing up and would anything be lost going back and forth. Since I took over a work in process the host warned me of the following: They said to keep in mind that when we move content from the old
skin to the new skin to make sure we put the content into the correct pane or
else it will get moved to the content pane and links and forms will not
function anymore. So that has me nervous. And a new question...How do I make a button display at the top level so I can have buttons under it but have it not be clickable. If I make it so it's not viewing it doesn't display as a button either. Thanks. Sheila |
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Joseph Craig DNN MVP Posts:11667
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04/23/2008 8:33 PM |
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It's not the first time I haven't made sense ... If you change to a skin that doesn't have the same names for panes, the modules that were in panes that don't exist in the new skin will be dumped into the contentpane (every skin MUST have a pane named contentpane). You can then move them to other panes. Can you rephrase the question about buttons? I'm not quite sure what you mean. |
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Joe Craig, Patapsco Research Group Complete DNN Support |
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/23/2008 9:15 PM |
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Thanks Joe. That makes sense. And the second part of that is, if they have differnt panes and I go from the current one to the old one and back to the current one, will all remain in tact? So here's a link to the work in progress: http://www.tpses.com/sep/Home/tabid...fault.aspx You can see that the Services button is not clickable but there are buttons that drop down from it. I want to make the About Us that way also. But I haven't been able to figure out how. The Services button was setup that way to start with. It says "Page Disabled: This page has been disabled and is only visible by users with Edit Permission for the page." But I cannot find where to disable the page. Thanks! Sheila |
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Lee Sykes DNN Creative Staff
Nuke Master VI Posts:4945
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04/24/2008 4:38 AM |
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ok here's an example:
If your old skin has: Left Pane, Content Pane, Right Pane
and your new skin has Left Pane, Content Pane
all modules in the Right Pane will be moved to the Content Pane You will then need to select the module menu for each of those modules and select which pane you wish them to display in (even though they are currently displaying in the content pane, the module settings in the database will still have rightpane, so it's best to set the pane that each module should be displayed in)
- If you do not set the pane that the moved modules should display in, if you revert back to the old skin the modules should move back to the right pane.
The one thing out of all this is that you will not lose any data from changing skins, modules may not display in the correct area, that's the only problem you will get.
2) The menu On the about us page , go to page settings / advanced settings / appearance, there is a tick box for disabled, tick this
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Lee Sykes Site Administrator Subscribe to the website : DotNetNuke Video Tutorials : The Skinning Toolkit : DotNetNuke Podcasts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DNNCreative
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/24/2008 8:30 AM |
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Man...I don't know how I missed that disable tick! I was looking in the right place and for the right term. Geez. Sorry about that. And thanks again for all this assistance. It's been truly a blessing. So I guess reverting back to the old skin 1) won't do any harm and 2) won't help me locate missing links that he mentioned in that quote. I suppose I did in fact mess up some of their links somehow in the transition. I had thought I could locate them by reverting back. The host is saying it'll cost about $500 of their time to correct the issues I've created including adjusting the shopping cart custom module(?) and fix broken links in forms(?). Is this normal for a host to charge for this work.It seems to me they were paid for installing and setup and they're getting their annual fee. Now they're nickel and diming the client. Is this pretty much how DNN hosting is run everywhere? So far I'm very impressed with DNN and not at all impressed with their host. So I'm mostly asking for potential future applications. |
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Joseph Craig DNN MVP Posts:11667
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04/24/2008 8:42 AM |
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If all that you did was change skins and then revert, then you shouldn't have broken any links. What else did you do. I'm can't tell if the cost of making the fixes is reasonable or not. What are the host's responsibilities? What is covered in the contract? Normally, a "host" is responsible for maintaining the computers, the internet connectivity, backups, etc. The may include installing DotNetNuke, but no content. The site's owner is usually responsible for content, installing other modules, etc. My personal requirements include, as a minimum, ftp and sql server access to the site. That way, I can make backups o the database and of the web directory. I expect the host to also make regular backups, but these are backups to be used in the event of system failures, not my screw-ups. And, the rule is ... ALWAYS make backups of the database and web directory before beginning any important work. Also, try not to do experimentation on a live site. Instead, take a copy of the database and web directory to a testing environment, make the changes there, and then replace what's on the live site with the new version that you've created in the test environment. That will save a LOT of pain. |
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Joe Craig, Patapsco Research Group Complete DNN Support |
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Sheila
Nuke Newbie Posts:8
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04/24/2008 9:36 AM |
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I changed the skin and moved forward (have not reverted to old skin...was asking about that thinking I could pick up any lost content...but I was wrong...that wasn't necessary). I don't actually know if there are lost links. That's just what they're saying. The site I started working on was in an early stage with mostly placeholder content and a dismal skin on it. To be fair this is more than a host. It's more a "solutions provider"... I was appalled that the client doesn't have FTP access. These providers control everything so they can keep making money on every little thing. |
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Joseph Craig DNN MVP Posts:11667
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04/24/2008 7:18 PM |
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If all that you have done is change the skin, then you won't have broken any links. Remember that one of the major ideas behind frameworks such as DotNetNuke to to separate the content from the presentation. The skin is the presentation part. As for the hosting issue, I wouldn't use a service that didn't give me access to both the web directory and the database. I like to be able to destroy things ... and repair them ... all by myself. |
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Joe Craig, Patapsco Research Group Complete DNN Support |
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