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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Huzzah! Nice. And much more than good enough.
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#32 2009-06-16 15:14:26
- jpdupont
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- Registered: 2004-10-01
- Posts: 752
Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Stef,
no more error, now.
Thanks !
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Bloke wrote:
You mean a bit like this latest iteration? There’s an option in the Setup to choose from either a List or Grid view.
fantastique! That makes it all much more delicious. Jolly good work, chumpster.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Sorry for the delay in the feedback.
The update fixed smd_admin_theme getting stuck in the error. Thanks!
The adjustable thumbs is a nice feature, but I think for UI purposes the grid view is an even better move.
I’ve got more playin . . . cough um testing to do when I get time in the next week ;)
Thanks Bloke!
Mike
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Referring to Maverick’s problem with the confusing “extra level”.
When I first created the theme for 4.0.9 this plug-in didn’t exist, at least not for 4.0.9.
That being the case I decided that it would be necessary to include some instructions for the “uninitiated” which is why I have the extra level. Of course, if you read the instructions all becomes clear.
Now that we have this plug-in I think we need to decide on a common packaging method. The problem is that there will be users who would like to install a theme but don’t want to install the plug-in. Great as the plug-in is (nice one Stef), it isn’t a requirement for using admin-side themes. So are we going to require 2 packaging methods for each theme ie one for use with the plug-in and one for no plug-in or can we come up with a common method for both or do we just ignore the possibility that someone who isn’t using the plug-in might require some sort of help with installation?
Last edited by thebombsite (2009-06-24 16:27:15)
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
thebombsite wrote:
I decided that it would be necessary to include some instructions for the “uninitiated” which is why I have the extra [directory] level.
Yes, that’s perfectly valid and I would love the plugin upload to work seamlessly no matter where the directory resides in the zip file. Sadly it’s tricky to “know”, and until I find a clever fix I’m afraid the plugin will be limited to only work with themes that start at the level of the theme’s name :-(
As Stuart correctly states, the plugin is just a nice-to-have so we do need to cater for both the casual and hardcore themers. An instructions.txt file seems logical.
One thing that might work is to make sure that theme packages begin at the top level in the archive, and put any (optional) README or instructions inside that directory. The instructions file then become part of the theme when installed via the plugin and can be edited from the plugin interface and distributed automatically when the theme is subsequently exported. If someone who does not use the plugin double-clicks the zip, the first thing they’ll see is the theme dir. Personally, when faced with a single dir in an archive, I always then drill down into the archive to see if there were any files or instructions below that, but perhaps that’s just me. What does everyone think? Is that asking too much? Or is there a better way? Or can anyone think of a way the plugin can figure out which dir is the right one to upload?
Last edited by Bloke (2009-06-24 17:39:30)
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Popping the README into the upload directory and thus reducing the levels seems OK to me. The README would need to have instructions for both methods of course. That seems the simplest solution to me.
Also, should we settle on a README file at all times? That also seems simple.
I can easily adjust the “A Bit Blue” zip to suit whatever we settle on.
I shall email you regarding the Textgarden stuff Stef. I suddenlt got a bit busy this last week or so. :)
Last edited by thebombsite (2009-06-24 17:56:16)
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
thebombsite wrote:
should we settle on a README file at all times? That also seems simple.
Can do, yes. The optional ‘help’ link in the manifest is for a URL that lets people know how to use the theme once installed, so I guess this proposed additional (non-required, but useful) file would purely be for installation instructions and/or any special info? As you say, it would make sense to add one so people who randomly come across a theme know what it’s all about; a bit like the header of a plugin that states:
# This is a plugin for Textpattern - http://textpattern.com/
# To install: textpattern > admin > plugins
# Paste the following text into the 'Install plugin' box:How about one of us designs a loose pro-forma (like the plugin template) and makes it available for download in the wiki, and linked from Textgarden, my site, the admin themes plugin, etc?
With regards the filename itself, I’m not sure it matters either. README is more generic and very UNIX-like, how_to_install.txt might be more for the Windows world :-P I say draw a line in the sand and pick something, then it’ll become the standard — it seemed to work for Bill Gates!
I shall email you regarding the Textgarden stuff Stef.
Cool, no pressure. My dev version of the plugin has all the necessary stuff in it to read the version info and offer auto-update links for themes via the method I outlined (and it does the cacheing too now, so it won’t hammer the server) but it’s easy to change if you come up with a better solution.
Last edited by Bloke (2009-06-24 18:58:50)
The smd plugin menagerie — for when you need one more gribble of power from Textpattern. Bleeding-edge code available on GitHub.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
OK. I’ve repackaged the “A Bit Blue” theme as a single directory (this isn’t available publicly yet). I’ve installed it manually then exported it as a gzip file via the plug-in. I then removed the theme using the plug-in and tried to re-install it using the gzip file and the upload facility but it’s having none of it. Is this facility going to be dependent on the server set-up?
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Just a bit confused, are we contributing themes somewhere? If so where?
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
We have a specific category for them over at Textgarden and I’ve been mentioning it for some months now though it still only has my own theme in it. At the moment however we are trying to decide on the best format to use for the download file and sort out any problems that may be occurring with the plug-in.
Do you have a theme Dale?
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
thebombsite wrote:
re-install it using the gzip file and the upload facility but it’s having none of it. Is this facility going to be dependent on the server set-up?
Sadly yes. gzip relies on having gzcompress compiled into your version of PHP. I’ve tried to be clever about it and only display options that are available to you in your environment, but maybe I missed a few corner cases. Take a look at the plugin prefs page. What options do you see? It’ll remove export compression options that are not available to you.
That’s why I offered zip, gzip, bzip and tar, so we have a chance of being able to install themes under a variety of server configurations. Zip relies on zlib being installed, bzip and gzip rely on gz(de)compress and bz(de)compress being available. Zip files can, however, be created without zlib, but they cannot be imported without it, which is totally infuriating from a plugin/user perspective. It’s all a bit of a minefield and I’ve done what I can to minimise the fallout, but it seems I’ve failed :-(
fwiw, the safety net is tar because that should be universally available, as it relies on all-native PHP functions.
Would you mind sending me the gzipped theme package please Stuart (and a tar for comparison if you don’t mind) and I’ll see if the plugin’s created the archive correctly. I want to check I’ve not missed something; perhaps the inclusion of the readme has somehow ballsed up my logic. Sorry for the hassle.
Last edited by Bloke (2009-06-25 18:46:53)
The smd plugin menagerie — for when you need one more gribble of power from Textpattern. Bleeding-edge code available on GitHub.
Hire Txp Builders – finely-crafted code, design and Txp
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
Yes I’ll send it over so you can have the latest version. It contains something that points to the future. You will know when you see it. I should reiterate that it allowed me to export in gzip mode resulting in a “tgz” file. Just won’t let me re-import it. Earlier I tried importing a zip file but it wouldn’t have that either. Told me it was an incompatible file type.
Anyway I shall send it over and also include the errors it was throwing at me. I won’t display them here as they include directory trees.
Last edited by thebombsite (2009-06-25 19:23:42)
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
thebombsite wrote:
Do you have a theme Dale?
Just a slight rework of phwiw’s admin facelift that I’ve been using for ages. Thought I should share.
Last edited by mrdale (2009-06-25 20:28:21)
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Re: smd_admin_themes: Manage, edit, switch and share admin-side themes
OK Dale. Got it. I’ll include it on Textgarden if you want.
Stuart
In a Time of Universal Deceit
Telling the Truth is Revolutionary.
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