Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

Nestor · 2011-02-25 00:03:54

Hi all,

Total rookie here. I’m a graphic designer and was just hired to do a re-branding of a company (mostly print). They already have a site using Textpattern, of which I know nothing yet.

It’s a basic site, and all I really need to do initially is change some background colors and one background image. If it was a basic HTML/CSS site I could do it easily. I was given the login info and have snooped around but can’t even find a reference anywhere to a background image of any kind, or the light blue that’s being used as a background color. I thought I’d find references to them in the style sheet, but no.

I’d like to learn Textpattern, but am hoping I can make these quick updates first. Can anyone clue me in to where I should be looking?

Thanks much.

els · 2011-02-25 00:15:06

You can find the CSS in Presentation > Style. By default it’s in the database, not a file. But in your case it probably is, and you’ll need an FTP client or access to the host’s admin panel to change the file. If you’re not sure, what does the link to the stylesheet on the page look like?

If the background image is something like ‘3.png’, you will probably find it under Content > Images. If it doesn’t have a number as its name, you can just use FTP to replace the image.

To find your way in the back end: Admin side.

Last edited by els (2011-02-25 00:19:41)

Bloke · 2011-02-25 00:25:13

To augment what Els says, a quick way to find what’s being used where is a two-pronged approach:

use Firefox’s awesome Firebug add-on to locate the element that has the colour / background image. That’ll give you the exact name of the colour/image and may even give you a file location or name of the stylesheet in which it’s used
install the smd_where_used plugin in Admin->Plugins and use that to find where the named items are being referenced inside TXP. Note that if you’re running a version of Textpattern earlier than 4.3.0 then you will have to install an earlier version of the plugin (v0.2, probably) which unfortunately won’t look inside stylesheets :-(

Hope that helps.

Last edited by Bloke (2011-02-25 00:26:37)

Nestor · 2011-02-25 00:30:07

Els,

That’s what’s weird. There is no reference anywhere in their stylesheet to any image of any kind. I also looked under Content > Images, and there are some images in there, but they aren’t what’s being used for their background image.

The link to the stylesheet is: <link rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css” media=“all” href=”<txp:site_url/>bodyworks.css” />

I also could find no reference to this specific blue that’s being used in their background in the stylesheet. I need to change that color. There appears to only be one default stylesheet (as far as I can tell).

Clearly, I’m lost here.

Nestor · 2011-02-25 00:34:45

Bloke,

You may have hit on something. I’m actually not running Textpattern at all yet. I simply logged in to what I guess is their Admin page(s). Do I need to have the app running on my hard drive to make a change like this?

Thanks.

MattD · 2011-02-25 00:46:05

No, Textpattern does not live on your hard drive. It lives on the webserver. We’re assuming you logged into www.urlofthesite.com/textpattern.

els · 2011-02-25 01:00:26

Nestor wrote:

The link to the stylesheet is: <link rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css” media=“all” href=”<txp:site_url/>bodyworks.css” />

In that case you won’t find it in Presentation > Style. It’s a file in the root of the domain. Do you have FTP access? You’ll need to download it to make your changes and upload it again.

Last edited by els (2011-02-25 01:01:42)

Nestor · 2011-02-25 01:04:54

Okay, I just installed Firebug, per Bloke’s suggestion. (You’re right, it’s cool.)

And I’m finding what I’m looking for that way. But when I view the page code while logged into my client’s Admin site (Presentation > Pages) I can see: <div id=“top”> but not: <div class=“page”> and <h1 id=“logo”>Title</h1> which are inside it. That’s where the stuff I need is, but I can only see it with Firebug.

Am I just trying to access the HTML and CSS through the wrong door?

Thanks again.

Nestor · 2011-02-25 01:07:11

Els,

I have FTP access. Would the login info be the same for FTP as the Admin area?

els · 2011-02-25 01:11:17

Part of the code is probably in forms. Look for tags that look like this:

<txp:article form="name_of_form" />
<txp:article_custom form="name_of_form" />
<txp:output_form form="name_of_form" />

Basically anything that has an attribute form. Forms contain code snippets that are included in the page by these tags.

Edit: sorry, forgot to tell where you find the forms: Presentation > Forms :)

Last edited by els (2011-02-25 01:15:57)

els · 2011-02-25 01:14:58

Nestor wrote:

I have FTP access. Would the login info be the same for FTP as the Admin area?

I don’t think so. You’ll need the login for the server’s admin panel. If you can’t access the server to download and re-upload the CSS file, there is another option. It requires a couple of changes in the Textpattern admin area, but you’ll then be able to edit the CSS online.

Last edited by els (2011-02-25 01:17:31)

Nestor · 2011-02-25 01:46:42

I don’t know what the deal is. When I look under Presentation > Style there’s a stylesheet there, but it’s not the one I’m seeing when I view the site using Firebug. I think I’m going to have to wait until tomorrow to see if I can get the FTP info, because I can’t find that in the Admin area either. One more thing: under Admin > Preferences – Publish, the Production Status is listed as “Testing.” Could that be any kind of a factor with my issues?

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate the help.

maruchan · 2011-02-25 04:19:20

From your previous post it sounds like FTP is your only way to get at that stylesheet. It’s pretty common for the FTP password and Textpattern password to be different.

Regarding testing: Sometimes developers forget to flip the switch to live. It’s a smart idea to fix that yourself by changing it to live (turns off annoying error messages should they come up), but the problem you’re seeing shouldn’t be related to that.

maverick · 2011-02-25 04:44:06

Welcome to Textpattern, Nestor!

Nestor wrote:

When I look under Presentation > Style there’s a stylesheet there, but it’s not the one I’m seeing when I view the site using Firebug.

You have 2 completely different style sheets.

The one you are seeing in Textpattern -> Presenatation -> Style is linked with the tag <txp:css />. Based on your earlier description, it is not being used.

In your case, the previous developer used <txp:site_url/>bodyworks.css

What that tag is doing, and the only think it is doing, is outputting the website’s url right before “bodyworks.css”. It’s essentially saying “http://www.yourdomain.com/bodyworks.css”.

If you change “yourdomain.com” to the actual domain name you are working with, and put that in your browser, you should see the style sheet you are looking to change.

This basically means that the previous developer set up the css style sheet outside of Textpattern.

Nestor wrote:

see if I can get the FTP info, because I can’t find that in the Admin area either.

FTP and Textpattern are two separate items.

You use a FTP client to connect to the server. There are lots of FTP clients available. Traditionally most are local desktop apps, but there are also a few web based versions as well. It allows you to create, manage, edit, and transfer files.

The FTP server has its user accounts, with their own user names and passwords. Textpattern has no access to ftp user names or passwords. You’ll need to get the ftp user name and password from your client, their webhost, or the previous developer.

Textpattern is a combination of files on a server and a mysql database. Once you have the ftp username, password, and a ftp client, you can use it to browse and edit any of the Txp files. This is how you will get to the css style sheet you wish to edit, and make your changes.

Alternately, you could, as Els mentioned, move the style sheet you want to edit into Textpattern. You would then be able to edit it from Textpattern’s Admin.

This is a bit long of an answer, but hopefully helps with getting your bearings.

Mike

Last edited by maverick (2011-02-25 13:27:30)

maruchan · 2011-02-25 06:00:08

Alternately, you could as Els mentioned, and move the style sheet you want to edit into Textpattern. You would then be able to edit it from Textpattern’s Admin.

That would actually work pretty well. Just view source, paste the CSS stylesheet URL into your browser, and copy/paste all of the CSS that comes up into Textpattern’s “Styles” area.

Then you could replace this code that you found before:

<link rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css” media=“all” href=”<txp:site_url/>bodyworks.css” />

with:

<txp:css />

That will tell Textpattern to use the admin panel’s CSS styles. Then save that, make some changes to the css, save, reload website, watch your changes take effect, etc.

Yeah, that would do it.

Last edited by maruchan (2011-02-25 06:00:25)

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#1 2011-02-25 00:03:54

Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#2 2011-02-25 00:15:06

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#3 2011-02-25 00:25:13

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#4 2011-02-25 00:30:07

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#5 2011-02-25 00:34:45

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#6 2011-02-25 00:46:05

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#7 2011-02-25 01:00:26

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#8 2011-02-25 01:04:54

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#9 2011-02-25 01:07:11

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#10 2011-02-25 01:11:17

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#11 2011-02-25 01:14:58

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#12 2011-02-25 01:46:42

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#13 2011-02-25 04:19:20

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#14 2011-02-25 04:44:06

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

#15 2011-02-25 06:00:08

Re: Quick update possible without "knowing" Textpattern?

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