Newbie to Able.... css and stuff

[Dean]

I just started using a developers license last night. Oddly, one of my major concerns was that I would have trouble changing the design to match our old store, but it seems amazingly flexible and so far I have had good results in changing the skin.

I looked for a skinning guide, but didn't find one. looks like there is a lot of info in the forum.

I am still trying to wrap my head around what a "Webpage" scriptlet is for. I first was hoping it was used to design custom pages, but now I think maybe not. I need to add some custom pages to the site, and I would like to have my custom pages wrapped with standard header/footer and controls. What is the best way to do that?

[Dean]

I finally figured this out. I guess this is fairly simple so other members didn't see any value in offering the answer, but for a newbie, absorbing everything can take a while.

For that reason, I will try to come back and put an answer here after I am more familiar with configuring the platform. I think I can write a useful answer, but I will wait and make sure I know before I add any further information on this topic.

[mazhar]

Following thread has some useful information about creating skins.
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=9324

[Dean]

When I said I figured it out, I was mostly talking about the webpage thing....

When it comes to reworking css, I have kind of developed my own thing. Since I am self taught, it may not be the best way but it works for me. I just load the source code for a page that I want to modify up in a html editor so that I can identify which css elements I am wanting to change and start doing my thing to the style sheet. I always work on a live page so I can watch the changes as I go. I always have started out with some other theme and just modified it until I got what I wanted. I doubt that I could design a theme from scratch within a reasonable period of time.

I am making my new store match my old store in design. I was amazed how fast I was able to get the thing roughed out the first night. It took me about 4 hours and I had the thing looking very close to what my old store looks like. Of course, it is nice when you already have most all of the graphic elements you need.

[dappy2]

I just load the source code for a page that I want to modify up in a html editor so that I can identify which css elements I am wanting to change and start doing my thing to the style sheet.

You need Firebug. I know mazhar uses it. I've been using it for years. Its one of the best ways to see what's going on with CSS. It does almost exactly what you are doing now, minus the copy and pasting of source code. And you can "inspect" HTML elements by point and click.

getfirebug.com (its a firefox plugin).

[Dean]

Live and Learn! Yes, I tried it. That would be very handy. Thanks for sharing!