Stuff for playing with (here be mutants)

[Antechinus]

Been playing with it some more (not the drop menus, other stuff). If this separation of user stuff and site stuff is the go, which seems to make a certain amount of sense, then I reckon something like this is pretty good for layout.

Obviously the "Personal messages" text is linked to PM's. The new PM's notification is wrapped in the same link. Avatar is already linked to profile, so no need for the old "My Messages" and "Profile" buttons in the main menu (I've just hidden those with CSS for now).

Since the moderation notifications and maintenance mode warning are really "site stuff" I figured give them their own buttons, styled like the menu buttons, and shove them down where site stuff belongs. Moderation reports are still linked to the usual pages. Maintenance mode warning is now linked to admin server settings page for convenience.

Oh and funnily enough, the Tips and Tricks stuff I did for full-width banners still mostly works if you disable the banner (forum name just needed a slight left padding tweak). Having the SMF logo and upshrink absolute positioned is fine with or without a full-width banner, which is kinda handy.

[Bloc]

It does look more collected this way, more consistent with styling of the links. There are a lot of ways one can improve those links.

One thing that really puzzled me with SMF 2.0 is why the top links for admin dropmenu never was properly linked? I guess it was something to do with keeping sections "pure"..but IMHO it would be so easy to just assign whatever subsection comes first in that link. Sure, it will double up that link..but the upside is that keyboard access will at least go to the correct section. (which is what I aim for now atm, since subsections links are present on any main section's page.) And not stop dead since the top menu links are not actually linked. I did that for my theme now by a simple PHP code to get that first subsection:

Code Select Expand


$firstlink = array_shift(array_keys($section['areas']));


It might been fixed in SMF 2.1, not checked.

[Antechinus]

Yeah a lot of people grumbled about the dead top level links. Sinan actually wrote a mod for it. That's something else I'll be throwing in GenericMenu.

ETA: Just had a look, and can't find the mod, so maybe he just gave me the code when I grumbled about it.

[Antechinus]

Hey I found an old topic about it, which IIRC is the code we ended up throwing into 2.1 (Mantis seems to think so too).

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=439046.msg3094573#msg3094573

[Bloc]

Yes, good to have in Sources no doubt ..but I'm making it work in a theme for  SMF2.0


Another thing: I know I have been ranting about themeing in SMF 2.0 for a long time..but its just so much thats should change IMO...so much it seems easier to just throw it out and rewrite everything, which I have done a few times(well, started on) and currently is doing. Sure, it takes more time but its also rewarding in the sense you do have control over the little irritating things currently in SMF 2.0. And yes, I do know you added a lot of that code, Antech I am not blaming anyone, its my personal opinion and I can't expect anyone to follow it blindly..but its absolutely necessary for me to get anywhere with what I like to create.

So I am glad we can meet halfways haha, exchange knowledge and perhaps spur other themers(and admins for that matter) to try new things. Doesn't have to be very big things, just...different stuff.


This topic led me to create another, more "normal" theme concept(or subtheme as it were), which does have recent posts on top and will *perhaps* have clickable menus instead of hover. I made it such, like you did, by adding a visible "button" next to the menu item, to signal that THIS is clickable menu, not just a hover one. At least thats the idea.. I'll post in another topic about this when its more fleshed out. So you see, its already useful
 

[Antechinus]

Yup, but it is legal to make themes dependent on a mod, as long as you warn people on the downloads page (theme guidelines say so, I checked ) but yeah I get where you're coming from. TBH I would very much like to make mine demand that mod I made for an updated browser array, just as one example.

And I totally agree that 2.0.x markup and CSS is horrible. Even some of the bits I did are horrible. I love ripping it to pieces and throwing heaps out too. 1.1.x was even worse (some weird bloke must have written code for that one).

And after figuring out how to clear up unwanted hover menus instantly (which I really should have thought of before) I reckon I could probably live with them now. They do still need some js though. Pure CSS still wont quite cut it, IMO (and apart from anything else, is useless for IE < 10 since they wont do transitions at all).

But yeah, it's fun kicking ideas around. I just had a rather good one myself, which I'll also have to flesh out some more before it gets shown here. That will happen after I get the current thing sorted.

[Antechinus]

Hey here's a funny story for you. I was working on that updated "2.0.x default" markup and CSS and, as you do when playing with CSS, decided to "try a thing or two just for fun". You can probably see where this is heading already.

So, as you do, I started out by commenting out the "default" CSS in a few places and adding the trial stuff. Some of it was useful for default tips and tricks (for instance, turning the old site slogan into part of a full-width linked banner using absolute positioning) but it sort of, umm, evolved. More like mutated. Like one of them things you see creeping out of laboratories in bad movies. Commented code and rough additions everywhere. At the moment the CSS is sorta like Zen Garden meets Zombie Apocalypse.

End result is that I have a totally awesome* new theme roughed out, but unfortunately it was my one working copy of the "let's stick with default", so I now have to make another copy and reverse engineer "default" back out of it.

(It wont be too bad, and it has given me a different perspective on the "default" markup, which is useful).


*Well, I think so anyway. YMMV.

[Bloc]

Pictures please

[Antechinus]

ROFL. It's still WIP. Working on it now over Sunday morning coffee. Just give me a while to sort out some of the detailing.

[Antechinus]

Ok, have managed to get some more done to it. Still needs more detailing, of course, but the concept is viable, coding is functional, and it's generally coming together really nicely. Will post comprehensive preview shots tomorrow night my time (roughly 30-36 hours from now).

Mini preview of the banner:



No prizes for guessing the name of the thing.

ETA: Oh and it turns out I was smart enough to save a copy of the "default" PoD before I went crazy with CSS, so that's good too. Means I can still get the basic Curve and Co back very easily. No reverse engineering required.

* Antechinus breathes sigh of relief. Backups FTW.