Installed 'flatline' theme but something went wrong

[AlainD]

I am just starting out with smf, great forum. I have installed the "flatline" theme and followed the instructions, under themes settings I changed the settings and urls from default to flatline, now I cannot access site, getting blank screen with "Unable to load Themes/default/Errors.template.php!"

Can someone please advise!!!

Thank you so much for any assistance.

Alain, new arrival

[Antechinus]

Don't reset any paths. Just select the theme either in Admin > Manage and Install (if you want to set it for the whole forum) or in your Profile > Look and Layout page (if you just want to set a theme for yourself).

Short version: to fix forum, put paths back the way they were.

ETA: To get into admin try example.com/index.php?theme=1 (but use your actual domain of course).

[Antechinus]

Come to think of it, you probably won't be able to get into admin at all while the paths are set like that.

Use this: http://download.simplemachines.org/index.php?thanks;filename=repair_settings.php

Upload it to your forum folder, then take your browser to example.com/repair_settings.php and follow the prompts.

[AlainD]

Hi Antechinus

Thanks for the link. I have follwed the prompt and changed seetings to revert to default theme but still get same error message " Unable to load Themes/default/Errors.template.php! "

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Link to your forum?

Have you tried uploading a clean copy of Errors.template.php?

[AlainD]

Hi,

I don't understand - Errors.template.php?

www.forum.stainlesspartners.com

[Sir Osis of Liver]

If you look in your /Themes/default/ directory, you should see a file called Errors.template.php.  If the file is missing or damaged, or the theme paths are still incorrect, the forum will crash when it tries to load it on startup.  Do you know how to use FTP or your cpanel file manager?

[AlainD]

Hi,

Thanks for your assistance. Much appreciated.

I can use ftp and cpanel. I have just reinstalled the errors file and then the whole default folder but still no go, still get same error.

Alain

[Sir Osis of Liver]

From your first post, looks like you did something you shouldn't have to theme paths.  Can you upload repair_settings.php to your forum root?

[AlainD]

Hi,

I have installed the repair file and followed the prompts but same error.

You are right I have changed the url in the themes, according the insctructoins for installing new theme, however I must have done something wrong. It was a bad idea.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I'm trying to run repair_settings.php to see what you have, but it's not there.  What link are you using?

[AlainD]

http://forum.stainlesspartners.com/ [nofollow]

[Sir Osis of Liver]

No go, it's not there -

http://forum.stainlesspartners.com/repair_settings.php

[AlainD]

it is in the ftp window, I don't understand, I can also not go in, I get an internal error now.

I might have to reinstall, but then my website will be gone, and will have to reinstall that too.

Do you have any advice?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Can you pm FTP access (servername, username, password)?  I'll take a look.

[AlainD]

here on the forum?

[AlainD]

sorry, my bad, send you pm

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Can't connect, password is ng.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Ok, it's up and running.  You changed the default theme paths to Flatline, which screwed up everything.  Added themes use many of the default files, so those paths must not be changed.  When you install a theme, it sets its own paths, and you select it in Admin -> Configuration -> Themes and Layout.  You have multiple installs, most in the wrong place, and tons of other stuff mixed in.  Your working directory is /public_html/forum/, that's the forum root (you're using a subdomain).   There's an install above that, in /public_html, which is useless, and another one above that, in your account root, also useless.  Might be best if you left all that alone for now.  The working install in /forum looks clean, and that's what you're actually running.

I'm going to bed, won't be back on til late tomorrow night.  If you need any more help, let us know.

 

[Kindred]

BTW: the instructions for adding a theme do not involve changing any directory settings. 
you ***MUST*** keep the Themes/default theme present and also keep the path and URL for the Curve/default theme pointing to that location.
Installing a NEW theme is fine  -- the theme manager will install it into Themes/[YourTheme] -- and you can then SET that to be the default USED theme in the themes' settings page -- but there is no changing of any paths or URLs.

custom themes include ONLY a few of the theme files.
All files not included in a custom theme then fall back to use the ones in the default theme directory....   if that path/url is wrong, then the system will not be able to find the template (as you discovered)