yellowmint - A Textpattern template

Live Demo Site: http://www.stevelam.ca/yellowmint/

yellowmint is:

• a blog template for Textpattern
• Valid CSS & XHTML 1.0 Strict
• tested in all modern browsers (FF 2.0, IE6/7, Opera 9, Safari 3 beta)
• strangely named for it has nothing to do with the design and layout

Installation: (remember to back up your current template if need be!)

1. Upload Images (All template images can be found in the 'images' directory)

   • Connect to your site via FTP and upload the contents of the 'images' directory to the 'images' directory of your textpattern installation.

2. Page Templates (All page templates can be found in the 'pages' directory)

   • While logged into your Textpattern admin, navigate to PRESENTATION -> PAGES
   • Replace the 'default', 'archive', and 'error_default' pages with the contents of their corresponding page templates located in the 'pages' directory of this installation package. For example, replace the 'default' page with the contents of page_default .txt.
   • Create a new page (copy another one) called 'about' and fill it with the contents of the file page_about.txt.
   • Create a new page (copy another one) called 'contact' and fill it with the contents of the file page_contact.txt. Note: In this page template, find and locate "your@email.com" and replace it with your own email address.

3. CSS Styles (All CSS styles can be found in the 'styles' directory)

   • While logged into your Textpattern admin, navigate to PRESENTATION -> STYLE
   • Replace the default 'style' with the contents of the file style_default.txt.
   • Create a new style called 'ie' and fill it with the contents of style_ie.default.

4. Forms (All forms can be found in the 'forms' directory)

   • While logged into your Textpattern admin, navigate to PRESENTATION -> FORMS
   • Replace the 'comments', 'comments_display', 'default', 'search_results', 'links' form with the contents of their corresponding form templates located in the 'forms' directory of this installation. For example, replace the ' comments_display' form with the contents of forms_comments_display.txt.
   • Create the following type ARTICLE forms: 'about', 'archive_monthly', 'article_excerpt', 'contact', 'thanks' and fill each with the contents of their corresponding ARTICLE form templates in the 'forms' directory of this installation.
   • Create the following type MISC forms: 'header', 'footer', 'sidebar' and fill each with the contents of their corresponding MISC form templates in the 'forms' directory of this installation.

5. Sections

   • While logged into your Textpattern admin, navigate to PRESENTATION -> SECTIONS
   • Delete the default 'article' section.
   • Modify the section called 'about' and assign the page 'about' with the default style. For the sake of consistency I chose to use all lowercases for the section NAME and TITLE. Choose NO for each of the options and save. If for some reason you want viewers to be able to search your 'about' section, select Yes for the very last option "include in site search?"
   • Create a new section called 'archive' and assign the page 'archive' with the default style. Choose NO for each of the options and save.
   • Create a new section called 'articles' and assign the page 'default' with the default style. Choose YES for each of the options and save. I personally used 'home' as the section TITLE but that is to your taste and disgression.
   • Create a new section called 'contact' and assign the page 'contact' with the default style. Choose YES for each of the options and save. Choose NO for each of the options and save.

6. Plugins (All plugins can be found in the 'plugins' directory)

   • This template uses the following plugins:
     • zem_contact_reborn
     • zem_contact_lang
     • rss_auto_excerpt
   • navigate to ADMIN -> PLUGINS
   • Copy/paste the code from zem_contact_reborn-4.0.3.19.txt into the installation box and click UPLOAD
   • Scroll to the bottom and click INSTALL
   • Activate plugin by clicking "no" under the Active column to change to yes
   • Repeat above steps for rss_auto_excerpt-0.5.txt and zem_contact_lang-4.0.3.6.txt found in the 'plugins' directory of this installation.

7. Suggestions, Tips

   • For a nice proportions, optimum image dimensions in an article should be 486 pixels wide and under
   • To add information to your 'about' section, all you have to do is write a new article and post it to the 'about' section.
   • comments/questions? steve@stevelam.ca