January 1, 2003
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SAVABLE SKINS AND STYLES
Todd wrote a comment about our upcoming features that got me a-thinkin’:
Yay! More features! Savable skins is pretty low on my priority list. After all, it doesn’t take that much work to copy the code into notepad and save it there. …
Posted 12/28/2002 at 12:20 pm by namaste
I realized as I read this: I don’t think I explained why we’re moving towards Savable Look & Feel Settings and Savable Skins. We’re really excited, since these features will let Xangans do two new things:
- Save your Look & Feel Settings
- Mix and Match your Look and Feel & Skins
1. Save your Look & Feel Settings
Todd’s totally right: Savable Skins is easy to pull off with some notepad files. But it’s kind of a pain to save your Look and Feel Settings, with all the HTML spread out in various fields (Custom Header, News Feed, Sitemeter box)… not to mention, the couple of dozen pulldowns on that page.
For example, I noticed a bunch of people creating xmas versions of their Xanga sites. It must have been a pain to set all those Look and Feel Settings to red and green… and then have to remember how to set them back! You could just save your old settings, and then tweak away… and when you’re done, it’d be a cinch to restore your old settings with just one click.
Also, this’ll give us a chance to overhaul the Look & Feel page. It’s been really interesting to see how people uses the four HTML boxes on the page:
- Custom Header, Custom Module, News Module, Website Stats
We never would have predicted this, but most of the News Modules are filled with Chatterboxes, and a lot of Website Stats are jammed with javascript hacks. Now that we know how people are using these boxes, we can overhaul the UI and make it easier to figure out.
2. Mix and Match your Look and Feel & Skins
Ok check it, this is the coolest part. Right now, Skins and Look and Feel are two separate features. You either have a Skin, or you’re using the Look and Feel pulldowns. But then we got to thinking: wouldn’t it be cool if you could use both?
Here’s what I mean: you’re using Monsur‘s sweet Black & White Skin… except, you’re wishing it wasn’t quite so Black & White. No problem: just go into your Look and Feel setting and change the colors using pulldowns.
How cool is that?! Each skin can have an infinite number of looks, just using pulldowns. So you don’t have to be a HTML genius to customize a Skin… if you’re feeling kind of blue, you can make your skin blue in just a few seconds. Or next xmas, you can apply a saved red & green Look and Feel Setting to your current skin!
Bonus Reason Number 3: Faster Sites
There’s actually a third reason this is a Good Thing™. We’ll take advantage of the opportunity to pull the Look and Feel settings into a separate CSS file that your browser can cache.
Translation: most sites on Xanga will get anywhere from 5-10% faster.
Cool beans! One last thing: “Look and Feel Settings” is kind of a mouthful. So we’ll probably be shortening it to “Styles”. As in, you can save your Styles… and mix and match them with your Skins.
Can you dig it?
- Save your Look & Feel Settings
Comments (21)
I could dig transparency as an option for the side module colors…I have tried the skins, and can’t seem to make them work right, and all I really want to change is the solid boxed look of those modules, to a transparent background so they blend in better with the backgrounds beneath. Can’t that please be an option in Look and Feel, or styles or whatever new thing you make up?
man, i am digging that VERY much.
Yes, transparancy does sound good. Would this work kinda like a file editer on any page, where you can save many layouts, even pre-prepare ones for future days? I could totally use that, as I love making layouts, but I never feel ready for a change yet.
Yeah, the other day I tried putting my L&F settings into Notepad.. but it took a long time. So, I would really dig this.
Yay!
I think that anything that makes the site faster can be digged
somehow you always seem to amaze me here at xanga.
One more thing, about the skins. The only thing I don’t like about it is while it does make the front page look cooler, if I decide to navigate to some other page, like the profile and the guestbook, the color scheme there would change and not match the skin. Is there a way to make it match the skin color scheme besides just going to the “look and feel” section and entering it in yourself? What about making the STYLE of those pages match the regular one?
Oh yeah, one more bug. In the setup wizard, when the option “No Template” is picked, it doesn’t reset the color scheme of the page, but rather uses the last one picked. Could you fix that as well?
That sounds like a really good Idea. it would be nice to save goodies like that without sticking them in a closet somewhere
I would like to offer a sugestion about the look and feel section regarding table background and border colors. would it be possible to allow a default setting for the background color rendering a transparent background and header/border in the side moduals? that would be awesome for using a large background image on the Standard Xanga page.
~Thanks~
I just hope we will still be able to totally ignore the whole skins thing. One of the great things about xanga is that you can set it up very simply, and get a nice consistant look and feel. I think if you looked through my SIR list you will find very few skins users – they make it so hard to navigate their sites by being different that it overwhelms their content. Good on them for playing as they see fit.. I just hope you don’t force me into that sandbox when I am quite happy with the one I am in.
I dig the new skins and look/feel features in a very big way! Thank you very very much!!!
Yes, I dig it.
(Everything here is so clear, you can see it
And everything here is so real, you can feel it
And it’s real, so real, so real, so real, so real, so real
Can you dig it? I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it, they can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let’s dig it… )
Now, we’re talking some fun!
P.S. More HTML boxes on the Styles page. Mwah-ha-ha!
Ooh… I dig. I dig. Hey, you read my thoughts! I have been using Monsur’s skin, and have been wondering about the color backdrops.
The Xanga Team rocks! No wonder I’m so addicted.
i’m loving it, thanks loads.
This html-illiterate needs all the help she can get!
Cool!
YAYYYYYYYYY! I love it!
um john? my friend has a slight issue. see someone has been leaving some quite unfriendly comments on her flooble and guestbook. and that person even made a xanga account just to leave my friend a comment. at first it was just taken in as a joke but its getting out of hand and i thought maybe you can do something about it? the xanga page of that person is jihyeisstupid (see my friend’s name is in that name -.-;; ) well hopefully u can help…and thanks alot..appreciate all the hard work u and the others are doing at xanga.
i can’t wait!
As an addicted skin creator I think that would be cool.