Modifying Graphical Elements

The style's Images folder contains all of its graphics. For example, Figure 54.1 shows the logo.gif file from the Sunset theme. Figure 54.2 shows where that graphic fits into the theme: at the top of each page.

Figure 54.1. The logo.gif graphic file.

Figure 54.2. logo.gif as it appears on the site.

So, if you want to change the site's logo as it appears at the top of the page, simply provide a new logo.gif in place of the old one. You're on your own for coming up with a new graphic, but here's a tip: Some graphics in PHP-Nuke themes can be of any size; logo.gif is one of them (more or less; obviously, something truly enormous wouldn't look good). Some graphics, however, need to remain at their specific size.

For example, notice the Modules block in Figure 54.2? It has nice, blue, rounded corners. If I right-click precisely on that rounded corner and select Properties from my browser's pop-up menu, I'll see that the image's location is www.scriptinganswers.com/cms2/themes/Sunset/images/right4.gif, its width is 5 pixels, and its height is 19 pixels. This is all useful information: If I want to change that graphic, I now know that I need to change the righ4.gif file. I also know that my replacement should be 5x19 to fit within the same place in the theme; anything bigger or smaller might mess up the theme.

As I said, you're on your own for actually coming up with graphics. If you're not very good with the graphics thing (many folks aren't, which is why graphics designers have jobs), start with a theme that's mostly text based and uses very few graphics. That way, you won't have much to change when tweaking the theme to meet your needs.

Sidebar . FAQ

Is changing a theme difficult?

It can be, especially if you've never worked with HTML. Some themes are constructed from multiple files, which makes it tough to figure out exactly where you'd make a change. I recommend starting off with a preconstructed theme (many are included with PHP-Nuke, for example) and then make small changes, one at a time, so that you can see the results of those changes on your Web site. If you spend some time experimenting, you'll eventually get the hang of it. Remember to make a backup copy of any theme you modify so that you always have the option of copying the original theme back in and undoing all of your changes.