New install ? - SOLVED

[badgersden]

So I'm tempted to just do a new install of this program and take RVsitebuilder out of the equation... well sort of. Can I do this and still utilize their template so that the pages have the same look as the rest of the website?

I understand the mechanics behind installing the new blog, but implementing the theme is beyond my basic knowledge. If I can do this though I think I will be much happier in the long run as then I can update the blog version as needed instead of using the older one RVsitebuilder provides.

To clarify (as this also relates to my other post)
Working page with flash header: http://www.badgermojo.com/Tings-to-Know.php
Non-Working flash header w/ blog: http://badgermojo.com/blogweb/index.php (not pulling the correct flash)

Bypassing this by just installing a clean s9y would make me happy. Help?

[Don Chambers]

Yes, that could be converted to something that can be used outside of RVSiteBuilders. Do you have FTP access to your site and can you create your own databases?

If you can access the current data via ftp, you can probably just download the current template, install a fresh copy of serendipity, then upload the old template.

[badgersden]

Yup - I'm currently in the midst of the ftp upload and got the sql database added. My thinking is to get it working properly and then try to format the correct template. Templates confuse me though - can you tell me how to implement the correct template?

thank you!

[Don Chambers]

You need to determine where the template is for RVSB... then download it. Next, you need to upload it into its own folder (which it presumably had) in your fresh s9y install under /templates/.

[badgersden]

so I got the new blog loaded (old one still there too) http://www.badgermojo.com/cave/ and I quite like it now that it's not under rvsb (ugh)

I downloaded the rvsb template and uploaded it into the template folder. Played with it a bit until I could get it to show in the styles area (adding an info file and renaming the preview image seemed to work ) and it did see it. Howevor it didn't load properly. I suspect it's the way the template is configured. Can you suggest changes I need to make?

I tried to attach the file here but it would not let me. here's the file: http://www.badgermojo.com/lightgreen_sea_2.rar

[Don Chambers]

Were these files located within the serendipity folder structure? This looks to me like some kind of template they can load with their tools, then insert content at specific places. This is not a serendipity template, although it could be converted to one. Not quite sure what to do about the navigation bar - you cannot use them to populate it once this instance of serendipity is outside their product umbrella, but you could emulate it fairly easily.

[badgersden]

Hmmmm ... wondering if I should just go back to figuring out how to get the flash working in the existing http://badgermojo.com/blogweb/index.php ..... **beats head against the wall a bit more**

this stuff drives me nuts

[Don Chambers]

Hmmmm ... wondering if I should just go back to figuring out how to get the flash working in the existing http://badgermojo.com/blogweb/index.php ..... **beats head against the wall a bit more**

this stuff drives me nuts

In the original RVSB version of s9y, do you have a list of templates available via "Mange Styles" like you do in the stand alone install? If you do, can you determine what SERENDIPITY template you are using?

[Don Chambers]

I don't know whether to be impressed with RVSiteBuilders, or annoyed. I was granted ftp access by badgersden.

They are pulling a stylesheet from /blogweb/templates/rvsBlog/style.css, and a smarty template of their own creation from the /templates/default/rvsmaster.tpl. The smarty template is named rvsmaster.tpl, and it serves as a replacement for serendipity's normal template index.tpl file. That file was, as Garvin pointed out above, missing a line of javascript that all other pages were using, so I added it:

Code: Select all

    <script src="http://badgermojo.com/Scripts/AC_RunActiveContent.js"

I thought that would instantly fix the problem, but it did not. Looking a bit closer, I saw that they are including other smarty templates (albeit, with an html extension):

Code: Select all

{if $head_charset eq 'UTF-8' || $head_charset eq 'utf-8'}
{include file='rvStaticBanner-utf-8.html'}
{else}
{include file='rvStaticBanner.html'}
{/if}

Those files generate the banner and navbar. The navbar was working, but the right side flash was not. Closer inspection of the file revealed the problem:

Code: Select all

<param name="movie" value="/images/green.swf" />

That is ultimately a relative path - I just needed to change all instances of it to an absolute path using one of their variables, which the file was doing for other images, but just not this flash:

Code: Select all

<param name="movie" value="{webRoot}/images/green.swf" />

This might sound easy, but it really was like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially given the unique nature of how RVSB works... it took quite some time to figure this out, but I wanted to document it in case any other RVSB users run into the same problem.

Problem solved.

[badgersden]

You are my hero !!! And thanks for posting it here so if other people get so very stuck as I did they will know what to do.

Woot!

Kim

[Don Chambers]

Happy I was able to help you Kim. Best wishes for the site!

[badgersden]

/facepalm .... solved until you have to update rvsb with new content- at which point it overwrites the *entire* website whether or not you want it to ....

I hate to ask this of you since you've been so helpful but please clarify.

1 - add the script line to blogweb/template/devault/rvsmaster.tpl - what line do i add it to?
2 - change the flash parameters where? I understand I need to change it, but where do I do it?

If you can list where I need to do this I need to be able to fix it on my own since we'll be updating the website as we finalize the content. Luckily once it's built it's not likely to get touched by rvsb anymore. ugh.

My goal is still eventually to figure out how to just have a clean install of S9Y and figure out how to re-create the same look/feel I just don't have the time/energy to get part figured out .. yet.

[Don Chambers]

1 - add the script line to blogweb/template/devault/rvsmaster.tpl - what line do i add it to?

anywhere between <head> and </head> I placed it on the line immediately before </head>

2 - change the flash parameters where? I understand I need to change it, but where do I do it?

The file is /themes/rvtheme/default/rvStaticBanner-utf-8.html. Search for all instances of images/green and replace with {webRoot}/images/green. I think there were two instances that did not include the .swf extension, and one that did. Its probably OK if all include it, so make that {webRoot}/images/green.swf

My goal is still eventually to figure out how to just have a clean install of S9Y and figure out how to re-create the same look/feel I just don't have the time/energy to get part figured out .. yet.

Either that, or you need to find the master file that is writing the banner file and alter it so it includes the webroot variable. You might want to notify the RVSB folks about this.

[badgersden]

Fixed - thank you.

Had already posted once to their board with no response. Will be doing so again for the suggestion to find that master file.

[fastpara]

RVSiteBuilders has just annoyed me! What other programs that have not been mentioned in this post can you guys recommend?