PHPBB3 STYLING TUTORIAL CHAPTER ONE

[Damien]

CHAPTER ONE – Introduction...

Let me start this introduction by saying to you all out right, PhpBB3 styling is not easy, it is not like web design, you have to work around the system you are given, this gives you certain limitations.

Also I would like to tell you, you are going to need to following basic knowledge in order to style for phpbb3..

1. HTML & CSS
1. GRAPHICS KNOWLEDGE (PHOTOSHOP OR OTHER)
2. SOME UNDERSTANDING OF PHP

If you lack any of these skills I recommend you do some reading, and get reading up on them areas if you want to start styling...

So, let me give you some information about styling phpbb3, about the general rules and layout.

I'll start by saying, style's are usually not coded from scratch, they are based on one of 2 styles...

1. ProSilver
2. Subsilver 2

The most popular to work with is ProSilver for various reasons and is the one I always work with, so this tutorial will focus on ProSilver only...

Let me start on the layout, the folders I mean, the only thing you will even touch is the styles folder, touch nothing else other than the files in the styles folder, but before all that, I recommend you install a local server on your desktop, I recommend WAMP Server Google it, install it and install phpbb3 on that, now you have everything on your desktop and don't have to worry about FTP or anything, fantastic!!!

First thing to edit...

Naming your style...

Make a copy of Prosilver fist and then in the copy...

OPEN:

Prosilver/style.cfg (Wordpad is fine for this)

FIND:

# General Information about this style
name = prosilver
copyright = © phpBB Group, 2007
version = 3.0.10

and edit as you see fit!

Then add the new style to your styles folder.

Well due to the information I have given so far, I want you to do a little reading on anything I have talked about, and get ready for the next tutorial.

(Please bare with me on these tutorials, as hard as it is to style phpbb3, I find it even harder to style and then write about exactly what I'm doing, as I don't really think about it when I'm coding, I had no one to teach me, and as you can see there are not many people willing to teach this, as it is a lot of hard work, but I'm willing to give it a go)

Thanks for reading, until next time....

Next chapter will be out in a couple of days...

 

[Brad]

Prosilver/style.sfg (Wordpad is fine for this)

It's prosilver/styl.cfg not .sfg

 

[Damien]

lol, I stand corrected, like I said in my tutorial, I don't really think about the work I do, I just do it, so I will take more care next time 😉

Just a small typeo anyways, easy to fix 😉<br /><br />-- Sun Mar 25, 2012 1:27 pm --<br /><br />Also note, I'll be writing the next tutorial soon, so keep an eye out 🙂

 

[Darthmaul]

So...what exactly was this about? I didn't learn anything
Looking forward to your next one to see if you actually teach us styling 😀

 

[Brad]

So...what exactly was this about? I didn't learn anything
Looking forward to your next one to see if you actually teach us styling 😀

:shock: Really? He is teaching you how to name the style of the style ...

 

[Darthmaul]

Oh...my...god...I'm blown away 😛

 

[Damien]

Listen, I'm a really busy person, I will post one tutorial at a time, starting right from the start.

If you think your to good to learn from me in the future, don't read my tutorials.

next tutorial is out next week, for those you feel they don't know everything 🙂

Extra note.

If you read it says "CHAPTER ONE – Introduction... "

I am not posting all this for people who know a little bit about styling phpbb3, I'm posting this for people who have no clue to start with.

You may want to join in around chapter 3 if you know a lot.

 

[Luke]

Oh...my...god...I'm blown away 😛

Well that's a bit rude, he's just trying to help.

Looking forward to the next installment of this series! Keep it up! +1

 

[Damien]

Oh...my...god...I'm blown away 😛

Well that's a bit rude, he's just trying to help.

Looking forward to the next installment of this series! Keep it up! +1

Cheers for the support, it was at the request of people on this forum that I write these, everyones support will keep me motivated 🙂

Thanks,
Damien Green

 

[Luke]

You're very welcome!

It's interesting to see how they are made, I know most themes are built of either ProSilver or the other one but ive never been able to make it actually look good, it ends up being a pile of mess.

 

[AndroidOS]

Same here. Keep up the great work Damien, I can't wait for the next chapter. 😀

 

[Damien]

Writing the next chapter right now should be out monday.

 

[Damien]

Note, rather than write the tutorial, I'm going to do a start to finish video tutorial, will take me a while to film, should be better than writing forever 🙂