Moving Custom Settings Between Templates
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- Dan Walker
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I would like to change templates in a site from G5 Callisto to G5 Interstellar. I've read the docs at
docs.gantry.org/gantry5/tutorials/moving-between-themes
and am completely confused.
I assume that I have to clone the site in order to work on the new template. I tried installing Interstellar on the Callisto site and I was completely confused by what G5 Admin was doing.
Are we moving outlines over with the custom/config directories? Please give a step by step approach to moving custom files from the Callisto directory into the Interstellar directory. I don't understand the renaming directories. Are we renaming the old Callisto directories or the new Interstellar directories?
Thanks for any help or directing to more complete documentation. - Dan Walker - Web Designer & Developer @ Top Webs Network
Custom Joomla & Wordpress Websites
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- MrT
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You can't move theme files between two different themes - they have to be the same theme and same versions. This is because th preset layout are different and the setting sfor the theme (e.g. those on styles tab) can be completely different too.
So, You create a new site of the same theme (with as much else the same too) and then it's just the outline settings that you are moving across as the document describes.
Regards, Mark. - Please search forums before posting. Please make sure your post includes the version of the CMS you are using and a link to the problem. Annotations on screenshots can also be helpful to explain problems/goals. Please use the "secure" tab for confidential information.
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- Dan Walker
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- Is there any way to move menu assignments to the outlines? I can't seem to find them in the custom folder. Where are they located?
- Last Edit: 4 years 9 months ago by Dan Walker.
- Dan Walker - Web Designer & Developer @ Top Webs Network
Custom Joomla & Wordpress Websites
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- MrT
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Not really... let me explain why...
First for any "move" of template assignment to stand any change of working all the menus in the two sites would need to be absolutely identical (specifically the menu item IDs) - this is very unlikely that this would be the case. The same is true for the template IDs too.
Next, the "assignments" are actually part of Joomla and it's tables. There are many reference to menu item id and template IDs throughout Joomla and in several tables. E.g. in the "menu" table in joomla the items contain the "styles" (Template) ID.
Let me come at this from a different direction... If you what you are looking to do is to create a "MASTER" site that you can apply to new sites as you build them, then the best approach here would be to create that MASTER site and then simply clone the whole thing to your new site area and build on that. I'd use Akeeba backup and Akeeba kickstart to do that.
Regards, Mark. - Please search forums before posting. Please make sure your post includes the version of the CMS you are using and a link to the problem. Annotations on screenshots can also be helpful to explain problems/goals. Please use the "secure" tab for confidential information.
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- Dan Walker
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You're right, I am trying to create a Master site to base other sites on. I agree that cloning the whole site is the way to go. As far as changing templates, I've come to the conclusion that using module positions (with G5 modules mostly) is the easiest method.
I have noticed that G5 templates often use repeated content on their pages, for example the About Us page. Looking at the source, I see RT is using module positions, rather than particles for the repeated content. So, I think you are doing the same thing.
Any other methods you use in moving content between templates? - Dan Walker - Web Designer & Developer @ Top Webs Network
Custom Joomla & Wordpress Websites
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- MrT
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Don't forget the demo's have evolved over several years as has the features that Gantry 5 provides. So, the set-up of the templates may not be "optimal" for the current features of Gantry 5. We did start out using module positions for much of the content but that has now changed and if you look at the "home" outlines they nearly always have all the content on the layout rather than using modules. The other pages of the demo change much less frequently and some have yet to catch up on this approach. Although we also do tend to provide layout "presets" too (that use particles) for these pages even if the demo uses a layout with module positions present.
There's actually no need to repeat anything across the outlines if you use the "inheritance" features of Gantry 5 http://docs.gantry.org/gantry5/configure/inheritance . Bear these points in mind as to which is the best approach to take for you:
1. You should configure "common" particles for your site on the base outline layout and have those particles (or whole sections) be inherited by other outlines (e.g. logo, menu, copyright, footer, header, etc etc)
2. If you have used Joomla for a long time there's no doubt that just using "module position" particles on the layout of your outlines and then assigning modules to them will be very familiar to you. It also has the advantage that you can use Joomla ACL to restrict access to the module for certain groups of users.
3. Conversely, new users tend to like having an outline that shows everything on the page on one easy layout, wysiwyg. Inheritance is also much clearer for sharing content.
4. Some particles do not work in a "Gantry 5 particle" module wrapper. They are few and far between, but some particles are more complicated that others and just don't like working inside a wrapper.
In reality there is no "right" way, you will probably use a combination of all of the above.
For my purposes it's often just easier to copy/paste content between browser windows or quickly re-setup the particle in the new template using the other site as a reference. That's often quicker than trying to find clever technical techniques that can be much more prove to mistakes with irrevocable consequences if you get it wrong.
I think site cloning is the way you should go given your requirements.
Regards, Mark. -
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