Themes - I don't like or want the default theme - can't I just change it: Difference between revisions From Online Manual

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(put the "don't worry" right up at the top and reorganized a little bit. Category:Theme FAQ)
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Although changing the default theme is not recommended, you may, of course, do whatever they wish with your forum. The reason that changing the default theme is not recommended, is that some of your custom themes might be using files from the default theme's directory. If it doesn't find them, or finds them in a condition that it's not expecting, you might find that none of your themes will work. Or, if they work, they might not work correctly.
Don't worry.  You don't HAVE to display the default theme. Simply disable it, using the [[Themes and Layout]] settings in the Administration Center. If you find a theme you like better, just [[Themes_and_Layout#Install_a_New_Theme|Install]] it and set it as the '''overall forum default'''. You can decide how many themes to enable for your users.


So, if you decide to ignore the recommendation and modify the default theme, please, make sure you take a complete backup of it, first, just in case.
Disabling the default theme is the recommended way to prevent users from seeing it.  While it is possible to make changes to the default, this could cause problems for custom themes. Custom themes often expect to find certain files in certain places in the default theme. If it doesn't find them, or if they are much different then the original you may find that some of your custom themes don't work, or don't work correctly. Making changes to the default theme could also cause problems when you install some [[Package Manager|mods]] you might like to have on your forum.


Don't worry. You don't HAVE to actually display the default theme, if you don't want to. You can set things so that the default theme cannot be used by your members, if so-required.
If you decide to make changes to the default theme, make sure you have a backup (either from your own forum or from the SMF install) handy, just in case your changes cause problems for your forum.


[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:FAQ]] [[Category:Theme FAQ]]
[[Category:Developing SMF]]
[[Category:Developing SMF]]
[[Category:Customizing SMF]]
[[Category:Customizing SMF]]
[[Category:SMF Themes]]
[[Category:SMF Themes]]

Revision as of 18:14, 24 April 2012

Don't worry. You don't HAVE to display the default theme. Simply disable it, using the Themes and Layout settings in the Administration Center. If you find a theme you like better, just Install it and set it as the overall forum default. You can decide how many themes to enable for your users.

Disabling the default theme is the recommended way to prevent users from seeing it. While it is possible to make changes to the default, this could cause problems for custom themes. Custom themes often expect to find certain files in certain places in the default theme. If it doesn't find them, or if they are much different then the original you may find that some of your custom themes don't work, or don't work correctly. Making changes to the default theme could also cause problems when you install some mods you might like to have on your forum.

If you decide to make changes to the default theme, make sure you have a backup (either from your own forum or from the SMF install) handy, just in case your changes cause problems for your forum.

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