OK, one of our theme masters wanted a way to dynamically make it so that when you change a block from one side to another, it will change it's template to conform to the side it is one. So let's say you have two sets of block templates:

Set 1: blockheader-left.thtml and blockfooter-left.thtml
Set 2: blockheader-right.thtml and blockfooter-right.thtml

Now typically you set a custom template for a block by going:
$_BLOCK_TEMPLATE['<block_name>'] = '<header_template>,<footer_template>';

If you want to do this dynamically for both sides you would add this little bit of code to your functions.php for the theme you are working in:

$result = DB_query("SELECT onleft,name FROM {$_TABLES['blocks']} WHERE is_enabled = 1";
$nrows = DB_numRows($result);
for ($i = 1; $i <= $nrows; $i++) {
    $A = DB_fetchArray($result);
        if ($A['onleft'] == 1) {
            $_BLOCK_TEMPLATE[$A['name']] = 'blockheader-left.thtml,blockfooter-left.thtml';
        } else {
            $_BLOCK_TEMPLATE[$A['name']] = 'blockheader-right.thtml,blockfooter-right.thtml';
    }
}

Enjoy!

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The reason people blame things on previous generations is that there's only one other choice.

Great new feature, but spot the missing word from this line:- SELECT onleft,name FROM missing-word WHERE is_enabled = 1"); Or perhaps I have missed something ????

Hi, I deleted Tony's reply because his answer to your question was commented out by the system - again. The problem was that the variable name in the original post and in Tony's reply was *not* allowable code and got parsed out - near as I can tell anyway. The code in Tony's original post has been fixed by using the ascii equivalents to the special characters. Just copy paste the code above and everything should work fine. Sorry for the confusion. Sincerely, Simon Lord

Looks like the filter is a little too sensitive :-) Thanks for the prompt reply. Cheers

It is possible to use this to code the center block, giving it a different look (say for featured stories, warnings, or logout messages)? I think it would be easier on the user to differentiate normal stories from features, errors and messages in the center blocks with differing graphics. Just a thought.

Version 1.3.5 of Geeklog supports giving the Featured article a different theme from the rest of the articles.

As for the rest, if you know the block name you can specify a custom theme as you wish. Here's a sample courtesy of Tony Bibbs as given to me (alter the code to suit your needs):

$_BLOCK_TEMPLATE['whosonline_block'] = 'blockheader- right.thtml,blockfooter-right.thtml';

where do you put the code for the new block templates? in the functions.php file?

thanx for this hack i like it a lot ...
you can see the result on my website.


Greetz Daniel

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http://www.bananiel.nl/

$_BLOCK_TEMPLATE['whosonline_block'] = 'blockheader- right.thtml,blockfooter-right.thtml';


Where do you put this code. I have a custom block I want to make a new template for.

In the theme directory you will see a functions.php file.

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Geeklog components by PortalParts -- www.portalparts.com

Are these instructions still valid? I tried with the recent GL and didn't have much luck.
I was wanting the right blocks have unique colors in the text and backgrounds (different from the left block text & background colors)

Using GeekLog v1.3.11

Thanks in advance!

Yes. Many themes use it - check the functions.php file of a few themes to get some inspiration.

bye, Dirk