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I'm looking into how to make my primary web site more "Blackberry Friendly."

Right now when I look at the site on a Blackberry, users have to "scroll down" through all of the header information and everything included in the left side block before they (finally) get to the content which is contained in the center block.

The first thing that comes up is the "Contribute" link in the header. This is what I'm thinking about - is it possible to add before the "Contribute" link another shortcut to another part of the site built specifically for Blackberry users?

For example, a link that would say something like "Blackberry Friendly Site" and then have a section that collects the printer friendly versions of the articles (only). Or, maybe that could just be a link to the directory for that day.

Is anyone doing something like this? Thoughts? Ideas? How do I get there?

Any input would be appreciated.

Don
http://www.panama-guide.com

Just make a blackberry theme with no side blocks and where the templates contain minimal info. Then create a second account that you login from on your blackberry. Or find out if there is something in the $_SERVER array that tells you the browser is on a blackberry and automatically switches the theme.

That's the idea, but I want people to surf to the site and then see a "Blackberry" link right on the top of the list. They click there, and they are sent into that page formatted as you suggest - with just the content and no side blocks.

The trick is - how do I build that "Blackberry shadow" site so that it's fire and forget - meaning that once I have it set up all of the content will go straight there automatically every time I post an article. I don't want to have to do any additional clicks or anything to make it happen.

But, your idea of the "no side blocks" format is a start.

Don

Google search helps: http://www.andymoore.info/php-to-detect-mobile-phones/

Perhaps you can use the old Chameleon plugin to use a 'Blackberry' theme on a special 'Blackberry' topic, and redirect Blackberry users to that theme.

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Dutch Geeklog sites about camping/hiking:
www.kampeerzaken.nl | www.campersite.nl | www.caravans.nl | www.caravans.net

Check out the Nouveau theme. It renders the left and right blocks *after* the content column, making it more friendly to alternative media readers.

-Eric

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Synergy - Stability - Style --- Visit us at glfusion.org

Why do you want a link? My idea was that if the device is a blackberry, set $_CONF['theme'] to 'blackberry' (or something) and just make a theme that is designed for mobile use.
By not making a "shadow site". Use your site with a specialized theme.

Using beewee's google-fu, find $usetheme = ''; in lib-common and check right there for mobile devices:

Then you make the theme. Copy the professional theme over to your mobile theme name and start removing stuff you don't want. In the functions.php, make your own siteHeader/siteFooter functions that have no side blocks. Etc.

There are a couple of ways to better enable mobile devices. I have a BlackBerry and before we came up with a good method to do a pure CSS based layout, I did as Joe suggested, wrote some custom code to detect the BB broswer and set a theme with no side blocks. Works well, but you have to figure out all the different browser types for mobile devices. For me it was easy, I surfed to the site and looked at the logs But if you are trying to do this for several users, it might be a bit more difficult. I did have to revisit my code when I switched to the Opera mini browser on my BB.

Now, I use either the Nouveau or Chameleon theme. As Eric mentioned, they send the content first, then the blocks and it renders very nicely on my BlackBerry or my iPhone. No additional work, just use the theme and you are done.

I'm not sure if you'll have users that need to login, but if you go with the no block method, don't forget to provide a login link somewhere that they can get to.

Thanks!
Mark

The OP implied he wanted to modify the story layout as well, removing the contributor line for example. That's why I suggested a separate theme.