The advantage of PostNuke's module templating system "pnRender" is the fact that you can customize every module. And even if pnForum normally doesn't look like phpBB2 it actually is possible as Franky Chestnust proved on his support site.
There are already several template sets available for pnForum:
Franky's phpBB Look
And the Cmods Devs already build some Themes with templates for pnForum
For example: AphroditeXTE - Demo
Other Themes with pnForum templates:
* G-Orange-XTE
* Cmods-dev-XTE
* Candy
* icgStation
Download them: http://www.cmods-dev.de/module-Downloads.htm
See them: http://demo.cmods-dev.de/ (Use the ThemeSwitcher)
The themes contains a folder /themes/ThatTheme/templates/modules/pnForum copy that into your own theme at /themes/ThatTheme/templates/modules/
But if you really like to have your own look & feel, I'd suggest you take a look at the standard templates. They are all named like the functions that call them. The contained JavaScript adds some complexity - although it's always optional. So the easiest way to create a new layout is to delete all the template's content and add a simple
This opens a popup displaying all available variables. If you don't know how to use them you can always look into the backed up version of the template.
BTW: Frank Schummertz, maintainer of pnForum, spent alot of time creating seminatic HTML for the forum. But he's looking for someone who's good in creating a nice CSS for pnForum.
Posted by
kaffeeringe.de
on Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Comments (5) · 3012 Reads
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5 Comments so far
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1. Bad_Dude wrote on Mar 28, 2007 at 08:55 PM
I never understood the process of template overwriting.../themes/ThatTheme/templates/modules/
How is this done and how do you call for it?
Also, the current available themes are for xanthia? true?
2. Simon wrote on Mar 29, 2007 at 12:54 AM
Template overriding is simple enough, you place templates with the same name as the module template you're overriding in themes/yourtheme/templates/modules/modulename/. In .8 you can also place them in the config/templates/ directory to override templates for all themes, rather than just one.Template overriding for modules will work whether your theme is Xanthia, AutoTheme or Classic.
3. kaffeeringe.de wrote on Mar 29, 2007 at 11:20 AM
pnRender looks for module templates in several places.
1. config/templates/modulname
2. themes/yourtheme/templates/modules/modulename
3. modules/modulename/pntemplates
If it finds the template at 1. it stops searching and uses that one. If there is not the right template it looks at 2. if it's not there it looks at 3. if it's not there and error it throws and error.
The background is: There are basic templates with every module. But you might want to have a different look and feel with every theme - so you put them into 2. This helps also to not overwrite the temoplates when you update the module. Only if basic functions in the module changed you have to include them into your templates.
Sometimes it's usefull to have templates or plugins in every theme - for example if you need a plugin in your Theme and the RSS Theme. In order to not having to keep them in both themes you can store the plugin in 3.
4. zmcnulty wrote on Apr 05, 2007 at 01:55 AM
Yeah, pnRender has been instrumental in some of the features I have on my site. For example, we offer an entire "Mobile Version" of the site.The difference is immediately apparent when you visit the normal version of the forums:
http://www.psp-vault.com/module-pnForum.psp
Then the Mobile Version of the forums:
http://www.psp-vault.com/index.php?module=pnForum&theme=mobile
By placing the necessary template files in the theme's module directories, I can create a "Mobile Version" of any module that can be templated through pnRender. It's awesome.
5. kaffeeringe.de wrote on Apr 05, 2007 at 12:20 PM
Very cool example!!