A Padded Cell - Drupal

Drupal theming next steps: Overriding HTML output

Megan McDermott — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Soon after you've started out with Drupal theming, you'll probably find that you need to change some of the HTML code it generates. But how do you do that? This article will break down the process of overriding Drupal's HTML code (or "Overriding themable output"), using template files and theme functions.

How to create a simple Drupal 7 theme from scratch

Megan McDermott — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:30:50 +0000

Drupal theming can seem complicated and overwhelming. Even basic starter themes are filled with confusing PHP and convoluted CSS. What's a designer to do? Never fear, it is completely possible to create your own theme from scratch. This article will demonstrate a step-by-step process for creating your own Drupal theme, including a .info file, page template, regions, and CSS.

Creating a custom home page in Drupal 7 using Views (part one)

Liam McDermott — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:11:12 +0000

Having installed Drupal, one of the first questions people ask is, ‘How do I change the home page?’ By default the front page of Drupal has a blog feel, with the latest posts shown in date order, but it does not have to be like this! These two articles will show how a front page can be customized using Views.

Get more sign-ups from Drupal 7: make ‘Create new account’ eye catching

Liam McDermott — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:12:00 +0000

According to our analytics software between 60 and 70 percent of visitors going to the new user registration page on the Webmaster Forums do so by clicking the Create new account link in the user login block.

Context Layouts, Panels, and Composite Layouts in Drupal: What's the difference?

Megan McDermott — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:10:42 +0000

If you're attempting to create a complex page layouts in Drupal, you may be confronted with a choice between several modules: Context Layouts, Panels, and Composite Layouts. These modules may seem a bit confusing at first.

Goodbye vBulletin, part two: how we got away

Liam McDermott — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:15:10 +0000

The previous article in this series showed our reasons for wanting to move The Webmaster Forums from vBulletin to Drupal. This second part shows how we successfully got away, and the difficulties faced.

How to create a Drupal 6 theme from scratch

Megan McDermott — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:38:09 +0000

Drupal theming can seem complicated and overwhelming. Even basic starter themes are filled with confusing PHP and convoluted CSS. What's a designer to do? Never fear, there is a simple way to create your own theme from scratch. This article will demonstrate a step-by-step process for creating your own Drupal theme, including a .info file, page template, regions, and CSS.

An Introduction to the User Stats Module for Drupal

Liam McDermott — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:50:26 +0000

The User Stats module inserts information on a user into their posts on a site. It is aimed at forum administrators who need to see the post counts, date registered and IP addresses of their users. This article provides an introduction to the User Stats module and shows how it may be used in themes.

Goodbye vBulletin, Part One: Reasons to Switch

Liam McDermott — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 22:59:02 +0000

The aim of this article is not to poke holes, or say ‘vBulletin sucks’, but to provide constructive criticism of a successful product, proving that vBulletin is not always the best choice.

Creating a Custom Home Page in Drupal Using Views

Liam McDermott — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:35:05 +0000

One of the most popular questions people new to Drupal ask is: ‘How do I change the home page?’ By default the index page of a Drupal site has a bloggy feel, the latest items shown in date order, but it doesn't have to look like that! That is the aim of this article, to show two ways—because there is always more than one way to do something in Drupal—to customize a Drupal home page.

Enabling Clean URLs and the Path Module in Drupal

Liam McDermott — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:12:33 +0000

Clean URLs and the Path module are complementary features of Drupal. This mixed text and video article shows how to enable this functionality. Many aPaddedCell articles on Drupal expect that readers will have Clean URLs and the Path module enabled.

Moving the Login Block to a Separate Page in Drupal

Liam McDermott — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:56:20 +0000

This text and video tutorial will show how the login block may be moved to a separate page in Drupal. This can be desirable for site owners who only allow login access to administrators, not all visitors.