What is a Template?
We've been using site templates for so long that sometimes we forget that not everyone knows what they are. A web site template is just an HTML file shell that contains the common elements that you want to appear on every page. That can include your navigation links, artwork, a search field, legal text... literally anything!
The main point about templates is that they don't contain anything specific to one page on your site. Instead they contain elements which apply to a group of pages, and placeholders for everything that's specific to any one page.
First, you may want to know which template you're currently using. To do so, go the structure editor of your admin site.
http://www.free-conversant.com /mySiteName/admin/conversation s/mySiteName/structure
Clic k on the Properties tab, and look at the "Template" menu. That's the default template of your site. If the template you want to edit is used only for a folder or for a file, navigate to this object, and look at its properties. If it's set from a preferences screen (like "Preferences->Default DG" or "Preferences->Web Server->Appearance"), go to this preference screen.
When you know the template's name, click on Templates in the left side navigation bar. That will take you to:
http://www.free-conversant.com /mySiteName/admin/conversation s/mySiteName/templates
If the template you're using doesn't have "READONLY" in its name, it will be displayed in the Edit panel (the default one). Otherwise, it will be displayed in the Read-only panel.
To edit an editable template, just click on its name in the Edit panel (note that in new sites, the edit panel will just contain a message saying that the conversation doesn't have any editable templates).
To edit a read-only template, click on the Create tab. Select the read-only template to duplicate in the "Based On" menu, give your template a unique name that doesn't contain "readonly", and click on New Template. The read-only template you selected will then be duplicated, and displayed in edit mode.
If you'd prefer to create a new template from scratch, just type a name into the text field, keep the menu set to "None" and then click on the New Template button.
In edit mode, you're presented with three fields:
* Description
Here, you can enter any comment you want. It will only be visible here, and is intended to help you organize your templates.
* Type
New templates are created with the type of the template they're based on, or with the type set to "[undefined]". Set it to the type that applies to your template (see "Template Types" above).
* Content
You edit (or create) the content of your template in this text area.
Ninety-nine percent of what you'll put in the Content text area is just regular HTML. However, there are some special features in Conversant that you can take advantage of, if you choose to. Anywhere in your template, including within any HTML tag, you can embed one of Conversant's simple macros, which will automatically be replaced when the template is rendered.
Answered by
Sharad Singh
, an ibibo Master,
at
1:11 PM on August 02, 2008