A master template contains all the elements necessary to change the appearance of your site. Templates can include
Navigation and Background graphics
Forward/back buttons, bullet graphics, sidebar and service bar graphic settings
Labels and Text All standard messages provided by the tool: This means that a template could entirely change the default language for your site
Frame Layout Where your sidebar and service bar appear, or if to include them.
Style Sheets Custom positioning and fonts for all element types, e.g. bullet page title, main page copyright notice, etc. The style sheet can be used to hide undesirable elements.
Default Fonts The basic font used throughout the site, unless overriden by the style sheet. The default can also be overridden by specific coding (or Visual Edit modification) of individual text.
Logos The sidebar and introduction page logos
Header and Footer Custom text or graphics placed at the top/bottom of every page
Global HEAD elements Any META search strings or other content that appears in the code for each page
The following dialog appears when you select the menu for loading an existing master template.
- The Shared Templates section contains a list of existing look-and-feel files. When you create a template, it can be added to this location. You may select one of the existing templates, or press on the Select Other button to find a template in another directory.
- When you choose a template, the types of elements included in it are displayed with check boxes next to the type in the Use from Master Template section. If you do not wish to use a particular type, such as the logos you can simply uncheck it. If a box appears unchecked, the template does not include that type of setting.
- The Preview areas provide screen snapshots to give you a quick idea of what the template looks like. If you create your own template, please add preview snapshots. The Description area in the upper right provides a textual explanation of the main features for the particular template.
- To Apply the template to your site, you need to click on the Apply to Site... button once you have selected the desired template, and have chosen what elements to apply.
Tip The Default Settings New Sites can be used to impose a selected template on all future new sites. Select the template, check the Apply selected template to all new sites and then press the Set button at the bottom. This will not apply the template to your current site, but when you create a new one, the template will be used.
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