I’ve seen a few people on drupal.org how to implement Facebook Share and asking for modules, etc. However with the share widget provided by Facebook it’s really very easy to implement FB Share at the template level. To make it really easy, use CCK.
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Recently I was asked to summarize the parts of a drupal theme. I came up with the following semi-literate guide to my own theme framework, sp0xx6 for Drupal 6. This is not a very technical guide but I think it’s none the less important to document my perspective, especially for newcomers to drupal who are having a hard time with the way information is presented on drupal.org.
Please note: The text below makes reference to a set of theme files for Drupal themes. That theme is sp0xx6. You can download sp0xx6 from google code. For free. To keep. Forever. Drupal rocks! Thanks to everyone on drupal.org that makes my life easier and more interesting.
The .info file registers your theme with drupal along with your theme’s regions (area’s content appears in) your CSS and javascript.
Your template file allows you to customize practically everything in your theme. You can rewrite the appearance of forms, lists, links, taxonomies and add all sorts of functionality.
Sunrise Soya’s new Drupal based site was created by our team at Veratta Technologies. Design by Peter Figasinski.
Lately I’ve been trying to understand how AJAX is changing the experience that Drupal users will be having in the near future. This is particularly important as a Drupalista given the redesign currently under way. Here are some great looking modules that should be ready a bit sooner than the redesign. Warning: these modules might not be ready for primetime yet.
Drupal forms are awesome, until they suck and then there’s always
http://www.lullabot.com/articles/modifying-forms-5-and-6
The sugary sweetness of the media temple knowledge base
http://kb.mediatemple.net/
Simon Schama’s A History of Britain documentary series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Schama%27s_A_History_of_Britain
A site that catalog’s all of the very best SMS messages that people send
(864): sometimes i wish i was able to text my cat and tell him i miss him and that i’m thinking about him
http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/ (Warning: NSFW) via @creativestable
Open Space has a new Drupal website that make it easy for staff members and volunteers to access information and archives online.
I also redesigned Open Space logo and branding as a part of this process.
A Quick Start Guide for a Standard CMS Using Drupal 5
These are the basic steps I go through each time I make a Drupal site. They are not a secret. The very fact you’re reading it means it could not possibly be a secret. Nice try, though.
A Drupal site can be made in many different ways, the steps below will lay the ground work for a site that is user friendly and behaves itself. This guide is not intended for hardcore development geeks or first time users – it’s just a blueprint for creating a safe and solid CMS with Drupal.
I’ll be expanding this post and also creating another page for Drupal 6 sometime soon. Keep your pants on. Thanks to Amy Steen for her input on this guide!
PS. There are lots of ways to make a site with Drupal and if you think you have a way I’d love to hear about it.
s3cr3t formula
And that’s it, at least for now. There’s lots left to do on your way to making a fully functional site, but hopefully this will give you a headstart. I’ll be updating this guide as often as is necessary, please let me know if you’ve got suggestions.
Sp0xx6 is the latest version of my Drupal UI. It’s a minimalist concept, great for populating sites with content quickly and for first-time users.
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Stratford Hall is a Drupal-based site I built while at Trapeze Communications.
Design by Neil Tran.
In the last few months I’ve finished some pretty large drupal projects and thought I would share my top five tips for getting things rolling on your next drupal site. If you want a general overview of building drupal sites smashingmagazine.com just published the definitive post that I’ve read to date.
1. Adhere to drupal best practices from the start. Look forward to your site being around for a long while and set it up correctly. Even the basics, like taking advantage of using the sites/all folder to hold your non-core modules and themes can save you a lot of time down the road.
2. Make the website accessible to a wide range of people. It is easier to plan things like text-size controls, email-to-a-friend and print buttons when you’re in the design stages. Adding them in afterwards can look amateurish.
3. Give yourself time to input content and give it some TLC with proper formatting. Nothing is more boring than the same basic text layout on every page. With CMS’s half the point is having the same frame around your content so that navigation is consistent, etc. – but that doesn’t mean your text and image content has to be the same with every node. Float an image left, float it right, pull out an important quote and give it the bold+italic treatment. Don’t rush through this “final part” of the job – it’s very important.
4. Use some kind of design/development framework. Whatever works for you, but the point is to keep it consistent so that when it comes time to fix something or add a feature you can do it quickly. For most people just starting out with the same basic theme, like Zen, is enough. Later on though you might need to start keeping a folder of your regular modules, pre-configured modules, sample configurations of certain key theme components, and anything else you might need within arms reach. A note of caution though – make sure you check drupal.org for updates of the modules once in awhile.
5. FCKeditor – is the best editor there is, period. A lot of folks swear by tinyMCE but I think they’re just plain wrong. FCK has a built in file manager (that is a pain in the ass to configure but very worth it), a default CSS XML-based stylesheet associated with user-styles that is easy to override, but most importantly it has a feature tied into the text editor that shows block elements boundaries in your html structure which is of huge benefit to 99% of all users.
