Backend Layout and CSS question

[nvisioncurtis]

Hi,

When creating a Layout in TL you have the option to specify header, footer and there respective heights, and also the option to set the column widths.

Questions: Whats the purpose of these settings? I think I would prefer to define this in the CSS file unless there is a reason not to...

Is the TL CSS Framework required to make these options work correctly? I'm okay using the TL CSS Framework but for existing templates would prefer to stick with the external css files. I think.

Last question, I prefer to use Dreamweaver to edit my CSS and theme tpl file. Seems that its not necessary to use TL's stylesheets module at all providing the css file is linked into the template file.

Is this wrong headed thinking?

[Medianomaly]

When creating a Layout in TL you have the option to specify header, footer and there respective heights, and also the option to set the column widths.

Questions: Whats the purpose of these settings? I think I would prefer to define this in the CSS file unless there is a reason not to...

I believe those are there strictly for convenience -- whether there is a specific case where it is useful, if you are a beginning user unfamiliar with CSS, or if you just want to do some rapid prototyping without hand-coding anything.

Most designers/developers are in your camp -- we define these externally and leave these values blank (in which case the system does not add anything to the HTML/CSS).

Is the TL CSS Framework required to make these options work correctly? I'm okay using the TL CSS Framework but for existing templates would prefer to stick with the external css files. I think.

No -- In the case of including/excluding elements, these option merely toggle the item's DIV container on and off in the template -- so if you choose to exclude the footer, for instance, the HTML code for the footer is excluded entirely from the template.

In the case of adding widths/heights, these values are added via CSS inline in the header of the template, so they do not require the CSS framework.

I actually don't use the TL CSS frameworks and with very minor exception (needing to style .invisible, for example) there are no ill side effects.

Last question, I prefer to use Dreamweaver to edit my CSS and theme tpl file. Seems that its not necessary to use TL's stylesheets module at all providing the css file is linked into the template file.

Is this wrong headed thinking?

Not at all -- again, this is what most developers do. You can either hard-code the stylesheet reference into the header of the template, or you may also want to try the new "External Stylesheets" extension that will add them while allowing you to continue to hand-code in Dreamweaver.

I think of the core Style Sheets module in the same vein as the header/footer/column options -- there for your convenience and for special cases, but certainly not necessary.

Example: I have used both when using TL to develop a functional greyscale prototype for client review, then removed them and switched to external CSS when it was time to integrate the actual design.

[nvisioncurtis]

Thanks for the tips and clarifications! That helped a lot