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How to install and upgrade themes


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3 hours ago, SMen said:

When I upgrade the parent theme with changes to come, will the child theme maintain the changes still (since they were inherited)?  Just want to be sure that any inherited changes will not be wiped out with any update.

Since the changes are inherited rather than applied to the actual child theme, they may be replaced. I'm not 100% sure since I haven't actually followed that process, but if IPS behaves the same as xenforo, then inherited styles will always be replaced by their parent theme - which is why it's a good idea to keep the parent theme un-touched and only modify the child :) 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 07/04/2015 at 4:42 AM, Ehren said:

This tutorial will teach you how to install a theme (as a parent), create a child theme and upgrade your theme.

All IPS themes are in .xml format. If you have download a .zip file, extract the file first and you'll find the .xml file inside.

 

Installing the Parent theme and creating a child

First, we'll be installing the theme as a Parent theme. Parent themes should never be edited and should generally be hidden from all users. Once it has been installed, we'll create a Child theme which can be edited via theme settings (to change colours, logos, etc), and it'll be shown as the default front-end theme to all of your visitors.

1. To install the Parent theme, go to Admin Cpanel > Customization > Themes. At the top right, click the + Add Theme button.

2. From the popup box, choose the Upload Theme tab and select the .xml file from your computer. This tutorial will use the Dimension theme as an example. Press Next.

3. Once it has processed, you'll be returned to the Theme list. Click the pencil icon (aka, the Edit button) to the very right of your theme and deselect all settings and user groups, like so:

Screen Shot 2018-01-12 at 2.58.38 pm.png

This will hide the Parent theme for all visitors. The Parent theme should never be edited beyond this, so press the Save button at the bottom and proceed to creating the Child theme.

4. Click the + Add Theme button again, but this time select Manual Mode and press Next. Enter a Name for your theme (I'll use "My new theme" for this example). In the Parent field, un-check the box and select your Parent theme (from the above step), and if you wish to set it as your Default theme, make sure to enable that setting. I suggest always keeping the "Default AdminCP Theme" feature disabled though! Your page should now look like this:

Screen Shot 2018-01-12 at 3.24.03 pm.png

Press Save and you're done! Your theme page will look something like this:

Screen Shot 2018-01-12 at 3.33.52 pm.png

Clicking the theme name will expand a list, showing your Child theme:

Screen Shot 2018-01-12 at 3.33.18 pm.png

 

A quick summary: The Parent theme which we installed is hidden from all members, and your site will be using the Child theme, named "My new theme". The Child theme inherits everything from the Parent theme. If you need to edit the theme, make sure you only edit the Child theme. The Parent theme should never be edited and should stay untouched.

 

 

Upgrading your theme

When new theme updates are released, browse to Admin Cpanel > Customization > Themes. Click the arrow icon to the very right of your Parent theme and select Upload a new version from the list. Browse for the updated .xml file, press Upload and your theme will be updated!

I have just uploaded the latest version of my theme, can I just please clarify, I have followed your instructions and ONLY uploaded the new version to the PARENT THEME even though I use the child, I assume uploading to the parent automatically updates the child beneath yes? (Only reason I am checking is because you can also upload a new version to the child I notice)

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On 30.01.2018 at 11:51 PM, uA_Y_C_A said:

What about nightly updates? Child theme will be editing, right?

 

On 31.01.2018 at 1:16 AM, Ehren said:

I’m not really sure about the best way to apply nightly updates to this setup but I imagine adding it to the child theme would be the best way :) 

Can sure now? :) Thanks

 

EDIT: You also uploaded the regular update. No need for now.

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Guest Stormwolfe

I purchased Titan from the IPS Marketplace. I did not understand about parent and child themes at the time so installed it as is. Since then, we have made lots of edits so that it reflects our site aesthetics. I will, of course, copy and save a backup of my custom.css before I make any changes (updates).

So, here are my question...

Will I lose all of my customizations when I upload the updated xml?

Should I simply follow the upgrade instructions at the beginning of thise thread?

Is there a way to retroactively set up the parent/child theme?

Thank you for any and all help.

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To be honest, my usage of the "Upload new version" feature is quite limited because I manually update all of my themes. But from customer feedback, it seems quite broken in some situations.

I've tested the method used in this tutorial and it seems to retain theme settings, however you'd need to install a fresh version of Titan to use this method - it's not something which can be done retroactively.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Ehren,

I'm confused with the tutorial. I'm going to update to 4.3 because reactions it's not working in a promotion coming from clubs and IPS said to me it's fixed in 4.3.

What it's the best way to do, installing the Parent theme and creating a child or install manually and use nightly updates?. 

 

Much thanks!

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58 minutes ago, encontinuo said:

Hi Ehren,

I'm confused with the tutorial. I'm going to update to 4.3 because reactions it's not working in a promotion coming from clubs and IPS said to me it's fixed in 4.3.

What it's the best way to do, installing the Parent theme and creating a child or install manually and use nightly updates?. 

 

Much thanks!

The parent/child method is probably best, but keep in mind my themes won't work on 4.3 yet. They'll be upgraded once 4.3.0 is released.

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  • 3 weeks later...
4 hours ago, qubabos said:

@Ehren can I use this method moving to IPS 4.3 ? I need to update your theme or IPS Suite first during this process ? Or better solution will be theme fresh install after IPS upgrade ?

A fresh install will likely be required for major IPS updates. The correct process would be to upgrade your site, followed by a fresh install of the 4.3 theme.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm using 4.2.9 right now. I also installed new theme [with child theme] (4.3) but I'm not using right now. After updating the board I will activate the new theme.

this is not a problem, is it? @Ehren and also can apply new (4.3.x etc.) updates like the first message?

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6 minutes ago, uA_Y_C_A said:

I'm using 4.2.9 right now. I also installed new theme [with child theme] (4.3) but I'm not using right now. After updating the board I will activate the new theme.

this is not a problem, is it? @Ehren and also can apply new (4.3.x etc.) updates like the first message?

I would normally suggest upgrading the forum first before installing the 4.3 theme. 

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4 hours ago, uA_Y_C_A said:

What is the different? For example the default theme always installed :)  

Personal preference. I tend to avoid conflicting versions since the 4.3 theme won't work on 4.2, so there's little reason to install it.

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  • 1 month later...
3 hours ago, silentvoice said:

Dear admin, I just upgraded to 4.3.x

Just wondering, whatever happened to "Guest Message" and other features in earlier versions? I don't seem to find it in the new theme?

image.png.a6206c845aa79f0585180ae72c337a3e.png

There are tutorials in the customer area :) The guest message is now built into IPS as a widget, so those settings are no longer required. 

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Guest Stormwolfe

I promise that I do searches and read threads before asking for help! I need to get better at it as I'm sure this question has been asked and answered.

If updating the  ipsfocus_base.css for sites hosted by Invision Community's cloud service exists elsewhere, please direct me to it.

When 4.3 was released, I went ahead and deleted all of my themes except for their core default one and reinstalled them properly as parent / child.

I cannot access the files on the server (I'm hosted by Invision Community).

Is the following process correct in order to upgrade my themes with the new ipsfocus_base.css....

  1. Download and save the new  ipsfocus_base.css.
  2. Copy the contents
  3. Open  ipsfocus_base.css in my parent theme's files in the ACP...
  4. Replace the old  ipsfocus_base.css with the updated  ipsfocus_base.css
  5. Save, rinse and repeat for my other IPS Focus themes.

As always, your help is appreciated.

~ Stormwolfe

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