• From: India, TN, Karur
  • Registered: 05/16/2014
  • Posts: 1,195

Topic: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

This is a post for  @Joe,  @Janusz, @Apmuthu and Senior Community Developers.

I have a suggestion for the theming. There are lot of peoples started asking custom theme to make it responsive without touching the core.  But theme development on Fa is very limited at this moment.  Why do we allow them to create features with help of vQmod , which OpenCart uses to create themes and custom features in it.

I feel, the theme developers dont need to work on `ui_inputs.inc` and `other ui files`.  Also the login files. Which can be modified with it.  Also the vQmod integration doesnot occupy more space in it.  Also its doesnot affect the speed of the FA Performance. 

we can require the necessary file with it.

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2 Reply by apmuthu (edited by apmuthu 01/04/2017 04:28:19 am)

  • From: Singapore, India, Chennai
  • Registered: 05/02/2009
  • Posts: 6,160

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

vQmod is an overhead that no production site would want unless you change themes frequently and have a need to do so.

"vQmod™" (aka Virtual Quick Mod) is an override system designed to avoid having to change core files. The concept is quite simple... Instead of making changes to the core files directly, the changes are created as xml search/replace script files. These script files are parsed during page load as each "source" core file is loaded with the "include" or "require" php functions. The source is then patched with the script file changes, and saved to a temp file. That temp file is then substituted for the original during execution. The original source file is never altered. This results in a "virtual" change to the core during execution without any actual modification to the core files.

Any such integration should be for future versions and that too in theme developer mode.

apmuthu's Website

  • From: India, TN, Karur
  • Registered: 05/16/2014
  • Posts: 1,195

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

It's not an overhead, specially the UI has some kind of older look and feel. Especially the users who came to ask me first is good theme, and he needs future updates of FA. But theming with touch login page and other ui files, which doesnot take effect. Also there is not much support for theming of FA. That's the reason i suggested  vQmod for theming of login logout pages.

if you guys feel it as overhead, than the login files should be moved to themes folder to work based on theme.  Or the login file has an option to choose, 

 $def_theme='default';

. Without touching the file, we cant change this theme.

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  • From: India, TN, Karur
  • Registered: 05/16/2014
  • Posts: 1,195

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

If Possible, we can move this option to config.db. which also good to configure once in setup.  we can style use that. Also we need an option to add js from our custom themes

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  • From: New Zealand, Wellington
  • Registered: 06/19/2014
  • Posts: 128

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

Or we could merge in the code to delegate the rendering to classes.  That's been available for over a year now.  https://github.com/FrontAccountingERP/FA/pull/8

Cambell https://github.com/cambell-prince

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  • Alaa
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  • From: Jordan
  • Registered: 03/27/2015
  • Posts: 156

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

the best implemented way for theming that i am aware of is the Joomla way which they call overriding, or Wordpress child theme.
right now its hard to share your themes since you need to edit the core files, we really need a better way for theming FA.

  • From: Singapore, India, Chennai
  • Registered: 05/02/2009
  • Posts: 6,160

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

FA 2.4 has such theming ready renderers that allow for hooks into them which is way simpler than Joomla or Wordpress.

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  • From: Jordan
  • Registered: 03/27/2015
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Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

I really didnt know that.. is there a wiki on how to use it?

  • From: Singapore, India, Chennai
  • Registered: 05/02/2009
  • Posts: 6,160

Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

You will need to study the default themes and make yours by starting out with a clone of one of them that suits the technology you want / are familiar with. You can post your findings here and document it in the Wiki. That is how the Wiki is what it is today - everyone who's scratched their itch have embellished it with their lessons learned so that others may take it from there..

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  • From: Jordan
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Re: Integrating an additional Features to enhance Theming

@apmuthu

Ok.. thank you..
i'll share my findings here.

Regards.