Customize Site Questions
This section answers questions specific to customizing your SIB site.
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How do I edit the "What's New" text in SIB?
At this time, editing the text for "What's New" is not an available option. Text such as "What's New" is not mission specific. That text is for all SIB sites, and if it is incorrect, we need to change it globally.
How do I reset the default template for SIB?
To fix it, login as admin, click on Customize Site, then click on Revert to Default. If you are unable to login, then just go to http://www.mission.net/your/mission/fix_body.php and that resets your body.inc.php file.
Where can I find a customization tutorial for SIB?
Login in as Admin, click on Customize Site and then click on SIB Customization Tutorial. A new window will open up with explanations on various aspects of customizing your site.
How do I insert code in the headers of SIB pages?
Currently, the SIB header cannot be directly edited. This may be considered in the future.
What are the PHP variables used in SIB?
index = $strLangHomePage;
alumnilist = $strLangAlumniList;
friends = $strLangFriends;
current = $strLangCurrMissionaries;
presidents = $strLangMissionPres;
guestbook = $strLangGuestBook;
reunions = $strLangReunions;
news = $strLangRecentNews;
messages = $strLangMessages;
links = $strLangRelLinks;
pictures = $strLangMisPix;
stories = $strLangMisStories;
polls = $strLangMisPolls;
chat = $strLangChat;
missioninfo = $strLangMissionInfo;
weather = $strLangWeather;
comments = $strLangComments;
What happens when I set a custom page to active or inactive?
If you create a custom page and set it to active, the item is displayed in the main navbar menu. If you don't make the custom page active, your users can still access the custom page by simply placing the appropriate hypertext link in a webpage. After creating a custom page, you can preview it and this is where you can get the custom page id or url for your hyperlink.
How do I change english text to another language?
This is a simple process that will take just a few minutes for you to do. Login as admin, click on customize site, click on custom text and click on the Edit link for Home Page Welcome Text. Next, click on New Language, change the language selection from English to your preferred language, then delete the text in the box and replace it with what you want to have displayed. You may want to make a copy of the original text to help you insert the correct html code for things like the alumni database, the Recent News, the Message Board and for visitors to sign the Guestbook.
I would recommend that you first give it a try in the SIB sandbox at http://www.mission.net/sandbox. At least there if you make a mistake, it won't matter. You can simply reset the default look by going to the Admin section, to Customize Site and clicking on Revert to Default Template. A warning though, once you click to Revert to Default Template, there is no going back. Always make a backup copy of your new.body.inc.php file just in case you mess up.
How do I convert a word document to PDF and place it online?
This can easily be done with some free tools available for download off the net. First one recommended is CutePDF Writer. Go to the following URL to download: www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp. Another recommended FREE software suite is Open office. Go to www.openoffice.org. It can be used to open Word documents and output it as a PDF File. You'll need to follow the installation instructions of the programs.
Once you have your PDF file, login to the SIB Admin Panel. Click on "Site Settings" then on "Misc Files". In the "New File" field, click the Browse button and locate the file on your computers harddrive you want to upload to the SIB site. Double click the file and then click on the "Add" button.
The correct URL to the file would be www.mission.net/your/mission/name/files/filename.pdf
You can insert this URL into any custom page or custom text to make it available online to your users and visitors.
How do I get rid of "This site is looking for a webmaster..."?
This text is contained in the body/layout file. You should download the body.inc.php (Located in Admin -> Configuration -> Style/Look) file and modify it as you desire. Then re-upload it in the same location.
How do I use images in my navigation menu?
There are a few steps you must take in order to accomplish this.
- Create an image for each of the navigation links. These image must be strictly named in the specified format. Image should be named exactly the same as the filename of the modules to which it links. (e.g. alumnilist.php -> alumnilist.gif). All image files must be in the GIF format and should have a lower-case file extension. If you want to have a "rollover" effect on your images, you must also create corresponding "_on" files. So an alumnilist.gif would also have an alumnilist_on.gif.
- For custom pages, the file should be named as the title text with all non-alphanumeric characters stripped out and lower-case. (e.g the title "Webmaster Bio" would have corresponding images called "webmasterbio.gif" and "webmasterbio_on.gif".
- Set the "Navigation Images" setting to "Yes" (Admin -> Configuration -> Style/Look)
- If you want "rollovers" set the "Image Rollover" setting to "Yes" (Admin -> Configuration -> Style/Look)
NOTE: Currently, SIB does not support multiple languages for for Nav Menu images, except in the case of custom pages.
Can I use the pages of my current website within SIB?
YES! SIB has a "Custom Pages" feature through which you can display any page. You can even design your pages with a web design program and then copy and paste them into SIB. However, you should only place the code between the <body> tags into SIB because SIB automatically takes care of other details.
How do I change the colors of my SIB site?
All colors and font information for SIB is managed within a CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) file (Admin -> Configuration -> Style/Look). You can download, edit and re-upload this file to make any changes to your colors and font selections.
How do I change the layout and desgin of my SIB site?
All layout is handled within the Body/Layout file (Admin -> Configuration -> Style/Look). You can download this file and edit it as you desire. Please keep in mind that there are sections that output PHP variables that must be in your page. They can be moved around, but if you remove them entirely, you will not have content on any of your pages. Be sure to carefully read the instructions within the file.
How do I manage the text at the top of each module main page?
SIB has a feature called "Custom Text" that allows you to customize certain text output. Different languages can also be specified and will show up when the user is viewing your site in the corresponding language.
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