Styling RaidTracker

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Styling RaidTracker

This information applies only to RaidTracker version 1.x (1.70-1.9x).

Preset styles

RaidTracker can be styled to best suit your guild's web site. RaidTracker comes with one style built in ('default'). The following styles can be downloaded:

Black (a.k.a. Black Gold.)

Intalling and using styles

All styles will fit in a directory of their own name under the /style directory. That means that default fits in /styles/default while all of black's files would fit in /style/black.

To use a style temporarily, you would need to add either "?style=style_name" or "&style=style_name" to the URL at the top. (Beware, if you have just executed a change in List View, you need to click on "Link to this raid" before you can successfully add this to the URL.) If you want to permanently change the style, you need to change the following line in /user/rt.php:

define ("rts_style", "style_name");

Replace style_name with the style you wish to use.

NB: Please remember not to delete /style/default, even if you have changed styles. RaidTracker uses default as a backup. Besides, it take up very little space.

Create your own style

Basics of a style

NB: Styles for version 1.x (1.70-1.9x) are considered in beta mode.. While these can be styled, some features may be incomplete.

RaidTracker is flexible enough to change the style and look, as well as add extra widgets to the application. Want to hang the RT menu on top instead of on the side? Want to replace the logo with your guild logo? All very possible.

The most important things to remember is that all of your style information (CSS, HTML, javascript, etc) must be located in the directory under the /style directory. The name of the folder is the name of the style (i.e. the Default style is in /style/default). Also, your style folder must contain a file called 'settings.php'. Without this file, the setting will fail to load. (If you specify a style in the address bar, it will default to the setting in user/rt.php.) There are 3 parts to any style: HTML templating, CSS styling, and optional features

HTML Templates

RaidTracker allows for certain features to be separate of another. This is called "templating". In order to template, you must be familiar with HTML, and should have some knowledge in PHP, though the latter is not required. Your settings.php file will be the tool used to generate the page for RaidTracker. Your settings.php file will contain the following: style variable info, HTML code, and placeholder variables. Think of your settings.php as a regular HTML page, but with a couple features to create pages on the fly.

Style variable info

RaidTracker uses one variable array to store all the page info. That variable array is $_page. To change or set information, you just use $_page['name']="text" where quotes are needed, and text is what you're inserting. A list of the $_page options:

$_page['stylesheet'] - Location of your CSS stylesheet (see below). This path must be set to the web address, but without the .css ending. You may find it easier to replace "text with rts_syspath."/style/yourstyle/nameofstylesheet".
$_page['logo'] - Location of your logo. Like the stylesheet path above, it takes on the web address. Unlike the stylesheet attribute, it requires an extension (i.e. logo.png).

These are also available, but should not be changed, or else you may find RaidTracker not working with your style. They are included as these are placeholders as discussed below.

$_page['guild'] - Name of guild.
$_page['realm'] - Name of realm.
$_page['title'] - Page title
$_page['menu'] - RaidTracker's main menu
$_page['message'] - Any messages that come up from RaidTracker
$_page['main'] - Main text of RaidTracker. Note: don't rely on this in version 1.x, as it's not functioning completely. See below how to incorporate main text
$_page['news'] - Newsbox for announcements in RaidTracker. Version 1.x has the same issues as with main, so don't use this.

To set one of these variables, you'll want to put it between the php tag: <?php and ?> tags. Example: <?php $_page['stylesheet']="path_to_stylesheet"; ?> The semicolon is important. You can set 2 or more properties, as long as a semicolon is used between them. We'll explain how to use these in placeholder variables below.

HTML code and placeholders

Anything that is not in the php tag will be shown as plain HTML. Version 1.x styles will need to generate all HTML including the <head> information, so it is recommended to copy head.php from the default style into your style and include the following line into settings.php: <?php include 'head.php'; ?>

If you have looked at settings.php in the default style, the layout of the screen has been separated into different files for readability, using include statements. There's nothing wrong with this, and they could have been put into one big file (settings.php). But if you want to include content from a file, use include statements. If you just want to include a placeholder (like the menu for example), use the following: <?php echo $_page['menu'];?> This will insert the code for the menu, which you can style using CSS.

As noted above, Version 1.x does not use main or news very well. News should not be included in your style at all, since it requires a dependancy. Main should not be included either, as you may end up with nothing (if you do not include the dependant file), or double (if you do include the file). It is recommended to use the following where you want the main code: <?php include $incmain; ?>

CSS Styles

RaidTracker is versatile enough to style anything using CSS. In order to understand styling, you are allowed to have one main stylesheet. You may choose the name of the file, as long as it ends in .css This filename needs to be specified in the $_page['stylesheet'] listed above (but without the extension.)

While you can style everything, RaidTracker understands the need to look good in non-CSS compliant browsers such as IE6. Assuming you use the recommendation and copy the head.php file into your style folder, you will see that there are 3 stylesheets: the default one, one for IE6 users, and one for IE7. The last 2 files are optional, but recommended. Any stylesheet for IE users are considered an override of the original styles, and must have -ie6 or -ie7 at the end of the file before the .css extension.

Optional Features

It is possible to insert extra features like a javascript clock, Flash, or other features to integrate with RaidTracker. It cannot be stressed enough that I will not accept liabilities for interference with RaidTracker, and to use it at your own risk. Any features or code such as .js files must be included in the same directory as your style, and that it must access files only from the same directory.

To insert your feature, it depends on if it must load in the <head> portion or in the <body> segment. The <body onload> feature is not possible with the current head.php file. To insert in the head, you need to insert this line near the top of your settings.php:
<?php $_head_parm[]="script here";?>
where "script here" is where you put your HTML code for the script. Be sure to escape all "s with \ before them.

You can insert your script anywhere on the page in settings.php--it'll be present for each RT page. If you wish to show your script only on certain views, you may want to use a conditional check like this example:

<?php  if ($rt_menu=='guild') { ?>
your script here
<?php } ?>

This ensures your script shows only on Guild List view.