The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

I have completed the update I have been working on for the past several weeks. Vampire Rave now features a custom layout and skin system.

Free members will find the new system very easy to use. Near the top left corner of all Vampire Rave pages is a new drop down menu: Choose Layout. There are several new layouts to choose from. When you select a new layout, your entire view of the site changes.

The system also remembers which layout you were using last. So when you come back to the site and log in again, your layout will change to whatever it was when you last logged out.

Premium Members have a whole host of new features. Premium Members can create skins for layouts. Skins can change the color and graphics for a layout.

Skins can be traded and shared between Premium Members. Premium Members can select their favorite layout, skin it, and apply it to their profile. See my profile for an example of what you can do with skinning.

For a full overview of the new system, please read the new VR Manual chapter Layouts and Skins.

Very beautiful Cancer, I see you have integrated the advertising format(s) template and the Dark Network sites templates into the layout process.

I am more privvy to classic views. Great work nonetheless.

Thankyou!
this is very cool.
You are very tanlented in updating this web site.

I know of a web site..that the admin just left the place,
everything is screwed up and almost nothing works.
he never came back.:(

I suspect most older members will stick with the layout VR Classic. It's what they're use to.

Newer members will probably use the other layouts.

Over the next 30 minutes I will be testing the system, so some oddities may occur.

I'm really liking this new update.

I'm trying out the Cimmerian Red, but the Classic is definitely easier and more ... known.

But I'm glad to see there are other colors aside from the red for the Classic to use.

cool update but how does it help with the covens and mentorship pages since we already had to use different codes for them than for our profiles how do we get them back to the way they were.

I'm gonna do whatever it takes to help out the site. Also so i can be able to use the new profile skin . Thank you Cancer for everything.

Since the system graphics are done in .gif format. Are we allowed to use animated images?

Anyone that is premium should try the Spongebob skin, posted on the Skin Manager under Public Skins.

RazrTheHollowAngel,

Profile editing should be a lot easier now. Look at my profile. All I did to set it up was download the Bantam layout pack, edit the included CSS file and a few graphics, then set it up in Edit My Profile. I also cleared out my Style box, as that code was no longer necessary.

The whole thing took about an hour. 58 minutes of that was editing graphics. It only took me 2 minutes to edit the CSS file.

This system is much easier once you get the hang of it. And when you look at my profile, you'll see how much more control I have over how it looks.

In regard to other pages that premium members insert style code into (Society pages, etc):

The new system will make it easier to create customized pages. IF, in the past, you set your pages up correctly and referenced all the right CSS classes, your pages should still look fine today.

IF you used some sort of online code generator, don't expect that to work anymore. You MUST set your pages up a certain way. So your old pages may need a few tweaks.

With profiles, editing is easy. You just edit the CSS file that I give you and upload it to your File Storage.

With other pages, it's a little trickier. But all you have to do is lift the code from the CSS file page you used for your profile.

So I suggest this: everyone should focus on their profile. Get a handle on the new system. Once you're comfortable with it, then start updating your Society and other pages.

Abstract,

If you're creating a skin for your own viewing use, you can do whatever you want.

If you're creating a skin that the public will see (for your Profile, or somewhere else), then only the standard posting rules apply.

Gif's were chosen as the main graphic format to allow for transparencies and animations.

I am loving the forced layouts for profiles the most.

Even more so with the animations ^_^

I *will* be releasing more layouts and skins. There is a layout I am working on, but I didn't have time to finish it before the release of this new system. It's going to take me the better part of next week to finish it.

Bantam is more or less for people who have small monitors. It's a 800 pixel width layout and will display nicely on older systems.

Bantam also offers more graphical contol, as you can see by the skin of my profile.

Cimmerian is a 1000 pixel width layout. It's more robust and uses a lot of javascript and DHTML.

The layout I am working on now is another 100% width layout, like VR Classic. It will be good for people with very large monitors.

Just a heads up Bantam does not display well with google chrome.

I've just applied an update to Bantam. It should view fine with Firefox, Opera, IE, and Safari.

I don't have Chrome. I guess I should download it for testing purposes.

I just installed Chrome, and all layouts appear fine. The update I did to Bantam must have fixed the issue.

For those of you who are curious as to what the Spongebob skin looks like, I just applied it to the profile of my test account Cancer120.

It gives you an idea of the kinds of things you can do with the new system. You're only limited by your creativity.

Cancer, I love how you put your name at the top and stuff but i cant get nothing to work at all, when I try all I get is a white screen. I followed all the directions but must be doing something wrong or missing something.

Are you trying to skin your profile or skin a layout?

First try skinning a layout. Pick a skin from the public skins then copy and paste those values into the Create a New skin section. Then hit your layout changer drop down list.

It's basically the same process for skinning your profile. Profile skins are done via the Edit Your Profile page however.

If after applying a skin, you see VR text, but it's basically a white screen, black text, and everything is left justified, it means you put in the location of the CSS file incorrectly.

To go along with these current updates, members are going to require more on-line accessible file storage for skin files and graphics.

Working with Cancer, I have put together a site that can help VR members get the storage they need cost-effectively with not as many bandwidth and file restrictions as Photobucket or other similar storage websites. (Photobucket will resize your images if they are bigger than 800 pixels on the longest side, this web hosting won't!)

Our external site for purchasing these options is Bat Skins. I have three different plans in place to offer ranging from $10 to $25 per year.

This is basically going to be an extension of the VR storage already offered with premium memberships – it is designed to provide you with extra storage space for use on Vampire Rave, the rest of the Dark Network and even other websites.

For only $10 per year, you can have 100GB of external storage and access via FTP. FTP will allow you to upload numerous files at once can handle many different file types.

Check it out and if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.

Looks good to Me and I will be trying it one day soon...Kinda sticking to basic for now..Good Job You Guys

I'm with RazrTheHollowAngel and Chris, I can't get my mentor pages back to the way they were either. I like the traditional greys, blacks, whites and reds, but still nothing I do changes them back.

I love the work and implementations that you've endeavoured to offer us Cancer, but I too have opted for the VR Classic look. It's far more user friendly for us "older" members.

Any suggestions on CSS coding for our mentorship pages though?

Just tried adding another mentors page to my mentorship and the information, even without a CSS code at base, was all messed up.

How do we get around these things from happening?
How do we get our original colours back?

Aracon.

In time I will try to write up some CSS tutorials. But you guys have all the information you need. I've posted the Layout Packs in the skin manager that contain all of the CSS files in use.

The code is there. You just need to edit and update your pages.

I recent kismet I saw:

Whats the point of having my f***ing PM if you can't see my layout!!!!

I sent the following message to the member:

That's what the 'Forced Layout' function is for. Pick your layout. Pick your CSS file and graphics. Then your profile will always look the same way. Period.

Ok Cancer, that seems to work for profiles only, but nothing with mentor pages.

This is the current code that I WAS using for my mentorship pages, giving me a really good layout and clean cut presentation, but it no longer works with the new updates.

Any suggestions?

Bugger didn't work. I mean the CSS input code.

How can I show what CSS code I want to use in my mentors pages, so that someone can see and assist me with?

If you want someone to review your code, copy and paste the code into a txt file, upload to your file storage, then paste the link.

Here is the link to my DOC file (sorry I don't have the ability on my computer to produce txt files).

Can anyone assist in me in getting these colors back in play on my mentorship pages please?

CSS_HELP.doc

Since many members feel the need to send and express their thanks to Cancer for the site's latest updates, please post HERE instead. That way Cancer will be able to better address questions directly relating to the updates in this thread. Many thanks.
~ billy

Guys, I've posted a test page here:

https://www.vampirerave.com/mentorships/index.php?id=133

The page is ugly. It's supose to be.

This page demonstrates how to make your tables/cells transparent. If you check this page with every VR layout, you'll see that the green shows through on EVERY layout.

This is the code I put into the page:



Now you can't just go and copy and paste this code into your pages. It may conflict with code you already have. This example illustrates how I set all the classes to transparent.

This system is far more powerful than the old. You can do damn near anything with it. If your pages don't look right, they were most likely generated with some online generator that was not made to work with VR. You can't just go to some other website, plug in a few values, and copy and paste the code it spits out here. It won't work.

Every part of every VR layout now has a 'name' (or more correctly, a CSS class). To control the color and properties of a class, you must reference it by name. I have posted all of the CSS files for all of the layouts. The CSS files contain the class names you need.

I have my profile back to what it was but for the life of me I can't seem to figure out how to correct the images that are missing for my journal , port biting and stalking. and The Vr banner doesnt look right either.

Cancer, I had noticed in previous threads that you said to clear out our old CSS coding, to use the skins and all. My question is if I take out the coding what do I do with the scroll boxes that I use? Loving the new look.

LadyxDarkxRayne,

Under the new system, you can define where your graphic files are located. This allows you to replace the graphics, and make them whatever you want.

If you don't want to replace them, you can use the default graphics. You've got VR Classic set as a forced layout for your profile, so you need a VR Classic graphic pack. You can use any of these paths:

https://www.vampirerave.com/inc/layouts/images/vr_classic_red/

https://www.vampirerave.com/inc/layouts/images/vr_classic_blue/

https://www.vampirerave.com/inc/layouts/images/vr_classic_green/

https://www.vampirerave.com/inc/layouts/images/vr_classic_purple/

Go to Edit Your Profile, section Forced Layout of Profile, and copy and paste one of those lines into the section Graphics Path.

That will set the graphics for your profile.

Spiritwalker,

You don't need to throw out your old coding. What I sugest everyone do, is download the new CSS files via the Skin Manager, section Layout Packs.

These CSS files are complete and have everything you need to make a page look right for a specific layout.

From here, there are a couple of things you can do:

You can customize the graphics that are included in the Layout Packs. My profile is an example of what can be modified and done.

My profile is a skin of Bantam.

My Cancer120 profile is a skin of VR Classic.

will those codes work for the Society pages?

I ask cause some have themes and the background is related to the theme of the content of the page.

And great work! Love spongebob, (just don't fit well with horror theme lol)

Society/Mentor pages have a slightly different CSS class structure. The new system will allow you to skin those pages too, but it takes a bit more work.

Only profile pages have the Forced Layout function. This is something you should keep in mind when designing non-profile pages. Just because your page looks good in VR Classic Red, doesn't mean it will look good to someone who is viewing your page with Bantam Brown.

You need to incorporate more code into non-profile pages to assure they look good with all layouts.

Or better yet, when working with non-profile pages, strip the code down. Use only the essential classes and let the default CSS file handle the rest.

So if I don't use a forced profile layout and someone using lets say cimmerian red, as there layout clicks on my profile, are they gonna be viewing it in the cimmerian red layout...cause that layout doesn't work for my profile, it only looks good in the classic profile layout, as I have the scrollbox and all, I hope my question here makes sense...

It is to your advantage to force a layout for your profile. You'll have the most control over how your profile looks at all times.

This is easy to test. If your profile isn't forced right now, switch your layout view, then look at your profile and see how it looks....

Cancer is it alright if i message you i dont want to say it here cause i dont want other members to think that its alright without youre permission . because im really not sure if its breaking any rules . If it is breaking any rules i will change it in a heart beat. :)

Okay I forced a layout, I am curious how I can make the Vampire Rave logo transparent in the background like it was before, I know it's a minor thing. Also the horizontal lines around the comment box area, can I make then go away?

I've posted a new layout, it's now in the layout changer drop down list: Oracle Red.

This is a fixed-width 800 pixel layout. It's 100% graphical, which offers both advantages and disadvantages.

On the plus side, if you skin this layout for your Profile, there are a lot of possibilities. The only thing 'fixed' is where the text lines up. Everything else is graphical, so it can be altered. You could really go wild and totally change the look of your profile page with this layout.

On the down side, if you're using this layout to view the site with, it will occassionally distort. All standard VR pages look fine, but if you hit a page with very large graphics, it will skew things and not look quite right. It will still be readable, but you'll notice something is wrong, as the borders will not line up.

WEBENEATH,

If you have something worthwhile to message me, do so. If not, don't.


MsSanguinarius,

The new logo graphics are not transparent gifs. You can accomplish what you're asking, but you'd have to make the background of the logo file transparent, then upload it, and then define your graphics path. Remember, all graphics can be altered on your page.

In regard to the red lines, those are controlled by defining the CSS class hr.

You've also got something funky going on with your comments. They're too narrow, in a vertical column.

well if you see my profile youll see what im talking about i just used the source. ive had alot of sires etc look at the page and they didnt tell me that im not suppose to do it . so im not sure i really dont want to get in trouble or be on the bad side of anyone . if it is unauthorized i dont mind in changing it in a heart beat.

I don't see anything wrong with your profile.

Don't listen to those who are not Sentorans or upper admins. Everyone else is just guessing.

thanks, yeah I noticed they looked narrow, I have adjusted it, should be better now :O)

I want to use my file storage for my graphics, what url will i need to put in for it to take effect

I have the same questing that bleeding has, incase I wanna use the file storage for my graphics...

I am trying the Oracle Red (my fav so far) but I notice when I use it or Cimmerian Red my center table on my profile is off centered. Will this be fixed anytime in the future, will it just be standard permanently or is their something I can do to rectify it?

BleedingMassacre,

It takes a little insight into html and file paths, but it's not that hard to figure out your file storage path. Here's the easiest way:

PandorasBx,

I can't view your profile with Cimmerian Red, because it's currently using a forced layout with Oracle Red.

The 'off centered' portion that I think that you're refering to, is due to the ad in the right-hand column.

I'm working on an update today that removes the right hand ad from the profiles of premium members for the layouts Bantam, Cimmerian, and Oracle.

Basically if YOU are premium, the ad will not appear on YOUR profile, which gives you more space on your profile.

I should have it done in an hour or two.

Cancer ... I've noticed that when using the Cimmerian Red skin, the Premium link to "Customize Journal" does not pull up the page to do so.

It does work Bantam Brown (but that is of course an entire different menu structure)

I just switched to Cimmerian, clicked Premium, Customize Journal, and the page came up fine....

When uploading your graphics pack, my graphics path is put in like this with the slash for example... https://www.vampirerave.com/premium/files/lolita/

I am just getting x in a box where the icons should be? Should I be placing ALL the gifs and jpgs into file storage, or just the ones I have changed?

I have only been putting in the ones I have changed...I have resized each and made sure they were the same as the original icons in the layout pack.

Is there another reason this could be happening?


Thanks :)

Just checked, and it worked fine as well ... oh well, must have been a hiccup. Thanks for looking.

Lolita,

When you change the location of your graphics, they must ALL be in the same place. The system has no way of knowing which ones you've modified and which ones you haven't.

So upload all of the files from the layout pack to the new location (in this case, your file storage).. Including the ones that you didn't change.

There is an exception to the rule that all graphics need to be in the same place.

Oracle, for example, defines some graphics in its CSS file. So in this case, you could move just the graphics defined there, by re-writing the CSS file.

Oracle defines its background graphics this way. So you could change all of those by just editing the CSS file. Then the 'interior' graphics (portfolio, journal, bite, stalk, position tags, etc) would remain unchanged.

So, whenever you're editing a CSS file and you see a graphics path, you can change that location to whatever.. Without the need to upload other graphics to an outside/new location.

I am closing this thread. I have opened a new thread in the main forum that is geared toward Layout and Skin support.

The new thread is here:

https://www.vampirerave.com/forum/message.php?message=49181&group=1&catid=1