Beginner- Basic template

I’m new to MODx and I’m getting nowhere. I do know basic html and css and usally use Dreamweaver to make my sites. I really, really want to use MODx. I’ve read a lot of documentation and am now running it and using a local testingserver.
My problem starts with the templates, I want to make my own (what’s the fun in ebdesign if I don’t get to design). I’ve gone though several guides and it sounds simple, still it’s not happening, nothing happens.
I’ve typed my own, I’ve cut and pasted...

Can some kind soul give me the code for a basic temlate so I can compare and adjust?

I’ve used the basic "simple" template, but my changes does not show.

Help!

If you can tell us exactly what you’ve done and what’s not working it will be easier to help you sort it. It would also be super helpful to know if you’re using MODx Evolution or MODx Revolution as things vary between them

I,m using evelution and as I saif, I think I can solve the problem if I get a look at a working template code.

If I paste my html code (from a working site) into Resources, New Template, and save it, most of the code disapears, and if I do the very basic and just add a backogroudcolor for example to the "simlpe" template that came with the kit, nothing happens.

My problem might be that I have my css in the html document? But that would not explain all the problems. So my problem is that I’m geting nowhere when it comes to controling the look of my site.

If you think my problem i too basic, just ignore it and let someone else answer.

http://www.sottwell.com/how-templates-work.html

You can have your css in the template head if you want; MODx doesn’t care. All it cares about are any MODx tags you have in the template. In fact, you can copy/paste directly any HTML from a "view source" of your browser and when you assign a resource to use that template you’ll see exactly the same page you copied. That’s often how I port a template; simply replacing the sections I want to have MODx generate (such as replacing the menu with a Wayfinder snippet, and the main content of the page with the [*content*] tags).

If parts of what you paste (or enter) into the form’s textarea field is disappearing, then something else is badly wrong.

Oh...it’s great. Thanks for that information

I believe I am having a similar issue, for starters I just wanted to try and see a different theme than the default to get an idea of how things work. Though it seem I can’t even get that to work.

Here’s a link to a video of my problem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhzXAZig-0k

help appreciated!

From video:

"Look what I get - nothing!"

But you do have something: the content of your page in the framework of your new template. What you don’t have is the CSS styles, meaning the link in the page’s HEAD section isn’t pointing to the css file. First thing is to check the stylesheet file is in the right place, with the exact right name as given in the LINK tag. Also check that the resulting HTML page is picking up the BASE correctly for your site URL, as the LINK tag for the stylesheet is relative to that.
KP

As another newbie here, allow me to state that this is highly frustrating and I get where this individual is coming from. I am more looking for templates than anything else, and there appear to be few and far between. I do not want to be explained how easy it is to make one, I want one made that I can buy or what have you beyond the basic ones found on here or the very few I have seen. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills - does no one have templates for sale for this beyond the two dozen I have seen?

Have you looked at demo.amdbuilder.net? Do you have a template in mind you would like to use? If so i’m sure someone can convert it for you.

This is sort of one of those catch-22 quandaries.

Revo is very, very young. There are very few templates available. But if someone made say 20 good templates available then you would very soon see tons of sites sporting the same template - not the best situation.

But the nice thing about MODx generally is that its a lot easier to adapt or build templates and make them work in MODx.

The crux though is that the general background information on how to do this is lacking. With time there will be new guides, tutorials and blogs highlighting this area. But it can be a waiting game for many new users.

One of the things that we heard for years with MODx is that the development came before the documentation. It was a long process, but some good documentation was made available. But now the whole MODx world has changed focus and the new Revolution product is the future. It may be a leap forward but the collective mass of well written and nicely explained documentation is lagging behind once again. Then there is the confusion of making sure the information one is reading is applicable to Evolution, Revolution or both.

But getting back to the OP’s question: it might be more direct to build a template from scratch or adapt a template from somewhere else. Waiting for Revo specific templates might take more time than its worth, and like I say, those templates might suffer from their very own popularity...


EDIT: I sort of goofed here. I see that the OP is working in Evo. But the principle of my point is the same. Your mileage may vary of course...