Confluence Docs 3.0 : Modifying Confluence Layouts Using Custom Decorators This page last changed on Jul 06, 2008 by mryall.
| If you modify the look and feel of Confluence by following these instructions, you will need to update your customisations when upgrading Confluence. The more dramatic the customisations are, the harder it will be to reapply your changes when upgrading. Please take this into account before proceeding with your customisation.
Confluence is built on top of the Open Source SiteMesh library, a web-page layout system that provides a consistent look and feel across a site. SiteMesh works through 'decorators' that define a page's layout and structure. To edit the layout of Confluence, you will need to modify these decorator files. A decorator file is a vmd file and is written in a very simple programming language called Velocity. Learn more about Velocity. Once you become familiar with Velocity, you can edit the decorator files to personalise the appearance of Confluence. You need to have System Administrator permissions in order to perform this function.
| You can customise the layouts for a particular space or for the whole site. This page tells you how to customise layouts for a space. To customise the global layouts, use the 'Layout' menu on the 'Administration' page. When you upgrade Confluence, you must reapply your custom layouts to the new default layouts.
These files are grouped into: Site layouts : These are used to define the controls that surround each page in the site. For example, if you want to make changes to the header and the footer, you will need to modify these layouts. Content layouts : These control the appearance of content such as pages and news items: they don't change the way the pages themselves are displayed, but they allow you to alter the way the surrounding comments or attachments are shown. Export Layouts: These control the appearance of spaces and pages when they are exported to HTML. If you are using Confluence to generate a static website, for example, you will need to modify these layouts. Learn more about using decorators. To edit a decorator file, Go to the 'Space Admin' tab of the Browse Space view. To do this: Go to a page in the space, open the 'Browse' menu and select 'Space Admin'. The 'Space Administration' view will open. 'Space Admin' is only displayed if you are a space administrator. Click the 'Layout' link in the left panel under the heading 'Look and Feel'. A list of the layouts for the space is listed. Click 'View Default' to view the vmd file. Click 'Create Custom' to edit the default vmd file. This will open up the vmd file in edit mode. Make changes and click 'Update'. Screenshot : Edit Layouts Example Click thumbnail to view an example of a vmd file: ##### RELATED TOPICS Customising Look and Feel Applying A Theme To A Space Administrator's Guide - Design and Layout Take me back to Confluence User Guide

Document generated by Confluence on Nov 05, 2009 23:36