XF 2.2 Where to begin/beginners guide...

[jayhawku]

Sorry if I missed some glaring resource but I'm just looking for some help.

I apparently bit off more than I could chew in regard to purchasing XenForo and setting up a forum with how I envision it. I thought it would be a bit like, oh here insert your header image and change the color to this here, remove that thing there, poof you have your own look. That may or may not be the case but as of now, I'm under the assumption I have to buy a theme (the... better ones.. seem to cost money) to kind of get where I want to go unless I all of the sudden learn graphic design and programming, etc.

If this is incorrect, please let me know. I searched for beginners guide or where to begin and I found a thread from 2014. XenForo had a series on starting your forum up but it seems to be outdated with the 2. version that I'm using w/ the cloud subscription.

Not trying to be critical, just posting where I'm coming from and admitting, I may just be an idiot/not know where to look so that's why I'm asking for help.

Thanks for anything, appreciate the help.

 

[Mr Lucky]

so it would be wise to close the forum, experiment on one screen/browser tab in the ACP and refresh in the other to see how your changes affect the appearance.

There is no need to close then forum if you experiment on a style that is not available for users to choose. Admins can choose any style even if not available for users to select via the style chooser

 

[Davyc]

There is no need tom close then forum if you experiment on a style that is not available for users to choose. Admins can choose any style even if not available for users to select via the style chooser

I was responding with the premise that default theme only was showing as available. It's unlikely that a new user would have any other theme installed from the outset. It is possible to create a secondary theme based on the default, but that would require further explanation on how to create it. Not impossible, but not requested either

 

[Mr Lucky]

I was responding with the premise that default theme only was showing as available. It's unlikely that a new user would have any other theme installed from the outset. It is possible to create a secondary theme based on the default, but that would require further explanation on how to create it. Not impossible, but not requested either

I only mentioned it because some people have already used my beginners guide mentioned above in answer to the topic and may find it useful to know about working with safety copies.

 

[bennylava]

I know how to set up Xenforo forums in my sleep but I don’t know exactly what a torrent is or even a plex server. Looking at AVSFourm, it’s very custom you see Xenforo core items but also a lot of stuff that’s custom developed. Don’t let you discourage its 100% possible for someone like you to do this, first become familiar with styling (colouring) your forum add your logo maybe try to change a icon on the forum to one you like first, little steps first. There’s also community add-ons and resources, reputable developers to do custom work as well.

How difficult would it be to mimic this look? I like the floating "body" of forums over the vintage looking image. As well as each sub forum having a little logo in front of it. Would this be difficult to replicate? Something tells me it's not just a theme I can get from somewhere and install.

The Garage Journal

Garage design & tool discussion for the working man,,,

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Davyc]

Add this to your extra.less file to get your fixed background - adjust the URL to suit the image you're calling.

.p-pageWrapper {
    background: url(https://unblast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Space-Background-Images.jpg);
    background-size: cover;
    background-position: 50% 50%;
    background-attachment: fixed;
}

Changing the forum icons is a little different depending on what version of XF you're running, so it would be helpful to know which version you're on.

 

[bennylava]

Add this to your extra.less file to get your fixed background - adjust the URL to suit the image you're calling.

.p-pageWrapper {
    background: url(https://unblast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Space-Background-Images.jpg);
    background-size: cover;
    background-position: 50% 50%;
    background-attachment: fixed;
}

Changing the forum icons is a little different depending on what version of XF you're running, so it would be helpful to know which version you're on.

I am on version 2.2.15

Thanks for the code! It appears to have given me a space themed image, along with the "floating" effect I wanted. However, it does look like The garage journal still managed to group the sub forums together. Like they're all one mass. Here's my forum:

The Cleburne Forums

Community platform by XenForo®

cleburneforums.com

And here's what I'm attempting to mimic:

The Garage Journal

Garage design & tool discussion for the working man,,,

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Davyc]

The Garage Journal site looks like they are using an off-the-peg theme, which has its own layout. Your site is lacking a background colour for the main body, which is why yours looks like your forums are floating. To resolve this you can add this code to your extra.less file:

.p-body-inner {
    background-color: #72909d;
}

Change the colour to suit, but be aware that too dark a colour will affect surrounding text that is currently black. This is why I cautioned the use of changes, as one change can have a knock on effect on something else, and not always in a positive way.

 

[Opus X]

Can a college student who's somewhat tech savvy and knows what torrents are and a Plex server and uses a VPN.. can they easily set up a XenForo forum or do you have to know a bit more...

yes you can do it if you have some patience and read in this area.
but some things can only be done at a high level of changes in templates i have found.
a base look using the built in style properties are not that hard.
the hardest problem i have had is figuring out what certain properties are called in the back end of xenforo.
the search bar is your friend but sometimes you do need to know what the phrase you are searching for is.
for those i sometimes use google search with xenforo added in.
every now and then i do get a return for what i wanted and not what i typed.
that has been the biggest problem for me and i am trying to not depend on the guy i bought the site from as much for help.
what i have done is make a copy of the existing style and started playing with it. it is not able to be chosen but if it blows up it does not hurt the site.

 

[bennylava]

You add the code by going to Appearance>Templates and then using the search bar to search for extra.less