Confluence : Creating a Theme Plugin
This page last changed on Dec 11, 2006 by david.soul@atlassian.com.
Using DecoratorsA decorator defines Confluence page layout. By modifying a decorator file, you can move "Attachments' tab from the left of the screen to the right or remove it completely. Decorator files are written in the Velocity templating language and have the VMD extension. You can familiarise yourself with Velocity at the Velocity Template Overview and decorators in general at the Sitemesh homepage. Decorators, Contexts and ModesConfluence comes bundled with a set of decorator files that you can customize. Instead of having one decorator file for each screen, we've grouped together similar screens (example: view and edit page screens) to simplfy editing layouts. There is some terminology that we use when talking about decorators that should be defined. We've grouped all the screens in Confluence into major categories which we call contexts. Within each context are various modes (ways of viewing that particular layout). The following table summarises how decorators use contexts and modes:
ExampleAs an example on how to use the table above, say we found the 'Attachments' tab on the view page screen annoying and wanted to remove it. We could make this layout change in the page.vmd file - where the 'view' mode is handled (as shown below). #* Display page based on mode: currently 'view', 'edit', 'preview-edit', 'info' and 'attachments. See the individual page templates (viewpage.vm, editpage.vm, etc.) for the setting of the mode parameter. *# ## VIEW #if ($mode == "view") <make layout modifications here> #elseif ...
The Theme Helper ObjectWhen editing decorator files you will come across a variable called $helper - this is the theme helper object. The following table summarises what this object can do:
If you are on a page or space screen you also have access to the actual page and space object by using $helper.page and $helper.space respectively. If you want to delve more into what other methods are available in this object, please see our API's for ThemeHelper. Velocity macrosFinally, the last thing you need to decipher decorator files is an understanding of macros. A velocity macro looks like this: #myVelocityMacro() In essence, each macro embodies a block of code. We've used these macros to simplify decorator files and make them easier to modify. For example, the #editPageLink() macro will render the edit page link you see on the 'View Page Screen'. All the logic which checks whether a certain user has permissions to edit pages and hence see the link are hidden in this macro. As the theme writer, you need only care about calling it. The easiest way to acquaint yourself with the macros is to browse through your macros.vm file, located in /template/includes/macros.vm (under the base Confluence installation). Writing your own Velocity MacrosVelocity macros are very useful for abstracting out common presentation logic into a function call and for keeping decorators clean. If you wish to use them for your theme you can either: h5 Write your own Macros file velocimacro.library = template/includes/macros.vm Use Inline Velcoty Macros.Inline velocity macros, when loaded once, can be called from anywhere. See decorators/mail.vmd for examples of inline decorators. The Colour Scheme ModuleColour schemes can be pre-configured for your theme. It is possible to configure them dynamically, in Space Administration, within an existing space. ![]() To transport them within a theme, however, they need to be expressed in an XML document. Here the structure of the colour-scheme element which you will use to arrange your palette of colours. <colour-scheme key="earth-colours" name="Brown and Red Earth Colours" class="com.atlassian.confluence.themes.BaseColourScheme"> <colour key="topbar" value="#440000"/> <colour key="spacename" value="#999999"/> <colour key="headingtext" value="#663300"/> <colour key="link" value="#663300"/> <colour key="border" value="#440000"/> <colour key="navbg" value="#663300"/> <colour key="navtext" value="#ffffff"/> <colour key="navselectedbg" value="#440000"/> <colour key="navselectedtext" value="#ffffff"/> </colour-scheme> The class of a colour scheme must implement com.atlassian.confluence.themes.ColourScheme. The com.atlassian.confluence.themes.BaseColourScheme class provided with Confluence sets the colours based on the module's configuration. The available colours correspond to those that you would configure in the online colour-scheme editing, and are:
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Document generated by Confluence on Mar 22, 2007 21:00 |