PatternSkin CSS Cookbook

Questions and answers on how to customize the default look of TWiki for your own needs, using style sheets. For configuring page elements, see PatternSkinCustomization.

First Read: How to modify PatternSkin styles

PatternSkin uses 3 style sheets (attached to PatternSkin):

• layout.css - the positioning of main page elements (blocks), widths and heights
• style.css - fonts, sizes, margins and paddings
• colors.css - border colors, text colors and background colors

When customizing your TWiki installation, you can either choose to completely rewrite all css styles, or to selectively override some styles. The latter option is by far less time consuming, but all depends on your graphical wishes.

Changing the color scheme

When you need lots of graphic changes: Rewriting CSS

• Create a new topic that will contain your new CSS files
• Attach 3 new style sheets to the topic
• Point the CSS variables in TWiki.TWikiPreferences to your new files:

      * Set TWIKILAYOUTURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/layout.css
      * Set TWIKISTYLEURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/style.css
      * Set TWIKICOLORSURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/colors.css
 

When you need to make small adjustments: Adding to existing CSS

• Create a new topic that will contain your new CSS files
• Attach 1, 2 or 3 new style sheets to the topic, dependent on your CSS setup (if you don't change much, you might as well put everything in one CSS file, layout, margins and colors)
• Point the CSS variables in TWiki.TWikiPreferences to your new files (below the TWIKIXXXURL variables):

      * Set USERLAYOUTURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/layout.css
      * Set USERSTYLEURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/style.css
      * Set USERCOLORSURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/colors.css
 

• If you use only little CSS and you've only attached one file, write:

      * Set USERSTYLEURL = %PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/YourNewTopic/style.css
 

Instead of setting these variables in TWiki.TWikiPreferences, you can set these in your home topic, or in any other topic. Setting style URL variables in:

• TWiki.TWikiPreferences: the style is visible for all users, site-wide
• WebPreferences: the style is visible for all users in one web
• Home topic: the style is visible for that one user when viewing the site
• Some other topic: the style is only visible in that one topic

User styles are always loaded after TWiki styles.

The rest of this topic shows examples of small CSS changes.

Recipes

Hide the left bar

See example at: PatternSkinCssCookbookNoLeftBar

Use different fonts

See example at: PatternSkinCssCookbookFonts

No top bar

See example at: PatternSkinCssCookbookNoTopBar

Centered page

See example at: PatternSkinCssCookbookCenterPage

Centered page (with a border around the page)

See example at: PatternSkinCssCookbookCenterPageBorder

Setting EditTablePlugin styles

See example at: PatternSkinCssCookbookEditTableStyle

Style sheet documentation