If you just wanted a "left/right" per post then you could add an alternating class to <div class="bPost">

To make a two column layout is pretty similar except you need to close the first column and open the second 1/2 way through $MainList

Something like this would work

	if( isset($MainList) ) while( $Item = & $MainList->get_item() )
	{
	if( $disp == 'posts' and ( intval( $MainList->result_num_rows / 2 ) + 1 ) == $MainList->row_num )
	{
		echo '</div>';	// close the left column
		echo '<div class="bPosts rightCol">';	//	open the right column
	}

¥

Thanks, ¥åßßå I will give that a try. I had edited out my original request (I have put it back now) because I didn't think anyone had an answer and merely asked to find a 3-column skin (which I still want).

I will work with your solution... and when I find a 3 column skin, that will enable me to produce the look I am hoping for.

It really shouldn't be that hard to convert any skin to three columns. Assuming you want something like [url=http://www.innervisions.org.uk/?tempskin=custom]this[/url] then you only need to make a few changes to your skins _main.php and add some css

Add the red bits in :-

<div class="bPosts mode_<?php echo $disp; ?>">

<!-- =================================== START OF MAIN AREA =================================== -->

......

<div id="leftList">
<?php
// ------------------------------------ START OF POSTS ----------------------------------------
if( isset($MainList) ) $MainList->display_if_empty(); // Display message if no post

if( isset($MainList) ) while( $Item = & $MainList->get_item() )
{
if( $disp == 'posts' and ( intval( $MainList->result_num_rows / 2 ) + 1 ) == $MainList->row_num )
{
echo '</div>'; // close the left column
echo '<div id="rightList">'; // open the right column
}
?>

....

// --------------- END OF INCLUDES FOR LAST COMMENTS, MY PROFILE, ETC. ---------------
?>
</div>
</div>
<!-- =================================== START OF SIDEBAR =================================== -->

css :-

/* Post columns */
.mode_posts #leftList{
width:49%;
float:left;
}

#rightList{
width:49%;
float:right;
}

¥

¥åßßå, I think you probably have the solution here...

(edited out a question, which is no longer relevant, because of the above post)

I am struggling along here, having been only an amateur html coder the past few years, but I was unfamiliar with php until a few weeks ago when I started hacking around with this (and I do mean hacking, not coding). So, your guidance is essential, but I am good at following instructions.

Edited to add: ¥åßßå, you posted an answer (again simultaneously while I was posting this.... you are amazing!) so you have given me a lot to work with. I will play with this for the next few hours and see how I fare. I will post back my results. Thanks a million!

Sam

I am getting this error:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end in /skins/nifty_corners/_main.php on line 323

In my _main.php there wasn't any:

<div class="bPosts

item available for me to add the red portion you indicated.

so I just entered the whole thing as a new entry as:

<div class="bPosts mode_<?php echo $disp; ?>"> 

The only thing that was similar was this (but that has bPost singular) not bPosts:

<div class="bPost" lang="<?php $Item->lang() ?>">

Could that be the source of the problem?

It looks like you need to alter the <div class="posts" for nifty corners skin

<div class="posts">
<div class="innerwrap">

¥

I did that.. and am getting the same syntax error (now it says line 322).

:p

Zip up your skin and attach it here and I'll take a look at it ;)

¥

http://skins.b2evolution.net/?cat=50 is the 3-column skins for 1.8.*. Something is wrong with something about the setup on that blog - it puts index.php in the search link. Anyway after you see one you want to work with you can find maybe find the same skin for 1.9.* at http://forums.b2evolution.net/viewtopic.php?t=10959

That's why you start with the first link - to find one that suits your needs, then hit the second link - to find it for your version.

EDIT: This is in response to what's below. I've no idea how it ended up above it.

¥åßßå here is a zip file with my nifty_corners skin. I included the altered file _main.php (which produces the error), but I named it _mainwithyabbarightleftvariations.php, which I copy across to the server as _main.php. This will then produce the error message:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end in /skins/nifty_corners/_main.php on line 311

It also has my altered styles.css (no name change there, but it has a .bak file with the orginal).

To Edb... thanks for that list of 1.9 skins... but without knowing the name of a 3-column skin, I wouldn't know which to download.

Ok.. the zip file is there for ¥åßßå

Thanks, Edb, the very first skin, "ality" was exactly what I needed. It is the 3-column skin. I saw that they were all zip files and didn't want to have to download all of them to try to find the one I wanted. But... I decided to anyway and the very first one was the one I wanted. Thanks. I'll bet that Yabba's variation might work better on that because I see it has his Bpost entry in there (that the nifty_corners I had didn't).

Don't want to beat a dead horse, but http://skins.b2evolution.net/?cat=50 doesn't lead to zips. There you see skinshots of the 3-column skins that lead to previews. The only reason to go to the forum post (where I have nothing but zips) is because you know what skin you want - for version 1.9.2.

I'm gonna call the [wiki]rspca[/wiki] on you ...... or whatever their usa equivalent is ...... beating dead horses is just plain cruel :| ( unlike your blog, : | does == :| here :D ...... and they have unhappy icons :D ....... but no :boobies: :( ) :|

anyway, I digress :p

¥

Well, ¥åßßå, I have tried your suggestions also on one of the 3-column skins (the one called "ality"). I expanded out the columns to make two panels (left and middle) the same size, but the results are the same. Like my attempt with "nifty_corners," I couldn't make that one work either with the your suggestions and I got the same error message . The "ality" _main.php also did not have a 'bposts" entry and the one that referenced "bpost" looks like this:

<div class="bPost bPost<?php $Item->status( 'raw' ) ?>" lang="<?php $Item->lang() ?>">

I couldn't figure out how to modify that with your suggestion:

<div class="bPosts mode_<?php echo $disp; ?>">

So, I just entered what you wrote on its own line (both as bPosts and bpost).

But, I just get a similar parsing error, like I mentioned earlier.

If you would like for me to upload my newly modifed 3 column skin with the left and middle columns the same size, I can, if that could help. I am perplexed at what to do next. As you can tell, I am just groping around.

My hope is that you can study either of these skins and come up with the answer... your first suggestion looks like it has a lot of promise. Maybe it is just a tweak or two to make it work.

Sam

I converted NiftyCorners for you. You should be able to find all the changes I made.

You can grab it [url=http://www.innervisions.org.uk/nifty_corners.zip]here[/url]

¥

samredman: have you noticed that http://skins.b2evolution.net/?cat=50 is not a dead link? I'm just curious is all, because it's not a dead link for me and your edit of your first post still implies that categories of skins are not available. It's true that if you have index.php in the URL it won't work, but it works quite well without it. For me anyway, so I'm curious if I'm the only person who can see that there are 5 3-column skins for v1.8.*

Also after all this I HOPE you'll submit your skin to the skins site!!!

EdB, if I click the link in your post, that is not a dead link. It goes right to the 3-column skins display. I found that very useful after I saw it in your earlier post.

This is your link (from the post):

http://skins.b2evolution.net/?cat=50 (works great!)

However, if I go to this page,

http://skins.b2evolution.net/

Or, if I am viewing the page for 3-column skins, which I see upon clicking the link in your post, and then I click on the link (right hand panel) for the 3 column skins, using IE, I get the "webpage cannot be found" message (with Mozilla, it says, "No input file specified").

That is because that link (this is the one I orginally said was dead. And it still is.) which is given on that page is:

http://skins.b2evolution.net/index.php/?cat=50 (That's a dead link.)

So, sure, if everyone could just search and find the excellent Edb posts on the subject (or have the good fortune for you to answer their question, as you did for me).... they can see those 3-column skins.

But, if they go to the page on the site and try to view it... they are out of luck. Dead link.

(And, of course, once we get that "side-by-side" skin developed, I will certainly submit it. But, the credit for that won't be to me it will all be to ¥åßßå. I don't know enough to accomplish what that needs.) But, you can see I have contributed a few minor things already, like the stuff on non-supported html tags, so I am totally into giving back anything I can.

Wow, ¥åßßå you are amazing. That skin you did has a "side-by-side" display working very well.

I think this is very close to being what I am looking for, but if it can be modified just a bit it will be perfect.. Currently, it is showing each page, displayed in two columns.

What I am hoping for is... left column will show an individual page (like page 1) and the right column will show the entire next page (page 2). Clicking "next page"link would then show Page 2 in the left column and Page 3 in the right..

After this is finished, I will give you back a version with the margins expanded in the css a bit, so it can show the posts a little wider and I will do some cosmetic stuff (different backgrounds and colors to distinguish it), so it can be submitted as a new skin.

I think that what you have accomplished is absolutely remarkable! And this iteration is impressive just the way it is for many users' needs (it produces a very nice display). But, I think you are very close to achieving my hoped for end result.

OFFTOPICNESS: Yeah the skins site is known to have problems now. We're putting together a skins site for 1.9 skins, and in the process hurt searching and feed reading. It'll work out. Anyway knowing the skins site was down and seeing that it was a problem for you is why I figured I better see if I can get something that shows you what you were after.

Blue Skies!

If you grab the zip again it should do that for you ;)

¥

Well it is wonderful and performs the way I was hoping. It shows two pages side by side (page 1 on the left and page 2 on the right) and clicking "next," causes the pages to then display moved in sequence ( page 2 on the left and page 3 on the right) and so on. Clicking "previous," then puts it back. So it is totally functional. Remarkable!

However, while working great, it is producing an error message, but only in the right-hand column display:

These error messages are appearing at the top of each post in the right hand column (after the two error messages, each entire post shows in its entirety).

Notice: Undefined index: 51 in

/inc/MODEL/items/_item.class.php on line 736

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach()

in /inc/MODEL/items/_item.class.php on line 739

Then for the next post the same message , with a new index number as:

Notice: Undefined index: 52

(errors then show same as above)

And so forth, for each post in the right hand column

When I click next, now showing what was in the right hand column (for example page 2) in the left hand column, those error messages no longer appear in page 2 (the page now showing in left hand position), but now they show for each post in page 3 (which shows in the right hand position).

In other words, the error messages only show for posts in the right hand column.

But, it is working amazingly other than those error messages about the _item.class.php. What a wonderful piece of work this is. It is very exciting to see it working.

If you find this bit of code in _main.php and add the new bits then it should cure that error

	if( $yabba && $disp == 'posts' )
	{
		$OldList = $MainList;
		$paged = ( empty( $paged ) ? 2 : ++$paged );
		$MainList = & new ItemList(
		$blog, $show_statuses, $p, $m, $w, $cat, $catsel, $author, $order,
		$orderby, $posts, $paged, $poststart, $postend, $s, $sentence, $exact,
		$preview, $unit, $timestamp_min, $timestamp_max, $title, $dstart );
		// add the following three lines
		$postIDlist = $MainList->postIDlist;
		unset( $cache_postcats );
		cat_load_postcats_cache();
	}

¥

¥åßßå, that solved it completely!!

You are to be congratulated and I thank you so much for that amazing piece of work.

I will now finish out the style cosmetic changes today, which will make this skin have a unique appearance (so it won't be confused with nifty_corners) with appropriately wide left and right columns and then upload that to you, so that it could be submitted as a new skin, which would, of course, be coming from ¥åßßå, not me.

¥åßßå, I certainly have enormous respect for your talents. I would give you lots of "points" if I could, but I don't have any. I had one point and several days ago I awarded that to EdB, because of his previous excellent help to me. If I ever get any more "points," I am sending them to you. I am going to bed now... I have been setting my alarm for 3:00 am every morning (I'm in Dallas, Tx) , because I knew ¥åßßå was in the UK and I noticed that the time he often would post was from 3-6, Dallas time. I will edit now the thread title to show "solved" (and will get the cosmetic changes on the skin to you later today.)

At least you'll be able to sleep in tomorrow ;)

Feel free to submit the skin in your own name, the code is only part of the answer, the styling is the rest ;)

¥

And I passed on the pointage to ¥åßßå.