Did you delete your install folder? I don't on my test installations, but I do delete all the files in that folder. Other than that, read the initial posts in the blog and kinda ask yourself "how come it says this here" and see where you might be able to change it in the back office before you start blogging away.

Have fun with it!

EdB wrote:

Did you delete your install folder? [...]

nay, will keep that in mind.

EdB wrote:

Other than that, read the initial posts in the blog and kinda ask yourself "how come it says this here"

heh :D

EdB wrote:

and see where you might be able to change it in the back office before you start blogging away.

yep, was doing that anyways :) ; but thanks for encouraging me further ;)

EdB wrote:

Have fun with it!

surely will!
Next thing I'm trying to figure out is how to make proper use of the hacks.php ... I'd very much like to employ your fine [url=http://forums.b2evolution.net//viewtopic.php?t=3315]Link-A-Word[/url]-Plugin and plan to fiddle up an own skin - without having to redo it after each upgrade. As far as my understanding goes (as yet) this is best done making changes in hack.php but I'm still trying to find a spot where that is explained.

Any hints, per chance? :) Cheerio!
'lex

hacks.php is not where you want to tinker for your own skin. It is mostly for creating functions that b2evolution doesn't have so you can carry them forward through upgrade cycles. I've found, unfortunately, that sometimes you'll reference something "stock" in your hacks.php file and then the next upgrade changes what you refered to. Suddenly your hack is no longer valid, but that's far afield from doing up a skin.

Skins are EASY. First copy the skins/custom folder as either skins/custom_original or skins/myskin, then edit the file you feel like editing. In the first case you edit files in skins/custom. In the second you edit files in skins/myskin. Creating the new skin folder will automagically add it to both the list of skins in the back office and the list available in the skin switcher IF you allow your visitors that luxury.

So now you're hacking a skin folder. You can add or delete PHP bits based on what you see in other skins. You can change lots of the functions just by feeding the function appropriate parameters. See the link in my sig file for a technical manual about functions, but it's not exactly user friendly. Finally you can simply tweak the CSS file in the skin you're editing.

Note that there is a HUGE difference in how skins happen with 1.6 and beyond. Most skins, and most of the information you'll find in these forums, deal with versions less than 1.6. I'd say 'older than' but 0.9.2 is younger than 1.6 - go figure. Anyway that's where you want to be working when you craft your own skin. You'll only need hacks.php if you need a your server to run a function that doesn't exist in b2evolution.