The current (Tiki 1.9.9) tiki.tpl contains one table for content layout - containing the center, left, and right columns - but the page header (Site Identity and tiki-top_bar) are above the table, not inside it, and the footer (tiki-bot_bar) is below it. This arrangement doesn't work for theme types where all content is graphically "framed" or for themes with certain other qualities (see http://themes.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=Tiki_110_Theme_Ideas#_quot_Table_assisted_quot_layout). So for such themes I've come up with this layout in which the table is extended upward and downward to include the page header and footer, and given extra td's for the left and right margins.

As background, the reason for using a table for layout in the first place is primarily the inability of IE7 to handle dynamic content of various widths in the center column of a multiple-column layout when there are side margins. The kludges needed to style "columns" with CSS only are arguably another reason to use one simple table to layout the page.

Needless to say, if there's a simpler way to do the job, I'm open to suggestions and would be happy to reduce the page markup wherever possible.




This arrangement makes possible themes such as the ones listed below. These are all in progress, some nearly finished and others just getting started, but all use the same tiki.tpl so demonstrate its functionality.

One variation between themes is whether td id="leftborder" and td id="rightborder" are commented out or not in tiki.tpl. The reason for these tds is to provide a background image for the left and right sides of the content area when leftcolumn and rightcolumn tds are turned flipped off. Naturally their background is also turned off, so for themes where there is a border, this can be provided by the border td and isn't affected by the presense or not of the left or rightcolumn td.

For themes that don't have a side margin but otherwise have a layout requirement that can't be addressed by a liquid (*lite.css-based) method, the left and right margin tds can be given a zero-width property in the theme's CSS file. Optionally the tds could be commented out in tiki.tpl but I don't know if the small amount of reduced overhead would make the editing worthwhile.

UPDATE: In a test to simplify the table-using tiki.tpl where there's no special background in the left and right margins of the center content area, I deleted td#leftmargin and td#rightmargin and changed the margins on the table from zero to 10%. But, compared to the 100%-wide table with margin tds, this didn't work as well in any of the browsers. When the table is full width and the side margins provided by cells with 10% width or whatever, in wide pages the margins will collapse flexibly for better content display. But when the tds are deleted and the table given side margins of 10%, that percentage doesn't collapse as empty tds do when other page parts and the page itself widen. The user just has to scroll more as the 10% left margin stays constant. For this reason, I think it's better to keep the table the full size of the document body and use cells to provide side margins.

Andreas08 Adapted from HTML template
Candiiclouds Adapted
Dark Shine Adapted HTML template (GPL)
Eatlon From eatlon.com (cache):"Feel free to download and use however you want as long as you leave the credit link in the footer."
Emteekee
Faulkner Adapted
Freestyle Adapted
Just Footy Adapted from phpBB
Kapaa Original (LGPL)
Kubrick
Lox1 Adapted from XOOPS
NFIanusblue? Adapted from e107
Omkra? Adapted from e107
Planetfall Adapted from Mambo/Joomla
The Rag Blog Adapted from HTML template (Creative Commons license)
Tulip Time Adapted from WordPress
WofW? Uses proprietary fan-site graphics, etc.
Xtratoveil? Adapted from phpnuke
Zuka Original (LGPL)

These are themes I've been working on or have had around in parts (and there are more). With 1.10 coming, it's a good time to get them in shape and have ready for the new Tiki features.

---