Style standards?

[Action-N]

I have noticed with every style I've seen your suppose to change the image paths to thier new custom style folder. Now this effects all the vbulletin image links so thier solution is to upload the defualt images (not custom to this style) in their style folders. This adds to wasted server space an even broken images if some are forgotten.

I have had to edit all the styles I use to my idea for a solution, it's to add the custom style folders in thier specific image folders (images/misc/style_blue). I leave my image paths set to thier defualt location so all the defualt images are still happy. Where there is a custom image I simply add the style folder in between the image link before the image name. May sound like to much work, but if you have a custom style your gonna already have custom templetes anyways.

If they have standards in place for designing styles can someone link it to me? Looking at some style design sites as many skins they have installed has got to be alot of wasted space. If you don't agree can you give me the benefit of reuploading all the vbulletin images to individual style folders please.

[Digital Jedi]

I'm not really sure what you mean by wasted space, the way you've phrased it. Most custom styles are going to use a completely new image set anyway, not counting the free styles where people just change some CSS and not any images. So I can't image what's being wasted there.

If your referring to the location of the folder, that's not going to matter either, because the folder takes up just as much space anywhere on the server.

[Action-N]

If you edit the image path in the styles "StyleVars" section they edit that link to point to the style folder. Now this will make every image that uses this link variable to now point into that styles folder. I have yet to find a style that uses a custom image for ever single image involved with vbulletin. So inorder to use any uncustomized image they are forced to upload that image into the custom style folder. Which creates a second image on your server one in (images/buttons/lastpost.gif) an now in (images/cstyle/buttons/lastpost.gif). Even if the style uses the defualt image it has to go in both folders. So what I'm saying is if you do change a image put it in (images/buttons/cstyle/lastpost.gif) then edit the template to point to the style folder ($imageurl/cstyle/laspost.gif). Then you leave your stylevar alone an if you don't customize the (firstnew.gif) you don't have to upload a second image. Did that explain it better?

[Digital Jedi]

So your saying make it to where you edit the template and not the variables?

[Action-N]

Yes, but I agree now it'll guess it's gonna be easier for someone to upload images than edit the templates. Just still should be some kinda standard set. I got style folders in theme folder, styles, style folders an just saw extremepixels puts thier image folder in the root directory. Might be that's why I started it cuase I wanted some organization.

[Digital Jedi]

It's really just a matter of personal preference, since location has no effect on performance. You also have to consider that most folks have styles that use 90% original images, or they don't use any default imagery at all. So location of directory isn't going to matter much, other then how they prefer the files organized.

I personally keep my styles in the root directory, like eXtremepixels. I treat my styles directory as a specifically themed images directory.