CSS Sprites implementation

[klaus]

Is anyone using CSS Sprites with their VB4 installation?

They say its coming with VB4.1 in 2011.

What would it take to implement it today?

[Lynne]

You'd have to edit a bit of CSS to use it today. But, you could probably just list all the changes in additional.css if you didn't want to edit the actual template (assuming you are talking about editor images, status icons, etc. - the ones entered into the page via css). The problem is, most people don't understand how to use sprites. I mean, a lot didn't even understand CSS when vB4 was introduced.

[Mooff]

We are using css sprites with our vB4 installation.

You'll find our addon here:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=266696


I just wanted to post a quick comment to Lynne. I think vBulletin goes at it the wrong way. As a forum administrator there shouldn't be a need at all to understand CSS.
If i want to change the colors of my board this should be really easy - i click here make it red, i click there add a background etc.
Instead we were told:
- install firebug
- finde the according classname
- search through templates
- find the according stylevar.

This is not the way it should be. Same goes for sprites. They are very usefull, but you shouldn't have to be a tech admin to use them. In fact via our addon you don't have to be. You hit create and search-replace some code in your templates - the latter part wouldn't even be necessary given it would be a vb-default feature. Then the templates would have some if-condition to check whether the board admin chose to use sprites.

And if one does want to change one icon - change it (make it blue, make it bigger, doesn't matter), upload it, hit refresh - new sprite is created - done.

[HMBeaty]

Originally Posted by Mooff

We are using css sprites with our vB4 installation.

You'll find our addon here:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=266696


I just wanted to post a quick comment to Lynne. I think vBulletin goes at it the wrong way. As a forum administrator there shouldn't be a need at all to understand CSS.
If i want to change the colors of my board this should be really easy - i click here make it red, i click there add a background etc.
Instead we were told:
- install firebug
- finde the according classname
- search through templates
- find the according stylevar.

This is not the way it should be. Same goes for sprites. They are very usefull, but you shouldn't have to be a tech admin to use them. In fact via our addon you don't have to be. You hit create and search-replace some code in your templates - the latter part wouldn't even be necessary given it would be a vb-default feature. Then the templates would have some if-condition to check whether the board admin chose to use sprites.

And if one does want to change one icon - change it (make it blue, make it bigger, doesn't matter), upload it, hit refresh - new sprite is created - done.

Lynne isn't a vBulletin developer....

[Mooff]

Really? That's what you took out of my post?

I never said Lynne is. I just said her comment on "a lot didn't even understand CSS" does scratch the wrong side.

We are admins on a forum software. We have so many different things to administrate in oder to get users, make them happy and make them stay. Learning CSS, HTML or PHP shouldn't be one of them considering we bought a forum software which should do that for us.
Everyone should be able to use it as a black box. That's all i'm saying and i really do not understand your reply at all.

[HMBeaty]

Ah ok, I figured by this comment

Originally Posted by Mooff

I just wanted to post a quick comment to Lynne. I think vBulletin goes at it the wrong way

That you were suggesting the code for vBulletin should be modified (which it actually needs to be in some areas and in some ways)

You should be able to do quite a bit from StyleVars as well. Not JUST css, however, trying to find those StyleVars (and if they even work) is a different story

[Lynne]

Mooff, I do agree that it should be waaaaay simpler to change your site colors. However, I do think admins should have a basic understanding of what CSS is, how it works, and how to use firebug in order to make any small changes, and certainly any large changes, to what their style looks like.

[8thos]

Originally Posted by Mooff

Really? That's what you took out of my post?

I never said Lynne is. I just said her comment on "a lot didn't even understand CSS" does scratch the wrong side.

We are admins on a forum software. We have so many different things to administrate in oder to get users, make them happy and make them stay. Learning CSS, HTML or PHP shouldn't be one of them considering we bought a forum software which should do that for us.
Everyone should be able to use it as a black box. That's all i'm saying and i really do not understand your reply at all.

We should learn a little bit of CSS, HTML and PHP as it will save us money from hiring a coder to do something simple like shrink the size of the search bar when we can easily find the CSS class with firebug.

--------------- Added [DATE]1312011057[/DATE] at [TIME]1312011057[/TIME] ---------------

But I agree, I hate having to learn CSS, HTML and PHP. I have tons of other stuff to do as it is but these are the cards vb owners are dealt with.

[brandondrury]

They say its coming with VB4.1 in 2011.

It's 2013. Any progress? I'd be willing to pay for it.

Brandon