Cool CSS trick for Thesis

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Well, it’s another Thesis trick as you can see from the title above. In fact, you could use this for any theme or website on the net today. It might work and it might not, but it has worked on numerous sites for me.

I have 2 previous posts about Thesis customizations that you might want to look at:

I surf a bit and find some interesting sites and find myself asking ‘How they do that?’ I have known how to view a websites source code for sometime now and I use it to find it’s CSS code.

Please note that I’m browsing using Fx (Firefox) and this relates to the Thesis theme.

Finding out what CSS file is being used

view code source Cool CSS trick for ThesisLet’s say I surf and find a website and want to duplicate how they created headers, sidebar header backgrounds, sidebar backgrounds, etc. I would go to ‘View’ on the top menu and then click on ‘Page Source’. This would bring up the page source code.You could also just press Ctrl+U, this has the same affect.

Once that is done, I look for any word containing the letters ‘.css’. You can do this by pressing Ctrl+F, fill in what I’m looking for and click on next.

You could see numerous CSS files included in the source code, find the one that ends in ‘custom.css’. This is the one that the Thesis theme uses for custom styling. An example would be the domain name and would have ‘wp-content/themes/’ in the path.

For my site, the link to my custom styling would be :

[css]

[/css]

No open the websites custom CSS file

css custom styling code Cool CSS trick for ThesisOnce you have the full path to the custom css file, open a new tab or window using that path in the browser. It should open the file and you will be able to see the custom styling they are using.

Using the custom styling and the page source code, you will be able to create the same effect or even better. Remember that you will have to look for the class in the page source code and then match it to the class defined in the custom styling file. You can then just copy the custom styling and place it in your own custom.css file. You would be able to change some colours, font sizes, background colours, etc.

There are some details that would be hard to recreate as you don’t have access the the custom_functions.php file, but this will still help you with the smaller details.

I hope that this little trick helps you. I would love to know if you already do this or if this is some new method to you.

I love using Thesis and still wonder why I never used it when I started blogging, it has made my life so much easier.

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From the desk of George Serradinho

I am the proud owner of Serradinho Blog and have made this my second home. I'm into blogging, downloads, WordPress, meeting and helping others, etc. Basically the internet in general :) Serradinho Web Services is my own company whereby I offer my services to clients. This ranges from web design, website upgrades, theme customizations, support, premium WordPress plugins and many more .....

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{ 20 comments }

Bradley Nordstrom June 24, 2009 at 5:39 pm

Thanks for the great advice.I’ll come to your blog soon again. :)

Tech @ InkAPoint June 24, 2009 at 6:10 pm

Hmm. Sounds like cracking the code and using it for us. I am always learning in such a manner for a long time.
.-= Tech @ InkAPoint´s last blog ..Boost your Blog with Wibiya =-.

George Serradinho June 24, 2009 at 6:29 pm

@Tech – glad to hear that you have been doing that for a while. It helps out some of the others who do not know.

Jacob Yap June 26, 2009 at 1:22 am

Too bad, I’m not using Thesis. Looks simple and clean. Maybe I’ll use it in future >”<

P.S. I like your social bookmarking icons at the bottom =)
.-= Jacob Yap´s last blog ..R.I.P Michael Jackson =-.

George Serradinho June 26, 2009 at 7:05 am

@Jacob – you could possibly use this on other themes as well

Ricky June 26, 2009 at 3:43 am

I guess you wrote this post for me.i know i harrased you a lot with my doubts :smile:
thanx for the post

George Serradinho June 26, 2009 at 7:05 am

@Ricky – Not for you at all, I did not mind helping you out where I could.

Mayur June 26, 2009 at 3:33 pm

Nice trick. You’ve blended your Thesis theme very nicely. I really liked your blog interface :)
.-= Mayur´s last blog ..Comment on Track geographic location of twitter followers on World Map by Ricky =-.

George Serradinho June 28, 2009 at 8:35 am

@webtrickz – thanks, I’m still busy with getting the end result.

james moralde June 27, 2009 at 5:08 am

I used to have this idea of researching for the best theme for my blog and change it as soon as I find the final one. But the more I customize and tweak the innards of my current theme, the more I am afraid that changing the theme someday might prove disastrous due to the numerous customizations I have made. The next theme might not show what I expect to see. In this case, I probably am stuck with the present theme.

The more I see other successful blogs, the more I lean towards simpler looking themes. I think Thesis is simple yet functionally elegant.
.-= james moralde´s last blog ..Meet The Bandit =-.

George Serradinho June 28, 2009 at 8:39 am

@james – never be scared to try new things, if you don’t then you will never know.

Swashata July 7, 2009 at 4:40 am

I think using Firebug is the best thing one can do!!
.-= Swashata´s last blog ..Free Blogger XML Template – Meadows in Spring A green inspired theme =-.

George Serradinho July 7, 2009 at 6:50 am

@Swashata – yes, you can use Firebug if you wanted to. The choice comes down to the users preference.

S.K Sharma August 6, 2009 at 7:21 am

Oh really great theme. I am using it with customization.
.-= S.K Sharma´s last blog ..Google Chrome beta released with styles and speed =-.

George Serradinho August 6, 2009 at 8:38 am

@S.K Sharma – yes, I saw your site and you have done well to customize it.

ankit September 1, 2009 at 6:58 pm

Hello i was going through your tutes and they are great i still have some questions..I gave too much time but could not find how to do that..
Chk these 2 blogs http://www.shoutmeloud.com & yours

you can see a Recent and popular post widget which are very well customized.
i tried adding codes in custom.css but still not able to get that view..is there anything else that i need to do for getting such customized widget.. kindly help me..

these are the codes which i filled in custom.css ( coped from ur custom.css :)

/******************************************************************/
/* RECENT & POPULAR POSTS */
/******************************************************************/
#recent-posts li {background: #E4F2FD; border: 1px solid #C6D9E9; line-height: 1.4em; -moz-border-radius: 5px; padding: 0.5em; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden;}
#recent-posts div.posts_align{color: #baaf2e; float: right; font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase;}
#popular-posts li {background: #FFFBCC; border: 1px solid #E6DB55; line-height: 1.4em; -moz-border-radius: 5px; padding: 0.5em; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden;}
#popular-posts div.posts_align {color: #3399FF; float: right; font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase;}
#popular-posts a {border-bottom: 1px solid #E6DB55; color: #AAA027 !important;}
#recent-posts img, #popular-posts img {float: right; padding-left: 4px;}

/******************************************************************/

Anything else i need to do in something in custom_funtion.php too or anywhere else..

I hope to expect help from you..
.-= ankit´s last blog ..How to remove blackheads in quick time =-.

George Serradinho September 1, 2009 at 7:18 pm

@ankit – thats a very good question to ask. We are both using the same plugin from Rob Marsh ‘Recent Posts’, Harsh from Shoutmeloud.com has probably got my code, but somehow deleted the template information.

The plugin output, has a text area for ‘Out Template’ and that is where the difference comes in. Try adding the code I emailed you to get it right and see if it works.

Would love to hear from you.

ankit September 1, 2009 at 8:04 pm

hey..thanks for the quick reply..i wasted a whole day to search all this but could not find..i just tried this with blog.. http://unlimitedblogging.com/

you can also check..I guess images not coming due to i dint placed the thumbnail properly..

I have few more questions..if you dont mind i wud like to ask them too,, :)
.-= ankit´s last blog ..How to remove blackheads in quick time =-.

George Serradinho September 1, 2009 at 8:27 pm

@ankit – if there are no thumbnails for the posts then it won’t show in the widget, thats all.

If you want more help then please email me at the address I sent you and I will have a look at your questions.

ankit September 1, 2009 at 8:26 pm

Well, 1 thing i would like to tell..I am really thankful of you. I learnt alot form your blog about thesis…I hope i will get more useful info too,

I added floating icons. customized css, header and more by ur tutes only…
My frd said i cant do it as i am noob in tech related terms b ur tuts made it easy for me..
Few more questions i have.. Like
how to add that “BLOGGING NEWS, BLOG TIPS & TRICKS, WORDPRESS & FREE DOWNLOADS! ” box and that good looking new offer popup..also image not coming at my recent post widget after adding those codes as per ur guidelines..
.-= ankit´s last blog ..How to remove blackheads in quick time =-.

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