Running Weblogs with Slash

Chapter 9. Basic Site Customization

Slash was designed to be fully functional out of the box. Like a freshman dorm room, it could use a little personality. This chapter will help you redecorate your site. Thanks to the introduction of templates in Slash 2.0, you can change your site’s layout, look and feel, and even behavior using only the web interface. This chapter focuses on wall decorations, while Chapter 10 delves into deeper tricks, including colors, page layout, and rewiring the outlets to put a TV in the lavatory.

Blocks and Slashboxes

Earlier versions of Slash scattered display elements throughout blocks and the Perl code itself. Blocks were more useful--unlike code, they could be edited through the backSlash interface. Most displayable elements have been moved into templates in the latest versions. However, static blocks are still useful for stable site elements, and portald blocks (updated by the portald task) still handle automatically updated content.

The Site Block Editor

Clicking on the Blocks link in the Admin menu brings up the Site Block Editor. From here, you can edit any block by choosing its name from either pop-up menu and clicking Edit Block. The Editor displays the same fields when editing both static and portald blocks, but some fields apply only to portald blocks (see Figure 9-1). Note that you must have a seclev over 100 and equal to or greater than the seclev of the block you wish to edit.

Figure 9-1. The Site Block Editor

The Block field stores ...