Quickly modifying existing designs

If you want to just tweak an existing design, as long as you are not changing the dimensions of any images, you can do this without too much knowledge of CSS. (If you do have CSS knowledge and you want to dig deeper, see our Sandvox Designers Guide.)

To accomplish this, you have two options. One is very quick; the other takes a bit of time.

CSS Code Injection

You can use Code Injection to insert additional code into the header area of a page.

You can add in your own custom CSS code in a <style type="text/css"> ... </style> area, and insert it into the <head> area. You will likely need to refer to the CSS in the design you are overriding.

This would make all "#main h2" (page title) text green:

<style type="text/css">
#main h2 { color:green; }
</style>

Note that this override will add a bit of extra size to each page, so if your changes are extensive, you may wish to instead use the second technique to make your own new design, based on an existing one.

Making a New Design

You can make a copy of an existing design, giving it a new name (and identifier), and then apply your changes to that new design.

Some examples of modified Sandvox designs: (Contact the site owners if you would like to use their modified designs.)

Getting Started

If you want to distribute this changed design, please see the Credits.rtf file embedded within the design.

Warnings

Do not replace files inside your Sandvox application package; they will be replaced if you update to a new version of Sandvox! Instead, place them in one of the following places:


Please remember, you will need to re-launch Sandvox to have it notice any changes to your installed designs.

Also, Be sure to give your new design a unique identifier. If you do not, then Sandvox will just consider it to be the same as the existing design that you copied. It might not be a problem, but if and when there is a new version of the original Sandvox design, your modified version will not be noticed by Sandvox because the built-in Sandvox version will have a higher version number.

Sharing your Design

If your modified design isn't something specific only to your needs, perhaps you could share your design in the spirit that Sandvox designs are shareable. Our design license is here.

Upgrading Your Design

If you had customized your design for an earlier version of Sandvox, and with an update to Sandvox your design doesn't work right, it may be due to some changes we have made in our built-in designs. If this happens, you will probably want to re-apply your changes but start with the current version of the design.


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