There are four parts of a theme such as Enterprise: site theme, group theme, blog theme, and user theme. These themes control the look and feel of the UI for the user and applications and can maintain consistency of look and feel through a concept called theme inheritance.
Themes (namely, the site, group, and blog themes) use an inheritance hierarchy to control how platform features are realized via the site's looks and feel. For example, as a general rule the group theme inherits from the site theme, and the blog theme inherits from the group theme. It's important to remember that the theme inheritance scheme is set up out of the box. However, there can be exceptions.
What is inherited in a theme
- The site theme does not inherit from anywhere.
- The default header or footer for the theme will always be merged with the current theme's contextual header/footer.
- When a group theme inherits from the site theme, it can inherit some configuration options and the locked widgets in the header and footer. If widgets are unlocked, they are not inherited (so they do not show).
- When a blog theme inherits from the group theme, it can inherit some configuration options and the locked widgets in the header and footer. If widgets are unlocked, they are not inherited (so they do not show).
- The blog theme can inherit some options from the site theme.
The following diagram shows how the contextual theme inherits from the configured default, which in turn inherits from the factory default. Locked widgets are merged into the theme.
While inheritance is set up by default, it can be disabled partially or fully. The default inheritances are shown in the table below.
Theme configuration inheritances you can alter
| Option |
Can inherit from |
Inherits from it by default |
Where it is configured |
Note |
| Site header |
Nothing |
No |
Site Administration > Site Content > Site Theme > Page Headers/Footers |
The Site Content > Site Theme version of the site theme contains all factory configuration files and widgets referenced in the header and footer. |
| Site footer |
Nothing |
No |
Site Administration > Site Content > Site Theme > Page Headers/Footers |
The Site Content > Site Theme version of the site theme contains all factory configuration files and widgets referenced in the header and footer. |
| Site HTML formatting |
Nothing |
No |
Site Administration > Site Content > Manage Themes > HTML Formatting |
The Site Content > Manage Themes version of the site theme contains only configured defaults (i.e., those options "saved as default" in the Edit Page mode) for the site. |
| Group HTML header |
Site |
Yes |
My groups > Configure > Themes > HTML headers |
If set, site theme headers will be included before group theme headers. |
| Group header |
Site |
Yes |
My groups > Configure > Themes > Page Headers/Footers |
If set, locked widgets from the site's header will be included in this theme's header. |
| Group footer |
Site |
Yes |
My groups > Configure > Themes > Page Headers/Footers |
If set, locked widgets from the site's footer will be included in this theme's footer. |
| Group HTML formatting |
Site |
Yes |
My groups > Configure > Themes > HTML Formatting |
If set, leader templates from the site theme will be used instead of group-defined leader templates. |
| Blog HTML header |
Site |
Yes |
My blogs > Configure > Themes > HTML Headers |
If set, site theme headers will be included before group theme headers. |
| Blog header |
Group |
Yes |
My blogs > Configure > Themes > Page Headers/Footers |
If set, locked widgets from the group's header will be included in this theme's header. |
| Blog footer |
Group |
Yes |
My blogs > Configure > Themes > Page Headers/Footers |
If set, locked widgets from the group's footer will be included in this theme's footer. |
| Blog HTML formatting |
Site |
Yes |
My blogs > Configure > Themes > HTML Formatting |
If set, leader templates from the site theme will be used instead of group-defined leader templates. |
Examples
When you make changes to themes, you should consider doing so to a copy of the factory default theme. If you have not copied the theme yet using Save As, consider using this procedure first.
How to prevent a blog from inheriting a header from its group theme
When you navigate to the blog home page and edit the header, you notice that the widgets are not editable (that is, they have no pencil icon in their widget header).
Go into Control Panel > My Blogs > [blog name] > Configure > Themes > Page Headers/Footers tab, and deselect the Inherit headers from group check box then Save. (The screen shots show the Fiji theme, but the actions are the same for Evolution2 or Enterprise.)
The blog header stops inheriting locked widgets from the group header, and no widgets are present in the header.
At this point, you can add back the same header widgets (for example, Generic Content, Site - Search, or Site - User Navigation), or other widgets such as Navigation - Custom or Navigation - Group.
How to prevent a group from inheriting a header from the site theme
If you want to have locked Generic Content widgets at the site level and have unlocked widgets at the group and blog level, follow this scenario.
Go into Control Panel, where you navigate to My Groups > [group name] > Configure > Themes > Page Headers/Footers. You ensure that you have the correct group theme selected, then deselect the Inherit headers from site check box, and Save.
You edit the group header and unlock the Generic Content widgets, saving the header and page as the configured default.
You open the blog home page in Edit Page mode and verify that the locked widgets from the group (in this case, Site - User Navigation and Site - Search) are inherited, but that the unlocked widgets are not inherited. At this point you can add in the widgets that were at the group level (Generic Content), or you can add other widgets.
Related information
From the UI
From a developer approach