Changing template file with a plugin...

[a_5mith]

So, I've been wanting to change something on my nodebb forum for some time, but don't want to merge and mess with the lavender theme, can I create a plugin with a template file in that changes the topic.tpl topic-footer to how I want it, then if there's an update to the official lavender, I can move it over manually and carry on as normal? It may even be possible with javascript, but I basically want usernames on the left, it's a basic thing really which shouldn't be on the right. I may even want to include usernames under the avatar, similar to how groups currently work. Which would be easier?

[psychobunny]

Sure it's possible

So in a nutshell, plugins overwrite theme templates which overwrite base templates.

See https://github.com/NodeBB/nodebb-plugin-kitchen-sink/blob/master/plugin.json#L31

You don't need to do anything else besides that really, so lets say you want to overwrite home.tpl, just add a folder called templates/home.tpl and voila

[a_5mith]

@psychobunny Would I then need to add the entire contents of the original home.tpl? Or just what I want to alter?

Thinking about it, I'm thinking it may be easier to add the username under the avatar, find the avatar div, then add what I need to after it. A bit like this...

[psychobunny]

Would I then need to add the entire contents of the original home.tpl?

yup. But solves this problem:

but don't want to merge and mess with the lavender theme

EDIT: What you have going down there actually looks pretty good (and tbh I have no idea why we don't do this). How about you make the change to Lav, post up a PR with a demo link and lets see what happens, maybe it will become official

[a_5mith]

@psychobunny Doing that under the username is a lot easier to implement, I just don't know the best way to handle long usernames, I could break them with word wrap, but you would then be known as

psychobunn
y

I don't want to drop the font size much more either, going from 85% with <small> down to 80% fits your username in, but I'm sure longer names exist.

Suggestions whilst I work on this would be great,

[psychobunny]

That's actually probably why that never ended up working out in the design

[baris]

I think if it is a long username with no spaces it should become reallylonguserna... If it has spaces should break like the long group names

Someverylong
username 

[psychobunny]

I would really hate if my name was psychobun...

[a_5mith]

@psychobunny what about just psycho...

[baris]

You are going to end up with psychobu...

[psychobunny]

[a_5mith]

@psychobunny create another admin group called nny.

[psychobunny]

lmao

@baris knows he can get away with merging the PR without finding a solution to the ellipsis

because I'm the only one out of the three that's affected by it, therefore I have to fix it

---

EDIT: This is how it would look like in Pewter

[a_5mith]

@psychobunny

.username {
font-size: 80%;
}

[baris]

Hmm maybe lavender should take out user image too.

[psychobunny]

@a_5mith said:

@psychobunny

.username {
font-size: 80%;
}

Well that works for me ... updated