Table of Contents Previous Next Index

Section 1 LISTSERV Template Types

Section 1 LISTSERV Template Types
1.1 Skins
SKIN is an advanced configuration template. When entering any section of the Web interface, this template is processed before anything else is rendered on the page. The majority of SKIN should not be edited by users. It contains default settings for the Web interface, URLs used by the navigational system, and other internal variables required for proper functioning of the Web interface. Some options can be customized by the site administrator. These include whether or not login cookies should expire, whether or not mail-merge features should be made available, and whether or not list owners should have a support link available on their dashboards. All icons are also defined in SKIN, which can be customized if desired.
SKIN: Examples of Customizable Elements
+* Image Directory and Archive Location
+SE IMAGEDIR /archives/images/
+SE ARCHINDEX /archives/index.html
+SE WWWHOST http://&+MYHOST;&+SCRIPT;
+SE WA_URL &+WWWHOST;
+SE SUGGPATH E:\LISTSERV\LISTS\
+* Login Cookie Handling
+SE EXPIRECOOKIE 0
+SE NOCOOKIES 0
+* Mail-Merge Settings
+SE DBMSMM 0
+SE LISTMM 0
+* Support Link on List Management Dashboard
+SE OWNERSUPPORT 1
1.2 Stylesheet
STYLESHEET-GLOBAL contains the CSS used by the Web interface. This template can be customized by the site administrator, and is where fonts, colors, backgrounds, and other non-graphical site-wide elements can be changed.
1.3 Entry Pages
The entry pages (usually named –MAIN, which are often used to contain the template code for the entire section in previous versions of LISTSERV) are now used to only set variables that instruct WA which components to use when rendering the page. These pages should not be edited for customization purposes.
1.4 Layout Templates
The layout templates, which begin with the prefix LAYOUT-, are global templates that determine the makeup of every section of the Web interface. They are high-level templates that define where to insert various components, such as headers, trailers, navigation bars, and list selectors.
See Section 3.1 Global Layout Templates for more information on these templates.
1.5 Body Templates
The body templates, which begin with the prefix BODY-, can be either global or section-specific. They determine the appearance and makeup of components used throughout the Web interface. Some of the BODY templates are highly relevant for customization, particularly the global ones. Virtually all customization can be done in LAYOUT and BODY templates, combined with the stylesheet. Examples of useful BODY templates are BODY-GLOBAL-HEADER (contains the LISTSERV 15.5 top banner), BODY-GLOBAL-TRAILER (contains the bottom banner) and BODY-GLOBAL-NAV-MAIN (contains the main navigation bar).
See Section 2.1 Global Header Template, Section 2.2 Global Trailer Template, and Section 3.8 Global Navigation Templates for more information on these templates.
1.6 Object Templates
The object templates, which begin with the prefix OBJECT-, can be either global or section-specific. They are advanced templates and contain components that allow users to interact with WA. Examples include checkboxes, pull-down menus, buttons, links, and table-rendering code. Many OBJECT templates contain advanced processing logic and conditions. OBJECT templates should not be edited for customization purposes.
1.7 Text Templates
The text templates, which begin with the prefix TEXT-, contain virtually all the text used throughout the Web interface. Unlike previous versions of LISTSERV where text was interspersed with the HTML code, LISTSERV has now separated all text from the design, allowing site administrators and list owners to translate pages in one place, without having to search for the text among HTML code. TEXT-GLOBAL contains text variables used throughout the Web interface. These variables include the text in the navigation bar, the list selector, error messages, and other common phrases and words. In addition, each section has its own section-specific text template, which contains only the text used by that section.
1.8 Help Templates
The help templates, which begin with the prefix HELP-, instruct WA which helptext to display for each section. They don't contain the text itself and should not be edited.
1.9 Helptext Templates
The helptext templates, which begin with the prefix HELPTEXT-, contain the actual text that is shown when the user clicks on the Help icon for a section/page or for a specific field. Each section of the Web interface has its own helptext template. If customization or translation of helptext is desired, then these are the templates where it can be done.