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Templating

Mambo Manual is part of the documentation project for the Mambo open source content management system
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Mambo Templates

Templates control the way your content is presented. Mambo (versions <= 4.6) comes bundled with several templates in two different fixed widths. These "default" templates will allow you to get your site up and running almost immediately. However, the downside to using the default templates is that every other Mambo user also has those templates.

There are hundreds of free and commercial templates available for Mambo that give you a wide range of themes and styles to choose from. Like all template design though, there is no such thing as "one size fits all". Dependent on which extensions you may choose to install, some templates may even break when used with some extensions.

Many people prefer to customise the default templates or to build their own. Doing so will give your site the unique look and feel, or branding opportunities, you want. And with some basic knowledge of HTML and CSS, it is fairly easy to build your own templates for Mambo. With a little more knowledge you may even decided to modify one of the many Open Source templates that are available from sites such as oswd.org.

Designing Mambo Templates

Designing templates for Mambo is different to designing a web page. Mambo generates all the content you see on your site so, unlike traditional web site designs, what you create for Mambo is essentially the presentation shell. However, the Mambo Template system is amongst the easiest to learn in the Content Management System family.

Templates are located in the /templates directory and consist of a number of files that interact with the Mambo functions to create the pages you and your visitors will see in a browser.

In the following pages you will find some information that will help you understand how templates work and which will help you to build your own.  We also have an extensive list of "tips and tricks" on the forum.  So, check out the pages at the bottom of this section and if you get stuck, just ask on the forum - there are many helpful people around to help troubleshoot any problems you may run into.

If you are experienced with PHP and wish to extend the template functionality, have a look at the developer articles about templating:

  • Administrator Templates
  • Hiding Modules
  • File and Function Reference
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