I was typically complicating something that is simple. There is a new value in the drop-down in ‘Find In…’ dialogue in App Designer that allows you to ‘Find String in Freeform Stylesheet’.

We absolutely love being able to identify which database we are in by color.
It prevents T.I.P.’ing (Testing In Production)…LOL

We are in the process of upgrade to FSCM 9.0. PTools 8.50

Once completed, we will be sure to apply the new format.
Can hardly wait.

I do recommend the CSS override, because it eliminates all the CSS hunting. You can even source an IScript as a stylesheet, which would allow you to derive portions of the CSS at run time (user configurable themes perhaps?). Using a ServletFilter, you can cache the IScript results, so it performs as well as a static stylesheet.

This is a good discussion Duncan.

If all style sheets were structured I could find each of the colours I wanted to change (and there’s probably only 20 or 30 unique shades of blue in the delivered PIA) and use SQL to update every instance of each colour. That way, when a single colour appears many times (if it’s a border colour it’ll appear at least 4 times), I only have to update once.

My reference to converting to Hex was that this is the only way I’ve found to update the database tables. I use the colour dropper from a graphics program (Paint Shop Pro) to select my colour, take the Hex value and then convert this to the value needed for PSSTYLEDEFN. The Hex value is a intermediary step to getting these values.

You’re definitely right about the changes in page Tabs. I did intend to put this in my post, so thanks for reminding me of the omission. The sliding doors approach that’s used now is far, far preferable to the old method of branding tabs.

I do like your idea about appending an ‘override’ style sheet. That does sound a much quicker way of doing things. I might have to try that method when I come to do this next.

Thanks!

The Style sidebar of the HTML tab gives you the source file name and shows which file overrides which style, so you know what to change to get the desired result.

And, when it is all said and done, I actually find the easiest way to brand is to ignore all the PeopleSoft delivered stylesheets and create your own. For the homepage, all you have to do is add a stylesheet link just before the end head tag and point that link at a custom stylesheet (file based, IScript, etc). Anything you define in the final stylesheet overrides whatever is delivered. For actual pages, you can use PT_PAGESCRIPT, PT_COPYURL, etc to override delivered stylesheets by using the JavaScript I posted here: http://jjmpsj.blogspot.com/2007/01/importing-custom-stylesheets-into.html.

You are right in saying it is different, but I actually wish they would get rid of the structured stylesheets altogether. I find native CSS far more appealing.

One more thing about colors… You don’t actually have to convert colors to hex. You can use the RGB macro in free form CSS instead: rgb(255,0,0), etc. I find the easiest way to handle colors is to take a screen shot and then use the dropper in a program like WinGIMP/GIMP, Photoshop, etc. These programs give you RGB, HTML/HEX, etc.

When I brand homepage tabs, I eliminate the table based design with IMG tags and replace it with div’s or li’s (depends on how I feel at the time) with background images. background images are much easier to override through CSS than the IMG tag (which requires JavaScript replacement code or server side URL rewriting).

I really like the way component page tabs are styled in PT 8.50. They use a derivative of the “sliding doors” technique, which means they use one image and two elements: an “a” parent and a “span” child. The first element’s background controls the left side image, and the child/second element’s background controls the right side image. This design gives you a significant amount of freedom in styling your tabs. Even better, it allows you to override the delivered style without touching delivered stylesheets (see my comments above).

About being able to search for colors, etc across stylesheets… Interesting idea. It would be a good enhancement. In the mean time, I recommend Firebug’s Style information. I haven’t found myself searching for style information across stylesheets because Firebug tells me exactly which stylesheet provides an element’s styling information.

I hope this additional information helps.