I have been working on skinning MindTouch Deki Wiki on and off for the last two weeks, maybe more, and I’ve gotten to a point where I have one of my skins packaged and ready for download.

I based the 4 skins I am working on, (to include Pixel-Spring) on the already popular Fiesta skin that comes with MindTouch Deki Wiki.  Some day in the near, maybe distant future I will create some skins that are a family of their own, but at the moment I just wanted to play around with the skinning process of Deki Wiki.  I’ve been quite happy with how easy it is to change the look and feel of Deki Wiki.

I also made it a point not to change any of the php files and only change the style.css sheet.  If I needed to over-ride anything in the _content.css sheet I included it at the bottom of the style.css sheet with an !important attribute attached.  The style.css sheet is commented so the user can see what any extra CSS is for.  In doing this, I hope it will allow the Pixel Skins to be used for a long time to come.  Basically as long as the fiesta skin is used.

Another thing I allowed for was multiple background choices.  I added seven background images and CSS for the user to place in the control panel’s custom CSS page.  The background images come with the skin package the user will find instructions on implementing them in the !NOTES.txt file.  I am planning on making several more alternate backgrounds in the near future, but first I need to get all four skins out and packaged.  (Before the end of the week)

Last but not least, I included two extra templates in the !NOTES.txt file for the user to add to their Deki Wiki website for a little more pizzazz.  The image to the right is and example of the template box included in the Pixel-Spring skin.  It is simple but adds an extra area for the user to have extra “Stuff”.

There is a five step process to adding the templates, and the steps are easy to follow.  You can find the instructions in the !NOTES.txt file. 

I also have some instructional videos to help the users.  The quality of the videos could be better, but I think they will help.

I guess that’s all to blog for now.  I hope to have all four of the Pixel skins packaged as soon as possible, but for now feel free to download and use the Pixel-Spring Skin.  If you have any questions about the skin, or how to do something, feel free to email me.  admin@cornerpixel.net  I can’t promise I will respond same day, but I will try.

~MikePixel