Blog

Gavin Pickin

August 02, 2016

Spread the word


Share your thoughts

In Luis Majanos last webinar, "Widgets, Modules, Themes Oh My" ( View Recording ), there was so much to say about Widgets and Modules, there was no time left for Themes. Since there was a lot of interest, we have extended our whole roadshow one more week, so you'll get this blog post, and 2 more this week, and the final webinar will be Friday August 5th ( 9am PST 11am Central), a Deep Dive on Themes. ContentBox 3 has a lot of updates regarding themes, we'll give you a taste below on what you'll learn about in the webinar.

Register Now

Since ContentBox is built on ColdBox, and ColdBox got a big update from 3.8 to 4.0, so did ContentBox. Layouts were only a small part of what we are now calling Themes. 

New Theme Descriptor - Theme.cfc

Themes now support Theme.cfc for describing your theme, and your settings. This will be backward compatible, this change will make it easier for tooling to tap into the Theme settings.

Theme Setting Groups

Themes are getting bigger, better, and more complex, and so are the theme settings. With this in mind, we introduced Setting Groups, so settings can be logically grouped together, to make it easier to manage your theme once it is installed on your website.

Theme Modules

Themes are build on top of ColdBox 4 modularity, and now Themes can include Modules. Themes today need to do so much more, so tap into modules and do not reinvent the wheel. You can ship your theme with as many modules as your theme needs.

Theme Events

Theme Settings are great for most options you might need to give users of your theme, but sometimes, you might want to have something special in the settings form, or maybe in the Theme Info page. You can control this now, by intercepting Theme Events. You can tie into the following theme events

  • cbadmin_preThemeSettingsSave - Before saving theme settings
  • cbadmin_postThemeSettingsSave - After saving theme settings
  • cbadmin_onThemeSettings - When displaying theme settings in the admin UI
  • cbadmin_onThemeInfo - When displaying theme information on the admin UI

Theme Development Process

When developing a theme, we recommend using tools like Grunt, and Bower to streamline your workflow, and deliver only the required assets to your theme user. We have grunt and bower setup for our new themes built for ContentBox 3, and we'll show you how one of those work flows actually works, so you can get up and running in developing your own theme, utilizing all of the work flows needed, including copy assets, minifying, cache busting, Sass compilation, and anything else you may need.

Join Luis Majano on Friday, August 5th at 9am PST, 11am Central to see all of this, ask questions, and more.

Register Now

Add Your Comment

Recent Entries

ColdBox Training: From Hero to Superhero – Master ColdFusion and BoxLang Development

ColdBox Training: From Hero to Superhero – Master ColdFusion and BoxLang Development

Are you ready to take your ColdBox development skills for ColdFusion and BoxLang to the next level? Whether you're new to ColdBox or looking to sharpen your expertise, our ColdBox From Hero to Superhero training is the perfect opportunity to become a ColdFusion and BoxLang powerhouse.

Why Attend?

This hands-on training is designed to help ColdFusion and BoxLang developers level up their ...

Cristobal Escobar
Cristobal Escobar
February 19, 2025
Meet Raymond Camden: BoxLang Advocate!

Meet Raymond Camden: BoxLang Advocate!

We’re thrilled to announce that Raymond Camden, a leading voice in the CFML community, is joining us as a BoxLang Advocate. Currently collaborating with us as a contractor, Raymond brings years of web development experience and a passion for simplifying complex technologies. His expertise makes him the perfect advocate to explore BoxLang, a modern, CFML-compatible programming language.

Maria Jose Herrera
Maria Jose Herrera
February 19, 2025
Meet BoxLang at DevNexus 2025!

Meet BoxLang at DevNexus 2025!

We’re thrilled to announce that Ortus Solutions will be a Silver Sponsor at DevNexus 2025, one of the largest and most exciting Java conferences in the world! Our team will be on-site, spreading the word about BoxLang and its latest advancements, designed specifically to empower Java developers with dynamic, modular, and productive development capabilities.

Maria Jose Herrera
Maria Jose Herrera
February 19, 2025