Hey,

Have a look at how Example Group looks at the moment. We've just rolled out a new theme option for groups. (Those of you who read the Network Updates saw screenshots of the new theme a week ago.)

This new theme comes with the ability to put a custom banner image for your group across the top of the page, and to create a custom drop-down menu, containing whatever items you like. There's a different kind of view for Events, showing file attachments - this will hopefully be useful in situations where you want to attach minutes or an agenda to an event posting for a meeting, for example.

A couple of groups are already using the new theme, notably Sustainable Maleny, who already have a slick banner on their group. Nice!

Want to try it out for your own group? Instructions below.

SWITCHING TO THE NEW GROUP THEME

To start using the new theme, you'll need to edit your group and change the theme from "relocalize" (the sitewide theme for relocalize.net, which your group is using right now) to "group_theme_1". As the "1" suggests, this is just the first of new theme and layout options we'll be creating for group homepages in the future. We're hoping for some feedback from you guys to help us work on that.

1. Edit your group (click on the "edit" tab at the top of your group homepage)
2. Scroll down to the "Theme Configuration" section
3. Click on the radio button to select "group_theme_1"
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the form, and click "Submit" to save this change.

You'll then see your group homepage wearing a new face. No data will change - the same posts and welcome message from before will be there. If you'd like to switch back to the old theme, the process is the same - just edit your group, and switch the theme back to "relocalize".

CHANGES YOU'LL SEE

You'll notice the following changes:

1. The name of your group will occupy the "banner" area at the top of the page. If you add a group banner (instructions below), this area is where that banner will show up.
2. Among the tabs at the top of the page, such as "edit" and "email", you'll see a new one: "activate group menu". This does just what it sounds like: it's how you get started creating a custom top menu for your group.
3. The Location will be in a blue block near the top of the page, and include a link to search for nearby groups.
4. Posts, such as blog entries, forum posts, and events, will be displayed differently, in a set of blocks. We've tried to arrange these to save some space, so people don't have to scroll so far down the page to see them all.
5. The sidebar blocks have changed. There are links both to view and create content of each type (blog, forum, news, event, page, poll, and directory listing). The usual links, such as "my subscription", are still there, just rearranged a little to save space.
6. There are RSS feed links on the group homepage and in the sidebar - a feed for the whole group, and separate feeds for the different content types.

ADDING A GROUP BANNER

The group banner has a size limit - it should be between 50 and 150 pixels tall, and between 1000 and 1600 pixels wide. So people can clearly see where they are, it should probably have the name of your group on it, clear and prominent.

You'll see your group banner wherever you go in your group. Clicking on it will always take you back to the group homepage.

To add a banner:

1. Edit your group (click on the "edit" tab at the top of your group homepage)
2. Go to the "Group Banner" section (which is right at the top)
3. Click on the "Browse" button, find the banner image you want on your computer, and click "Open"
4. Click on the "Update" button on the form to upload the image
5. Scroll down to the bottom of the form, and click "Submit" to save this change.

Now you'll see your banner image appear at the top of your group.

USING THE GROUP MENU

When you click on the new "activate group menu" tab, or the "activate group menu" link in the sidebar (both do the same thing), your group menu will appear with a few pre-set items in it: a link to your group homepage ("Group Home"), and to content in your group ("Blogs", "Forum", "News", "Events", "Pages", "Polls", and "Directory"). You can customize or get rid of any of these.

Once you've activated the group menu, that tab will change to read simply: menu. It will take you to the menu configuring area. There, you'll see all the items in your group menu, and have the option of editing them.

This will be a dropdown menu. It can have any number of items or sub-menus you want, arranged however you want. For example, you could create a new menu item that says "Posts from members", and move "Blogs" and "Forums" under there; or you could create a menu link for a page in your group, or even an important event; or you could create a link to an external site. Just bear in mind that if you add lots of items all in a row, they might have trouble fitting on screen. If you have more than ten or so items, you might want to start structuring your menu into a nicely organized tree.

Something to remember is that a menu item is a different thing from a post. If you delete a menu item, the thing it points to won't be erased; likewise, if you delete a post, any menu items that point to it won't disappear.

To REMOVE a menu item: click on the "delete" link beside it.
To EDIT a menu item: click on the "edit" link beside it. From here, you'll be able to change the following:

• Title - this is what it says on the menu item; eg, "Group Home".
• Path - this is where the menu item will take you. You can put an internal link - a link to somewhere on relocalize.net - by entering the URL with " http://www.relocalize.net/" removed. For example, "node/1", or "groups/example". Or, you can put a full URL; for example, "http://www.richardheinberg.com/museletter " or "http://www.relocalize.net/node/1/forums".
• Sort - this is the sort-order of this menu item. If you want it to be first in its group, you would give it a really low Sort, like -10.
• Parent item - this controls where this item will appear in the menu. If the Parent Item is your group menu, then this item will appear in the green bar, and always be visible. Or you can make this item a child of any other item in the menu.

To ADD a menu item: click on the "add menu item" link at the top of the menu configuring page. The form to fill out to add a menu item is just like the form for when you're editing a menu item, as above.

NOTE - there is no "undo" when editing the group menu.

HAVE FUN!

This is a new thing we're trying, so we're expecting to adapt it to your needs as we go. Anytime you need help, please get in touch with me or Tim - that's what we're here for.