Creating a custom theme using Domino
Customizing the look and feel of a QuickPlace is as simple as creating a new theme and then modifying a couple of files, including an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) layout file. What's cool is that you can use the development environment you already know (i.e., Lotus Domino) to create a custom theme for a QuickPlace. Below are instructions on how to do just this, and you can find a sample on my Web site at http://DanVelasco.com.

First, click on the Customize menu link and scroll down to the Advanced Customization Features section and select Custom Themes.

Next, click on the Create Theme link. Give your new theme a name and then select the Generate checkboxes under Style Sheets and Page Layout as shown in Figure B. Then press next.

FIGURE B


Select the Generate checkbox below the Style Sheet and Page Layout areas to have QuickPlace create generic versions of these files for you. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Click on the new theme you just created and then deselect the "Generate" checkbox below the Page Layout HTML file that QuickPlace created. Resize your browser window so you can drag-and-drop the file onto your desktop.

Open the Page Layout HTML file in a text or HTML editor and copy all the HTML from the file into a Notes or Domino form.

You can now customize the form as you wish, such as by adding subforms and other design elements to customize the look and feel. Preview the form in Internet Explorer. Don't worry about how it appears in the browser window now, since you won't know how it will really look until you actually upload it back into the QuickPlace.

From the File menu in Internet Explorer, choose Save As and select "Web Page, HTML Only" from the file type drop-down box. Save this template somewhere you'll easily remember it.

Go back to the Custom Themes page, click on the theme, and use the Replace button under Page Layout to upload the theme template HTML file you just created. Select next when you're done.

Finally, you need to apply the theme that you just created to your QuickPlace. Do this by going to Customize and then clicking on Decorate. Click the Choose a Theme link and then scroll down to the bottom and select the theme that you just created. From now on, when you update the theme, you should see the changes right away after submitting them. Tweak to taste.

A few caveats
Needless to say, do this in a development QuickPlace and get the design just right before transferring it to a production QuickPlace. If you accidentally screw up the development QuickPlace, you can always go to the Administrator menu of the QuickPlace Server (by clicking on the Sign In button on the main QuickPlace server page) and delete the database and start over. You can also delete the QuickPlace from the Basics page if the QuickPlace is still functioning all right.

You can delete different QuickPlace skin elements that you might not need or that don't fit into your design (such as the Tools menu), but make sure you don't accidentally delete both the actions skins or you won't be able to save things, including the themes. I found this out the hard way when I did this and then couldn't update the theme to fix it since I couldn't save or submit anything.