How to create custom groups/sections in cPanel?

**Funkadelic** · 03-05-2008 09:31 PM

Trying to find out how to create my own groups/sections, like the Preferences, Mail etc.. groups that have the icons in them.

**cPanelDavidG** · 03-06-2008 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by Funkadelic

Trying to find out how to create my own groups/sections, like the Preferences, Mail etc.. groups that have the icons in them.

If you want the custom groups to look/behave like other sections in the cPanel interface, the only way to do that right now is with a custom theme where the appropriate YUI hooks are implemented to accommodate your new sections.

**Funkadelic** · 03-06-2008 12:37 PM

and thats exactly what I've done David...

However the problem is, I don't know which files I need to edit in order to have this done, there is no other post on this forum where you have given instructions on how to create your own section/group.

I have already used: http://www.cpanel.net/plugins/devel/installgen.html to generate an icon and I put that plugin into a group that doesn't exist, so now I have a bunch of icons in a box for the name 'partners' and that box does not have a title attached to it, so I need to find out how to add a title to this box.

Additionally the problem I encounter is that when I use the 'unregister' command to unregister an icon, it says it is successful and all but the icons aren't deleted from the theme and I don't really know why.

**cPanelDavidG** · 03-06-2008 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by Funkadelic

and thats exactly what I've done David...

However the problem is, I don't know which files I need to edit in order to have this done, there is no other post on this forum where you have given instructions on how to create your own section/group.

I have already used: http://www.cpanel.net/plugins/devel/installgen.html to generate an icon and I put that plugin into a group that doesn't exist, so now I have a bunch of icons in a box for the name 'partners' and that box does not have a title attached to it, so I need to find out how to add a title to this box.

Additionally the problem I encounter is that when I use the 'unregister' command to unregister an icon, it says it is successful and all but the icons aren't deleted from the theme and I don't really know why.

There's a difference between making a plug-in and making a theme.

When you uninstall a plug-in, you may wish to refresh the sprites to ensure the icon is fully removed. If that is not working for you, you may wish to submit a support ticket at: http://tickets.cpanel.net/submit

As for creating a theme, I recommend copying the contents of /usr/local/cpanel/base/frontend/x3 to another folder at the same level (for example: /usr/local/cpanel/base/frontend/my-x3) and editing the files in the copy to suit your needs. It's just a series of HTML pages and the code is fairly simple to understand.

**Funkadelic** · 03-06-2008 01:40 PM

David, yes I have already done everything you have stated previously.

It would be great if you could answer my question though.

Step by step, how do I add another section?

**Funkadelic** · 03-06-2008 01:41 PM

Additionally, what files outside of the theme does the unregister_plugin remove when you run it? I have been studying it trying to understand as it does not appear to be working correctly.

**s.a.** · 03-06-2008 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by cPanelDavidG

If you want the custom groups to look/behave like other sections in the cPanel interface, the only way to do that right now is with a custom theme where the appropriate YUI hooks are implemented to accommodate your new sections.

Any hints on where to start digging? Is display groups list stored somewhere in theme files? Can't seem to find it.

**cPanelDavidG** · 03-06-2008 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by s.a.

Any hints on where to start digging? Is display groups list stored somewhere in theme files? Can't seem to find it.

I started to tinker with things and I found actually it is possible to incorporate this into branding rather than themes.

In the Branding Editor go to Edit HTML pages then edit index.html.

At line 224 (assuming you have not previously customizing this file) you will see

HTML Code:

<div id="boxes">

The boxes section is where you see the feature boxes (sections) of the X3 interface on the homepage (a simple check with Firebug will confirm this).

Looking below that line of code is the API code for inserting all the icons from plugins and whatnot. However, if you just want to hard-code some items, you can create a custom section by simply using this code.

HTML Code:

<!-- custom code here -->
<div id="davidg" class="itembox">
<div id="davidg-bdrop" class="celldrop"> </div>
<div class="cellbox">
<h6 id="davidg-header" class="itembox" title="Double click to collapse/expand. Click to drag." style="clear:none;" ondblclick="rollbox(this);" class="ie-hover"><div id="davidg-expander" class="box-collapse-control" style="float:right" onClick="rollbox(this);"> </div>My custom section</h6>
<div id="davidg-body">
Let's see what we can put here...
<div class="clearit"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="davidg-adrop" class="celldrop"> </div>
</div>
<!-- end of custom code -->

Known issues with this code as it stands right now:
- The location is not stored like the other feature boxes (as this is not using the APIs that access and use that information)
- You can't add icons for plug-ins to this feature box.

I figure it's a good running start for those that want this functionality.

**s.a.** · 03-06-2008 03:27 PM

Awesome! This will work even better than creating a custom theme - no worries if some theme need to be updated.

Thanks David!

**Funkadelic** · 03-06-2008 03:30 PM

Maybe we should all just ask bluehost how they did it?

http://www.bluehost.com/dm/main_cp.h...&lpass=demo123

**s.a.** · 03-06-2008 03:34 PM

Yeah, right. They're going to give it all up along with process manager plugin code and cpu limits implementation (oh, how i'd like to have this on my servers!).

**s.a.** · 03-06-2008 04:10 PM

Found something while poking theme files:

http://domainname.com:2082/frontend/...nts/index.html

Doesn't work, but looks promising.

**Funkadelic** · 03-06-2008 06:02 PM

I got it...

1. Edit Attic/english.orig
Insert the name of the group
example:

headset=Account Settings

2. Edit dynamicui.conf
At the top of the file are the different group settings, just copy and paste another group and paste it where you want your section to be.
example:

description=>$LANG{'headset'},file=>group_headset,group=>headset,groupdesc=>$LANG{'headset'},grouporder=>1,imgtype=>icon,subtype=>img,height=>32,type=>image,width=>32

change the 'headset' to the variable that you entered in for the first file. Additionally feel free to modify the group order number to specify where you want the section to be.

3. Edit lang/english and if you want, lang/english-utf8
Insert the same info you inserted into the first file in step #1.
example:

headset=Account Settings

If you are using other languages then you should edit the appropiate language file.

4. Upload and your all done!

Note: If you are going to be using http://www.cpanel.net/plugins/devel/installgen.html

Make sure you edit the group variable to the group you want your icon to be in, for example, the above setup would lead me to put the group being 'headset' and therefore any plugins I make would appear under a title that says 'Account Settings'.