PL documentation

[PCZero]

OK I am trying again to work with this horrible PL design. I want to try to give it a chance but it really is a horrible design for a desktop user and the development team has zero concern for that at all based on thair responses to date. Anyway I am looking for the documentation on how to do all of that very labor intensive work to modify PL (it was so easy in X3 with live editor, but I guess this PL system is supposed to be better). The link I have bookmarked is

https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/PLD/Develop+a+Style

but when I go there now it asks for an ID/PW then the link to retreive the ID/PW says it cannot be done because the system has not been set up. WTF people can you do ANYTHING right? Where the hell is the documentation on how to customize PL and hwo do we get to it?

 

[cPanelUser-Inactive]

Hey there! That documentation was moved, and it looks like it's not redirecting correctly. This is now the correct link:

Guide to cPanel Interface Customization - cPanel Style Development - Software Development Kit - cPanel Documentation

I'm sure you'll have questions, so please do let me know!

 

[PCZero]

OK I just want to clear all of my customization form where I was testing this system a long time back. Nohting is working.

IN WHM I cleared all the settiings in CPanel - Branding - Saved
At shell I removed the .var/cpanel/customizations/styled directory structure


However the one client I have set up to use PL still has the customized header etc. WTF? God I despise this very awkward and terribly cumbersome PL system. X3 was so much easier to use and customize and it had a far superior look and feel as well. Perfect example of changing something that was working just fine simply to say 'look at our new system!"...

 

[PCZero]

Seriously people? This is a new improved interface system PL? I ave to use jQuery, I have to manually set up directory and symlinks, I have to manually create css? The live editor was too hard for some people to use but you think this is an improvement? Then each lelel of WHM you change how it all works so I have to undo work and start over. I am stunned that anyone would think that the PL system is anywhere near as good as X3 was let alone being any degree of better. It is a horrible system that requires so much manual work that it is all but impossible to create the custom interfaces that I need for my clients. Not only that but the default PL look and feel is absolutely the ugliest and most awkward UI that I have seen in my years of computer work stating in the early 80s. The entire PL team should be fired and banned form ever even using a computer ever again in their lives. Huge fail.

 

[cPanelUser-Inactive]

To answer your questions: Yes, you should be able to just remove the content from /var/cpanel/customizations/styled/, but you might have also added a header in WHM >> Branding, which would be found in /var/cpanel/customizations/brand (or ~/var/cpanel/reseller/brand, if you're doing this as a reseller). This page might be slightly easier for you to digest:

Tutorial - Create a Custom cPanel Style - Software Development Kit - cPanel Documentation

 

[PCZero]

I cleared all the setting in WHM under branding. If that does not accomplish the desired task of getting rid of custom settings why is it even there? Why is it so much harder to modify PL than it was to modify X3? This is a HUGE step backward in usability. While the intention of PL may have been admirable, the implementation of it is one of the worst projects designs I have seen in my 30+ yeras of computer use.

All that is in brand is reseller_info.json

there is also an includes directory with two .tt files. Why is this so damn complicated? You guys took a system that was really easy to use and great for making custom themes and replaced it with a cumbersome awkward and extremely limited system that does not even work!

BTW I do not have resellers

 

[PCZero]

BTW thanks for the link but that 'tutorial' is way too complicated. No where near as easy as going into WHM and using X3 live editor, according to some of the programmers at cPanel is too difficult to use as compared to this very awkward and manually intensive crap that we haev to go through to manage PL.

 

[Infopro]

What part of the documentation linked above are you having issues with exactly?

 

[PCZero]

The fact that it is incomplete (it does not cover how to properly remove changes and delete customizations, what is safe to delete and what is not etc). That following it does not always work. The fact that going through all of that bull**** is unnecessary had PL been developed to work with the ease of X3 through the WHM interface.

 

[Infopro]

You'd remove changes by deleting the directory you created in Step #1, and then moved in step #5. Assuming you moved it to be used by a single cPanel user, for testing:

To apply a style to a specific account through the cPanel interface, perform the following steps:

Log in to cPanel as the desired user.
Navigate to cPanel's Change Style interface (Home >> Preferences >> Change Style).
Click Apply for the desired style.

You could go back there and select Basic and be back on Paper Lantern.

had PL been developed

Paper Lantern is the most advanced cPanel style ever developed.

Making custom styles can be tough. Wordpress, xenforo, you name, all have their pain points. Making a simple style for cPanel is not so hard. And cPanel is continually working to make using, and customizing Paper Lantern better.

Have you seen these starter styles you can grab, upload, and edit as you like?
Free cP Starter Style | cPanel Blog

Or this blog post showing how to easily brand your cPanel in several ways?
cPanel Branding Basics: A Guide for Reseller Hosts | cPanel Blog

That editor you speak of that was in x3 is not coming back.

Please feel free to ask for assistance with anything you get stuck on along the way. Also, please try and be more friendly in your posts. Your frustration is no reason to beat up on the cPanel team.

 

[PCZero]

Did those steps but the custom header is still in place.

Define advanced... Complicated - yes. Has the best feature set and ease of use - FAR FAR FAR form it.

Citing something as lame as wordpress goes to prove my point.

Too bad that you guys seem to think that this cumbersome, limited, labor intensive system is anywhere near better than X3 just because your development team wasted a massive amount of man hours coming up with it.

 

[PCZero]

Yet another issue. How do I set up PL so that I can have multiple custom styles like I could in X3 and then limit my clienst to being able to select ONLY my custom styles (again as I could in X3)? These are not advanced or enhanced request. They are requests for basic standard functionality. What good is a series of custom styles if you cannot limit your users to selecting one of them?

 

[PCZero]

Lastly, if I want to use the canned Retro style as a starting point for a custom style, where would I find all of the code and resources for that style and what would be the easiest method to close it into a number of a custom styles?

 

[PCZero]

I downloaded both of those styles and uploaded them to my server. When I go to the one client account that is patiently testing PL, they both show up when he clicks the Change Style option, however the new styles are never applied. I do NOT want either of these to be the default style so I have not set either one to be such.

Please tell me how to get these new styles active and as I asked above how do I disable the two canned styles and only offer my custom styles.

 

[Infopro]

Did those steps but the custom header is still in place.

Assuming you had a custom Paper Lantern style go wrong, and you followed those steps and changed back to the "Basic" style as suggested, I'm unclear on how the custom header could still be in place unless it was being cached, or you edited the Basic style.

Define advanced...

Works on my iPhone and my HD desktop monitors. We never had an x3 style that could do that. For starters..

Complicated - yes. Has the best feature set and ease of use - FAR FAR FAR form it.

Not sure where you read those comments, wasn't me.

Citing something as lame as wordpress goes to prove my point.

Too bad that you guys seem to think that this cumbersome, limited, labor intensive system is anywhere near better than X3 just because your development team wasted a massive amount of man hours coming up with it.

I have nothing to do with Paper Lantern other than providing feedback, just like you. That, and I enjoy having it being constantly improved on as has been the case for some time now. It just keeps getting better.

But it is not x3 you're right, x3 is dead.

 

[Infopro]

Yet another issue. How do I set up PL so that I can have multiple custom styles

In the blog post I linked you to, there are 2 styles offered as you'll recall:
Free cP Starter Style | cPanel Blog

The path to those files mentioned would be:
/home/username/var/cpanel/styled/cP_Starter_Light/
And if you wanted to use both, the dark one might be placed here:
/home/username/var/cpanel/styled/cP_Starter_Dark/

Seems straight forward so far.

like I could in X3 and then limit my clienst to being able to select ONLY my custom styles (again as I could in X3)? These are not advanced or enhanced request. They are requests for basic standard functionality. What good is a series of custom styles if you cannot limit your users to selecting one of them?

This request is one that you've been asking about for as long as Paper Lantern has been available. Your Feature Request is here in case anyone reading this wants to vote on it:
Add More Control to Paper Lantern and Custom Styles

Lastly, if I want to use the canned Retro style as a starting point for a custom style, where would I find all of the code and resources for that style and what would be the easiest method to close it into a number of a custom styles?

I believe the details in this blog post are still accurate and explain where retro is located:
The Retro Style for Paper Lantern arrives with 11.48 | cPanel Blog
usr/local/cpanel/base/frontend/paper_lantern/styled/retro/

 

[PCZero]

Got the two sample styles working. There are some flaws though, but they are part of PL not the styles. For instance, the main menu (Home - Edit Contact Information - Change Your Password - Reset Page Settings - Contact Support) jump around as you go to sub pages. This is a result of the frames/divs being messed up it appears. On the main page that menu spans the entire width of the screen and is center on that width. On the sub pages, it only spans a portion of the screen and thus the text is center on a smaller width making it jump to the left. Sorry I misquoted when I said complicated, I was addressing your comment that it is "advanced". I am not sure what you mean by advanced but PL lacks a LOT of the functionality and ease of use that X3 had and that is not deniable by anyone.

FYI: No real admin uses an iPhone to administer his server.

I still do not see how to disable the option for the users to select the default or retro styles and thus limit them to using my custom styles only. That is absolutely doable. I have no idea why it is not a feature.

 

[PCZero]

This request is one that you've been asking about for as long as Paper Lantern has been available. Your Feature Request is here in case anyone reading this wants to vote on it:
Add More Control to Paper Lantern and Custom Styles

And yet as simple as it would appear to be to add this basic fucntionality that was removed for some reason why has it not been addressed yet?

 

[PCZero]

Why should people have to vote to add basic functionality that was arbitrarily removed? I have heard no response at all on that simple basic request so of course I will still ask about it!

 

[Infopro]

FYI: No real admin uses an iPhone to administer his server.

This comment is just plain silly, I'm sorry, I disagree.

And yet as simple as it would appear to be to add this basic fucntionality that was removed for some reason why has it not been addressed yet?

Well, I can't properly answer why your request only got 3 votes, either. One of them mine, BTW. I can guess though. If all else fails, you might want the system to have Paper Lantern to fall back on if your custom style was to break for some reason. I'm guessing of course. I would only add a quote from Adam here I think is relevant:

Forget the name “Paper Lantern” moving forward. Just think of it as the modern cPanel UI.
@cPanelAdamF

Its the default UI.

It sounds like those custom styles you added from the blog post are not up to date with the latest changes to Paper Lantern. Too late at night for me to check now, but I will add them to my new stage server and see, in the AM. TBH, I'm not sure what can be done if that's the case, we may be on our own to update it.