The Natural Skin

Description

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NatSkin is a skin driven by cascading stylesheets shipping 12 predefined styles (themes) and 11 variations that can be applied to each of it. Most of these are inspired by MovableType and WordPress, among others a port of the Kubrick style by Michael Heilemann and an immitation of JotSpot. In addition, a PatternSkin style is provided that emulates the look&feel of the PatternSkin as it is known from the TWiki/Cairo release. While offering a decent appearance NatSkin offers an increased TWiki usability and customizability in several respects to quickly accomplish a personalized wiki experience.

NatSkin allows you to switch between several kinds of page layouts. All of the predefined themes come with support for a 1,2 and 3 columns designs. To get a first impression check out the NatSkinStyleBrowser:

• select one of the predefined styles
• alter the header art by selecting a style variation
• flip the sidebar from the left to the right
• select different page framing by switching on/off page borders or enable a thin blog-like layout
• switch on/off navigations tabs above the main area, the so called WebButtons
• the position of the search box can be set to one of four predefined positions

The screenshots below only display a limited set of all possible combinations.

Acknowledgement

This is a rework of the TWiki:Plugins/CopyCatSkin by TWiki:Main/MattWilkie. It is used at the Natural Language Systems Division (NATS) of the University of Hamburg, Germany.

The NatSkinPlugin is inspired by the TWiki:Plugins/GnuSkin by TWiki:Main/JoachimNilsson. The TWiki:Plugins/PhotonSkin by TWiki:Main/EstebanManchado (PhotonSearch) renamed to natsearch .

Feature Overview

Conditional markup and skin states:

The NatSkinPlugin maintaines an internal representation of different ways to render the NatSkin concerning

• the skin style,
• style variants,
• the sidebar location,
• the page border decoration,
• the web buttons in the topbar and
• the positioning of the search box

and provides the infrastructure to get, set and display the skin style that is currently active as well as rendering different content depending on the skin state. This, for example, allows to switch the sidebar navigation from the left to the right with a single click.

Componentized templates:

The underlying templates that generate the TWiki pages are arranged in a flexible and manageable way to facilitate easy "skin mix-in", that is overriding specific parts of the templates by using the NatSkin as a base skin to create template modifications.

Customizing webs using WebComponents:

• WebSideBar: a configurable navigation bar
• WebLinks: component used by the standard navigation scheme to plug in more navigation links
• WebButtons: navigation tabs above the topic area
• MySideBar: every user can extend the sidebar with a personalized navigation
• WebHtmlHead: additional stuff to be put into the html head
• WebJavaScript: additional javascript code per web
• WebTopicActions: actions to manipulate TWiki topics
• WebMoreTopicActions: actions when clicking on "More"

Search & GO

NatSearch: a search+go box that combines advanced search with the GO feature of TWiki. Compared to the standard WebSearch NatSearch is trying to maximize usability and minimizing workflow disruption. In addition, NatSearch can be customized on an application level to specify the scope of search (using include/exclude rules) as well as the appearance of listed search hits.

Wikiwyg editor:

javascript enabled wikiwyg editor

Email Obfuscation:

Optionally, all email addresses can be obfuscated by use of javascript. Email links are still clickable while automatic email extraction is hampert.

External link detection:

All offsite links are marked and a nice icon is added. Clicking on them will allways open an extra window.

Documentation

• NatSkinTemplates
• NatSkinCss
• NatSearch
• NatSkinConfiguration
• NatSkinFAQ
• NatSkinPlugin

Installation Instructions

• Get the TWiki:Plugins/NatSkinPlugin supplementary package and install it.
• Download the NatSkin ZIP file
• Unzip it in your twiki installation directory.
• Test if installed: click here

Skin Info

Skin Author:	TWiki:Main/MichaelDaum
Copyright ©:	2003-2008, Michael Daum http://michaeldaumconsulting.com
License:	GPL (GNU General Public License)
Skin Version:	v3.0-pre20
Dependencies:	TWiki:Plugins/NatSkinPlugin
Description:	Driven by cascading stylesheets, Comes with 12 alternative styles, MoveableType and Wordpress Look-n-Feel
Base Name:	nat
Screenshot:
More Screenshots:
Change History:
03 Jul 2008:	added support for TWiki:Plugins/OpenOffice2TWikiAddOn; added support for TWiki:Plugins/EmployeePortalPlugin; various improvements on all default themes; improvements wrt latest release of TWiki:Plugins/NatEditContrib; support for TOPICTITLE feature of TWiki:Plugins/DBCachePlugin ; fixed oops errors showing html entities instead of readable error msg; improved usability in error messages; shrinking urls in attachments to prevent bloating the attachments table; improved login screen; added support for the new universal edit button's link relation; improved help texts for user actions; putting attachments comments in an extra line of the table to prevent bloating it; improved usability of natsearch dialog; using a google-like SEARCH result; added more body classes to indicate the skin state on the css level
13 Nov 2007:	reworking templates to use context instead of skin state, fixed initialization if NatEdit toolbar, improved usability of selecting a diff pair in HistoryPlugin, improved usability of renaming/trashing topics and attachments, also autoadding a overflow wrapper for MediaWikiTables, improved usability of selecting/changing TWikiForms using the new NATFORMLIST tag, woring around text not being hidden when editing the TWikiForm with TinyMCE
02 Oct 2007:	added support for HistoryPlugin, TinyMCEPlugin
21 Sep 2007:	removed own NatEdit implementation, improved move/rename usability, improved searching usability, added suport for plucene addon, improved sidebar navigation, simplified templating, reworked font sizing, improved default theme (Clean), removed workarounds for legacy TablePlugins, fixed css for IE7, fixed empty line in weblinks component, fixed reparenting issue in edit dialog, reworked javascript to use jquery instead, numerous markup and css fixes, better attachment table at bottom of topics
21 May 2007:	Bugs:Item3969 - 8bit email fix (TWiki:Main.WillNorris)
08 Mar 2007:	fixed sidebar navigation in IE; fixed twikiPageForms width for FF
06 Mar 2007:	fixed renameweb; nicened all rename dialogs; don't stretch twikiTables to 100% width by default; added some default TWiki styles (twikiLeft, twikiRight, etc); some javascript fixes calculating the height of the edit textarea; simplified topic actions using the new USERACTIONS tag
05 Feb 2007:	removed ...ForAdmins components again; natedit is now the default; natedit detects the screen height and adusts the height of the textarea automatically now; edit is fullscreen now; removed reparenting from oopsmore and integrated it to edit; moved editsidebar content into a twisty under the textarea; new templates to customize the login screen; new JotSpot theme; increased the skin's css priority for the TWikiTable layout to counter newer versions of the TablePlugin that inlines css by default; repositoned broadcast area above the main area and put it into a twisty ; fixed sidebar navigation within hierarchical webs; added presets to the NatSkinStyleBrowsers to switch the look&feel to that of some well-known CMS systems; added support for SectionalEditPlugin; added support for redirectto urlparam of TWiki-4.1.1; disabled css in print view as firefox can't print pages otherwise; added support for the forthcomming TWiki::Cache; fixed templates for renaming a web; fixed lease conflict template's use of QUERYPARAMS; new variable %TWIKIREGISTRAION% to make the registration form customizable (should go into the core); lots of css font and spacing improvements to default themes; made oopsmore a WEBCOMPONENT
13 Oct 2006:	improved usability of natedit toolbar; fixed broadcast message for IE; improved subweb-parentweb navigation in sidebar; more separation of admin from non-admin navigation; added help text to edit screens; added support to alter the topic parent during edit and removed it from the oopsmore dialog
02 Oct 2006:	hide links for admins in the sidebar navigation; don't include the WebSideBar twice; added css classes to the <body> to distinguish different cgi actions (view, edit, preview, ...)
18 Sep 2006:	removed private registerconfirm template which whas broken anyway; fixed breadcrumbs on edit page; some minor formtable cleanups
29 Aug 2006:	removed spaghetti template code for beijing and cairo; removed NATSCRIPTURL; fixed MySideBar localization; adjusted usage of IFSKINSTATE due to its new evaluation priority
25 Aug 2006:	first release dropping beijing and cairo support; major documentation rewrite; added a default WebRightBar to exemplify 3 columns layout; added 3 columns layout switch to NatSkinStyleBrowser; fixed template messages used in oopsaccessdenied and oopsattention; normalized some css class naming; added ImagePlugin css support
21 Aug 2006:	complete rework of fonts in all styles not to rely on font preference settings in browsers; enhanced twikiTable appearance; added support for TWiki:Plugins.ImagePlugin in natedit; fixed sidebar in PatternStyle + searchbox in position 1; fixed oopsmore's button style on different locales; more IE hacks; more i18n fixes
15 Aug 2006:	interface internationalization (TWiki:Main.OliverKrueger, TWiki:Main.AndreUlrich); adjusted css to cope waith possibly long strings in i18n; added "Change Language" dialogue to oopsmore; replaced most em based widths with px based ones to cope with different font presets; removed *Right.css files and added nat(SideBar,Main)(Left,Right) classes instead; reworked meta data creation: renamed KEYWORDS to METAKEYWORDS, added METAAUTHOR and METADESCRIPTION; moved blog related stuff to BlogPlugin; added strings.nat.tmpl template defining strings used in NatSkinPlugin; lots of css and template fixes; only load those javascript snippets that are really used
7 Aug 2006:	removed natTWikiInfo from the bottom bar containing the "Powered by" prose; fixed USEWYSIWYG (again)
3 Aug 2006:	first 3 dot O prerelease, 3.0-final will be a TWiki V4 only skin; addded NatEdit templates; restructured edit and preview templates to allow NatEdit to "mix in" its toolbar; make use of the new NATSCRIPTURL variables to support short urls; make use of new FLEXWEBLIST features; added FireVariation
31 Jul 2006:	added renameweb templates; rename topic usability improvements; some css alignment corrections
28 Jul 2006:	improved navigation in hierarchical webs by using the new TWiki:Plugins/FlexWebListPlugin and TWiki:Plugins/BreadCrumbPlugin; dropped usage of the TWiki:Plugins/FilterPlugin as using FORMATLIST{WEBLIST} has been superseeded by FLEXWEBLIST; using the FlexWebListPlugin + GluePlugin to generate a better sidebar navigation showing subwebs in a twisty; dropped the natWebLocation thing in the headerbar (commented out for now) in favour of a real breadcrumbs navigation; added a new template macro "contentheader" to contain the breadcrumbs by default; increased flexibility in default WebTopicActions using NATLOG(IN/OUT)URL instead of NATLOGON,NATLOGOUT tags; removed leading space char in mailnotify.nat.tmpl which may bust mail servers not sending out notifications; added missing feed-icon-12x12-gray.png in package; lots of css fixes to style the new breadcrumbs navigation
15 Jun 2006:	added WEBTOOLNAME to customize the name displayed in the header bar; minor usability improvements in the NatSkinStyleBrowser
25 May 2006:	added advanced diff options available on twiki4; improved diff dialogue; added css classes for ok/cancel buttons on oops dialogues; lots of css improvements, mostly diff related
24 May 2006:	spacing and font improvements; added example TWikiWebCcss; removed focusing the search box on every view; if there's an WEBLOGOIMAGE then use it in the title bar instead of the WIKITOOLNAME; fixed bug in save actions that could have caused data loss ; added missing save parameters in editform.nat.tmpl
9 May 2006:	fixed error in preview template that triggered an internal server error on twiki4
6 May 2006:	provide customised CSS support using WebComponent WebCss (WillNoris@WikiRing.com)
5 May 2006:	minor css cleanup; display default WebLinks and WebButton for a current non-public web
19 Apr 2006:	added support for KEYWORDS per topic
11 Apr 2006:	fixed oops dialogue leaping off the page; be nicer to non-css browers
5 Apr 2006:	added support for dakar's TemplateLogin; preventing an empty line in WebButtons in case there are no public webs; added WebComponent WebTopicActions; simplified topicactions templates; simplified TemplateLogin templates to match natlogon
27 Mar 2006:	moved MySideBar templates from plugin into the skin; fixed page layout of Kubrick style using borders for geckos; added HTTPSLOGON variable to get around install hassle on non-ssl servers; enabled edit and preview upper right topic actions again; added support for three-column layout using STYLESIDEBAR = both; fixed html error in topbar
20 Mar 2006:	several blog css fixes; added bottom topic actions to edit and preview; only display web.topic in the web locator no recursive parents anymore; natsearch docu
13 Mar 2006:	fixed WebLinks components; fixed atom feed link at the page bottom
11 Mar 2006:	reworked sidebar using the new WEBCOMPONET logic; docu restructuring - more needed; using messages.tmpl as far as possible
1 Mar 2006:	fixed TWikiForm not showing certain row values (uuh); added more css for the most recent stuff added to the BlogPlugin; removed html from mailnotification; replaced SCRIPTURL{} with SCRIPTURL+SCRIPTSUFFIX again for legacy platforms; minor css fixes
20 Feb 2006:	removed empty lines in templates; css fixes for lists in the sidebar; unified font size in attachment tables; using percentage instead of em size for the thin page layout
14 Feb 2006:	added variable %WEBSYNDICATION%; removed TablePlugin patch; made BaseStyle usable; added syndiation feeds; don't use dotted lines on IE; don't use transparent borders on IE; added gif version for cite background for IE; fixed content area of PatterStyle on IE; don't use Lucida Grande in KubrickStyle; added rss feed icons; added plain view template
3 Feb 2006:	compute even/odd search hits for WebSearch using CALC so that css-2.1 expressions aren't needed anymore; lots of css font and size fixes, i.e. blog related
27 Jan 2006:	fixed blog css for all styles
26 Jan 2006:	lots of css fixes
23 Jan 2006:	added forgotten IE decorations; fixed layout problems in the WebButtons; replaced ICONPATH with ICONURL; added email_changed oopsattention message
9 Jan 2006:	more IE fixes; fixed search template: every hit must be a table of its own :(; fontsize fixes
20 Dec 2005:	fixed collapsing tables in firefox < 1.5
5 Dec 2005:	componentized template system adding javascript and styles components; removed inline-styles and -javascript and moved it to the respective components being inserted into the html header properly now; surpressing final skin state switches in the NatSkinStyleBrowser; removed absolute urls; removed EDITURL; fixed sidebar help for cairo and beijing; fixed squeezed main page; added the concept of WebComponents, that is the WebSideBar and the WebButtons; the WebButtons are customizable the way the WebSideBar already is
1 Dec 2005::	added transparent borders and corners to the Kubrick style; improved PlasticLoveVariation; added a custom "cite" style inside blog texts; some minor IE fixes; w3c validation fixes to the style browser; more form fixes in the preview and editform pages; replaced every launchWindow() javascript with a proper a href using a _blank target; added tooltips to topicactions
23 Nov 2005:	added nops in expensive IFSKINSTATETHEN, i.e. to prevent the sidebar to be computed multiple times
22 Nov 2005:	moved basic blogging css to the BlogPlugin
16 Nov 2005:	added PatternStyle emulating cairo's PatternSkin
10 Nov 2005:	improved NatSkinStyleBrowser
8 Nov 2005:	firefox layout fixes
7 Nov 2005:	more safari fixes
2 Nov 2005:	fixed javascript problems combined with the TWiki:Plugins.TwistyPlugin; trigger printing when clicking on "Print"
31 Oct 2005:	safari fixes where content leaps out of the main area
24 Oct 2005:	added UserView templates; standardised favicon handling
18 Oct 2005:	workaround crash due to recursive accessdenied-exceptions
13 Oct 2005:	preliminary css support for header art; added some default headers
10 Oct 2005:	added skin style cycling to the NatSkinStyleBrowser; fixed way how the oops dialogues switch off the sidebar
9 Oct 2005:	new release NatSkin-2.51: reinvention of the NatSkinStyleBrowser; reworked the standard WebSideBar; extensive usage of the new conditional content tags interfacing the skin state machine, i.e. switch the sidebar from the left to the right etc.; removed hard-coded links to a Support web; lots of fixes to catch up with the evolving dakar engine; support for the TWiki:Plugins.TwistyPlugin; support for the TWiki:Plugins.AliasPlugin; skin state support for the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin; new webbuttons in the topbar; componentized style sheets for different skin states; improved css of forms and tables; better support for the upcomming BlogPlugin in every skin style; plus the usual small css fixes
30 Aug 2005:	lots of css fixes for IE and Opera; fixed topicactions for IE; different cancel actions per engine
26 Aug 2005:	final NatSkin-2.0
12 Aug 2005:	first round of pre-releases numbered 1.91 upwards
24 Jul 2005:	rewritten the templates, renamed the CSS classes
25 Jun 2003:	Initial version
Skin Home:	TWiki:Plugins/NatSkin
Feedback:	TWiki:Plugins/NatSkinDev
Appraisal:	TWiki:Plugins/NatSkinAppraisal

Note: The Description, Screenshot and Base Name rows are needed by the TWiki:TWiki/TWikiSkinBrowser

-- TWiki:Main/MichaelDaum - 03 Jul 2008