Does no one have an answer or did I ask the question wrong?
I am new to Rapid Weaver. I want to put an image in my sidebar with a link and have it show up on every page. So I’m thinking it needs to be on the Master Style. However I can’t seem to find an option to edit the sidebar in the master style, only in the inspector which only edits that specific page.
I am using RW 7.4.1 and the Offroad Theme.
Also is there a way to change the graphic being used for the background to one of my own?
Thanks in advance for your help
As far as I’m aware that is correct - there is no master sidebar and the master style is just that - a master for the styling of the pages not the content. Once it is in the sidebar just cut and paste to all other page sidebars where you want it. As a point of design, make sure it really is useful on every page e.g. an ‘email me’ link or something similar. Same image for no good reason would be repetitive and ‘templatey’ if you get my meaning.
I’m just thinking aloud - one possibility that I haven’t tried might be to add a “Partial” to each page which includes an import stack such as DooBox Teleporter. Put your image / link in Teleporter and add the Teleporter phrase to every sidebar. To set up, this is still a page by page process, but if it works, you could in future change, for example, just one sidebar image (in the teleporter stack within the Partial) on one page and all others would change.
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Thanks again. I will check it out. I guess this software is really designed
for someone who just wants to choose a theme/template and run with it. Even
changing images used as backgrounds to something personally owned seems to
be a major process. I guess I’ll learn in time.
Not at all. I am not a programmer and I’ve built my own site with a blank theme… meaning I created every little thing from stacks. http://www.lisasandlerphotography.com/. It’s a program like any other… of course there is a learning curve 
Rapidweaver without the Stacks plugin is like base jumping without a parachute. It gets painful pretty darn quickly. Do yourself a big favour and get the Stacks plugin, buy a free design framework ( Foundry by Elixir is my personal favourite ) then spend a bit of time experimenting and learning with different layouts and techniques.
You will not believe the difference.
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I see, so the program will work after I buy an add-on or two. I will look
into some add-ons. I guess I’m just feeling frustrated because after
spending several years using Adobe Dreamweaver and learning it and having
all that power at my fingertips I’m now being asked to learn a whole
different software for a ministry that I’m volunteering for who wants me to
use rapid weaver because they don’t want to spend the money with Adobe. But
it may end up that they’ll spend just as much after buying add-ons. Sorry.
just a rant, I feel much better now…
Nice website Lisa. So did you use rapid weaver alone or did you purchase an
add-on? Wondering because I haven’t found the blank themes yet… Thanks
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@Howard I am using Foundation now (https://foundationstacks.com/) but I started with @willwood’s Volcano theme (https://themeflood.com/volcano/) which is much better than the built in RW themes. He also has a blank theme (https://themeflood.com/blank/)
So with Foundation I am using stacks from https://stacks4stacks.com/, https://rwextras.com/, https://instacks.com/posterstack/, https://www.bigwhiteduck.com/stacks/, https://joeworkman.net/ and a few others. But those are my key developers I buy from.
Some stacks are free, some you pay for.
It will be a learning curve, but I once looked at Dreamweaver and ran the other way lol.
Lisa
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Howard: Could you provide some more information. At first look what you are writing does not add up. For instance:
- why does your group insist on RW?
- if they already have a website done in RW (one reason for wanting to use it) then there must be someone who did the work before you. They should be able to give you a full listing of all plugins/stacks used. In some cases (e.g. church bought the products themselves) then the other person can transfer to you as it is church property
- if they already have a website in place do you think you can mimic it easily enough in Dreamweaver? If so, I’d stay with Dreamweaver!
- if the ministry wants RW because someone simply heard it was the coolest thing around then that’s a #1 crappy reason to choose a product. In that case they need a little “education”
At any rate it’s far from clear to me what the real situation is. Depending on the context it really might be much better to stay with Dreamweaver given your pre-existing skills. In other cases a move to RW does make more sense. But I can’t tell which direction you should really be moving towards.
Finally, if a move to RW does make the best sense, and they do have a pre-existing website, then provide a link. Many of us will be able to give you better advice based on seeing what they’ve done, and perhaps what they want to change.
No - the program works as it is but stacks is an add-on that will make a lot of things much easier - and you don’t need to go spending lots of money on individual stacks - particularly if you are working on just one site. Decide on a few things that would be good for the site - maybe a banner slideshow or a quick and easy way to make images enlarge with some animation, research and buy. Some key stacks come pre-loaded including columns, grids, floating image / text, mark up and others. Some 3rd party stacks are free and the rest - well just buy carefully the stuff you need.
And yes, you will get more freedom with one of the six or so blank themes / design frameworks, but if an existing theme works for you - and several of the included ones are pretty good, save your money and use that. You’ll get help along the way from this forum but any product has a learning curve so be prepared to invest some time.
Hi Mathew, thanks for responding. The ministry I’m volunteering for has a
website that was built using a third party software provided by a former
host/server. That host went out of business and they transferred everything
to another host and used a program to convert the whole website to a simple
static site.
Meanwhile after the death of the ministry founder the ministry has now come
under the umbrella of another larger ministry who has had someone who built
several websites for the sub ministries that also reside under the umbrella
of this larger ministry using Rapid Weaver. So the new lead ministry wants
this ministry to build a new website using Rapid Weaver so that it will
loosely resemble the other websites under their umbrella. The problem is
that the person who built the websites for this lead ministry is no longer
with them and they failed to have that person train anyone before they
left. I could go on and point out the shortsightedness of what has happened
and how they could have avoided it but what is the use, and I think you
probably got the idea. In hindsight they want to stick with Rapid Weaver
because they think it will be an easy program to train future volunteers to
use because old timers like me in their 60s won’t be around forever.
If you’d like to see the old website that was converted you can check it
out here: www.wiconi.com
We would like to build something similar for the new site but with some
changes that would bring attention to the umbrella ministry and kind of tie
together with the other ministries. AN example of one of their other
ministry pages built with RW can be seen here:
http://iemergence.org/
Hope this satisfies your curiosity and gives you an idea of what I’m
looking for/ what I’m trying to accomplish and maybe you can suggest what
stacks add-on might serve me best.
Thanks,
Howard
Howard: OMG, what a story! I’m so sorry for this convoluted mess.
So the person using RW that left: even though they won’t be able to train anyone, is it still possible to contact them? They could still provide the RW project file. And it’s all very tricky, but if the ministry paid for the plugins/addons themselves then he/she should pass on to the ministry and you. I have a suspicion, however, that the individual bought themselves. But even if they could tell you what stacks/plugins they used that would help.
The second of your examples (emergence) definitely looks like it was built with a newer version of RW. That’s good for perhaps non-obvious reasons.
I’m going to give you a broad estimate, but when folks ask me about purchasing RW I tell them they will be very unhappy if they only buy RW. They really won’t be able to do much. They look at me with faint anger in their eyes as the app itself is $99 unless you go a special discount price.
My broad estimate is to plan on spending $250 to $300. Let’s look at the numbers: RW at $99. Stacks at $50. Those two are non-negotiable. My guess is you will be happier with a free-form non-theme-theme that gives you a lot of control about design. The two most popular are Foundry and Foundation. Both are very good. I think Foundry is $85 and Foundation is maybe a little more expensive. (In both cases the “theme” is free but you need to purchase the add-on stacks.) And then there are targeted stacks you may want. Those range in price from $5 to $50. If you are going to do a blog that is based in RW (rather than online via a CMS) then I would highly recommend Poster. That’s $40 I believe. So you can see how things add up.
I know this news may be very frustrating to you. And I understand. But it’s better to have the big picture up front and then plan accordingly. Needless to say it would be wise for the ministry to purchase all these things. Later you hand down the themes/stacks/plugins to the next person along with the licences etc.
Sorry again for this convoluted mess. Ugh. But many of us will be happy to help with a recommended plan of purchases/usage as you go forth.
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Hello all, first thanks for all the help. After further discussion with the
new “Umbrella Ministry” they have sent me the lic for several apps (Stacks
3, Flow, Collage, Blocks, and Accordion). I have installed these in RW. It
doesn’t seem as though any of add on show up in the stacks menu (Accordion,
Blocks, Collage, Flow) so I’m not sure how to incorporate any of them in a
page. It seems the only way to use them is as a page of their own. can you
point me to any free tutorials??
Thanks
There is a difference between stacks (used in the Stacks plugin) and Plugin’s (which create their own page type).
you use stacks in a Stacks(3) page.
Blocks was a pre-stacks plugin but I don’t think it’s responsive
Collage is a plugin that creates a gallery page
Accordion is a plug in that creates an accordion page
Flow - Plugin that creates a select bar type of page useful for both styled text and images
I believe all of these, while still useable, are basically meant to create standalone pages not be incorporeated into a Stacks (or any other) page.
You can find out more about them Here or on the Yourhead webstie.
as @swilliam says. The bottom line: it’s not really worth using any of the plugins you listed except Stacks. The others were pre-Stacks and there are stacks that work much better than those old plugins.
Stacks is very flexible. A plugin could only do “one thing” (i.e. accordion, faq page, etc.). Stacks can mix and match any variety of stacks on one page (an accordion and an image gallery on the same page). Stacks comes with a decent set of preset stacks: it’s possible these are all you’ll need. If not, you’ll need to buy some specialty stacks. But it’s not wise to do that unless you know exactly what you are trying to accomplish and is NOT doable with the default set of stacklets.
Thanks for the information. Have any of you used either of the stacks collections Foundry or Foundation? What is your opinion? They are each around $90 for what looks like a pretty extensive set of stacks.
Right now I have used a blank theme free from foundation and have figured out how to enter columns, text box, etc. However I’m wondering how to insert a navigation menu. Also I can’t seem to figure out how to make graphics available in the media file/folder.
Howard: I have both sets of non-theme themes. In practice I use Foundry a lot. Both are very good. I believe both come with a pretty extensive set of tutorials and help. I know Foundry has a nice set of video tutorials, and text tutorials as well. I’m 95% certain the same is true for Foundation.
I choose to use Foundry a lot because I just like the design approach plus it is built on the Bootstrap framework (which I also like a lot). Foundation is built using another framework that’s also very good. I also find Foundry faster to work with. But all of these reasons may be more aesthetic in nature rather than substantive.
Howard: Foundry has a dedicated support area that also includes some example websites made by folks:
Adam also has some pre-built Foundry projects. Many cost money but some are free and will help you get up and running:
http://foundry.elixirgraphics.com/project-files/
A couple of other folks are also create pre-built projects for sale. Most of those are also quite good. No need to buy them, but it’s useful to know they exist.
Documentation here:
http://foundry.elixirgraphics.com/documentation/
Videos here:
The videos are essential for getting up and running. They’ll answer you navigation questions and others.
I use Foundation exclusively now. There is a learning curve like anything else, but the design possibilities are endless.
There are a ton of stacks and some unbelievably powerfull “Donationware” stacks available from BigWhiteDuck.com.
Great support from team Joe Workman and a fantastic forum at: weavers.space
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