Make Your Forum Columns Line Up

If you're using one of my themes and log in to your forum and see your forum icons nice and neat in one forum and the next forum the same column <-- IS THIS WIDE --> ? Or how about that pesky Last Post column?! grrrrrrrrrrrr.....

This doesn't usually happen in Firefox, but IE... HOLY GOODNESS! This sometimes happens with my themes because I like to separate the categories, and it sometimes throws some of the columns out of whack.

Well, help is here! :D This is how you can remedy the situation (I'll be taking the time to do this in my new 3.7.0 themes from now on) -

Login to your Admin Control Panel (ACP), and go to your style's templates. Open FORUMDISPLAY template. Find this troublemaker right here...


<table class="tborder" cellpadding="$stylevar[cellpadding]" cellspacing="$stylevar[cellspacing]" border="0" width="100%" align="center">
<thead>
<tr align="center">
<td class="thead">&nbsp;</td>
<td class="thead" width="100%" align="$stylevar[left]">$vbphrase[forum]</td>
<td class="thead" width="175">$vbphrase[last_post]</td>
<td class="thead">$vbphrase[threads]</td>
<td class="thead">$vbphrase[posts]</td>
<if condition="$vboptions[showmoderatorcolumn]">
<td class="thead">$vbphrase[moderator]</td>
</if>
</tr>
</thead>
$forumbits
</table>


REPLACE the section in RED with this -

<td class="thead" width="5%">&nbsp;</td>
<td class="thead" width="55%" align="$stylevar[left]">$vbphrase[forum]</td>
<td class="thead" width="20%">$vbphrase[last_post]</td>
<td class="thead" width="10%">$vbphrase[threads]</td>
<td class="thead" width="10%">$vbphrase[posts]</td>
<if condition="$vboptions[showmoderatorcolumn]">
<td class="thead">$vbphrase[moderator]</td>
</if>
</tr>


Hit the SAVE button

Notice that in the table code just above that section, you'll see that the width is 100%. We've assigned width %'s to each column, totalling 100%. ;)

ummmm did ya think we were finished?? HA!

Next, open the forumhome_forumbit_level1_nopost template, and find this -

<if condition="$childforumbits">
<tbody id="collapseobj_forumbit_$forumid" style="{$collapseobj_forumid}">
<tr align="center">
<td class="thead" width="35">&nbsp;</td>
<td class="thead" align="$stylevar[left]">$vbphrase[forum]</td>
<td class="thead" width="225">$vbphrase[last_post]</td>
<td class="thead" width="65">$vbphrase[threads]</td>
<td class="thead" width="65">$vbphrase[posts]</td>
<if condition="$vboptions['showmoderatorcolumn']">
<td class="thead" width="120">$vbphrase[moderator]</td>
</if>
</tr>
$childforumbits


REPLACE the section in purple, with this -

<td class="thead" width="5%">&nbsp;</td>
<td class="thead" width="55%" align="$stylevar[left]">$vbphrase[forum]</td>
<td class="thead" width="20%">$vbphrase[last_post]</td>
<td class="thead" width="10%">$vbphrase[threads]</td>
<td class="thead" width="10%">$vbphrase[posts]</td>
<if condition="$vboptions['showmoderatorcolumn']">
<td class="thead" width="0%">$vbphrase[moderator]</td>


Hit the SAVE button.

Now you're finished. Those columns should line right up. If they don't, please re-trace your steps above. If they still don't -

We're both in trouble! :eek: :rolleyes: