TWCL

[raines80]

If anyone out there is good with comicpress, I could really use your help. I am currently using just a blog style format for my webcomics because of the difficulty I have ran into while trying to use comicpress.

my site is located in my sig.
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[vaslittlecrow]

Right off the bat, you need to have one comic per day unless you have the JQuery multiple option enabled.

I also noticed that your file names are structured like this:
immitation-religion.jpg

That is not a compatible naming convention for ComicPress. Instead try a year-month-day format with the title like this: 2012-02-14-imitation-religion.jpg

You also need at least two categories, one for the comic and one for the blog. Having chapters help a ton.

This might help:
http://frumph.net/documentation/

[MGS]

My response was somewhat lengthy, so I sent it to you as a PM.

Hope it helps!

[raines80]

Thank you both for the replies! It seems like there are only like 5 people in these forums that actually like to help and you two fit into that list.

I figured my file names were wrong... Now I have to figure out how to change them in wordpress... good luck to me lol

I think I am just too far removed from coding to get this done.. I am going to give it another go, but I am pretty sure I am going to fall short again.

Thank you guys for the help! Like I said.. I am going to keep trying, but I am not expecting much lol
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[MGS]

NOOOOOO!

Don't give up on ComicPress.

I'm telling you, check out a basic guide on CSS code and all of the sudden the whole program should start opening up for you. As I said, "Sam's Teacher Yourself CSS in 24 Hours" is really good. It is big and intimidating, but, after the first few chapters, you will have the basics down.

Then try playing with the Themes and Companion in ComicPress, and you will start to get it in no time!

As I said in my PM (did you get that?), I had no idea what I was doing when I started. A few week's later, my site was up and running (and, in my opinion, looking pretty ok).

Finally, when it comes to tinkering and learning, I wouldn't upload everything and then go from there. I started playing with ComicPress and the Themes and other stuff to learn it. But, in the end, before I put my final site up, I uninstalled and then re-installed the program just in case I had messed anything up.

We can help walk you through the process. It just might take a little time and frustration-management.

Don't Give Up!

[MGS]

Here is some basic stuff to get started with CSS and modifying ComicPress. Let me know how it's going, and I'll try to help you out from there.

1) Here is a good introduction to CSS that has basic info and is good for reference, especially once you get the hang of it. I highly recommend the book I recommended above since it's very clear in its explanations and easy to understand, but this site has the basic info.

http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

Work with this/the book while exploring the next concepts/aspects of ComicPress

2) ComicPress, Child Themes, Theme CSS Code, and the Companion.

A) ComicPress is the program that runs it all. It has all the main CSS Code for the layout of the page (which is basic). However, you never want to change anything with the main ComicPress code. That's what Child Themes are for.

Be sure your ISP is ComicPress compatible.

B) Child Themes: These are "Themes" or pre-made layouts. Boxed, Sandy, and some others available. There is also a Blank Theme available.

When you upload a Theme, it "trumps" / uses the main ComicPress program/code.

You can use one of these if you want. However, you will probably want to customize it a little at least, so you will need some understanding of how to manipulate the CSS code (which is very easy once you get the hang of it with a little bit of work).

For my site (www.boobsanddicksthecomic.com), I used the basic code from the Boxed Theme, modified slightly, and uploaded into a Blank Theme so it would never change due to updates, etc. (This will make sense after just a short time familiarizing yourself with how to customize ComicPress.)

But to do this, you need to look at the CSS CODE for CP and the THEMES.

C) CSS Code for ComicPress Themes

In your WP Dashboard (when ComicPress is loaded), you can locate the theme CSS code. It is also available online. With a little understanding of CSS, by comparing the Theme Code to the Main Code (located in the files as a text document), you will start to see how the CSS code works and what properties modify what aspects of the site.

DO NOT attempt to just jump into this without some basic knowledge of CSS. That said, only a basic understanding of CSS is needed for this to all start making sense.

D) ComicPress Companion:

Once you start to understand how the CSS works and you have a general idea of how you want to modify CP or a Child Theme, the COMPANION (located under "Appearance" is very handy).

Just like the Theme CSS trumps/uses the ComicPress CSS code, the COMPANION trumps everything. This is where you can make your alterations without having to worry about breaking the site or messing up the main code.

FOR EXAMPLE: I loaded the code from the Boxed Theme into a Blank Theme and uploaded that to ComicPress. Then I made a few alterations to the Code from the Boxed in my Blank Theme's Code (which is basically the Boxed code). Then I went through and modified what I needed to change in the Companion.

Finally, once you have a basic understanding of these things and are ready to modify, this page let's you know what code commands affect what aspects of the ComicPress webpage, check out the "Entry List" and "Child Themes" on Frumph.net (it's actually down right now, otherwise I would give the pages).

I KNOW THIS MAY SOUND LIKE GREEK RIGHT NOW IF YOU'RE JUST GETTING STARTED, BUT DON'T GIVE UP!

Start to get to know the basic concepts of CSS and the basic features of ComicPress that I listed above. Tinker with that and let me know where you are in the process sometime next week.

It may be easier if you go to my webpage and contact me through the email given there. I check that more often.

Using ComicPress can be frustrating at first, but, trust me, with a little work and no expectation of sitting down and designing your CP webpage in a few hours, you will understand how to work and be able to produce an awesome page.

So, look at the CSS Stuff and get a basic understanding of it, check out the Themes and Code stuff, play with the Companion to better understand how it all works, and you'll be off to a great start.

Let me know where you are at in a week or so, and I'll try to help you from there.

YOU CAN DO IT!

[raines80]

With the help of you guys (especially MGS) I have gotten the basic comicpress site up and running.. I am looking into css to try and alter the style of the template to fit my needs.

Thank you all for the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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[vaslittlecrow]

MGS: Oh wow! You are awesome. That's very thorough.