Tripal v1.0 (6.x-1.0)
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00001 <p>Tripal was designed to allow for maiximum customization of content and the look-and-feel of the site. By default, 00002 Tripal provides a suite of Drupal style templates that provide a generic presentation of data from a Chado database. 00003 There are many options for customizing the look and feel of Tripal. Some customizations can be done without any 00004 programming whatsoever. However, for advanced customizations, Tripal provides a robust API to allow a programmer 00005 to easily interact (select, update, delete, insert) data from a Chado database in whatever custom way desired.</p> 00006 00007 <li><p><b>Integration with Drupal Views</b>: <a href="http://drupal.org/project/views">Drupal Views</a> is 00008 a powerful tool that allows the site administrator to create lists or basic searching forms of Chado content. 00009 It provides a graphical interface within Drupal to allow the site admin to directly query the Chado database 00010 and create custom lists without PHP programming or customization of Tripal source code. Views can also 00011 be created to filter content that has not yet been synced with Druapl in order to protect access to non 00012 published data (only works if Chado was installed using Tripal). If you have Views installed and enabled 00013 You can see a list of available pre-existing 00014 Views <a href="' . url('admin/build/views/') ?>">here</a>, as well as create your own. All Chado tables have 00015 been exposed to Drupal Views</p></li> 00016 00017 <h3>Customizations Without Programming</h3> 00018 <p>There are several ways to customize the look-and-feel for the way Chado data is presented through Tripal. 00019 Below is a description of several methods. These methods may be used in conjunction with one another to 00020 provide fine-grained control. 00021 <ul> 00022 00023 <li><p><b>Integration with Drupal Panels</b>: <a href="http://drupal.org/project/views">Drupal Panels</a> 00024 allows for customization of a page layout. Tripal comes with pre-set layouts for project pages. However, 00025 Panels become useful if you prefer a layout that is different from the pre-set layouts. Chado content 00026 is provided to Panels in the form of Drupal "blocks" which you can then place anywhere on a page using the 00027 Panel\'s GUI.</p></li> 00028 00029 <li><p><b>Drupal\'s Content Construction Kit (CCK)</b>: the 00030 <a href="http://drupal.org/project/cck">Content Construction Kit (CCK) </a> is a powerful way to add non-Chado content 00031 to any page without need to edit template files or knowing PHP. You must first download and install CCK. 00032 With CCK, the site administartor can create a new fields to appear on any Tripal node page. 00033 A field added by CCK will appear in the form when editing to allow users to manually enter the appropriate 00034 text. These field values are not stored in Chado, but will appear on the page when saved. 00035 If you are using the default themeing provided by Tripal, then it is better to create the CCK element, 00036 indicate that it is not to be shown (using the CCK interface), then manually add the new fields 00037 where desired by editing the templates (see section below about customizing through programming). 00038 If using Panels, the CCK field can be added to the location desired using the Panels interface.</p></li> 00039 00040 <li><p><b>Adding Links to the "Resources" Sidebar</b>: You can add new items to the resources side-bar of any Tripal node using the 00041 <a href="http://drupal.org/project/cck">Content Construction Kit (CCK) </a>module and adding new field types to Tripal node types. Instructions for adding these fields can be found 00042 on the <?php l('Tripal v1.0 Tutorial', 'http://www.gmod.org/wiki/Tripal_Tutorial_(v1.0)#Adding_Additional_Resources')?> </p></li> 00043 </li> 00044 00045 </ul> 00046 00047 <h3>Customizations Through Programming</h3> 00048 <ul> 00049 <li><p><b>Adding Links to the "Resources" Sidebar</b>: If you use the pre-set default Tripal layout for theming, you 00050 will see a "Resources" sidebar on each page. The links that appear on the sidebar are automatically generated 00051 using Javascript for all of the project "Blocks" that appear on the page. If you want to add additional links 00052 (e.g. a link to a views table showing all features of the current project) and you want that link to appear in the 00053 "Resources" sidebar, simply edit the Drupal Node Template (as described above) and add the link to the 00054 section at the bottom of the template file where the resources section is found.</p></li> 00055 00056 <li><p><b>Editing Templates and Creating Custom Extension Modules</b>:There are several ways to customize the look-and-feel 00057 for the way Chado data is presented through Tripal. 00058 See the <a href="http://www.gmod.org/wiki/Tripal_Developer's_Handbook">Developers Handbook</a> for further infromation. 00059 </p> 00060 00061 <li><p><b>Sharing your customizations</b>: If you create a custom extension module that uses the Tripal API in 00062 accordance with the instructions in the Developers Handbook you can share your modules with other Tripal users. 00063 To share you module, you must first create a project account with Drupal and upload your extension module there. 00064 Next, subscribe to the <a href="https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gmod-tripal-devel">Tripal Developer's Mailing List 00065 </a> and send an email to the group indicating you have a new extension module and would like to share it. A list of 00066 extension modules that properly follow the Tripal API will be listed on the Tripal website for others to easily find.</p></li> 00067 </ul>