General Information
Some general informations about my themes and RapidWeaver themes in general (installation, update process, style variations, ...)
Where to get Updates
All Updates are sent by Mail. I usually also post it in the general RapidWeaver Forum (http://www.realmacsoftware.com/forums/index.php/forums/), on Versiontracker (http://www.versiontracker.com) and on MacUpdate (http://www.macupdate.com). If you see that I have posted an update but haven't received an informational mail, please contact me.
How to find out, which theme version you are using
In the latest Theme versions I included Finder Get Info, so it is very easy to find out what version you are using. Just click on the theme file in the Finder (all themes are placed in Library/Application Support/RapidWeaver) and select "Get Info" from the menu. You can also see the version info directly in the Finder Window if you are using the column view.
If you still have a theme which isn't updated yet, you can switch to the source view in RapidWeaver and look for the version info string in the source of the header section
Where to get additional material (Manuals, Image Admin Utility, ...)
You an get additional stuff from my main site's pro theme download section: http://www.rapid-ideas.com/downloads/prothemes.html [1]
Open that page and click on the theme you want to load the additional tools [2]
Note that I probably will drop this section in future.
What if you need the original theme again
If you need to download the orginal theme again (e.g. in case you switched to another machine and haven't backed up your data), please contact me at support@rapid-ideas.com
How to install or update a theme
Installation of Upgrade a theme should work fine by just double-clicking the theme file (extension: rwtheme). But sometimes it won't work, so I suggest to always make a clean installation:
1) Make sure that RW is not running
2) Remove the old theme file first - when you upgrade a theme - from the following location in your home directoy:
Library/Application Support/RapidWeaver
All my themes have a prefix of „CA“ to make it easier to find the theme file
3) Copy the new theme file to the location in step 2
Where can I see the changes you made in an updated theme
If you are an advanced user and customized the theme by working on the theme files directly, you may be interested in what changes I made in a theme update. I publish the changes online, so you can see exactly what I have worked upon.
To access the changelog area, use the following URL [1]:
http://www.rapid-ideas.com/Documentation/changelogs/
Then you can click through the theme and version you are interested in.
Once on the changelog page, you see a file listing, with the changed files as links [2]. Click on them and you will see the changes in clean simple text.
Upgrading from Demo to Pro
All my themes can be first tried with a downloadable demo. The migration from the demo theme to the pro one is now really easy using the ProPatcher application you can find in the downloaded theme folder after the purchase.
Note: If you downloaded this a Patcher with the theme package after the purchase you don't have to apply it, as the downloaded theme version already is the pro version.
What is the Pro Patcher
The Pro Patcher is a little application to migrate the demo version to the pro version the easy way. So, if you downloaded, tested and set up a site with the demo version, you simply run this patcher and your demo version will be migrated to the professional version.
When to use the Patcher
As said above you can use the patcher to transform the demo version of the theme to a fully functional professional version. This is recommended if you created a page with your own style variations, because that way you won't loose your work.
How to use the Patcher
Simply run the patcher application. Note that you need the demo version of the theme installed.
What are the bene ts of using the Patcher
Even you haven't used the demo version of the theme, it maybe be useful, as you always can get the latest theme version from my site and patch this
demo version with this patcher. That way you are always up to date.
What's the Difference between the Demo and Pro Vesion
The differences between the demo and pro versions of my themes are:
1) The pro version will have no banner add at the bottom
2) You will get many additional stuff (e.g. images, templates, image admin tool, manual, ...)
3) You qualify for full customer support
4) Using the pro version will give you a good feeling in supporting a small company ;-)
Where to choose your theme
You select your theme with the theme drawer at the bottom of the main RapidWeaver window:
1) Click on the Toggle Theme View button to bring up the theme drawer
2) Click on the theme you want to use
How to choose Style Variations to customize your site
Most themes have a set of style variations you can use to customize the overall look of your site. Professional themes may have a huge amount of them. To select different style variations, bring up the page inspector by typing Command-Shift-i. Switch to the Styles Tab [1]. In the section Page Style [2] you will see the style variations. Simply click on the style you want to choose. Probably you also have to first click on the triangle in front of a variation's name to access the styles.
The Colors Style Variation
Selecting the Colors Style Variation is a little bit different to the other variations. To customize a color style procede as follows:
1) Click on the color dwell in front of the style you want to change
2) The standard OSX color chooser should appear where you can select your new color.
Using predefined Style Sets
Many of my themes also include predefined style sets with nice color schemes. When you start exploring a theme, it is a good idea to select the different style sets to get an overview. And who knows...maybe a predefined set is a good choice for your site.
To choose the style sets, click on the small folder icon at the bottom of the page inspector when in the style variation section. A drop-down list should expand where you can choose any of the included style sets.
Creating your own Style Set
If you made many customizations to the styles you use (e.g. custom colors), it is a good idea to save your styles as a Style Set in RapidWeaver. When you have saved such a set, it is really easy to apply them to other pages by choosing the set as described in the section above. Also, if you have to replace an existing theme (e.g. when updating it), you won't loose your own style sets and don't have to start from scratch again.
You save your own style set by clicking on the little gear-wheel icon next to the folder icon and select "Save Style As...". Give your Style a good name, so you can easily identify it in future.
Does a certain theme support 3rd party page plug-ins
I always test my themes with many existing plugins, but it is sure I cannot test everything. So, if you are interested to know if a theme supports a special plug-in or web feature, I suggest downloading the demo version of the theme first and see if it works. There are demo versions available of all my professional themes and they can be downloaded from my main theme page by clicking on the Download Demo button next to the theme. The main theme site is located here:
I contacted you / purchased a theme but haven't heard back
Note that I try to always reply as soon as possible. But as Rapid Ideas is a one-man company, I can't work 24/7. If you haven't heard back within 72 hours, please send me another mail.
It also happens sometimes that the email address you registered with cannot be used (due to quota limits or misspelling). In that case, it is impossible to contact you, so make sure you are always using a valid mail account with enough free space.
And: also make sure you always check your junk mail folder.
Automatic Image Resizing
Automatic Image Resizing will resize all your images you include in your content to either 100% or 50% of the content width. So you don‘t have to care what will be the best size to fit in your page. Also when you choosed a fluid layout (by percentage) all images will fit perfectly! Just note that when you enable this feature it is not possible anymore to scale your image with the media inspector.
How the resizing works
Every Image you include in your page (by drag n‘ drop) will be sized to 100% of the content width - with a margin to both sides [1]. If you want your images be half the width, you have to align them horizontally (left/right). To do so select the image and choose „HTML/Align Image Left/Right“ from the „Format“ Menu.
Another great aspect of the Resizing feature
You can have a 2-column layout automatically without the need for any plugin by applying the resizing feature to text! Just select the first paragraph and choose „Align Image Left“, then the second and apply „Align Image Right“ to it. Et voilà: You have a nice 2-column layout [2].
Which browsers are supported
All my themes are built to support the following browsers. But note that it is not possible to make the pages render exaclty - 100% - the same on every browser.
• Mozilla & Co. (Firefox, Camino, ...)
• Safari
• Opera 7.5+
• MS InternetExplorer6+7 (Windows)
How to further customize the themes
Mention that if you make changes to the themes you can't use the updates I will publish. So if you want to customize the theme it will be the best to use the custom css [2] field in the Page Inspector / Page Header tab [1].
If you need to make many changes to the theme, you should first duplicate the original theme before you start to work on the theme files. To duplicate a theme control-click (right-click) on the theme in the themes drawer in RapidWeaver and choose Duplicate... in the pop-up menu.
Please note that I can‘t give any support on customized themes anymore.
What payment options are available
PayPal: I use the service by paypal to sell my themes. You can pay by credit card or e-check. If you never set up an account at paypal's site, you first have to register with their service. You can learn more about paypal's service at their site: http://www.paypal.com
International Bank Transfer: If you don't want or can't use paypal's payment service, you can also pay me by international bank transfer. But note that this takes much longer and you have to take the full transfer charges. If you like this payment option, please contact me, for further information.
By Mail: If you can't use the options above, you can also send me the money by mail. Even I don't recommend it, some users have used this option and everything went well.
Where's the download link
After your purchase at paypal you will receive an email from e-junkie with the download link to the theme.
If you can't find the mail, maybe it was filtered out and you can find it in a junk mailbox or - what also happened - the email could not be sent to you, because:
a) your mail address you typed in at paypal has some problems
b) your mailbox size (quota) has reached the max. size
In that case I cannot write back to you, so please try to contact me with a different mail address, if you have one.
What are the theme restrictions
Generally you can do anything you want. But you are not allowed to:
• Sell a webdesign or other service based on my themes. But you may sell your worktime. To clearify it: You are not allowed to
sell a design, as part of your service. e.g. you can't charge your clients $200 for a basic setup, as the design is part of it. But there
is no problem to sell the work you make for them (hourly based).
• Sell the theme itself or customizations of the theme in any form.
• Publish any content found here elsewhere
Please also note that if you make any changes to the theme yourself, I can't provide you free support anymore. But you can always ask.
Selling Information for professional Webdesigners
As a professional webdesigner you may ask: may I use the themes for my clients?
The answer is: Yes, you are. But with you are only allowed to sell your working time (e.g. customizing the layout, adding content, ...). But you can't sell the design itself on a flat rate (e.g. $300 for the design).
Custom Theme Development
I can also customize themes for you or develop a new theme to match your ideas - whenever I can find some time. If you want me to develop a theme especially for you, please send more information about your thoughts directly to me. It is also best, if you can attach some design ideas (screenshots, graphic files, URLs, ...), so I can have a further look on it and make an estimate for the project.