Implementing The New Modern Theme
Magento 1.4.0.1 has now been out for several weeks, something that has been bugging me is the lack of instruction regarding the new Modern Theme layout. It now uses far less files and in fact relies more towards files located in the base package rather than default package as before. The files now included in the template file of the Modern Theme are:
- catalog
- catalogsearch
- checkout
- newsletter
- page
- sample
If you’re used to installing the Modern Theme using Magento Connect Manager and seeing it working straight away, you’re gonna be a bit annoyed that it’s not that simple anymore. As Magento decided to give absolutely no instruction into how this theme now needs to be installed, the Magento Blog can show you how to get it working as usual:
1. The files are pre-installed with Magento 1.4.0.0+, so you simply need to copy (or cut) the ‘modern’ folder from app/design/frontend/default and paste into app/design/frontend/base.
2. In the same way, you need to copy the ‘modern’ styles from default to base. Copy the ‘modern’ folder from skin/frontend/default and paste into skin/frontend/base.
3. Now that the files are located correctly on the server, you can call them to action from the admin section. Go to System > Configuration > Design, then change the package name to ‘base’ and the default theme to ‘modern’ as shown below.
You may need to refresh the cache to see the effect of the changes, but this should provide you with a working version of the Modern Theme on your store frontend.
