adding a third column to a 2-column template…

  • i know this has been asked before, and i actually found what i thought was a really good thread, but then when i used a link that one of you posted in there, it didn’t really solve my issue at hand. i think maybe because it was something like 2.5 years old and for a much older version of wp.

    and for the record, i’m not going to change to a pre-designed three-column template. just wanted to say that since i see people using that as an answer to this question now and again haha.

    that said…

    i know css and am familiar with php. when i copy my sidebar.php and rename it (say, sidebarleft.php), and then put that call in my index.php, and have adjusted/added to my css accordingly, i still wind up with a failure to call the new php file. what would be the new sidebar shows the space but says it was a call failure.

    this is where my lack of php knowledge leaves me stuck. i had copied and renamed the call to what i thought was proper, but that doesn’t seem to work, which i’m chalking up to my ignorance of php.

    right now i have main content with sidebar on the right. i’m trying to add a left sidebar (so it’d be sidebar-content-sidebar). i do NOT need it widgetized or anything; i’m going to be posting up html in there.

    any help would be appreciated. i looked through all the theme php files and have come to the conclusion that my lack of expertise in php is standing as a big wall in front of me getting this done, so i’m asking for any assistance that you all would be willing to provide.

    sorry i can’t post up a link, the project is still private. if a link is truly necessary, i’ll install wordpress on another domain and show you all what i’m trying to do.

    so thanks in advance for any help!

    -sb

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

  • Try calling the new sidebar sidebar-left.php and then using <?php get_sidebar('left');?> in your template files.

    Thread Starter staybeautiful

    (@staybeautiful)

    that totally worked for starters, thanks a million. i had placed the sidebar-left in the index.php before the sidebar call, so it’s…

    content – sidebar-left – sidebar

    …right now.

    question if i may…where should i be placing the sidebar-left call to have it show up on the left-hand side? all my css are float-left and even though i messed around with them, i couldn’t get the order proper. i then assume that it has something to do with where my sidebar-left call is placed in the index.php file. or maybe a combination of both.

    i tried different locations for the sidebar-left call in the php file but none are coming up proper. hence my question.

    thanks again!

    Thread Starter staybeautiful

    (@staybeautiful)

    what i should say is that i can get the sidebar-left to float left, but parts of the main content box are then pushing all the way left as well.

    my wrapper in css is content. in there i have sidebar-left, main, and sidebar. no matter how i slice it, the main css is not fully recognizing the sidebar-left, its h2’s (but not the text within) are still floating all the way left in the content box, even though my sidebar-left php call is in front of it.

    if that makes any sense whatsoever.

    If everything is floated left, then the markup/call order should be:

    Header
    Left Sidebar
    Content
    Right Sidebar
    Footer

    which, I think is what you have, – if I’m following you correctly.
    It’s hard to troubleshoot without seeing the site/wireframe but do you have widths specified on each of the sidebars and the content div? Something like:

    #sidebar-left,#sidebar-right {width:20%}
#content {width:60%}

    should get you started but set all paddings and margins to 0 to start with. Once you have the main areas in place, start adding in some margins & padding but be prepared to reduce the widths accordingly as you do so.

    If possible, do all the initial work in Firefox – with Firebug installed, if you can. Once you have the design sorted, check it in IE8 and IE7 and perhaps add some remedial CSS using conditional comments to sort out IE’s flawed box model.

    https://quirm.net/2009/06/29/wordpress-conditional-comment-css/

    Thread Starter staybeautiful

    (@staybeautiful)

    sorry i was traveling, just got back. looks like we were both correct. i did indeed have everything proper – it was just the padding/spacing that needed to be drastically adjusted. one thing i don’t understand, though, is why the padding for the main (content) area would need to push all the way from the left-hand margin instead of from the right side of sidebar-left. makes no sense to me.

    alas, i know that all of this plays on logic and i’m just not understanding the setup. you know, computer fallibility usualy = nil, human fallibility usually = constant. haha.

    i say this because i did a separate part of the site in html and didn’t need to do that. it was pretty much fine from the get-go, hence my confusion.

    i assume i’ll ‘get’ it someday; in the meantime, thanks a lot for your help. should i assume you’re from quirm.net (as it’s linked on your username)? if so, let me know so i can email you & send you some goodies.

    cheers,

    -sb

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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