browndog77

dude,
you’re on the ball. i wrote that last post before seeing your response, sorry! … lemme go check it out!

actually i take back my e-mail request i just made a second ago in that last post… b/c i’d rather use up my blue chips for the other issue i mentioned which is of more pressing concern: the error message i get as a result of having an improperly labeled “upload” path… i can live with the font style the way it is since it’s more an issue of aesthetics than function (one of the few times i side with ayn rand on anything is the “function triumphs over form” argument, even if i am an artist!)

hey podz,
thanks for the quick reply. regarding your advice, my problem is that i’ve scanned my page a thousand times and can find no mention of the word “font” anywhere. i *know* that’s technically impossible b/c the code is responsible for telling the browser what to do- so the only conclusion i can surmise is that i’m going to the wrong place to edit somehow… (i even used a text highlighter plug-in i have for My-IE2 but it couldn’t find any query results for “font”, “font-family”, “font-family:”, etc. either.)
here’s the path i use to get to the code, please tell me if it’s wrong…
1.) i log onto the site as admin
2.) after name + password, when i hit enter, it takes me to the main control-panel page which has the large “wordpress” logo in the upper left hand with the twelve item options bar (“write”, “edit”, “categories”, “links” …”plugins”, “templates”… etc.) and under those tabs is the box i use when composing posts with the appropriate “save”, “publish”, etc. tabs underneath it.
3.) i click on the “templates” tab found at the top of the page.
4.) voila! i arrive at the page with all the coding jargon, but i can’t find any mention of the fonts.
unless the place i’m going to edit the code is incorrect, could i shoot u an e-mail so u could check it out when you have a convenient time to do so?

dude, you’re quick on the draw!
quick question tho… i downloaded the file from alex’s site (dots). i then unzipped it on my computer. but there’s two documents entitled css: one is “style.css” and the other is “style.css.bak”. do i need to upload both? also, where do i stick the included images?

thanks for the help. unfortunately i’m still in the dark…
>”The way to change the site design is to use your wp-layout.css file to change the way that your site looks. You can change it in any way that you want it to. Colors, fonts, etc.”
ok, but i was meaning/had in mind directions i once saw where all i had to do was something like delete/rename my old file named xxx and install the new xxx in it’s place…
to be more specific, i want to change the style to one i found on alex kings wordpress competition page.
>”And like EdPham says. you need to alter wp-layout.css
Upload a new stylesheet, upload any images that came with it. It should then work and you can make minor edits using the template editor.”
i’m guessing that wp-layout.css is the afore-mentioned “xxx” i was talking about replacing? if so (meaning if i download one of the competition templates off his site), do i just ftp it onto my site and delete the old one with the same name?

SHAKE THAT SHADRACH HOOCHIE MOMMA. coz my milkshakes better than yours….
sweet! thanks for all the help, i’m good to go. of course, there’s that one template i saw, but i’ll figger that out tomorrow…. ; )
anyway, as mentioned previously; before i found wordpress, i was planning to use google’s “blogger”. after setting it all up, i couldn’t figure out how to put a fixed image (banner) on the top of my page. so i clicked on the “can’t find the help you need? just click here…” button and asked if they could give me an url that discussed it, or tell me how to do it.
TODAY, i finally got a response back. it was, simply, this:
“Hi there,
Unfortunately we don’t provide support for html-related questions and
template modifications. You’ll need to continue trying things out until
it works.”
i’m not posting this to slam google, as i’m probably a virtual rocket scientist compared to some of the people who need their help, and they can’t be expected to go around answering all us idiots in the world… i just mention it b/c it makes all the help i recieved here seem even more generous.
thanks again.

got so used to hand holding that i forgot to search around! while you guys were answering, i found the idiots guide to changing the wp-config-sample.php file.
in case anyone else has the same problem, it’s found at https://wiki.www.ads-software.com/5MinuteInstallation/wp-config.php
as soon as i finish, i’ll share a quote from my experience with asking for help from blogger (obviously before i found this place. ) not only do i find it quite amusing, it’s stark contrast with all the help here is amazing.

cue the worlds tiniest violin…i decided to go ahead and follow thru with my idea posted above, which was to change the wp-config.php file on my computer, then upload it and erase the wp-config-sample.php file that i erroneously loaded.
when i opened the wp-config-sample.php file to fill in the correct details, it opened up in ‘cse html validator lite’ (freeware html editor that i must have downloaded and forgot about, but left the default option to “open all php files” or something along those lines)
anyway, what showed up was a bunch of code that looked like this: – just a snippet, obviously, but i think it’s the most relevant one(?)
// ** MySQL settings ** //
define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘wordpress’); // The name of the database
define(‘DB_USER’, ‘username’); // Your MySQL username
define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘password’); // …and password
define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’); // 99% chance you won’t need to change this value
now, if that is indeed the part i need to change, where do i change it? what part do i erase? what do i do with all the ‘//’ and parentheses, or do i just leave those alone?

help, i screwed up…further blurring the line b/w stupidity and ignorance(!), i forgot to do step #3 -“Open up wp-config-sample.php and fill in your database details. Save and rename the file to wp-config.php.”
so after uploading, when i typed in www…/wp-admin/install.php, i got the following message “There doesn’t seem to be a wp-config.php file. I need this before we can get started. Need more help? We got it. You can create a wp-config.php file through a web interface, but this doesn’t work for all server setups. The safest way is to manually create the file.”
so what should i do now? go back and fill in the correct details for the file on my computer, change the name, then upload it to the same directory? (and just delete the wp-config-sample.php file on there now?)
and yes, i feel stupid. ; )

question #4- when podz says to create…ahhh nevermind ; )
killer response time, thanx. i’ll try it now.

HELP!…but first- before i get to my question: enjoyed reading the comments and the links…funny thing you mentioned zen garden, b/c i have that site bookmarked on my computer under “learn how to do this”. even more bizarre, i have the nautilus example bookmarked in the same category. either it’s a small world or great minds think alike!
unfortunately, i really just don’t get it; it hasn’t clicked yet. looking at code makes me feel like i’m back in high school, staring at a latin test i never studied for. i flunked latin, spanish, and french with the same gusto, but hopefully i’ll learn how to speak ‘haxxor’ (forgive me) since at least there’s some incentive.
anyway, LET THE GAMES BEGIN
i checked 1&1 and after a bit of searching found that i have one mysql database, so i wrote down the database name, user name, password, and host name. understand i have no idea what all this means, i’m only following the directions from word press.
those directions are as follows:
“1.) Make sure your host meets the requirements. Also, have a database ready with proper username and password.
2.) Unzip the package you downloaded.
3.) Open up wp-config-sample.php and fill in your database details. Save and rename the file to wp-config.php.
4.) Upload all the files to your webhost
5.) Run the installation file. Relative to where you uploaded the files, ita€?ll be in wp-admin/install.php.
this brings me to my first question; 1.) when it says “have a database ready with proper username…” which one of the names goes here- database name, user name, or host name? i’m assuming it would be ‘user name’ but they all start out ‘db+misc. numbers’ and i want to get it right from the start.
-question 2.) when it says to unzip wordpress, is there any particular place i should unzip it to, or just anywhere on my computer that i feel like?
-question 3.) when i upload the files to my webhost, do i just create a directory with ‘wise ftp’ and then upload it to that folder? if so, what do i need to name it?
5.) to “run the installation file” do i simply click on it?
i know these questions probably verge on ridiculous for some of you, but i really could use the help. thanx again.

thanks all for the answers. as far as starting off with something smaller or less powerful; i’ve learned that lesson the hard way. eg., i’ve spent hours upon hours learning how to use “wysiwyg” editors, when i should have just been learning how to hand code in the first place.
i am an artist that visually sets up things a certain way, and it frustrates me no end when i can’t set up a page the way i create it in photoimpact (while i understand far too little to participate in the whole linux/unix/..ix vs. microsoft debate, i champion photoimpact over photoshop with the same fervor as the penguin people).
anyway, as an example of my frustration; i designed a site in photoimpact. p.i. will create web code, but in impacts one major flaw i’ve found so far; the code stinks. not only was the code super bloated, it screwed everything up positionally.
since 1&1 came with free netobjects fusion, i then spent half of my life trying to replicate what i originally created in p.i. to fusion. it’s not exactly been a pleasant experience either. after finally figuring out the majority of the design problems, the next problem was uploading.
i won’t go into it, but i’m having trouble pointing things to one another, creating directories, etc…
to make a long story short: i appreciate the help. i’m determined to learn things right, and even i can see that wordpress beats the pants off blogger. i just gotta figure a few things out first, and hopefully i’ll still have the patience to come back here once i have a better understanding of webhosting.

As an example of being confused, while googling info about WordPress compatibility with my webhost (1&1), I came across a link back to this forum. One guy was claiming he couldn’t do it using 1&1, and someone answered him as follows:
>”or you could install the blog on the 1&1 site, and just use the unlimited server to host high bandwidth items like images and whatever. I have an installation of WP running on a 1&1 server and it works just fine”.
I don’t even have the first clue to what an unlimited server is, much less how I would use it host “images and whatever” while “installing the blog on the 1&1 site”. Is he saying I would have to somehow split/marry them, or is he just saying it will run fine if I upload it to 1&1?