Okay so here it is. I've set up a live preview for you to have a look at the theme and so any modifications, additions, alterations, bugs whatever will be talked about it there.
The structure was changed slightly for Manji2. The sidebar content code was nicked from the WP default. This is just to fill in space until I sort it out the way I'd actually like it to behave, so I might include another foreign scripts (much like the javascript code for the comment buttons). This is to make full use of the extra width and sidebar element of the design. After all there has to be a point to the sidebar right? It'll be incorporated in such a way that you guys can take it and do whatever you want with it.
If you leave a comment please thank Joshua as he's 90% responsible for actually getting the code out to everyone. I'd have still been struggling with all sorts of issues, so Joshua you're the man!!!
This is a 1.0 beta release, however expect only certain files to be changed; as I do want to tweak the aforementioned sidebar elements, and possibly clean up the css ever so slightly. You'll notice a few hacks in there as well. That's to make it all work in IE, which is a royal pain in the backside. Cross-browser issues really are a pain in the ass.
As you know very well there's always more to do, however this release is pretty close. There might be some minor changes in the future, but that's general tweaks. If we find a way to work around hacks, and a few other issues, there might be some structural changes in the index.php file. From our part we'll make sure we post clearly what the changes are.
You can go download it now from the usual Manji download page.
It looks... Manji (which is to say great), however the default configuration could drop the 'meta' section of the sidebar since all that information is already included in the footer. And nobody uses the login link anyway ;)
Like I said in the post, the sidebar is something I'm working on. I just wanted to include something in there for now, but will eventually be including Manji2 specific things that I think work well.
It was also a chance for me to play around with the formatting of everything and see what the different coloured backgrounds would look like all together.
Ooops, you're quite right, I skipped a few paragraphs in my haste to see the finished design.
I can fully appreciate the coding difficulty and the IE issues that leave you scratching your head though. If you don't know exactly what IE quirk is causing a problem it can be a major time sink to track it down.
I really like this! Nice job...I might actually use this as my basis for the Polaris flavor of Manji that I have started to work on. You use the two columns in a way that actually looks great, unlike most two column designs out there.
One suggestion on the sidebar is to have a link extend for the entire width of the sidebar and to have a nice little background color change when you hover over the link.
On the one hand I like Manji most becuase of how it showcases the content above all else, therefore there is no sidebar per se. On the other hand I'm excited with prospect that others who need sidebars to be comfortable can embrace Manji now. Good job guys!
I'm interested in one of your design choices. Why did you choose to place the menu on the left? I'm just curious is all - I like Manji Original and wasn't one screaming for a two column version. Is it possible through customizations on the user end to move the sidebar to the right easily?
To be honest, it just looks better on the left than the right. For me it was a question of balance. Probably due to the top menu bar that has some visual weight on the right, it has to counter balance with something, which in this case was the sidebar. The original manji doesn't have that problem I guess because there is no sidebar.
And anyway we do things differently around here ^_^.
Changing sides is as easy as pie, just play around with padding for the main body and float right rather than left for the sidebar. Of course you're then have to start thinking about flipping the two curved graphics on the bottom, but hey it's part of the fun.
Thanks for the explanation Khaled. I guess I was thinking that many designers go with the approach of - people read left to right, so put the most important stuff left. Being that Manji is very focussed on "content" I thought that putting the menu left goes somewhat against that. Anyway - I appreciate the thoughts and keep up the great work! I'm sticking with Manji Original as I think it's the most beautiful template out there. Every time I look at my blog, I think "Wow, it looks great". That says a lot for your design, as I really have customized much!
Oops - I meant I really "haven't" customized much.
I like the fact that you are offering two different versions of Manji. For me, I love the original and would love to do some sort of "flavor" for Manji. Again, I love your theme the best out of all of them. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Carlos, much appreciated.