Mirage v3.0
Five years is a long time in the internet world - and that's how long Mirage has been available as a RapidWeaver theme. Really!
The new version of Mirage, released just a couple of weeks ago, is a major upgrade with a ton of new ways to help make your web design life easier.
Instead of having to hand-code complex CSS3 animations, just select the option you want in theme settings and BOOM, smooth page loading animations whenever you want them.
Mirage v3.0 also has much improved responsive support, a sleeker updated design, built-in FontAwesome, Cycle 2 and the fancyBox lightbox plugin - plus a whole lot more than will fit in a blog post!
Take a look at Mirage v3.0, and I hope it helps you create more awesome websites.
Mirage 2 Released
This has been two months in the making, but it's finally finished!
Mirage, our most popular theme ever, has been completely overhauled. But rather than go on and on about how great this update is, here's a look at the most significant changes:
- Complete iPad Support
- Improved iPhone Support
- New HTML5 DOCTYPE
- New theme background & header Images (previous header images are included in the download file)
- RWmultitool Support
- Cleaner, more efficient code
- Improved Print Support
- Better cross-browser compatibility
- Completely re-designed drop-down menu
- More theme options - including Site Width, Site Font, Sidebar Width, etc.
- Much better javascript support
- Numerous bug fixes and other improvements
Changes You Should Be Aware Of
Mirage 2 is a much better citizen when it comes javascript-related functionality, such as CrossSlide (for photo slideshows) and Pulse. All of Mirage's javascript-based functions are kept in its own namespace and placed in a closure - a "sandbox" that is separate from other scripts loaded onto the page.
This is great because it means there is less chance of conflicts arising from the use of various plugins and stacks, but it also means that the code snippets used for Mirage v1.7 and below won't work in Mirage 2. This only affects CrossSlide and Pulse, and we've included updated code snippets for both RapidWeaver 4 and RapidWeaver 5 in the download file, located in the "Tutorials & Extras" folder.
Free, As In Mirage Customers Don't Have to Pay For This Awesome Update
Yep, that's right. Current Mirage customers get this awesome update for free. Of course, if you haven't purchased Mirage yet, what are you waiting for? We have a live preview site for Mirage, and you can buy a copy at our RapidWeaver Store.
Enjoy, and Happy Weaving!
RapidWeaver - A Word on Page Assets vs Sitewide Resources
With the recent release of RapidWeaver 5 what used to be known as "page assets" is now known as "sitewide resources", and since the two behave quite differently I thought it would be a good idea to describe how each works, so you can adjust accordingly when upgrading from RW4 to RW5. This explanation will mostly benefit those who use snippets or otherwise hand-type code to access assets/resources.
In RapidWeaver 4, any files you add via the Page Inspector --> Header --> Assets section are kept separate from other pages in your website. In most cases this isn't a problem, as RapidWeaver by default puts each page of your website in its own folder. This means (if you don't change anything) that the files you add to a page can be accessed by referring to the "assets" folder. Easy, right?
The problem with this approach is that it can cause confusion when you restructure your website. For example, let's say you put several related pages into the same folder. Since each page can have its own assets, RapidWeaver has to keep track of which files belong to which page. Therefore, in RapidWeaver 4, the "assets" folder is renamed to pagename_assets for the pages that share the same folder. Let's see this in action to make sure it's completely clear:
Say you have a photos page with pictures from your recent vacation. The URL on your website for that page may look like this:
http://www.example.com/vacation/photos.html
And let's also say you made a diary of your vacation and put it here:
http://www.example.com/vacation/diary.html
In this example, the two pages (photos.html and diary.html) share the same folder (vacation). In RapidWeaver 4, in order to keep each page's assets separate, the assets folder would be renamed to photos_assets (for the photos.html page) and diary_assets (for the diary.html page). Make sense? (If not, don't worry, this has confused a lot of people.)
Fortunately, RapidWeaver 5 does away with "page assets" and instead uses "sitewide resources". This is a tremendous improvement, as it means you can access the files you add to your website from anywhere you want. Adding files to your website is also much easier - you can just drag and drop any files into the Resources section of the RapidWeaver sidebar. You can also use the "Add Resources" button in the upper left of the RapidWeaver window.
To make things even easier, RapidWeaver 5 allows you to access any of the files in sitewide resources by using this macro: %resource()%
This special syntax tells RapidWeaver that you want to use a file in
the sitewide resources, and RapidWeaver then figures out the path to
that file for you.
So, how do you use the %resources()%
macro? First, find out the filename for the file you want to use. Then,
insert that filename in between the parenthesis of the macro, like so: %resource(image.jpg)%.
If you've added an entire folder to sitewide resources, and want to
refer to a file inside that folder, just include the folder name as
well, like so: %resource(folder_name/image.jpg)%.
In summary, when switching from RW4 to RW5, you may have some code snippets that refer to page assets like this:
assets/image.jpg> --> RapidWeaver 4 syntax
When switching to RW5, just change such sections like so:
%resource(image.jpg)% --> RapidWeaver 5 syntax
Another thing I'd like to note here - when opening a RW4 project in RW5, any files you originally added to page assets (RW4) will automatically be moved to sitewide resources (RW5). When doing so, RapidWeaver will create a folder in sitewide resources named after the page where the assets were initially added. This makes more sense when you see it in action, so just be sure to browse the files and folders in Resources section of the RapidWeaver 5 sidebar if you're not sure where everything is.
Hope this helps - be sure to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below.
Dexture Sneak Peek
Here's one word about the theme: Awesome
And one word about the crazy thing we're doing: Guarantee
The video explains the rest. ;-)
If you have problems watching the video, here's a direct link to the file.
A new RapidWeaver theme, other updates
That's what we've been working on for the past few weeks - closer to a couple of months now, counting all the planning, testing, and various mockups that have gone through our secret underground coding labs. Okay, actually our coding labs aren't really underground, but I digress...
Suffice it to say, this new RapidWeaver theme is AMAZING. Never before seen stuff in a RapidWeaver theme - and I don't say that lightly, considering how many great theme developers there are in the RapidWeaver community. We'll be sending out a sneak peek to all our customers and members shortly, so be sure to join our RapidWeaver themes mailing list.
Things have been quiet here on the blog recently - that's bound to happen when we've got our heads buried deep in piles and piles of HTML, jQuery, CSS, and all manner of awesome web design greatness. The good news is that we're making a concerted effort to keep the content here fresh.
Keep an eye out for tips and tricks to help you get the most out of RapidWeaver, not to mention some great new additions to the NimbleHost RapidWeaver website. Little birdies have told me that there is a Gallery of User Designed Websites in the works. And of course, we have the free CSS tutorial videos over at RapidWeaverPro. The final sections are getting filmed and edited, so check back soon!
Happy Weaving~