Ground Control

[All Astronauts]

Ground Control

Set custom background images across almost your entire IPS Community!

• Default Background (used all areas not customized)
• Forum Categories
• Forum Forums (carries over into the topics within!)
• Calendars
• Pages Database Index
• Pages Database Categories (carries over to the content items within!)
• Gallery Categories (carries over into albums and images within)
• Commerce Product Groups (carries over to products within)
• Downloads Categories (carries over to download items within)
• Blogs (each individual blog can have their own)

Clubs Supported! Club home page and members roster can have their own (shared) custom background.Each node type added to a club (forum, gallery, files, calendar) can have their own backgrounds too!

 

1) How are these backgrounds set in the theme/HTML?You have three options currently (available in Ground Control settings):

On Body Element: Will over-ride the background set on the body element in your theme or custom css. If a Ground Control background (default or otherwise) is not present it will fall back to the body background already specified by your theme/custom css (if any).

On HTML element: Will over-ride the background set on the HTML element in your theme or custom css. If a Ground Control background (default or otherwise) is not present it will fall back to the HTML background already specified by your theme/custom css (if any). If you have a body element background you will probably need to remove it otherwise it will display over top the html background.

On a Special Background Element: This is a separate, new, HTML element placed underneath HTML > Body but before the header and remainder of the IPS HTML template code. This element is set to span the entire page with absolute positioning, given a z-index of -10, and a CSS 3D transition call that does nothing itself but will tell your browser to use your video card when rendering this element. Provided as an advanced option for users with more advanced thematic needs and also as a bullet-proof solution that will usually work no matter what your theme is doing.

You can read the rest of the description in the Marketplace:

 

[Cyboman]

Very nice idea!

Is there any demo website or do you have some live screenshots?

In former times, I bought "profile backgrounds" but realized quite fast, that most areas of the images were overlayed by forum elements or images weren't displayed in fullscreen resolution...

I'm curious and would like to see your implementation in action  

[All Astronauts]

It really is as described, setting the background (full screen cover), and the rest is up to your theme.

That's the default IPS theme with the <header> element background color set to black and the opacity on that color set to around 30% so you can see the background through it. Also changed the color of the pageheader element to white so you can see it on the background.

Not much really to show otherwise, it all depends on what your theme is and how backgrounds are used on them (or how you alter them to allow backgrounds to be used).

Naturally the idea is that you can now match the background to the category or forum (or other application node category stuff) to the general people/place/thing being talked about. Car forums can now set separate backgrounds for each brand category, for each car model forum, and so on.

[Sirmadsen]

Interested in this. Before buying though.

Quote

Downloads Categories (carries over to download items within)

Is it possible to add a function to choose background per item? And not just the category.

Would it be easy to fix or maybe added in a near future release?

[All Astronauts]

It would be an add on. I can do it for all items easily enough, just some moderation concerns. I'd have to make a setting to toggle whether site owners want that sort of thing let loose.

Downloads items seem pretty benign though. I'll add it to the pile while I'm considering other ways to improve this.

[shahed]

Hello,

 

How can i use images in Pages > Block Templates? is there any variable code for image addresses?

Also I suggesting add new place to show: in <header> section.

 

Thanks for this great app

[All Astronauts]

I'll have to see if you can add them to block templates - that is a different area than node/content/item stuff so might be some work, or not. 

Header will be added, it was already on the to-do list

Looking to add a parallax effect option before releasing the next version.

[shahed]

If you just make variable for it, like $category ->gcimage // which is image uploaded in Category. that can be used perfectly in Pages templates.

4 minutes ago, All Astronauts said:

Looking to add a parallax effect option before releasing the next version

For header section?

[All Astronauts]

2 minutes ago, shahed said:

For header section?

Well, backgrounds first, but it should work for header sections too.

[shahed]

As i report before, I have a custom theme and in this theme, neither of this three option wouldn't work. Body, html or /GC.

So i should edit some template for making it right. here something come in my mind. take it as suggestion.

Beside of upload image, give us some option for css class. for example, in my theme there is a css class for pageContent class. this one have #fff on it and prevent to display background image.

if be options for this two class:  pageContent and ipsLayout_contentWrapper in the same place as we upload an image. so when we give those css class some color (or "none" element), gonna bypass theme setting. or even more, you can give your Forum and its topics an image, and customize it's body colors as well!

Just a suggestion

[shahed]

On 9/20/2017 at 7:24 AM, All Astronauts said:

I'll have to see if you can add them to block templates - that is a different area than node/content/item stuff so might be some work, or not. 

I still waiting for this one. It's really needed.

To use images in Pages templates, I kind of hoped ground control would be work like this one.

[All Astronauts]

It actually might be better off in my Pages Category Images plugin. This app is really just for backgrounds; if I start including just general images for use then it becomes a support nightmare.

I need to rewrite that plugin as an application anyways, so this may as well be a good enough time to do that.

[shahed]

13 hours ago, All Astronauts said:

I need to rewrite that plugin as an application anyways, so this may as well be a good enough time to do that.

That plugin you mean Pages Category Images? So you suggest I buy that plugin too, for using the same images in Pages template?

[Donald Meek]

i cant seem to get it working

i have a colored background now that i edited in the theme editor

 

[All Astronauts]

Site? Only way I can take a peek and see what's happening.

It can stick your backgrounds on either the HTML element, the body element, or a custom GC element inside the body. In all cases your theme must not have anything covering that stuff up where you want it showing.

Again, just respond here or PM your site link (don't need ACP right now) so I can take a look.

[Pedro Ibáñez]

Hi, 

I can't see the background here, what i'm doing wrong?

 

[All Astronauts]

There appears to be a problem with the database *home* page and GC. I'll take a look tomorrow. Categories and records are fine.

On default theme:

On HTML: Works but you still need to disable the body background. With the background on HTML, the body background is still on top of it (if you have a body background set).

On Body: Works.

With the custom Ground Control element inside of Body: works.

[Pedro Ibáñez]

22 hours ago, All Astronauts said:

you still need to disable the body background

How to do that?

It's possible to do something like this?

 

 

[Pedro Ibáñez]

In clubs I can't delete the background image

When click in save button "Guardar" (in the screenshot) it seems to be deleted

But when you return again to the background manager it says the image still there with 0 B

[Pedro Ibáñez]

Any idea for my questions please? 

[All Astronauts]

I'm getting there. Busy with other things but this is on the list.

EDIT: Took a look this morning. There have been some structural changes to how IPS does some things with forms, certainly with the Forums app, and as my stuff is all locked onto those nodes directly that's trouble. Some strangeness in other areas as well.

This will take a few days to unspool and respool. By days I mean I'm working on it but best not to bother me as it's gonna be a grind. GC 2 released when it's done.

[Pedro Ibáñez]

Thanks a lot!

[LiquidFractal]

On 11/30/2017 at 2:49 PM, All Astronauts said:

There appears to be a problem with the database *home* page and GC. I'll take a look tomorrow. Categories and records are fine.

@All Astronauts I don't know if anyone has reported this yet, but for what it's worth - there is a serious incompatibility issue with GC and, well, another GC - @Kevin Carwile's Group Collaborations app.

Here's what happens: in a normal Collab (I call them Domains on my site), here's what you see: the Domain homepage with an image, settings menu, etc.:

When Ground Control is enabled, it kills everything above "This Learning Space..." - that is, the heading, menu, and editing options.  If GC is disabled, Collabs works fine.

Here's hoping two top IPS developers can find a way to get these two great apps to play nice!

[All Astronauts]

Swap the positions of the apps in the app list in the ACP and see what happens. Outside of that I'd have to take a closer gander (on your site directly probably).

[LiquidFractal]

1 hour ago, All Astronauts said:

Swap the positions of the apps in the app list in the ACP and see what happens. Outside of that I'd have to take a closer gander (on your site directly probably).

Thanks for your swift response @All Astronauts.  I swapped them but it doesn't seem to make a difference.