New theme user guide now available...
Work has been done to condense all the existing individual theme user guides into a single user guide, updated with fresh information and usage tips. Much information has also been included, which is hopefully of use to those of you new to RapidWeaver or thinking of making the switch from iWeb or Sandvox. The user guide has been split into the following four chapters:- Introduction to RapidWeaver & themes
- Theme style & colour settings
- Theme configuration
- Theming techniques
This user guide is free to access, and may be printed or saved for personal offline viewing. If you are using Safari 5, click Reader in the address bar to save or print the user guide chapters easily. The old theme user guides will still be available for several months. Further information and resources will continue to be added over the next few weeks.
Getting Help With RapidWeaver Themes & Stacks
Official Resources
Realmac Software have a support page on their website. Here you can watch free video tutorials, view articles in the knowledge base and click through to the community forums. Realmac Software can handle all general enquiries relating to RapidWeaver (such as publishing issues), and the forum is often a good place to get started. For general Stacks support (e.g. installation), see the YourHead Software website.Product User Guides
Most premium themes and stacks available from ThemeFlood have online HTML or PDF user guides available for free. These user guides cover all the basics of configuration and provide some useful setup tips. They can be downloaded or saved for offline viewing. You can access user guides from the product pages or via this index page.Get In Contact
Send an email with detailed information of the problem or problems encountered. Include as much information as possible like the product being used, purchase name, purchase email, version number and steps to reproduce a problem. It is vital that diagnostic checks can be run on your source code, therefore you should provide a link to a live published website or forward a copy of your RapidWeaver sandwich file. Copies of your customised theme or RapidWeaver sandwich file can be forwarded safely using a free service like Dropbox. Ultimately the more information provided by yourself, the easier and quicker it is to resolve issues, so don't skimp on details!
Free Theme Updates
Theme updates are free for all existing purchasers. Updates are periodically released to introduce new features and maintain compatibility with the latest plugins and web browsers. You can tell if an update is available for your theme, by comparing the number appended after the theme name in RapidWeaver, to the number shown on this website. Generally theme updates are not sent out automatically, because previously it was found many of the emails went missing in junk or spam mail filters. Instead you are invited to check for updates yourself, and download them at a time convenient to you. Updates also get publicised via the RapidWeaver Addons, the RapidWeaver Central newsletter and the free iCentral app. Theme updates can be obtained using the original download link, emailed to you at the time of purchase. If you no longer have this download link or you require an expired link to be reactivated, please send an email including the following information:- Name of the updated theme you need
- The name and email address used at time of purchase
- The purchase method (i.e. website purchase or purchase order)
Once your purchase details have been located, you will be sent a new download link. Theme updates are recognised in RapidWeaver as new themes, so multiple versions of the same theme can be installed alongside each other. This means you can selectively update certain projects to use newer themes, and any customisations you’ve applied like custom code or images don’t get deleted. For more information on updating themes, please see the user guide.
Found a bug?
RapidWeaver themes sold through ThemeFlood go through extensive testing to ensure maximum compatibility with a vast range of third-party add ons and web browsers. Testing gets done externally by a group of independent experts. However it is impossible to test against every setup and eventuality, so sometimes bugs or inconstancies can slip through the net. If you think you have identified a problem, please get in contact. It helps if you are able to provide as much detail as possible, including the theme being used, details of how to replicate the issue, browser versions, and a link to a live published website (if it relates to the use of third-party addons). It is wise to check first that you are using the latest version of the theme available, as a bug may have already been identified and fixed in a subsequent update. When a report is received, it is first verified as being either bug or other issue. Confirmed bugs get recorded in a Bento database and are actioned in the following theme update.Thinking of upgrading to RapidWeaver 5?
RapidWeaver 5 is the latest version of RapidWeaver and was released on 1st December 2010. This updated version includes new themes, options to consolidate CSS files, ability to share assets between pages, new Sitemap page style, support for the brilliant GoSquared LiveStats service and an improved 'last updated' stamp in compatible themes. Most importantly, RapidWeaver 5 lays a strong foundation for a quick succession of other updates throughout 2011. RapidWeaver 5 can be purchased from the Apple App Store. To get the best results from RapidWeaver 5, here is a checklist:• Ensure all of your third-party plugins are fully up-to-date (outdated plugins like PlusKit were known to cause crashes)
• Check auto-updates are switched on for RapidWeaver and third-party plugins, so you'll receive notification of new updates
• Keep a backup of all projects, so you can re-open them under RapidWeaver 4 in an emergency
• Use new CSS consolidation and optimisation options with care - test a site offline before publishing it live
• Avoid the use of large assets (resources) like video and large TIFF images which can cause performance issues
• Check all of your FTP and other publishing settings are correct in Site Setup and Publishing Settings
If RapidWeaver crashes while you are using it, please send a bug report and include some comments about what you were doing in RapidWeaver leading up to the crash. Any general questions about RapidWeaver, comments, bugs or feature requests should be forwarded to RealMac Software by opening a support ticket. A useful video on updating to RapidWeaver 5 can be found on this page.
Other minor changes:
RapidWeaver themes are now stored in a new location. In some instances you may find that newly installed themes are stored in ~/Library/Application Support/RapidWeaver/Themes/ where '~' is the name of your home directory in Finder. This may contradict the theme location path specified in some user guides. If you don't have a dedicated Themes folder on your computer, themes will continue to be installed in ~/Library/Application Support/RapidWeaver/. Ultimately themes can be found in one of these two locations.
Why Buy From ThemeFlood
Obviously building and selling RapidWeaver themes is something almost anyone can do, and indeed there are a growing number of websites selling RapidWeaver themes. So instead of just being yet another theme shop, ThemeFlood places a huge amount of emphasis on providing the best possible one-to-one customer support.No quibble theme modification service
Minor edits like renaming the theme, building in your own custom graphics, reseting theme defaults, adding a lightbox effect, basic style amendments, movement of ExtraContent containers and other small changes are completely free of charge for premium theme users. More complex amendments can be done in-house at competitive rates, normally with a very quick turnaround of a few days.Browser testing
Many web browsers and different web browsing devices are available. Long gone are the days of designing sites exclusively for 1024x768 screens and the quality of browser rendering varies significantly. Therefore free help is available with testing your completed sites and troubleshooting any problems that might arise. Facilities exist to test projects in IE7, IE8, IE9, Safari, Opera, Firefox and Chrome for you.Impartial advice
A broad range of RapidWeaver themes, stacks, plugins and other addons are now available from an increasing number of RapidWeaver developers. Useful advice is always available on selecting the best addons for specific jobs. In the past advice has been provided on topics such as the setup of multilingual websites, mobile websites, online galleries, shopping carts and contact forms.Free updates
The internet is a fast-changing place. An effort is made to regularly update themes to embrace the latest design trends and technologies. Often feature requests made by actual theme users get incorporated into updates. All updates are free for existing purchasers - always have been and always will be. Updates are easy to obtain and can be installed alongside existing versions of the same theme. This enables a non-destructive transition from one theme to another.Fast and friendly technical support
Some companies take ages to reply to correspondence and may reply in a terse and unfriendly manner or use canned responses. Not ideal if you want to complete projects quickly and you have already read the FAQ’s ten times over! Things are done differently here with an aim of replying within 12 hours. Support is tailored to your needs and knowledge of RapidWeaver. Time and care is taken to provide fully comprehensive replies, which may include screenshots or videos.
How ThemeFlood Came About
ThemeFlood started in late 2006 offering a couple of basic free RapidWeaver themes. Interest in these was very positive and a little while later the first premium theme (Black & White) was released. Since then ThemeFlood has slowly grown in size and has become a small full-time company engaged in the research, design and development of innovative themes, which compliment the power and simplicity of the RapidWeaver publishing platform.ThemeFlood has built a reputation for offering high-spec RapidWeaver themes and other addons, all backed by expert customer support. Themes are supplied worldwide to individual users, businesses and web designers. Completed themes are purposefully engineered with a wide range of theme style and colour settings, enabling their use in many different types of project. Alongside the sale of 'off the shelf' RapidWeaver themes, work is also done to develop custom themes and assist other theme and plugin developers with their work.
