Need user friendly WYSIWYG DotNetNuke skin editor

Question

Client wants to edit DotNetNuke skin and he is not a programmer, so I'm looking for some WYSIWYG skin editor. Either web or desktop solution will do.

Answer 1

Well, this is a tough one really. You can do skin design inside of something like Dream weaver when working with the HTML skin, but then you simply have tokens.

Otherwise, you would need to use Visual Studio or the like and rely on "design time" support of the various skin objects.

What might be the best bet overall would be to use Dream Weaver to edit, and use a test DNN install to see the changes.

Answer 2

I have seen a few skins out there by some good designers that are more easily customized using different colors and layouts. I have also seen skins where the producers of the skin have a WYSIWYG editor on their homepage where you can customize the look and they will send you a matching skin through email, but that's as close as you are going to get.

If I could remember the name of the skin maker I would. I know you can find them at http://www.Snowcovered.com and the marketplace at http://www.dotnetnuke.com

Answer 3

The client's best bet is going to be

• Microsoft Expression
• Web Dreamweaver

Answer 4

Not a perfect solution for all skin tokens but this helped me when i was building skins Skinning Objects in Dreamweaver

Answer 5

This is dificult. Depending on what your client wants to do, I find it the best option to have him play around with CSS only so admin -> portal settings -> CSS stylesheet. Alternatively, install a dnn environment on your clients pc/laptop. In my experience, only if they are really motivated, they will do it themselves.

Answer 6

I have NOT used this, but it might be useful. It is a dreamweaver extension for DNN skinning. From the description it looks like it knows the syntax for the DNN skin objects and gives you a nice template in dreamweaver to add these objects.

Dreamweaver extension for DNN Skinning - http://www.thinkofdesign.com/dotnetnuke-skinning-tools/ctl/articleview/mid/532/articleid/47/dnnskinobjects.aspx

Answer 7

Check out DrNuke's EasyMod module. Its a very nice editor that works with their skins.

http://www.drnuke.co.uk/Products/EasyMod/tabid/3362/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Answer 8

Try Artisteer at www.artisteer.com

Answer 9

The current version of Artisteer is fairly simple to use, however be warned it has some way to go IMHO before it can be used as a skinning tool for DNN. There is a demo version that you can play with, l would recommend trying before spending any money just so know what you are getting.

Answer 10

I would guess that your client doesn't need to be able to edit the entire skin, they just want to be able to change parts of it. You should be able to build the skin in a way that it has the needed flexibility and is easy for him to modify those parts through proper use of SkinObjects and Modules.