Using divs instead of table columns on home page

[freeze2 +]

I've been working on formatting the home page of my classifieds without using the table columns. This way each category with subcategories can float in their own div...I'm finding this allows a cleaner look for what I'm after. I made the following change to the code on the home.tpl and was hoping someone could tell me if this is correct or needs some changes. It does look fine on the site.

<table class="main" width="100%">
	<tr>
		<th>{$smarty.const.LANG_BROWSE_CATEGORY}</th>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="top">
			{section name=tr loop=$data step=$cols}
				{section name=td start=$smarty.section.tr.index loop=$smarty.section.tr.index+$cols}
					<div class="categoryhome">
						{if $data[td]<>""}
							{$data[td].start_link}<img src="{$data[td].image}" border="0" alt="{$data[td].name}" /></a> 
							{$data[td].start_link}<strong>{$data[td].name}</strong></a>
							{if $data[td].total <> ''}
							({$data[td].total})
							{/if}
							{$data[td].subcats}
							{$data[td].description}
						{/if}
					</div>
				{/section}
			{/section}
		</td>
	</tr>
</table>

[Eric Barnes]

It looks correct to me. Just from glancing at it you may want to put the categoryhome div inside the if($data[td']) just incase it is blank. But I think that is required.

[freeze2 +]

Thanks much!

[seymourjames +]

The problem is does it look fine on various browsers. Does it validate as XHTML transitional The W3C Markup Validation Service. Posting a link would help to get more feedback.

[freeze2 +]

So far my testing shows good browser compatability and it does validate as XHTML transitional

Classifieds Site

I haven't finished yet...but getting there...

[seymourjames +]

Looks good on Firefox and safari. It validates too XHTML transitional.

[freeze2 +]

Originally Posted by seymourjames

Looks good on Firefox and safari.

Thanks...I hadn't tested on Safari.

I did have to add a "display: inline" to the main div to fix an ie6 float problem...but other than that I'm pleased with the outcome. One problem with using floating divs for the category layout is that you have to watch the order in which they are placed....you have to make sure to keep the categories with the most subcategories to the left to have them fall into place nicely...

[Hey Me +]

Would be nice if added to the script by default or make it possible to edit from templates, not healthy to modify core files, it makes upgrades more complicated ..

[Blair +]

Originally Posted by Hey Me

Would be nice if added to the script by default or make it possible to edit from templates, not healthy to modify core files, it makes upgrades more complicated ..

Typically, you don't have to overwrite files located in the templates folder during an upgrade.

[seymourjames +]

It is not a core file. He is putting this in a template folder - home.tpl . By all accounts you should copy the default template folder when you first install and call it something else. You then modify this new template folder with peace of mind. The documentation on how templates work is pretty clear. If a file exists in your new template folder it will be used but if it does not exist it will default to the DEFAULT. This way if you make a real hash of things you simply delete your version of the template file and it will pick up the default and bring you back to normal.