What a theme is
What it is made of, what it can change, and who does what.
A theme is one CSS stylesheet plus an entry and some settings. It changes how a Rolea site looks: it carries no JavaScript, no HTML, and adds no new features.
What it can change is almost everything you can see: the header, the sidebar, character sheets, the forum, the front page, and the typography and colour of any piece of the interface.
What it is made of
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| The stylesheet | One minified .css file. It carries the whole look of the theme. |
| The entry | The name, description and screenshots shown in the gallery. At least one screenshot is required. |
| The settings | What the theme needs from the site: a layout, a colour scheme, particular cards in the sidebar. |
| The options | Colours, sizes and fonts that whoever installs the theme can change without touching CSS. |
The settings it can ask for
A theme can move the settings of the site it is installed into, at two strengths:
- Required. They apply while the theme is installed, and the matching control shows up locked in the site’s panel. Removing the theme returns them to their previous value.
- Suggested. They are offered in the install dialog and can be accepted or declined one by one. Whatever is accepted becomes an ordinary site setting and can be changed later.
A theme may only touch three things: the page layout, whether Rolea’s own stylesheets load, and the display options — colour scheme, which cards appear and where. Every other site setting is out of its reach.
Tunable options
Beyond the settings, a theme can leave decisions open: an accent colour, the header height, the font used for titles. Whoever installs it tunes them from their site’s panel with the control that suits each one, and can always return to the values the designer set.
Versions
A theme is not a loose file, it is a series of versions. Each version carries its own stylesheet and its own settings, and is numbered according to what changed since the last one.
A site stays on the version it installed. Publishing a new version does not change sites that already have the theme: each owner decides when to update.
Who does what
| Who | What they can do |
|---|---|
| Any Rolea account | Create themes and publish versions. No invitation or prior permission needed. |
| Rolea Staff | Review every version and every entry change before it reaches the gallery. |
| A site owner | Install a theme, replace it and remove it. This is whoever created the site. |
| Site administrators | Tune the installed theme’s options. They cannot replace or remove it. |
Where they are
Every published theme is in the gallery, with its screenshots and the number of sites using it. Yours, published or not, are in Your themes.