It was also harder than I expected to write, so please do point out anywhere I've gone off the rails or need something adding etc.
TITLE: How do I customize the appearance of my ScrapBook gallery?
LiveJournal provides a variety of pre-made layouts for your ScrapBook galleries. You can edit these layouts to your liking, or create new layouts from scratch.
By default, all of your galleries display in the 'Portfoloroid' layout. You may change the default layout for all of your galleries, or you may set individual galleries to have different layouts.
ScrapBook is based on a style system, much like LiveJournal. Styles contain the basic display information, and layouts are created within style to control how a page is displayed. It is possible to have and create multiple styles, each containing different layouts. Each style may be applied to a seperate gallery, or you may apply one style overall.
CHANGING THE DEFAULT LAYOUT FOR YOUR GALLERIES
Customization of your galleries can be made from the ScrapBook Manage Styles page (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/).
When customizing ScrapBook, it is important to note that you cannot simply choose a layout for your galleries. You must first choose a style, and then choose a layout from within the style.
When you first access the Manage Styles page, you will already have one style in the 'Current Styles' box. This style's name will match your username. To change the layout for your galleries you will need to click on the [Edit] link for that style. This will take you to the Edit Style page where you can pick a language and a layout for your style. Some layouts also have colour themes that you can choose from. If you pick a layout that has colour themes you may have to press the 'Save Style' button before the themes appear.
If you would then like to customize the layout, you can click the 'Customize' button in the Customize Further box. This will take you to the Edit Layer page where you can edit and set various options for the layout. The options available depend on which layout you have chosen, but some possible customization options include setting a background image, a different font, a page title, different colors, thumbnail options and the number of pictures to show per gallery.
Please note that if you choose to specify a background image the image will need to be uploaded to a site that allows remote loading to LiveJournal. Information on remote loading can be found here: http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=130&view=full.
Once you have finished customizing the layout you will need to click the 'Save Settings' button at the bottom of the page. You will then be sent back to the Edit Style page. If you have finished editing your style, you can then go back to the Manage Styles page (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/) to set your style as the default layout for your galleries. You can set a style as your default layout by clicking its radio button. The page will automatically save the style as the new default layout when you do so.
CREATING A NEW STYLE USING AN EXISTING LAYOUT
You can create a new style from the Manage Styles page (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/).
Using the 'Create a new style' box you will need to choose a name for your style and then press 'Create Style'. The page will then reload and your new style will appear in the 'Current Styles' box. To choose the base layout for your style, you will need to click the [Edit] link for your new style. On the 'Edit Style' page, you may choose the default language, and layout for your style.
Please note that you must click the 'Save Style' button before layout themes will appear.
SETTING A LAYOUT FOR A SINGLE GALLERY
It is possible to have a single gallery display in a layout other than your default layout. To do so you will need to have created a style with the layout you want to use. Information on creating a style using an existing layout can be found above.
To set a layout for a gallery you will need to go to the Manage Galleries page (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/gals). From there you will need to click on the name of the gallery with the layout you wish to change. You will then be taken to the manage page for that gallery. The last option on this page, the box labeled 'Advanced', allows you to select a style you have previously created as the gallery's layout.
Please note that it is not possible to change the layout of the 'Unsorted' Gallery, as this layout is not visible from the Main Galleries page.
DELETING A STYLE
To delete a style you have created you will need to visit the Your Styles page in the Advanced Customization center (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/advanced/). This can also be accessed by clicking the 'Advanced Customization' link on the Manage Styles page (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/). From this page you can delete any style you no longer wish to have.
USING THE ADVANCED CUSTOMIZATION PAGES / CREATING A CUSTOM STYLE OR LAYER
The Advanced Customization pages (http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/advanced/) are a more advanced version of the Manage Styles page. From them you can edit layers and create new styles from scratch. They work in the same way as the Advanced Customization center in the S2 Style System (http://www.livejournal.com/customize/advanced/styles.bml), as ScrapBook's style system is S2. Users that are not familiar with creating custom styles in the S2 Style System may feel more comfortable using the 'Manage Styles' page for everything but deleting styles. Users familiar with S2 and wanting to create their own ScrapBook custom styles may find the following resources useful:
Official documentation for ScrapBook: http://pics.livejournal.com/doc/
The ScrapBook manual: http://pics.livejournal.com/doc/manual/
Public system layers: http://pics.livejournal.com/manage/styles/advanced/layerbrowse
In addition, S2 resources such as FAQ#177- How do I create a custom S2 style?, and the Advanced Customization Area (http://www.livejournal.com/customize/advanced/) may be helpful.
FURTHER READING
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