Modify forumhome's header only?

[firewire]

I want to include a table with a menu on the left and the forum itself on the right, both under logo und navbar.

forumhome:
========================
| Logo Navbar
|
========================
| |
| Menu | vB without header-template
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
========================
| common footer
|
========================

This menu should only display on the forumhome, neither on thread displays nor subforum view.

I created a customheader forumhome_customheader which I tried to call in template forumhome (with "$customheader" instead of "$header"). This did not work at all, looked like the header template has not been read. The customheader was an exact copy of the normal header, just with a new table before the content table, calling menu and vB content table itself into two columns.

Is there any other way than creating a whole styleset just for the forum main page?

I hope I made my problem clear, thanks for your ideas and answers.

[fonzerelli_79]

alright

i think your asking something similar to what i have in my forums

see the attached image - at present i have this as an alternative style as my forums new and im trying to see what members prefer before i decide which one is the default

it isnt too difficult

if this is what you need let me know and ill do my best to help you out

cheers

[firewire]

Well yes and no
Have a look at http://www.dvdboard.de ; I have a menu on the left there which I want to be shown on the forumhome, too (but only there). Currently it's a frame and I am no longer happy with a frames solution.

I'd really like to avoid different style sets since I have to translate all templates (2 style sets is double work when there is a vBulletin update).

Thanks for your reply.

[fonzerelli_79]

im not suggestions you have two styles

what i meant was that i have the sstyle as above as default and a standard vb kind of look for anyone who doesnt want it

you could just have the one

is that what you were referring to?

[fonzerelli_79]

oh right - i think i know what you mean now - do you mean like a wrap around the forum

[firewire]

If possible, I'd love to have the menu on the same height as the forum table itself, so site logo, banner and navigation are displayed above the new menu on the left and the forum overview (content table) on the right.

Sorry, this is rather difficult to explain, maybe I should try to create an image.

Thanks again for your reply.

[fonzerelli_79]

no i think i know what you mean

so the vb forum would be pushed to the top of the page and aligned to the right

and the menu will stay on the left

[firewire]

Right

[fonzerelli_79]

right

im still learning php so this is probably where the super php guru can step in....waits...
youll have to link to the forums using a php includes
though im not sure what files you would include and how you would do it

a way to do it without php would be to add your left panel which is in html as part of the header

the footer would close the table which the header started

header would be something like

<table width="100%" border="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td align="left" width="160">
your menu goes here
</td>
<td align="right" width="700">
<!---use percent in width of table if you want--->
normal vbulletin header goes here


and the footer would be

normal vbulletin footer goes here
</td></tr></table>

youd have to play around with it though this should work

please correct me everyone if im wrong