This page mostly refers to b2evolution 0.x

b2evolution comes with a number of "evoskins" in the default installation package. They can be found in the /blogs/skins directory. Each folder (custom, basic, bluesky, etc.) is a separate skin which can be applied to your existing blog to change its appearance.

Two ways to change skins

In many of the skins, when you are viewing your blog normally (not in the backoffice), there is a section where you can switch your skin. It’s usually in the sidebar. Simply select the skin you want and apply the change. The skin you choose will be stored in a cookie and should remain until you change your selection in the future.

You can also set the default skin for your blog(s) in backoffice on the Collections Tab. Choose the blog you want to apply a default skin to and find the "Default skin" option. The list of skins is automatically populated by the skins in your /skins directory. Therefore, if you install more evoskins they should automatically appear in your list.

If you don’t want people to be able to switch skins when they view your site you can turn off the ability to switch skins in the same section of the backoffice. This will automatically remove the "Choose your skin" section from the sidebar of your blog.

In order for your skin to automatically remove the "Choose your skin" section from the sidebar of your blog you need to be using a skin with this functionality. Some older skins have not been upgraded in this way. In order to upgrade your skin you can make a simple change in the _main.php file in your skin’s folder.

Where your not-upgraded skin says (in skins/skinname/_main.php) something like:

<div class="bSideItem">
<h3><?php echo T_('Choose skin') ?></h3>
<ul><br>
<?php // ------------------------------- START OF SKIN LIST -------------------------------
for( skin_list_start(); skin_list_next(); ) { ?>
<li><a href="<?php skin_change_url() ?>"><?php skin_list_iteminfo( 'name', 'htmlbody' ) ?></a></li>
<?php } // ------------------------------ END OF SKIN LIST ------------------------------ ?>
</ul><br>
</div>

Change it to say:

<?php if( ! $Blog->get('force_skin') )
{ // Skin switching is allowed for this blog: ?>
<div class="bSideItem">
<h3><?php echo T_('Choose skin') ?></h3>
<ul><br>
<?php // ------------------------------- START OF SKIN LIST -------------------------------
for( skin_list_start(); skin_list_next(); ) { ?>
<li><a href="<?php skin_change_url() ?>"><?php skin_list_iteminfo( 'name', 'htmlbody' ) ?></a></li>
<?php } // ------------------------------ END OF SKIN LIST ------------------------------ ?>
</ul>
</div>
<?php } ?>

Please note that you may not be able to copy/paste from this format to your _main.php file due to some of the restrictions for adding code here. Best bet is to find the skin switching portion of your skin’s _main.php file and type in the extra stuff you see here.

Where can I find more skins for my site?

b2evolution has a Skins Repository where you can find a number of skins made to work with the various versions of b2evolution. You can download and install as many skins as you want for your site. It is also safe to delete skins you do not want on your server.

How do I install a new skin?

To install a skin that you have downloaded or created simply copy the files into a subfolder of the /skins directory. For example, if you downloaded the "Clean" skin, you would upload the Clean folder to your /skins directory. After you’re done you should have a /skins/clean directory. Your new skin will now show up as one of the skin choices on your site.

How can I change the way a skin looks?

Check the section "Customize your blog" for information about editing evoskins.