.. _download__edit_and_update_a_theme:

Download and Update a Theme
---------------------------

.. _12.5(1)|VOSSUC-20692:
.. _18.1-Patch-Bundle-3|VOSS-346:


#. Choose the hierarchy level at which the theme will be applied. Note that
   themes can only be customized by a Provider Administrator (or higher).
#. Choose **Role Management > Themes** to open the **Themes** list view.
#. Click the theme that you want to download.
#. Click **Action > Download** on the button bar to download the theme. The exported
   file is a .zip archive with the name of the theme. The archive
   contains a folder with the theme name and files called skin.css and skin.less 
   in it.
#. Refer to the recommended practice to edit the Less file at the end of this 
   topic, otherwise save the file and open the CSS file in a text editor.

   * Headers are clearly marked and apply to design areas within the GUI.
   * Colors, sizes, fonts, images, and so on, can all be overwritten with the
     required formats.
   * Images must be identified with the correct file path name. Preferably,
     do not use '/' preceding the path name; rather use relative paths, in 
     other words a path relative to the CSS file location.
     For example, if your created an image sub-folder called 'img', use 
     'img/myimage.png'. After upload, the image should be viewable when 
     opening the URL: *http://<hostname>/www/themes/mytheme/img/myimage.png*
     
#. When editing is complete, make sure the directory folder name is the same as your
   theme name. Compress the folder and save the file with the theme name and a
   ``.zip`` file extension. 

   An error message will display on the user interface if the file does not have
   a valid file extension.
   
   Note that any files or folders inside the zip file archive that start with a '.'
   character will be silently discarded when unzipping the theme. For example,
   if the zip archive contains any files named ``._.DS_Store`` or ``.directory``,
   they will be ignored.
#. Choose **Role Management > Themes**:
   
   a. For an update, choose the theme name and click **Browse** adjacent to  
      **Import File** and then open the same theme name. Optionally select the
      **Backup Enabled** check box to create a backup of the current theme on the
      server. Click **Save** to complete the import process.

      If a theme update does not require an updated CSS in a zip file but only
      updates the text of the theme, then no file upload is required.
      For information about the other fields on this form, refer to :ref:`add_a_theme`.
   #. To delete a theme, choose it from the list and click **Action > Delete**.
   
The preferred way to edit a theme is to edit and compile the Less files.
Refer to the "Less files and Theme Customization" topic in the "Advanced Configuration Guide".

* All changes that are made directly in the CSS files will have to be manually
  carried over after each changes in the Less files.
* Edit the Less files and compile them to get the new CSS files.
* The aim with Less is that a theme can be customized with the minimum of technical knowledge
  (as with for example Twitter Bootstrap ``[http://getbootstrap.com/customize/>]``.

For an introduction to Less, visit the official website ``[http://lesscss.org/]``.
To compile the Less theme, a Less compiler is required. The following list shows examples:

* Online ``[http://lesscss.org/usage/index.html#online-less-compilers>]``
* on your desktop ``[http://lesscss.org/usage/index.html#guis-for-less]``
* IDE ``[http://lesscss.org/usage/index.html#editors-and-plugins]``


.. |VOSS-4-UC| replace:: VOSS-4-UC
.. |Unified CM| replace:: Unified CM