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Drupal 6.x Sub-Theming

Drupal 6.x Sub-Theme Development Troubleshooting Checklist

The Drupal Sub-Theme system is a welcome addition to the Drupal system. There are a few gotchas that can trip up the unwary. Here's a quick troubleshooting list to check when you are creating a sub-theme based on an existing Drupal theme.

  1. Disable Drupal's CSS and JavaScript caching in your site's admin settings/performance page: example.com/admin/settings/performance
  2. Be sure to define at least one style sheet in your .info file. Base theme style sheets are not inherited unless you define at least one style sheet for your sub-theme
  3. Avoid Frustration: Some changes won't take effect right away. Rebuild the Drupal theme cache by visiting your site's admin/build/themes page (hit the browser reload button just to be certain!)
  4. White Screen Of Death?: If you override one of the base theme's template files, then later delete it, you may fall victim to the dreaded WSOD, and will be unable to access the site. Solution: the theme cache may need to be cleared.
    • If you can't access your site due to a WSOD, use a SQL query to delete the theme cache entry from the {cache} table: delete from cache where cid like 'theme_registry%'; then reload your site's page. For more information, see Clearing the Theme Cache.
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