FAQ: Can I change how the forum looks ?

There are six different "skins" that have been created allowing you to quickly change the look of the forum. More will be added as time permits.

You can change skins by adjusting the "Forum Skin" setting in the "Miscellaneous Options" section of the "Edit Options" page in your Control Panel.

You can preview the skins available by clicking on the links provided for each skin below, but be aware that the forum will remember your choice for the themainder of the session (this is so you can go and see how other parts of the forum look while previewing), so either finish up by previewing your preferred skin, or go and re-select your option through the control panel.

The skins available are:

1. Somersoft Default this is the skin that is set by default for everyone. It has all the graphics and the default colour scheme, and includes some random photos from the photo gallery on the main forum page. This skin is optimised for browsers at 800x600 screen resolution and above - but the width of the forum stays the same no matter how high the resolution. This can help with readability by keeping the width of text in posts to a reasonable size.
2. Somersoft Default minus photos this is the same skin as Somersoft Default except that the photo gallery photos are removed from the main page. This can help speed up access to the forum for people on dialup links.
3. Somersoft Wide (1024x768 and above) this is the same skin as Somersoft Default except that the width of the forum is set to use more of the page at higher resolutions. This skin is optimised for 1024x768 resolution and higher and is ideal for those people who like to use the entire width of the screen to view posts. The width of the forum view will adjust dynamically as the browser is resized or resolution changes. This skin is not recommended for people running at a resolution of 800x600 - use the Somersoft Default skin instead.
4. Somersoft Wide minus photos this is the same skin as Somersoft Wide (1024x768 and above) except that the photo gallery photos are removed from the main page. This can help speed up access to the forum for people on dialup links.
5. Somersoft Plain this is the same skin as Somersoft Default except that the colour scheme and graphics settings have been changed to make the look much more minimalistic. The Somersoft Forums logo has been removed from the top of the page and the colours used to display the forum have been toned down and made less vivid. Avatars will not show on forum posts, but attachments still will by default. If you do not wish to see attachments or inline images you can turn this off in your control panel options as well. These settings will not affect how the photo gallery works or looks. This skin is ideal for those on slow dialup links who want to minimise the amount of graphics being displayed, or for those who want a less conspicuous looking site. This skin is optimised for 800x600 screen resolutions.
6. Somersoft Plain Wide this is the same skin as Somersoft Plain except that the width of the forum is set to use more of the page at higher resolutions. This skin is optimised for 1024x768 resolution and higher and is ideal for those people who like to use the entire width of the screen to view posts while minimising the amount of graphics being shown or maintaining a less conspicious looking site. The width of the forum view will adjust dynamically as the browser is resized or resolution changes. This skin is not recommended for people running at a resolution of 800x600 - use the Somersoft Plain skin instead.