no setup option offered

[Stevie Puckett]

Hi there! I uploaded the zip folder of the stax theme, but no setup option was offered. Can’t figure out how to make sure the license code is in for the theme, but the license code for the plugin is there. The theme just doesn’t appear to be working right for me. SteviePuckett.com.

[David Morgan]

Hi Stevie,

Have you installed the theme on the domain before, or disabled the setup wizard?

It should automatically prompt the setup wizard upon a new installation of the theme. However, if it’s not prompting you may be able to access the wizard under Appearance > Theme Setup.

If that option isn’t showing, it’s likely the wizard was disabled at some point. In which case, you may need to reset the site in order to prompt the wizard, https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-reset/

We could also try running the wizard in dev mode to prompt the setup, but would need access to your WordPress admin.

Let us know if there is anything else.

Thanks!

[Stevie Puckett]

Oh yes, I have made a couple of passes at upgrading to Stax since I purchased it in November. I have disabled the setup wizard, likely.

Thanks for suggesting the reset plugin, but it is not allowed on WP.com, even at the business level. I will keep it in mind if I return to self-hosted.

Do you have any advice for me? I’ve been using Portfolio Theme, Natural Theme, and Builder Widgets for a couple of years now and thought switching to Stax would be a cinch.

I don’t understand when to go into the FSE and when to do work on the pages directly. Changes I do make in the FSE sure are ugly. I can’t get the blog page to look how I want it to either.

Also, I thought there would be full-site color and font combos and layout options within Stax. Not sure how I am missing those. In Twenty Twenty-Three, there are easily found in the Styles in the FSE.

On my Stax install, even in the patterns choices, if I “explore all” the Stax options, just say, for example, layout 4 or layout 5 with no image coming up, only a title for the pattern.

Thanks!

[David Morgan]

Hi Stevie,

No problem. I have a few suggestions, and will try to help as much as possible.

First, regarding the theme setup wizard, if you’re a WordPress.com Business subscriber, you should be able to edit code within the theme file editor. You can learn more here, https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/editing-files/#using-the-theme-file-editor-and-plugin-file-editor

Once you have access to the theme file editor, navigate to the “merlin-config.php” file within the “inc” folder. On line 25 of the file, you will see the following code:

'dev_mode' => false, // Enable development mode for testing.

Change the code to this:

'dev_mode' => true, // Enable development mode for testing.

Save the changes.

That should re-enable the setup wizard, and you should then be able to access the wizard by navigating to Appearance > Theme Setup within the dashboard.

Regarding using STAX and editing files, I’ll try to explain some of the concepts and how it differs from editing classic themes. Also, STAX is an evolving theme, much like the WordPress Site Editor, and we are continually making updates to the theme in order to improve the user experience. It’s undergone some other major updates over the past couple weeks.

As a general rule of thumb, the Site Editor (FSE) is intended to be used for global site-wide design changes, while the classic editor is meant for adding and managing content for individual pages and posts.

For instance, you may use the FSE for changing the layout of the header, menu items, colors, fonts, borders, etc. When making these kind of changes, it help to familiarize yourself with all the options of the Group and Columns blocks, and have an understanding of nested blocks. Also, using dimension settings like padding and margins will help with spacing. When I’m using the editor, I usually have the “List View” toggled on, and the style options for any block that I’m editing, see attached screenshot.

While the FSE editor doesn’t require any code, it’s very helpful to have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS, and how containers (like the Group and Columns blocks) are used when structuring the layout of a template. Additionally, it helps to have a basic understanding of the WordPress template hierarchy. Meaning, WordPress features different layouts for different types of content. For instance, the “Index” template displays the blog layout, the “Single” template refers to the structure of individual posts. Here is a link that may help with understanding the template hierarchy, https://wpengine.com/builders/block-theme-templates/

Also, the global style changes for fonts and colors are located in a separate style tab within the FSE (the circular icon that is half black and half white). See attached screenshot for reference.

Regarding the patterns, STAX categorizes the patterns based on their type. In some cases, the patterns may take a moment to load, but they should be visible. See attached screenshot. Also, we have recently updated all patterns in a theme update.

I hope this helps. Basically, using the FSE and block themes takes some getting used to because it’s so different from classic themes, but when it all “clicks” it starts to make much more sense. Let us know if there is anything else.

Thanks!

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[Stevie Puckett]

This is the info I needed, David! Thank you.

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