Next Experience Academy Session #6: Introducing Theme Builder

Ashley Snyder · ‎01-23-2023

Q: Is there a place where all of our theming hooks are available?
A: We have plans for a customer facing repository for this. We previously had a site that was up but we needed to be taken offline, and we will replace a customer facing repository shortly. Fun fact, there about 1250+ component level hooks available.

Q: What kind of elements are the neutral color variables used for?
A: Their main purpose is a source for other colors that are produced by theming engine and applied to the workspace, they may not be as obvious to see the specific color but behind the schemes the theme engine is deriving css variables and hooks that are used throughout the workspace.

Q: How are the derived colors calculated?
A: We have a proprietary algorithm that we use to calculate the derived colors. The algorithm can detect whether colors are light or dark (i.e. dark mode) and derive colors based on that. See the Theme Engine Q&A section in the recording for more information.

Q: Which release is Theme Builder available for?
A: Theme Builder is a Store application that will be released in February 2023 and is available for Utah+.

Q: Can Theme Builder be installed on a PDI?
A: Yes, it is a platform feature and is no extra fee.

Q: If a theme is created in Theme Builder in Utah, can be be exported to a Tokyo/San Diego instance?
A: Technically, yes. But admins should perform testing and verification to ensure the theme works properly. There have been some hook changes between family versions.

Q: Can custom fonts be added into Theme Builder?
A: The Theming Engine does support custom fonts, there are some limitations. The fonts that have been implemented have been tested to scale as expected and supported. See the Theme Builder Q&A section of the recording for more information. You'll want to ensure you do thorough testing in a sub-production instance and that you have licensing for the font. In Theme Builder, we've only exposed the fonts we know will work well, but you can add a font do the theme record itself.

Q: Will you be able to clone a theme as a starting point in Theme Builder, i.e. such as starting from system dark mode and modifying from there.
A: Not at the moment, but you can quickly re-implement the colors, and other attributes you've set up. As of V1 of Theme Builder support for dark mode variants is not yet supported and is currently in development.

Q: How can I theme individual workspaces?
A: Configurable Workspaces will inherit the theme that is applied to Next Experience UI, as they are wrapped under the Next Experience UI shell. You can use the applicability field and audiences on style records in a theme in order to show different colors to audiences such as roles. For example, a user with asset roles can see different colors versus a user who only has cmdb roles. See the Theme Builder Q&A section in the recording for more information.

Q: Will themes be retained in clones?
A: V1 Theme Builder does not preserve themes in clones, but admins can set up data preservers to do so. See this article for more information. We do have roadmap items to expose and manage instances.

Q: How do we get the coloring and themes to show in the user preferences panel?
A: In V1 of Theme Builder, we're only creating core styles and a theme without variants for your entire instance. We do not yet support creating variants in V1 Theme Builder, but you can create a variant style record and apply the changes you need that are not in the core theme as a variant style record. See the Theme Builder Q&A section in the recording for more information.

Q: Does Theme Builder apply themes to custom or portal experiences?
A: At the moment, V1 Theme Builder only applies to Next Experience UI and the Configurable Workspaces that are wrapped within that. We do have roadmap items for portals and for Theme Builder to be the central theming hub for other applications.

Q: I don't see dark mode applied to Classic Environment lists and forms in Tokyo.
A: There is a system property administrators can enable, but it is advised to ensure that dark mode for lists and forms does not have a negative impact to users in Tokyo. A more full featured dark mode is being released in Utah.

Q: Can you order the variants that show up in the user preferences panel?
A: Not at the moment, but we are taking this into consideration as an enhancement.

Paul Curwen · ‎01-24-2023

Looks very nice looking forward to using it. Thanks for getting this done.

***If Correct/Helpful please take time mark as Correct/Helpful. It is much appreciated.***

Regards

Paul

Phil A · ‎02-20-2023

@Ashley Snyder, just watched this on replay and it is great. I have installed the 'theme builder' app in a Utah sub-prod. Is it restricted to 'admin' role only as I some content / UX designers taking an interest in it?

Todd Preece · ‎03-22-2023

Loving this new tool but found one oddity at times.. when selecting a color, the preview (in theme builder) looks like I'd expect but when going to the actual workspace/page/record (outside of theme builder) the color is different.

c_d_mitchell · ‎06-07-2023

How do you change the background color of the navigation? Client is not wanting white.

Next Experience Academy Session #6: Introducing Theme Builder

Next Experience Academy

Join us for our series of live sessions focused on Next Experience topics such as the Next Experience UI, UI Builder, Configurable Workspaces, Components, etc.

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