Hello,

I'd like to set up slave sites to be able to install templates independently of the master site. I do not see any documentation as to how to configure JMS to do so.

It seems images and media on a given slave site can be managed independently of the master site (separate, non-symlink folder). Why can't site templates be installed independently of the master site when the slave site does not share a database with any other site? (master, slave or otherwise)

Summary: I want to install a given template into the templates folder (non-symlink) of a given slave site (with its own database, not shared) and have the template and template style added to the slave database.

Why? Because I want to install duplicate templates (or allow others to) on slave sites and be able to edit css, files, styles, etc locally within the templates file of the slave site irrespective of the master site.

Also:

Can I override JMS with regard to template installations by copying a given template into the slave site's templates folder, using the Joomla 'discover' function to 'install' the template and then adding a theme entry for the template into the template_styles table of the Joomla slave database?

If so, are you *positive* this does not cause some unseen issue within JMS (...asking you because you're the 'JMS expert'). Is there an easier way?

See the tutorial video CP-05 that show how to create slave site with specific "/templates" directory.
www.jms2win.com/en/tutorial#jms12x-CP-05

You have to setup the JMS template rule with "templates" action = "special copy" or "copy" AND the "templates folder" = {deploy_dir}/templates

The "discover" function that exists in Joomla 2.5 can be used to install templates into a slave site based on the one present in the master.
In Joomla 1.5, this is not required as joomla automatically detect templates present in the /templates directory. That were modified in Joomla 1.6 or higher that now require a "discover" manual action.

So if you want to be able install specific joomla template directly from a slave site, apply the procedure shown in tutorial video CP-05.

It should have been clear from my question posited that I've created a slave site with the 'templates', 'images' and 'media' folders as outlined by the instructional video:

As per the instructions, the above folders are set as follows:

{deploy_dir}/templates
{rel_site_dir}/images
{rel_site_dir}/media

Yet my templates (from the slave site) are still being installed in the master site's 'templates' folder. I want my templates to install to the *local* templates folder of my slave site. Why aren't they being installed there? (eg. public_html/multisites/slave1/templates/)

The parameter {deploy_dir}/templates allows the slave site installing its own templates.

This create a physical "/templates" directory where the content is either a copy or symbolic link to the website that is used as template.
This depends on the "action" that you have associated to the "/templates" directory.
When using the action = "copy", you get a copy.
If you use the action = "special copy", you get symbolic links.

Becarefull that once a website is createf and that the directory structure is created, JMS will NOT change the ways that the "/templates" directory was created the first time.

If you want to modify the way that a "/templates" directory is created, you have to deleted it manually before re-applying the slave site definition.

Sure, I assumed as much.

After creating the slave site, with the templates directory as a physical folder - I always confirm not a symlink, {deploy_dir}/templates - I cannot install a new, original template (never installed on the master site) onto the slave site. Why not?

I get a 'template installed successfully' message when attempting to install a new template on the slave site, but I don't see the template or it's associated database associated table entries (_extensions, _template_style).

Is this supported with JMS?