> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.curator.interworks.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Curator Styles

> Customize the visual appearance of your Curator portal with built-in styling options and theme configurations.

Curator allows controls related to your site design across all content types, however having a central place to modify
styles that will impact every page your user visits allows you to create a standard and consistent brand.  The live
preview makes this even easier, allowing you to change the configuration of options in the Curator Styles section while
previewing those changes (across device sizes too).  It's best to look through all of the options, and toggle each
selection on or off.  Deleting any content that is input into a text box will revert it back to the default setting.
Feel free to play around and revisit your design as much as you'd like!

## Creating a new Theme

1. Login to the backend of your Curator instance (e.g. `http://curatorexample.com/backend`).
2. Navigate to:
   * **Settings** > **Curator** > **Theme** section from the left-hand menu. Select the Theme you'd like to update.
   * *Pre 2022-11-30:* **Settings** > **Curator** > **Portal Settings** section from the left-hand menu.
3. Click through each tab, expand the sections on the left-hand navigation to see more advanced styling options.
   Changing the the selections will update the live preview on the screen and will show the pending changes.
4. Once you have configured your theme the way you would like, click "Save" to apply your changes to this Theme.

## Applying a Theme to your Site

This feature is only available for Curator instances running 2022-11-30 and above.

1. Login to the backend of your Curator instance (e.g. `http://curatorexample.com/backend`).
2. Navigate to **Settings** > **Curator** > **Portal Settings** section from the left-hand menu.
3. On the "General" tab, use the "Global Theme" dropdown to change the theme applied to your Curator site.  If you would
   like to apply your Theme to a specific group of users, see the
   [Group Override instructions](/site_content_design/theme/group_overrides).
4. Click "Save" to apply your changes.

## Defaults when Using Multiple Themes

When you create a new theme, its fields start **blank** rather than pre-filled with Curator's out-of-the-box values, and
**Use Global Theme for Defaults** is enabled automatically. This means a brand-new theme inherits the look of your
Global Theme from the start — you only need to fill in the specific fields you want to change, instead of clearing every
field first.

Any field you leave blank (an empty text input, no color selected, or the "Default" dropdown option) is resolved when
the page is rendered — the inherited value is not copied into the form controls, so blank fields stay blank in the
backend. A blank field resolves in one of two ways:

* If **Use Global Theme for Defaults** is enabled (the default for new themes) and the theme is not itself the Global
  Theme, the blank field inherits the matching value from your Global Theme (chosen in **Settings** > **Curator** >
  **Portal Settings**).
* Otherwise, the blank field falls back to Curator's built-in out-of-the-box default.

This is particularly useful if you have [Group Overrides](/site_content_design/theme/group_overrides) that need to use
themes that look exactly like the Global Theme with just a few minor changes. You can switch **Use Global Theme for
Defaults** on or off in any theme that isn't the Global Theme.

The Global Theme itself cannot inherit from another theme, so its own blank fields always use Curator's built-in
defaults.

## Custom Styles (CSS / HTML Inserts)

Curator supports injecting custom CSS and HTML into your site through the theme settings. For step-by-step
instructions on enabling and using custom styles, see the [Custom Styles](/site_content_design/theme/custom_styles)
page.