# TWiki Skins _Skins overlay regular templates with alternate header/footer layouts; topic text is not affected_ ## Overview Skins are customized [[TWikiTemplates]] files. You can use skins to change the look of a %WIKITOOLNAME% topic, for example, the layout of the header and footer. Rendered text between header and footer does **_not_** change. You can also use skins to define an alternate view, like a view optimized for printing. ## Defining Skins Skin files are located in the `twiki/templates` directory and are named with the syntax: **<scriptname>.<skin>.tmpl**. For example, the **Printable** skin for the `view` template is `view.print.tmpl`. ## Activating Skins A skin can be activated in two ways: - Define the `SKIN` Preference variable in [[TWikiPreferences]], one of the [[WebPreferences]], or in a user - Main.admin - topic. - `Set SKIN = print` - Add `?skin=name` to the URL, for this example: - (for the print view skin) - (for the plain view skin that has no header and footer) The **?skin=name** URL parameter overrides the SKIN Preference value. -- [[PeterThoeny]] - 14 Jul 2001