# 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