Title: .css and .php Viewers
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# .css and .php Viewers

 *  [ack754](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ack754/)
 * (@ack754)
 * [15 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/css-and-php-viewers/)
 * I think I have the right forum.
 * I know .css and .php about as much as I know brain surgery. Ya just gotta open
   them up!
 * And, that’s where I stop.
 * I was taught to use Notepad when editing (or creating) with .css or .php.
 * OK, so how do I view my masterpiece? Is there a ‘Viewer’ out there somewhere?
 * I have played around in the style.css sheet (from a clean copy of a clean copy
   so I’ll always have a good BU) doing minor changes to see what happens where.
 * As soon as I see what I have done I undo what I did so the Theme will remain 
   the same.
 * But I’d like to be able to work around a bit, view it, work some more, save it,
   go back later… You get the picture.
 * Any way to view it?
 * Dale
 * [http://tatu54.com/wordpress/](http://tatu54.com/wordpress/)

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Moderator [Kathryn Presner](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zoonini/)
 * (@zoonini)
 * [15 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/css-and-php-viewers/#post-2037584)
 * > OK, so how do I view my masterpiece? Is there a ‘Viewer’ out there somewhere?
 * Yes, it’s called a web browser. 😉
 * The catch is that WordPress is database-driven, and puts together the pages on
   your site by connecting your theme files with stuff in the database (I’m simplifying
   greatly here, of course) so to view everything locally on your own machine – 
   without having to upload it to your web server first – you need to actually set
   up a web server and database on your own computer. Otherwise, you’ll need to 
   FTP your CSS & PHP files to the server and _then_ view the site in a browser.
 * Setting up a local web server varies depending what you’re running (PC, Mac, 
   etc.). If you’re interested in setting that up, let us know what kind of system
   you’re running and we can point you to some tutorials.
 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [15 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/css-and-php-viewers/#post-2037587)
 * ‘ello 🙂
 * If you’re really serious about theme tinkering, then the proper way to do this
   is to [install a copy of WordPress locally](http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Installation_Techniques#Installing_WordPress_Locally).
   I actually use EasyPhp to run a local server as I find it to be the easiest and
   quickest to set up:
    [http://www.easyphp.org/](http://www.easyphp.org/)
 * Let me know if you want to go ahead with this and I’ll pass on some installation
   tips (and, yes, I will write them up properly one of these days).
 * Alternatively, you could use the [Theme Test Drive plugin](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/theme-test-drive/)
   and work on a copy of your theme online.
 *  Thread Starter [ack754](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ack754/)
 * (@ack754)
 * [15 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/css-and-php-viewers/#post-2037766)
 * Zoo>> Thanks for the info.
 * Here’s some Specs
 * Win Vista (fully updated)
    64 Bit 6Gigs Ram Something like a thousand Gigs of
   HD space. IE 8 (only Browser. Yah, I need to get Fox and Chrome)
 * What else?
 * ESMI>> Thank you!
    You said: **Let me know if you want to go ahead with this 
   and I’ll pass on some installation tips (and, yes, I will write them up properly
   one of these days).**
 * Yep, pass them on!
 * Thanks,
 * D.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘.css and .php Viewers’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [edit](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/edit/)
 * [view](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/view/)
 * [work](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/work/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 3 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [ack754](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ack754/)
 * Last activity: [15 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/css-and-php-viewers/#post-2037766)
 * Status: not resolved

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