perc_decoration.css !important fixed grid breaks responsive themes in editor/preview (8.1.7)

[natechadwick-intsof]

Summary

8.1.7 changed WebUI/war/css/perc_decoration.css so CMS editor (and often preview) force the legacy fixed region grid with !important:

.vspan_2 { height : 120px !important; min-height: 0 !important; }
/* … vspan_4/6/8 … */
.hspan_2  { width : 160px !important; }
/* … including .hspan_12 { width : 960px !important; } … */

Intent: win over default theme.css min-height after the #757 footer fix so editor placeholders/footer stay put.

Regression: Most customers use responsive themes that set:

.vspan_* { height: auto }
.hspan_* { width: auto }

Decoration loads with the theme in editor/preview, so product !important overrides those rules. Published often stays fine (no decoration on live HTML); editor + preview look broken (clipped header regions, forced ~960px width, wrong layout).

A more correct fix would likely have used auto (or non-forcing) region sizing in decoration rather than hard-locking the old Percussion pixel grid with !important. Most sites are not on the stock fixed grid anymore.

Customer confirmation

• https://www.cloud.edu/ (Cloud County Community College)
• Theme Cloud-County-CC/cccc-theme.css uses height: auto / width: auto on all vspan/hspan classes
• Post-8.1.7: editor + preview broken; published OK
• Confirmed fix: theme counter-override with height/width: auto !important restoring responsive regions in CMS chrome

Proposed fix (8.1.x / this repo)

1. Revisit perc_decoration.css region rules: remove !important fixed pixel grid, or switch to auto / placeholder-only sizing that does not fight responsive themes.
2. Keep published #757 behavior for default theme if still required (min-height growth)—do not require every customer theme to absorb the editor pixel grid.
3. Ship release note + short support snippet for sites already on 8.1.7+ until a patch lands.
4. Test: responsive theme with span auto — editor/preview match published layout intent.

Acceptance criteria

• Responsive auto themes no longer need a customer !important override to look correct in editor/preview
• Default-theme published footer/#757 behavior re-checked
• Patch note for 8.1.7+ line

Related

• Historical: #757, PRs #763 / #767 / #864 / #923 (decoration !important)
• Sister issue (main / 8.2 line): perc_decoration.css !important fixed grid breaks responsive themes in editor/preview (8.1.7) percussioncms#2352

[vijaya-boddipudi]

QA results (2026-08-26)

• QA: Pass (with N/A noted below)
• Environment: http://localhost:9992 (8.1.x classic UI)
• Role: Admin

Test plan followed (from PR #27 manual QA checklist + issue acceptance)

#	Check	Result
1	Served perc_decoration.css: .vspan_* { height: auto } — no !important fixed 120/240/360/480px; no .hspan_* width rules	Pass
2	Default theme.css still owns GH-757 min-height floors (vspan_2 120px) and hspan_12 960px	Pass
3	Patch / support note for 8.1.7+ (CHANGES.md → issue #2)	Pass
4	Admin login; open site page in Editor	Pass
5	Editor iframe cascade: decoration link before site theme	Pass (/Rhythmyx/cm/css/perc_decoration.css then /Rhythmyx/web_resources/themes/percussion/theme.css)
6	Default-theme editor: .hspan_12 computes 960px from theme (not decoration !important)	Pass
7	Preview/render same cascade + default widths	Pass
8	Cloud-style responsive (height/width: auto) theme in editor/preview	N/A — no responsive auto customer theme installed on this CMS

Notes

• Requested URL /cm/app/explorer 404s on this 8.1 instance (SPA explorer is 8.2). Validated via classic /cm/app/ dashboard → Navigation → Editor for /Sites/testsite/index.html.
• Product fix from merged PR fix(WebUI): decoration grid no longer stomps responsive themes (#2) #27 is live in served CSS; root cause (decoration stomping responsive themes with !important fixed grid) is addressed. Responsive visual matrix needs a customer/auto theme fixture if full UI retest of that path is required.
• No separate qa task label on this issue; results posted here.

Evidence files

[vijaya-boddipudi]

Need to re-validate this issue