Troubleshooting

Most Themer issues are permissions, wrong CSS file, cache, or editing compiled Helix CSS instead of custom.css. Work through this page before email, and say whether you are on export-only or live write.

Styles panel missing on the frontend

Confirm System - RCA Themer is enabled under System, Plugins. Confirm you are logged in on the frontend as Super User, not only in administrator. Clear Joomla and browser cache. If Require ?rca_themer=1 is Yes, confirm the URL includes rca_themer=1. Confirm you are on a normal page load, not a bare error document.

Edits do not stick after export and paste

You probably pasted into the wrong file, or Helix or builder CSS still wins the cascade. Put overrides in custom.css, confirm custom.css loads after compiled sheets, clear Joomla cache, and hard-refresh. Export does not write disk by itself unless live write is enabled and armed.

Live write refused or failed

Confirm Allow live write is Yes in plugin options, Custom CSS file is selected, Write secret is set and matches what the panel expects, you reloaded for a fresh CSRF token, and the target stylesheet is same-origin. Cross-origin targets will refuse write by design.

Helix update wiped my colors

You edited compiled template.css or stock preset files. Restore from backup or css/_themer_bak/ if live write left a copy, move overrides into custom.css, and stop treating compiled sheets as durable brand storage.

Lab export looks right but live site does not

The lab at https://recreatinganew.com/themer uses fixtures; live templates differ. Inspect live selectors with the plugin or browser DevTools, confirm you pasted the full export, and confirm no second custom.css or child override conflicts.

Panel loads twice or behaves oddly

Remove leftover HTML kit inject snippets if you used that edge path. Confirm only one Themer plugin instance is installed and enabled.