This has to be one my favorite things when building a child theme with the Genesis Framework. The process is simple.

We first want to make sure we create a blank file to use as our template. Open up your favorite text editor and lets just start with a blank page. I always name my file at this step just so I don’t lose track what I am doing (if you are creating a template to overwrite one the default files make sure you name it so; for example: index.php, single.php page.php, ect.).

Next, in our blank canvas, include the template header. This is no different from creating a custom template for any other WordPress theme.
Drop the following code at the top of your file. This name will show what is in the drop down for templates.

<?php /* 
Template Name: Template Name Here
*/ ?> 

This is where things change. Normally you will begin to include the header get_header(); but, instead the template file in genesis acts much like functions.php: Using hooks and custom function we can change the output of the template file. For example, if this template was to only query a custom post type you have set, you can use the genesis_loop hook to add your own custom loop.

<?php
remove_action('genesis_loop', 'genesis_do_loop');
/**
 * Example function that replaces the default loop
 * with a custom loop querying 'PostType' CPT.
*/
add_action('genesis_loop', 'gt_custom_loop');
function gt_custom_loop() {
global $paged;

    $args = array('post_type' => 'PostType');
    // Accepts WP_Query args 
    // (http://codex.wordpress.org/Class_Reference/WP_Query)
    genesis_custom_loop( $args );

}
?>

Since this function is only present in this template it will only be called on a page using the custom template.

Finally, we end the file with a function from genesis that calls in the rest of the template.

<?php genesis(); ?>

*note – This function is only available for child themes running off genesis v1.3 for earlier versions. use require_once(PARENT_DIR. '/index.php'); . However, it is highly recommended you upgrade to the latest version.

Save the file and push it up to your theme directory. Create or find the page you were wishing to use it on and select your template from the drop down of available templates. Once you publish your page you should see your custom template in action. Simple as that.

Recommended way: custom-template.php

The positive of creating custom templates this way is the amount of code. No need pulling in any the structural divs or default functions you would want to use. It is all included within genesis();. The other advantage of this method is you future proof your template file.

I know understanding hooks can be a little complicated so, I have included a template file that is the actual structure containing the main genesis hooks in their place. You may use this template to build templates, though it is not recommended. Think of it more as a learning tool.
Non-recommended way: custom-template-alt.php

So was browsing twitter today and saw this http://twitter.com/bpmore/status/20822795914

Is it possible to define presets for #GenesisWP so that when I add new sites, I don’t have to check/uncheck various settings?

It sure is!

drop this function in your child theme’s function.php

add_filter('genesis_options', 'define_genesis_setting_custom', 10, 2);
function define_genesis_setting_custom($options, $setting) {
	if($setting == GENESIS_SETTINGS_FIELD) {
		$options['nav_type'] = 'categories';
	}
	return $options;
}

The code above will set the main navigation to use categories instead of pages ( as set by default in genesis options. )
['nav_type'] is the option want to set and 'categories' is the value.

Genesis is a great framework and has some even greater settings and options. However, it may not always be the best idea for the options to be available for a client. Sometimes to many options may be overwhelming or curiosity may strike and experimentation begin.

With this code you can set all the default values for the Genesis options and hide the menu to access them. This is great for those curious clients that love checking and unchecking boxes or not having to worry about supporting multiple layouts. Hiding the extra options and setting the default values allows your site to be kept the way you set it up to be and helps decrease the chance of an email saying that something has broken on the site (by the client messing with options; can’t promise keeping your code from breaking).

*tip – Besides defining the options to just keep clients from changing things around, this filter is also very helpful for batch genesis site making. Quickly set options for themes by just dropping your predefined options into each your child theme’s function.php.

Define Default Options

The code below is to set all the options within Genesis Settings. Each option in the list below is using the default values.

// Define Genesis Options
add_filter('genesis_options', 'define_genesis_setting_custom', 10, 2);
function define_genesis_setting_custom($options, $setting) {
	if($setting == GENESIS_SETTINGS_FIELD) {
		$options['update'] = 1;
		$options['blog_title'] = 'text';
		$options['header_right'] = 0;
		$options['site_layout'] = 'content-sidebar';
		$options['nav'] = 1;
		$options['nav_superfish'] = 1;
		$options['nav_home'] = 1;
		$options['nav_type'] = 'pages';
		$options['nav_pages_sort'] = 'menu_order';
		$options['nav_categories_sort'] = 'name';
		$options['nav_depth'] = 0;
		$options['nav_extras_enable'] = 0;
		$options['nav_extras'] = 'date';
		$options['nav_extras_twitter_id'] = '';
		$options['nav_extras_twitter_text'] = 'Follow me on Twitter';
		$options['subnav'] = 0;
		$options['subnav_superfish'] = 1;
		$options['subnav_home'] = 0;
		$options['subnav_type'] = 'categories';
		$options['subnav_pages_sort'] = 'menu_order';
		$options['subnav_categories_sort'] = 'name';
		$options['subnav_depth'] = 0;
		$options['feed_uri'] = '';
		$options['comments_feed_uri'] = '';
		$options['redirect_feeds'] = 0;
		$options['comments_pages'] = 0;
		$options['comments_posts'] = 1;
		$options['trackbacks_pages'] = 0;
		$options['trackbacks_posts'] = 1;
		$options['author_box_single'] = 1;
		$options['breadcrumb_home'] = 1;
		$options['breadcrumb_single'] = 1;
		$options['breadcrumb_page'] = 1;
		$options['breadcrumb_archive'] = 1;
		$options['breadcrumb_404'] = 1;
		$options['content_archive'] = 'full';
		$options['content_archive_thumbnail'] = 0;
		$options['posts_nav'] = 'older-newer';
		$options['blog_cat'] = '';
		$options['blog_cat_exclude'] = '';
		$options['blog_cat_num'] = 10;
		$options['header_scripts'] = '';
		$options['footer_scripts'] = '';
		$options['theme_version'] = PARENT_THEME_VERSION;
		}
	return $options;
}

View available values for each option click here (a box will appear below listing each).

['update']  
     1 = Enable Automatic Updates, 
     0 = Off
['blog_title'] 
     text = Dynamic Text,  
     image = Image Logo
['header_right'] 
     1 = Widgetize Right Side of Header, 
     0 = no
['site_layout'] 
     content-sidebar,
     sidebar-content,
     content-sidebar-sidebar,
     sidebar-sidebar-content,
     sidebar-content-sidebar, 
     full-width-content
['nav'] 
     1 = Include Primary Navigation Menu,
     0 = No
['nav_superfish'] 
     1 = Enable Fancy Dropdowns,
     0 = Disable
['nav_home'] 
     1 = Display Home Link,
     0 = no
['nav_type'] 
     pages = List of Pages, 
     categories = List of Categories, 
     nav-menu = Custom Nav Menu
['nav_pages_sort'] 
     menu_order = Menu Order, 
     post_title = Title, 
     ID = ID, 
     post_date = Date Created,
     post_modified = Date Modified,
     post_author = Author, 
     post_name = Slug
['nav_categories_sort']
     menu_order = Menu Order, 
     post_title = Title, 
     ID = ID, 
     post_date = Date Created,
     post_modified = Date Modified,
     post_author = Author, 
     post_name = Slug
['nav_depth'] 
     0 = No Limit,
     1
     2
     3
     4
['nav_extras_enable'] 
     0 = Disabled,
     1 = Enable Extras on Right Side
['nav_extras'] 
     date,
     rss,
     search,
     twitter
['nav_extras_twitter_id'] = '',
['nav_extras_twitter_text'] = 'Follow me on Twitter',
['subnav']
     1 = Include Primary Navigation Menu,
     0 = No
['subnav_superfish']
     1 = Enable Fancy Dropdowns,
     0 = Disable
['subnav_home']
     1 = Display Home Link,
     0 = no
['subnav_type']
     pages = List of Pages, 
     categories = List of Categories, 
     nav-menu = Custom Nav Menu
['subnav_pages_sort']
     menu_order = Menu Order, 
     post_title = Title, 
     ID = ID, 
     post_date = Date Created,
     post_modified = Date Modified,
     post_author = Author, 
     post_name = Slug
['subnav_categories_sort']
     menu_order = Menu Order, 
     post_title = Title, 
     ID = ID, 
     post_date = Date Created,
     post_modified = Date Modified,
     post_author = Author, 
     post_name = Slug
['subnav_depth']
     0 = No Limit,
     1
     2
     3
     4
['feed_uri'] = '',
['comments_feed_uri'] = '',
['redirect_feeds']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['comments_pages']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['comments_posts']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['trackbacks_pages']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['trackbacks_posts']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['author_box_single']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['breadcrumb_home']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['breadcrumb_single']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['breadcrumb_page']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['breadcrumb_archive']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['breadcrumb_404']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['content_archive']
     full = Display post content,
     excerpts = Display post excerpts
['content_archive_thumbnail']
     0 = Disable,
     1 = Enable
['posts_nav']
     older-newer,
     prev-next
     numeric
['blog_cat'] = '',
['blog_cat_exclude'] = '',
['blog_cat_num'] = 10,
['header_scripts'] = '',
['footer_scripts'] = '',
['theme_version'] = PARENT_THEME_VERSION

Remove Access to Genesis Admin Menu

remove_theme_support('genesis-admin-menu');

Removing per Post/Page Layout Options

This one comes in handing especially for theme designs where only one layout may seem fit.

remove_theme_support('genesis-inpost-layouts');

The code above should be placed in the child theme’s functions.php file anywhere after the following line:

require_once(TEMPLATEPATH.'/lib/init.php');

And before the following closing code (if it exists):

?>