Hello,
There are lots of questions in this thread, I am trying to answer them one by one. If you are a theme developers, I suggest you check this document first:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/how-to-build-toolset-based-themes/
1) Does one need a theme if one is using the Toolset Layouts?
Most of wordpress websites need to install and activate theme, including website with Layouts plugin
2) What is are Toolset Layouts-Based themes?
Toolset Layouts-Based themes are some customized theme files, using Layouts function to display the content.
See our document:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/develop-layouts-based-themes/
3) Can you please point me to documentation/tutorial on how to create a Toolset-Based theme? (I couldn’t find any anywhere).
See above document:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/develop-layouts-based-themes/
4)what is the difference between using Toolset Layouts-Based theme, or using a pre-made standard theme (such as Astra, OceanWP/Extra, GeneratePress)?
Standard theme is using original theme files, but Toolset Layouts-Based theme need to setup custom PHP codes using layouts function, see above document
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/develop-layouts-based-themes/#php-integration-for-layouts
section "PHP integration for Layouts"
5) if one chooses to use a standard (non-Toolset-Layouts-Based theme), does one need to install the chosen theme prior to installing Toolset Package, or Toolset first, or does it matter?
I suggest you install the original theme files (such as Astra, OceanWP/Extra, GeneratePress), see the recommended theme list:
https://toolset.com/documentation/recommended-themes/
Then create a new child theme, with the custom codes, see wordpress document:
https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes
6) noticed the Toolset Reference Site Themes are all made with OceanWP/OceanExtra. Does that mean they won’t work with Astra, and you need to use the OceanWP/Extra theme if you want to use the Toolset Reference Site themes?
Astra theme is in the recommended list too, see here:
https://toolset.com/documentation/recommended-themes/
But some Toolset Reference Sites are some demos, so there might be some custom codes integrate with the specific theme function, as a result, you will need to use the specific theme files.
7) are the Toolset Reference Site Themes updated for security and new WordPress updates?
Yes, we will try to update Toolset Reference Site Themes when there is new WordPress updates, but Toolset Reference Site Themes are only some demo for reference.
8) I noticed the Toolset Reference **Classifieds** site uses something called “Parametric Search.” What is that?
It means you can search the result with custom search form, see our document:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/front-page-filters/
9) How is a “Parametric Search” on the Classifieds Reference Site different than the searches on the other Reference Sites (e.g. Directory/Listing, etc)?
Each custom search form is different from others, you can setup different search form in different page, see above document:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/front-page-filters/
10) Is the *Classifieds* Reference Site the only Reference Site that uses Parametric Search, or does the Directory site also use it, but it’s just not mentioned in the description of each of the sites on the ‘…/reference-site’ page?
No, all reference site can setup their own parametric search, see above document
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/front-page-filters/
11) Can one add “Parametric Search” to any of the Reference Sites, or to any site built with the Toolset Package and a standard theme (that doesn’t use a Reference Site as a starter), or is this a special feature only available to Classifieds Reference Site?
Same as 9) you can setup different search form in different page, all reference site can setup their own parametric search, see above document
12) If yes to #11, is there a tutorial about how to setup/configure Parametric Search?
see above document
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/front-page-filters/
13) -Does one need to create a Child Theme to use the Reference Sites without worry of overwriting when Toolet updates the Reference Sites themes?
Yes, it is recommended to use a child theme instead of changing the Reference Sites themes files directly.
14) -If yes to #13, can you please point me to tutorial on how to set up child theme for the Reference Sites Themes?
see wordpress document:
https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes
15) How large is the file size for the entire Toolset Package (trying to understand how ‘weight’ it adds onto the theme, for performance).
For example, if you are going to install the Toolset Layouts plugin + Views plugin + Types plugin, it requires 100M disk space, you can download them here:
https://toolset.com/account/downloads/
