Hi, 

I've create a custom responsive skin for DNN-7 app. To achieve the proposed design, I have made modifications in the files like - login, register, search, etc. which looks great. Maybe an upgrade can easily replace these files and will break my design!

Do you modify the existing ascx files in the DNN core folders?  What is the right way to go forward safely when my goal is to not to change any existing functionality and just change the markup changes for my design?

Hi, I tried replicating the search skin object but it didn't worked. Maybe I missed something. 

What do you mean by "change the reference to the new location." ? Just in the skin, right?

 Yes, I mean in the skin.
It would be cleaner to register the ascx controls as a skin object in DNN as Joe suggest.
Especially if you want to re-use them.

But if this is your first try, I suggest to simply copy them without registering them as a skin object extension.
This should work for most of them (unless that have some code behind in another location).
Then in alter stage package and install them as a new skin object.

I use this trick whenever a client says I'm not allowed to separately install skin objects.
I include them in the skin package as I explained :-)

I just did a test with the Search skin object and it does work.

I placed  "search . ascx" and "search . ascx . cs" in the folder: "Controls/Search" in my Skin folder

I use this to register the skin object:
<%@ Register TagPrefix="dnn" TagName="SEARCH" Src="Controls/Search/Search.ascx" %>