I'm trying to use the local.xml file to change the default template for my entire theme. I found this question but it's not working for me: How do I set a Magento page's template to the 2-column layout?
I am able to add a custom css file to the head of the page, so it seems that my local.xml is located in the correct place. app/design/frontend/mypackage/default/layout/local.xml
Here is my local.xml:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<layout>
<default>
<reference name="head">
<action method="addCss"><stylesheet>css/this_style_sheet_is_working.css></stylesheet></action>
</reference>
<reference name="root">
<action method="setTemplate">
<template>page/custom.phtml</template>
</action>
</reference>
</default>
</layout>
How can I change the default template? Why is my local.xml able to load css but not change the layout file?