Control Panel
To navigate the various sub-menus in the control panel, simply click the different icons across the graphical menu located at the top of the module. On any page, clicking the blue disk will save changes and the green arrow will allow you to go back without saving.
The first screen you see when accessing the Control Panel is the Dashboard interface. This page displays a summary of the active topics, current users and other general forum statistics. This page is great for staying up to date on your forum community’s discussions.
Click the Forums button at the top to begin an in-depth customization of your forums layout. You will see a forum structure similar to the view you see while posting on your forums. Clicking any of the group or forum names will open their options. Individual forums can inherit settings from the group they belong to, or they can be configured separately. Clicking the green arrows with change to forum sort order. Along the top there are options to create a New Forum Group or a single New Forum.
Individual Forums have the same options as groups, but can be configured independently or can share settings by checking the Inherit Group Settings button. Individual forums also have a Description which is basically a sub-title that will display on the forum listing. When creating a new forum, you must select which group you want it to belong to.
Forum Groups are used to categorize forums. If you make a new group or wish to edit an existing group, there are many options on three different tabs to consider.
- Forum Group – This is the name of the group that will be displayed in your forums.
- Vanity Name – The word that you would like to appear in the URL for this forum group. Optional if [Friendly URLs](Friendly URL settings) are disabled.
- Active – Un-checking this box would disable the group.
- Hidden – Making a forum hidden will completely remove it from the forum list for users who do not have permission to view it. If you hide the group that contains Active Social discussion groups, it will never be displayed in the forum list.
- Templates – These different templates allow you to customize the layout of different parts of the forums.
- Email Address – The address you enter here will show up in the “from” field on email notifications sent to users. If you are using the mail connector, make sure that the email you enter here is the same as the one you enter then the mail connector settings.
- Create Post Count - The minimum number of posts a user must have in order to create their own topic without moderation.
- Reply Post Count - The minimum number of posts a user must have in order to reply to a topic without moderation.
This tab allows you to restrict and allow user roles in each forum group. A green check will allow a user a specific action, whereas a red dash will not let the user perform the action. In a typical public forum, Administrators will have green checks all the way across, and all users will have green checks for View, Read, Create, Reply, Edit and Delete. You can add a security role from the drop down box. Clicking the red X next to a role will delete that role from the list.
The individual permissions are as follows:
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View – Can see the topic in the list but cannot open it.
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Read – Can see the topic subject and click on it to see the content.
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Create – Can see the New Topic button.
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Reply – Can reply to a previously created topic.
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Edit – Can edit their own posts. There may or may not be a time limit on this. Users with Moderate + Edit can edit any topic in the Forum / Forum Group.
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Delete – Can delete their own posts. Users with Moderate + Delete can delete any topic in the Forum / Forum Group.
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Move – Users can move their own topic to a different forum (if they have Create access on that forum as well). Users with Moderate + Move can move any topic in the Forum / Forum Group.
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Lock – Can lock topics that they created. Users with Moderate + Lock can lock any topic in the Forum / Forum Group.
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Pin – Can pin topics they created. Pinning a topic makes it stay at the top of the topic list. Users with Moderate + Pin can pin any topic in the Forum / Forum Group.
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Split – Users can split a topic and its replies into different topics. Users with Moderate + Split can split any topic in a Forum / Forum Group.
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Attach – Can upload and attach files to new topics and replies.
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Poll – Can add a poll to new topics they create.
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Trust – Automatically bypasses moderation (if configured for Forum / Forum Group).
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Subscribe – Can sign up to receive email notifications about new topics and replies.
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Announce – Can flag their own topics as Announcements. Announcements are displayed above the normal topics list.
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Tag – Can add tags to topics and replies.
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Categorize – Can specify what categories a new topic belongs to.
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Prioritize – Can set the priority number on a topic. The priority number determines where in the topic list the topic will appear. It is similar to pinning a topic but allows a more fine-grain specification.
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Moderate – Gives access to the moderation interface. Can approve, reject or delete moderated topics and replies. When combined with Edit, Delete, Split, Lock, and Pin, those actions can be performed on any topic in the Forum / Forum Group.
This tab allows you to restrict and allow user roles in each forum group. A green check will allow a user a specific action, whereas a red dash will not let the user perform the action. In a typical public forum, Administrators will have green checks all the way across, and all users will have green checks for View, Read, Create, Reply, Edit and Delete. You can add a security role from the drop down box. Clicking the red X next to a role will delete that role from the list.
The individual permissions are as follows:
- View –Can see the topic in the list, but cannot open it.
- Read – Can see the topic subject, and click on it to see the content.
- Create – Can see the New Topic button.
- Reply – Can reply to a previously created topic.
- Edit – Can edit their own posts. There may or may not be a time limit on this.
- Delete – Can delete their own posts.
- Lock – Can lock topics that they created.
- Pin – Can pin topics they created. Pinning a topic makes it stay at the top of the topic list.
- Attach – Can upload and attach files to new topics and replies.
- Poll – Can add a poll to new topics they create.
- Trust – Automatically bypasses moderation.
- Subscribe – Can sign up to receive email notifications about new topics and replies.
- Announce – Can flag their own topics as Announcements. Announcements are displayed above the normal topics list.
- Tag – Can add tags to topics and replies.
- Categorize – Can specify what categories a new topic belongs to.
- Prioritize – Can set the priority number on a topic. The priority number determines where in the topic list the topic will appear. It is similar to pinning a topic, but allows a more fine-grain specification.
The moderator functions are:
- ModApprove – Gives access to the moderation interface. Can approve, reject or delete moderated topics and replies.
- ModMove – Move any topic to a different forum.
- ModSplit – Moderator can split a topic and its replies into different topics.
- ModDelete – Can delete any topic or reply in the forum.
- ModUser – Can view registered users’ forum profiles, specifically the Admin tab.
- ModEdit – Can edit any topic or reply.
- ModLock – Can lock any topic.
- ModPin – Can pin any topic.
- Moderated - Enabling moderation will give the administrators greater control over the forum. By default it will make all users’ posts subject to approval before they appear. Alternatively, you can pick specific users who you decide need moderation, while all “Trusted” users will still have full access to post.
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Default Trust – Changing this feature will determine how users are labeled when they view the forums.
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Auto Trust Level – This number is the amount of posts a user must make before they automatically become a Trusted User
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Email Templates – For general use, set Notification to PostPending and leave the rest disabled. You can enable other templates depending on how many emails you want users to receive. Make sure that you enabled these templates so that your users know why their posts are not showing up immediately.
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Filters – Enabling filters will swap out pieces of text for other text, pictures, or code. The list of filters can be modified under the Filters tab in the Control Panel
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Post Icons – This option will allow users to select an icon from a list to display next to a new topic they create.
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Emoticons – These images are little faces that can add feeling to a users post. They can be added by clicking on them from a selection of faces or by adding the text filter, i.e. :)
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Scripts – Enabling scripts will allow users to include scripts in their posts. It is highly recommended that you trust the users that are given script execution access. There are many malicious scripts that can disable your website or steal private user information. Disabled by default.
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Index Content – Indexing the forum will allow the search box on your portal to return results from topics and posts on your forums.
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RSS – This option allows users with RSS access to subscribe to the feed which lists updates and changed to the forum.
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Attachments – Allows users to upload files with their topics or replies. Additional options limit what types of files are allowed.
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# Of Attachments – This number denotes the amount of attachments a user can put in a single post.
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Maximum Size – Limits, in Kilobytes (KB), the size of attachments.
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Allowed Extensions – Different file types, separated by commas. Only images and .zip files are allowed by default.
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Attachment Storage – Determine if you want to store uploaded attachments directly to the file system or store them inside the portal’s database. Storing attachments in the database is much more secure.
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Maximum Image Height and Width – Attached images will be resized to these set sizes. (.png files cannot be resized automatically).
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Create Unique Filenames – Checking this box will automatically rename stored attachments with a random name.
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HTML Input - This feature allows users to format their posts using different editors and HTML tags. It should be noted that there is a potential for malicious users to exploit HTML code to execute scripts, even with scripts disabled (noted above), which automatically removes harmful code from posts.
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Permitted Users – This menu allows you to select what users are capable of using HTML tags in their posts. Enabling HTML only for registered users provides an extra line of defense against unauthorized scripts.
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Editor / Mobile Users – The default TextBox is very simple and easy to use; however, other options such as Default DNN Editor provide more flexibility with formatting and HTML input. The Default DNN Editor has the most options available.
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Height and Width – This is the default size (pixel or percentage) of the editor input field.
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Auto Subscriptions – This menu lets you select roles to receive emails about new topics and posts automatically. This feature is only visible at the forum level, not on groups.
The Templates menu provides you with an interface to edit an existing template or add your own custom templates. Editing templates is for advanced users; however, to open one, simply click its name in the list.
Filters are used to replace certain pieces of text with other words, images, or special HTML tags. A few filters come preloaded. These include [b] for bold [/b], [i] for Italicized[/i] and [u] for underlined[/u] text. The special [quote][/quote] tags will place included text in a special box that users will see as a quote from a previous post. Using [img]www.domain.com/image.jpg[/img] will insert an image into a users post without requiring them to upload it and add it as an attachment. All the emoticons are converted via text filters. To add your own custom filter, click Add Filter Item.
- Text to Find – This text is the string of text that will be replaced.
- Replacement – This text is what will replace the previous text.
- Filter Type – This option will depend on what type of replacement you want.
- Mark Up / Text: Converting regular text to other words or HTML.
- Emoticon: Adding your own smilies.
- Regular Expressions: An extremely powerful tool for manipulating text and data.
Click the “Save” button when finished to return to filter menu
Ranks are a way to distinguish users and track their level of activity. Activity levels are measured by the Points System mentioned earlier. When a user achieves a rank, it will display the name and accompanying image under their username. To edit existing ranks, simply click on one in the list, which will bring up a small window. To add a new rank, click New Rank Level.
- Name – The name that will display by the username.
- Min and Max points – As long as the user’s points are between the min and max, they belong to this rank.
- Display – The image that will show under the username.
To continue: Save, Delete or Cancel Note: Setting Min and Max values that contradict, i.e. 10-20 and 15-25 will simply disable ranks for users with point values 10-25
Tags are special keywords that can be applied to posts in order to help categorize and organize them. Normally the search function will scan words used in the title of a topic; however, the user’s post might pertain to a subject that they have not specifically mentioned. Tagging a topic shows which subjects relate to the post. To add or edit a tag, just type in the keyword and click Save. Later, when making a post a user can choose to use a created tag in conjunction with their subject.
Defining categories in the control panel allows you to further organize forum content. Categories should be words or short phrases that describe common themes or types of content on your forums. To create a new category, you simply enter the name in the text box, select which forum it will belong in (optional) and then click save.
Categories are similar to tags but allow another level of organization. After you have created categories, when a new forum post is created, you can select which categories it belongs to.
Once topics have been created using the categories, you can filter the list of topics in a forum based on which categories they belong to. A single forum post can belong to multiple categories.