FAQ:How to use the Admin Center
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Contents |
[edit] Forum Settings
[edit] Forum Settings
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This is where you can change directory paths, Upload preferences, how information is displayed on your forum, enable themes, change the default style of your forum images. This is where the majority of your forum display options are set. |
[edit] Directories and Web Addresses
- This is where you set your directory and URL paths for your forum. If your forum is setup and running properly, you shouldn't have to change any settings here unless you move your forum to a new server, or you move a directory on your server.
[edit] Essential Preferences
- Here you can modify the Administrator name and email address as well as the cookie prefix, mail protocol and email signature.
[edit] Board Speed and Locks
- Maintenance Mode: Check the box to disable users / guest from viewing your forum while you upgrade or perform maintenance. Users will NOT be allowed to login while your forum is in maintenance mode. You should also provide an reason for the lockout to your users in the Reason for Maintenance box.
- Board Lockout: Checking this box will disable access to your forum for everyone except those that have a key. You must assign/enable the key for any user you want to access your forum by choosing the Administrator settings tab in their Member Center. You would only use this function in cases where you want certain users to test an upgrade or additional feature before showing it to the public. Note that not setting a key for yourself before checking this box will disallow you from logging into your forum.
- Guest Access
- Disable Guest Access: This will disallow anyone who is not registered on your forum from viewing any boards or posts.
- Disable Guest Registration: This will disallow anyone from registering on your forum.
- Server Load: This is typically set to 0. However, if you want to set a limit to the number of users on your forum at one time, you can enter that number here.
- GZIP Compression Method: If your server has GZIP installed, you can use this function to enable the feature on your forum. This has been proven to increase speed on forums. Please notice that if you do not have the GZIP module installed on your server, it could cause issues with your forum.
[edit] Upload Preferences
- Basic Prefrences
- Allow Attachments: Use this drop down box to set who can upload files to your forum.
- Allow Avatars to be Uploaded: Check this box if you want to allow your users to upload their own Avatars.
- Upload Directory and URL
- This is where you set your Uploads directory path and URL path. If you move your uploads directory, you will need to change the path in this location.
- Upload Setup
- In this area you can choose to create thumbnails of images, the thumbnail size, the file types that you will allow to be uploaded to your server, and the maximum file size for uploaded attachments and avatars.
[edit] Main Preferences
- Basic Prefrences
- Forum Name: Set this box to whatever you want to name your forum.
- Default Language: If you have installed other language packs, and would like to use one of them as your default, change it here.
- Render Date as today: If you check this box, all messages that are posted on the same day you are reading them will show "today" as the post date instead of the actual date.
- Number Formatting: Character that will be used to separate hundreds from thousands.
- Redirect type: Need help with this one.
- Enable Themes: If you have more than one theme on your forum, you can check this box to allow other users to choose a different theme from inside their member center.
- Forum Images
- Here you can choose from three different versions of buttons to use on your forum. Keep in mind that this is a global setting for your forum. This means that it will affect all themes.
- Login Settings
- Here you can set the Max login failures (maximum number of login attempts before the account is locked), lockout duration (amount of time the account will be locked out for), and the login type (cookies or sessions). Sessions are more secure, but you must have the CGI:Session module installed for it to work.
- Time Settings
- This is where you set your global date and time settings.
- Guest Options Everything in this area applies to users that have not registed on your forum.
- Allow Guest Posting: Checking this box will allow any vistor to post messages on your forum. However, if your board security doesn't guest to post messages on a board, they will not be able to.
- Allow Guests to View Member list and Profiles: Checking this box allows any vistor to view your member's profile, and member list.
- Allow Guests to use Search: This will allow visitors to your forum to use the search feature.
- Do not show login on pages if guest: Checking this box will make it so the login option will only show on the board index of your forum instead of all pages.
- Disallow Guests from Downloading Attachments: Checking this box will disable guest visitors from downloading files that have been attached to messages on your forum.
- Member Options: Everything in this area applies to users that have registed on your forum.
- Avatar Preferences:
- Disabled: Users will not be allowed to use Avatars.
- Enabled - Restricted (avatar list only): Users will be able to only select from the predefined list of avatars on your forum.
- Enabled - Full (third party URLs allowed): Users will be able to use avatars from the predefined list, and also upload their own avatar.
- User Selected Avatar Dimensions: Sets the dimensions for all avatars on your forum.
- Allow members to invite friends to the forums: Checking this box will add the invite frinds box to your forums main page.
- Update Last Active in Users Profile: Checking this box will update the date in the users memeber center to show when they were last active on your forum.
- Maximum characters allowed in Signature: Sets the maximum number of characters (including spaces) that a memeber can have in their signature. Setting this to a negative number will allow an unlimited length.
- Allow members to hide their e-mail address from the public: Check this box to allow users to hide their e-mail address from the public. Note: Administrators can still see the user's e-mail address.
- Hide e-mail addresses for the following: Change this to disallow users from viewing members e-mail addresses. Members' option is only available if you allow members to hide their e-mail address.
- Members' Option: Allows anyone to see members e-mail address unless the member hides their e-mail address via their member center.
- Guests and Members (higher security): Hides memeber e-mail address for all users and guests.
- Members' Option and Guests (recommened): Hides memeber e-mail address from guests and allows them to choose to hide it from other members too.
- Disable the notification service: Disables all notifications on your forum.
- Post Count Handling: Disabling posts counts only hides them from all users, post counts are still logged, just not shown.
- Show all post counts: Shows all post counts.
- Hide only on Message Display: Post counts will not be shown in the mini-profile display when viewing messages.
- Hide completely to all users (may lower spam): Post counts are not shown anywhere on your forum.
- Enable Member Reputation: Allows members of your forum to vote (positive or negative) for other members on your forum. You can only vote for a member one time.
- Reputation Mini-profile Display: Works only if you have checked the box for Enable Member Reputation.
- Percentage only: Only shows the percentage for a user.
- Percentage and Score: Shows the number of votes and the Percentage for a user.
- Score Only: Only shows the number of votes for a user.
- Disallow users from changing their screen name: Checking this box will make it so users can not change thier screen name via their memeber center.
- Disable members from deleting their username: Checking this box will make it so users can not delete themselves from your forum.
- Max Calendar Events Per User: Changing this to a value above 0 will enable users to add personal events (only the user will be able to view them) to the calendar. It is recommended to leave this below 10.
- Avatar Preferences:
- Registration: Everything in this area applies to the registration of users on your forum.
- Enable the Registration Agreement: If you want registering users to an agreement before they can become a memeber on your forum check this box.
- Disable registration to users under 13 years of age: Enable this feature if you must comply with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. Click on the link below this check box to find out if you must use this feature for your forum.
- Member Validation: When a user registers for a username, chose what action must be done before they can post, modify profile, etc.
- Allow immediate access: Allows the user immediate access to your forum with no verification.
- Must validate through e-mail first: New users will receive an automated e-mail from your forum with a link to validate their account before use.
- Must validate through e-mail and Administrator: New users will receive an automated e-mail, and an administrator on your forum must also validate their account.
- E-mail System Administrator: Enabeling this will e-mail the system administrator each time someone registers on your forum.
- Enable Registration Human Verification: This feature will require a user to type in characters from an image displayed on the registration page before registering. This feature may not work on all servers. Make sure you click on the link to read the suggested post first.
- Private Messaging
- Disable Private Messaging: Disables private messaging for all users on your forum.
- Private Messaging Quota (in KBs): Sets a storage limit for user's private message inbox and sent items. Note - 1024KB = 1MB.
- Member List Options: Sets the number of members you want to view when viewing the member list.
- Board Index
- Enable News on Board Index: Shows the scrolling news box at the top of your forum.
- Show Events on Board Index: Enables the Events area on the bottom of your forums board index (main) page.
- Show Birthdates as Events: Check this box if you want birthdays to be shown as events. Note - This only works if Show Events is enabled.
- Upcoming Events Listed (in days): If Show Events is enabled, this will set the number of days in advance to show events on your Board Index.
- Show "Where Is Users": Enables the "Where Is User" Link in the Latest Forum Statistics area of your forum. The link will show as X Active Users (X members; X bots; X guests; X invisible).
- Disable Forum Statistics: Removes the Total Forum Statistics area from the bottom of your board index.
