Forums

Use the forum Smart object to host interactive discussions on your websites.

Note: To create a forum you will need to have set up a User List Smart Object (set to Access Control mode; see User Lists).

Create a Forum	To create a new normal rank
Managing your Forum object	To create a new special rank
To edit an existing category and subforum	To assign a special rank to a user
To add a new category	Adding a Moderator Group
To add a new subforum to an existing category	To assign a moderator group to a subforum
To change the forum theme	To add a forum as an offsite link
Manage User Rankings

In the screenshots below we've used a fictitious sports centre, called WellBeing, as an example.

Create a Forum

At the bottom of the My Smart Objects Library pane, click New...
In the Create Smart Object dialog, click Forum.
Click OK.
In the rightmost Style pane:

Type a name for the resource.
Select a profile from the drop-down list. The resource can be grouped under a previously created named profile with other Smart objects. Profiles are useful if you're managing multiple websites, where smart objects can be grouped together under a profile per site.
Optional: To prevent others from embedding your Forum into their websites, type your domain URL into the Filter Offsite text box.
Enter a forum description. This is your welcome text to tell your visitors what the forum is about and why they should sign up.
Select the Access Control (User List) to associate with the forum. When created, the forum will automatically create a new group for forum users.

The Preview pane updates as you make your changes.

Click Create. Your named forum is listed in the Smart Objects Library and ready to be added to your site.

Note: Due to the way forums are formatted, it is generally advised to add them as an offsite link.

To edit your Forum

Select it in the Smart Objects Library pane, and click Edit.
Make your changes (please note that you cannot subsequently change the associated access control user list) and click Save.

To delete your Forum

Select it in the Smart Objects Library pane, and click Delete.

Managing your Forum object

The Manage Forum dialog lets you edit the default test category and its subforum, and create additional categories and subforums. You can also edit forum and subforum descriptions, add a moderator group, set permissions, change the style (theme) of the forum, add and rank users, and set user permissions.

The actual creation of moderator groups and subsequently assigning users to these groups is done from the User List (Access Control mode) object. For a brief description see Creating a moderator group. Your forum will automatically create its own group (named with the forum name) within the associated User List object.

To edit an existing category and subforum

In the Smart Objects Library, select your forum and then, click Manage.
In the Manage {forum name} dialog, in the Forum Management section, replace the Category Name text with your own category name. Click Update Category.
Type your new Forum Name and Forum Description. Click Update Forum.

To add a new category

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, in the Add New Category section, type the name for your new category and click Add Category.

The category appears in the section.

To add a new subforum to an existing category

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, in the Add New Forum section, type a name and description for your new subforum.
In the Forum Category drop-down list, select the category to which you want to add the new subforum.
Click Add Forum. The subforum appears in the section beneath its category.

To change the forum theme

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, in the Forum Themes section, select a theme from the drop-down list and then click Update Theme.

Manage User Rankings

You can use ranks to indicate something about a member or group of members. For example, to indicate that certain users have a special status, or to show how active they are on the forum, and so on.

There are two types of ranks, normal ranks and special ranks.

Normal ranks are granted to all users based on their forum post count.
Special ranks are granted to specific users in the Rank User section of the dialog.

Note: Banning or suspending users, or creating moderator groups is done inside the associated User List smart object.

To create a new normal rank

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, scroll to the User Rank Management section.
In the Add New Rank section, in the Rank Title box, type a name for the new rank.
In the Min. Posts box, type the minimum number of posts users must have created in order to achieve this rank. For example, in our illustration, a user would be granted the Power User rank only after creating 100 forum posts.
Click Add Rank. The new rank is added to the rank list.

To create a new special rank

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, scroll to the User Rank Management section.
In the Add New Rank section, in the Rank Title box, type the name for the new rank.
Leave the Min. Posts box empty and select the Special Rank check box.
Click Add Rank. Again, the new rank is added to the rank list.

To assign a special rank to a user

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, in the Rank User section, select a user from the first drop-down list .
Select the special rank from the second drop-down list.
Click Set Rank. The users rank is updated.

Adding a Moderator Group

The forum moderator is the person, or group, who monitors the forum—usually on a daily basis. The moderator’s role is to prevent forum users from posting offensive messages, or messages that are not related to the forum topic.

Moderators can edit and delete posts, and also delete, lock, unlock, split, and move topics in the forum. You can take on this role yourself, or you can assign someone else the position. Either way, if you want to assign a moderator to your forum, you will need to do the following:

Create a new group. (User List - Access Control Mode management dialog)
Add a user(s) to the group. (User List - Access Control Mode management dialog)
Designate the group as the forum moderator. (Forum management dialog)

Note: To create a new moderator group and to subsequently assign users, you will need to manage the forum's associated User List object. For information, see the User List smart object help topic.

To assign a moderator group to a subforum

In the Manage {forum name} dialog, under the Forum Management section, locate the subforum to which you want to add a moderator.
In the Moderated By Group drop-down list, select your forum moderator group. Note: All groups from all access lists will appear.
Click Update Forum.

When your site is published, members of the moderator group will be able to click a link (located in the lower right corner of the subforum and topic pages) to open the Moderator Control Panel. In the Moderator Control Panel, the moderator can delete, move, lock, unlock, and split forum topics.

To add a forum as an offsite link

In WebPlus, on the Site tab, in the Add drop-down list, click New Offsite Link...
In the Offsite Link dialog, select the Smart Object sub-category and click the None button.
In the Smart Objects Library, select your forum and click Select.
Name your forum menu item and choose New Window in the Type: drop-down list. Select the Include in Navigation check box.
Click OK. The offsite link is added to the Site tab. On your web page, a new button is added to the navigation bar.

To add a forum to a site page

Note: Due to the nature of forums, we recommend that you always add them as an offsite link. However, you can also add them to a site page just like any other Smart object.

With the forum selected in the Smart Objects Library, click Insert.
Click and drag on your page to set the size of the object.