SocialEngine - Blogs Plugin Configuration

The Blogs Plugin page allows you to manage all the Blogs in your network, determine the Global Settings and Member Level Settings for your network, and manage Categories for Blogs.


Manage Blogs

View Blogs

Select Blogs to view or delete. They are categorized by Title, Owner, Views, and Date.




Viewing an Blog

To view the blog's page, click on the "view" link under "Options" for the blog you want to view. You will then be redirected to the blog's page.




Deleting a Single Blog

You can delete an individual blog by clicking the "delete" link on the right side of each row under the "Options" column.




Deleting Multiple Blogs

You can choose to delete multiple blogs at once by using the checkboxes on the left side of the table and the "Delete Selected" button at the bottom. Checking the checkbox in the blue line will select all the checkboxes on the list below it.






Global Settings

To get to this page, click on the "Global Settings" tab.



Determine how many blogs will be shown per page.



Member Level Settings

These settings are applied on a per member level basis. Start by selecting the member level you want to modify, then adjust the settings for that level. To get to this page, click on the "Member Level Settings" tab.



Member Level

Select the Member Level that you will edit.





Allow Viewing of Blogs?

Then decide if the selected Member Level is allowed to view, create, edit, delete, and comment on Blogs.




The "Yes, allow members to view all blogs, even private ones" option is only available for member levels that are of the moderator/admin/super admin type. This option will allow members of this level to see all blogs on the site no matter what level of privacy the blog has been set to. Selecting the "Yes, allow viewing of blogs" will allow members of this level to view all blogs which apply to members of this level. Selecting the "No, do not allow blogs to be viewed." option will not allow members of this level to view any blog pages or see the Blogs menu item in any menus on the site.



Allow Creation of Blogs?

You can limit the ability of the selected member level from being able to create blogs.



The "Yes, allow creation of blogs" will only allow members of this level to create blogs. Selecting the "No, do not allow blogs to be created" option will not allow the members of this level to create any blogs.


Allow Editing of Blogs?

You can decide if the members of the selected member level are able to edit or delete certain blogs or any blogs at all.


The "Yes, allow members to edit everyone's blogs" will only appear for moderators/admins/super admin type member levels. Selecting this option will allow members of this level to act as a moderator and be able to edit or delete any blog as they see fit. The "Yes, allow members to edit their own blogs" will only allow members of this level to edit the blogs they have created. Selecting the "No, do not allow blogs to be edited option" will not allow the members of this level to edit or delete any blogs.



Allow Deleting of Blogs?

You can decide if the members of the selected member level are able to delete certain blogs or any blogs at all.





The "Yes, allow members to delete all blogs" will only appear for moderators/admins/super admin type member levels. Selecting this option will allow members of this level to act as a moderator and be able to delete any blog as they see fit. The "Yes, allow members to delete their own blogs" will only allow members of this level to delete the blogs they have created. Selecting the "No, do not allow members to delete their blogs." will not allow the members of this level to delete any blogs.


Allow Commenting on Blogs?

You can decide if the members of the selected member level are able to comment on items in certain blogs or any blogs at all.




The "Yes, allow members to comment on all blogs, including private ones" will only appear for moderators/admins/super admin type member levels. Selecting this option will allow members of this level to comment on any item belonging to any blog as they see fit. The "Yes, allow members to comment on blogs" will only allow members of this level to comment on items within blogs they have access to. Selecting the "No, do not allow members to comment on blogs." will not allow the members of this level to comment on any items in any blogs.



Blog Entry Privacy

The blog entry viewing options feature allows you to select which options to give to your members in terms of who can view their blog entries. If you select more than 1 option, then the selected options will appear in the user's Blog Entry Settings. If you do not select any options, then the user will not have an "Blog Entry Privacy" section on their Blog Entry Settings page and will not be able to make any selections. The privacy setting will be whatever was last selected before not choosing any options. If you would like Everyone (even user's not logged in) or All Registered Members to be able to see everyone's profile, you will need to select one of these options and only one. Selecting more than one will once again allow the user to select between the two options.





Blog Comment Options

The blog commenting options are much like the previous Blog Entry Privacy; however, they apply to which users are allowed to comment on the members of this level's blog entries.



Allow Custom CSS Styles?

Enable members to use custom CSS styles in their Blog Entries for a more personalized feel.


**NOTE: the default system restricts users from creating and using div and id tags to prevent members from accidentally ruining the site's layout/theme.





Allow HTML in Comments?

By default the ability to type in any HTML in comments is disabled. If you would like to allow a user to use HTML in their comments, you will need to list the tags you would like to allow in the field below. An example would be: a, b, img, font, etc.


**NOTE: there is still a pre-programmed list in the source code that limits the allowed HTML tags in an entry. If you would like to see the list of forbidden tags, please refer to the /application/libraries/Engine/Filter/Html.php file. These tags were forbidden to prevent the corruption of the site's styling; however, if you would like to take any of the tags off the list, you are more than welcomed to at your own risk.




Maximum Allowed Blog Entries?

Set the maximum allowed number of Blog Entries per member.





Categories

Create categories if you want to allow your users to categorize their blogs. In order to get to the Categories page, click on the "Categories" tab on the top of the page.




This feature is useful if you want to list all your users' blogs. If you have no categories, your users will not be given the option of assigning a category.






Creating a New Category


1   To create a new category, click on the "Add New Category" button at the bottom of the category list.





2   Enter the a name for your new Category.





3   Click on "Add Category" to add this category to the list of categories.




Editing a Category

To edit a category name, click on the "edit" link under the "Options" column for the category whose name you want to change.





It should bring up a module just like the one used to create a category. When you have finished making your changes to the category name, click on "Edit Category" to save your changes.





Deleting a Category

To delete a category name, click on the "delete" link under the "Options" column for the category whose name you want to change.



It should bring up a module asking if you are sure you want to delete the following category. To delete the category, click on the "Delete" button.