Loading...
 
Architecture / Installation

Architecture / Installation


New tiki user, some questions/issues with my install

posts: 23 United States

Hello all,

I used a PHP CMS many moons ago (XOOPS) then for the past 5-6 yrs used DNN (.NET based CMS) and after not running a site for over a year decided to move back over to PHP and choose tiki. I just preface with this info so you folks know where I am coming from :-)

Overall I love tiki so far. However some things I am not clear on, having issue with and would love some help from the tiki pros here.

1. seems using sendmail or my smtp settings I can't get registration emails to send. anyone have any input as to why this is? Do I need to manually edit anything?

2. My forums seem to default to text based editor. Where can I enable the rich text editor like in this forum?

3. I discovered themes, and while the business one gave me a good starting templet for my front page I am not clear how to edit it. for example, I don't need/want the calendar blocks on the front page. I want the SAME front page if you are logged in or not.

4. How do I re-arrange the main menu listing? ie I want to move the forum link to near the top of the vertical menu. Ditto with the forum listings, I found a sorting option by name, date created etc, but no way to manually arrange them the way I want.

5. I want my front page to be for news postings. Is the blog or articles module the best one for that kind of job? So you have a context my site is a news, community pc gaming and table top rpg focused site. Going to be near daily postings and want options for a lot of user interactivity like voting on the news items, comments, etc. also, Somewhat back to #3 how do I put the news or article module on the front page?

6. Can the image gallery support posting (via embedding or such) videos from youtube or the like?

7. After reading the docs a bit confused still on the point of categories.

8. I dont see a way to set individual permissions to view/access a forum by group. ie only give users in the admin or site staff group access to forum #5.

That's all for now thanks to anyone who can help!

posts: 1563 Germany

Hello GothicWizard,

I try to get some answers together for you:

GothicWizard wrote:
1. seems using sendmail or my smtp settings I can't get registration emails to send. anyone have any input as to why this is? Do I need to manually edit anything?

Imho that seems to be depending on your server settings.
Usually when I install a Tiki on an average shared hosting, the notifications (including the registration/validation eMails) just work.
So you have to ask your provider about if sendmail is installed on their server. If yes, you could post the settings here. Maybe somebody had an idea what was going wrong if he/she sees the settings.

GothicWizard wrote:
2. My forums seem to default to text based editor. Where can I enable the rich text editor like in this forum?

You have to activate "WYSIWYG".
yourdomain.com/tiki-admin.php?page=wysiwyg

GothicWizard wrote:
3. I discovered themes, and while the business one gave me a good starting templet for my front page I am not clear how to edit it. for example, I don't need/want the calendar blocks on the front page. I want the SAME front page if you are logged in or not.

You can re-arrange the modules here:
yourdomain.com/tiki-admin_modules.php

In Tiki modules are containers to be applied "around" the content area and modules caontain all sorts of navigation, calendars, listings etc..

GothicWizard wrote:
4. How do I re-arrange the main menu listing? ie I want to move the forum link to near the top of the vertical menu. Ditto with the forum listings, I found a sorting option by name, date created etc, but no way to manually arrange them the way I want.

Since several Tiki versions you cannot re-arrange the content of the main application menu. This is to keep a safe backup for the case, you had trouble with missconfigurations.

GothicWizard wrote:
5. I want my front page to be for news postings. Is the blog or articles module the best one for that kind of job? So you have a context my site is a news, community pc gaming and table top rpg focused site. Going to be near daily postings and want options for a lot of user interactivity like voting on the news items, comments, etc. also, Somewhat back to #3 how do I put the news or article module on the front page?

You are talking about "modules", but in Tiki taht is named "features" - so we need to respect the wording of the context we are discussing to prevent missunderstandings.

You can set this here:
yourdomain.com/tiki-admin.php?page=general (third tab "Navigation")
preference: "Use Tiki feature as homepage" (choose a feature in the drop down).

In case you want to create a newswebsite alike appearance with columns, fields, and such, you may want to consider to keep using the wiki feature, but design the HomePage by using so called "WikiPlugins", which are code snippets with a huge number of options and parameters to extend the WikiSyntax. Check this out: PluginDIV, PluginArticles, PluginArticle, PluginModules, etc. and this page: Bootstrap Grid in Wiki Syntax.

GothicWizard wrote:
6. Can the image gallery support posting (via embedding or such) videos from youtube or the like?

You should under no circumstances use the "Image Gallery feature"! This feature is deprecated and only kept in Tiki for the reason of compatibility.

You should use the "File Gallery feature"!

For embedding media files from the file galleries you can use the PluginMediaPlayer.

For embedding files from YouTube you can use the PluginYoutube

GothicWizard wrote:
7. After reading the docs a bit confused still on the point of categories.

Yes, I do understand. Categories can be used for advanced stuff. For example you can create arbitrary category trees and use the one cateory tree for permission management, another category tree for filtering content and so on. The sheer number of possibilities might making it a bit confusing for Newbie-Users.

On the other hand, if you want to create really advanced applicatons, you might want to either get the knowledge and experience over times or hire a consultant.

I am sure, that the community can help you quite a lot when you struggle at specific general issues, although we have not the capacity to voluntarily develop individual projects for Newbie-Users who not yet have invested the time. It is a good idea to start with less advanced use cases and then build u step by step - kind of grow together with your Tiki ;-) .

GothicWizard wrote:
8. I dont see a way to set individual permissions to view/access a forum by group. ie only give users in the admin or site staff group access to forum #5.

This is quite easy:

I) you have created the appropriate groups for your users.

II) you go to yourdomain.com/tiki-edit_categories.php

There you create one category for your permissions and name it for example "permissions".
Then you create a second category (or if you want, create several categories) but make sure to set it (them) as subcategory of the one you want to use as start point of the permissions. So "permissions" is the parent category of those categories which you will use for category permissions.

If you have set it up right, you find a little arrow besides the wrench symbol left besides the first category you created.

Voilà you created your first category tree.

III) you stay in tiki-edit_categories.php and

Open the category tree (by clicking on the little arrow left besides the wrench) and click on the wrench left besides the subcategory you created.

There you find a link "permissions" as option to edit the category. Click on that edit the permissions for the group you want. These permissons will apply to the group for objects which are applied wth this category. Apply especially the appropriate forum permissions for a specific group and a specific forum.

IV) Now you go to edit the forum and apply the above edited category to this forum.

You can do this here: yourdomain.com/tiki-admin_forums.php . Find a listing of the existing forums and there the wrench very right besdes he forum. Click on the wrench and there on "edit". Now you can apply the category to this specific forum and the general permissions do not apply any more, but instead the category permissions.

Hint: please avoid to use object ermissions and in case you use objectpermissions somewhere, write it down to not forget about them!

Best is to do Group permissions with Categories.

Best regards,
Torsten


posts: 23 United States

Well thank you so much for the help, that is certainly getting me in the right direction.

A few updates and inquiries.

1. I got my registration mail set. A few test users reported it is now working, however one user using gmail stated her email link was sent as clear text and not a hyperlink. Unsure if that is some gmail security setting or on my end.

2. I looked at this 'plug ins' you linked to. But reading it it just seems like it is a line or two of code but unclear what I do with it. Or how to plug it 'in' tiki.

3. I changed my color scheme to 'cyborg' but it has some color conflicts/bugs. For example under post article the lines to enter a title and the pull down menus default to white text on a white background. If you could point where the css to edit is I will try to fix it.

4. The WYSIWYG editor seems quite buggy. When I enable it I get 'ajax' errors in the editor. I have disabled it and just using the basic text editor for now. I also am getting the white background on white text issue in the WYSIWYG editor as well.

Thank you for all your help, my site is coming along quite well. I am looking forward to being part of this community :-)

posts: 1563 Germany

Hello GothicWizard,

good to hear, whhints can be some help for the users.

To your updates:

GothicWizard wrote:
1. I got my registration mail set. A few test users reported it is now working, however one user using gmail stated her email link was sent as clear text and not a hyperlink. Unsure if that is some gmail security setting or on my end.


I suggest, that you send a link to your website; I register and report about the eMail I will be receiving or not receiving.


GothicWizard wrote:
2. I looked at this 'plug ins' you linked to. But reading it it just seems like it is a line or two of code but unclear what I do with it. Or how to plug it 'in' tiki.


You need only to copy/paste these Plugins into the textarea and use the appropriate parameters and values, depending of what you want to achieve - for example there are parameters for the Plugin IMG (display an image) where you can define the source of the mage, the size, the appearance, optional a link when ou click on it etcetera.

One easy example from this forum post would be the "QUOTE" plugin:

Copy to clipboard
{QUOTE(replyto="GothicWizard")} 2. I looked at this 'plug ins' you linked to. But reading it it just seems like it is a line or two of code but unclear what I do with it. Or how to plug it 'in' tiki. {QUOTE}


or with "CODE":

Copy to clipboard
{CODE()} {QUOTE(replyto="GothicWizard")} 2. I looked at this 'plug ins' you linked to. But reading it it just seems like it is a line or two of code but unclear what I do with it. Or how to plug it 'in' tiki. {QUOTE} {CODE}


You will see the possible parameters and values of the various plugins on our documentation website and as we have a strict system in naming the plugin-doc-pages, you can use a cutoff:

doc.tiki.org/PluginPluginname
ex.: doc.tiki.org/PluginImg - doc.tiki.org/PluginYoutube - etcetera


GothicWizard wrote:
3. I changed my color scheme to 'cyborg' but it has some color conflicts/bugs. For example under post article the lines to enter a title and the pull down menus default to white text on a white background. If you could point where the css to edit is I will try to fix it.


The themes you find in the themes folder of your tiki root (from Tiki 14 onwards).

tikiroot > themes > themename

There you find CSS, Templates, LESS etcetera.

For a simple change, when you d not want to alter the theme on the server you can go to the control panels to Look and Feel to the Custom CSS field and put the appropriate CSS direct into it. Please mind, that this will be applying to any theme you apply, so do that either for quick test or after you finalised your desicion, which theme you choose.

yourdomain.com/tiki-admin.php?page=look > tab "Customisation"


GothicWizard wrote:
4. The WYSIWYG editor seems quite buggy. When I enable it I get 'ajax' errors in the editor. I have disabled it and just using the basic text editor for now. I also am getting the white background on white text issue in the WYSIWYG editor as well.


We use the CKE Editor for WYSIWYG (same as Joomla and other projects).

Some of us love it, others hate it. WikiSyntax definitely works more reliably and afaik in CKE you cannot nest WikiPlugins or if you can, then only to a certain extent.

There are a number of settings you could choose to let CKE/WYSIWYG working more reliably in Tiki, so for example make WYSIWYG optional (keeping WikiSyntax available for advanced users) - open with the same editor - and save page content as WikiSyntax.

With the right settings WYSIWYG should be at least a valuable option for average users, whilst on pages edited by pro users only you still can avoid it (use category permissions to deside where advanced users only edit).


GothicWizard wrote:
Thank you for all your help, my site is coming along quite well. I am looking forward to being part of this community :-)


You are welcome.

Greetz,
Torsten

posts: 1563 Germany

By the way GothicWizard:

did you activate "Ajax" ?

Greetz
Torsten

posts: 23 United States

> did you activate "Ajax" ?

Is that set on by default? If so then yes it as I never changed that. If it isn't then I will have to find where it is to turn it on. And just to be clear, I am not doing anything special to the rich editor as soon as the editor renders there a 'ajax error' in the text field. If I types over that error message, No matter what I type, if I save it the text displays as 'ajax error'. Bottom line I cant turn on the WYSIWYG editor because it simply isn't working at all for me.

posts: 23 United States
I found what the editor issue was. I disabled the wiki as I frankly don't need it. But apparently the ck editor does not like it when the wiki is not enabled. That was the cause of the ajax errors preventing me from posting.
posts: 23 United States

one other minor thing, using the newest forum post block but when someone clicks on a link from it it ONLY displays the new post not the whole thread. I went into the settings yet can't seem to find a option to change it.

Also some of my users were complaining the login is not https. So I enabled it and now the login page is timing out. How do I correct this?

posts: 1563 Germany

Hello GothicWizard,

imho it seems logical, that when you click on a "newest post" in a "newest post listing", you will be forwarded to the newest post.

HTTPS is at first a server setting. You need a SSL certificate applied on the server to the domain you are using for your Tiki - ask your provider for that please.

After discussing with your provider and getting answers which options your provider offers, if you stil have questions about where to get an SSL certificate you could open a new thread here in the forums and we will try to give you some guidance. Although this is not a Tiki specific question and we might ending up to forward you other specialised communities or organisations.

Once the SSL certificate is applied to the domain (maybe a wildcard certificate, if the provider offers that), you can set Tiki to either allow HTTPS or to force HTTPS.

As long as there is no SSL certificate actively connected to your domain, you likely will lock out yourself from your Tiki (in case you force to use HTTPS whilst not having applied an SSL certificate, which would have a similar effect as locking the site for maintenence, renewing the password and forgetting the password. You should not to force something what you do not have.

Once you have an active SSL certificte, yu find the appropriate settings here:
yourdomain.com/tiki-admin.php?page=login

pref 1 (optional when using HTTPS / SSL):
Protect all sessions with HTTPS
pref 2 (this is to use HTTPS for/after login):
Use HTTPS login
Options for pref 2:
Disabled, Allow, Encourage, Consider but do not check, Require

Best regards,
Torsten


posts: 23 United States

Torsten,

I came back here to edit my post as I was going to erase my SSL inquiry as after some googling I was able to find the table in sql, edit it manually turn SSL off and fix the issue. I then got a cert from my hosting provider, turned it back and and now SSL works :-) Thank you none the less.

As for last posts, well technically it does do what it says LOL. My issue is most of my users (and myself) are used to the feature bringing them to the new post in the full thread so they can see the post in context. Is that something that I have control over or is that simply a coding issue I would have to address that way?

Thank you again for your valuable time!


posts: 1563 Germany

Hello GothicWizard,

looking at the module "Newest Forum Post"
technical name: "forums_last_posts"

I found a parameter in the second tab "module", when editing the module:

Topics only
If set to "y", only displays topics. Not set by default.

Please try that, before considering to do an enhancement to the module code wise or creating a new module.

Regards,
Torsten


posts: 23 United States

That seems to have fixed it thank you.

Now my last question (I think) the WYSIWYG editor seems to default the text color to a light gray. Where can I edit it so it defaults to black?

posts: 1563 Germany

Sorry, no idea right now, but I will think about it and come back to you in case I get an answer in an acceptable time.

Regards,
Torsten


posts: 23 United States

One other quick inquiry that maybe I missed, is there a option somewhere as how long it takes for the user info pop up window to display when you hover over a users name? Some of my users say it pops up to quick and want to add a sec or so to the delay. So just moving the cursor over the link doesn't pop it open.

oh and after thinking about my own editor question, I am thinking it has to do with the theme I am using. so have to edit that if I was to guess.


Upcoming Events

1)  18 Apr 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
2)  16 May 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
3)  20 Jun 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
4)  18 Jul 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
5)  15 Aug 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
6)  19 Sep 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
7) 
Tiki birthday
8)  17 Oct 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
9)  21 Nov 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting
10)  19 Dec 2024 14:00 GMT-0000
Tiki Roundtable Meeting