Community Forum Plugin: Version 14.2

Introduction

The Community Forum plugin provides a dedicated space where users can connect, ask questions, share knowledge, and participate in discussions on your eDirectory website.

With eDirectory v14.2, the Community Forum has been redesigned with a new administration structure, improved content moderation controls, new forum widgets, and a new Browse Forum Topics page. These improvements give Site Managers more flexibility to organize forum content and customize how the forum is presented to visitors.

The core functionality remains the same: forum topics, answers, and comments are created by users, while Site Managers can manage and curate this content from the Site Manager.

This guide explains how to configure and manage the Community Forum in eDirectory v14.2.

Managing Forum Content

The Community Forum content can be managed from Content → Forum

The Forum section is divided into the following areas:

• Topics
• Answers
• Comments
• Tags
• Categories

Topics

The Topics section displays the discussion topics created by forum users.

Site Managers cannot create new discussion topics from the Site Manager. Topics are created by users through the front-end forum.

However, Site Managers can manage existing topics, including editing their content and changing their status between Active and Suspended.

Answers

The Answers section contains answers submitted by users to forum topics.

Site Managers cannot create answers from the Site Manager. They can review and curate existing answers by editing them or changing their status.

Comments

The Comments section contains comments submitted by users within forum discussions.

As with topics and answers, comments are created by users through the front-end forum. Site Managers can manage existing comments from the Site Manager by editing them or changing their status.

Tags

The Tags section allows Site Managers to view and manage the tags associated with forum topics.

Unlike categories, tags can be created by both Site Managers and users.

Site Managers can create tags directly from Content → Forum → Tags → Add Tag

Users can also create new tags when submitting a topic. When creating a topic, a user can type a tag related to the subject of their discussion. If the tag already exists, the system can suggest it as the user types. If it does not exist, the user can create a new tag.

This allows the forum's tagging structure to grow organically as users create new discussions.

Categories

The Categories section allows Site Managers to create and manage the categories available for forum topics.

Configuring Forum Content Approval

eDirectory v14.2 provides moderation settings that allow Site Managers to control whether forum content becomes visible immediately after being submitted or must first be reviewed.

Go to Settings → Plugins → Forum

You will find the following options:

• Approve topics automatically
• Approve answers automatically
• Approve comments automatically

Each option can be enabled or disabled independently.

Automatic Approval Enabled

When automatic approval is enabled, the corresponding content will be approved automatically when submitted by a user.

For example, if Approve topics automatically is enabled, a newly submitted topic will become available immediately after the user submits it.

Automatic Approval Disabled

When automatic approval is disabled, the corresponding content must be reviewed and approved by the Site Manager before it becomes active.

For example, if Approve topics automatically is disabled, newly submitted topics will remain in moderation until the Site Manager reviews and approves them.

This allows you to maintain greater control over the content published within your community.

Configuring the Forum Pages

The appearance and structure of the Community Forum can be customized through Design → Page Editor.

The v14.2 Community Forum introduces a new set of widgets with a redesigned visual style.

You do not need to use every available widget. You can add, remove, rearrange, and configure widgets according to the experience you want to create for your community.

Forum Home Page Widgets

The Forum Home page can be customized using the new forum widgets.

Below are the available widgets.

Custom Content — Welcome Message

This Custom Content widget provides an introductory message for the forum.

The default content is:

The content can be edited to match your site's purpose and community.

Community Presence

The Community Presence widget displays information about your forum community and its members.

The widget includes a member count and displays the default text:

This text can be customized according to your preference.

Dual Call to Action

The Dual Call to Action widget provides two buttons for visitors.

The first button, Start a new topic, directs users to the process of creating a new forum topic.

The second button directs users to view existing forum topics.

This widget can be useful for encouraging visitors to participate in the community.

Forum Stats Bar

The Forum Stats Bar displays statistics about your forum, including:

• Number of members
• Number of topics
• Number of answers
• Number of comments

This provides visitors with a quick overview of the activity within your community.

Compact Search Bar

The Compact Search Bar allows visitors to search for forum topics.

If your eDirectory website has ChatGPT integration enabled, the search can also support AI mode.

When AI mode is enabled by the user, they can perform contextual searches and see an AI-powered summary together with the search results.

Custom Content — Essential Rules

This Custom Content widget provides a section for displaying forum guidelines.

The default content includes:

The content can be edited to reflect the rules and guidelines of your own community.

Custom Content — How Does It Work?

This Custom Content widget explains how users can participate in the forum.

The default content includes:

You can edit this content to provide instructions that are specific to your community.

Forum Categories Showcase

The Forum Categories Showcase widget displays the categories available in your forum.

This allows visitors to browse discussions based on the categories created by the Site Manager.

Featured Forum Topics Carousel

The Featured Forum Topics Carousel displays selected forum topics in a carousel format.

You can configure:

• The widget title
• The number of topics displayed
• The ordering criteria
• Categories associated with the topics
• Tags associated with the topics

This widget is useful for highlighting specific discussions on the Forum Home page.

Forum Tags Showcase

The Forum Tags Showcase widget displays the tags associated with your forum topics.

Visitors can use the available tags to discover discussions associated with specific subjects.

Forum Topics Showcase

The Forum Topics Showcase displays forum topics in a standard layout rather than a carousel.

Similar to the Featured Forum Topics Carousel, you can configure:

• The widget Title
• The number of topics displayed
• The ordering criteria
• Categories associated with the topics
• Tags associated with the topics

Top Members

The Top Members widget highlights the four members who have contributed the most helpful answers to the community.

It displays:

• The member
• The number of helpful answers

Members are displayed from the highest number of helpful answers to the lowest.

This can help recognize users who actively contribute valuable information to the community.

Forum Detail Page

The Forum Detail page is used when a visitor opens an individual forum topic.

The existing Forum Detail widget continues to provide the main functionality of the page, including:

• Displaying the topic
• Allowing users to submit answers
• Displaying the discussion

In v14.2, the Forum Detail widget has also been enhanced to display related topics and a Guideline Topics section.

Related Topics

The Forum Detail page can display topics related to the discussion that the visitor is currently viewing.

This helps users discover additional conversations that may be relevant to their interests.

Guideline Topics

The Guideline Topics section allows the Site Manager to provide information or guidelines relevant to the forum.

The Site Manager can edit this content in the Forum Detail Widget according to the rules and guidelines established for their community.

Browse Forum Topics Page

eDirectory v14.2 introduces a new forum page called Browse Forum Topics.

This page provides visitors with a dedicated area to browse the forum's available categories and tags.

The page includes the Compact Search Bar, allowing visitors to search for forum topics.

It also includes the new: Forum View All Categories and Tags widget.

This widget provides an overview of the forum's categories and tags, making it easier for visitors to discover discussions based on specific subjects.

How Users Can Create a New Topic

Forum topics are created by users through the front-end of the website.

This section explains the complete process so Site Managers can understand how their users submit new discussions.

Start a New Topic

On the Forum Home page, the user clicks the Start a new topic button.

This button is available through the Dual Call to Action widget.

Sign In

After clicking Start a new topic, a login pop-up will be displayed.

Only Sponsor accounts can log in and create forum topics.

If the user does not have an eligible account, they will need to register or obtain a Sponsor account before participating in the forum.

Complete the Topic Form

After successfully logging in, another pop-up will be displayed with the fields required to create the topic.

The form includes:

Type: Displays the forum categories created by the Site Manager.

Title: The title of the new topic.

Topic Content: An HTML editor where the user can write and format the content of their topic.

Tags: The user can enter tags related to their topic.

Add Tags

When entering tags, the user can:

• Type a new tag.
• Select an existing tag suggested by the system.
• Add multiple tags related to the topic.

If the user begins typing a tag that already exists, the system will suggest the existing tag. If the desired tag does not exist, the user can create it directly from the topic form.

Submit the Topic

After completing the topic information, the user clicks Send.

The topic will then be submitted according to the forum's approval settings.

If Topics Are Automatically Approved

If Approve topics automatically is enabled under Settings → Plugins → Forum, the topic will be approved automatically and will be displayed on the forum after submission.

If Topics Require Site Manager Approval

If Approve topics automatically is disabled, the topic will not become live immediately.

Instead, the user will see the following message:

The Site Manager must review and approve the topic before it becomes active.

Check the Topic Status

Users can check the status of topics they have submitted from their account dashboard.

To do so:

1. Log in to the website.
2. Click the user's profile in the top-right corner.
3. Click Profile.

4. Locate the topic they submitted.

The topic status will indicate whether it is still awaiting moderation or has been approved and is active.

Once the Site Manager approves the topic, the user will see the topic as Active.

Approve the Topic as Site Manager

When manual moderation is enabled, the Site Manager can review submitted topics from Content → Forum → Topics → Click Edit on the desired topic.

From there, the Site Manager can review and manage the submitted topic and approve it by changing its status to Active.

Once approved, the topic becomes available to visitors according to the forum's configuration.

Participating in Forum Discussions

Logged-in users can participate in existing discussions by submitting answers and comments.

Users can:

• Read existing topics
• Submit answers
• Add comments
• Participate in discussions
• Select available categories when creating topics
• Add existing or new tags when creating topics

The Site Manager can review and manage this content through:

Content → Forum → Topics

Content → Forum → Answers

Content → Forum → Comments

The approval settings under Settings → Plugins → Forum determine whether answers and comments are published automatically or require Site Manager approval.

Customizing Your Forum

The widgets described in this article represent the available forum widgets, but you do not need to use all of them.

Through Design → Page Editor, you can build your Forum pages according to your own requirements.

You can:

• Add widgets
• Remove widgets
• Rearrange widgets
• Configure widget settings
• Add Custom Content widgets
• Create your own page layout

This gives you greater control over how the Community Forum looks and how visitors navigate and interact with your community.

For example, you may choose to create a simple Forum Home page containing only the search bar, categories, and featured topics, or create a more comprehensive community landing page with statistics, calls to action, guidelines, tags, top members, and featured discussions.

Conclusion

The Community Forum plugin in eDirectory v14.2 maintains its core functionality while introducing a redesigned experience and significantly more flexibility for Site Managers.

Users remain responsible for creating forum topics, answers, and comments, while Site Managers can curate this content, manage its status, and control whether submissions require approval.

The addition of Tags, expanded content management, automatic approval settings, redesigned forum widgets, the enhanced Forum Detail page, and the new Browse Forum Topics page provides more tools to organize and present your community.

Most importantly, the new widget structure gives you the flexibility to design your forum according to your own needs. You can choose which widgets to display, remove widgets you do not need, and create a customized community experience through the Page Editor.