Thiết kế web với joomla 1.6(5).x part 67 potx

Creating a Community Site with JomSocial IN THIS CHAPTER Introducing JomSocial Obtaining and installing JomSocial Overview of the JomSocial control panel Configuring JomSocial Administe

Creating a

Community Site

with JomSocial

IN THIS CHAPTER

Introducing JomSocial Obtaining and installing JomSocial

Overview of the JomSocial control panel

Configuring JomSocial Administering the community

Social networking and Web 2.0 functionality are two of the most

sig-nificant trends in web site development in the last few years The basic

Joomla! system provides little in the way of true social networking

functionality JomSocial, a commercial extension to the Joomla! system, has

stepped in to fill the gap with a powerful and extensible suite of extensions

that enable you to turn a basic Joomla! site into a full-featured social

net-working site

JomSocial comes with a large number of modules and plugins and a fairly

complex presentation Configuration of the site’s many options can be

chal-lenging and time-consuming This chapter looks at what’s involved in

obtaining and installing JomSocial, and then steps you through the basics of

configuring a JomSocial site

Introducing JomSocial

JomSocial is a complex extension for Joomla! comprised of a number of

ele-ments that provide an assortment of functionalities typically associated with

creating a social networking Web site By installing JomSocial on your

exist-ing Joomla! site, you can offer site visitors a full range of social networkexist-ing

tools and activities, thereby greatly enhancing the interactivity and stickiness

of your site Figure 24.1 shows the front end of the basic JomSocial package

FIGURE 24.1

The front end of the basic JomSocial package, shown here with all modules activated

JomSocial is a commercial extension and is relatively new It is built to integrate with a number of other extensions that provide community-related functionality, like threaded discussion forums While you can use the system to create a Facebook-type site, you can also do a lot more with it, as the example sites in the “Who uses JomSocial” sidebar demonstrates

JomSocial is a complicated system with a large number of options and configuration choices The initial setup

of a JomSocial site can take a bit of time and the creation of an attractive site requires planning and good tem-plate selection Don’t try deploying this on a live site without first working through it in detail on a develop-ment server.

If you’d like to see more examples, visit the JomSocial Showcase, which maintains a collection of JomSocial sites Go to www.jomsocial.com/overview/showcase.html

Note

You can test drive a live JomSocial installation at the demo site the project maintains The demo site allows you

to check out both the front-end and the back-end of the system View it online at

www.jomsocial.com/community.html

The default JomSocial system supports a wide range of features for both site visitors and adminis-trators Note that these features are in addition to the standard Joomla! site features and that you can further extend your JomSocial site by installing additional extensions

Figuring out features for visitors

Front-end visitors have access to a number of features and functionalities The front-end activity is all focused around the user profiles and interaction with other users and groups

l User profiles with user pages

l User points

l Photo and video galleries

l Support for Facebook connect

l Buddy system

l Private messaging between users

l Activity stream

Here’s a sampling of some of the companies and brands that use JomSocial

l Barkley and Paws: http://www.barkleyandpaws.com/

l CMS Market: http://www.cmsmarket.com/

l LDS Online Community Gathering: http://www.ldstribe.com/

l Linux.com: http://www.linux.com/

l qAachen: http://www.qaachen.de/

Who uses JomSocial?

l Installable applications

l Groups

l Search

Features for site administrators

The JomSocial administration system covers the management of users, groups, and applications Key features include:

l Customizable user fields

l Smooth integration with other popular extensions

l Customizable page templates

l User Points management

l User mass mail

l Applications management

l Group management

Note

JomSocial , like Joomla!, is extendable The JomSocial site includes a small but growing extensions directory Browse the directory at www.jomsocial.com/addons.html

Obtaining and Installing JomSocial

The first step to building your community site is to obtain the JomSocial code As this is a com-mercial product, the only place to obtain the code is through the official JomSocial Web site, www jomsocial.com The software can be purchased online and downloaded immediately; it will be delivered in an archive file that must be extracted prior to installation

After you extract the JomSocial installation package, you find the following:

l The JomSocial component, ready to install, in zip format

l A zipped modules directory that must be unpacked prior to installation

l A zipped apps directory that must be unpacked prior to installation

l An installation guide in pdf format

Installing the JomSocial component

The only thing you absolutely have to install to get JomSocial up and running is the component After the component is installed you can decide what further applications and modules you want

to include in your site

To install the core JomSocial component, follow these steps:

1 Download the installation archive.

2 Unzip the archive locally.

3 Log in to the admin system of your Joomla! site.

4 Click on the option Install/Uninstall, under the Extensions menu The Extensions

Installation dialogue opens in your browser

5 Click the Browse button next to the Upload Package File field The file upload

dia-logue opens

6 Find and select the file com_JomSocial_x.x.x.zip, where x.x.x represents the version

number of your JomSocial installer Click the Open button The file upload dialogue

closes, and the name of the file appears in the field next to the label Package File

7 Click Upload File & Install The system now installs the component If successful, you

will see a confirmation message, as shown in Figure 24.2

FIGURE 24.2

Step 1 of the JomSocial component installation; the start screen

8 Click on the button marked Complete your Installation A new page loads as the

JomSocial installer does a quick system check to make sure your server is configured to handle the system, as shown in Figure 24.3 If all is okay, the Install button will be active

If not, address the issues indicated

9 Click the Install button The system installs all the necessary elements and displays a

progress indicator When it reaches 100%, a confirmation message is displayed, as shown

in Figure 24.4

10 Click the Next button The installer closes and you are taken to the JomSocial control

panel

FIGURE 24.3

Step 2 of the JomSocial component installation; the system check screen

FIGURE 24.4

Step 3 of the JomSocial component installation; the final confirmation screen

Installing the JomSocial modules

In addition to the core JomSocial component, your installation package also includes a set of optional modules The modules expand the functionality of the site and give you more choices for displaying data and community activity Like any Joomla! module, a JomSocial module is con-trolled through the Module Manager The modules are assigned to appear on the front end of the site through module positions and page assignments

Cross-Reference

Assigning modules is covered in Chapter 17.

In the JomSocial installation archive, the modules directory is compressed Before you can begin to install the modules, you must unpack the directory labeled module_unzip_first_xxxx.zip, where xxxx represents the version number of your JomSocial installer

After you extract the JomSocial Modules directory, you can find the following, all ready to install,

in zip format:

l Active Groups Module: Displays a list of the most active groups on the site.

l Activity Stream Module: Shows a stream of posts and other activity on the site.

l Hello Me Module: Displays statistics relevant to the user, including new messages and

friend requests

l JomSocial Connect Module: Shows data about the FaceBook Connect functionality.

l Latest Group Discussions Module: Displays a list of the most recent groups discussion

posts

l Latest Group Wall Module: Displays most recent wall postings

l Latest Members Module: Lists the most recent members.

l Online Users Module: A Who’s Online-type module, showing the names and avatars of

the members that are currently authenticated on the site

l Photo comments module: Displays the most recent comments on photos.

l Statistics Module: Shows statistics about the site activity levels.

l Top Members Module: Displays a list of the top members, based up on their karma

points

l Video comments module: Displays the most recent comments on videos.

JomSocial modules are installed like any other Joomla! module Don’t forget that once installed you have to enable the module before it can be used

Cross-Reference

Installing new modules is covered in Chapter 22.

Installing the JomSocial apps

In addition to the core JomSocial component, your installation package also includes a set of optional apps, or applications The apps expand the functionality of the site and assist with the integration of other components, like the Fireboard forum, phpBB, or MyBlog

Note

Though JomSocial calls them applications, these are actually what Joomla! calls plugins, and like other Joomla! plugins, the JomSocial apps are controlled using the Plugin Manager.

Tip

A number of these plugins are only used where you have installed certain third-party extensions to the site Where those extensions have not been installed, you should disable, or uninstall completely the related plugins

to help keep your site secure and decrease maintenance overhead.

In the installation archive, the Apps directory is compressed Before you can begin to install the apps, you must unpack the directory labeled apps_unzip_first_xxxx.zip, where xxxx rep-resents the version number of your JomSocial installer

After you extract the JomSocial apps directory, you will find the following, all ready to install, in zip format:

l All Video: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the AllVideoPlugin

Enables the use of AllVideos tags inside JomSocial content items

l Article Activity: Enables the JomSocial system to recognize the posting of an article in

Joomla! as an event to be shown in JomSocial

l Author Link: Links the name that appears as the author of an article to their profile in

JomSocial

l Delete User: Enables deletion of users Note that this Plugin is automatically installed by

the primary JomSocial Component installer

l Event List: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the EventList

compo-nent Allows the user to display events information inside their profile

l Feeds: Enables the user to display RSS feeds inside their profile.

l Fireboard: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the Fireboard forum.

Note

The Fireboard plugin also supports the Kunena forum extension.

l Friends Location: Enables the display of the physical location of all a user’s friends using

Google Maps

l Groups: Shows which groups the user is a member of.

l Input: This is a system plugin that is responsible for stripping html tags and replacing

new lines with html <br /> tags in posts

l Invite: Enables users to invite friends.

l JomComment: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the JomComment

component Enables the display of comments in the user’s profile

l JomSocialConnect: Aids in integration with Facebook Connect.

l Latest Photo: Enables display of the latest photos uploaded.

l My Articles: Enables the listing of all articles by the user on their profile.

l My Blog: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the MyBlog extension

Enables display of user’s blogs in their profile

l MyBlogToolbar: Enables connection with the MyBlog extension.

l My Google Ads: Enables users to put their own Google Ads in their profiles.

Users need to omit the <script> tags when they input their Google Ads code.

l Nice Talk: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the Nice Talk discussions

extension

l phpBB: This plugin is used when you have also installed the phpBB forum on your site It

links phpBB forum posts with the user’s profile

Note

At the time of writing this plugin only supported phpBB integration via the ROKBridge phpBB forum bridge.

l Seyret: This plugin is used for integration of JomSocial with the Seyret Extension Enables

display of videos from Seyret

l System: This plugin is not used by the system and can be disregarded.

l Twitter: Enables users to synch and show their Twitter feed in their profile.

l Walls: Sets up a Facebook-like wall functionality that enables users to comment on each

others’ profiles Note that this plugin is automatically installed by the primary JomSocial component installer

l Word Filter: Enables filtering of bad words.

JomSocial apps are installed like any other Joomla! plugin Don’t forget to enable the plugins You can’t use them until you do

Cross-Reference

Installing new Plugins is covered in Chapter 22.

Note

The Apps Delete User and Walls and Invite are redundant; though you will find them in the Apps directory, they are installed automatically by the JomSocial installer during the initial installation of the primary

JomSocial component; there is no point in trying to install them again and the system will display an error mes-sage if you try.

Overview of the JomSocial Control Panel

When you access the JomSocial component you will first see the default JomSocial control panel,

as show in Figure 24.5, below The control panel is intended to give you quick access to the most common functionalities needed by a site administrator