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A Guide/Introduction to Proboards v5
Nov 23, 2013 10:20:59 GMT -5
When it comes to transitioning from Proboards V4 to Proboards V5, it can be very hard. I know I hated V5 when it was announced. When I accepted the change and started learning how to use V5 and how to make my "perfect" site over again, I started to love it. I have written a full tutorial on Proboards V5 so you can love it to!
WAIT, WHAT? HOW?
are you new to proboards version five? don't worry!
When it comes to transitioning from Proboards V4 to Proboards V5, it can be very hard. I know I hated V5 when it was announced. When I accepted the change and started learning how to use V5 and how to make my "perfect" site over again, I started to love it. I have written a full tutorial on Proboards V5 so you can love it to!
screen shots:
I have added many screen shots in this tutorial so I can better explain things. Are they too hard to see or read correctly? Just right click and select "Open image in new tab"!choose a tutorial:
Nov 23, 2013 10:23:30 GMT -5
First off, the moment you look at a Proboards V5 site you will probably notice two things right off the bat: the Navigation Menu and Navigation Tree. These two things were improved massively since V4. Here is a screen shot showing you some of the new things that might be different to you.
If you have any bookmarks, a new Navigation Bar Button "Bookmarks" will be added and a Notification Bubble will appear over it when someone has posted on one of your bookmarks! Wait! What is that "NEW" icon besides "Participated" doing there? Read on to find out!
What about that "Participated" link all alone over to the right? Well, if you click on it a window will appear showing you all the threads you have participated in and will tell you which ones have been updated!
at first glance
what is different and how is it better than proboards v4?
First off, the moment you look at a Proboards V5 site you will probably notice two things right off the bat: the Navigation Menu and Navigation Tree. These two things were improved massively since V4. Here is a screen shot showing you some of the new things that might be different to you.
forum name:
When you set your Forum Name it will appear here and when clicked it will take you to your home page of your forum. If you have a Forum Logo, your Logo will replace your Forum Name. To find out how to add your Forum Name or Logo, read Admin Panel.navigation menu & Welcome Message:
As you can tell, the new Navigation Menu looks much better and what you will find out is it is much more useful. There are no longer annoying images you have to change to text and you can set selected button colors so you know what you are currently viewing. Wait! There is more! A Notification Bubble will appear over Profile when you are tagged in a post, someone likes your post, quotes you, follows you or becomes your friend.If you have any bookmarks, a new Navigation Bar Button "Bookmarks" will be added and a Notification Bubble will appear over it when someone has posted on one of your bookmarks! Wait! What is that "NEW" icon besides "Participated" doing there? Read on to find out!
navigation tree & participated:
Compared to Proboards V4's Navigation Tree, V5 is a blast into the future!What about that "Participated" link all alone over to the right? Well, if you click on it a window will appear showing you all the threads you have participated in and will tell you which ones have been updated!
news fader:
Do you remember what the News Fader used to look like? Now it isn't as big and bulky! Unlike the GIF image below, each new phrase slides in from the right and you can change how fast or slow they switch. By clicking on the arrows you can skip through phrases! To find out how to edit your News Fader, read Admin Panel.actions:
To the bottom far right of your forum you will always see this little icon where you can Switch Accounts, Forums, and change your Account Settings. More information about this feature in Registering.
Nov 23, 2013 10:24:35 GMT -5
How do you register on Proboards V5? How does the new account system work? I bet you have a million questions. So did I. First off, you login like you used to. Click the "Register" link at the far right of the Navigation Bar. Depending on the site you are registering on, this can be in different places, however, it will normally be on the right of the Navigation Bar. Once you have clicked register you will be taken to this page:
If you are registering an account on a forum for the first time, you will be brought to this page after you enter into your email. You will then of course enter in all the fields and create your account.
If you already have an account on the forum, use your same email as your other account and you will be taken to this page:
Once you enter in your already existing accounts password you will be taken to this page. Set a new username for your new account and you skip all other steps and are taken to the forum already logged in to your new account.
But wait! If you have just upgraded your Proboards V4 forum to V5, there is a different process! Of course you do not want to have to re-create all your existing accounts. So, you have to upgrade your V4 accounts. You will be asked to login to your normal accounts or to create a new one. You will have to login to each of your existing accounts.
how to register
where do i register an account on proboards v5? is it hard?
How do you register on Proboards V5? How does the new account system work? I bet you have a million questions. So did I. First off, you login like you used to. Click the "Register" link at the far right of the Navigation Bar. Depending on the site you are registering on, this can be in different places, however, it will normally be on the right of the Navigation Bar. Once you have clicked register you will be taken to this page:
If you are registering an account on a forum for the first time, you will be brought to this page after you enter into your email. You will then of course enter in all the fields and create your account.
If you already have an account on the forum, use your same email as your other account and you will be taken to this page:
Once you enter in your already existing accounts password you will be taken to this page. Set a new username for your new account and you skip all other steps and are taken to the forum already logged in to your new account.
But wait! If you have just upgraded your Proboards V4 forum to V5, there is a different process! Of course you do not want to have to re-create all your existing accounts. So, you have to upgrade your V4 accounts. You will be asked to login to your normal accounts or to create a new one. You will have to login to each of your existing accounts.
Nov 23, 2013 10:31:38 GMT -5
There is quite a bit to the new profiles of Proboards V5. There are tabs! Each tab has more and unique information on it for that specific user. Now, there are two sets of tabs: there is the set when you are viewing a profile and a set when you are editing a profile.
What is this talk of Statuses? Proboards V5 has added a type of Facebook Status were you can update a short phrase whenever you like and it will be seen in your Profile and Mini Profile in posts.
What are Followers? You noticed that at the right of the Profile, did you not? Well, Proboards has also added another feature much like Tumblr where you can follow users and take their activity on the "Following" tab. Note that this screen shot is viewing my own personal Profile, therefore, the "Follow" button which would normally appear to the left of "Send Message" -or if you are Staff with Profile Editing permission, to the left of "Edit Profile"- will not be visible.
The Gear Icon to the right of "Send Message" is a drop down menu of Options. They differ for user's and staff! A few examples of these options are such: Block Member, Warn Member, Disable Account, Ban Member, Delete Member, Give Member Gift.
There are five options for your Avatar by default. You can "Use only your ProBoards Avatar," "Use only the Uploaded/Linked," "Combine them, use the Uploaded/Linked as a background for your ProBoards Avatar," "Use a Forum Avatar - Pick One," or "No Avatar (ProBoards Default)." What is a Proboards Avatar? Well, Proboards has added in an option where you can create your own Avatar using their "Avatar Maker."
new pb v5 profiles
bigger, better, stronger! viewing and editing your profiles
There is quite a bit to the new profiles of Proboards V5. There are tabs! Each tab has more and unique information on it for that specific user. Now, there are two sets of tabs: there is the set when you are viewing a profile and a set when you are editing a profile.
viewing your profile:
Here is a screen shot of the lovely new V5 Profile on the default tab, "Summary." Yes, I know my arrows suck.What is this talk of Statuses? Proboards V5 has added a type of Facebook Status were you can update a short phrase whenever you like and it will be seen in your Profile and Mini Profile in posts.
What are Followers? You noticed that at the right of the Profile, did you not? Well, Proboards has also added another feature much like Tumblr where you can follow users and take their activity on the "Following" tab. Note that this screen shot is viewing my own personal Profile, therefore, the "Follow" button which would normally appear to the left of "Send Message" -or if you are Staff with Profile Editing permission, to the left of "Edit Profile"- will not be visible.
The Gear Icon to the right of "Send Message" is a drop down menu of Options. They differ for user's and staff! A few examples of these options are such: Block Member, Warn Member, Disable Account, Ban Member, Delete Member, Give Member Gift.
activity:
By clicking this tab you can see whatever this member has done on the site: posting, liking threads, editing their profile, etc.following:
This tab shows you the activity of the users that user is following: posting, liking threads, etc.friends:
This tab will show you all the friends of the user. Friends are two users that have followed each other.groups:
Clicking this tab will show you what groups that user is in and how many users are in each of those groups.notifications: (only for you)
This tab shows you your personal notifications. No one else can see this tab on your profile and you cannot see anyone's either. When a post you posted was liked, a post you made quoted, you were followed, be-befriended, or if you are the main admin (creator) of the forum you will be notified when another person registers on your forum.gift:
The gift tab is where you gift users badges. This is default for Proboards V5 and some badges (most even) you must pay real money to get or give.editing your profile:
To edit a profile (note only Staff with permission can edit profiles other than their own) you click "Edit Profile" to the right besides "Follow" and "Send Message." Here is what you will see when you edit your profile, the "Avatar" tab. Note that staff with permission can view and edit your Avatar.There are five options for your Avatar by default. You can "Use only your ProBoards Avatar," "Use only the Uploaded/Linked," "Combine them, use the Uploaded/Linked as a background for your ProBoards Avatar," "Use a Forum Avatar - Pick One," or "No Avatar (ProBoards Default)." What is a Proboards Avatar? Well, Proboards has added in an option where you can create your own Avatar using their "Avatar Maker."
personal: (staff can edit)
The personal tab is where you change your Display Name, Email, Password, Gender, Location, Website Name/URL, Most Recent Status, Signature, Personal Notes, and any Custom Fields if the forum you are on or have set up has any. Note that any staff that has permission can only view and change all but your Email, Password, and Gender.social: (STAFF CAN EDIT)
This is where you add your social network links to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc.!setting:
This is where you can select what theme you view, how you view time, etc.privacy:
This tab is where you select if you want others to view your age, birthday, email, etc. As well as your block list.notifications:
Do you not want to receive notifications on your email when someone posts on a thread you created? You can change these settings within this tab.
staff options: (staff with permission only)
This is where staff with permission can give users a custom title, change their group, disable their account, disable their PMs, and set staff notes.
badges:
This is where you can change your badges settings, which ones you want displayed, etc.
Nov 23, 2013 10:35:16 GMT -5
Lets start with the layout of the thread lists, shall we? Here is a screen shot.
I hope that is all self-explanatory, however, what is new with Proboards V5 posting needs much explaining! There are a few things different with Proboards V5 posting, however, the most important is that the overall language has been changed and improved. First a screen shot of the layout!
Do you remember when you had to have four different codes into your Headers & Footers to use Proboards Enhanced coding to create templates? Well, now you no longer have to because it is default on your forum. Read more information below!
If you have some plugins you can also add classes, mouse-over effects, and tabs! More information about plugins, read Admin Panel.
To show you how different Proboards Enhanced is compared to the new Style Tags of Proboards V5, here is a template I made during the reign of Proboards V4 which I have translated to Proboards V5. Both codes are below as well as the template itself.
threads & posts
new language, new options, new features, new , new, new!
Lets start with the layout of the thread lists, shall we? Here is a screen shot.
I hope that is all self-explanatory, however, what is new with Proboards V5 posting needs much explaining! There are a few things different with Proboards V5 posting, however, the most important is that the overall language has been changed and improved. First a screen shot of the layout!
Do you remember when you had to have four different codes into your Headers & Footers to use Proboards Enhanced coding to create templates? Well, now you no longer have to because it is default on your forum. Read more information below!
style tags:
Instead of using [b][style=][/style][/b] with Proboards Enhanced, now you use [b][div style=""][/div][/b]. As well, [b][atrb=][/b] is are no longer needed. With Proboards V5, it is much easier to create amazing templates and anyone can do it! If you just remember the basic knowledge of HTML and change all the < > to [ ], you will get it! Here are some examples of things you can use: (note there are few things that do not work, for example: box-shadow)[div style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; background-color:background-image: url('URL'); text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; color: #000000;"]content[/div]
[table][tbody][tr][td][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table]
To show you how different Proboards Enhanced is compared to the new Style Tags of Proboards V5, here is a template I made during the reign of Proboards V4 which I have translated to Proboards V5. Both codes are below as well as the template itself.
lyrics of your choice here |
TABLE BY TRINITY @ ADOXOGRAPHY
Proboards V5:
Proboards Enhanced:
[div style="text-align:center;"][div align="center"]
[table style="border:0px;width:460px;background-image:url(http://imageshack.us/a/img855/7058/iybl.png);padding:30px;padding-right:25px;border:#a0a0a0 solid 30px;"][tbody][tr][td][div style="text-align:center;"][div style="width:354px;margin:20px;background-color:#ffffff;"][div style="width:304px;text-align:center;background-color:#5d4847;line-height:8px;font-size:15px;padding:25px;letter-spacing:4px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:arial narrow;color:#ffffff;font-size:.9em;"]lyrics of your choice here[/div][img width="354px" src="http://placehold.it/354x250" style="margin-bottom:-4px;"][div align="center"][table style="margin:0px;border:0px;color:#ffffff;"][tbody][tr][td style="width:352px;background-color:#2D2729;text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;padding:1px;color:#ffffff;"][font face="narrow"][font size="1"][b]WORDS 000 OUTFIT [a href="http://linkhere"]click[/a] tagged open[/b][/font][/font][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][div style="width:338px;background-color:#ffffff;text-align:justify;padding:8px;line-height:9px;text-transform:lowercase;color:#000000;font-family:georgia;font-size:.8em;"]Text here.[/div][div style="width:354px;background-color:#ffffff;"][div style="width:304px;text-align:center;background-color:#5d4847;line-height:8px;font-size:15px;padding:25px;letter-spacing:4px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:arial narrow;color:#ffffff;font-size:.9em;"]lyrics of your choice here[/div][/div][/div][/div][/div][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div][div align="center"][div style="font-family:arial narrow;font-size:10px;font-style:italic;letter-spacing:1px;"]TABLE BY [a href="http://adoxography.boards.net/user/1"]TRINITY[/a] @ ADOXOGRAPHY[/div][/div]
Proboards Enhanced:
[center]
[table][tr][td][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss279/legendskseeker/fk5qwnjpg.png); padding: 30px; border: #a0a0a0 solid 30px; ][center][style=width: 302px; text-align: center; background: #5d4847; line-height: 8px; font-size: 15px; padding: 25px; letter-spacing: 4px; text-transform: uppercase;][font=narrow arial][color=ffffff][size=1]any lyrics of your choice can go here[/size][/color][/font][/style][img src="http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/5185/imagepr.png"]
[style=width: 349px; background-color: 2D2729; text-align: center; padding: 1px; color: ffffff;][font=narrow arial][size=1][b]WORDS 000 OUTFIT [url=urlhere]CLICK[/url] TAGGED OPEN[/b][/size][/font][/style][style=width: 335px; background-color: ffffff; text-align: justify; padding: 8px; line-height: 9px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 9px; color: 000000;]post here. [color=5d4847][b]"dialog here."[/b][/color] post here.[/style][style=width: 302px; text-align: center; background: #5d4847; line-height: 8px; font-size: 15px; padding: 25px; letter-spacing: 4px; text-transform: uppercase;][font=narrow arial][color=ffffff][size=1]lyrics of your choice continued here[/size][/color][/font][/style][/center][/td][/tr][/td][/tr][/table][style=font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 1px;]TABLE BY [url=http://adoxography.boards.net/user/1]TRINITY[/url] @ ADOXOGRAPHY[/style][/center]
preview vs. bbcode:
When you create a thread or make a reply, on the bottom left of the text area there will be two tabs: Preview and BBCode. BBCode is what you are used to, seeing all the code as you write it. The Preview tab shows you what the post will look like once posted. Note that using the Preview tab is better to be used for plain text and not tables, etc. for you could mess things up by using it, things don't always look the way they should in it, plugins do not work on it, and it has a nasty habit of adding [span] tags for no apparent reason.
new features:
- Like System: Remember you had to use a code to add likes to posts? Not anymore! Proboards has added it in by default! If you want dislikes, there is a plugin in the library as well available for use!
- Options (Gear Icon): Do you see that little gear to the top right of your post? You will see this while editing your post as well! Clicking this will give you a drop down menu of actions for that post and also for that member of that post. You can set labels, sticky threads, make announcements, enable falling, find a user's IP address, and more!
- Tagging: You can now tag users in posts! By typing in a user's username (not display name) directly after the @ symbol, it will notify them! This way you can tag a member in a post you wish them to see. Note that for the admin it will always be
@admin
for that is their username. - Labels: What are labels? They are literally labels that you can set on threads for a specific board. Do have an Archives board and want to distinguish the differences between IC threads and OOC threads? You can use labels for this! To create labels you go into your Admin Panel where you create boards and categories. Click on a boards settings and at the bottom you will see where to add labels. You can set different colors for your labels and also change the settings of who can set them and see them!
- Falling: This is a very new concept to Proboards V5. I have yet to use it, however, many people use it all the time! When falling is enabled on a thread, to do this click on the gear icon and enable falling, the thread will not be bumped to the top of the thread list when a new post has been made. How could this be useful? Think of a board where all the threads are blog posts and you want them to stay in chronicle order no matter how many replies each one gets!
- Post Selecting: By holding down "alt" you can click multiple posts and delete any thread to delete all selected posts! You can also do the same to quote multiple posts!
Nov 23, 2013 10:36:07 GMT -5
Here we have the new Proboards V5 Admin Panel. As you can tell at first glance, it does not look like Proboards V4! Because of this you might get confused, however, you can change the look of the layout to be similar to Proboards V4. Do you see the four buttons: "Overview," "Basic," "Standard," and "Legacy"? Clicking each one will give you a different layout. The Legacy layout is similar to Proboards V4. For this tutorial, however, I will be focusing on the Overview layout and I will be constantly pointing you to different pages by using the greater than symbol > because if you notice the top of the Admin Panel you can see your Forum's Name > Admin Panel. This is how I will direct you to places in your Admin Panel. Here is a screenshot of the Admin Panel:
When clicking on Forum Settings, you will see nine tabs. The one you will see by default will be "Forum." I will explain briefly what you can do on each!
Let's focus on the Theme Manager for a bit. When going into the Theme Manager you will see at least one Theme already listed, "Default."
It maybe confusing as to how to upload and download Themes. You can upload a Theme by clicking "Create New/Import Theme" and by clicking on your desired Theme, there will be an "Export" tab at the very end. This tab will let you either download your Theme to your computer or export it into the Theme Library. Note that Theme files will end in .pbt! IMPORTANT! .pbt files cannot be opened by your computer, they are specific to Proboards software. They are meant to be uploaded onto your forum by selecting "Import an Existing Theme."
When making a new Theme you have a few options:
How you do edit a Theme do you ask? Well, there are many ways. You can think simple or you can think big and advanced. Let's start off simple and work our way into the advanced stuff, shall we? Good! So, first create a new Theme and you will be brought to this page:
Once you click on "Edit Theme Colors" you will be taken to a new page with a preview of your forum at the right of options to the left. Here are a few of screen shots with directions of what you can do.
Click on "Customize Theme Colors" to bring up the color selector for your Theme.
What are Buttons? Those are your "Edit," "Quote," "Like," and "Options" buttons on Posts.
What is Background 1/2? That is the background color of even/odd Boards and Thread Posts.
What is Pagination? That colors the colors of your pages that appears on Threads and Thread lists.
Now that we've changed the colors of your forum, lets change your images! Return back to your Theme Manager and click "Images" on your selected theme.
Let's discuss the Thread Icons. They are bigger and a little different than those of Proboards V4!
Now let's take a look at your Forum Icons. There are a few new icons that you should know about!
What is that red question mark next to? That is the Board Description icon. That will appear at the bottom of every board (once clicked and viewing the threads within) and will tell you Statistics for that Board: posts, threads, views, etc.
Alright, last set of icons we need to take a gander at are the Wysiwyg/BBCode Buttons! I will just be pointing out the new icons:
Do you want to add buttons to the list or even remove a few? Check out this plugin by Eton Bones!
The last thing to discuss when it comes to Themes is Advanced Styles & CSS! How do you find this? Go to Admin > Themes > Advanced Styles & CSS. You will see a preview of your site to the right and a series of drop down links to the left.
If you don't like the Visual Editor and want to get into more detail with styles, click on the "Style Sheet" tab!
Tada! That's it for Themes! Read on to learn more!
First, let's talk about Categories & Boards!
There are many settings you can add to each category and board. When you create one, this is what you will see:
For the Settings tab you see to the right of as well as Permissions and Moderators, here is another screen shot!
Next in Structure is Headers & Footers. Just like in Proboards V4, adding codes to the Headers & Footers adds it to the entire site, the main page, or to a certain Header or Footer on a certain Board. However, with Proboards V5, it is discourages to add all your coding to the Headers & Footers unless you want whatever it is you are adding to effect all your Themes on your Forum. If not, you should add your code into your Layout Templates which I will be talking about soon! Here is a quick screen shot of the Headers & Footers page:
Second to last are your forum's Custom Pages. These are pages that can hold a simple page of text, HTML, or many different widgets!
Creating a new Custom Page?
Once you create your Custom Page you will have formatting options. At the bottom of this page make sure you have "Embed custom page in Forum Wrapper (recommended)" checked yes otherwise your Custom Page will not look like your forum.
Editing your Custom Page is simple with the widgets Proboards V5 has added!
What is next? Saved best for last, Layout Templates! This is how you change the formatting and physical appearance of anything on your forum.
I will the Mini Profile template and use it as an example of how to change things and also how useful the "Loops and Variables" side bar is!
I have highlighted each code separately for you in the template so you can see the separate parts. You can re-arrange your Mini Profile by moving these codes around and even style them by giving them <span style="styles"></span>! The Loops and Variables section to the right gives you hundreds of different variables that can make a user's birthday appear, age, registered date, etc.! For each Template, the Loops and Variables section will change to show you what you could do for that Template!
Here are a few that I would suggest!
Now how do you add Plugins? Click on "Manage" and "Import Plugin"! Note that all plugin files end in .pbp!
First we have the Member Groups:
And then the Member Ranks!
There is a brand new feature to Proboards V5 and it's amazing! Have you ever wanted to add something to your Mini Profiles before? Maybe a relationship status or job? Well you can now with Custom Fields!
Here are your options for Text Fields:
Lastly, is your forum's Default Avatar. You already found out how to change the Default Avatar for a certain Theme, but setting your Default Avatar here will change it for all Themes:
pb v5 admin panel
don't know what you're doing anymore? let me help you out!
Here we have the new Proboards V5 Admin Panel. As you can tell at first glance, it does not look like Proboards V4! Because of this you might get confused, however, you can change the look of the layout to be similar to Proboards V4. Do you see the four buttons: "Overview," "Basic," "Standard," and "Legacy"? Clicking each one will give you a different layout. The Legacy layout is similar to Proboards V4. For this tutorial, however, I will be focusing on the Overview layout and I will be constantly pointing you to different pages by using the greater than symbol > because if you notice the top of the Admin Panel you can see your Forum's Name > Admin Panel. This is how I will direct you to places in your Admin Panel. Here is a screenshot of the Admin Panel:
Settings:
Here is where you can edit your Forum's Settings, Calendar Settings, News Fader (Feed) Settings, Shoutbox Settings (default chat box for Proboards V5), your Forum's Censored Words Settings, and lastly your Forum's Reserved Names. Let's get into detail, shall we?When clicking on Forum Settings, you will see nine tabs. The one you will see by default will be "Forum." I will explain briefly what you can do on each!
- Forum: Here is where you change your Forum's Title, settings for the Like System, default time zone, settings for hot threads and posts per page, as well as your Information Center settings and Maintenance Mode.
- Login & Registration: Change the colors for your forum's login page and also set a default PM sent to new members and also redirect them to a certain page on registering.
- Navigation: Change what buttons are visible on your Navigation Bar as well as add more!
- Calendar: Disable or enable your forum calendar and set viewing/creating permissions.
- News Feed: Change the speed for your News Fader (Feed), disable or enable!
- Shoutbox: Enable or disable, change the height of your shoutbox, and also change where it appears on your forum (top or bottom).
- Directory: Add your forum to the Proboards Forum Directory!
- Forum Category: Change your forum's category.
- Delete Forum: Self-explanatory, no?
themes:
There are five sub-categories when you enter Themes: Theme Manager, Colors & Theme Creator, Advanced Styles & CSS, Layout Templates (see Structure), and Theme Library.Let's focus on the Theme Manager for a bit. When going into the Theme Manager you will see at least one Theme already listed, "Default."
It maybe confusing as to how to upload and download Themes. You can upload a Theme by clicking "Create New/Import Theme" and by clicking on your desired Theme, there will be an "Export" tab at the very end. This tab will let you either download your Theme to your computer or export it into the Theme Library. Note that Theme files will end in .pbt! IMPORTANT! .pbt files cannot be opened by your computer, they are specific to Proboards software. They are meant to be uploaded onto your forum by selecting "Import an Existing Theme."
When making a new Theme you have a few options:
How you do edit a Theme do you ask? Well, there are many ways. You can think simple or you can think big and advanced. Let's start off simple and work our way into the advanced stuff, shall we? Good! So, first create a new Theme and you will be brought to this page:
Once you click on "Edit Theme Colors" you will be taken to a new page with a preview of your forum at the right of options to the left. Here are a few of screen shots with directions of what you can do.
Click on "Customize Theme Colors" to bring up the color selector for your Theme.
What are Buttons? Those are your "Edit," "Quote," "Like," and "Options" buttons on Posts.
What is Background 1/2? That is the background color of even/odd Boards and Thread Posts.
What is Pagination? That colors the colors of your pages that appears on Threads and Thread lists.
Now that we've changed the colors of your forum, lets change your images! Return back to your Theme Manager and click "Images" on your selected theme.
Let's discuss the Thread Icons. They are bigger and a little different than those of Proboards V4!
Now let's take a look at your Forum Icons. There are a few new icons that you should know about!
What is that red question mark next to? That is the Board Description icon. That will appear at the bottom of every board (once clicked and viewing the threads within) and will tell you Statistics for that Board: posts, threads, views, etc.
Alright, last set of icons we need to take a gander at are the Wysiwyg/BBCode Buttons! I will just be pointing out the new icons:
Do you want to add buttons to the list or even remove a few? Check out this plugin by Eton Bones!
The last thing to discuss when it comes to Themes is Advanced Styles & CSS! How do you find this? Go to Admin > Themes > Advanced Styles & CSS. You will see a preview of your site to the right and a series of drop down links to the left.
If you don't like the Visual Editor and want to get into more detail with styles, click on the "Style Sheet" tab!
Tada! That's it for Themes! Read on to learn more!
structure:
Within Structure there are four categories: Categories & Boards, Headers & Footers, Custom Pages, and Layout Templates. I will go through each so you know how to use them!First, let's talk about Categories & Boards!
There are many settings you can add to each category and board. When you create one, this is what you will see:
For the Settings tab you see to the right of as well as Permissions and Moderators, here is another screen shot!
Next in Structure is Headers & Footers. Just like in Proboards V4, adding codes to the Headers & Footers adds it to the entire site, the main page, or to a certain Header or Footer on a certain Board. However, with Proboards V5, it is discourages to add all your coding to the Headers & Footers unless you want whatever it is you are adding to effect all your Themes on your Forum. If not, you should add your code into your Layout Templates which I will be talking about soon! Here is a quick screen shot of the Headers & Footers page:
Second to last are your forum's Custom Pages. These are pages that can hold a simple page of text, HTML, or many different widgets!
Creating a new Custom Page?
Once you create your Custom Page you will have formatting options. At the bottom of this page make sure you have "Embed custom page in Forum Wrapper (recommended)" checked yes otherwise your Custom Page will not look like your forum.
Editing your Custom Page is simple with the widgets Proboards V5 has added!
What is next? Saved best for last, Layout Templates! This is how you change the formatting and physical appearance of anything on your forum.
I will the Mini Profile template and use it as an example of how to change things and also how useful the "Loops and Variables" side bar is!
I have highlighted each code separately for you in the template so you can see the separate parts. You can re-arrange your Mini Profile by moving these codes around and even style them by giving them <span style="styles"></span>! The Loops and Variables section to the right gives you hundreds of different variables that can make a user's birthday appear, age, registered date, etc.! For each Template, the Loops and Variables section will change to show you what you could do for that Template!
plugins:
What are plugins? Think of them as external programs you can add to your forum. While many plugins you can avoid by doing the coding yourself manually within the Layout Templates, there are few plugins that I think are very worth the while, most being mass plugins that require keys (storage).Here are a few that I would suggest!
- Yootil Library
- Monetary System
- Awards System
- Hide Avatar Bar
- Presto Box
- Tabbed Table in Posts
- Different On/Off Icons for Different Boards
Now how do you add Plugins? Click on "Manage" and "Import Plugin"! Note that all plugin files end in .pbp!
members:
There are a few new settings for Members. First we have the Member Groups:
And then the Member Ranks!
There is a brand new feature to Proboards V5 and it's amazing! Have you ever wanted to add something to your Mini Profiles before? Maybe a relationship status or job? Well you can now with Custom Fields!
Here are your options for Text Fields:
Lastly, is your forum's Default Avatar. You already found out how to change the Default Avatar for a certain Theme, but setting your Default Avatar here will change it for all Themes:
security:
Everyone wants a secure forum. Proboards V5 has made your new forum as secure as it can be! Within this category there are five: Security Log, Ban Members, Censored Words, Forum Cleanup, and Reported Posts. I'll explain what you can do with each. No screen shots necessary:- Security Log: See all activity on your forum by all members.
- Ban Members: Of course, ban any member on your forum and give notes as to why as well as set the length of ban time.
- Censored Words: Add censored words to your forum. I'd change them all to "puppies" if you ask me.
- Forum Cleanup: You can delete mass posts, threads, and personal messages by certain members from a certain date.
- Reported Posts: All reported posts will appear in this list were you can decide what should be done with them.
marketing:
This section tells you how to promote your forum and also see statistics for page views and more!upgrades:
Here you can make your forum Ad-Free, give your site a Custom Domain, manage your forum's File Storage, manage your forum's Attachments, change your forum's URL, and lastly, manage your own personal submissions with Proboards!
Nov 23, 2013 12:33:20 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing.
Nov 30, 2013 15:26:34 GMT -5
This will definitely be helpful for newbies You're awesome for sharing, I gave you many cookies.
Nov 30, 2013 17:21:01 GMT -5
Thanks! <3
This will definitely be helpful for newbies You're awesome for sharing, I gave you many cookies.
Dec 1, 2013 4:41:18 GMT -5
I've stickied this, and also changed the title from "Proboards V5", to "A Guide/Introduction to Proboards v5".
I think just having it as the name that it was, made it seem more like it was just a ... I dunno, rules or something new for V5, and not an actual tutorial/guide. If you feel like the current name I have put it as is stupid, for whatever reason, then feel free to change it to something else. Just try make it so it does seem like a tutorial/guide for people
I think just having it as the name that it was, made it seem more like it was just a ... I dunno, rules or something new for V5, and not an actual tutorial/guide. If you feel like the current name I have put it as is stupid, for whatever reason, then feel free to change it to something else. Just try make it so it does seem like a tutorial/guide for people
Jun 8, 2020 19:39:17 GMT -5
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how are you with io games ? After we knew this game, we started to get very enthusiastic about io games. Krunker.io we believe you'll enjoy it. Because it's an Online game, the opponents will be real people, so you have to be careful. Krunker.io we wish you good luck in advance. Enjoy yourselves Friv 2020