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Administrative Help Center
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Introduction
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As you are well aware, YaBB is a fantastic community platform. Easily installed; easily managed. It's the perfect solution for growing and maintaining a solid, proactive relationship with your user base. This help section will help you understand some of the many new and powerful features you now have at your fingertips. If you would like to skip ahead to a specific subsection of this help, please use the navigation menu to the left.
For a more complete manual, please visit The YaBB Codex.
For support and troubleshooting, please visit YaBB's Support Community
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Manage Categories
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Accessing the Category Functions
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This YaBB version comes equiped with powerful tools to manage and control the conversational flow of your community. The cornerstone of which is the ability to group boards into an unlimited* number of categories. In order to access these functions, you must, of course, be logged in as an Administrator (or Global Moderator with proper access rights). Once you are, look at the main menu. You will notice a link titled "Admin Center". Clicking this will bring you to a large control panel. On the left hand menu, search for the section titled "Forum Controls" and click on the first link titled "Categories".
* YaBB is only limited by the space allocated to you on your web hosting server.
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Editing a Category
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Editing a cateogry with YaBB is fast and easy thanks to the hard work our fantastic team of developers. While inside of the Categories function of your Admin Center (see above for details), you will see a list of existing categories, each with a corresponding check box. Clicking on this check box will flag this category for editing.
Once you have checked all the categories you wish to edit, scroll to the bottom of the list and search for the set of radio buttons titled " With selected:". Click on the radio button for "Edit", then press the button to the right titled "Go". Inside you will find the following items for each category:
- ID
- This is for internal use only. It lets YaBB keep track of things, and it will be used in the URL to view that category.
- Name
- This is the title of your category. It's the name your users will see. You may edit this however you wish.
- Allowed to View/See Category
- If you wish to make this board private, you may choose which Member Groups will be allowed to see this category. Leave this blank to allow everyone access.
- Allow Collapse
- Check this box to allow your users to expand and collapse this category on the front page.
When you've finished making your edits, search for and click the button titled "Save" at the bottom of the list of categories.
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Deleting a Category
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If you would like to remove a category, follow the directions above to access your category management page. In the list of categories, you will notice a check box that corresponds to each title. Check this box for each and every category you wish to remove. Once selected, scroll to the bottom of the category listings and locate the set of radio buttons titled "With Selected:". Click on the radio labeled "Remove" then press the button to the right titled "Go".
A small popup will ask you to confirm that you want to remove these categories. Click "OK" to remove them or "Cancel" to keep them.
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Adding new Categories
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YaBB now allows you to add many new categories all at once. To do this, access the forum's category management functions as shown above. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the list and find the function titled "Add Categories:". Enter the number of new categories you wish to create in the box and press the button titled "Add".
On this new page, you will be given a set of options for each of the new categories you want to create:
- ID
- This is for internal use only. It lets YaBB keep track of things, and it will be used in the URL to view the category. Entry must be alphanumeric (No symbols)
- Name
- This is the title of your category. It's the name your users will see. You may edit this however you wish.
- Allowed to View/See Category
- If you wish to make this board private, you may choose which Member Groups will be allowed to see this category. Leave this blank to allow everyone access.
- Allow Collapse
- Check this box to allow your users to expand and collapse this category on the front page.
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Manage Boards
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Accessing the Board Functions
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Now that you have created your categories, you can use YaBB's amazing board-creation utilities to manage the postable sections of your community. YaBB allows you to create an unlimited* number of boards in every category. In order to access these functions, you must be logged in as an Administrator or Global Moderator with proper access rights. Once you are, look at the main menu. You will notice a link titled "Admin Center". Clicking this will bring you to a large control panel. On the left hand menu, search for the section titled "Forum Controls" and click on the second link titled "Boards".
* YaBB is only limited by the space allocated to you on your web hosting server.
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Adding New Boards
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YaBB now gives admins the ability to add multiple boards from a single screen. To do this, access the forum's board management functions as explained above. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the list of existing boards (if any) and find the function titled "Add Boards". Enter the number of new boards you would like to create in the text box then press the button titled "Add".
On this new page, you will be given a large set of options for each of the new boards you are trying to add:
- Board ID
- This is only used for internal YaBB functions, and it is used in the URL used to view a board. You may enter any alphanumeric name you wish.
- Name
- This is what your users will see. You may enter anything you wish here.
- Description
- Describe this board so your users will know what the subject/topic will be.
- Moderators
- Enter the username of the members you wish to give Moderator access (seperate with commas).
- Category
- Choose which category you would like this board to be a part of.
- Board Picture
- Here you can assign a small picture to represent this board.
- Zero Post Count Board?
- Check this box if you would like to prevent posts made in this board from increasing users' post counts.
- Show to All?
- Checking this option will ensure the board is shown to all able to view the Board Index even if they are not allowed access to the board.
- Allow Attachments
- Checking this option will enable users to attach files to their posts.
- Global Announcements
- Checking this option will ensure the messages in this board are shown as important on top of every board. No matter how the permissions are set, only Administrators and Global Moderators can start new topics or reply. Note: YaBB only allows a single board to have this label.
- Recycle Bin
- Checking this option make this board a recycle bin for messages deleted by moderators. Note: YaBB only allows a single board to have this label.
- Mininum Age to Access
- Restrict access by mininum age.
- Maxium Age to Access
- Restrict access by maximum age.
- Gender Allowed Access
- Restrict access by gender.
- Allowed to Start Topics
- Limit which Member Groups can start a new topic.
- Allowed to Reply to Topics
- Limit which Member Groups are allowed to reply to topics.
- Allowed to View Topics
- Limit which Member Groups are allowed to view topics.
- Allowed to Create Polls
- Limit which Member Groups are allowed to create polls.
Once you have filled out all the information for your new boards, scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on the button titled "Save". Your new boards will be created and opened for posting!
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Deleting a Board
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If you would like to remove a board, follow the directions above to access your board management page. In the list of boards, you will notice a check box that corresponds to each title. Check this box for each and every board you wish to remove. Once selected, scroll to the bottom of the board listings and locate the set of radio buttons titled "With Selected:". Click on the radio labeled "Remove" then press the button to the right titled "Go".
A small popup will ask you to confirm that you want to remove these boards. Click "OK" to remove them or "Cancel" to keep them.
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Editing a Board
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If you need to make changes to any of the boards you have created, simply follow the directions above to access your board management section. In the list of boards, you will notice a check box that corresponds to each title. Check this box for each and every board you wish to edit. Once selected, scroll to the bottom of the board listings and locate the set of radio buttons titled "With Selected:". Click on the radio labeled "Edit" then press the button to the right titled "Go".
On this new page, you will be given a large set of options for each of the boards you are editing:
- Board ID
- Name
- This is what your users will see. You may enter anything you wish here.
- Description
- Describe this board so your users will know what the subject/topic will be.
- Moderators
- Enter the username of the members you wish to give Moderator access (seperate with commas).
- Category
- Choose which category you would like this board to be a part of.
- Board Picture
- Here you can assign a small picture to represent this board.
- Zero Post Count Board?
- Check this box if you would like to prevent posts made in this board from increasing users' post counts.
- Show to All?
- Checking this option will ensure the board is shown to all able to view the Board Index even if they are not allowed access to the board.
- Allow Attachments
- Checking this option will enable users to attach files to their posts.
- Global Announcements
- Checking this option will ensure the messages in this board are shown as important on top of every board. No matter how the permissions are set, only Administrators and Global Moderators can start new topics or reply. Note: YaBB only allows a single board to have this label.
- Recycle Bin
- Checking this option make this board a recycle bin for messages deleted by moderators. Note: YaBB only allows a single board to have this label.
- Mininum Age to Access
- Restrict access by mininum age.
- Maxium Age to Access
- Restrict access by maximum age.
- Gender Allowed Access
- Restrict access by gender.
- Allowed to Start Topics
- Limit which Member Groups can start a new topic.
- Allowed to Reply to Topics
- Limit which Member Groups are allowed to reply to topics.
- Allowed to View Topics
- Limit which Member Groups are allowed to view topics.
- Allowed to Create Polls
- Limit which Member Groups are allowed to create polls.
Once you have made your changes, scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on the button titled "Save".
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Manage Members
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Accessing Member Controls
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Since YaBB is built to encourage and facilitate an active community of users, it comes with several tools to assist administrators in the management of members. To access these controls, ensure you are logged in as an Administrator and enter your "Admin Center". Once inside, look for the 6th section down on the sidebar titled "Member Controls".
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Manually Add Member
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It may become necessary from time to time for an administrator to manually create a new member account. For example, this can often be useful to help those with a disability become a member.
From your Member Controls section on the Admin Center sidebar, click on the very first link titled "Add Member". This new page will give you a simple registration form that will allow you to add a member without having to logout. Simply fill out this form with the new member's username, password and email.
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Banning Members
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Unfortunately, users are not always filled with the great sense of community that YaBB provides. These users can become rude, break rules, harass other members, or even spam your board. This is why YaBB gives you the ability to block these troublemakers from disturbing your board. To begin banning a member, access your Admin Center and find "Member Controls" as described above. Find the link titled "Ban Members" and click on it. This new page will give you three methods for banning a member: by IP address, email and username.
IP Address
Banning by IP address will prevent anyone from accessing your board if their IP address is listed here. While effective, this could prevent a legitimate user from logging on. It may also fail if the user is behind a proxy or has a dynamic IP. To enter a specific IP address, enter all four octets of the users IP address (example: 192.168.255.8). You may also use wildcards to block a range of IP addresses by only entering in the first few octets of the address (example: 192.168. ). Enter only 1 IP address per line.
Email Address
The second method allows you to prevent anyone using a specific email address (example: bad@user.com) from registering or logging in. Enter only 1 email address per line.
Username
Finally, the simplest way to ban a user is by their username. Enter only 1 username per line.
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Member Groups
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Member Groups give you the ability to assign a group or classification to a member. These groups can then be used to grant special privileges and/or access to your forum or simply be used for the fun of it. If you would like to create a group, enter your Admin Center and find the section titled "Member Controls" as described above then click on the link "Member Groups".
This new page will then show you the three group types. The first are system/static groups. These can be renamed by clicking on the "edit" button for each entry, however, because of their importance, they cannot be removed. The second are "Post independent Member Groups" and are assigned to a member by an Administrator or Global Moderator as they are not tied to a user's post count. The third and final group, however, is based on how many posts a user has. YaBB will automatically assign these when a user reaches the listed number of posts.
To create a new Member Group, click on the link titled "Add Group" next to either "Post Independent" or "Post Dependent" Member Groups. This will bring up a new page with a form to add new groups.
Name: This is the name that will be shown to everyone.
# of Stars: How many stars should this group have?
Star Type: Choose a default star type from the drop down box, or enter the path to a different one.
Color: This gives the displayed name of a group member a special color treatment. Leave blank for no color.
Post Independent Group: Should this group not be assigned based on post count?
Post Dependent Group Should this group be assigned based on post count, and how many posts should be required?
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