SMF2.1:Boards and categories

Work in progress, expect frequent changes.

Please see SMF1.1 Boards, SMF2.0 Boards, or SMF2.1 Boards and Categories depending on which SMF version you are using.

This page allows administrators to create, edit, re-order, or remove, Categories and Boards. You can also access board permissions from one of these pages.

Create New Category

In the Admin Center > Forum > Boards and categories > Create a New Category, you can create a new category to represent one or more boards on your forum. The options are as follows.

Order - Choose the appropriate order, from the dropdown menu, in which you want this category to appear, relative to the other categories.
Full Name - Type the name for this new category.
Description - Enter a description for this category. This will appear just below the category name, at the top of the list of boards in the category.
Collapsible - Checking this box allows your users to hide the list of boards in this category. Only the category name and description remains visible.

When you finish making your choices, click the Add Category button in the bottom, right corner.

Edit Category

If you need to edit a category, after it is created, first go to the Admin Center > Forum > Boards and categories > Modify Boards page. Click the "Modify" text link, which is immediately to the right of the category name. After you finish making your changes, click the Modify button in the bottom, right corner.

Remove Category

Should you need to remove or delete a category, go to that same page, and click the Delete Category button in the bottom, right corner. If the category contains any boards, you will get an additional page asking whether you want to delete all the boards too, or move the boards somewhere else.

Modify Boards

On Admin Center > Forum > Boards and Categories > Modify Boards page, you will see your forum's Categories and Boards listed in the order they appear in your forum. Here, administrators can create, edit, re-order, or remove boards. They can also access Board Permissions from this page.

Add Board

In the bottom, right corner of each category, at the bottom of the list of boards, you can find the Add Board button. Clicking that opens a new page of settings, under the heading New Board. The options are described below.

Category - Choose the category, within which you want to place this new board.
Order - There are two dropdown menus. In the first, choose Before, After, or Sub-board of. In the second one choose the appropriate board relative to your choice in the first menu. If you are creating the first board in a category, this option will not appear.
Full Name - Type the name you want for this new board.
Description - Enter a description for this board. HTML is not allowed, but certain BBC codes are. They are listed on this page, beside the Description field.
Permission Profile - Choose which board permission profile you want to assign to this board.
Allowed Groups - For each membergroup, choose whether you want to Allow access, Disallow access, or Deny access to this board. Note that if the administrator has not allowed the Deny setting, it will not be available here. Likewise, if the administrator has not allowed Post Count-based groups, those membergroups will not show up here.
Moderators - Enter the moderators who have been assigned to this board only, not global moderators. Also, be sure to enter the moderators' username, not their display name.
Moderator Groups - Enter any groups which have moderation privileges on this board. This does not include post count-based groups, or hidden groups.
Redirect to a web address - Check this box if you want the board title to be a link to some other address, rather than to contain topics and replies. When the box is checked, the last two options below will disappear, for obvious reasons.
Count posts - When this is checked, whenever a member posts a topic or reply in this board, it raises the Posts count, in their profile.
Board theme - With this option, you can change the theme for only this board.

When you have finished setting all the options, be sure to click the Add Board button in the bottom, right corner. After you have finished configuring all the boards in a category, you will see them listed on the Modify Boards page, in order.

Modify Boards

Modify or Edit Options

If you should need to edit the options for an existing board, look to the right of that board on the Modify Boards page, and click the Modify button. That opens a page of settings which is almost identical to the Add Boards page, except this one is titled Modify Boards. The settings are all the same as described above in the Add Board section. Be sure to click the Modify button in the bottom, right corner, when you're finished making changes.

Remember that changing certain of these settings, after your forum has already been live and active for any amount of time, could drastically affect your members. For example, changing the allowed membergroups or the board's permission profile could affect many forum features. Rather than describing all the possible repercussions here, try visiting the Community Forum for advice on your forum's specific circumstances.

Move Boards

In the listing of all the categories and boards, to the right of the Modify button, is a Move button. This allows you to change the order of the boards within the category, or move boards to another category. Or you can make it a sub-board of another board. Click the relevant arrow buttons, using the popup tool tips for guidance.

Board Permissions

To the right of the Move button is a Permissions button. Clicking on that allows you to change board permissions, in the same way as described in the Board Permissions section of the Permissions manual page.

Remove Boards

If you want to remove, or delete a board, first go to Admin Center > Forum > Boards and categories > Modify Boards. Click the Modify button to the right of the board you want to remove. In the bottom, right corner, click the Delete Board button.

As with editing or modifying boards, be mindful of making such a drastic change, if your forum has already been live and active for any amount of time. There are many other options which you could consider. Rather than describe them all here, try visiting the Community Forum for advice on your forum's specific circumstances.

Settings

The Admin Center > Forum > Boards and categories > Settings page contains a few general options for boards and categories.

Membergroups allowed to manage boards and categories - Choose which membergroups you would like to have the ability to manage the boards and categories. These would usually be administrators or moderators, but it's your choice.
Maximum depth of sub-boards to check for new posts, etc. - This setting controls how many sub-board levels SMF will check when looking for new posts in sub-boards. Please see the question mark icon for more details about it.
Count sub-board's posts in parent's totals - Check this option if you want posts in a sub-board to count towards the board's total posts on the index page. Please see the question mark icon for more details.
Enable recycling of deleted topics - Checking this box moves deleted topics ("recycles" them) to the board which you choose from the next menu.
Board for recycled topics - After you check the box above, this becomes a dropdown menu of all the boards in your forum. Click the one you want to contain all your forum's deleted topics.
Allow boards to be ignored - Checking this option allows users to select boards they wish to ignore.
Enable the option to deny board access based on membergroup' - This refers to the Allowed Groups setting on the Add Board or Modify Boards pages. If this option is checked, two new columns show up there: Disallow and Deny. (But Deny still only appears if it is allowed in Settings section of Permissions page.

As an administrator

Main

Configuration

Forum

Members

Maintenance

Miscellaneous

Navigation

Search

Tools