Profile Field Setup
Skip the Forums Setup screen for now, and instead click on Profile Field Setup. On this screen, there are three actions that you can take. You can add additional field groups, add new fields, and then choose the location for each of these fields within their group.
At present, your installation of BuddyPress has one default field placed within one default field group which now bears the name that it was given when you changed it from Base on the BuddyPress Settings screen. Any fields located in this default field group will appear on the signup screen under the heading of Profile Details.
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This field group also appears on the screen that your users see when they go to edit their profile.
Any additional field groups that you add will only be visible to users when they wish to edit their profile. As things stand, your users will have a profile that consists of nothing more than their name. Since that doesn't make for much of a profile you need to add some additional field groups and fields. With the addition of these new groups and fields, it will be possible for your members to build a robust profile page.
Begin by adding fields to the default field group. This section should include the standard information that you might expect to see on any signup form. Suppose that you want to add a drop-down menu for registrants to select their gender. To do this, click on Add New Field. In the Field Title textbox, enter Gender. In the Field Description textbox you have the option of providing explanatory information about this field. In this case, the purpose of this field is pretty obvious, so no description is necessary. Next, you have the option of making this a required field. The last setting is a drop-down menu labeled Field Type. With this setting you can choose from many different field types. Drop Down Select Box seems to be the most obvious choice, so select that from the list.
Upon selecting that option, a new options area will appear. Here you can enter options for this field. First, select how you would like your drop-down selections to be ordered. Next, enter Female into the textbox labeled Option 1. Click Add Another Option and then enter Male into that textbox. Don't select either option as a default value. Click Save, and this field will now be included in your default field group.
Continue adding any additional fields that you would like to include within this group before moving on to creating a new field group.
Now that you've customized your default field group, it's time to think about the information that you would like users to be able to provide on their profile pages. Think about the field groups and fields that are appropriate to the theme of your community portal. For example, if you're planning on creating a community portal geared toward sports fans, you might add a field group called Favorite Teams. Within this field group you could place textboxes for your members to enter their favorite baseball, football, basketball, or soccer teams.
Once you have a clear idea of the fields that you would like to include, you should next consider how those fields might be organized. You might find it helpful to construct an outline to depict the organizational layout of your field groups and fields. This will help you to decide how everything should appear onscreen, the field groups that will hold certain fields, and the type of entry method appropriate for each field.
Once again, suppose that you're creating a sports-related community portal. If that were the case, then your organizational outline might look similar to the following:
• Favorite Teams
° Baseball—textbox
° Basketball—textbox
° Football—textbox
• Favorite Sports to Play
° Baseball—checkbox
° Basketball—checkbox
° Football—checkbox
° Soccer—checkbox
With your outline handy, begin by adding the first of your new field groups. To do this, click the button labeled Add New Field Group. On this screen, enter the name of your first field group into the textbox labeled Field Group Name and then click Add New Field Group.
Add New Field Group
Field Group Name
Favorite Teams
Add New Field Group —j
The Profile Field Setup screen will now contain both your default field group and the new one that you just created. There will also be an Add New Field link located within each of these field groups.
Click the Add New Field link located within the field group that you just created. Then, create the first of the new fields within this field group. Continue this process until all of the fields within this group have been created.
|
Favorite Teams |
Edit |
Delete | |
|
Field Name |
Field Type Required? |
Action | |
|
$ Baseball |
textbox |
Edit |
Delete |
|
8 Basketball |
textbox |
Edit |
Delete |
|
8 Football |
textbox |
Edit |
Delete |
|
8 Soccer |
textbox |
Edit |
Delete |
|
Add New Field | |||
Continue creating a field group and adding fields to it until you've reached the end of your outline. Once this process is complete, you can then change the location of any fields within their group. This can be done quite easily by just dragging and dropping the field to a new location. Keep in mind that fields can't be dragged from one field group to another. If you decide that you would like a field to appear in a different group, then you will need to create the field within that group and then delete it from its original group.
As you will recall, you previously skipped over the Forums Setup screen. Well, now it's time to visit that screen so that you can install and integrate bbPress into your website.
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