Forum Activity for @researchcooperative

Communication options for members and for administrator

Using Jamroom

My understanding is that messages can only be sent by regular member A to regular member B if B has already decided to follow A.

If A wants to send a message to B, then A must follow B and then hope that B responds in kind, despite not having any means of knowing exactly why A has become a follower.

Administrators have a better range of options:

1. As Admin, to send a specific member a private message, I can follow that member, and hope that they follow me despite not knowing why I chose to follow them (just like a regular member of the network).

2. As Admin., I can copy and paste individual email addresses from the Data Browser in Dashboard in order to build a mailing list.

3. As Admin., I can go to ACP, and find the Email Newsletter module, open that, and create a new email newsletter using the Create Newsletter button. This allows me to send multiple emails to all profiles in each quota. The most useful is likely to be the quota for "regular" or standard members as that is the default category for all members joining the network.

4. Clicking on the email newsletter "Newsletter Stats" button leads to a page called "Newsletter Browser" which is just a table with Stats. I cannot actually browse the old newsletters. Is there an archive of old newsletters that I can browse?

FURTHER QUESTIONS

1. Is it possible for regular members to tell other members why they want to follow them (e.g. to exchange private messages), and to explain a request to be followed in return?

2. Is it possible for regular members to communicate with each other without being mutual followers?

I know there has been some discussion of why it is not good to allow unrestricted private messaging between members, but can members control the messages they receive (block senders) if a problem arises? Or can this only be done by 'unfollowing' them?

updated by @researchcooperative: 08/26/15 07:02:47AM

Non-Developers Guide to Customizing Jamroom

Suggestions

Perhaps one way around the problem is for JR or someone working with JR to build a series of template sites that demonstrate some of the range of what can be done with JR, from simple to complex, e.g.:

Minimal interactive
1. A text library site, with searchable catalogue, and a single tier of membership.
2. A music library site, with searchable catalogue, and a single tier of membership.
3. A video library site, with searchable catalogue, and a single tier of membership.
4. A photo library site, with searchable catalogue, and a single tier of membership.

Maximum interactive
5. A subject-focussed site, with forums and pages for several sub-categories, and profile options that allow members to set up different profiles in each sub-category.

A sales site
6. Single company website with searchable forum for interaction with customers, a searchable sales catalogue, and a sales page.
7. Multiple company site, each with independent searchable forum for interaction with customers, a searchable sales catalogue, and a sales page.

In each case, the same site could be shown with (a) the basic JR look, and (b) a fully-styled version.

The above set of templates could then be remixed by users according a 7! matrix, i.e. using the templates in 7x6x5x4x3x2 different combinations. One potential high-value customer group for JR sites may be large museums that want to develop interactive multi-media databases that showcase collections and allow visitors to submit information and ask questions. On top of this, all the content needs to have machine searchable URLs that allow individual museums to integrate their content with other museums, while retaining control over their own content. I think JR can support all of this, but it would need a JR developer to work with a museum systems developer to build and demonstrate this. Perhaps a company museum like the Toyota Company Museum could sponsor this kind of development work.

I agree that the present small JR development team has more fundamental work to be busy with, but ultimately, the user-friendly presentation of options is what non-developers need to see in order to judge if they want to use JR.

With templates, it is possible to have a page explaining exactly how each site is constructed, and to have a systematically constructed set for display, as a JR shopfront. This is different from the unexplained variety of existing JR sites that are currently displayed as examples at JR.
updated by @researchcooperative: 07/17/15 09:30:46PM

Editing a page layout with Sitebuilder

Using Jamroom

That's not how it looks to me.

On my About page I had several boxes, some of them used, some not. I went to the page edit button, then to page layout. In Page layout the default tab shows all layouts currently used in the site.

At this point I could see the existing layout catalogue for my network, and a tab for "New Layout". I chose the latter, as there was not existing layout that matched what I wanted.

I was then shown a page with a button saying "Add row to layout". I changed the three sections here into one unbroken row, and then pressed Add to layout, hoping that this would work.

But no: what happened on my page is that most of boxes and their content disappeared, and the one box that was originally a full row remained.

The phrase "add to layout" does not mean "add" it means "delete existing layout and content, but keep a part of the existing layout if it matches this new design"

Update: I went back to the catalogue of layouts, and selected the original layout being used, and saved. The content that had disappeared reappeared.

So, when I am told to "add row to layout", I need a second instruction that follows immediately in the same place: "..and continue adding rows until you have a new full-page layout that accomodates all the existing content on the page that you are now working on" "

('adding' just one row will convert a page with several rows into a page with just one row) (i.e. the present language is misleading because it is incomplete).
updated by @researchcooperative: 07/17/15 06:55:09AM

Non-Developers Guide to Customizing Jamroom

Suggestions

Just now I noticed the following Youtube video:

"Developers Guide to Customizing Jamroom"

For those of us living in the parallel universe, the following would be VERY useful:

"Non-Developers Guide to Customizing Jamroom"

There is already lot that can be done without knowing and using css, but the information has not been systematically arranged in one place (though it is mostly findable, within Jamroom).

Of course, what can be done without css is limited, but that's OK. In fact, that's the point. We are looking for maximum flexibility with maximum ease, not the infinite flexiblity that (god-like) developers can work with.
updated by @researchcooperative: 09/03/15 11:40:17PM

Editing a page layout with Sitebuilder

Using Jamroom

Although I have been updating modules whenever updates are offered, I don't know what has changed at Site Builder.

My specific problem is with the page layout.

In the current documentation (for an unknown version of Sitebuilder) it seems that we should be able to change the layout of an existing page

In practice, it seems that changing the layout deletes all current content in a page... all that is kept is the URL I suppose.

What I would like to to do is expand a column box and its contents to full page width, while leaving other elements of page untouched.

Currently, it seems we have to manually copy and paste the content of all elements of a page to another location, and then copy and paste them back into the page with the new layout.
updated by @researchcooperative: 12/22/16 11:55:59AM

New Site Builder

Using Jamroom

How do we make the transition?! Is there more to do than just updating the module each time an update is announced?

Site Builder documentation is for what version?

Using Jamroom

I am trying to learn about the current state of page editing with site builder, but am not sure if the current documentation is for the latest version of site builder module.

It would be good if the documentation for each module in JR can be given a standard header that states the version
updated by @researchcooperative: 08/16/15 07:57:46AM

Can using the Form Designer be explained in readable, unabbreviated English in Documentation?

Using Jamroom

ps Sorry about the heading of this post... I'm not asking a straight technical question there. It's just the hand waving of an almost-drowning techno-incompetent.

Disappearing Edit and Trash button glitch

Using Jamroom

All we can offer are steps that might reproduce the problem... For example, it reappeared just now when I did the following:

1. Yesterday: Created and saved new text in Documentation in my website.
2. Today: Returned to Documentation, and opened the new next (which is in a section), and tried to edit (update) there: http://publishsciencenet.jamroomhosting.com/publish-science-network/documentation/technical-tips/10/what-does-the-follow-button-do
3. Moved cursor towards the expected area of the update button and saw it appear, but then could not click on the button because it disappeared before the cursor could reach it.

We don't expect to have to refresh the page because it has just been opened!

At the section header level, the create, update, etc buttons are all stable and clickable.

In this case, it was the buttons at the next level down, inside the section, that could not be clicked because they disappear.
updated by @researchcooperative: 06/27/15 07:50:01AM

Can using the Form Designer be explained in readable, unabbreviated English in Documentation?

Using Jamroom

At the moment,in Form Designer, there is a panel where can design a new field.

This is briefly introduced here:

https://www.jamroom.net/the-jamroom-network/documentation/getting-started/1275/using-the-form-designer

But in the example given, after selecting the field type, the options field is passed over.

In the form designer itself, a ? box provides the following instructions (see below) for choosing various options. For anyone not already familiar with the output of each choice, it is not obvious how the choice will look in the final form, from the user perspective.

It might be useful for many people if options could be illustrated in Documentation with screen grabs of what the final field will look like.

I find the explanation of most of these options very cryptic.

For example, if the field type chosen is an "Optionlist" then we are told:

"you can enter available options ONE PER LINE, in the following format: Option Value|Option Text - you may also enter a valid module FUNCTION name that will return the options dynamically."

My attempt to translate this is:

1. "Available options" are the options that you want to give users filling out this field. Decide what you want to call each option, and then enter one option name per line.
2. Now I am lost.... ??? What is an "option value"? How does this differ from an option text? And how can I use the format with a vertical bar in it? There is no vertical bar on my keyboard: "Option Value|Option Text"
3. What is a "valid module FUNCTION name?"

We need explanations in readable, unabbreviated English somewhere. Please!

Thanks, Peter



*** CURRENT INSTRUCTIONS INSIDE FORM DESIGNER ***

The Options value will vary depending on the selected field type:

file - you can enter the allowed file extensions as a comma separated list - i.e. "txt,pdf,doc,xls" - only files of these types will be allowed to be uploaded.

optionlist - you can enter available options ONE PER LINE, in the following format: Option Value|Option Text - you may also enter a valid module FUNCTION name that will return the options dynamically.

radio - you can enter available options ONE PER LINE, in the following format: Option Value|Option Text - you may also enter a valid module FUNCTION name that will return the options dynamically.

select - you can enter select options ONE PER LINE, in the following format: Option Value|Option Text - you may also enter a valid module FUNCTION name that will return the options dynamically.

select_multiple - you can enter select options ONE PER LINE, in the following format: Option Value|Option Text - you may also enter a valid module FUNCTION name that will return the options dynamically.

live_search - you can enter the searchable options ONE PER LINE, in the following format: Option Value|Option Text - you may also enter a valid module FUNCTION name that will return the options dynamically.

notice - Enter the type of notice (one of: error, notice, success) in the Label text field, and the text you want to display in the Options textarea. HTML is allowed.

chained_select - options are created using the Chained Select module - set this to the Option Set Name you have created in the module.
updated by @researchcooperative: 08/04/15 07:03:34AM