Set-up & site creation
Point your web browser to yourdomain.com/admin and enter your password. Upon successful login you'll see the administration panel with several tabs across the top of the screen. These tabs are ordered to help guide you through the process of configuring your review app. Each tab is discussed below.Home
Your admin homepage serves as a dashboard that lets you know about pending entries and the overall status of your website.To approve a single pending entry, click the "check" icon on the left or use the checkboxes to approve multiple entries at once. Similarly, you can delete a single entry by using the "X" icon OR by using the checkboxes to delete multiple entries at once. You can also choose to edit an entry before approving it by clicking the pencil icon.
Settings
The settings tab has four pages you'll need to visit to configure your review app.About
This form allows you to name your website and provide a brief description of what your site is about. The name you set here will be used for the default page title (title tag) for pages that do not have unique titles. The description will be used as the default meta description for pages that do not have unique meta description data.The item category should describe what your data items are about. This will be your review app subject and all sections and categories will fall under this. In particular, this will be the top of your category and item "breadcrumb" lists.
SEO Friendly URLS: Click the checkbox to enable search engine friendly URLS on your site. For this to work properly you'll need access to your site's .htaccess file among other things so only choose this option if you know how to use mod-rewrite on your site. You will configure the fields that are used for your SEO URLs for each section under the 'Sections' tab.
Messages
Customize your output messages here.Email already registered: If the user tries to register an email address that is already registered OR if the user tries to update his/her account email to an address that is already registered.
New account success: Users will see this message once their new account has been created and thier password email has been sent.
Not accepting submissions: If you've temporarily disabled certain content collection (for reviews or photos, for example), users will see this message letting them know they cannot submit at this time.
Registration email: This is the email new members receive upon creating a new account. This is the only way to receive a password. The %%email%% field will dynamically insert the user's email. Likewise, the %%password%% field will automatically insert the randomly generated account password.
Requires review: The message a user will see upon successfully submitting any information, review, or photo that requires admin approval before being posted.
Screen name registered: Displayed if the screen name a user chooses is already in use.
User not authorized: Message appears if a user attempts to access a page he/she is not authorized to view OR if he/she attempts to submit information but is not authorized to do so.
Formats
Choose site-wide formats for things like dates.Template
Before your review app can function you'll need to configure the appearance of your site. Start by choosing a template. Built-in templates are listed or you can enter the directory name of a custom template (don't forget to click the radio button next to your custom template name!).Sections
Sections are the main building blocks for your review app. Create your sections based on item types rather than item categories. For example, two sections for an outdoor website might be 'Campgrounds' and 'Hiking Trails' rather than 'Colorado Campgrounds' and 'Arizona Campgrounds.'Add a section
Start by adding a new section using the form on the right of the section page. Fill in a section name (singular and plural) and description for your first section and click the 'Add section' button. You should now see your new section listed in the table and in the navigation bar at the top of the page. You can change the order of sections on this page or remove a section (and all associated data) by clicking the 'X' icon next to the section name.Click your new section link to view your section dashboard. On the right side of the section configuration page you'll see a list of section actions you'll need to complete before your section goes live. The actions in the body of the section dashboard page will be used once your section configuration is complete.
Edit your listings
This form determines the structure of your review app including the form users fill in to add information to your site (input) and the display of that information once it has been submitted (output). It is important that you give careful consideration to your data architecture before attempting to create your listings.When you begin to design your listings you'll see three buttons: 'Add New Field,' 'Listing Permissions,' and 'Preview Form'. Below these buttons you'll also see several default fields that have been created for you.
Add new field
The 'Add new field' button will reveal a form below which allows you to add a custom data field. Choose a descriptive name for your field, choose the field type (field type information will be displayed once you choose a type from the menu), whether your users will be required to fill in the field to add a listing, if the field is hidden from user input, if the field output will be hidden from output (ie not displayed), and any explanatory notes you wish to include (these will appear on the form your users see).Here is a listing of available input types along with a brief description of each:
- Short text: Use this for short text input like listing titles.
- Description: This is a larger text input perfect for reviews and descriptions.
- Choice (single): Creates a pull-down menu of choices of which users may choose only one selection
- Choice (multiple): Similar to the single choice above but users are able to make multiple selections
- Event date: Used for date inputs. The date a listing is posted is automatically collected so you can use this field for other dates (like for events).
- US Zip Code: This specialized field is limited to 5 numerical characters and allows you to add an optional zip code filter to your section display
- Link: Allows users to add a link to another website. The domain will be displayed as the anchor text while a link to the full URL will be created.
- Numerical: This field type is ideal if your data is strictly numerical in nature. Choose this to make sure numbers are sorted numerically rather than alphabetically.
- Listing link: This allows your users to link a new listing to an existing listing
Once you have added several custom data fields you can change the order of those fields by using the up and down icons in the 'Move' column. You may also choose to edit fields using the edit icon or delete a field using the delete icon. Warning: deleting an input field after listings have been added to your section can potentially cause problems – make sure you are happy with your input fields before adding data!
Permissions
The 'Permissions' link will reveal a form to set your section permissions. Users fall into four categories: Guests, Members (Registered users), Subscribers, and Admins (you). Choose who you would like to allow for adding and viewing listings within this section. You can also set whether submitters can edit their information once it is posted and when information is posted after a user submits your collection form. The recommended settings are set for you by default but you can change these at any time.Finally, you can also set email notifications to be sent to one of your admin users upon new content submission. This setting is recommended if you have set new content to appear only after you have approved it. For large sites with many submissions each day email notifications can become overwhelming.
Click 'Save information preferences' to activate your section listings.
Preview form
Finally, you'll see a link labeled 'Preview form' that allows you to preview the input form that will be used to collect your section listings. This form is not functional (i.e. you cannot use it to submit data) and does not reflect any templates or styles you may have applied to your website. Use this to get an idea of how your changes will look to users.Editing fields
Help is on the way!Manage your categories
Add category
Categorizing your listings is an optional step and is important for review apps that expect a large number of listings. To add a single listing category, click the 'Add category' button near the top of the page. Once saved, you can edit your categories at any time by clicking the name of the category below 'Add category' button. Use this link to add subcategories within a category as well.Below the category buttons you'll see a short form asking how you'll be categorizing your listings. Enter something descriptive as in the examples shown. Your users will see this label on the 'Add listing' form category input.
Once you've added several categories you can order those categories alphabetically within their respective subcategories by clicking the Re-order by: 'Alphabetical' or 'Reverse Alphabetical' link near the top of the page.
If you prefer to order the categories by some other scheme you can do this manually by using the up and down arrows in the 'move' column. Categories can move relative to other categories on the same level.
You can delete any category that does not have any sub-categories below it. Use the X icon in the delete column or check the relevant checkboxes to delete multiple categories at once. For multiple deletions you'll find the 'Delete Checked Categories' button at the bottom of your category list along with a 'Check all' checkbox for your convenience. Deleted categories cannot be recovered so delete at your own risk! You may also delete categories one at a time by using the 'X' icon in the left column.
Pre-built categories
We've included some commonly used categories for your convenience and you can access this data by clicking the 'Pre-built categories' button near the top of the page. Click the link beside the pre-built category name to see a preview of the category data; click the category name to see a form for adding the categories to your section. Note that you may add a pre-built category list as a sub-category of an existing category.Once pre-built categories have been added you can manage them just like custom categories using the methods discussed above.
Load spreadsheet
Advanced users may wish to add categories using a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. This method may also be useful for users migrating from a content management system or similar web software system.First, download your category template. This template will include any category information you previously created.
Next, edit or add category data using a spreadsheet program. Adding new categories is simple - just leave the id column blank and the category will be added as a new category.
You can also update existing categories but remember – do not update the column marked 'id'. It is also recommended that you do not edit the 'parentID' either as this may have unintended consequences. Finally, note that deleting a category on your spreadsheet will not delete the category from your review app for safety reasons.
Finally, upload your saved .csv file. Check your categories to make sure they look as expected.
A word on categories versus attributes: Categories are used to help organize listings while attributes are used to filter listings within a given category. Listings may only be categorized along a single dimension but a single listing may be part of multiple categories. For example: If your site were designed to allow users to review running shoes, you might choose to categorize your listings by gender (Mens and Womens) while adding attributes to describe shoe type (road, trail, track, etc.) and shoe fit (wide, narrow, etc.). In this case gender is the better choice for categorization since users may not know what type of shoe they're looking for or even the fit they need but they should know if they are a man or woman ;)
Category Appearance
Each category must be formatted before you can view it on the your website. First, choose the view you'd like to use for your category page. As you make a selection from the menu you'll see a preview of that listing type, along with letters and numbers to help you set up where your listing fields will appear.Below the view menu is a listing of all your section listing fields. The first column shows your field name; the next column indicates the position of that field relative to the sample image shown on the right of the page. By default all position menus are set to 'Hidden.' Choose the fields you'd like to display on your category page along with the position for that field.
The third column indicates whether the data in this field will be shown as a clickable link leading to the data item page. Don't overuse this – one or two fields should be fine (but choose at least one so users can get to your content!).
The next column provides a word limit if you'd like to keep your long listing fields (like descriptions) more manageable. The next column, 'Filter,' determines whether the category listing can be filtered by that field. Use this for fields that might share values across multiple items. Do not use this option for unique fields such as title or descriptions.
Finally, the last column allows you to set columns for sorting. Again, only use this where it makes sense. Fields of type 'Choice' will be sorted by 'id' which in many cases may not make sense to your users.
Below the field table you'll see inputs that control various aspects of your category display. Play with these fields to get the look you want - use the preview icon near the top of the page to see how your changes look. The 'Default image' will be displayed when the photo field is visible and no photo has been posted for that item.
The 'Custom listing page' field allows you to link your listings within this section to a custom PHP page instead of the default 'item.php.' Simply make a copy of item.php, rename it, and enter the name of the file in this field. Then you can edit this copy of item.php to give listings within each of your sections a custom layout. This is an advanced feature - only use this if you're comfortable and have a good understanding of the review app templating system.
Don't forget to click the 'Save Changes' at the bottom when you're done!
Preferences
The section preferences page is important for search engine optimization. In this step you'll specify a headline and description field. The headline field will be displayed in the user's title bar while the description will be sent to the page's meta description. The headline field will also be used in other areas such as lists, news feeds, and user contribution lists.If you've enabled SEO-friendly URLS in the 'Settings' tab you can use this form to set which field will be used in your URL string. Be sure to pick a reasonable field that will not be too long or contain a lot of strange characters (like HTML!).
Section Dashboard: Enhance
Reviews
Reviews allow users to comment on listings posted within a section. The review collector set-up screen is almost identical to the collector section detailed above. Click the 'Reviews' link to start collecting reviews of your listings.By default reviews collect a listing rating (on a scale from 1 to 5). You may delete this field if you do not wish to collect ratings but you cannot add it back later. Review ratings are automatically averaged for each listing and saved to the item's 'Rating' field mentioned above.
At the top of the review page you'll see red or green squares next to indicating whether reviews are being collected or displayed. Click the square to change the review status at any time.
Review configuration works just like section listing configuration mentioned above.
At the bottom of the page there is a link to removing reviews from your section listings permanently. Clicking this link will remove any existing reviews that have been collected and will delete all your review preferences and fields. Use caution!
Photos
Photos allow users to post photos tied to listings posted within a section. Click the 'Reviews' link to start collecting reviews of your listings.At the top of the photos page you'll see red or green squares next to indicating whether photos are being collected or displayed. Click the square to change the photo status at any time.
Photo posting permissions are similar to listing and review collectors. By default users will only be asked to supply an (optional) caption with their photo uploads.
You may also allow your registered users to rate photos on a simple 5-point scale. Ratings will be averaged for each photo and the highest rated photos will appear first on listing pages. The top-rated photo will be used in category listing pages if you have enabled the photo field in your category view.
Lists
Lists add a layer of interactivity to your site that will keep users engaged and motivated to submit additional content. You may choose to give users "Wish Lists" or "Own Lists" - it's really up to you!Click the 'Add new list' link and give your list a name and short description - that's it! Users will see a link on listing pages within this section to add listings to their lists which are in turn linked from their profile pages. The list page also gives a brief snapshot into your list usage and clicking the list name link will allow you to make changes to your lists. The 'Delete' link will remove your list and any user entries so use with caution!
Tags
Tags give your users a way to help you organize your listings. Click the 'Enable tags' checkbox to add user tags to this section.Manage Listings
This portion of the Review App documentation refers to the data functions found on your section dashboard page.Manage contributions
Under the 'Manage Contributions' heading you'll see a box with links to each of your data tables along with the number of items in each table (listings, reviews, and photos).Listings
The first column in your data table is a checkbox indicating whether the listing is visible on your review app. Uncheck the box to hide the listing and click the 'Update Display Properties' button at the bottom of the table. This does not delete data items.The next two columns will display the listing's unique id and the date the listing was added. The fourth column shows actions available for each listing. The first icon allows you to edit the listing including any hidden or default fields that are not accessible from the 'front end' of your review app. The second icon permanently deletes the listing from your review app.
Reviews
This page is similar to the 'Listing' page discussed above and allows you to manage review contributions.Photos
This page is similar to the 'Listing' page discussed previously and allows you to edit photo contributions.Editing a photo will result in the new photo overwriting the original.
Create new listing
There are two ways you can add a listing via the admin interface. The first is to add a single listing using an online form - just click the 'Add single listing' link on the section dashboard page.The admin 'add' form is similar to the front-end form but allows you to add certain hidden fields that are not available to your users. Make sure the 'Display' checkbox is marked so your data is visible once it has been saved. Use the 'Add additional categories' link to categorize your data item (click the link multiple times to categorize your item in multiple categories). The creator field stores the user ID for the data creator; the 'Date Posted' field accepts unix format dates. Leave these blank if you wish to have these filled in automatically with your user ID and today's date.
You can also load multiple data items using a spreadsheet by clicking the 'Add multiple listings' link on the section dashboard page. On this page you'll first download the data template for your section and edit using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. The first row of your sheet will contain data field names that may appear unintelligible - ignore these. The second row will give notes and descriptions for each data field. Do not delete either of these rows.
If you have any data in your collector it will be displayed in the next set of rows. Do not edit the id field for these records as this may cause problems when you attempt to upload your file. The 'Creator' field contains the id of the user who submitted the data item. 'Date Posted' contains the unix-format date the item was added. Changes made to the 'Rating' and 'Photo' fields will not be saved when you upload your spreadsheet.
If you wish to add new data, simply add a new row below your last data item. Do not include anything in the 'id' field – this is how the application knows this is a new item. Data saved to the 'Rating' and 'Photo' fields will not be saved.
'Choice' type fields will be displayed as numbers rather than the values themselves. Use vLookup or similar function in your spreadsheet to convert these ids to more useful values. You may wish to download another sheet of your choice values by going to step 3 on the section page, then choosing to edit the applicable field, then choosing 'Edit choices.' Here you will see an option to 'Download' a spreadsheet of your choice values.
Finally, choose the applicable collector, select your CSV file, and click the 'Load Data' button. This will add your new and/or updated information.
Users
Manage your user information and the information you collect.View users
Here you'll see a list of each of your users. You can filter the list by email address or use the column headings to sort your user list. Clicking a user name in the first column will allow you to edit that user's information including his/her password. The 'Last Login' column shows you when the user last logged in to his/her account.The next column allows you to set the user's permission level. By default new users are added as 'Members.' After making changes using this menu, use the 'Update Users' button at the bottom of the list to save your changes. You may also use checkboxes in the last column to delete users in the same way.
User data collector
The user data collector is just like all the other data collectors discussed above. By default several pieces of information are tracked for each of your users:- User name
- Email address (used for user login)
- Password (encrypted via md5)
- Date joined
- Last login
Add user
This allows you to manually create a user account. The 'Update User Record' submit button will not be activated until you have entered matching passwords for the user. You can also set the user's level at this time.Plug-ins
The plug-ins tab contains any additional modules that may have been loaded into your copy of Review App. Modules for managing ads or additional functionality may be added to Revew App via the 'modules.php' include file.Customization
It is highly recommended that you go through the entire set-up process outlined above before attempting to customize the look and feel of your review app.Start with an existing template and modify it based on the look and feel you desire. Save the new template files to a separate directory so you can go back to one of the default templates if you make a mistake.