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Thursday, October 11, 2007
Smart-Thinker UserGroups 4.3.5 Released - Member Approval & MyFriends
By Smart - Thinker @ 9:05 PM :: 4690 Views :: 0 Comments ::

This module allows users to create private or public groups of users. Groups can be public and joinable or closed to new membership, and the group owner can decide if new members require approval or not. Users can search groups by Category, Country or freetext tags. If the group allows new members then they can join the group. The group owner can send Private Messages to the group or invite groups to Events. This module was based loosely on the MySpace Groups implementation.


Major Update: Group Member Approval (this was a sponsored enhancement) - group owners can decide if new member requests require approval or not. Users can now accept or decline group invitations (before they were instanly added). Now offers better integration with the Smart-Thinker UserProfile module, so that when inviting new members to your group you can select from All site users, MyFriends or both (this is a module-level setting). This follows the Facebook concept of only allowing users to interact with their Friend Lists. Email templates are used which can be localised to improve usability. Caching and SQL optimisations improvements have been ported in this version.


See the Poker Groups on PokerDIY for an example of an implementation. You can set up a test group to see the new approval functionality.

 

You can download a free trial version for your own site here.

 

 Enhancements

  •      Group Member Approval - users now always get invited to groups, and can accept or decline the request (before they were added to the group immediately, which is a privacy violation).
  •     The Group Owner can determine if new group members require approval or not (if Public and Joinable). If so, then they can approve new group requests. If not, the user joins immediately. Email notification is used in all cases.
  •     "Invite New Member" screen can now be set to only show the user's friends (requires Smart-Thinker UserProfile module), or All Users (as before/default) or both. This means users could only ever invite their approved friends to groups (this will be applied to events too in a future version).
  •     GroupOwner now gets notified when someone joins their group
  •     UserProfile Result Lists can now be filtered on Role (Host User accounts no longer appear)
  •     Optomised UserProfiling SQL (greatly reduces DB usage)
  •     Ported all Profile Caching improvements into module
  •     Changed the Back Button on GroupSearchResults to a LinkButton for consistiency
  •     Added "Invite to Event" setting and Token (available in Events 4.3.7)
  •     The UserProfile List control now only shows the Pager Footer if the total number of records exceeds the selected pagesize (much tidier)
  •     The UserProfile List control now only shows the PageSize selector if the total records is more than 1 (smallest possible page size)
  •     Removed "lblNoRecords.Text" from SharedResources (now in local resx file prefixed with UserSearchID), e.g. "AddUserlblNoRecords.Text"
  •     Included AddToGroup, AddToEvent and NoPhotoS template images

Bug Fixes

  •     EditGroup now checks EditRights on module (you may need to check your config to ensure the correct roles can still create/edit groups)
  •     SuperUsers are now not added as a group member when they make a group on someone's behalf (they are never shown in profile lists so it affected the count. SuperUsers also cannot Join/Leave Groups
  •     Module Actions are no longer shown if GroupID = -1 on GroupDetail page
  •     When you leave a private or public group that requires approval then it redirects you to the homepage instead of staying on the detail page and throwing a "Cannot View This" error
  •     Fixed bug with bad ObjectQualifier
    • http://www.smart-thinker.com/Support/Forums/tabid/111/forumid/26/postid/3261/scope/posts/Default.aspx

Note that a UserGroup is a logical, user-defined grouping, and does not affect security or access rights. Please raise any queries about this module on the UserGroup Forum here.

After upgrading you will need to edit the module settings to take advantage of the new features. Existing groups default to not requiring approval (as before). It is highly suggested that you localise the email templates to punch directly into the Group view (for group invites) - see PokerDIY for an example. This highly increases usablity.

 
Read More..
Smart-Thinker UserGroups 4.3.1 Released

This module allows users to create private or public groups of users. Groups can be public and joinable or closed to new membership. Users can search groups by Category, Country or freetext tags. If the group allows new members then they can join the group. The group owner can send Private Messages to the group or invite groups to Events. This module was based loosely on the MySpace Groups implementation.

 

Please note that this version is for DotNetNuke 4.3.5+. This module can be seen in action on PokerDIY.com (Find live poker games and leagues).

You can download a free trial version for your own site here.

 

Enhancements

  • Updated to work with DNN 4.3.5+ (e.g. Changed old reference to new MS Access Data Block.dll etc.)
  • Source converted to 2005 WAP project (C# and ASP.NET 2.0) inc. refactor
  • Updated to use correct DNN 4.x User and Role retrieval methods
  • Search by Tags or Address/Name/Summary
  • View Groups by Category or Country
  • Better formatted Group Detail
  • Introduction of LicenseKey for free trial version and performs LicenseValidation on portal limit
  • Module Settings now displays current License and Portal Limit if logged in as Host
  • Implemented ISearchable on Public Groups (name, summary, city, country)
  • Integration with Ventrian's Private Messages - Group Owner can send PMs to the Group
  • Localized missing language strings
  • Formatted ModuleConfig now online
  • All User names are now DisplayName and not full name for privacy reasons
  • When you create a Group you are now automatically added as a member
  • Add Role now optional (Yes/No/Admin Only)
  • When visible, Non-Public, Paying Roles now only appear to Admin, not all users
  • Group Owner can now determine Group is Joinable or Public - not just Admin
  • Add Members button on Group Detail page now
  • MyGroups now only show groups that I have created or that I am a member of
  • Removed Roadmap.txt from installed Documentation - available online
  • Better XHTML standards - lowercase HTML, Quoted Attributes etc
  • Adheres to DNN core document "Secure Module Development" (XSS, SQL Injections etc.)
  • Adheres to DNN core document "DotNetNuke Module Developers Guide"
  • Updated EULA to reflect new License Agreement and Portal Limitations

BugFixes

  • Fixed bug - Now retrieves modules by ModuleName and not FriendlyName - (inc. Ventrian Private Messages integration)
  • Fixed bug where the ModuleActions would not show if the skin did not have the correct skin objects

Note that a UserGroup is a logical, user-defined grouping, and does not affect security or access rights.

 
Smart-Thinker UserGroups 1.0.0 Released

Got too many users on your site and spend ages scrolling through them? Do you create a lot of Events?

 

The Smart-Thinker UserGroup module allows users to create their OWN groups and associate other users by Role or by name to their groups. Administrators can also create Public groups which can be joined by anyone and viewed by all. The primary function of this module is to integrate with other modules that make use of groups of users - for example, the next version of the Smart-Thinker Events module (coming soon to a PC near you) will allow Event Creator to invite UserGroups to their events, instead of having to select each user individually or by Role. The power of this module will become more apparent as more modules allow UserGroup integration.

Live DEMONSTRATION

 

 

Note that a UserGroup is a logical, user-defined grouping, and does not affect security or access rights.

 

And of course, it integrates with Smart-Thinker UserProfiles, so you can see more info about group members at a glance.

 

To see this module in action, go to www.smart-thinker.com. You can create your own Groups and join public groups if you wish (bear in mind you may get event email invitations from other users testing the Events module if you join a public group).

 

Smart-Thinker Subscribers have access to ALL Smart-Thinker modules and resources, including the newly released Smart-Thinker HomePage and UserProfile module!
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