April 2008 - Blog Watch

Common requests for new users of Community Server are "how do I edit the navigation bar?", "how do I add a second level of navigation items?", and "how do I add drop-down menus to the navigation items?" In all of these cases, changes are required to a few config files, some additional javascript needs to be added, and, even then, the items are only editable by modifying the theme files. To make these changes/scenarios easier, I've implemented a new add-on for Community...

Via our Graffiti support forums the question " How can I switch servers ?" came up. The answer, if you used the default configuration, is very simply. It's also very simple to run Graffiti locally, configure everything you want, and then Read More......( read more ) Read More...

I've just published an overview of the Centralized File System in CS2008: http://getben.com/archive/2008/04/24/community-server-2008-centralized-file-system-cfs-overview.aspx Read More...

Once you have Graffiti set up and you are posting content you'll probably want to be notified by Graffiti when new user comments are made or if someone uses your contact form . So, one of the first things you'll want to do is make sure your e Read More......( read more ) Read More...

File viewers are the unsung heroes that make Community Server 2008 media-friendly. They implement the support for viewing and resizing images, viewing uploaded and remote video files, viewing video from online video services, and playing uploaded and remote audio clips. Without file viewers, the media gallery would be the file gallery from CS2007. File viewers are supported when rendering post attachments or by using the "Insert Media" toolbar item in the content editor for blog/media/forum...

The updates to the official documentation sites are still a little way out, so, in the meantime, I've gotten permission to post the new, improved Chameleon control documentation on this site. Here it is: CS2008 Chameleon Documentation The new Chameleon documentation merges the old CHM download file and property documentation (along with some additional information and assumptions) to provide a single, integrated, searchable, control-based reference for all Chameleon controls in CS2008. It also...

What a wild weather pattern we're in out here. Seriously, I pitched in the snow today at our baseball game. It looked something like the picture to the left... except replace real fans with homeless people that wandered by on Capitol Hill in Seattle Read More......( read more ) Read More...

This video shows an example of editing and rearranging widgets in Community Server 2008. Read More...

If you are using the Blog Extensions plug-in for Graffiti you may start seeing comments on your site that are not being published. This is likely because the theme you choose did not support showing trackbacks by default since they weren't part of Read More......( read more ) Read More...

In this post, I'll outline the changes to the Chameleon theming engine (and themes in general) between Community Server 2007 and Community Server 2008. If you're interested in the changes to themes between an earlier version of Community Server (before 2007) and the 2008 version, I suggest reading my Introduction to Chameleon posts from the release of CS2007. New Functionality Community Server 2008 merges the File Gallery and Photo Gallery applications into a single Media Gallery application...

As announced earlier today , Community Server 2008 is now available ! CS2008 includes many exciting new features: embedded video and audio, real friend support, widgets, mini-communities a.k.a. groups, improved messaging, and more. To help everyone make the jump to CS2008, I plan on publishing technical articles covering features that I was involved with: Changes to Chameleon (CS2007 to CS2008) How to Upgrade Themes from CS2007 to CS2008 How to Support Widgets in a Custom Theme How to Implement Custom...

This is part one of Wyatt and my talk "Theming Community Server" from the 2007 Community Server Developer's Conference in Dallas, TX. The original, higher-quality version is available at: http://telligent.com/blog/archive/csdc-theming-i.aspx Read More...