Lists and Loops
FreeThis tutorial shows how to manage lists in Rules – data types corresponding to arrays of other data types. It covers:
- How to loop through multiple-value data in Rules, to act on each individual data entry
- That lists are their own data types in Rules
- That each primary data type automatically gets a list type as well
- How to add data to lists
- How to only add data if it is not already present
- How to select whether to add new data to the start or end of the list
- How to load new entities into Rules (by id)
- A few words about other ways of fetching entities, such as by property or with Views (through VBO or Rules Bonus Pack)
- That Rules configuration are actually entities
- How to disable reaction rules
Additional resources
Rules guide (Drupal.org)
Flag and Rules
FreeThis screencast covers the following topics:
- Where to find and how to apply the patch currently necessary to use Rules with Flag
- How to have a rule react on flagging/unflagging a piece of content
- As an example: How to change access to a node based on flagging status
If you need a refresher on Rules, check out the Learning the Rules framework series.
In this lesson we cover downloading and installing the WYSIWYG module. We show the relationship between the WYSIWYG editor and Drupal Text Formats. We go over the basic settings of the WYSIWYG module, how to download and install an editor, and configurations necessary in Text Formats to make things work properly.
Use this handbook page on Drupal.org to determine which version of TinyMCE is supported with CKEditor: Editors.
Additional resources
Basics of Rules Link
FreeThis screencast shows the Rules Link module, and some basics in how to use it. It covers:
- That Rules Link adds links to entities (and that you set up each link separately).
- That these links triggers rule sets.
- That the links may be displayed as links on (for example) comments and nodes.
- That Rules Link is useful when you previously used Flag, but didn't really need the 1/0 data that Flag provides (but rather just the Rules trigger effect).
- That access to each configured link can be controlled using the standard permission system.
All of this is demonstrated by adding a "block spammer" link to comments, allowing administrators to block the comment author and delete all comments written by him/her.
Additional resources
Rules guide (Drupal.org)
This screencast shows how to go about debugging Rules configuration. It covers:
- Enabling the debug information in Rules, showing rules evaluation.
- How to drill down into Rules’ debug messages.
- That most (or all) times, it is your configuration and not the Rules engine that has the bug.
- That the most common bug is condition that evaluates in an unexpected way.
- How to see how long time rules execution takes – and why/when this may be important.
- How to use the debugging action in Rules, to inspect the data in Rules.
Additional resources
Rules guide (Drupal.org)
This screencast quickly shows the events, conditions and actions that Flag exposes to the Rules module. It covers:
- Event: Flagging and unflagging entities
- Condition: Flag is set on an entity (by a particular user)
- Condition: An entity has at least a number of flaggings
- Action: Load the list of users flagging an entity
- Action: Set or remove a flag (for a particular user)
- Action: Remove all flaggings (for a particular user) – or save a particular number of flaggings
Additional resources
- Flag project (Drupal.org)
- Rules project (Drupal.org)
- Rules guide (Drupal.org)
- Flag module documentation (Drupal.org)
This screencast shows how to work with export and import of Rules configuration, in particular using the Features module. It covers:
- Why you should use the Features and Strongarm modules.
- How to export Rules configuration with Features.
- How to import Feature-exported Rules configuration to a site.
- What reverting rules configuration means, and how to do it from Rules or Features.
- How to (eventually) export Rules configuration manually, and some words about the high readability in the Rules export code.
- How to import manually exported Rules configuration, including some available options/tweaks.
- Why configuration management is an important issue for Drupal.
For more information and tutorials on the Features module, check out the Drupal Deployment with Features & Drush Series.
Additional resources
Rules guide (Drupal.org)
Display Suite is a module that controls the display of your notes, users, comments, and any entity that's available in your system.
In this video, I will cover the installation of the module and some quick overview of all the menu items that will be made available if you install Display Suite, through the three modules that are its components: Display Suite, Extras, and Search Display.
Additional resources
I'm always asked about Drupal: "Where is the editor?" Well, this series is going to answer that and teach you everything you need to know about WYSIWYG.
I’ll cover the WYSIWYG module and other modules that allow us to bring media, especially images, into our content. I'll cover best practices for using a WYSIWYG module, how you can use other modules, and various methods of getting images into your text areas with WYSIWYG or with just an image field, and I'll explain the differences among various methods.
Additional resources
This screencast covers the following topics:
- Creating user flags
- Using user flags in Views to limit the nodes displayed
- Using a double Views relationship to access the flagging user
- Using contextual filters on the flagging user
In this video Michelle takes a look at our example site, My Town Sports, from a member's perspective. We can review a list of groups, subscribe and unsubscribe, and create content for a group we belong to.
Additional resources
Once you have your site up and running it is very important to keep your site up to date and secure. Both Drupal core and contributed projects continue to improve the software with bug fixes and security updates. In this chapter we look at using the core Update Manager, and explain how to read the various reports about our site's status. Before we walk through the process up updating a contributed module, as well as our version of Drupal core, we also make sure we do a backup.
WYSIWYG and Media Management
Course
In this lesson we cover the concepts behind getting media (images) into your site. We describe the two common methods as inline or image field and the advantages/disadvantages of both.
Additional resources
Drupal site builders have long wanted to rearrange the display of each piece of content. The page manager module provides us with a default node view context we can use to accomplish just this. In this lesson you will learn how to break an article into two columns.
In this introductory series you will learn how use the Domain Access project to let you manage multiple "sites" with different domain names from just one Drupal installation. Domain Access "multisite" works differently from the core multisite feature in that you truly only have one site to manage. There is just one code base and one database. Domain Access takes advantage of Drupal's node access system to give the illusion of multiple sites. In this series we start off by getting some context through several presentations that explain what Domain Access offers, and why you might use it, how DNS and Apache web servers work, and what you need to understand about the node access system. Once we dive into the hands-on work, you will configure Apache to work with multiple domain names, and get Domain Access installed on your site. Then you will configure a very basic Domain Access site, learning how to share and restrict content, change themes, and set up permissions for fine-grained access control.
Additional resources
Domain Access project (drupal.org)
This series will implement the same example as the Multisite series did, but with Domain Access instead. You can see and compare the two methods. First, let's look at some other examples using Domain Access and see what we get when we download the package from Drupal.org. We'll also talk about the features provided, along with some things to be aware of and consider when choosing Domain Access.
Additional resources
Domain Access project (drupal.org)
Domain Access can do its magic because of the Drupal node access system. In this tutorial we'll walk through the basics of how this system works, highlighting the two main methods, and then explain why this may be important information for you. We won't be diving into the code side of things, but instead outline the basic concepts for anyone who needs to interact with this system. When using a module like Domain Access, you should be aware of the Drupal context in which you are working, even if you hopefully never have to dive into the details.
Additional resources
Controlling Access to Content Overview (drupal.org handbook)
Node access developer documentation (api.drupal.org)
In this tutorial we will get hands-on with Domain Access by getting the module installed. This is a more involved process than a regular module installation, but we just need to make sure we have a few things in place first. We're going to need to make sure we have our domains functioning correctly through Apache, and then add the Domain Access include file to our settings.php. With the configuration and module in place, we'll also verify that it is working properly and take a look at our domain list.
After watching this tutorial you will be able to properly install the Domain Access module, with its additional steps, and then verify that the installation was correct.
Additional resources
Domain Access project (drupal.org)
Domain Access Configuring settings.php (drupal.org handbook)
Installing the Domain Access module (Drush instructions) (drupal.org handbook)