phpBB • Creating Communities Worldwide

BBCodes are a special way of formatting posts, similar to HTML. phpBB 3.0 allows you to create your own BBCodes very easily. On this page, you can see the custom BBCodes that currently exist.

Adding a BBCode is very easy. If done right, allowing users to use your new BBCode may be safer than allowing them to use HTML code. To add a BBCode, click Add a new BBCode to begin. There are four main things to consider when adding a BBCode: how you want your users to use the BBCode, what HTML code the BBcode will actually use (the users will not see this), what short info message you want for the BBCode, and whether or not you want a button for the new BBCode to be displayed on the posting screen. Once you are done configuring all of the custom BBCode settings, click Submit to add your new BBCode.

Figure 3.4. Creating BBCodes

Creating a new BBCode. In this example, we are creating a new [font] BBCode that will allow users to specify the font face of the specified text.

In the BBCode Usage form, you can define how you want your users to use the BBCode. Let's say you want to create a new font BBCode that will let your users pick a font to use for their text. An example of what to put under BBCode Usage would be [font={FONTNAME}]{TEXT}[/font] This would make a new [font] BBCode, and will allow the user to pick what font face they want for the text. The user's text is represented by TEXT,while FONTNAME represents whatever font name the user types in.

In the HTML Replacementform, you can define what HTML code your new BBCode will use to actually format the text. In the case of making a new [font] BBCode, try <span style="font-family: {FONTNAME}">{TEXT}<span> This HTML code will be used to actually format the user's text.

The third option to consider when adding a custom BBCode is what sort of help message you want to display to your users if they choose to use the new BBCode. Ideally, the helpline message is a short note or tip for the user using the BBCode. This message will be displayed below the BBCode row on the posting screens.

Lastly, when adding a new BBCode, you can decide whether or not you want an actual BBCode button for your new BBCode to be displayed on the posting screens. If you want this, then check the Display on posting checkbox.

Many users use your board's private messaging system. Here you can manage all of the default private message-related settings. Listed below are the settings that you can change. Once you're done setting the posting settings, click Submit to submit your changes.

A new feature in phpBB3 is the ability to assign icons to topics. On this page, you can manage what topic icons are available for use on your board. You can add, edit, delete, or move topic icons. The Topic Icons form displays the topic icons currently installed on your board. You can add topic icons manually, install a premade icons pack, export or download an icons pack file, or edit your currently installed topic icons.

Your first option to add topic icons to your board is to use a premade icons pack. Icon packs have the file extension pak. To install an icons pack, you must first download an icons pack. Upload the icon files themselves and the pack file into the /images/icons/ directory. Then, click Install icons pak. The Install icons pak form displays all of the options you have regarding topic icon installation. Select the icon pack you wish to add (you may only install one icon pack at a time). You then have the option of what to do with currently installed topic icons if the new icon pack has icons that may conflict with them. You can either keep the existing icon(s) (there may be duplicates), replace the matches (overwriting the icon(s) that already exist), or just delete all of the conflicting icons. Once you have selected the proper option, click Install icons pak.

To add topic icon(s) manually, you must first upload the icons into the icons directory of your site. Navigate to the Topic icons page. Click Add multiple icons, which is located in the Topic Icons form. If you correctly uploaded your new desired topic icon(s) into the proper /images/icons/ directory, you should see a row of settings for each new icon you uploaded. The following has a description on what each field is for. Once you are done with adding the topic icon(s), click, Submit to submit your additions.

You may also edit your currently installed topic icons' settings. To do so, click Edit icons. You will see the Icon configuration form. For more information regarding each field, see the above paragraph regarding adding topic icons.

Lastly, you may also reorder the topic icons, edit a topic icon's settings, or remove a topic icon. To reorder a topic icon, click the appropriate "move up" or "move down" icon. To edit a topic icon's current settings, click the "settings" button. To delete a topic icon, click the red "delete" button.

Smilies or emoticons are typically small, sometimes animated images used to convey an emotion or feeling. You can manage the smilies on your board via this page. To add smilies, you have the option to either install a premade smilies pack, or add smilies manually. Locate the Smilies form, which lists the smilies currently installed on your board, on the page.

Your first option to add smilies to your board is to use a premade smilies pack. Smilies packs have the file extension pak. To install a smilies pack, you must first download a smilies pack. Upload the smilies files themselves and the pack file into the /images/smilies/ directory. Then, click Install smilies pak. The Install smilies pak form displays all of the options you have regarding smilies installation. Select the smilies pack you wish to add (you may only install one smilies pack at a time). You then have the option of what to do with currently installed smilies if the new smilies pack has icons that may conflict with them. You can either keep the existing smilies (there may be duplicates), replace the matches (overwriting the smilies that already exist), or just delete all of the conflicting smilies. Once you have selected the proper option, click Install smilies pak.

To add a smiley to your board manually, you must first upload the smilies into the /images/smilies/ directory. Then, click on Add multiple smilies. From here, you can add a smilie and configure it. The following are the settings you can set for the new smilies. Once you are done adding a smiley, click Submit.

You may also edit your currently installed smilies' settings. To do so, click Edit smilies. You will see the Smiley configuration form. For more information regarding each field, see the above paragraph regarding adding smilies.

Lastly, you may also reorder the smilies, edit a smiley's settings, or remove a smiley. To reorder a smiley, click the appropriate "move up" or "move down" icon. To edit a smiley's current settings, click the "settings" button. To delete a smiley, click the red "delete" button.

On some forums, a certain level of appropriate, profanity-free speech is required. Like phpBB2, phpBB3 continues to offer word censoring. Words that match the patterns set in the Word censoring panel will automatically be censored with text that you, the admin, specify. To manage your board's word censoring, click Word censoring.

To add a new word censor, click Add new word. There are two fields: Word and Replacement. Type in the word that you want automatically censored in the Word text field. (Note that you can use wildcards (*).) Then, type in the text you want the censored word to be replaced with in the Replacement text field. Once you are done, click Submit to add the new censored word to your board.

To edit an existing word censor, locate the censored word's row. Click the "edit" icon located in that row, and proceed with changing the censored word's settings.

If you allow your users to post attachments, it is important to be able to control your board's attachments settings. Here, you can configure the main settings for attachments and the associated special categories. When you are done configuring your board's attachments settings, click Submit.

You can further configure your board's attachments settings by controlling what file extensions attached files can have to be uploaded. It is recommended that you do not allow scripting file extensions (such as php, php3, php4, phtml, pl, cgi, py, rb, asp, aspx, and so forth) for security reasons. You can find this page by clicking Manage extensions once you're in the ACP.

To add an allowed file extension, find the Add Extension form on the page. In the field labeled Extension, type in the file extension. Do not include the period before the file extension. Then, select the extension group that this new file extension should be added to via the Extension group selection menu. Then, click Submit.

You can also view your board's current allowed file extensions. On the page, you should see a table listing all of the allowed file extensions. To change the group that an extension belongs to, select a new extension group from the selection menu located in the extension's row. To delete an extension, check the checkbox in the Delete column. When you're done managing your board's current file extensions, click Submit at the bottom of the page.

Allowed file extensions can be placed into groups for easy management and viewing. To manage the extension groups, click Manage extension groups once you get into the Posting settings part of the ACP. You can configure specific settings regarding each extension group.

To add a new file extension group, find the textbox that corresponds to the Create new group button. Type in the name of the extension group, then click Submit. You will be greeted with the extension group settings form. The following contains descriptions for each option available, and applies to extension groups that either already exist or are being added.

To edit a current file extension group's settings, click the "Settings" icon that is in the extension group's row. Then, go ahead and edit the extension group's settings. For more information about each setting, see the above.

To delete an extension group, click the "Delete" icon that is in the extension group's row.

Sometimes, attachments may be orphaned, which means that they exist in the specified files directory (to configure this directory, see the section on attachment settings), but aren't assigned to any post(s). This can happen when posts are deleted or edited, or even when users attach a file, but don't submit their post.

To manage orphaned attachments, click on Orphaned attachments on the left-hand menu once you're in the Posting settings section of the ACP. You should see a list of all orphaned attachments in the table, along with all the important information regarding each orphaned attachment.

You can assign an orphaned post to a specific post. To do so, you must first find the post's post ID. Enter this value into the Post ID column for the particular orphaned attachment. Enable Attach file to post, then click Submit.

To delete an orphaned attachment, check the orphaned attachment's Delete checkbox, then click Submit. Note that this cannot be undone.