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Create a Global Dashboard blog (16 posts)

  1. vlm
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    Donncha has written:

    The site admin can now set a Global Dashboard blog for users who don’t have blogs. Those users will be added to this blog rather than the main blog. The default role of users on that blog can also be set but if they’re not “Subscribers” they won’t be moved if you change the Global Dashboard.
    ______

    I don't mean to seem a dunce, but how does one create a global dashboard blog? I have searched and found discussion on the topic, but not "how to".

    Feeling a bit dunce-like,
    Elchanan

  2. tdjcbe
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    - Create the blog at Dashboard -> Site Admin -> Blogs -> Add a blog.

    - Take a look for the dashboard blog option at Dashboard -> Site Admin -> Options -> About half way down the page.

    We used to do step two with a manual edit within the code of wpmu-functions.php

  3. andrea_r
    Moderator
    Posted 14 years ago #

    Especially the part where it says "If it doesn't exist, it will be created".

    I DID write about it here:
    http://wpmututorials.com/news/new-features/271-released-and-an-overview/

  4. vlm
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    Thanks to you both, it's done! Andrea, thanks for sharing yet another of your writings. Your site is a sort of mini-Smithsonian. I'm reading your writings one by one. What a wonderful gift!

    FYI, I find the light gray font difficult to read, so I move your articles into a text editor or word processor and read them there. Thought this feedback might interest you.

    Elchanan

  5. Ovidiu
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    what do you use as dashboard blog?
    I mean how do you name that particular blog?
    will it appear in sitewide listings?
    does it hurt if I mark it as non-public?

  6. andrea_r
    Moderator
    Posted 14 years ago #

    "I find the light gray font difficult to read,"

    Duly noted, thanks. :) Gonna bump up the size a bit too.

    Ovi, I sent a reply to your comment but it got emailed. :D

  7. vlm
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    Andrea, Would love to see your reply to Ovi, if you still have it available.
    Elchanan

  8. andrea_r
    Moderator
    Posted 14 years ago #

    what do you use as dashboard blog?
    - anyone you like .WP.com uses one called dashboard.wordpress.com.

    I mean how do you name that particular blog?
    - under Site Admin -> Options. Check the ticky box and read the directions right underneath it.

    If you don;t have one alreayd, ti will create it for you. It will also move all subscribers of the main blog to the dashboard blog.

    will it appear in sitewide listings?
    - yes, if you leave it public

    does it hurt if I mark it as non-public?
    -can't see why it would hurt it, especially if you don't post to it.

    This was rolled in to give people the OPTION to use it. You don;t have to, you may not want to. BUT if someone signs up with "just a username"
    they WILL need somewhere to go to do things like:
    - change their password without using the
    lost password" on the login screen
    - fill out their profile

    I hope that's clear, because I'm not sure how I (or even Donncha) can make it any clearer.

    just click the button and try it! :D

  9. vlm
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    I created a dashboard blog, and I notice that by default it is private, not public. Just sharing ...

    Elchanan

  10. andrea_r
    Moderator
    Posted 14 years ago #

    ...and it doesn't need that special theme mentioned in the other thread. The front of it is NOT viewable (which makes sense) and it WILL redirect you to the backend or the login screen.

    Exactly the way it works on wp.com.

  11. Ovidiu
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    k, so it is not advisable to use the name of support for the dashboard blog, as its not viewable from the front end :-)

    thx andrea

    ###edit###
    btw. how would I be able to change the widgets of this dashboard blog (inside the back end, so all users see the same widgets in the dashboard and are also not able to change them?

  12. Ovidiu
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    how about setting the dashboard blog's privacy settings to:

    I would like only logged in users who are registered subscribers to see my blog.

    would that block the dashboard blog from displaying where public blogs are listed?

  13. andrea_r
    Moderator
    Posted 14 years ago #

    It's already set to "I would like to block search engines, but allow normal visitors" which will keep it out of listings.

    And subscribers can't mess with dashboard widgets anyway, can they?

  14. Ovidiu
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    :-) correct with subscribers :-)

    but after I entered control as the dashboard blog name, wpmu created it automatically and it wasn't set to block SEs... had to manually change that...

  15. andrea_r
    Moderator
    Posted 14 years ago #

    If it's "dashboard" then it does.

  16. tdjcbe
    Member
    Posted 14 years ago #

    ...and it doesn't need that special theme mentioned in the other thread.

    Well it did. :)

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