Field Name - IsMsgCensored
Type - Yes/No
Default Value - No

Field Name - LeftColumn
Type - Memo
Allow zero length

Addition to Threads

Field Name - TId
Type - AutoNumber
Primary Key

Functional Updates

Messages are really deleted now!
When you deleted messages in the past, the program would simply toggle them as deleted in the database, but they still existed.  Now, when you delete them, they are gone for good!

Threads are really deleted now!
When you deleted threads in the past, the program would simply toggle the thread and message as deleted in the database, but they still existed.  Now, when you delete them, they are gone for good!  The records for notification requests are also deleted.

Attached files are really deleted now!
When you deleted file attachments in the past, they were still in on your harddrive.  Now, when you delete them, they are gone for good!  What was really unbelievable, is that if you attached a file and then deleted the file from the attached list befor you saved the message, the file still remained on the harddrive.  Not anymore!  YES!

At last! An end to Verity configuration issues! 
The administrator can now choose whether or not to use Verity searches. The switch for this is in the application.cfm

ODBC DSN Choices (Merged Databases)
The databases have been merged to allow installation with one ODBC DSN.  The security DSN can be separated from the default forum DSN for those who want to change the login database. 

Attachment Directory Changes
Now you can easily change the path to the attachments directory. This will allow for easier manual installation.

Security Templates Directory
Removed the necessity for CF Mapping to the security directory. You can now choose which method to use to map to your Security templates directory. This will allow for easier manual installation.

User Manager
The admin can now edit all aspects of the user's account including the SiteName, Url, Role and Profile. The Conference Manager can enter a specific Role for users. This shows up in their profile. There is currently no other use for it (yet) The admin is the only one who can change the contents of this field.


System Administrator Account
Added a flag to the user account that specifies if they are a system administrator. Privileges surrounding this account are discussed later in this document.

Only a System Administrator can create a System Administrator account.


Error Pages
I modified some error pages to be less cryptic and more user friendly. For example, when a visitor types in a wrong cfapp= url, the error that is presented confuses them. Mine is slightly less confusing. It will soon present a list of available conferences to choose from if the url is wrong.


Error Trapping
Added error trapping. If a conference is created and has no forums assigned, the admin logs in and clicks on Options or Search, an ODBC error occurred. This has been trapped and an error message is now displayed, explaining there are no Forums assigned. Contact the webmaster.


Email Notification
Only registered users can choose to receive email notification of message responses. Only registered users can send response email to others in the thread. Only registered users can subscribe to a thread. 


Delete Unregistered Users
Added mechanism where the Administrator can delete all unregistered users. This simple process was added after I added the mechanism to disallow unregistered users to choose email notification and subscribe to threads. The delete process is easier in that unregistered users do not have a login name. Consequently, they cannot be added to specific User Groups. Nor do they have a listing in the Threads_NotificationRequests table in the Realm database. 


Message Archiving
Added code that only allows the system administrator to archive messages. The archive function is currently global, meaning that any Conference admin can archive messages for the entire system. This latest modification will suffice until I write a routine that allows Conference Admins to archive messages for their own forums. 


Create New Conferences
Made modifications to the admin area so the "administrator" is the only one who can create new conferences. This will help secure the area if the software is used by a hosting service. Previously, any Conference Administrator could add a new conference. 
Added "AdminEmail" to the application.cfm. This is the email account that message notices and registration requests are sent from. The program default was sending email from the name of the Conference. Not all email servers are set up to "relay" for anyone. This variable was entered to compensate for secured email servers that allow only legitimate email accounts to send email through the server.

New Features Added


User Profiles
The user can now edit their profile from the Options screen. They can also 
change their password, Website Name and Site Url. Added fields to the database to compensate for these additions. Also added an icon next to the Author of a message so visitors can view the author's profile. The user profile is tracked by the user Id attached to the message. This ID is then used to query the User table in the Realm database for the user's profile.

A user must be registered to be able to enter a Profile. Those who are not registered do not see the fields. Instead, they see a friendly reminder that registered members can have a personal Profile. HTML is allowed in this feature so the user can insert a photo, etc.

The pop-up window is a preset size controlled by the java pop-up code. Not resizable. This keeps users from belching in complete webpages, etc. It is more inconvenient to view them this way. The window is what it is. Minor inconveniences keep some people in line.

The User Profile pop-up window matches the motif of the conference.

Admin Comment
Added a field to the User's record for Admin comments.  Sometimes you want to comment on a user and not let anyone see it.  This is the area that you use.


Censor Messages
Added a feature wherein the Conference Admin can censor profanity from posted messages. A new table was added to the message database. Several pages were also modified to accommodate this change. The Conference Admin can toggle this feature on and off. The Global Admin can add and delete entries into the profanity database.


Email To A Friend
Added "Email Message to Friend" feature to the forums. All pages maintain look and feel of Conference settings. Error correction code and security added to the feature as well.

Conference "Menu"
Added a slick little option that allows visitors to choose from a list of available forums if they 'fat-finger' the url. This feature can be toggled on and off by the admin.

Forums Statistics
This area shows certain statistics about your conference(s). The figures shown pertain to the areas where you are an administrator. Certain numbers may not coincide with other areas of the software. For example, message figures may differ from those shown in the Message Archive section. That area shows a count for ALL messages in the system whether they are active or not. That area also shows a count for inactive threads, which is different from the statistics section.

You can easily delete some orphaned records in this section.

Global Administrators see additional statistics for the system.

Database Manager
This area allows you to manage virtually every table in the Forums database.
Caution!!  Many tables are managed through specific routines in the software and were not meant to be accessed directly.  However, there are times when certain records may become orphaned through unfinished processes.   Use EXTREME caution in editing tables directly.  You could easily render your program useless and have to restore it from a backup, or worse yet, reinstall it completely.

Cosmetic Changes

Added a feature where the Conference Admin can edit the left side of the main page.  This allows for added menus, etc.  The left column does not show when the user chooses to use frames.  To keep this from happening, simply disallow the use of frames.

Changed the framespacing and frameborder on main.cfm to "1" so it looks less obtrusive, yet the frames can still be easily sized by the user.

Created several new sets of buttons

Added 'HostHeader' and 'HostFooter' to the application.cfm These are placed strategically throughout the program's pages. This addition was so a hosting service can offer conferences to their customers, yet still get some credit for the offering. The HostHeader appears on the admin screens so the user does not forget who is hosting the program.

Read this carefully: HostFooter shows at the bottom of a message if the user is using Split Thread Frames mode, displaying a single message. It does not show if frames are not being used or if Frames are used and user is not using Split Frames mode, or if the user is using frames mode, split mode and not single message mode. This keeps the footer from showing at the bottom of every message when they are all listed on one page. This way, you can have your HostFooter show when possible without trashing the display of the message page. (cosmetics)

The Conference footer shows at the bottom of the message page if the user is not using frames, whether split or not.

Changed the email address display in the message to an email icon for cosmetics.

Added RE: #Messages.Subject# to subject line on message response page. Now the response defaults to the title of the parent message. Easier for people to post a consistent thread and minimizes the probability of messages without a subject line.

Added Auto-Emoticons - When the visitor adds :-) to their message, the program interprets that and inserts a smiley gif. There are currently 12 supported emoticons. The message entry screens have a url to a pop-up window that describes the emoticon options. Auto-Emoticons work unless the message text is set to formatted. They are not used there so the text maintains the user's intended format.

You can toggle the Auto-Emoticon feature on and off at the Conference level.
Each button design set has a unique set of emoticons. The icons reside in the specific directory for that button set.

Fonts and colors normalized to match conference settings. These look much better for all types of color settings. For example, try to have a conference with a black background and gray letters. Now look at the standard login screen for that conference. The modified one looks much better. 

The screens for the entire login process have had a makeover. 

Added the conference header and footer to the login screens. 

Changed defaults to Arial fonts in many places in the Admin area because they are easier to read when they are small. 

Modified many forms with TopMargin="0" for more control over the Conference Header. 

Added Url to User's Guide on the Thread screen. 

Added Url to Admin Guide on the main page of the Admin menu 

Added Url for help on subscribing to a Thread on the Thread screen. 

Added Url to Option page help file on the Option page. 

Added the conference header to other pages for a more uniform look.

Removed header from "Message Move" page if page is displayed in a frame.

Added email and profile icon and functionality to New Message page.

I couldn't find anywhere in the program that displays the forum descriptions so I decided to place them as "alt" information for the open and close icons next to the forum name. Hover your mouse over the small icon and the forum description will appear. 

I also added "alt" info for the subscribe gif. Hover over that graphic for a message. 

Additional text added to other menu GIFs as well. The idea is to make this program as 
user-friendly as possible.

Modified the message reply page so it looks neater.  Before, the page showed the original message above the entry form.  I removed that message to make the page cleaner.  You can always reference the original message by quoting it.  You also do not need to reference the subject line because I added the inclusion of RE.(old subject line) info to the form.