Configuring the DotNetNuke Forums Module 

The DotNetNuke forums module does a very good job at providing forum abilities within DotNetNuke, however, I have found that the configuration of this module is far from the standard of DotNetNuke modules and causes a large number of questions.  Below I will walk you through the configuration process of the forums module.  This demonstration is being completed with DNN version 4.4.1, and version 3.2.8 of the Forums Module, you must have the forums module installed on your portal prior to starting this process.

Step 1: Create a new page and add the forum module

1. Select "add" from the Page Function Menu
   
2. Set the page options. Be sure to select which groups can view and edit the pages.
   
3. Select "Forum" from the Module list in the admin header, and click "Add" to add the module to the content pane
   

You should now have a forum module installed and see everything with the default configuration. The default configuration includs on forum group "Discussions" and one forum "General".

Step 2: Configuring the Forums Module

Now that we have the forum module added to our page we will now need to configure the options to allow users to post as by default users will only be able to browse the forum. We will also walk through the steps needed to create an additional forum within the "Discussions" group.

1. Open the Forums Module Settings by clicking on the down arrow and selecting "Settings"
    
2. Under the "Edit Module" column, add a checkmark for "Registered Users". This setting is needed to allow members to post. NOTE: for this module ONLY this does NOT grant the user administrative rights to the module, nor does it allow them to edit the forum groups, or any other moderation task, this simply allows them to post to the forums!
    
3. If desired you can disable the forum footer by expanding the "Forums Settings" section and unchecking the "Enable Footer" item
4. Click "Update" to save your settings.
5. Now, select "Forum Administration" from the module actions list, this will open the internal administration sections of the forum. It is broken into 6 sections which I will give you a quick overview of before we finish the quick setup of the forums
   • General Settings - This section contains general settings used within the forums module, items such as Threads Per Page, Posts per Page, Popular View Status, and many more. We will not discuss any of these options, however you can look at each of the items and view the detailed help on them using the "?" icon next to each heading
   • Manage Forums & Groups - This section is where you can add/remove forums and groups as well as modify settings for existing forums.
   • Forum Users - This is where you can modify user information for individual forum users
   • Word Filters - This is where you can modify input from the user to filter out bad words, as well as to filter out various script objects as well.
   • Gallery & Emoticon - This is where you can modify the forum's integration with the gallery for images and emoticons
   • Statistics & Rankings - This is where you can set user post ranks, statistics calculation information and post rankings
6. Now, to add an additional forum to your site, select "Forum Administration" -> Then select "Manage Forums"
7. Expand the "Discussions" group, your page should look similar to the following
    
8. Click on the "Add Forum" button to add a new forum
9. The "Edit Forum" window is displayed you may now enter your forum name and description. Then you may also select if it is a restricted forum and if it is moderated. A restricted forum will ONLY allow users of a specific role access to the forum, a moderated forum will require an admin or a delegated moderator to approve a users post unless they are a "Trusted" member.
    
10. Click the "Update" link to save your new forum.
11. Now if you return to your forum you will see your new forum listed below the existing General forum. All registered users of your system should also now be allowed to post within the forums if you setup everything accoring to the examples listed above!
    

I hope this has provided you an easy way to quickly setup and use the forums module. Keep in mind that you should create multiple word filters to protect yourself from code injection attacks on your DotNetNuke installation. If there is enough demand I will create an overview document that will show a listing of good items to have listed in the word filter to protect a site.

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