General Dolphin FAQ
How can I check PHP settings on my server?
How do I edit the web pages About Us, Contact Us, Privacy, Terms, FAQ?
How do I register Dolphin with a different license?
How do I edit the Copyright © 2008 Your Company wording at the bottom?
How can I moderate photos/videos/music uploaded by my members?
I need to transfer my site to another folder/server. What do I need to do?
How can I edit text content on my site?
How can I specify different default tabs for Classifieds, Polls, etc. on the Home Page?
How can I translate my site into a different language?
How can I create a custom page for my site?
How can I create a language file based HTML block?
How can I replace Free Ray widgets with Ad-Free ones (and vice versa)?
How can I translate my widgets?
How do I register Ray widgets with different licenses?
How can I re-register Orca with a different license?
How can I add other languages in Orca
How can I rename folder "orca" into "forum"?
How can I check PHP settings on my server?
To check the installed extensions and PHP settings, you need to create a php file, for example info.php with the following contents:
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
The settings, such as register_globals, safe_mode, disabled_functions, allow_url_fopen and allow_url_include will be displayed in the PHP Core table on the page.
This table will be followed by smaller tables for every installed extension, such as gd, xslt, dom.
The same page can also be accessed when in Dolphin Admin Panel by navigating to admin/phpinfo.php.
How do I edit the web pages About Us, Contact Us, Privacy, Terms, FAQ?
The titles and the contents of these pages can be edited in the language file:
Admin Panel -> Settings -> Language Settings -> Search for strings -> Look for here you should search for the corresponding language key and change its value:
- About Us:
_ABOUT_US_H: About Us Page Title
_ABOUT_US_H1: About Us Box Title
_ABOUT_US: About Us Box Contents
- Contact Us:
_CONTACT_H: Contact Us Page Title
_CONTACT_H1: Contact Us Box Title
Note: Contact Us Box Contents can be changed in the file contact.php:function PageCompPageMainCodeWithForm()
- Privacy:
_PRIVACY_H: Privacy Page Title
_PRIVACY_H1: Privacy Box Title
_PRIVACY: Privacy Box Contents
- Terms:
_TERMS_OF_USE_H: Terms Page Title
_TERMS_OF_USE_H1: Terms Box Title
_TERMS_OF_USE: Terms Box Contents
- FAQ:
_FAQ_H: FAQ Page Title
_FAQ_H1: FAQ Box Title
_FAQ_INFO: FAQ Box COntents
How do I register Dolphin with a different license?
You need to navigate to Admin Panel -> Settings -> Advanced Settings and specify the new license number in the Dolphin License Code area. Then click on Save Changes.
NOTE: You should make sure that the allow_url_fopen parameter is set to On and that your server can connect to boonex.com bypassing proxy (without authorization).
How do I edit the Copyright © 2008 Your Company wording at the bottom?
This wording can be edited in the language file:
Admin Panel -> Settings -> Language Settings -> Search for strings -> Look for here you should search for the corresponding language key _copyright and change its value
How can I moderate photos/videos/music uploaded by my members?
The media files uploaded by your members can be pre- and post-moderated.
Pre-Moderation means that the media won't become available for other members until you approve it.
You can turn on Pre-Moderation as follows:
1) Profile Photos: Settings -> Moderation Settings -> Automatic photo activation after uploading (unchecked)
To approve Profile Photos, navigate to Content -> Profile Photos -> check a photo -> Approve
N.B. You can't disapprove Profile Photos once you approve them.
2) Profile Music: Plugins -> Ray Suite -> pMusic Player -> Settings -> Files auto approving (unchecked)
To approve Profile Music, navigate to Content -> Profile Music -> check an audio file -> Change status
N.B. You can Disapprove/Approve? Profile Music later by changing the status. You can also delete them by clicking the Delete button.
3) Profile Videos: Plugins -> Ray Suite -> Video Recorder -> Settings -> Autoapprove (unchecked)
To approve Profile Videos, navigate to Content -> Profile Videos -> click the Videos link of a user -> click a video icon -> click the Plus sign
N.B. You can't disapprove Profile Videos once you approved them. But you can delete them by clicking the Cross icon.
4) Gallery Photos: Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Enable auto-activation for gallery photos (unchecked)
To approve Gallery Photos, navigate to Content -> Photos -> check a photo -> Change status
N.B. You can Disapprove/Approve? Gallery Photos later by changing the status. You can also delete them by clicking the Delete button.
5) Gallery Music: Plugins -> Ray Suite -> Music Player -> Settings -> Files auto approving (unchecked)
To approve Gallery Music, navigate to Content -> Music -> check an audio file -> Change status
N.B. You can Disapprove/Approve? Gallery Music later by changing the status. You can also delete it by clicking the Delete button.
6) Gallery Videos: Plugins -> Ray Suite -> Video Player -> Settings -> Files auto approving (unchecked)
To approve Gallery Videos, navigate to Content -> Videos -> check a video file -> Change status
N.B. You can Disapprove/Approve? Gallery Videos later by changing the status. You can also delete them by clicking the Delete button.
You can turn on Post-Moderation by checking all the settings above which are marked as (unchecked)
I need to transfer my site to another folder/server. What do I need to do?
1) First of all, you need to back up your folders and files and your database tables. It usually results in creation of two archives (.tgz or .zip) which you will have to unpack on your new server/folder; besides, the database tables will have to be imported in your new database.
2) Dolphin 6 has several files which must be changed after transferring to another folder or server:
- inc/header.inc.php change the values of the following variables according to your current settings:
$site['url'] and $dir['root']
and all the elements of $db array (it's not usually needed if you just move your site to another folder on the same server)
- cupid.php, notifies.php, cmd.php files in periodic folder. All of them have lines as follows:
require_once( '[path_to]/inc/header.inc.php' );
where [path_to] must be changed according to the current path to Dolphin folder
Note: You also need to change the paths for each cron running for the above mentioned files.
- ray/modules/global/inc/header.inc.php
edit the line
include("[path_to]/inc/header.inc.php");the same way as described above
If you have changed your site URL, you need to contact BoonEx and provide your license number and desired domain name.
How can I manage affiliates?
The Affiliate support must first be enabled by navigating to Admin Panel -> Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Enable affiliate support
Now navigate to Admin Panel -> Users -> Affiliates
Manage Affiliates
On this page you can manage the list of your affiliates by adding and deleting them.
Affiliates can be added in two ways:
- The administrator can manually add all information about a new affiliate;
- A future affiliate can enter this information by creating affiliate profiles on http://www.yoursite.com/join_aff.php
After being added the affiliate will be assigned an ID. Then he/she should place a link to your site with this ID. Example: http://www.yoursite.com/index.php?idAff=25.
A visitor who has joined your site through this link is automatically assigned to this affiliate and the affiliate will receive a share of all transactions that the visitor initiates (specified in the Percent field).
An affiliate can view his/her statement (list of profiles that are assigned to this affiliate and financial information) by logging in through the following page http://www.yoursite.com/aff/
The admin can also view financial statements of each affiliate by clicking the wording fin on the right side of the Manage Affiliates table.
The Affiliate -> My Link section inside an Affiliate Profile will display the link that an affiliate should place at his/her site.
Members as Affiliates
You can give incentives to people that are active members of your community site. This feature is based on Invite a friend module of our script. Members invite their friends using tellfriend.php window (Invite a friend link at the top of the pages). When the invited people registere at the site with the same e-mail they were invited at, they become referrals of the person who invited them.
Admin can set a certain number of invited and registered members (Number of Members) that must be invited before the referrants get eligible to change their membership levels.
The Admin can choose what membership privileges to give to referrants (Memberhip Type) and for how long this privilege should last (Number of Days).
AFF Approved banners
The Admin can insert images for affiliate banners. Affiliates will be able to view them and choose the suitable one for them.
How can I edit text content on my site?
Almost all text content in Dolphin depends on the language file, only a little is hard-coded in php files. Every piece of text comprises a language string or is a part of one. This language string in its turn has a language key which uniquely defines it. This means that you will most probably be able to change this content using Dolphin's Admin Panel:
1) Copy the text you want to edit. Sometimes you will have to copy only a part of the text because some text elements consist of two or more language strings.
2) Log into the Admin Panel and navigate to Settings -> Language Settings.
3) Paste the text you have copied in the field Search for strings and click any of the radio buttons and, or or exact sequence to broaden or narrow your search. You can even click on more settings to choose categories to search in. Then click on Search.
4) You will see the results that best correspond to your search criteria. They will be given for every language you installed. Now you will have to click on the edit link next to the language keys you wish to edit.
5) In the pop-up window which opens, you need to edit the String field, make sure that the checkbox Recompile corresponding language file to apply changes is ticked and then click on Save changes.
How can I specify different default tabs for Classifieds, Polls, etc. on the Home Page?
You can activate different default tabs for some blocks on the Home Page. For example, you want to display Random Blogs instead of the Latest by default.
Open the file templates/base/scripts/BxBaseIndex.php and follow these steps:
1) To edit the Members block, find the function getBlockCode_Members and replace the line
$mode = 'last';with one of the following lines:
$mode = 'online'; $mode = 'rand'; $mode = 'top';
2) To edit the Tags block, find the function getBlockCode_Tags and replace the lines
else $mode = 'profile';with one of the following pairs of lines:
else $mode = 'blog'; else $mode = 'event'; else $mode = 'photo'; else $mode = 'video'; else $mode = 'music'; else $mode = 'ad';
3) To edit the Blogs block, find the function getBlockCode_Blogs and replace the line
$mode = 'latest';with one of the following lines:
$mode = 'rand'; $mode = 'top';
4) To edit the Polls block, find the function getBlockCode_ProfilePoll and replace the line
$mode = strlen($_GET['ppoll_mode']) ? $_GET['ppoll_mode'] : 'last';with one of the following lines:
$mode = strlen($_GET['ppoll_mode']) ? $_GET['ppoll_mode'] : 'admin'; $mode = strlen($_GET['ppoll_mode']) ? $_GET['ppoll_mode'] : 'top'; $mode = strlen($_GET['ppoll_mode']) ? $_GET['ppoll_mode'] : 'rand';
5) To edit the Events block, find the function getBlockCode_Events and replace the line
$mode = 'latest';with this line:
$mode = 'rand';
6) To edit the Groups block, find the function getBlockCode_Groups and replace the line
$mode = 'latest';with this line:
$mode = 'rand';
7) To edit the Classifieds block, find the function getBlockCode_Classifieds and replace the line
$mode = 'latest';with this one of these lines:
$mode = 'rand'; $mode = 'top';
8) To edit the blocks Video Gallery, Music Gallery and Profile Photos, you need to open the file inc/classes/BxDolSharedMedia.php, find the function getBlockCode_SharedMedia and replace this line in it:
$mode = 'last';with one of these lines:
$mode = 'rand'; $mode = 'top';
This will edit the all three blocks.
How can I translate my site into a different language?
This manual is for Dolphin 6.x version only
The version for Dolphin 7 Beta is available here
Follow these steps
1) Log into your Dolphin's Admin Panel.
2) Navigate to Settings -> Language Settings.
3) Specify the name of your new language in the New Language field of the Language Files area (for example Turkce).
4) Specify the international Code for your language (for example tr). You can read more about international language codes here.
5) In the Copy from field choose an existing language to copy the language strings from. It will be English by default.
6) In the Flag field choose your desired country flag for the language you're creating.
7) Click Create. This will result in a message tr language has been successfully created. (tr will be replaced with the code you have used).
8) In the Language area click Compile next to the language name. You new language file will be written to the langs/lang-tr.php file, where tr will be replaced with the code you have used. This will result in a message tr language has been successfully compiled.
9) Start an FTP client (for example, CuteFTP or FlashFXP).
10) Go to your Dolphin directory (the one Dolphin was installed in, for example public_html/community).
11) Download your new language file (lang-tr.php) from the langs directory to your local computer.
12) Open it in a text editor which supports UTF-8 encoding (for example, Notepad++).
13) Switch your editor to UTF-8 mode and make the changes. Save them.
14) FTP it back (upload) to the langs directory on your Dolphin site.
Now you need to import your new language strings into the database. Here you can use the following tweak:
Just download it and follow the instructions in the readme.txt file.
How can I manage my banners?
Log into your Admin Panel and navigate to Tools -> Banners
On the top of the Banners Panel there is a list of your banners. Each banner in the list has the following controling buttons: Preview, Modify, and Delete.
Preview lets you see the banner as it will look on your site. Modify option lets you change the banner settings. They are stated further. Delete this deletes a banner.
Besides this, every line displays banner statistics, such as number of impressions (views) and number of clicks.
A new banner can be added by using a form at the bottom of the Banners panel. The settings are the same as when you're modifying a banner. Here they are:
1) Banner title - this can be any name you want to assign to your banner. This name won't be shown to members.
2) Banner URL - here you need to specify the link where your banner points to, for example http://www.boonex.com.
3) Banner Active - this checkbox should be checked if you wish to display your banner and unchecked if you want to hide the banner.
4) Banner Text (HTML Only) - this must be the code generating your banner, should it be a picture, a text or an object. For example, the following code will show a BoonEx banner on your site:
<img src="http://www.boonex.com/img/boonex_cse2.gif" />
You can also upload banner images in the media/images/banners folder on your site using an FTP client and specify their code this way:
<img src="http://my_site/media/images/banners/my_banner_name" />
5) Start Date and End Date are the starting and ending periods of your banner's impression. You can use the Choose and Clear buttons to insert a date and delete it respectively.
6) Position on the page has four checkboxes Top, Left, Bottom and Right to display the banner in the respective areas of your site.
7) HShift and VShift let you specify for what number of pixels you want to shift your Left or Right banners Horizontally or Vertically respectively.
8) Submit button allows you to submit your changes and the Insert as new checkbox lets you submit the modified banner as a new one.
How can I create a custom page for my site?
1. For Dolphin versions under 6.1.0
You will need to create three files for your custom page, these files are:
my_page.php templates/tmpl_uni/page_100.html templates/tmpl_uni/css/my_page.css
NB: The names are just examples
1) my_page.php should contain the following lines:
<?php
/***************************************************************************
* Dolphin Smart Community Builder
* -----------------
* begin : Mon Mar 23 2006
* copyright : (C) 2006 BoonEx Group
* website : http://www.boonex.com/
* This file is part of Dolphin - Smart Community Builder
*
* Dolphin is free software. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
* http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
*
* Dolphin is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
* without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
* See the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License for more details.
* You should have received a copy of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License along with Dolphin,
* see license.txt file; if not, write to marketing@boonex.com
***************************************************************************/
require_once( 'inc/header.inc.php' );
require_once( BX_DIRECTORY_PATH_INC . 'design.inc.php' );
$_page['name_index'] = 100; // this is the number of the html page linked with this php file; change it as you wish
$_page['css_name'] = 'my_page.css'; // this is the name of the CSS file linked with the above mentioned HTML file; change it as you wish
$_ni = $_page['name_index'];
$_page_cont[$_ni]['page_main_code'] = PageCompMainCode();
PageCode();
function PageCompMainCode()
{
// here you should put PHP code to get results if you wish to display something dynamic on this page; for example return $_COOKIE['memberID'];
}
?>
2) templates/tmpl_uni/page_100.html (as soon as you specified 100 in the previous example, this is how you need to name the HTML page) should contain the following lines:
__include _header.html__
<!-- here you should enter any HTML or Javascript code for your page for example: -->
<h2 class="my_page">Hello</h2>
<!-- to display the dynamic content from my_page.php you need to input: -->
__page_main_code__
__include _footer.html__
3) templates/tmpl_uni/css/my_page.css should contain the following lines:
/* as soon as you're using the my_page class in the previous example, you need to specify it here */
.my_page
{
color: blue;
}
4) Now you need to make a link to this custom page.
Edit templates/tmpl_uni/_header.html and templates/tmpl_uni/_footer.html and insert the following elements among the other similar ones:
in _header.html
__TOP_MyPage__
in _footer.html
__BMI_MyPage__
Now edit inc/design.inc.php and insert the following lines among the other similar ones:
$_page_cont[0]['TOP_MyPage'] = '<a class="menu_item_link" href="' . $site['url'] . 'my_page.php">' . _t("_MyPage") . '</a>';
$_page_cont[0]['BMI_MyPage'] = '<a class="bottommenu" href="' . $site['url'] . 'my_page.php">' . _t("_MyPage") . '</a>';
Create the language key named _MyPage and you're done.
NB: You may need to create more language keys and write more code depending on the purpose of your custom page.
2. For Dolphin version 6.1.0 and higher
Please refer to this Custom Page creation guide.
How can I create a language file based HTML block?
1) First you need to create an empty HTML block the way it is described here.
2) Open the PageCompose table in phpMyAdmin manager, find the record referring to your newly created page and edit the following columns for it:
Func - should contain the only word PHP
Content - should contain this statement
echo _t("_key_name");
where _key_name is the name of the language key which you will use to refer to this content.
3) Create a key named _key_name in Admin Panel -> Settings -> Language Settings and specify its contents for every language you have installed.
4) Recompile the block by simply moving it a bit and putting it in the original place (Admin Panel -> Builders -> Pages Builder).
How can I replace Free Ray widgets with Ad-Free ones (and vice versa)?
You can do it this way:
1) replace the following folders and files:
ray/modules/WIDGET_NAME/app
ray/modules/WIDGET_NAME/inc/constants.inc.php
ray/modules/WIDGET_NAME/xml/main.xml
with those from the Dolphin AdFree/Free package (WIDGET_NAME stands for the real name of the widgets you wish to replace) overwriting the existing files; for example:
replace ray/modules/board/app in your Free package with ray/modules/board/app from the Ad-Free package
2) set the following permissions (via an FTP or SSH client):
chmod 777 ./ray/modules/board/files/ ./ray/modules/im/files/ ./ray/modules/mp3/files/ ./ray/modules/movie/files ./ray/modules/music/files ./ray/modules/global/app/ffmpeg.exe chmod 666 ./ray/modules/global/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/global/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/board/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/board/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/board/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/board/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/chat/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/chat/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/chat/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/chat/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/im/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/im/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/im/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/im/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/presence/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/presence/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/presence/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/presence/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/video/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/video/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/video/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/video/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/mp3/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/mp3/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/mp3/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/mp3/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/movie/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/movie/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/movie/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/movie/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/music/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/music/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/music/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/music/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/desktop/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/desktop/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/desktop/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/desktop/xml/skins.xml ./ray/modules/shoutbox/xml/config.xml ./ray/modules/shoutbox/xml/langs.xml ./ray/modules/shoutbox/xml/main.xml ./ray/modules/shoutbox/xml/skins.xml
3) Enter your Admin Panel and register the Ad-Free widgets in Plugins -> Ray Suite.
4) Please consider that if you replace Free Chat, IM, Boards and Video Recorder with their Ad-Free versions, you won't be able to use BoonEx RMS anymore. You will have to install your own RMS. Here you can learn the RMS installation instructions.
5) Clear the cache of your browser and test the widgets again.
How can I translate my widgets?
There are language files in every of your widgets. They are located in the folders ray/modules/WIDGET_NAME/langs. The default language is English and its language file is called english.xml.
To create more languages, you need to translate the default language file and save it with a different name, for example, french.xml. You need to translate the words and expressions inside the CDATA elements, for example in [CDATA[Visit]] - you need to translate Visit. You need to use a UTF-8 supporting editor to translate the file, for example Notepad++.
Then you will have to log into Admin Panel -> Plugins -> Ray Suite -> WIDGET_NAME -> Languages and choose a new Default language.
Your members can now switch the language of the widget by clicking the Settings icon in the widget's window.
How do I register Ray widgets with different licenses?
1) If you're not going to switch to Free/Ad?-Free license when you already have Ad-Free/Free? one respectively, you need to edit the file ray/modules/WIDGET_NAME/xml/main.xml and remove the LICENSE_NUMBER from the <item key="license"><![CDATA[LICENSE_NUMBER]]></item> statement.
Now navigate to Admin Panel -> Plugins -> Ray Suite and register all the widgets that show Register prompt.
2) If you're going to switch to Free/Ad?-Free license when you already have Ad-Free/Free? one, please follow the instructions here.
How can I re-register Orca with a different license?
You can do it this way:
1) Delete the file:
orca/conf/params.conf
2) Register Orca by navigating to Admin Panel -> Plugins -> Orca -> Manage Forum and specifying your new license number in the red area.
How can I add other languages in Orca
To add other languages, you need to open the file orca/xml/langs/en.php and translate the values of the $GLOBALS array, for example:
the English version looks like this:
'Search' => 'Search',
the French version would be
'Search' => 'Chercher',
Then you need to save this file with a different name consisting of the two-lettered code of the language, e.g. fr and the php extension: fr.php and place it in the same directory where en.php is located.
Now you only need to recompile your languages the way it is described here.
How can I rename folder orca into forum
1) Do not rename the folder itself. Just make this change in Builders -> Navigation Menu Builder. Click on Forums and in the URL field replace orca/ with forum/.
2) Run this query in phpMyAdmin:
update `TopMenu` set `Link` = replace( `Link` , 'orca', 'forum' ) where `Link`='orca/#action=goto&my_flags=1' OR `Link`='orca/#action=goto&my_threads=1' OR `Link`='orca/#action=goto&search=1'
3) Recompile Navigation Menu by moving one of its elements.
4) Then you need to add the following lines to the .htaccess file which is located in Dolphin installation directory (you can add them at the bottom of the file before the </IfModule?> line):
RewriteRule ^forum$ orca/ [QSA,L] RewriteRule ^forum/$ orca/ [QSA,L]
