Community Builder (CB) is an open source extension to Joomla that provides extensive broadening of Joomla’s user management features. It is one of the most popular extensions in the Joomla world. The capabilities of CB include the following:

❑       Managed passwords and groups

❑       Avatar image for users

❑       Additional fields in the user profiles

❑       User lists

❑       Connection paths between users

❑       Custom-defined tabs

❑       Front-end workflow management for such processes as “Terms of Acceptance” confirmation, email messages for confirmation for activation of account, administrator notification of new applicant, and customization of email messages automatically sent to new applicants, using any field available in the user profile and formatted in either HTML or plain text

❑       Integration with other components such as personal mail systems (PMS), galleries, and many others

Community Builder is available here:       www.joomlapolis.com/

One of the difficulties of using CB (and also one of its advantages) is that it features a completely different login and registration system from the one included with Joomla. This means that you no longer have the single unified administration through the Joomla interface.

Structure of Community Builder
CB is made up of a Joomla extension that has its own plug-in architecture. The actual component still carries the CB’s original name (comprofiler). Most of the CB features are included in three core modules that are slotted into it.

The foundation of CB is the user login system. It has a robust registration/login system that is extensible by an administrator. Much like an expandable contact-management system, CB allows you to add customized fields to record data unique to your needs. This user login framework is also available through an interface in the Joomla extension so that other Joomla plug-ins can access the information.

The CB login system will integrate with the following Joomla extensions (among others) so that the extensions will recognize users registered through the CB system:

❑       Simpleboard/JoomlaBoard

❑       myPMS

❑       Mamboblog

❑       Yanc tab newsletter

❑       zOOm Gallery

❑       uddeIM (private message)

❑       CB Gallery

❑       PHPBB bulleting board system

❑       GroupJive

When you install the CB extension, the main component page on the Administrator interface will show you the CB plug-ins that are included by default. Installation of CB plug-ins will add them to the list.

The most basic user settings screen provides most of the same settings available through the Joomla registration system. This is where the similarity ends. With CB, you can not only define many other parameters through the group designation but also configure custom settings for all users.

 For user-defined fields, there are 11 field types:

❑       Checkbox

❑       Date

❑       Email address

❑       Editor text area

❑       Text area

❑       Text field

❑       Radio button

❑       Web address

❑       Multi-select drop-down menu

❑       Multi-select check box

❑       Fields delimiter

These types can be set up for any of the CB fields. For example, if you wanted to allow users to add their preferences for the CMS type to their profiles, you could add a multi-select drop-down menu field to the user profiles. By accessing the Field Management screen under the Community Builder menu, you could add such a field.

After you save the field, you must publish it. Once published, if you return to the user profile screen, you will see that your new field is added to the user profile. The power of being able to customize the user profile (even including “required” fields) allows the tailoring of a Joomla site to collect critical visitor information.

You may have noticed that all of the user information for this screen appeared on a single tab titled Contact Info. You may also have noticed that when the new field was created, it was selected to appear on that tab. CB can add a variety of other tabs, not only to provide user information collection but even to interface with other extensions to profile-by-user features such as a user blog.

All tabs available through the user profile are displayed in the Tab Manager. From this manager, you can edit the name of the tab, its position, and the display type. If it is a particular type of tab (such as a menu tab), you will see an additional pane that displays extra parameters.

CB Plug-Ins
CB has its own plug-in architecture. Many of these plug-ins will bridge the CB authentication system for use with other extensions. In the Type column, some of the plug-ins are denoted as templates that define the various theme displays available to CB.

The user type plug-ins provide either core functionality or the bridge technology for interfacing with third-party Joomla extensions. You can see that the default installation includes bridges for Simpleboard Forum, Mamblog Blog, YaNC Newslettters, and PMS MyPMS/Pro. There are many other such bridge plug-ins available on the CB Web site.

User Avatar
One of the features that is key to having the visitors of your site invest themselves there is the ability to set an avatar (image) that represents them to the outside world. This image will be displayed in the user ’s profile. Although a username can be tailored to represent the user, it doesn’t have the personality that can be communicated with a small image.

Image posting may also be moderated, so avatars do not appear on the site until approved. The moderation feature can be very useful for family-oriented Joomla sites, as well as providing a means to police potential copyrighted image violation.

The concept of copyrighted images is a gray area on the Internet. Clearly, the repro duction of copyrighted content is a violation of the rights of the copyright holder and is black and white. However, many copyright holders turn a blind eye to the use of their images when no profit is sought by the use, and the presentation is not within an offensive context. Fan films have been made for years of various film franchises, and few studios actively discourage such artistic creation. If you are concerned about the legal ramifications, you should consult an attorney.

To allow a user to add an image, log in to the site where you have CB installed. When you go to your user profile, you will see an empty user icon. If you click on the item, you can select the My CB Profile item in the User Menu. From there, you can select the Update Your Image option in the Edit menu to upload an image. The image will not be displayed until it is approved through the Administrator interface.

Download and Installation
When you download CB, it is not a single file but rather a set of files that must be installed. These files include the following:

❑       comprofiler  —  This archive contains the actual CB component that you must install into Joomla.

❑       cblogin —  The login module that must be added to your Joomla front page.

❑       mod_comprofilermoderator —  Provides the workflow delegation of registration approval to individual moderators.

❑       mod_comprofileronline —  Displays a list of CB members who are currently online.

You only really need to install the comprofiler component for Administrator interface control and the cblogin module to allow logging into the CB system. comprofiler was the original name of Community Builder, and you will find this denotation in many places in the back end.

If this is the first time you’ve run CB, you will want to access the Tools option in the CB menu. Available tools provide the capabilities to install sample data, to synchronize users with the existing Joomla registration system, and to perform an integrity check on the CB databases.