[2.0 beta3 public] Custom Profile Fields

[SunilDVR]

Hi all,

I'm glad that Custom Profile Fields have been integrated into core for SMF2.0

I set up a test forum today, and one thing struck me - that some of the functionality available from the mod has been lost in the core implementation.

I posted my initial thoughts below the horizontal rule here, but I am repeating them below as that topic isn't the right place for a feature request!




There is one thing which is bugging me, though, about the SMF2 implementation of custom fields.

The "Privacy: Who can see and edit this field" option is way too limited.

There are only three options in the dropdown box:

* Users can see this field; owner can edit it
* Users can see this field; only admins can edit it
* This field is only visible to admins

The way I currently have the CPF mod set up for a particular field is that the owner can both see and edit  it (for their own profile, obviously), but that no other users can except Admins.

There does not appear to be a way to make this happen with the SMF2 core implementation of it.

Also SMF2 is feature-frozen, so I'm not sure whether this will be changed in final. I am thinking of making a "formal" feature request for more granularity of the CPF features, just in case there is time to change it. A set of check-boxes with various options for force-on-registration, visibility on posts, visibility on profile (self and others) and edit-ability (self or just admins) would do the trick.



The bolded line says it all: please could we have more granularity of permissions for the Custom Profile Fields in SMF2! In other words, the current "privacy" drop-down does not have enough options.

I'm not expecting a huge change, but the ability for a user to edit their own private fields which are invisible to other users would be good.

Whilst one is implementing that, it would make sense to have the full gamut of options for each field (it would be more logical).

In other words something like what follows (O is a radio box or drop-down; [] is a checkbox):

For this field:

On registration:
O - Force (Require) Entry
O - Optional Entry
O - Do not show

Posts:
O - Show field by avatar
O - Do not show field

Owner:
[] - Can edit field after registering
[] - Can view field in own profile

Other (non-Admin) Users:
[] - Can view this field in user's profile

I know we're feature-frozen, but I would imagine this is a relatively minor change. As the CPF mod already supports this, it would be great if the default core could... pretty please?

Thanks

Sunil

[Eliana Tamerin]

Feature frozen, I believe, means they aren't adding any new features (CPF is a feature). Making changes to those features, though, I believe is unrestricted.

I would also support greater functionality for the CPFs. I've started using rsw686's mod, and it's very comprehensive in this area. I would also like to see the ability to change the order of CPFs, and choose how to display them on the Profile page (under a HR break or not).

[erlend_sh]

I'm bumping up this thread as I think a lot of important issues were raised but sadly never discussed any further. Adding to the discussion I've got a good load of my own suggestions that I'd like to share with the rest of you.

Improved ordering & positioning

Like Eliana, I would also like to see some improvements in ordering, like already suggested in this thread.

In the spirit of this suggestion, I'd like to make yet another suggestion: Make the standard profile in-put boxes part of the CPFs, putting them all under the same system. This would not only allow for improved ordering, but even positioning. Also, I'd argue that the current setting doesn't make sense, and would only confuse new users, seeing as there are three different boxes there offering the very same feature, but they're using different names and are handled by different settings...
In the past I've asked about the possibility of doing something similar, though back then I went a little further and was asking for different positioning on a per-user basis. Here, everyone would be following the same standards and restrictions.

This way, the admin would be able to choose between adding any CPF

• ... below the name.
• ... above the avatar.
• ... below the avatar.

Ideally I'd like to have even more freedom, but this is a very good start.


Allow "Large Text"-boxes in topic view

I fail to see why this should be restricted. The ability to disable it is there, but why completely deny it? If there's a chance it'll mess up any visuals, just put a warning in there that says so, but please don't restrict the users like this. I really wanted to use boxes (well, what I really wanted is suggested further below) because I needed to make a BB-list to make it look right. So, instead of using the "Large Text" box, I simply wrote the list directly into the small text box instead in one straight line.

As you can see, I can still get the list to work, but you're just making things a little harder for me and especially the new users, by denying the use of a large text box that would let you see the full list easily.

Lists

I think another great addition would be to have finished list boxes. This would basically be several smaller small text boxes used together; just another option alongside "Text" and "Large Text". Amount of text boxes allowed could either be pre-set (if you don't fill in the third box it'll stand empty, or it won't save) or limited to a certain number (e.g. max 5 list elements). This would allow for much more user-friendly lists in the topic view, and they could also be visually customized so that they don't appear so far in, widening the profile side-box.


Titles aka "Prefixes"

To accomodate my suggestion about incorporating 'Custom Title' and 'Personal Text' with the CPF, this additional feature would also be greatly beneficial. The picture below should explain it in full:


Allow BBC/HTML in names

I believe the CPF mod also allowed using BBcode (or was it HTML...) in the names (what I'd call 'Titles' if my suggestion went through) of the CPFs. This is a big advantage, as it greatly adds to the flexibility of this space. Ideally, I'd even like to be able to put an image in there. That way I could have stylish titles that are paid attention to, maybe even with an URL attached to them, so that they could lead to the related page, in my case (with Radakan, my game project) to the to-do list on our wiki.

[erlend_sh]

Do-diddely-darnit, I spend too long editing, updating and arranging pictures in order to make this thing as easy as possible to understand just so that I'd have a better chance catching the Developers' attention, so I'm not leaving until I do, sorry

[Fustrate]

Good idea... if this were cleaned up in the code by anyone, would the devs put it into Beta 5 (or RC1, whichever will come after Beta 4, which nobody could squeeze this out by)?

[SunilDVR]

My original feature request, for more granularity in the options, still stands.

I fear that unless it is added, I'm going to have to continue using the CPF mod in 2.0 (when it is released, if the mod can be made to work with it...)

Sunil

[karlbenson]

My personal opinion is that the 2.x CPF has 99% of the functionality that most people require.
In this list, I would only myself add bbc support  (html would be a security risk in inputs for users) + ordering.

What it might require are mini mods to expand the functionality for those who want it.

I personally am glad that the cpf 1.1.x mod wasn't just completely implemented in 2.x, but with thought and consideration.

[erlend_sh]

My personal opinion is that the 2.x CPF has 99% of the functionality that most people require.
In this list, I would only myself add bbc support  (html would be a security risk in inputs for users) + ordering.

What it might require are mini mods to expand the functionality for those who want it.

I personally am glad that the cpf 1.1.x mod wasn't just completely implemented in 2.x, but with thought and consideration.

In my opinion, the other features suggested are just as important as e.g. BBC support, maybe even more so. The "large text box" is an extremely simple addition (it's simply about allowing it), and with it allowed, the "Lists" feature could very well just be a mod.

The "Titles"/"Prefixes" add to the CPF's flexibility and ease of use, and so I really think it should be a default feature. However, adding this as a mod should be easy enough as well, so that I can live with.

About the ordering though, Karl: Do you also agree that "Personal Text" and "Custom Title" should become just another part of the Custom Profile Fields? Meaning they would just be there by default, yet still removable/modifyable like any other CPF. This is, by far, the most important change to me.

[Fustrate]

I believe that Custom Title is such a basic feature that it shouldn't become a part of CPF. It's used in such a different way than everything else that if it were to be removed, it couldn't be added back in.

Personal Text on the other hand... ya, that sounds like something that can be relegated to CPF.