Community Builder Private Messaging is here!

Latest Community Builder build has Private Messaging!

 

Community Builder has always relied on uddeIM for private messaging and it's built-in CB PMS plugin still supports integration with it.

As mentioned in Kyle's blog, our PMS integration plugin now has an internal mode switch that will turn on the newly developed private messaging functionality now available in the latest Community Builder build and will be part of the soon to be released Community Builder 2.3.

We have already installed our latest CB build on our demo site where you can see this new functionality at work.

Here is a short list of available features:

  • Internal mode switch to move from uddeIM integration to the new internal mode private messaging
  • Migration of messages from uddeIM
  • System messages can be sent by moderators to all users
  • Messages can be deleted
  • Envelope icon on profile page with number of unread messages for quick viewing
  • Send a message to profile owner when visiting a user profile page
  • Quick select from connections to send a new message
  • Manage all messages (create, delete, edit, etc.) from Community Builder User Manager in administration area

There are many more built-in features and of course the CB PMS plugin with uddeIM or internal mode will continue to work with other integrations (Kunena, GroupJive, etc.).

And, as this is a new built-in Community Builder feature, it's available -- just like CB -- totally free!

 

 



krileon's Avatar
krileon replied the topic: #308713 5 years 4 months ago
Folks please stop posting support questions or feature requests here. This is just a news announcement thread. Create support topics where your posts will actually be visible and answered on a per post basis more appropriately. Giant quote chains are just not user friendly and makes it very hard to follow each persons needs.

wbuk wrote: 1. Send Attachments (Restrictable by admin)

This will not be implemented. It's possible it maybe supported with a System Action in CB Auto Actions utilizing CB Gallery for a per-PM gallery, which maybe doable now as there are triggers available to potentially have this.

wbuk wrote: 2. Inbox and Compose Button

Not sure I understand. You can create a Joomla menu item to both pages and link to them using a button if you like with a Custom HTML field or in a module. Additionally the messages icon displayed on a users own profile will show them their messages.

wbuk wrote: 3. Block

This will just be a part of CB Privacy and the PMS functionality will simply respect it.

wbuk wrote: 4. Report

Have added a feature ticket to look into implementing this.

forge.joomlapolis.com/issues/7356

wbuk wrote: 5. An option to search your connections list to send a message

This is already available. There's a connections dropdown next to the To input that has searching. You can also view your connections and click the message icon to go directly to new message page with them set as the To.

wbuk wrote: 6. Admins ability to only allow you to message your connections or to message anyone on the site.

This is planned as noted below.

forge.joomlapolis.com/issues/7337

wbuk wrote: 7. Ability to be notified by email of a new message and to log in to see it.

This is already available. Edit Private Message System and enable notifications.

Josh Lewis wrote: wbuk is spot on regarding features that would benefit most if not all Community Builder sites. #7 is the most important, a feature that helps content producers not only be responsive but come back to the site and work out content accordingly.

Same as above. #7 is already there. Users can even control their notifications based off a custom field you create.



Please keep in mind we want to provide a featureful PMS, but we also want to avoid it being bloated with features the majority won't ever use (e.g. attachments, blocking system specific to PMS, etc..) and to also avoid making something simple become complicated and complex to use (e.g. we've already had usage issues yet the plugin is extremely simple in its current state).
PhilF1951's Avatar
PhilF1951 replied the topic: #308706 5 years 4 months ago
Okay I had few issues with the PM system after moving away from UddeIM, mainly the default editor (JCE). Did not want members having access to the admin/publishers content plug-ins just a basic editor layout similar to UddeIM's. Took a bit of tweaking but managed it and members now have a few more options than UddeIM provided.

Commenting on WBUK and Josh's post. PM does send emails to users to telling them there are new messages. The email can contain a link to the message or the whole text. What you are requesting above is a parallel email system which is rather pointless as your users/members can go to users profile and email from there. Think of PM as SMS was before the likes of WhatsApp, etc. It is primarily for internal messaging.;) Admins can mass message too but I would'nt recommend users having this facility - would get abused for definite.

Regarding admins banning or moderating PMs. That could be a contentious option. Why? Because PM is what it is, Private Messaging. Albeit, superadmins can access the database to read those messages if they wanted to.. If someone wants to report abuse, etc then they can email the admin team is best option and the admin can lock out the abuser from the PM system.

Finally keeping the PM fairly simple avoids conflicts likely in the future. I still have UddeIM installed but will probably in the near future uninstall. One less component to worry about. Although one thing I do miss.:( That's User drop down list in PM. got round that one by creating a menu link to Kunena user-list.

My System:: Joomla 3.9: CB, Kunena. Flying Club website with private members area since 2009
Josh Lewis's Avatar
Josh Lewis replied the topic: #308705 5 years 4 months ago

wbuk wrote:
Feature List Needed (The magic 7):-

1. Send Attachments (Restrictable by admin)
2. Inbox and Compose Button
3. Block
4. Report
5. An option to search your connections list to send a message
6. Admins ability to only allow you to message your connections or to message anyone on the site.
7. Ability to be notified by email of a new message and to log in to see it.


wbuk is spot on regarding features that would benefit most if not all Community Builder sites. #7 is the most important, a feature that helps content producers not only be responsive but come back to the site and work out content accordingly.
wbuk's Avatar
wbuk replied the topic: #308696 5 years 4 months ago
A user needs to be able to ban and report as we use UddeIM and that allows full moderation. Students must be able to report other uses. This new features for CB has so much potential but it's not as feature rich as UddleIM at the moment. I hope it is developed so that we can use it instead of UddeIM.

Feature List Needed (The magic 7):-

1. Send Attachments (Restrictable by admin)
2. Inbox and Compose Button
3. Block
4. Report
5. An option to search your connections list to send a message
6. Admins ability to only allow you to message your connections or to message anyone on the site.
7. Ability to be notified by email of a new message and to log in to see it.

Cheers
mikerotec's Avatar
mikerotec replied the topic: #308692 5 years 4 months ago
My understanding is you cannot ban it yet - some granular permissions are coming in the next version of CB.
For now, all you can do is unpublish the PM stuff...
Montec's Avatar
Montec replied the topic: #308691 5 years 4 months ago

mikerotec wrote: do they have Прописка ?? I seem to remember you have to set correct permissions on the PM module ( or was it the PM menu item?)...

I just wiped it on the DEV server, do not have it handy now


Montec's Avatar
Montec replied the topic: #308690 5 years 4 months ago
И еще момент! Пользователи могут отправлять сообщения сами себе и отвечать сами себе на свои сообщения. Как это запретить? Спасибо

And another moment! Users can send messages to themselves and reply to themselves on their messages. How to ban it? thank
mikerotec's Avatar
mikerotec replied the topic: #308689 5 years 4 months ago
do they have Прописка ?? I seem to remember you have to set correct permissions on the PM module ( or was it the PM menu item?)...

I just wiped it on the DEV server, do not have it handy now
Montec's Avatar
Montec replied the topic: #308688 5 years 4 months ago
Здравствуйте! При отправке глобального сообщения пользователи не могут открыть его. Нет доступа. Почему?

Hello! When sending global messages, users cannot open it. No access. Why?
krileon's Avatar
krileon replied the topic: #308402 5 years 4 months ago

personally I think it is too simplistic when compared to UddeIM

That was partially the point. To be less complex to configure and use. If you like UddeIM then it's perfectly fine to continue to use UddeIM.

Although I miss and so do my Club members and many are not code or even html savvy so the fact that UddeIM has it's own basic editor where they can add emoticons and altered text in HTML.

You can have a simple editor by enabling HTML, which displays a WYSIWYG editor, then set your sites editor to TinyMCE then within Extensions > Plugins > Editor - TinyMCE you can customize the editor buttons available per usergroup allowing for as simple or as complex of an editor as you'd like. JCE I believe also provides this functionality on a much deeper level as well. Users don't need to know HTML at all to use the WYSIWYG editor.
PhilF1951's Avatar
PhilF1951 replied the topic: #308362 5 years 4 months ago
It is a nice to have PMs integrated but personally I think it is too simplistic when compared to UddeIM. Okay, so UddeIM had a lot switches and configuration but once set up worked perfectly. CB PMs now have a cleaner look. Although I miss and so do my Club members and many are not code or even html savvy so the fact that UddeIM has it's own basic editor where they can add emoticons and altered text in HTML. Plus the message arrives in their Inbox and email notification in the same format as sent, ie; font size, spacing, paragraphs, etc. After quite few moans I have switched UddeIM back on until such time that it no longer works, if and when Joomla 4 arrives. After that we will see...........
krileon's Avatar
krileon replied the topic: #308358 5 years 4 months ago
There is no admin inbox. There are no plans for one at this time. Everything is designed to be user-to-user so there isn't really a means of doing what you're wanting without a complete redesign of the storage behavior. The privacy concern of a shared inbox is also a big concern as well. For what you're trying to do I highly recommend using a support ticket system instead; of which there are several Joomla extensions that provide such functionality.
Josh Lewis's Avatar
Josh Lewis replied the topic: #308355 5 years 4 months ago
Will there be an admin inbox? This way site users could message the administrators about site issues and assistance? Admin inbox is an inbox that only admins can access which would avoid all the support burden being on a single person. If possible to have a URL to message admins we could program our own JavaScript to put through out the site as a dropdown icon (on an article for example) and allow members to select a reason for reporting or claim missing information that would auto generate a message for the admins. There are dozens of other things one could do if there was an admin inbox.
krileon's Avatar
krileon replied the topic: #308213 5 years 4 months ago
Please everyone create support topics for any issues or questions you may have. It is difficult to follow multiple issues from multiple people in a single topic.

mikerotec wrote: I have had uddeIM installed for many months and it's working fine. In my configuration only SuperAdmin can send messages to other users.

Now I see that EVERY USER has a "Messages" dropdown ( 'Send Private Message') when I visit their profile as a normal user ! We do not want any user "Other Than SuperAdmin" to have PM capabilities.

How can I remove the "Messages" dropdown from users profiles, without messing up any of my existing uddeIM functionality?

I UNPUBLISHED the [Private Message System] plugin, but the dropdown ( and "New Private Message" is STILL THERE)

This is because you had an incorrectly configured install from the beginning. Do not publish the Private Message System plugin if using UddeIMs plugin or you do not want CB providing PMS functionality. If it does not detect UddeIM it will default to the Internal model otherwise it will default it to integrating with UddeIM (as it did before). You can control access to the PMS functionality by simply adjusting the access to the plugin it self.

mikerotec wrote: PS: where is the DOCUMENTATION for this new feature ??

( I do not see it here: www.joomlapolis.com/documentation )

As this feature was just released there is no documentation for it. I'm not sure it really needs any beyond maybe 1-2 usage tutorials. It works completely out of the box and the parameters within CB > Plugin Management > Private Message System should describe their usage well (suggestions always welcomed if a parameter is not clear enough).

activha wrote: Very very nice integration, congrats :-)
Just a question : if public messages is activated, it does not seem to display the tab write message or the menu to send a public message, did I miss a config somewhere ?

Looks like an access check issue with the menu item and quick message tab. Have added a bug ticket to fix.

forge.joomlapolis.com/issues/7323

PhilF1951 wrote: Check the CB PMS plug in. Disable Global. Superadmins still have use of global messaging.

I am unable to confirm. Are you sure you adjusted the correct parameter? With "Global Messages" set to "Disable" I am no longer able to send to all users from frontend. Note this does not disable the ability to message all users from backend.
PhilF1951's Avatar
PhilF1951 replied the topic: #308179 5 years 5 months ago
Check the CB PMS plug in. Disable Global. Superadmins still have use of global messaging.
activha's Avatar
activha replied the topic: #308172 5 years 5 months ago
Very very nice integration, congrats :-)
Just a question : if public messages is activated, it does not seem to display the tab write message or the menu to send a public message, did I miss a config somewhere ?
mikerotec's Avatar
mikerotec replied the topic: #308170 5 years 5 months ago
PS: where is the DOCUMENTATION for this new feature ??

( I do not see it here: www.joomlapolis.com/documentation )
mikerotec's Avatar
mikerotec replied the topic: #308168 5 years 5 months ago
I have had uddeIM installed for many months and it's working fine. In my configuration only SuperAdmin can send messages to other users.

Now I see that EVERY USER has a "Messages" dropdown ( 'Send Private Message') when I visit their profile as a normal user ! We do not want any user "Other Than SuperAdmin" to have PM capabilities.

How can I remove the "Messages" dropdown from users profiles, without messing up any of my existing uddeIM functionality?

I UNPUBLISHED the [Private Message System] plugin, but the dropdown ( and "New Private Message" is STILL THERE)
krileon's Avatar
krileon replied the topic: #308139 5 years 5 months ago

Is this an update on pms.mypmspro or totally new?

Yes, it's an update to pms.mypmspro.

I have just updated my install and can't see anything else!

Edit Private Message System plugin in CB > Plugin Management and switch the model to Internal. If you already have UddeIM installed it will default to UddeIM.
Ratman_2004's Avatar
Ratman_2004 replied the topic: #308136 5 years 5 months ago
Great news! I cannot wait to test this. One question: Is there a way to migrate old messages from UddeIM to the new PM system?

EDIT: Forget about the question. I should have read Kyle's blog before posting :whistle:

Kind regards,
Tom
bins's Avatar
bins replied the topic: #308134 5 years 5 months ago
Hiya,

Really excited about this!

Is this an update on pms.mypmspro or totally new?

I have just updated my install and can't see anything else!

I am now on 2.2.1+build.2018.10.23.17.41.07.391045c79

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