Tendenci Blog

Update your Web site's date formats!

Options are good and now your Tendenci site even lets you pick how to show your dates! 

In a fresh update from our Programmers, the new Tendenci date format editor in your site settings area allows you to decide how your visitors read your dates. 

So whether you prefer January 1, 2010 or 1-Jan-2010, you're covered!

Some example date formats:

 

Check out this Help file for information on how to update your Tendenci site's date formats!

New newsletter editor coming this week in Tendenci!

The Tendenci developers have been working hard on an updated editing tool for your Tendenci newsletters!

Later this week, we'll be releasing an *optional* new Tendenci newsletter WYSIWYG editor for you to play with.  You'll find much of the same functionality, but will enjoy an expanded editing space (no more scrolling - yay!), improved rich media embedding and a more consistent, better behaving editing experience.

WYSIWYG stands for:  What You See Is What You Get.  This new editor tool will help further ensure that you're seeing and achieving the formatting results you are looking for to keep your newsletters looking great.

You will have the option to stick with the original newsletter editor if you prefer, but we want to get your feedback on how this updated editor works for you and your orgainzation.  Stay tuned for more news!

Let us help you with your organization's newsletter!

Sending out newsletters to your clients and members is a great way to communicate quickly and effectively.  With all the content, the rich media and the formatting, we get that it can be a challenging and labor-intensive process.  

We've got some great newsletter help files that will hopefully assist in the process, specifically:

•  Using the Newsletter Module - the best place to start as a new Tendenci user 
• Designing a custom letter that works in Outlook 2007
• How to personally address newsletters

But if you'd like a little extra help, we've got a few extra opportunities happening in the upcoming week:

• Newsletter re-design time!  Get a fresh new look for your newsletter with a basic template design starting at $300.  In addition to your new svelte look, our team will even create your first newsletter for you with the content you provide.  All you'll have to do is click send.
• Free Newsletter 101 Webinar - On Wednesday, August 12th at 2pm CST, our team will put on a Tendenci newsletter creation step-by-step training where you can get new tips and tricks on making your newsletters a smash hit!  Sign up today!

The Schipul team is always ready to hear your feedback and give you a helping hand.  Give us a call at (281) 497.6567, ext. 411.  Thanks!

SchipulCon 2009 coming October 15 - 16th!!

If you're an esteemed reader of our Tendenci newsletter, you already had a sneak peek at our Big News this week! 

This year's Tendenci software and Schipul Web Marketing conference (now lovingly called SchipulCon) will be at the Houston Zoo on October 15 - 16th!!

Topics will range from some very exciting new Tendenci 5.0 feature showcasing by our Programming team to Social Media training to Web marketing strategies to online Community building classes.  Know of a non profit or wannabe Web guru?  Invite them to attend!!  All are welcome :)

Tickets will go on sale later this month, in the meantime please do submit your SchipulCon training ideas and suggestions on our SchipuCon 2009 Forum.  Can't wait to see you there!!

Want to see more ongoing Tendenci updates from the team?  Connect with us on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/tendenci!

Constant Contact now integrates with Tendenci!

Does your organization use Constant Contact to send out emails and newsletters to your members, sponsors or clients?

We've just completed the finishing touches on integrating your Tendenci and Constant Contact users.  This means that when a visitor comes to your Web site and fills out a contact form, your Constant Contact mailing lists can be updated too!

Here's to seriously streamlining your email marketing campaigns and growing your Community as never before!  Keep an eye out for further upcoming Constant Contact integration with Tendenci and give us a call to quote you on your site's integration today at (281) 497.6567, ext. 700.

New Option "Require Approval" Added in Membership Type

This morning we rolled out a new update for your Tendenci memberships module. As a site administrator, you now have the control of whether a membership application is automatically activated or needs to be approved. 

 

To change this option, just edit your membership types. If the "Require Approval" is checked, every application of this membership type signed up by a user, whether it's free or non-free membership, will be set to pending and requires approval by an administrator. On the other hand, if this check box is not checked, memberships will be approved automatically unless they are not free and not yet paid.



For more information on how this works, please visit the help file Membership Type "Require Approval" Effect.

Give your people an instant login after filling out a customized form

We've added a new feature to our custom forms.  This feature allows the person who fills-out and successfully submits your form to become an instant active user on your Tendenci powered website.

This works perfect for customized registration forms and customized contact forms.  Just thought you'd like to know!  :)

Event Updates - No More Prepage and Show Off your Attendees

We made some changes to the events module.  There is no longer a 'pre page,' we're not really sure what it was doing there to begin with, but it's gone so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

We have also given you the ability to show-off your attendees.  This feature allows you to display the attendees to administrators, members, users, or everyone.  Now the people you invite can decide whether they'll come to your get-together based on who's already going, we've all done this at one point.

Both of these updates have already been released and ready for your enjoyment.

Tendenci 5.0 coming - leave your thoughts in our Tendenci Forum!

Our Tendenci programming team has some super-exciting HUGE plans in the works for Tendenci this year - we are re-inventing our already super software to make it an even more profitable Web platform for your organization and members.

The sleeker, faster Tendenci 5.0 will migrate to the LAMP (Linus, Apache, MySQL, PHP) open source Web platform.  This transition will still maintain our extreme devotion to Security that we have always had, but with greater scalability and improved data management.

By being part of a vibrant open source community and collaboratively working on a lot of the 'basics' of the Tendenci software, we will be able to spend more time working on cutting edge features like social network integration.  Your Tendenci-driven Web site will be even more effective in the search engines and you'll find your entire site experience to be even more user friendly and beautiful.

So in the months to come, expect to hear more news on Tendenci 5.0.  Change is good - we can't wait to share with you what we've got in store for Tendenci! 

In the meantime, please check out our Tendenci Forums and let us know what kind of functionality YOU want your Tendenci-powered Web site to have.