Author: Tendenci Open Source Software

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Chat it up on your Web site

Gabbly
Did you know that you can incorporate chat boxes on your Web site without downloading or installing a single piece of software?

Using a free program like Gabbly, you can embed a chat window onto a CMS page on your Tendenci site and enjoy immediate communication with as many members or clients as you like.

This is a fantastic tool to use during a conference, meeting or brainstorming session.  Now having members in multiple physical locations doesn’t have to be such a headache.  Chat boxes are also a great way to collaborate online without even having to pick up the phone. 

Read our help file on adding chat sessions to your site here.

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Meet the Tendenci Programmers

I thought I’d take a minute and introduce the Tendenci programming team.  Oten y’all talk to us but don’t have an opportunity to meet us.  So here’s a picture and brief description of each of the team members!

EloyEloy Zuniga
Eloy is the newest member of our team.  He’s currently a student at U of H majoring in Computer Science.  Eloy originally joined Schipul as an intern on the Search Engine Marketing Team under the direction of Katie Thoreson.  We figured out that he has some programming skills and stole him.  His biggest contribution to the team to date is the mini calendar!

JennyGuiqin (Jenny) Qian
Jenny joined Schipul as a member of the Search Engine Marketing Team.  Sound familiar?  Only Jenny asked to join the programming team!  Since then, she has contributed a substantial amount in helping to advance the Tendenci software!  She is a whiz at regular expressions which has helped her use the Python scripting language to create a lot of the "behind the scenes" functionality of the Tendenci software.  You probably don’t see a lot of Jenny’s work, but trust me, you love it!  Jenny holds an MS in Computer Science from The University of Texas at San Antonio as well as an MS in Biological Science from Nanjing Agricultural University in China.

KathrynKathryn Ciaralli
Kathryn was not a member of the SEM team!  She was hired and placed directly on the programming team shortly after she graduated from U of H with a BS in MIS and a BS in Marketing.  Since joining the team, Kathryn has contributed way too many things to list.  The most recent of which are editable membership applications, Quickbooks export, and updates to the courses module to include course credits.  Kathryn is a big help to the sales team as well as everyone else in the office.  She will continue to contribute a great deal to the team if we can keep another Schipul team from stealing her!

MeJennifer Brooks
If the name’s not familiar, try Jennifer Ulmer.  I recently got married!  I joined Schipul 7 years ago after graduating from U of H with a BS in MIS.  I’ve been around since before Tendenci was created, back when we were doing things the hard way.  I’m amazed at the amount of growth the software, as well as the company, has achieved in the past few years!

So that’s the team!  Next time you talk to any of us, let us know you read the blog!

Thanks,
J

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Directories Random Display

Tendenci_random_directory The latest update also included a mod for directories.  Some of our clients use "sponsors" and wanted a way to display them on the home page.  We created a display function that pulls directories for a specific category and randomly displays them.  The client can determine how many logos display and how the table should be set up (2 rows, 4 columns, etc).  Contact the Tendenci Production Team to implement this on your site!

Thanks,
J

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Calendar Event Daily View got a facelift!

Since the implementation of the new mini calendar, we felt the daily view of the calendar event module was, well, boring.  So we gave it a face lift.  It now includes more details, links, and just looks a lot better!  Just one more reason to start using the mini calendar on your site!  Here’s a screen shot.

Cedaily

Thanks,

J

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Mini Calendar now available!

Tendenci_mini_calendar_2

The latest Tendenci update includes a mini calendar that gives users a  birdseye view of your events!  Dates with events are highlighted in red.  Users can click on the date to see what is taking place that day.  The smaller version of the calendar fits neatly onto any page design.   

Contact the Tendenci Production Team about adding the mini calendar to your homepage!

Thanks,
J

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Course Programs and Credits Released June 2006

Two new Tendenci modules were recently released – Course Programs and Course Credits – both are an extension of the existing Courses Module.

Course Programs
Course Programs allows the admin to designate requirements to complete a certain program or certification such as total credits to complete the program and expiration of the credits.

When adding or editing a course you can designate which program to attach the course to.

Course Credits
Course Credits allows the user to submit for credit for the course, without actually taking the course online.  This works well for credits that need to be captured that don’t necessarily lend itself to an online exam such as whether or not the user has attended a seminar.

Thanks!
Kathryn

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Posting opinion pieces on your site

Tendenci is powerful in its ability to give all of your members a voice.  Distributed authorship is great not only because it gives your Web site new and interesting content, but also because it keeps your membership active and engaged.
But sometimes you may want to make the distinction between an opinion-based piece of content posted by a member and a more objective one written/posted by your organization.

No problem – you are able to label any article with a disclaimer stating that it is a piece of ‘unofficial content’ by following these easy steps.

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Tendenci Updates went out 04-May-2006

Tendenci updates went out on 04-May-2006 – the most notable updates:

  1. Job
    Notifications

    • users can now
      subscribe to notifications for job categories (or just jobs in
      general).
    • once subscribed they
      will receive email notifications on jobs that were added since the last
      notification (the user can define the frequency of the emails, and the category
      to receive them on)
  2. QuickBooks Export of
    Accounting Entries

    • Tendenci now exports
      accounting entries in iif format that is compatible with
      QuickBooks
  3. Careers
    Module

    • users can now track
      their career history through Tendenci
  4. New Reports in
    Memberships

    • some of these were
      rolled out some time ago but are worth mentioning

      • Pending Memberships
      • Current Member Roster
      • Export by Join/Renew
        Date
      • Export by Expiration
        Date

Thanks!
Kathryn

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A little known fact about Tendenci – OPML

OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) has been in Tendenci for some time now but is one of the little known pieces of functionality.

So – what is OPML? 

Technically:
OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for outlines. Originally developed by Radio UserLand as a native file format for an outliner application, it has since been adopted for other uses, the most common being to exchange lists of RSS feeds between RSS aggregators.

The OPML specification defines an outline as a hierarchical, ordered
list of arbitrary elements. The specification is fairly open which
makes it suitable for many types of list data.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPML

In English:
OPML is a list, much like the grocery list on your kitchen counter, or the to do list on your desk.   In Tendenci, OPML is a list of RSS feeds.

For more on OPML and Tendenci: https://www.tendenci.com/en/help/#opml

Thanks!

Kathryn