The forum module enables a web-based discussion forum. It requires the comment module.

Initial Setup

1. Click Administer » Site building » Modules.
2. Make sure the box next to 'Forum' is checked.
3. Make sure the box next to 'Comment' is checked.
4. Click "Save configuration".

The Forum module uses Drupal's taxonomy system to create hierarchical forums to which users can post ideas, questions, or whatever administrators would like to use their online forums for.

1. Click Administer » User management » Access control and set the permissions for the roles of users you want to post to forums. The roles for users are "create forum topics" and "edit own forum topics".
2. Click Administer » Content management » Forums.
• If it does not already exist, the Forum module will create a vocabulary called "Forum" with the content type "forum".

To Create Forum Containers

Containers are 'parent' for other forums, that is, users cannot post topics to containers but they hold forum forums to which users can post.

1. Click Administer » Content management » Forums.
2. Click the add container tab.
3. Type in a container name.
4. Type in a container description. This will show up below the container name when users visit the forum section.
5. Select a parent. If there are no containers or existing forums to choose from, you will only see <root> as the option, meaning it will be at the top of the forum hierarchy.
6. Select a weight. Higher numbers means the container will sink down in the list, lower numbers mean the container will rise up.
7. Click the "Submit" button.

To Create a Forum

Users can post topics to forums. Forums can appear below other forums in a hierarchy, or can appear in containers.

1. Click Administer » Content management » Forums.
2. Click the add forum tab.
3. Type in a forum name.
4. Type in a forum description. This will show up below the forum name when users visit the forum section.
5. Select a parent.
   • You can choose either a forum or a container to be a 'parent' for a forum. If there are no containers or existing forums to choose from, you will only see <root> as the option, meaning it will be at the top of the forum hierarchy.
6. Select a weight. Higher numbers means the container will sink down in the list, lower numbers mean the container will rise up.
7. Click the "Submit" button.

Configuring the Forum Blocks

The Forum module comes with two blocks, one for "Active forum topics" (which orders the forum by the topic with the most recent comment) and another for "New forum topics" (sorted by the most recently-posted topic). You can enable them under Administer » Site building » Blocks, then enable and place them as you would normall (see our instructions on enabling and placing blocks for more information). Both have a setting for how many topics to include in the "configuration" link.