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Elgg Article

Elgg is a free, open source CMS that has been around for a number of years. Over the years, the community has grown exponentially and now boasts a rather active set of users. With a plugin repository of over 1000 available plugins for the system, it has quickly become the go to CMS for open source social networking.Today, we're going to take you through the CMS and show you what it's made of in this Elgg Review.
One thing to point out before we proceed, however. When it comes to Elgg, one must realize that it is similar to Drupal in a number of ways. Just as Drupal is more of a content management framework than a CMS at heart, so is Elgg. Elgg provides the foundation to build a powerful social networking based website and you, as the administrator, are responsible for deciding which modules/plugins are applied and configured. To some, Elgg can seem rather bare bones at first glance but this is intentional and the real power of the system comes from the ways it can be extended. You decide what will be added, how it will be setup and as you add the individual plugins, the system begins to take on the form of full fledged social networking CMS.
With that out of the way, let's proceed.
Installing Elgg is as simple as downloading their latest zip file and extracting it to your web host. Once you've done so, you can proceed through the install.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-04-06-at-5_36_46-am.png" alt="Elgg Review" />
Once you've entered in your database credentials, you will proceed to the next screen. Here is where things get annoying briefly.
One of the fields on the page below requires you to enter a data directory (full path to the directory where uploaded files will be stored, followed by a trailing slash). The issue with this is that it does not tell you that this data directory needs to be outside of the Elgg installation directory. It also does not tell you that it needs to be writable.
In some cases, depending on your web host, you may not be allowed to create directories outside of your public_html folder and if you are installing Elgg directly to this folder, that may be an issue. In our testing, we had to make a data directory within public_html but outside of the Elgg directory (public_html/elgg). It would be helpful if the field info was corrected to alert people of these issues as opposed to not instructing them at all as it can lead to quite a bit of frustration trying to figure things out and proceed. Once you get past this issue, things are smooth, however.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/cck-580x531_sqsqjl.gif" alt="Elgg Review" />
The installation process is pretty straight forward and does not require much as far as user interaction is concerned. Basically, it's just the two pages shown above. Once you get through the installation, you are shown the default homepage (which is fairly plain jane initially).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/custom-page-600px_r8h1hm.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Logging in with the admin credentials you created during the install will activate the admin capabilities. The first section in the admin interface is the Statistics panel. For more advanced statistics, there are plugins to enable both Piwik analytics and Google analytics tools.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/multisite-580x613_xozifx.gif" alt="Elgg Review" /> 
The next tab down is the System Settings. This is exactly the same screen as was shown during installation, so we'll skip past that for the purposes of this review. Tools administration is where you can add/remove functionality using plugins. By default, Elgg comes with quite a few plugins as part of the core experience. You can see them in the list below.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/form_api-580x677_ungsqq.gif" alt="Elgg Review" />
Let's activate some and see how things change on the front end.  Once you've chosen the plugins you wish to use, you now have the option of editing the page on your Dashboard and adding the ones you wish to have displayed. Clicking on the Dashboard link on the top will bring you to your dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/duda-review-8_lltdzr.png" alt="Elgg Review" />
Right now as you can see below, it's blank. Time to add some content. Clicking edit page brings us to a drag and drop interface where we can add some widgets to our dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/duda-review-12_okxs0r.png" alt="Elgg Review" />
Let's add some widgets to some of the sections available.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-dashboard-3.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Now that we've added some widgets, we can save and alter their settings from the dashboard.
Back on the dashboard page, the widgets are shown and ready to be configured. Once setup, they begin to show the data on the dashboard as you can see below.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-dashboard.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
You may also noticed a Tools menu along the top of the screen (the menu bar). Under this Tools menu are shortcuts to the areas for each plugin you enabled.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-dashboard-mozilla-firefox_2011-04-06_15-59-34.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Writing blog posts is standard fare with an easy to use Wysiwyg editor and a familiar interface.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-write-a-blog-post.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
The wire is similar to Twitter except it's for your Elgg system. The same character limitations (140) apply.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-all-wire-posts.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Overall, the plugins work as expected and do their jobs well. We didn't encounter any oddities or weird behavior when navigating the site, everything just worked as expected which made for a pleasant overall experience.
There is no doubt that Elgg has tremendous potential from a Social Networking perspective. There are plenty of plugins to use for the system. There is even a hosted version of Elgg available on Elgg.com which allows you to bypass the entire installation process.
Modifying Elgg requires hand editing of the files from what we can tell, so you'll need an experienced developer but for most people who are looking to start a solid social networking site, this isn't an issue.
There are also quite a few good themes available for use from <a href="http://community.elgg.org/pg/plugins/category/themes" target="_blank">http://community.elgg.org/pg/plugins/category/themes</a> to give you a good base to build from.
Elgg is a great system with a large community (perhaps the largest available when it comes to a social networking CMS) and is easy to customize. You can't really ask for much more than that.
Last but not least, should you wish to do so, the team at Curverider that developer Elgg are available for hire for customizations.
Check out Elgg at <a href="http://elgg.org" target="_blank">Elgg.org</a> or if you want to experience it first hand without installing, join the Elgg community which is a live install with tons of active users and a great place to get familiar with the product: <a href="http://community.elgg.org/" target="_blank">http://community.elgg.org/</a>

Elgg Review - The Social Networking CMS

mike-johnston

<a href="http://www.elgg.org/" target="_blank">Elgg</a> has released an update with a focus on improving their documentation for the benefit of their users.
The open source social networking platform has been around for a number of years. It enables businesses, schools and universities to create their own social networks and applications.
<h2>Learning Elgg Has Never Been Easier</h2>
Along with a number of bug fixes and general tweaks, version 1.9.6 is laregly about Elgg's documentation. Specifically, the update has involved moving moving pages from <a href="http://docs.elgg.org/">docs.elgg.org</a> to <a href="http://learn.elgg.org/">learn.elgg.org</a>. Here's what got moved around:
<ul>
<li>“Finding plugins” page moved.</li>
<li>“Plugin order” page moved.</li>
<li>“Getting help” page moved.</li>
<li>“Duplicate installation” page moved.<a href="https://github.com/Elgg/Elgg/commit/53dfaca85a65ebba492bef45947d935c037eb0f8"> 
</a></li>
<li>“Backup and restore” page moved.</li>
</ul>
The purpose was of course to migrate Elgg's user documentation from <a href="http://docs.elgg.org/">docs.elgg.org</a> to <a href="http://learn.elgg.org/">learn.elgg.org</a>, which was a much needed move in my opinion. The new home for Elgg's documentation is far easier to navigate, and is easier on the eyes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elgg700x0.jpg" />
Not only will this update help existing users, but it should also allow potential social network developers the chance to learn more about what Elgg can do.
The full list of bug fixes and updates for Elgg 1.9.6 can be found here.
Also, you can discover more about Elgg via our CMS Directory.

Elgg 1.9.6 released

Following two years worth of development, Elgg – a social networking CMS – has rolled out a release candidate for version 1.9.0.
Elgg is a free and open-source social network software. With it, you can build a variety of online social environments, from a campus-wide social network for your university, school, or college to an internal collaborative platform for your organization.
Although this release is only a release candidate meant for developers and bug hunters, this is still great news for all Elgg users, as the final release of Elgg 1.9.0 cannot now be far away.
<img style="max-width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/untitled_2-1.png" alt="Elgg " />
For those not yet fully up to speed with what's new with version 1.9.0 of Elgg, here's a quick overview:
<ul>
<li>New responsive theme – aalborg_theme</li>
<li>Adds image uploading from editor</li>
<li>Replaces fancybox lightbox with colorbox</li>
<li>Replaces Tinymce editor with CKEditor</li>
<li>Liking and friending use ajax</li>
<li>Removes topbar Elgg logo and made “powered by” themable</li>
<li>Allows keeping group content limited to the group</li>
<li>Site notifications moved into separate plugin from messages</li>
<li>Various accessibility fixes</li>
<li>Improved theme sandbox</li>
<li>Ajaxified the discussion reply edit form.</li>
<li>Alphabetize friends/friends-of, group notifications, group owned/member lists</li>
<li>Adds support for simplecache minification of CSS and JavaScript</li>
<li>Adds new notification system</li>
<li>Changes user directories use GUIDs rather than join date</li>
<li>Adds robots.txt configuration</li>
<li>Adds maintenance mode</li>
</ul>
For the full list of enhancements, check out the changelog.
If you intend on taking this release candidate for a test drive, be sure to report all bugs to <a href="https://github.com/Elgg/Elgg/issues" target="_blank">Elgg's GitHub issue tracker</a>.
Elgg has also advised developers on how to approach this release candidate:
“Developers who have been waiting to test out their 1.8 plugins in 1.9 should take this as a cue to begin upgrading those plugins.  Note that back-compatibility was a big consideration in this release so upgrading plugins should hopefully not be as painful as it was for the 1.7 -&gt; 1.8 upgrade.”
Find out more about Elgg via our CMS Directory.

Elgg Rolls Out 1.9.0 Release Candidate

Social networking CMS <a href="http://elgg.org/" target="_blank">Elgg</a> has released two important security updates for two of their current versions. Elgg 1.8 has received version 1.8.19, whilst Elgg 1.7 has been upgraded to  1.7.22.
Elgg is a free and open-source social networking software that has been around since 2004. The popular platform provides a robust framework on which to build all kinds of social environments, from a campus-wide social network for your university, school, or college or an internal collaborative platform for your organization to a brand-building communications tool for your company and its clients.
Features and functionalists include blogging, microblogging, file sharing, networking, groups, and much more.
The security fixes in both of these new security updates will help to enhance the security of the “Remember Me” feature and also introduces measures to prevent brute-force attacks of the “Remember Me” cookie. This upgrade will invalidate all “Remember Me” cookies for admin users, so admin users may need to log in again.
<h3>Other changes in 1.8.19 include:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Fixed numerous PHP warnings.</li>
<li>Groups: Corrected breadcrumb for group discussion pages.</li>
<li>Fixed RSS validation for the River RSS feed.</li>
<li>Moved Site Secret update to configure -&gt; advanced.</li>
</ul>
However, perhaps more importantly, Elgg have also strongly encouraged their 1.7 users to make the migration to 1.8 in lieu of Elgg 1.9 releasing.
<blockquote>Users of 1.7 should migrate to 1.8 ASAP as Elgg 1.7 will no longer be updated when Elgg 1.9 is released.</blockquote>
For more information on the release of Elgg versions 1.8.19 and 1.7.22, check out Elgg's official blog. Both versions can also be <a href="http://www.elgg.org/download.php" target="_blank">downloaded here</a>.
Additionally, you can explore more of Elgg via our CMS Directory.

Elgg Release Security Updates & Encourage 1.7 Users to Migrate

Users of the social networking CMS, Elgg, should be aware of a new update that has been posted on the main website. Version 1.8.5 has been made available and resolves a number of outstanding issues including:
<ul>
<li>a security fix that prevents a potential XSS attack against users who click a specially crafted URL.</li>
<li>a fix that closes a loophole which allowed users to create a new account without requiring validation.</li>
<li>a third fix that addresses an access bug that could inadvertently reveal private entities to users who wouldn’t otherwise have access.</li>
</ul>
There are also a few minor bug fixes in this release:
<ul>
<li>For those networks that have enabled the Twitter API plugin, new users are forwarded to the correct page after creating an account with Twitter.</li>
<li>PDF files display in the browser instead of downloading directly to users computers.</li>
<li>Fixed some upgrade issues related to the system log.</li>
</ul>
Users of prior version should consider upgrading as soon as possible.
Have you read our <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/elgg-review/">Elgg Review</a>? You should check it out if you are in the market for a social networking solution.

Time to upgrade! Elgg posts some new security updates for their social networking CMS.

Elgg (<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/elgg/">news</a>) 1.7.8 contains important security enhancements and bugfixes. All network owners are encouraged to upgrade.
Security Enhancements:
<ul>
<li>Properly encoding search queries (Thanks to lord epsylon (of Lorea) for the report!)</li>
</ul>
Bugfixes:
<ul>
<li>Blogs – Fixed disappearing blog draft issue.</li>
<li>Groups – Editing a topic from discussion list page works now.</li>
<li>Search – Group names used in titles.</li>
<li>InviteFriends – Invitation link no longer shows up when logged out.</li>
<li>Messages – Denormalized the message calculation for better performance.</li>
<li>Sorting by time_created in relationship functions supported.</li>
<li>Metadata and annotation names can now be updated.</li>
<li>Fixed error with deleting a user with disabled entities.</li>
<li>Removed unnecessary executable permissions on a number of files. (Thanks to pauloortiz for the report!)</li>
</ul>
Grab your copy from <a href="http://elgg.org/download.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://elgg.org/download.php</a>

Elgg CMS 1.7.8 released

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A new version of the popular open-source social networking CMS, Elgg has been released!  1.7.2 is primarily a bugfix release.
Here is a brief list of some of the more annoying bugs that were squashed:
<ul>
<li>Saving drafts and previewing blogs works as expected.</li>
<li>Page titles can now be edited in the Pages plugin.</li>
<li>Group names no longer show up in Friends Collections.</li>
<li>Added a group member listing page.</li>
<li>Group forum topics can be edited.</li>
<li>User data for usernames with UTF8 characters are correctly migrated to the new data scheme.</li>
</ul>
Plugin developers will be pleased to know that a number of bugs in the API were also fixed.  These include:
<ul>
<li>Numerous bug fixes to the elgg_get_*() functions.</li>
<li>Added a generic email sending function (elgg_send_email()).</li>
<li>Added ability to remove river items by ID (remove_from_river_by_id()).</li>
<li>Added a generic excerpt function (elgg_get_excerpt()).</li>
</ul>
Want to learn more? We did an <a href="/elgg-social-networking-cms-review-and-commentary/">Elgg review</a> not too long ago that you can peruse for more details or catch up on all of our <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/elgg/">Elgg news</a>. Last but not least, visit them at <a href="http://elgg.org">http://elgg.org</a>

Elgg, the open source social networking CMS announced version 1.7.2

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