Table of Contents

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A. General Information

A. Dotnetnuke Information

To install this module you must have a working version of Dotnetnuke already installed. If you need help installing Dotnetnuke, follow the instructions in Video-Library. Below are all the useful links for Dotnetnuke information.

• How to install a Module in DotNetNuke 7
• How to move a module in DotNetNuke 7
• Introduction to the DNN 7 Control Panel
• How to add a page in DotNetNuke 7

B. Description

xNews is a blog program based on DNN, it has powerful functions and unique design style.In addition to article management function which common blog module has, it also includes special functions of theme management, template editing and ping service etc. The theme and template apply Velocity template language. This template language is widely used and simple. By referring to our user manual and template manual, you can call any blog and DNN data conveniently. Combined with HTML, you can create all kinds of blog interface freely. Themes can be exported/ imported as well as switched between each other freely. Furthermore, we provide numerous themes and DNN blog skins for you to build your amazing website.

• There are multiple sets of themes included in this module and we will add more built-in themes in each upgrade.
• There are multiple Banner Slider effects built in each set of theme, which can be displayed freely through DNNGO.xNews.DashBoard module.
• Support FriendlyUrl of articles to make it easier for SEO.
• You can randomly install or export your themes and switch between them freely.
• You can edit template file for corresponding theme. We apply Velocity template language, which is simple and widely used.
• You can own powerful blog function as Wordpress and it belongs to DNN platform. We are working hard towards this direction
• You can setup various article state or timing release function.
• Support comment's avatar service from Gravatar.com site. Support avatar rating, different default avatar, random avatar and other features.
• Support sharing service from addthis.com. You can change and custom sharing icons freely. Furthermore, it is available to collect users' statistics.
• Support perfect comment management and spam comments filtering functionalities.
• Support multiple authors to maintain the blog simultaneously, support administrator to review the posts.
• Support article import/export function, the import/export data contains article, categories and images etc.
• Support sitemap function, the module has independent Sitemap which contains categories and articles.
• Support editing the blog using Windows Live Writer, support MetaWeblog API.

C. What Are The Requirements To Use xNews

To use xNews, you must be running DNN 5.x or higher. We have tested it with DNN5.x, DNN6.x and DNN7.x.

D. xNews Installation

You can install the module in two ways: through DNN, or via FTP. Please see the following sections for each method. If you have trouble installing the module via DNN, please proceed with installing it via FTP and you will be able to get around the issue.

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B1. Dotnetnuke Installation

Follow the steps below to install via Dotnetnuke.

 

• Navigate to Host > Extensions.
• Click Install Extension Wizard and hit the Choose File button.
• Navigate to find the "DNNGo_xNews_x.x.x_PA.zip" file on your computer and click "Next" button.
• The module will be uploaded and installed.

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B2. FTP Installation

Follow the steps below to install via FTP.

• Log into your hosting space via an FTP software.
• Upload DNNGo_xNews_x.x.x_PA.zip to folder under \Install\Module.
• Now you can automatically install the modules by typing the following url into your browser address bar: http://www.mysite.com/install/install.aspx?mode=installresources.

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B. Module Information

You will see five modules on Extensions page after the module installation, they are:

• DNNGo xNews - This is the main module which could be used to display the blog list and blog details, also you can use it to add data.
• DNNGO xNews Calendar - It is used to display articles in some day.
• DNNGO xNews DashBoard - This module contains many functions, like Archive, ArticleList, Author, Category, Popular Tab, Article sliding.
• DNNGO xNews Search - You can use it to search the blog posts under the main module.
• DNNGO xNews Subscription - You can use it to collect users' emails, these emails will receive an subscription email when new blogs are posted.

 

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C. DNNGo xNews Module

This is the main module, which can be used to display blog list and blog details, also you can use it to add data. It contains various setting options and allows to install multiple main modules on DNN, there won't be any enfluence between them.

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C1. Setting Up New Article

Please log in to DNN using admin account and add DNNGo xNews to a Pane.

1. Click New Article.
2. Enter the article title in Title and enter the article summary in Summary, the summary will display on the article list page.
3. Enter the article main content in Content Text, it will display on the article details page.
4. You can add one or more categories for the article.
5. You can add one or more Tags here, separating the Tags with comma.
6. You can add a picture to the article.
7. You can set keywords, description etc for each article, which would be good for SEO.
8. You can set SiteMap for the blog here.
9. Author - It displays the current username. Click Choose Author link to specify other authors.
   Publish Date Time - set the publish date for the article.
   End Date Time - Set the end date for the article, if the current time exceeds the end time, the article will not display.
   Status: Set the status for the article.
   Top Status - The article will display on the very top of the article list if you choose Top.

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C2. Article List

It will display all the articles when clicking on Article List button.

1. You can search articles based on different conditions.
2. You can edit or delete the existing articles.
3. You can view all the articles under one status.
4. You can delete articles in bulk.

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C3. Import Export

You can import all the articles in one module to another through this function, Except module settings, all the article data, tags, pictures, categories can be imported or exported,

1. Click Export Article List button, the data will be exported as a XML file.
2. Choose an exported XML file, click Import Article List to import the data in this XML file.

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C4. Setting Up New Category

 

xNews module allows to add unlimited categories and set sub ones for these categories.

1. Click Category button.
2. Fill in the category name on the left area, set parent categories in Parent Category. If you don't fill anything here, the current category will displayed as first level.
3. The existing categories will display on the right area, you can edit them on Edit click.

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C5. Setting Up New Tag

 

xNews module allows to add unlimited Tags.

1. Click Tag button.
2. Fill in the Tag name on left area.
3. The existing Tag will display on the right area, you can edit or delete this Tag on Edit click.

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C6. Comment List

All the article comments will display on Comments List, admin has the ability to delete them, there are various options in Comment Settings.

Approved

• Approved comments will display on the font end.
• Click Spam button, the comment will be taken as spam and won't be displayed on the front end.
• Click Delete button to delete the unwanted comment forever.

Pending

• It stands for comments waiting for approval, they won't be displayed on the front end.
• Click Spam button, the comment will be taken as spam.
• Click Delete button to delete the unwanted comment forever.
• Click Approve button to display the comment on the front end.

Spam

• All the spam won't display on the front end.
• Click Delete button to delete the unwanted comment forever.
• Click Approve button to display the comment on the front end.

Comment Settings

• Enable Comment - whether to display the comment on the article detailed page or not.
• Require login to comment - whether you need to log in to comment or not.
• Enable Comment Notification - whether to enable the comment notification. Both the user and admin will receive an email when some one has commented on an article.
• Number of Comments per page - how many comments will be displayed on each page.
• Comment Initial State - set the initial state for the comment.
• Enable Anti-spam services: It is able to block the spam comments, we strongly suggest you to enable this item. The comment will be taken as approved or spam when this option is enabled, and the previous setting on Comment Initial State won't work any more.
• Anti-spam services - You need to enter Api Key, it will be filled by default, and you can go to Akismet for an application.

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C7. Subscription List

 

This module can send emails to subscribed users, admin can add or delete the subscriber through this page:

Subscription List

1. All the subscription emails and roles will display in the list.
2. Users in the subscription list will receive a subscription email once admin has posted an article.
3. You can edit or delete the user roles here.

Add Role

You can add user role to the subscription list. All the users under this role will receive the subscription email.

Add Email

You can add email separately to the subscription list.

Email Settings

You can modify the email template easily, the module can support following tokens:

• [Title] - Display the article title.
• [Summary] - Display the article summary.
• [ContentText] - Display the article details.
• [PublishTime]:display the article date posted.
• [Author]:display the article author.
• [ArticleUrl]:display the URL for the article details.
• [ThumbnailUrl]:display the URL for the article thumbnail.
• [Email]:display the email address for the subscriber.
• [AuthorUrl]:display the URL for the author.
• [WebSiteUrl]:display the site URL.
• [WebSite]:display the site name.

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C8. Multimedia List

• All the article images will display here.
• You can upload the article images here.

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C9. Skin List

The module contains three themes by default, you can enter \DesktopModules\DNNGo_xNews\Skins to modify these skins.

Skin List

You can apply the skin by clicking Apply Skin.

Install/Export Skin

• If there's duplication when you import themes, system will replace them with original themes by default.
• Click Export button to export the current skin in zip.

Skin style

 

You can change the CSS styles for the current skin.

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C10. Settings

Settings

• Articles per page - the number of articles display on each page in article list.
• Synidication feeds display the latest - the number of articles display on each page in RSS list.
• Display each article in a feed on - whether to display short description or details for the article in RSS list.
• Enable MetaWeblog - Allow to publish article using Live Writer.
• Display Author - whether to display the author info in blog detailed page.
• Ping Service - when you publish a new post, xNews automatically notifies the following site update services. For more about this, see Update Services on the Codex. Separate multiple service URLs with line breaks.
• Author Setting - You can add other user as author to post the article.
  Author Roles - . You can set some role as author to post the article.
  review new article - When this item is enables, articles by other authors must be reviewed by admin before publishment.
  Management Module Roles - Set some role to administrate this module.
• Avatars Settings - An avatar is an image that follows you from weblog to weblog appearing beside your name when you comment on avatar enabled sites. Here you can enable the display of avatars for people who comment on your site.
• Sitemap Settings - You can submit Sitemap URL from search engine so it is better for search engine to grasp articles and categories. You can set the weight and update frequency for the article, also you can set up each article separately..

AddThis Settings

You can set the sharing icons on the article details page here.

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C11. SEO Settings

• Page Title - When it is enabled, <title></title> on the article details page will display the article title.
• Friendly Url - The URL will contain the current article title in the article detailed page when it is enabled.
• Meta NoIndex - The noindex value of an HTML robots meta tag requests that automated Internet bots avoid indexing a web page.Using a list of articles with parameters.
• Custom Meta - You can insert Meta TAG to <head></head> section in the article page.

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C12. jQuery Settings

jQuery Enable - When it is enabled, the module will use its own jQuery library, When it is disabled, the module won't load jQuery libray.

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D. DNNGO.xNews.Search Module

• You need to log in DNN under admin and add DNNGO xNews Search to a Pane.
• Click Settings link.
• Click DNNGO xNews Search Settings, select a main module and click Update.
• You can search the blog articles in the main module here.

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E. DNNGO.xNews.Calendar Module

• You need to log in DNN under admin and add DNNGO xNews Calendar to a Pane.
• Click Settings link.
• Click DNNGO xNews Calendar Settings, select a main module and click Update.
• You can view album under a specific date through this module.

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F. DNNGO.xNews.Subscription Module

• You need to log in DNN under admin and add DNNGO xNews Subscription to a Pane.
• Click Settings link.
• Click DNNGO xNews Subscription Settings, select a main module and click Update.
• Visitor can enter a email address here and the subscription email will be sent to this email when new article has been published.

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G. DNNGO xNews DashBoard Module

This module contains many functions, like Archive, ArticleList, Author, Category, Popular Tab, Article sliding.

• You need to log in DNN under admin and add DNNGO xNews DashBoard to a Pane.
• Click Settings link.
• Click DNNGO xNews DashBoard Settings, select a main module and click Update.
• Click Effect List.
• DashBoard_Archive - .It is used to display all articled under some months.
• DashBoard_ArticleList - It is used to display the latest article list.
• DashBoard_Author - It is used to display the author's profile.
• DashBoard_Category - It is used to display the categories in the module.
• DashBoard_PopularTab - It is used to display the latest article, the most frequently clicked article, and tags as tab,.
• DashBoard_RankingList - It is used to display the latest article list.
• DashBoard_Tags - It is used to display the tags in the module.
• Effect_01 - Effect_11 - The article can be displayed in rotation.

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H. License interface

1. You need to go here http://www.dnngo.net and register.
2. Please install the module in DNN and add it in a page. Then click the License link to obtain the Machine Key.
3. You can send one email to dnnskindev@gmail.com and tell us your Invoice ID, Machine Key and Username. After that, we will generate one piece of license information. If your site is a demo site, the license is still valid when you transfer your demo site to your live site.
4. You can go here http://www.dnngo.net/MyAccount/OnlineAuthorization.aspx and manage your license information.

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I. Contact Us

If you have any questions or suggestions about modules/skins or modules/skins installation process, please feel free to contact us.

• Website: www.dnngo.net
• Email: dnnskindev@gmail.com
• Skype: dnngo-linda