Thursday, September 28, 2017

Wordpress plugin to allow users to post on front end

Someone is asking how to enable users to post articles on your website. One common solution is to use a Wordpress plugin to allow users to post on front end.

Here's some useful information found on the web (from 3 sources, the last one being the most effective one in my opinion because of a pay per post feature):

WPFORMS
According to http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-allow-users-to-submit-posts-to-your-wordpress-site/

How to Allow Users to Submit Posts to Your WordPress Site

Method 1: Front-end WordPress Post Submissions with WPForms

This method allows your users to submit posts from the front-end of your website without visiting the admin area of your WordPress site. You can even accept blog posts from users without asking them to register.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WPForms plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

WPForms is a premium WordPress forms plugin. You will need the pro version of the plugin to access the post submissions addon.

Upon activation, you need to visit WPForms » Settings page to enter your license key. You can get this key from your account on the WPForms website.

After verification, you need to visit WPForms » Addons page. Scroll down to ‘Post submissions addon’ and click on the ‘Install Addon’ button.

WPForms will now install the post submissions addon for you. You will need to click on the Activate button to start using the addon.

You are now ready to create a post submission form.

Head over to WPForms » Add New page which will launch WPForm’s form builder interface.

First you need to provide a name for your form. Under ‘Select a Template’ section, you need to click on ‘Blog post submission form’ template.

WPForms will now load the form template with all the fields that you will need for a typical blog post submission form.

You can edit form fields by clicking on them. You can also add new fields from the panel on your left.

WPForms let your users select post categories, add featured images, post excerpts, and even add custom fields.

Once you are satisfied with the form, you need to click on the ‘Settings’ tab and then click on ‘Post Submissions’ tab.

On this page, you can map each fields to the respective post fields in WordPress. WPForms does an excellent job at matching the fields in the form template.

By default, user submitted posts will be saved as ‘Drafts’ pending review. You can also change the post type and allow users to submit content to your custom post types.

Don’t forget to click on the Save button at the top right corner of the screen to save your form. Click on the close button to exit the form builder.

Now you are ready to add the form to your website.

You can create a new page or edit an existing one. On the post edit screen, you will notice the ‘Add Form’ button.

Add post submission form to a WordPress page

This will bring up a popup where you need to select the post submission form you just created.

Click on the Add form button, and you will notice the WPForms shortcode appear in the post editor.

You can now save or publish this page and then visit your website to see your post submission form in action.

Method 2: Accept User-Generated Content with User Submitted Posts Plugin

Another way to accept user submitted content on your website is by using the User Submitted Posts plugin.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the User Submitted Postsplugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit Settings » User Submitted Posts to configure the plugin.

Under plugin settings, you can select the fields you want to display on the post submission form and hide any field that you don’t want users to see.

You can choose a default author for all user submitted content. We would recommend that you create a new Guest User on your WordPress site and assign all user submitted posts to that user.

You can also allow users to upload images and set a limit on number of images and maximum image size. You can even set a user uploaded image as the featured image.

After reviewing all plugin settings, click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.

You are now ready to add the user submitted posts form to your website.

Create a new page in WordPress or edit an existing page where you would like to show the form. In the post editor simply add this shortcode

[user-submitted-posts]

You can now save or publish your page. Visit the page to see your user submitted posts form in action.

Method 3: Allowing Users to Register and Submit Posts in WordPress

WordPress comes with built in user roles and capabilities which allow you to run a multi-author WordPress site.

You can allow users to register on your site and create content using WordPress admin interface with limited capabilities.

First you need to enable user registration on your site. Go to Settings » General page and check ‘Any one can register’ next to Membership option. Choose ‘Author’ or ‘Contributor’ as the default user role.

Allow user registration on your WordPress site

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your changes.

Users can now register on your WordPress site by visiting the WordPress login and registration pages. You can even create custom user registration form in WordPress.

Once registered, users can login to your WordPress site and submit posts.

Problems with this method:

Many beginners find this method a bit difficult for different reasons.

For example, if you are using two step authentication on your WordPress site, then your users may find it difficult to login.

Many websites password protect WordPress admin directory. Allowing users to register and use WordPress admin area means you will have to share that password with them.

Registered users with author roles can see what other posts you have on your website.

If these issues bother you, then you can use method #1 or #2 to allow users to submit WordPress posts without logging into admin area.

That’s all. We hope this article helped you learn how to allow users to submit posts to your WordPress site. You may also want to see our list of 19 actionable tips to drive traffic to your WordPress site.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Pricing
https://wpforms.com/pricing/#pricing-table-comparison

Pro
^$ 199 / year

According to
https://accesspressthemes.com/blog/top-5-frontend-post-wordpress-plugin/

WP User Frontend – Membership, Profile, Registration & Post Submission Plugin for WordPress

Description

#1 Frontend Post Submission, Membership and Profile Builder Plugin

The forms gives users the ability to create new posts, edit their profile all from the site frontend, so that the user does not need to enter the backend admin panel to do action.

THE BEST FREE PLUGIN WITH MOST FEATURES

WP User Frontend offers you the most features for free
than the other frontend post submission plugins out there.

USE ANYWHERE EASILY WITH SHORTCODES

All of the forms get an unique shortcode which you can paste on any page and the form will generate without breaking the style of your theme.

SUBMIT AND UPDATE ANYTHING FROM FRONTEND

Users can upload files, fill out forms, even entry data with multiple choice menus. Also, since all the forms are created as a custom post, so our post management can allow users to update their posts from the frontend.

BUILD CUSTOMIZED FORMS WITH CUSTOM POST TYPES

Taking the advantage of custom post types will allow you to work on any platform. WP User Frontend is WooCommerce supported, so you can also create products using our forms.

EARN WITH SUBSCRIPTION BASED POSTING

Create subscription packs to take “Pay Per Post” payments. Submissions posted via these subscriptions have duration and posting limits.

GET REMINDED WITH EMAILS

Trigger emails on multiple events like new submission, publish notification, subscription join/leave to stay notified about your forms performance.

BUILD FORMS WITH ONE CLICK (PRO FEATURE)

Quickly create registration forms, woocommerce product forms, guest posting forms, frontend posting forms etc with one click using our templates and assorted fields.

FEATURES:

The user can create a new post and edit it from the frontend
They can view their page in the frontend custom dashboard
Users can edit their profile
Administrator can restrict any user level on accessing the WordPress backend
New posts status, submitted by users are configurable via admin panel. i.e. Published, Draft, Pending
Get email notification on new posts
Configurable options giving access to the user edit or delete their posts
Upload attachments from the frontend
Upload post featured image
Admins can manage users from frontend
Pay-per-post or subscription package for posting

WP USER FRONTEND PRO – PREMIUM FEATURES

The premium version of WP User Frontend is completely different from the free version as there are a lot more features included.

Unlimited post type form creation
Drag-n-drop form builder
Custom taxonomy support
13 variations of custom fields
Guest post support
Custom Redirection
Image upload on post content area
Post status selection on new post and edited post separately
New or edit post notification
Custom fields are also generated in admin area
Profile form builder
Different profile edit forms for different user roles
Drag-n-Drop profile form builder
Profile fields are also generated on the backend
Avatar Upload
Frontend profile edit
Registration form builder
Captcha Support

Try an online demo of the Pro version.

Pricing
https://wedevs.com/wp-user-frontend-pro/pricing/
$49/year

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Thursday, March 23, 2017

Managing Office 365 useful information

Managing Office 365 useful information (Office 365 useful links)

HELP AND TRAINING

Office help and training - This can be shared with your end users to answer any Outlook related questions that they may have. It contains everything from tutorials to video guides.

Office Quick Starts - Get a quick overview of all Office 365 workloads, standalone apps, downloadable guides and ebooks for Business and Education licenses.

Office Training Center - Learn Office, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote and Access with additional training on past versions and even earn certifications.

Office 365 for IT pros - This is a useful link to train and familiarizes your ITs in Office 365, SharePoint and Exchange.

CONFIGURATION WIZARDS

Configure Office ProPlus Apps – Our Office 365 ProPlus deployment advisor will help you get your users up and running on the latest versions of Office.

Configure OneDrive for Business – Learn how to control and manage OneDrive for Business features in your Office 365 organization.

Configure SharePoint Online – Choose the SharePoint Online deployment option that works best for your organization and we'll show you the setup steps.

Configure Skype for Business – Use our deployment advisor to get your Office 365 organization up and running with Skype for Business Online.

Configure Yammer – Get your organization up and running on Yammer's private social networking service.

Introduction to Microsoft Teams - Explore Microsoft Teams, the chat-based workspace in Office 365. Learn how Microsoft Teams can help your team to communicate more effectively.

DATA MIGRATION

Exchange Server Deployment Assistant - The Exchange Server Deployment Assistant is your source for Exchange deployment technical guidance. Tell us what kind of deployment you’re interested in, answer a few questions about your environment, and then view Exchange deployment instructions created just for you.

SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE

Overview of data loss prevention policies – To comply with business standards and industry regulations, organizations need to protect sensitive information and prevent its inadvertent disclosure.

Plan for Office 365 security and information protection capabilities – Microsoft Office 365 includes many security and information protection capabilities. Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) includes additional capabilities for protecting data, identities, and devices with Office 365. EMS includes Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory Premium.

Azure Information Protection – Control and help secure email, documents, and sensitive data that you share outside your company walls. From easy classification to embedded labels and permissions, enhance data protection at all times with Azure Information Protection—no matter where it’s stored or who it’s shared with.

Requirements for Azure Information Protection – Before you deploy Azure Information Protection for your organization, make sure that you have the following prerequisites.

EXCHANGE ONLINE PROTECTION

Best practices for configuring EOP – Follow these best-practice recommendations for Exchange Online Protection (EOP) in order to set yourself up for success and avoid common configuration errors. We recommend using the default configuration settings as a general rule.

Office 365 email anti-spam protection – In order to help prevent spam in Office 365, you may want to change a protection setting to deal with a specific issue in your organization—say you’re receiving a lot of spam from a particular sender, for example – or to simply fine tune your settings so that they’re tailored to best meet the needs of your organization.

Protect on-premises mailboxes with Exchange Online Protection – Even if you plan to host some or all of your mailboxes on-premises, you can still protect the mailboxes with Exchange Online Protection (EOP). To configure connectors, your account must be an Office 365 Global Admin, or an Exchange Company Administrator (the Organization Management role group).

Thanks to the great people from Microsoft

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Office 365 Deployment Wizard (Deployment Survey)

Office 365 Deployment Wizard

Deployment survey for Office 365 advisor

https://aka.ms/depforoffice365

Thanks to the great people at Microsoft

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Office 365 Share calendars with external users

Thanks to amazing people from Microsoft, here's great information on how to Share calendars with external users from Office 365

Option 1

According to https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Share-calendars-with-external-users-FB00DD4E-2D5F-4E8D-8FF4-94B2CF002BDD

Share calendars with external users

Applies To: Office for business Office 365 Admin Office 365 Small Business Admin

It’s often necessary to schedule meetings with people outside your organization. To simplify the process of finding mutually agreeable meeting times, Office 365 enables you to make calendars available to “external users,” those who need to see free/busy time but don’t have user accounts for your Office 365 environment.

Calendar sharing is a global setting, meaning that you, the Office 365 admin, can enable it for all users in the tenant. Once sharing is enabled, users can use Outlook Web App to share their calendars with anyone inside or outside the organization. People inside the organization can view the shared calendar side-by-side with their own. People outside the organization will be sent a URL that they can use to view the calendar. Users decide when to share, how much to share, and when to keep their calendars private.

NOTE: If you want to share calendars with an organization that uses Exchange Server 2013 (an on-premises solution), the Exchange administrator will need to set up an authentication relationship with the cloud. This is known as “federation” and must meet minimum software requirements. See Sharing for more information.

Enable calendar sharing using the Office 365 admin center

Sign in to Office 365 with your work or school account.
Select the app launcher icon and choose Admin.
Navigate to Settings > Services & add-ins.
On the Services & add-ins page, click Calendar.
On the Calendar page that opens, do one of the following:
- For Let your users share their calendars with external users who have Office 365 of Exchange, move the slider to On to enable calendar sharing.
- For Let your users share their calendars with external users who have Office 365 of Exchange, move the slider to Off to disable calendar sharing.
If you want to allow anonymous users (users without logon credentials) to access calendars via an email invitation, for Allow anonymous users to access calendars with an email invitation, move the slider to Off.

When you select the check box to allow anonymous users, you’ll have to decide what type of calendar information to make available to users. You can allow all information, or limit it. These choices specify the amount of information that your users can show on a case-by-case basis. Select one of the following:

Calendar free/busy information with time only
Calendar free/busy information with time, subject and location
All calendar appointment information

Option 2

According to https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overlay-a-SharePoint-calendar-with-a-calendar-from-Exchange-or-SharePoint-4CAEBE59-3994-4A94-9322-B31ABB8A5E9A

Overlay a SharePoint calendar with a calendar from Exchange or SharePoint

Applies To: SharePoint Server 2010 SharePoint Foundation 2013 More...

If you use a SharePoint calendar on your site, you can overlay your own Exchange calendar onto it to create a combined calendar view. Alternatively, you can overlay another SharePoint calendar as long as both SharePoint calendars are in the same site collection. In all, you can add up to four Exchange or SharePoint calendars.

This enables you to see combined schedules. For example, when you overlay an Exchange calendar to a SharePoint group calendar, you can see your own schedule and the group schedule at the same time. This can be helpful for choosing a time for a team event, or planning a time to present training.

NOTE: To change calendar settings, you must have at least design permission level for the site.

To learn more about group calendars in SharePoint, see Use a Group Calendar.

I want to

Overlay a SharePoint calendar on another SharePoint calendar

Overlay an Exchange calendar on a SharePoint calendar

The following procedure describes how to overlay an Exchange calendar onto a SharePoint calendars for a SharePoint calendar. After you overlay the calendar, you can use this calendar to create a special calendar view.

IMPORTANT: You can only overlay your own Exchange calendar. That is, the Exchange calendar overlay works with the account credentials of the user who is current logged on. SharePoint uses the account information of the current user to retrieve calendar data from the Exchange Web Service.

To overlay an Exchange calendar, follow these steps:

In a SharePoint calendar, in the ribbon, on the Calendar tab, click Calendar Overlays.
In the Calendar Overlay Settings page, click New Calendar.
In the Name and Type section, type the Calendar Name and select Exchange.
In the Calendar Overlay Settings section, type a Description for the calendar (optional), and change the default Color theme for the calendar (optional).
Click Find to automatically fill in web addresses for Outlook Web Access URL and Exchange Web Service URL. If Find does not work in your environment, type the URLs manually.
If you want this Exchange calendar to always appear with the SharePoint group calendar, click Always Show. When Always Show is not checked, you will be able to turn overlays on and off from the page. If it is checked, the overlay calendar will always appear on the page's calendar.
Click OK and then click OK again.

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