Article Dashboard Template Help

that "someone just began selling a cheesy report encouraging people to spam AD directory bio pages with links." With directions on how to protect your directory from this abuse. I urge you to read it.

TEMPLATE NAME	EDIT	FUNCTION
aboutus.tpl	Yes	Your "About Us" page. If you are adding AD to an existing site, you can simply copy and paste that code here. OR you could change the link on the indexnav.tpl to go to that page instead of this default. Be sure that your html is formatted.
article.tpl	Yes	Controls the actual article's page appearance. Whatever changes you make to your pages' headings in the header.tpl, you'll want to make here as well. This is the page to place your adsense if you'd like some to show up inside the article. If you want to place a link back to your site with the article, put it here. NOTE: do NOT change the php tokens... anything surrounded with { } ... in the header here especially. The keywords on all your article pages are called from the author's article to the meta tags here for the article page.
articleheader.tpl	NO	Changes the meta tags for your article pages.
articlenav.tpl	NO	Article page navigation box and images Looks pretty clean just the way it is.(Print etc.) Some people have moved this section of links to a horizontal bar on the page. It doesn't have to 'stay where it is, it simply needs to be accessible.
articlepromotion.tpl	Optional	This is a spare page which could include some tips on article promotion. The script designers originally had a use for it, but abandoned their idea. This page parses php tokens.... anything surrounded with { }, however a visitor at your site has to be logged into their account to view it.
articlestats.tpl	Optional	Changes the font color for stats on articles page. The only real reason to change this is if you make major site changes and you need to keep things more uniform.
base.tpl	NO	This is a dead template. You can ignore it.
blank.tpl	No	Error message page. If you mess with this you may not see the errors AD sends you. At the very least, keep the {ERROR_MESSAGES} there.
changepassword.tpl	NO	Password edit page
comment.tpl	NO	Comments page layout
commentarticleper.tpl	NO	Commented by (person)
commentheader.tpl	NO	Changes the meta tags for comments pages
commentsarticle.tpl	Not necessary	Article comments page layout
contacts.tpl	Yes	Detail for the Contact Us page. You need to add a way for visitors to contact you. There are some custom contact forms you can get that are quite secure. Many are mentioned in the AD forum.
emailfriend.tpl	Optional	Email to a friend page. You can also use this page to remind people to send themselves a message! Be sure to personalize this page! Be sure that your html is formatted.
error.tpl	No	Error message page
ezinenotify.tpl	Optional	Controls the ezine notification page. This is a page your publishers can use to sign up to be notified when new articles in particular categories are posted. No need to change it unless you want the subcriber to send more info than name and email. Some have put an admin message {ADMINMESSAGE} tag here. You can personalize this page by explaining to your visitors a little more about what it's purpose is. Some think they have to 'publish an ezine'. The 'ezine' in the 'notify' can be misleading to new directory owners and site visitors. EXAMPLE: New Content Alert!
ezineready.tpl	Optional	Submission page for ezine ready articles
footer.tpl	Yes	This is the area immedietly below the indexnav.tpl Anything you place in here will not be in the main table. The "Powered by Article Dashboard" link cannot be removed, it is encoded into the script.
header.tpl	Yes	Changes the main meta tags and controls search box layout. Anything at the top of the page above the maintable is here. Be careful not to remove the php tokens... anything surrounded with { } ... or you will lose functionality. This is the template to modify to create a left hand column
index.tpl	Yes	Controls the main page welcome message. The default reads, "Welcome to Article Site. You'll want to put your own welcome there. You can also create a personalized intro here. Be sure that your html is formatted.
indexcat.tpl	Optional	This tpl is called on several pages. When a visitor clicks on a Category or Subcategory link they are taken to the page that calls this template. You can monetize this page by adding adsense or affiliate ads. EXAMPLE: Articles on Environment
indexnav.tpl	Optional	Navigation table - to edit the navigation column on the right. If you are installing Article Dashboard for an existing site, you may change these links to go to existing pages on your site. Add your personalized copyright statement, terms and privacy page info LINKS here. (if you are NOT using the tpls) Do NOT use the one verbatim from Article Dashboard's site! Be sure that your html is formatted. An optional site for Adsense and affiliate ads. NOTE: If you want to change the nav bar in the 'members' site (the one your members see AFTER they log in) to match this you'll also have to change the membernav.tpl as well. So you have two places to place ads that appeal to two different markets, your publishers and your authors.
indexpen.tpl	No	Authors article listing
indexser.tpl	No	Category article listing
indexsp.tpl	No	Article list
indexsub.tpl	No	Recent articles list
inter.tpl	No	Unless you are doing some major table arrangement changes, you won't need to mess with this. The only time I've seen this be an issue is when the right nav column was being placed in the top on the right of the header.
learnmore.tpl	Yes	Changes the detail on the 'learn more' page. Here is a tremendous place to convince the 'skeptics' (or they wouldn't be on this page in the first place, right? Sell your site! Tell them WHY they want to use it and WIFM (What's In It For Me?) If you have a special resource page (hopefully you've placed that in your indexnav.tpl) let them know about it here. Have a great RSS tutorial? Let them know! Be sure that your html is formatted.
linkdevelopment.tpl	Optional	This is a spare page which could include links to other sites. Another script developer's page they aren't using right now. You can delete it safely. You can also use it as it will parse the php tokens properly, but understand one thing, in order to view the page, one must be 'signed in' to their account. So it's only good for using with your members.
linkus.tpl	Yes	Changes the detail on the "link to us" page. Give them the linking code to your web site. Whatever you can do to make it easier for them. Be sure that your html is formatted. You can also place small banners your visitors can use. Create one for them to post on their own article pages saying, "This article is published in ArticleGarden.com" or something to brand you and give your authors a sense of accomplishement for their site!
login.tpl	Optional	Author/Member Login page. You can spiffy this page up by giving a little extra information. EXAMPLE
login2submitart.tpl	Optional	If a visitor clicks on submit article and they are not logged in, this is the page they will see. It is very similar to the Login Page but it has a reminder that they must be signed in to submit an article. EXAMPLE
membernav.tpl	Optional	Members pages navigation table - to edit the links. Remember, if you want site uniformity, if you changed your indexnav.tpl, you'll want to make this the same. This file actually replaces the indexnav.tpl when a member is logged in.
myarticle.tpl	Optional	View articles page. Some don't like the size of the title on this page and have been using the <h1> and <h2> tags in this template to change it. Just remember that you have to change the mainstyle.css sheet. There are no <h1> and <h2> elements included there.
newstuff.tpl	Yes	Changes detail on "new stuff" page. This is a great place to put subscription form for a newsletter if this is an added section to an existing site. You can also place notifications that you send to members here for all those that don't sign up. Be sure that your html is formatted.
penname.tpl	No	New author pen name
populararticles.tpl	No	Most popular articles page
printarticle.tpl	No	Print article page
printheader.tpl	Optional	Changes the meta tags for print article page. It is optional, but we'd advise tailoring this tpl especially if you cater to a niche market.
privacy.tpl	Yes	Your privacy statement. If you have an existing privacy page on your site (and you changed it in the indexnav.tpl and the membernav.tpl too right?)that you are linking to then you won't need this. Otherwise, this is where you put it. Do NOT use the one verbatim from Article Dashboard's site! Be sure that your html is formatted.
profile.tpl	Optional	Authors profile page EXAMPLE
profiledis.tpl	YES!	Authors bio upload page UPDATE: 07-29-2006 As of this writing there was a notification in the ArticleDashboard Forum
publicprofile.tpl	No	Authors public profile page
recover.tpl	No	Retrieve password page
resendactalt.tpl	No	Resend password page
rssfeed.tpl	Optional	RSS feed link page
signup.tpl	No	Author sign up page
siteblog.tpl	No	This page is not used in conjunction with a php page.
submitarticles.tpl	Optional	Submit article page. Only signed in members will ever see this page. It is strongly suggested that you use this page to reiterate some of your Terms of Service as a reminder. I have customized mine. And if you care to login to Article Garden and click on Submit Article, you can see what I've done there.
submitguidelines.tpl	Yes	Article submission guidelines. Again, don't use the one on ArticleDashboard.com's main site! Be creative. Personalize it to fit your site. Be sure that your html is formatted.
terms.tpl	Yes	Terms and conditions. Once again... your site, your words. Be sure that your html is formatted.
topauthors.tpl	Optional	Top author listing. You can also add adsense and affiliate banners to this page. EXAMPLE

Most everything should be uploaded just like this except for the files you have to give permission to. (those listed in the setup manual). If NOT, then below, they are listed for reference.

If you are having problems, an important little page to check is the setup.php, in the root AD folder. It will show you the paths that were set at install in case you missed something. This is a very valuable tool in diagnosing issues. It was left unencoded to help you sniff out problems with your install paths. AFTER you've viewed it and IF you discover an error, run the admin/install.php again... enter the correct information. It will give you a 'error' looking page, but that's alright, it has corrected the previous input.

Help for Article Dashboard Templates