Drupal 7 Explained
Your Step-by-Step Guide
Published on 30. May 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
480 pages
978-0-13-312423-1 (ISBN)
Description
At last: Drupal made truly easy!
Master Drupal 7 hands-on, step-by-step, through easy examples from a leading Drupal trainer!
Drupal 7 is an amazingly powerful web content management system. But many newcomers find it confusing, and most Drupal books are just too complicated to help. If you want to spend less time struggling with complex instructions, and more time building sites that make you proud, this is the book for you!
Top Drupal trainer Stephen Burge teaches everything you need to know-and nothing you don't need to know! You'll master Drupal one easy step at a time, through a complete, real-world sample project. You'll find crystal-clear visuals, simple explanations, perfect analogies-all extensively tested with real Drupal beginners.
This Guide's quick, easy coverage includes
* Planning a site that will be easy to build and manage
* Installing Drupal and setting it up to work reliably and securely
* Quickly finding the Drupal tools and features you're looking for
* Mastering an easy 3-step workflow for creating new content
* Delivering more interesting content with fields and new content types
* Creating intuitive site structures and user navigation
* Adding powerful site features with just a few clicks
* Completely redesigning your site in minutes with Themes
* Adding site search, registration, and more
* Presenting content in tables, lists, grids, or photo galleries
* Creating advanced layouts and 2- or 3-column designs
* Controlling what users on your site can see and do
* Preparing your site for launch
* Administering and updating a live site efficiently and safely
Drupal 7 Explained requires absolutely no experience with Drupal, content management, website construction,
programming, scripting, or even HTML. Stephen Burge has taught thousands of beginners-and thousands more
who've experimented with Drupal but haven't mastered it yet. Nobody knows more about guiding Drupal users up the
learning curve-from confusion to results!
Master Drupal 7 hands-on, step-by-step, through easy examples from a leading Drupal trainer!
Drupal 7 is an amazingly powerful web content management system. But many newcomers find it confusing, and most Drupal books are just too complicated to help. If you want to spend less time struggling with complex instructions, and more time building sites that make you proud, this is the book for you!
Top Drupal trainer Stephen Burge teaches everything you need to know-and nothing you don't need to know! You'll master Drupal one easy step at a time, through a complete, real-world sample project. You'll find crystal-clear visuals, simple explanations, perfect analogies-all extensively tested with real Drupal beginners.
This Guide's quick, easy coverage includes
* Planning a site that will be easy to build and manage
* Installing Drupal and setting it up to work reliably and securely
* Quickly finding the Drupal tools and features you're looking for
* Mastering an easy 3-step workflow for creating new content
* Delivering more interesting content with fields and new content types
* Creating intuitive site structures and user navigation
* Adding powerful site features with just a few clicks
* Completely redesigning your site in minutes with Themes
* Adding site search, registration, and more
* Presenting content in tables, lists, grids, or photo galleries
* Creating advanced layouts and 2- or 3-column designs
* Controlling what users on your site can see and do
* Preparing your site for launch
* Administering and updating a live site efficiently and safely
Drupal 7 Explained requires absolutely no experience with Drupal, content management, website construction,
programming, scripting, or even HTML. Stephen Burge has taught thousands of beginners-and thousands more
who've experimented with Drupal but haven't mastered it yet. Nobody knows more about guiding Drupal users up the
learning curve-from confusion to results!
More details
Person
Stephen Burge has split his career between teaching and web development. In 2007, he combined the two by starting to teach web development. His company, OSTraining, now teaches Drupal classes around the world and online. Stephen travels widely, helping people learn and thrive with open source software. Stephen is originally from England, and now lives in Atlanta.
Cindy McCourt is an experienced Drupal trainer, who coaches clients side-by-side to build internal Drupal capacity while planning and developing their Drupal solution. She specializes in user experience planning, configuration and code strategizing, site building, and project management. Cindy authored Getting Started with Drupal 7, a Refcard provided by dzone.com, and offers Drupal insights via her blogs on idcminnovations.com and ostraining.com.
Cindy McCourt is an experienced Drupal trainer, who coaches clients side-by-side to build internal Drupal capacity while planning and developing their Drupal solution. She specializes in user experience planning, configuration and code strategizing, site building, and project management. Cindy authored Getting Started with Drupal 7, a Refcard provided by dzone.com, and offers Drupal insights via her blogs on idcminnovations.com and ostraining.com.
Content
1 Drupal Explained 1
The What, When, Where, Who of Drupal 2
Why Drupal? 2
How Much Is Drupal? 3
What Does Drupal Mean? 3
How Many Versions of Drupal Are There? 4
Who Uses Drupal? 4
This Book Explained 7
What You Need 7
What This Book Covers 7
This Book Is Small 8
This Book Is Active 9
This Book Uses Specific Examples 9
Things in This Book May Have Changed 9
What's Next? 10
2 Drupal Planning Explained 11
Drupal Site Planning Explained 11
Website Plan 12
Project Management Plan 13
Development Plan 14
Maintenance Plan 14
Our Drupalville Website Plan 15
Content Requirements 16
Communications Requirements 16
Navigation Requirements 16
Feature Requirements 17
User Requirements 17
Design Requirements 17
Our Drupalville Project Management Plan 21
Our Drupalville Development Plan 22
Our Drupalville Maintenance Plan 23
What's Next? 23
3 Drupal Installations Explained 25
Hosting Your Drupal Site Explained 25
A Local Server Installed on Your Computer 26
A Web Server That You Own or Rent 26
A Web Server That's Hosted by Drupal Specialists 27
Installation Recommendations Explained 28
Automatic Drupal Installations Explained 28
Manual Drupal Installations Explained 35
Step 1: Create a Database 35
Step 2: Download the Drupal Files and Upload Them to Your Web Server 39
Step 3: Complete the Drupal Installation by Connecting the Database and Files Together 43
Getting Help with Installations 49
What's Next? 49
4 Drupal Administration Explained 51
The Administration Menu Explained 51
Home Icon 52
Dashboard 52
Content 55
Structure 59
Appearance 60
People 61
Modules 63
Configuration 64
Reports 66
Help 67
Hello 69
The Administration and Visitor Areas Explained 71
Log Out 71
What's Next? 73
5 Drupal Content Explained 75
Content Types 75
Default Content Types Explained 76
Creating an Article 76
Creating a Basic Page 84
What Have We Learned? 91
Extra Content Types Explained 92
Creating a Blog Entry 92
Creating a Poll 96
Creating a Forum 99
Creating a Book 104
Custom Content Types Explained 110
Creating the Events Content Type 111
Creating an Events Content Item 116
Creating the Sites Content Type 117
Creating User Groups 119
Creating Companies 120
Editing Content Types 123
What Have You Learned? 123
What's Next? 126
6 Drupal Fields Explained 129
Planning Your Fields 129
Sites Fields Explained 131
Editing a Field: Title 131
Editing a Field: Body 132
Reusing a Field: Image 133
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 136
Adding a Field: Boolean 137
Adding a List (Text) Field 139
Creating New Sites Content 140
Companies Fields Explained 143
Editing a Field: Title 144
Editing a Field: Body 144
Reusing a Field: Image 144
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 145
Adding a List (Text) Field 146
Adding a Link Field 147
Creating New Companies Content 151
Editing Fields 153
Events Fields Explained 155
Editing a Field: Title 156
Editing a Field: Body 156
Reusing a Field: Image 156
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 156
Reusing a Field: Link 157
Adding a Field: Decimal 157
Adding a Field: Date 158
Adding a Field: Entity Reference 161
Creating Content: Events 164
Editing the Default Field Display 165
Editing the Teaser Display 168
User Groups Fields Explained 172
Editing a Field: Title 172
Editing a Field: Body 172
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 172
Reusing a Field: Link 172
Adding a Field: Entity Reference 172
Adding a Field: Address 173
Creating Content: User Groups 174
Taxonomy Explained 176
Understanding the Term Reference Field: Terms 177
Arranging Terms in a Simple Hierarchy 180
Arranging Terms in a Complex Hierarchy 184
What's Next? 186
7 Drupal Modules Explained 189
Adding Modules Explained 190
Sharing Drupal Content 190
Printing Drupal Content 196
Bookmarking Drupal Content 200
Voting on Drupal Content 203
Changing Drupals URLs 205
Creating a Form 210
Showing Weather 213
Showing Maps 217
Text Editors for Drupal Explained 219
Image Management 228
Finding Modules Explained 233
How to Search for Modules Explained 234
How to Evaluate Modules Explained 238
What to Do if You're Really Stuck 244
How to Test Modules 244
How to Evaluate Modules 245
What's Next? 245
8 Drupal Menus Explained 247
The Four Default Drupal Menus 247
Adding a New Menu Link: Site Map 251
Adding a New Menu Link: Blogs 253
Adding a New Menu Link: Forums 254
Finding the URL for a New Menu Link 255
Using the Module Name 255
Using the Pathauto Module 255
Using the Search Module 256
Reorganizing Menu Links 257
Reorganizing Menu Links Using Weight 259
Creating Parent and Child Menu Links 260
What's Next? 265
9 Drupal Themes Explained 267
Bartik Explained 267
Theme Settings 268
Enabling Themes Explained 274
Set Garland to Default 274
Set Stark to Default 275
Installing Themes Explained 277
Installing the Danland Theme 277
Installing the Zero Point Theme 278
Installing the Company Theme 279
Setting Up the Drop-Down Menu 282
Subthemes Explained 285
Finding Themes Explained 288
Avoiding Starter Themes, Theme Frameworks, Base Themes 288
Evaluating Themes 290
Commercial Themes 295
Artisteer 299
A Final Note on How Themes Get Built 300
Installing the Final Theme for Your Site 301
What's Next? 303
10 Drupal Blocks Explained 305
Theme Regions Explained 305
Placing Blocks in Regions Explained 313
Showing Blocks Under Certain Conditions Explained 315
Editing Blocks Explained 319
Block Settings 319
Creating Blocks Explained 323
What's Next? 326
11 Drupal Views Explained 329
Plan 330
Installing the Views Modules 331
Generating Sample Content Explained 331
Creating Blocks with Views Explained 333
New User Groups Block 333
New Sites Block 336
New Articles Block 339
New Companies View Block 345
Creating Pages with Views Explained 352
Articles Landing Page 353
User Groups Landing Page 354
Sites Landing Page 359
Companies Landing Page 362
Resources Landing Page 366
Reorganizing the Main Menu 369
Creating a Calendar of Events Explained 370
Install Calendar 370
Configure the Calendar of Events Views 370
Add Event Blocks to Events Page 374
Cloning Views Explained 375
Enable and Clone the View 375
Configure the Blog Archive Block 376
Creating a Slideshow Explained 377
Create an Image Style 377
Create an Image Style 378
Create Views Slideshow Block 378
Configure the Slideshow Block 379
What's Next? 381
12 Drupal Layout Modules Explained 383
Display Suite Explained 383
Installing Display Suite 384
Using Display Suite 385
Using Display Suite for Other Layouts 392
Advanced Display Suite 395
Panels Explained 402
Install Panels 402
Panels User Interface 403
The Drupal Workflow Explained 409
What's Next? 411
13 Drupal Users Explained 413
Drupal Permissions Explained 413
First Example 414
Second Example 423
Third Example 424
Drupal User Profiles Explained 427
Create the Profile Fields 428
What's Next? 431
14 Drupal Site Management Explained 433
Updating Your Site Explained 433
An Overview of Drupal Version Numbers 434
What Version Do I Have? 435
How Do I Get Notified About Updates? 436
How Do I Update? 436
Updating Your Modules and Themes Explained 439
Uninstalling Modules or Themes Explained 442
Backing Up Your Site Explained 443
Backups Made by Your Hosting Company 443
Backups Made by You 444
Additional Measures to Protect Your Site 445
What's Next? 446
Index 447
The What, When, Where, Who of Drupal 2
Why Drupal? 2
How Much Is Drupal? 3
What Does Drupal Mean? 3
How Many Versions of Drupal Are There? 4
Who Uses Drupal? 4
This Book Explained 7
What You Need 7
What This Book Covers 7
This Book Is Small 8
This Book Is Active 9
This Book Uses Specific Examples 9
Things in This Book May Have Changed 9
What's Next? 10
2 Drupal Planning Explained 11
Drupal Site Planning Explained 11
Website Plan 12
Project Management Plan 13
Development Plan 14
Maintenance Plan 14
Our Drupalville Website Plan 15
Content Requirements 16
Communications Requirements 16
Navigation Requirements 16
Feature Requirements 17
User Requirements 17
Design Requirements 17
Our Drupalville Project Management Plan 21
Our Drupalville Development Plan 22
Our Drupalville Maintenance Plan 23
What's Next? 23
3 Drupal Installations Explained 25
Hosting Your Drupal Site Explained 25
A Local Server Installed on Your Computer 26
A Web Server That You Own or Rent 26
A Web Server That's Hosted by Drupal Specialists 27
Installation Recommendations Explained 28
Automatic Drupal Installations Explained 28
Manual Drupal Installations Explained 35
Step 1: Create a Database 35
Step 2: Download the Drupal Files and Upload Them to Your Web Server 39
Step 3: Complete the Drupal Installation by Connecting the Database and Files Together 43
Getting Help with Installations 49
What's Next? 49
4 Drupal Administration Explained 51
The Administration Menu Explained 51
Home Icon 52
Dashboard 52
Content 55
Structure 59
Appearance 60
People 61
Modules 63
Configuration 64
Reports 66
Help 67
Hello 69
The Administration and Visitor Areas Explained 71
Log Out 71
What's Next? 73
5 Drupal Content Explained 75
Content Types 75
Default Content Types Explained 76
Creating an Article 76
Creating a Basic Page 84
What Have We Learned? 91
Extra Content Types Explained 92
Creating a Blog Entry 92
Creating a Poll 96
Creating a Forum 99
Creating a Book 104
Custom Content Types Explained 110
Creating the Events Content Type 111
Creating an Events Content Item 116
Creating the Sites Content Type 117
Creating User Groups 119
Creating Companies 120
Editing Content Types 123
What Have You Learned? 123
What's Next? 126
6 Drupal Fields Explained 129
Planning Your Fields 129
Sites Fields Explained 131
Editing a Field: Title 131
Editing a Field: Body 132
Reusing a Field: Image 133
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 136
Adding a Field: Boolean 137
Adding a List (Text) Field 139
Creating New Sites Content 140
Companies Fields Explained 143
Editing a Field: Title 144
Editing a Field: Body 144
Reusing a Field: Image 144
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 145
Adding a List (Text) Field 146
Adding a Link Field 147
Creating New Companies Content 151
Editing Fields 153
Events Fields Explained 155
Editing a Field: Title 156
Editing a Field: Body 156
Reusing a Field: Image 156
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 156
Reusing a Field: Link 157
Adding a Field: Decimal 157
Adding a Field: Date 158
Adding a Field: Entity Reference 161
Creating Content: Events 164
Editing the Default Field Display 165
Editing the Teaser Display 168
User Groups Fields Explained 172
Editing a Field: Title 172
Editing a Field: Body 172
Reusing a Field: Term Reference 172
Reusing a Field: Link 172
Adding a Field: Entity Reference 172
Adding a Field: Address 173
Creating Content: User Groups 174
Taxonomy Explained 176
Understanding the Term Reference Field: Terms 177
Arranging Terms in a Simple Hierarchy 180
Arranging Terms in a Complex Hierarchy 184
What's Next? 186
7 Drupal Modules Explained 189
Adding Modules Explained 190
Sharing Drupal Content 190
Printing Drupal Content 196
Bookmarking Drupal Content 200
Voting on Drupal Content 203
Changing Drupals URLs 205
Creating a Form 210
Showing Weather 213
Showing Maps 217
Text Editors for Drupal Explained 219
Image Management 228
Finding Modules Explained 233
How to Search for Modules Explained 234
How to Evaluate Modules Explained 238
What to Do if You're Really Stuck 244
How to Test Modules 244
How to Evaluate Modules 245
What's Next? 245
8 Drupal Menus Explained 247
The Four Default Drupal Menus 247
Adding a New Menu Link: Site Map 251
Adding a New Menu Link: Blogs 253
Adding a New Menu Link: Forums 254
Finding the URL for a New Menu Link 255
Using the Module Name 255
Using the Pathauto Module 255
Using the Search Module 256
Reorganizing Menu Links 257
Reorganizing Menu Links Using Weight 259
Creating Parent and Child Menu Links 260
What's Next? 265
9 Drupal Themes Explained 267
Bartik Explained 267
Theme Settings 268
Enabling Themes Explained 274
Set Garland to Default 274
Set Stark to Default 275
Installing Themes Explained 277
Installing the Danland Theme 277
Installing the Zero Point Theme 278
Installing the Company Theme 279
Setting Up the Drop-Down Menu 282
Subthemes Explained 285
Finding Themes Explained 288
Avoiding Starter Themes, Theme Frameworks, Base Themes 288
Evaluating Themes 290
Commercial Themes 295
Artisteer 299
A Final Note on How Themes Get Built 300
Installing the Final Theme for Your Site 301
What's Next? 303
10 Drupal Blocks Explained 305
Theme Regions Explained 305
Placing Blocks in Regions Explained 313
Showing Blocks Under Certain Conditions Explained 315
Editing Blocks Explained 319
Block Settings 319
Creating Blocks Explained 323
What's Next? 326
11 Drupal Views Explained 329
Plan 330
Installing the Views Modules 331
Generating Sample Content Explained 331
Creating Blocks with Views Explained 333
New User Groups Block 333
New Sites Block 336
New Articles Block 339
New Companies View Block 345
Creating Pages with Views Explained 352
Articles Landing Page 353
User Groups Landing Page 354
Sites Landing Page 359
Companies Landing Page 362
Resources Landing Page 366
Reorganizing the Main Menu 369
Creating a Calendar of Events Explained 370
Install Calendar 370
Configure the Calendar of Events Views 370
Add Event Blocks to Events Page 374
Cloning Views Explained 375
Enable and Clone the View 375
Configure the Blog Archive Block 376
Creating a Slideshow Explained 377
Create an Image Style 377
Create an Image Style 378
Create Views Slideshow Block 378
Configure the Slideshow Block 379
What's Next? 381
12 Drupal Layout Modules Explained 383
Display Suite Explained 383
Installing Display Suite 384
Using Display Suite 385
Using Display Suite for Other Layouts 392
Advanced Display Suite 395
Panels Explained 402
Install Panels 402
Panels User Interface 403
The Drupal Workflow Explained 409
What's Next? 411
13 Drupal Users Explained 413
Drupal Permissions Explained 413
First Example 414
Second Example 423
Third Example 424
Drupal User Profiles Explained 427
Create the Profile Fields 428
What's Next? 431
14 Drupal Site Management Explained 433
Updating Your Site Explained 433
An Overview of Drupal Version Numbers 434
What Version Do I Have? 435
How Do I Get Notified About Updates? 436
How Do I Update? 436
Updating Your Modules and Themes Explained 439
Uninstalling Modules or Themes Explained 442
Backing Up Your Site Explained 443
Backups Made by Your Hosting Company 443
Backups Made by You 444
Additional Measures to Protect Your Site 445
What's Next? 446
Index 447