I was looking in the code today to see if there was a way to add fields to the forum edit screen, but it appears that without hacking the core code there is not. I am looking to create a plugin that would allow me to add icons or images to each forum, as well as add a detailed information field to each forum. I need these for a project I am prototyping for a client and would rather not change core code.

Is it possible to override the function bb_forum_form() in the admin-functions.php file within a theme or a plugin or hook in to add additional fields? I suppose I would also need to override / hook in to the function that processes the form to handle the new fields as well. Any chance a future version of the software will have these hooks?

[@chrishajer Participant 15 years, 11 months ago]

This bbPress forum uses a different icon for each forum:

http://bbshowcase.org/forums/

Here’s the plugin:

https://bbpress.org/plugins/topic/topic-icons/

Not sure about the “detailed information field” – isn’t there a forum description already?

[@slambert1971 Member 15 years, 11 months ago]

Not quite what I want. I want to be able to SPECIFY, in the admin tool, what graphic, not icon, to display in place of the text name of the forum, not topic. I will have different people managing different forums and they won’t know how to edit PHP or CSS – they want a point and click interface. It doesn’t appear that bbPress will work at it’s current stage, but I might just hack it.

As for the “detailed information” field – I have changed the theme so that there are three levels:

ParentForum: Displayed on the home page 4 across the page with the title at the top – has no parent

Group Forum: With the “Parent Forum” as the parent, which users never really see.

Child Forum: With the “Group Forum” as the parent, landing page where users post topics and replies.

Nobody is able to create topics or make replies in the Parent or Group forums. They are used to build a drill down effect similar to the system IBM used for their Innovation Jam forums. What I need the extra description field for is simple – When a person gets to the “Child Forum” or landing page, there is a short description displayed above the topics. I want to add a “more” link that will replace the short description with a more detailed descriptio using AJAX.

I know, complicated, but it’s what the client wants. I am working on a plugin that will replace the Forum Manager and give me the tools I need to do this. I wish I could show you the site, but it’s for a private Intranet.