The Official PostNuke Installation & Getting Started Guide: Revision 9939 / Preview
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# Chapter 15. Understanding Modules

PostNuke allows items to be virtually 'bolted on' to its engine. These items, called "modules", add features or functionality to PostNuke. Because it is extremely important to understand how modules function within PostNuke, we will explain how any PostNuke module can be initialized, activated, edited, deactivated, upgraded, and completely removed (deleted!). Any of these actions may be taken on any PostNuke module.

The PostNuke distribution comes with a selection of popular modules already configured for use with your system. The Administrator may choose which modules to use on the site, and disable or even completely remove (delete!) those that will not be used on the site. Additional modules for PostNuke may be downloaded from the official module site at http://mods.postnuke.com/index.php.

From the Administration menu, click "Modules".

- List: Display a listing of all modules on your site, sorted by Module name.

- Regenerate: Regenerate the module listing. When a new module is added to or deleted from the modules/ directory, the system needs to 'Regenerate' the file structure to recognize the change in the modules/ directory. However, there is no problem if you click "Regenerate" every time you wish to view the modules listing, to make sure that you're working with the most up-to-date list.

  After the listing has been regenerated any new modules are displayed in the modules listing (sorted by Module name), and you are given the option to Initialize and then Activate them.

  - INITIALIZE: Calls a function which creates any necessary tables and module variables that the module requires. Modules must be Initialized before any other action can be done on them.

  - ACTIVATE: Informs PostNuke that the module is initialized and should be activated. Modules must first be Initialized before they can be Activated so tables and module variables are properly initialized.

To activate a specific module, from your site's Administration menu, select "Modules" then "Regenerate". From the list that appears, select the module that you wish to activate. Click "Initialize" to initialize the module, and then click on "Activate" to turn the module on. Set the permissions (explained later in this document), and the module is ready for use.

- EDIT: Allows the Administrator to change settings for a particular module. The module Name, Description, AutoLinks (on/off) (if AutoLinks are enabled, elsewhere), Ratings (on/off), and Wiki Encoding (on/off) may be configured on a module-by-module basis.

- DEACTIVATE: This function tells PostNuke that the services that this module offers are to be taken offline (deactivated). A module must first be Activated before it can be Deactivated. Once deactivated, the module is inaccessible to users. NOTE: Deactivate does NOT delete the physical module files (in modules/) and/or any specific module variables created during initialization.

To remove a module's functionality, go to the Administration menu's Module link, select "Regenerate", and click "Deactivate" next to the module to be removed. This turns the module off but keeps the module variables and database tables intact. This is all you need to do to make the module inaccessible to your users, unless you wish to completely remove (uninstall) the module from your site. Completely remove modules by deleting their sub-directories from your modules/ directory.

- UPGRADE: This function will integrate new tables, module variables, and user variables when you move from one version of a module to a newer version of a module. Note that you must Activate again after Upgrading a module.

- REMOVE: Completely remove (delete!) this module from your system. The module must first be deactivated before it can be removed. Clicking "Remove" will delete the modules's database tables and module variables from your web site, but the physical files of the module (in modules/<modulename>) are NOT deleted.

If you wish to completely remove a specific module, click "Remove" to remove the module from your site. The only way to delete the physical files of the module is to remove the directory yourself (for example, "rm modules/<modulename>). If you wish to utilize the module's functionality again in the future, you will need to re-initialize and re-activate the module.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no CONFIRMATION SCREEN when you click to "Remove" a deactivated module! Be certain that you wish to delete the module before clicking the "Remove" button.

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