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Advanced Profile Kit

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Michelle - January 1, 2008 - 05:42

Advanced Profile Kit provides building blocks for putting together fancy user profile pages like those commonly found on social networking sites. It is meant to work with Panels, though the provided pieces can be used in the theme layer if you prefer. By using Panels as a base, any item that can be added to Panels can be added to the profile page by pointing and clicking with no coding needed.

Should you use APK?

There are, as of this writing, about 3K sites reporting that they are using APK. So, obviously, there are many folks finding it usable. The latest beta looks solid from my testing and the docs are up to date. I've finally reached a point where I feel fairly comfortable telling people to use it.

But what hasn't changed is the fact that this isn't an easy module. This isn't the sort of module you simply enable and you're done. It glues together several different modules, which means a lot of moving parts. If things go wrong, you need to be able to dig and figure out which part is at fault. If you have never used CTools/Panels before, modifying your profiles can be a bit daunting. I don't recommend someone who just installed Drupal for the first time jump right into using this. On the other hand, if you are already comfortable using CTools or are willing to dig in and learn, APK is a whole lot easier than starting from scratch.

Usage options:

1. Panels based. This is the supported and recommended way of using it and instructions are provided to give you a nice looking profile without any coding. Once you have Panels as a base, you can add more items to your profiles using the Panels interface. More and more modules are providing Panels integration. All that's needed to use a module with APK is for that module to provide Panels integration based on the user context.

2. Theme based. It's possible to use APK without panels by calling the pieces in code. theme_author_pane() (now in the Author Pane module) and theme_advanced_profile_profile_visitors() are the two you'll want to look at. You can also call the provided views in code. This method is not officially supported but will work for advanced users that prefer to do everything in the theme rather than use Panels.

Versions / Roadmap / Support

5.x: This version is finished. It will not be getting any new features and probably no changes at all unless a security hole is found. I'll answer basic support questions but this version will get minimal attention. Nodeprofile is no longer officially supported though it should still work. I have no sites using nodeprofile and don't have the time to troubleshoot it when I'm not using it myself.

6.x Beta 2 is out and the documentation has been updated to match. I've done quite a bit of testing and everything seems to be working fine. If you're looking to use this in production, give it a week or so and watch the issue queue. If no major problems show up, give it a try, but remember to use a test site first. Also, make sure you read the release notes!

Future Plans This will proably be the last beta. I want to add the following and them will move to RC:
#575326: Add user list view
#535428: Popup full sized avatar when clicking on thumbnail
#247050: Prompt user to create user profile

Once I hit RC, I will try to be careful not to change any strings so translators can add translations. I expect there to only be one RC and then a release. That will likely be the end of development for D6 other than fixes and minor features. I will start the port to D7 sometime after CTools, Panels, and Views are ported to D7.

Want to help me?

If my module has saved you time, how about spending a little of that helping me out? My Coulee Region forums, the site this module was created for, is really struggling. I need people posting in the forums and I don't care where you live. I just need real content to get the forums moving. Please no test posts or Drupal support questions. Just real posts like you'd post in any general forum. Thanks!

Share your site

If you are using this module on a publicly visible site, I'd love to hear from you. It's always fun to see your module used in the wild.

Releases

Official releasesDateSizeLinksStatus
6.x-1.0-beta22009-Sep-1726.89 KBDownload · Release notesRecommended for 6.xThis is currently the recommended release for 6.x.
5.x-1.02009-Apr-0122.22 KBDownload · Release notesRecommended for 5.xThis is currently the recommended release for 5.x.
Development snapshotsDateSizeLinksStatus
6.x-1.x-dev2009-Sep-3026.94 KBDownload · Release notesDevelopment snapshotDevelopment snapshots are automatically regenerated and their contents can frequently change, so they are not recommended for production use.
5.x-1.x-dev2009-Mar-3122.22 KBDownload · Release notesDevelopment snapshotDevelopment snapshots are automatically regenerated and their contents can frequently change, so they are not recommended for production use.


 
 

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