Installing MediaWiz Forums

A friendly guide to getting your forums up and running

This guide walks you through installing the MediaWiz Forums package in your Umbraco project. You’ll go from “fresh install” to “forum is live at /forums” in just a few steps.

Getting Started

1. Install Nuget Package:
   You can install the package using either the .NET CLI or the NuGet Package Manager.
   .NET CLI

   dotnet add package MediaWiz.Forums.14 --version 17.0.0

   Package Manager Console

   Install-Package MediaWiz.Forums.14 -Version 17.0.0

2. Configure AppSettings:
   

   "MediaWizOptions": { 
       "MemberTypeAlias": "", 
       "ForumDoctypes": "", 
       "MaxFileSize": 8, 
       "AllowedFiles": [], 
       "UniqueFilenames": false 
   },

   
   see Options below

3. Configure Email SMTP:
   The forums require a working SMTP server for member registration emails. Make sure your Umbraco installation has valid SMTP settings.

4. Register TagHelpers:
   Open your project's _ViewImports.cshtml and add:
   

   @using MediaWiz.Forums.TagHelpers
   ...
   @addTagHelper *, MediaWiz.Forums

5. Set Master template: 
   In Umbraco:

   1. Go to Settings → Templates

   2. Select forumMaster

   3. Assign your main site’s layout file

   4. Add the MediaWiz sections to your layout file as per instructions in forumMaster

6. Login to Umbraco:
   Navigate to /umbraco and login with the your admin credentials.

7. Publish the Forums Page:
   In the Content section:

   • Publish the Forums holder page

   • Make sure to include all unpublished children

8. Initialise Dictionary Items:
   Go to the Translation section and save at least one dictionary item. This step initializes the forum’s translation system.

9. View Your Site:
   Your forums should now be available at /forums URL

The following options are available, in appsettings.json:

Options