The editor is one of the most used parts of any community, so a good part of this release is focused there. You can now choose between three different editor layouts, pasted video and audio links can automatically turn into players, checklists can be shared with everyone in a topic, and we finally added proper logo size controls.
There are also a handful of fixes based on reports we received.
Choose how your members write
Until now, every board used the same editor layout: toolbar on top, title above it where needed, and the controls underneath.
That layout is still available, but you can now choose between three different editor styles from the Editor page in your admin panel. Your choice applies everywhere members write, including quick replies, new topics, edits and private messages.
Classic. The editor you already know today, with the full toolbar at the top.
Dock. The writing area comes first, with the most commonly used tools underneath next to the post button. Bold, italic, underline, images, GIFs, emoji, lists and quotes are always available, while the plus button opens everything else including text size, alignment, colours, highlights, numbered lists, shared checklists, tables, spoilers, code blocks, media, dividers, find and replace, HTML source and attachments. When your cursor is inside a table, the panel also adds the available row and column controls. Quick reply under a topic stays as a small one-line bar until someone clicks it.
Paper. The cleanest of the three. There is no permanent toolbar, apart from emoji and GIF controls in the corner. Select some text and a small floating toolbar appears with formatting options such as bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, code, links, headings, quotes and colours. On an empty line, type
/or click the button in the margin to open the full command list for images, media, tables, checklists, headings and more.
If you prefer having every option visible, Classic will probably remain your choice. If you want something cleaner without hiding too much, Dock sits nicely in the middle. Paper is there for boards that want the editor to stay out of the way as much as possible.
Paste a link, get a player
Paste a YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Streamable, Loom, Twitch, TikTok, Facebook, Odysee, Spotify or SoundCloud link into a post and ForumSpark will automatically turn it into a player.
The embeds are lazy loaded and privacy-friendly. Until someone actually presses play, the page uses the preview information served through ForumSpark and does not load the full player from the provider.
This keeps topic pages lighter and avoids contacting services such as YouTube simply because someone opened a topic.
Boards that want wider support can enable Recognise all other supported media sites under Media on the Editor page. This enables support for a much larger list of media providers.
Checklists everyone can tick
Checklists is new to the editor.
When a checklist is shared, anyone who is allowed to reply to the topic can tick items without needing to edit the original post. Each item shows who completed it and when, and changes update for everyone viewing the topic.
When a checklist isn’t shared, only the author can edit the post and check an item.
Your logo, at the size you want
Theme Studio now includes proper logo sizing controls.
Under the light and dark logo uploads you will find two sliders: one controls the desktop header size and the other controls the mobile header size.
Move the slider and the preview updates immediately. Save it and that is the size your board will use.
This means you no longer need to keep resizing the original image or use custom css just to get it looking right, and mobile can use a different size from desktop.
If you leave the sliders untouched, your current logo sizing stays exactly as it is today.
Fixes worth knowing about
Trust levels. New members could sometimes be told to remove a link or image even when they had not added one themselves. This could happen when quoting another post containing mentions, links or images, and typed emoji could also be counted incorrectly. The trust level checks now only look at the content the member actually added themselves.
Shoutbox. The shoutbox now stays properly pinned to the newest message when images or fonts finish loading after the page. If someone has manually scrolled up to read older messages, their position is left alone.
Link previews. If generating a link preview failed partway through, it could sometimes remain stuck without a title or image. Failed previews will now retry.
Moderator dashboard. Forum moderators could receive an error when a profile report was waiting alongside normal content reports. Fixed.
Custom domains. Temporary DNS issues no longer count as a failed domain verification. ForumSpark will simply try again later.
You can try the new editor styles from the Editor page in your admin panel. Give Dock or Paper a try on your own board and let us know which one you end up preferring.
Meet the ForumSpark team
We have also expanded the ForumSpark team a little, so I wanted to properly introduce everyone and explain what they will be helping with.
Kathy will mainly be working with community owners and support. She may reach out from time to time to see how things are going, what you are missing or if there is anything we can help with. She will also be helping with support tickets and getting new communities started.
Shawn will be working on guides and content for ForumSpark. You will start seeing regular posts from him covering ways to improve and grow your community. He will also help review abuse reports that are escalated to ForumSpark.
Mace has already been involved with ForumSpark for a while, but is worth properly mentioning here. She works through the interface looking for things that can be improved or made easier to use, and also helps run our marketing campaigns.
Al will be helping with marketing and support. He will also be involved when we are discussing future plans and features, particularly from the side of what community owners are actually asking for and using.
For you, this should mainly mean quicker support, more useful guides, more regular improvements around the platform and more direct contact between ForumSpark and the people actually running communities on it.
You may also see members of the team joining or posting in your community every now and then as regular members.
Feel free to say hello when they drop by.
