BlogHub v1.4.0 - Documentation

Welcome to the BlogHub documentation page!

Table of Contents

1. Requirements
2. Overview
3. Blog Comments
4. Blog Meta
5. Blog Tags
6. Template Components
7. Additional Menus
8. Additional Permissions
9. Extended Post Model
10. Extended User Model
11. Dashboard Widgets

1. Requirements

As of Version 1.4.0, support for OctoberCMS v2 has been discontinued (though it may still work).

Required

• OctoberCMS v3
• PHP 7.4+ or 8.0+
• Gregwar/Captcha
• RainLab.Blog

Optional

• RainLab.User
• RainLab.Pages
• RainLab.Translate

The optional plugins listed above extend existing features or provide additional functionalities for the BlogHub plugin but are not mandatory. The only required extension is RainLab.Blog.

2. Overview

Our BlogHub extension significantly enhances the RainLab.Blog extension with various functionalities. Many of these features are specifically designed for our own templates but can be utilized and implemented by any OctoberCMS user. This documentation focuses on the technical components and includes a few small examples. Familiarity with the default OctoberCMS behavior and development practices is recommended before diving in.

Below is a list of all available features in Version 1.4.0:

2.1. Blog Comments

• Moderatable post comments (compatible with RainLab.User, but not required)
• Multi-depth replies (supports nested or simple view)
• Like/dislike counters and a favorite switch
• Honeypot and Captcha field (the latter is based on Gregwar Captcha)
• Author and favorite highlights in the comment list
• Access any post model via post.bloghub.comments and *.comments_count
• AJAX-enabled environment (requires {% framework %} tag)
• GDPR-friendly – No IP or sensitive data is stored in plain or recoverable ways

2.2. Blog Meta

• Theme-related metadata can be set in theme.yaml
• Global metadata can be configured on the backend settings page
• Meta key-based access via post.bloghub.meta.[meta_key]

2.3. Blog Tags

• Supports unique slug, title, description, promoted flag, and color
• Supports a dedicated archive page using the [bloghubTagArchive] component
• Access tags via post.bloghub.tags or post.bloghub.promoted_tags

2.4. Template Components

• [bloghubBase] - Base settings; should be included in all related layouts
• [bloghubPostsByAuthor] - List posts by author
• [bloghubPostsByCommentCount] - List posts sorted by comment count
• [bloghubPostsByDate] - List posts by date
• [bloghubPostsByTag] - List posts by tag
• [bloghubCommentList] - List of comments
• [bloghubCommentSection] - Comment section (list and form) for single posts
• [bloghubTags] - List or cloud of tags
• Extends sorting options for blogPosts

2.5. Additional Menus

• Coming soon

2.6. Additional Permissions

• ratmd.bloghub.comments
• ratmd.bloghub.comments.access_comments_settings
• ratmd.bloghub.comments.moderate_comments
• ratmd.bloghub.comments.delete_comments
• ratmd.bloghub.tags
• ratmd.bloghub.tags.promoted

2.7. Extended Post Model

• post.bloghub.detail_meta_title - Generated meta title
• post.bloghub.detail_meta_description - Generated meta description
• post.bloghub.detail_read_time - Estimated read time calculation
• post.bloghub.detail_published_ago - "Published x y ago" date/time string
• post.bloghub.tags - Assigned tag collection
• post.bloghub.promoted_tags - Assigned promoted tag collection
• post.bloghub.meta - Assigned meta collection (accessible with meta key)
• post.bloghub.comments - Comment list (configurable)
• post.bloghub.comments_count - Comment list count (configurable)
• post.bloghub.views - Views counter
• post.bloghub.unique_views - Visitor counter
• post.bloghub.hasSeen - Indicates if the current visitor has already seen this post
• post.bloghub.author - Assigned post author (alias for post.user)
• post.bloghub.next - Retrieve the next post (configurable)
• post.bloghub.previous - Retrieve the previous post (configurable)
• post.bloghub.related - List of related posts (configurable)
• post.bloghub.random - List of random posts (configurable)

2.8. Extended User Model (accessible via post.user or post.bloghub.author)

• post.user.bloghub.url - Full author URL (requires bloghubAuthorPage)
• post.user.bloghub.slug - Author slug (used in author archive pages)
• post.user.bloghub.display - Generated display name (configurable)
• post.user.bloghub.count - Post count (configurable)

2.9. Dashboard Widgets

• Comments list (shows the latest and unapproved comments)
• Posts list (shows the latest posts by the author)
• Posts statistics (provides basic statistics about your posts)

3. Blog Comments

Version 1.3.0 of our BlogHub plugin introduced a new comment environment with enhanced template components. The comment system is highly configurable and supports the following features:

• Favorites: Authors can favorite comments to highlight them.
• Likes / Dislikes: Users can express their opinions, with restrictions for logged-in users.
• Replies: Supports multi-depth replies for threaded discussions.
• Moderation: Comments can be moderated both in the backend and frontend.
• Customizable Fields: Additional title and Markdown-enabled body for comments.
• Guest Information: Guests must provide a username and email address.
• Terms of Service: A checkbox with a link to a CMS or static page for agreement.
• Honeypot and Captcha: Optional fields (using Gregwar Captcha) to prevent spam, applicable for guests only.
• Hide on Dislike Ratio: Option to hide comments based on dislike ratios.
• Single Post Configuration: Option to hide or close comments on a per-post basis.

The comments system distinguishes between guests, frontend users, and backend users:

• Guests: Required to fill out the username, email address, and terms of service checkbox. They are subject to the Honeypot and Captcha fields when enabled.
• Logged-In Users: Can enter comments directly without the need for Honeypot or Captcha. Their comments can also be set to be approved automatically.
• Backend Users: Have the ability to view and moderate pending comments on the single post page. Post authors can favorite comments, which pins or highlights them in the comments list. Moderation can also be conducted through October's backend interface, provided the necessary permissions are granted.

Comments can be accessed directly on the post model using bloghub.comments or bloghub.comments_count, or by utilizing one of the available template components, as described below.

4. Blog Meta

Each blog post can be enriched with additional meta fields to provide specific data for frontend templating or to set SEO-related values. Meta fields can be defined in two ways:

1. Template's theme.yaml File: This method is intended for template designers to provide pre-defined and implemented meta fields.
2. Custom Meta Fields Settings Page: This option is designed for administrators to define a universally available set of meta fields, which must be implemented manually.

4.1. Create Meta Fields via theme.yaml

To create theme-related meta fields, you must define them in the template's theme.yaml file using October's Form Fields definition syntax:

# Your Theme Data

ratmd.bloghub:
  post:
    # Your Meta Data

4.2. Create Meta Fields via Backend

Global meta fields can be created on the "Custom Meta Fields" settings page. Here, you can define a custom meta name, specify the respective meta type, and configure the meta settings, again using October's Form Fields definition syntax.

5. Blog Tags

The BlogHub extension offers enhanced functionality for blog tags, allowing you to create and assign tags dynamically to each blog post. Additionally, tags can be customized with various attributes, including:

• Promotion Flag: Indicates whether a tag is promoted.
• Title: A descriptive title for the tag.
• Description: A brief description to provide more context.
• Color: A color that visually represents the tag.

These attributes can be utilized by template designers to effectively highlight or describe tags and tag archive pages.

Assigned tags can be accessed directly on the post model using bloghub.tags or through one of the available template components described below. One of these components enables the creation of a tag archive page that supports multiple tag queries. When this feature is enabled, you can display posts that must contain all specified tags (e.g., /blog/tag/tag1+tag2) or posts that must contain any of the provided tags (e.g., /blog/tag/tag1,tag2).

6. Template Components

The BlogHub OctoberCMS plugin provides a range of useful components for enhancing your blog functionality.

6.1. [bloghubBase]

The [bloghubBase] component should be included in all CMS layouts that display blog posts. This component provides the basic configuration for all BlogHub and RainLab.Blog components, including single archive pages. If this component is not set, default values (as listed below) will be used unless specified otherwise.

Note: This component does not provide a default template, as it is intended solely for configuring existing components. Attempting to use {% component 'bloghubBase' %} without proper setup will result in an error.

Component Arguments

The [bloghubBase] component accepts the following arguments:

[bloghubBase]
archiveAuthor = 'blog/author'
archiveDate = 'blog/date'
archiveTag = 'blog/tag'

authorUseSlugOnly = 0
date404OnInvalid = 1
date404OnEmpty = 1
tagAllowMultiple = 0

Argument: archiveAuthor

Defines the CMS page used for author archives. Set this argument to 0 to disable author archive pages entirely.

Argument: archiveDate

Defines the CMS page used for date archives. Set this argument to 0 to disable date archive pages entirely.

Argument: archiveTag

Defines the CMS page used for tag archives. Set this argument to 0 to disable tag archive pages entirely.

Argument: authorUseSlugOnly

When set to 1, the author archive page will only check the author_slug backend user column and skip the login column.

Argument: date404OnInvalid

Controls whether a 404 error should be thrown when an invalid date is passed (e.g., 2022-13-10).

Argument: date404OnEmpty

Controls whether a 404 error should be thrown when a passed date contains no posts.

Argument: tagAllowMultiple

Enables the use of complex tag queries that involve multiple tags. When enabled, you can combine multiple tags using a comma to display posts that have either of the provided tags, or a plus to display posts that have all of them.

Examples:

• http://domain.tld/blog/tag/tag1,tag2,tag3 - Posts must have at least one of the specified tags (either tag1, tag2, or tag3).
• http://domain.tld/blog/tag/tag1+tag2+tag3 - Posts must have all of the specified tags (i.e., tag1 AND tag2 AND tag3).

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variable:

Variable: bloghub_config

The bloghub_config variable contains all configured arguments as described above.

6.2. [bloghubPostsByAuthor]

The [bloghubPostsByAuthor] component builds upon RainLab's [blogPosts] component as its base class. Therefore, all options listed below, except for authorFilter, are identical to those in the referenced class. For detailed information about the individual arguments, please refer to the RainLab extension documentation.

Component Arguments

This component provides the following arguments:

[bloghubPostsByAuthor]
pageNumber = '{{ :page }}'
categoryFilter = 
postsPerPage = 10
noPostsMessage = '...'
sortOrder = 'published_at desc'
categoryPage = 'blog/category'
postPage = 'blog/post'
exceptPost = 
exceptCategories =
authorFilter = '{{ :slug }}'

Argument: authorFilter

The authorFilter argument specifies the strict author slug or the desired URL parameter. The author slug can either be the author_slug set on the respective backend user or the login value (if author_slug is empty). However, this behavior can be disabled by the [bloghubBase] component, as described previously.

Note: For security reasons, it is highly recommended to set a unique author_slug for each backend user/author that differs from the login name. Failing to do so could expose the login name to brute-force or rainbow table attacks.

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variable:

Variable: author

The author page variable is injected into the page object and points to the BackendUser model. The BlogHub plugin extends the BackendUser model with several additional dynamic properties. For more details, see the "10. Extended User Model" section below.

6.3. [bloghubPostsByCommentCount]

The [bloghubPostsByCommentCount] component is based on RainLab's [blogPosts] component. Unlike the referenced class, this component does not extend the existing arguments; instead, it removes the sortOrder option and implements its own sorting method. For detailed information about the available arguments, please refer to the RainLab extension documentation.

Component Arguments

This component does not introduce any additional arguments. Below are the existing arguments inherited from the [blogPosts] component:

[bloghubPostsByCommentCount]
pageNumber = '{{ :page }}'
categoryFilter = 
postsPerPage = 10
noPostsMessage = '...'
categoryPage = 'blog/category'
postPage = 'blog/post'
exceptPost = 
exceptCategories =

Page Variables

This component does not add any additional page variables.

6.4. [bloghubPostsByDate]

The [bloghubPostsByDate] component is based on RainLab's [blogPosts] component, meaning that all options, except for dateFilter, are identical to those in the referenced class. For detailed information about the individual arguments, please refer to the RainLab extension documentation.

Component Arguments

This component provides the following arguments:

[bloghubPostsByDate]
pageNumber = '{{ :page }}'
categoryFilter = 
postsPerPage = 10
noPostsMessage = '...'
sortOrder = 'published_at desc'
categoryPage = 'blog/category'
postPage = 'blog/post'
exceptPost = 
exceptCategories =
dateFilter = '{{ :date }}'

Argument: dateFilter

This argument accepts a direct date string (as described below) or a desired URL parameter. If an invalid date or an empty date archive is encountered, a 404 error page will be displayed unless configured otherwise in [bloghubBase] (see above).

Valid Date Formats:

• Year archive: Y (e.g., https://domain.tld/blog/date/2022)
• Month archive: Y-m (e.g., https://domain.tld/blog/date/2022-01)
• Week archive: Y_W (e.g., https://domain.tld/blog/date/2022_2)
• Day archive: Y-m-d (e.g., https://domain.tld/blog/date/2022-01-01)

We recommend using the following URL parameter to get the year, month, and day archives working smoothly. While you can employ a more complex regular expression to evaluate the date string more precisely, this might unnecessarily complicate the implementation:

url = "/blog/date/:date|^\d{4}(\-\d{2}(\-\d{2}))?/:page?"

For the week archive, you can use the following configuration (note that a leading zero is not required):

url = "/blog/date/:date|^\d{4}(\-\d{2}(\-\d{2})|(\_\d{1,2}))?/:page?"

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variables:

Variable: date

The date variable is an array containing the evaluated and sanitized date values. Depending on the archive type, it may include year, month, week, and/or day.

Variable: dateType

The dateType variable is a simple string indicating which archive page or date type has been detected from the passed URL parameter. It will point to either year, month, week, or day.

Variable: dateFormat

The dateFormat variable contains a formatted date/time string based on the detected dateType evaluated from the passed URL parameter. The following formats are used for the respective date types:

• dateType: year - format: Y (e.g., 2022)
• dateType: month - format: F, Y (e.g., January, 2022)
• dateType: week - format: \WW, Y (e.g., W2, 2022)
• dateType: day - format: F, d. Y (e.g., January, 17. 2022)

Please note that it is currently NOT possible to use custom date/time formats for the individual date types.

6.5. [bloghubPostsByTag]

The [bloghubPostsByTag] component is built on RainLab's [blogPosts] component, meaning that all options, except for tagFilter, are identical to those in the referenced class. For detailed information about the individual arguments, please refer to the RainLab extension documentation.

Component Arguments

This component provides the following arguments:

[bloghubPostsByTag]
pageNumber = '{{ :page }}'
categoryFilter = 
postsPerPage = 10
noPostsMessage = '...'
sortOrder = 'published_at desc'
categoryPage = 'blog/category'
postPage = 'blog/post'
exceptPost = 
exceptCategories =
tagFilter = '{{ :tag }}'

Argument: tagFilter

This argument accepts a direct tag query string or the desired URL parameter. When the tagAllowMultiple option is enabled in the [bloghubBase] component, you can pass multiple tags using the + character to include posts containing all specified tags, or the , character to include posts containing at least one of the tags. If none of the provided tag slugs exist, the component will return a 404 error page.

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variables:

Variable: tag

The tag variable contains the single tag class model when only one tag has been used for the generated archive page.

Variable: tags

The tags variable is an array of tag class models when more than one tag has been used for the generated archive page. Please note that multiple-tag archive pages are only available if the tagAllowMultiple option in the [bloghubBase] component has been set to true.

6.6. [bloghubCommentList]

The [bloghubCommentList] component displays a configurable list of comments.

Component Arguments

This component provides the following arguments:

[bloghubCommentList]
postPage = 
excludePosts = 
amount = 5
sortOrder = 'published_at desc'
onlyFavorites = 0
hideOnDislikes = 0

Argument: postPage

Specifies the desired post page, which is used for generating the post URLs.

Argument: excludePosts

Allows you to exclude one or more posts by their IDs or slugs, listed in a comma-separated format.

Argument: amount

Determines the number of comments to display.

Argument: sortOrder

Controls the sort order of the comments list. You can choose from the following values:

• created_at DESC: Shows the newest comments at the top (default).
• created_at ASC: Shows the oldest comments at the top.
• likes DESC: Shows the most-liked comments at the top.
• likes ASC: Shows the least-liked comments at the bottom.
• dislikes DESC: Shows the most-disliked comments at the top.
• dislikes ASC: Shows the least-disliked comments at the bottom.

Argument: onlyFavorites

When enabled, this option allows only favorite comments to be displayed in the list. The post author can favorite comments unless this feature is disabled via the BlogHub settings page.

Argument: hideOnDislikes

The hideOnDislikes argument lets you hide comments based on their dislike count. The default value is false, which disables this function entirely.

Examples:

• Hide all comments with 10 dislikes or more:

  [bloghubCommentList]
  hideOnDislikes = 10

• Hide all comments when the dislike count is double that of the like count:

  [bloghubCommentList]
  hideOnDislikes = :2

• Hide all comments when the dislike count is four times higher than the like count:

  [bloghubCommentList]
  hideOnDislikes = :4

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variable:

Variable: comments

The comments variable contains the main collection of the configured amount of comments.

6.7. [bloghubCommentSection]

The [bloghubCommentSection] component displays a comment list and a comment form on the single post CMS page. Although it is technically possible to use this component outside of its intended context by setting the respective arguments, this usage is not supported, untested, and may not function as expected.

Component Arguments

This component provides the following arguments:

[bloghubCommentSection]
postSlug = 
commentsPerPage = 10
pageNumber = 
sortOrder = 'published_at desc'
commentHierarchy = 1
commentsAnchor = 'comments'
pinFavorites = 0
hideOnDislikes = 0
formPosition = 'above'
disableForm = 0

Argument: postSlug

Allows you to pass a strict post slug or a URL parameter to distinguish the current post slug. If this value is empty (the default), the component will attempt to auto-detect the respective post slug using the blogPost argument and similar relationships.

Argument: commentsPerPage

Specifies the number of comments to show per page. The default value is set to 10.

Argument: pageNumber

Allows you to pass a strict page number or a URL parameter to determine the current page number. If this value is empty (default), it will use the cpage URL GET parameter as the page number.

Argument: sortOrder

Controls the sort order of the comments list. You can choose from the following values:

• created_at DESC: Shows the newest comments at the top (default).
• created_at ASC: Shows the oldest comments at the top.
• likes DESC: Shows the most-liked comments at the top.
• likes ASC: Shows the least-liked comments at the bottom.
• dislikes DESC: Shows the most-disliked comments at the top.
• dislikes ASC: Shows the least-disliked comments at the bottom.

Argument: commentHierarchy

Controls how the comment list is displayed. When enabled, replies are shown below their parent comments in a hierarchical structure. This option may significantly increase the height of the comment section, as the commentsPerPage argument does not account for nested comments. Disabling this option will display each comment in a single nested list with a "reply to" quotation above the comment content.

Argument: pinFavorites

Allows the post author to pin favorite comments at the top of the comments list, ensuring they are visible to all users. This feature can be disabled via the BlogHub settings page.

Argument: hideOnDislikes

This argument allows you to hide comments based on a specified number of dislikes or a relative dislike-to-like ratio. The default value is false, disabling this feature entirely.

Examples:

• Hide all comments with 10 dislikes or more:

  [bloghubCommentSection]
  hideOnDislikes = 10

• Hide comments when the dislike count is double that of the like count:

  [bloghubCommentSection]
  hideOnDislikes = :2

• Hide comments when the dislike count is four times higher than the like count:

  [bloghubCommentSection]
  hideOnDislikes = :4

Argument: formPosition

Sets the position of the comment form. You can place the comment form either above or below the comment list. The default value is above.

Argument: disableForm

Disables the comment form, regardless of the configuration set on the single post. This is useful for alternative post views where commenting is not permitted, but the list of comments should still be visible.

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variables:

Variable: showComments

A boolean indicating whether the comment section should be displayed.

Variable: showCommentsForm

A boolean indicating whether the comment form should be displayed.

Variable: showCommentsHierarchical

A boolean indicating the state of the commentHierarchy argument.

Variable: comments

The main collection of comments used in the comments list.

Variable: commentsFormPosition

Indicates the position of the comment form (above or below), as declared in the component argument.

Variable: commentsMode

Represents the comments mode, as configured in the single post settings and evaluated across various options and states.

Variable: currentUser

The current user model, or null if the current user is not logged in.

Variable: currentUserIsGuest

A boolean indicating if the current user is not logged in.

Variable: currentUserIsFrontend

A boolean indicating if the current user is a frontend user of the RainLab.User plugin.

Variable: currentUserIsBackend

A boolean indicating if the current user is a backend OctoberCMS user.

Variable: isLoggedIn

A boolean indicating if the current user is logged in, regardless of frontend or backend authentication.

Variable: currentUserCanLike

A boolean indicating if the current user can like comments, based on the configuration.

Variable: currentUserCanDislike

A boolean indicating if the current user can dislike comments, based on the configuration.

Variable: currentUserCanFavorite

A boolean indicating if the current user can favorite comments, depending on their role and if they are the post author.

Variable: currentUserCanComment

A boolean indicating if the current user can write comments or replies, based on the configuration.

Variable: currentUserCanModerate

A boolean indicating if the current user can moderate pending comments, based on their role and the configuration.

Variable: showCommentFormTitle

A boolean indicating if the comment title field should be visible, depending on the configuration.

Variable: allowCommentFormMarkdown

A boolean indicating if the comment content supports Markdown formatting, based on the configuration.

Variable: showCommentFormTos

A boolean indicating if the Terms of Service checkbox should be visible, depending on the configuration.

Variable: commentFormTosLabel

The HTML label used for the Terms of Service checkbox, if enabled and visible.

Variable: showCommentFormCaptcha

A boolean indicating if the GREGWAR Captcha should be displayed, depending on the configuration and the current user.

Variable: captchaImage

The base64-encoded GREGWAR Captcha image, used when the captcha field is enabled.

Variable: showCommentFormHoneypot

A boolean indicating if the honeypot fields should be shown, depending on the configuration. If enabled, honeypot fields are added to the form for both frontend and backend users.

Variable: honeypotUser

The honeypot username form field name when honeypot fields are enabled.

Variable: honeypotEmail

The honeypot email form field name when honeypot fields are enabled.

Variable: honeypotTime

The honeypot check-time value when honeypot fields are enabled.

Variable: validationTime

A general form validation time, used alongside the validation hash to secure the comment form.

Variable: validationHash

A general form validation hash, used in conjunction with the validation time to secure the comment form.

6.8. [bloghubTags]

The [bloghubTags] component is designed to display a list of tags associated with blog posts. This component enhances the user experience by allowing visitors to easily navigate through topics of interest, improving content discoverability on your blog.

Component Arguments

This component provides the following arguments:

[bloghubTags]
tagPage = 'blog/tag'
onlyPromoted = false
amount = 5

Argument: onlyPromoted

A boolean value that determines whether to display only promoted tags. If set to true, only tags marked as promoted will be shown. The default value is false, which means all tags will be displayed.

Argument: amount

Defines the number of tags to display. The default value is 5, but this can be adjusted to show more or fewer tags based on your preference.

Page Variables

This component adds the following page variables:

Variable: tags

An array of tag models available on the site, allowing access to the individual tags and their respective properties.

7. Additional Menus

Coming Soon

8. Additional Permissions

The BlogHub OctoberCMS plugin adds the following permissions to enhance the management of omments and tags within the blog:

8.1. ratmd.bloghub.comments

This permission allows access to the Comments side menu within the RainLab.Blog main menu. The Comments menu includes access to comment moderation features. Note that this permission is not required for accessing the BlogHub and BlogHub / Comments settings page, which require the default RainLab permission: rainlab.blog.manage_settings.

8.2. ratmd.bloghub.comments.access_comments_settings

This permission grants access to the post-related comment configuration tab. This tab contains options to change the visibility of the entire comment section as well as to modify the comment mode for individual posts.

8.3. ratmd.bloghub.comments.moderate_comments

Users with this permission can moderate comments both in the backend and on the frontend. This includes the ability to approve, reject, or mark pending comments as spam. Note that while frontend moderation allows only the approval and rejection of pending comments, the backend offers additional capabilities, including changing the status of any comment.

8.4. ratmd.bloghub.comments.delete_comments

This permission allows users to delete comments of any status. It extends the moderate_comments permission mentioned above, providing full control over comment deletion.

8.5. ratmd.bloghub.tags

This permission allows access to the Tags side menu within the RainLab.Blog main menu, as well as access to the tags relation field on the single post backend page. The Tags menu contains a management environment for all available tags.

8.6. ratmd.bloghub.tags.promoted

Users with this permission can set the Promote flag on individual tags using the additional Tags menu under Blog. Promoted tags may be displayed differently depending on the theme, so this flag has its own distinct permission in addition to the general tags permission described above.

9. Extended Post Model

The BlogHub OctoberCMS plugin enhances RainLab's Blog Post class model with additional properties and methods for better SEO, readability, and user engagement.

9.1. post.bloghub.detail_meta_title

Work in Progress - Currently, this property returns the post title. Future updates will introduce enhanced SEO capabilities.

9.2. post.bloghub.detail_meta_description

Work in Progress - This property returns the post excerpt or summary. Additional SEO functionalities are planned for a future release.

9.3. post.bloghub.detail_read_time

Returns a formatted estimated read time for the post content. This can be used as a dynamic property or as a function.

{# Formatted Property #}
{{ post.bloghub.detail_read_time }}

{# Custom Format #}
{% set read_time = post.bloghub.detail_read_time(null) %}
Estimated Read Time: {{ read_time.minutes * 60 + read_time.seconds }} seconds

9.4. post.bloghub.detail_published_ago

Returns a "time ago" string using Carbon instead of the default date/time stamp.

9.5. post.bloghub.tags

Returns the collection of tags assigned to the current post.

<ul>
    {% for tag in post.bloghub.tags %}
        <li><a href="{{ tag.url }}">{{ tag.title | default(tag.slug) }}</a></li>
    {% endfor %}
</ul>

9.6. post.bloghub.promoted_tags

Returns a filtered collection of tags assigned to the current post that have the promote flag set.

<ul>
    {% for tag in post.bloghub.promoted_tags %}
        <li><a href="{{ tag.url }}">{{ tag.title | default(tag.slug) }}</a></li>
    {% endfor %}
</ul>

9.7. post.bloghub.meta

Returns the meta collection assigned to the current post, structured as name => value mappings.

{# Receive a specific meta value #}
<span>{{ post.bloghub.meta.simple_title }}</span>

{# Receive all meta pairs #}
<ul>
    {% for name, value in post.bloghub.meta %}
        <li>{{ name }}: {{ value | join(', ') }}</li>
    {% endfor %}
</ul>

9.8. post.bloghub.comments

Returns a TreeCollection of approved comments for the current post.

9.9. post.bloghub.comments_count

Returns the total number of approved comments for the current post.

9.10. post.bloghub.views

Returns the view count of the current post.

9.11. post.bloghub.unique_views

Returns the unique view count of the current post.

9.12. post.bloghub.hasSeen

Returns a boolean indicating if the current user has already seen this post.

Note: Using this property on the single post page may not yield accurate results since the values are set before page rendering. We're working on a solution to set the value after rendering to track first-time visits accurately.

9.13. post.bloghub.author

Returns the BackendUser model of the current author, identical to post.user.

9.14. post.bloghub.next

Returns the next published blog post before the current one. Use as a property to get a single post or as a method for additional rules.

{# Get next blog post #}
{{ post.bloghub.next }}

{# Get 3 next blog posts #}
{{ post.bloghub.next(3) }}

{# Get next blog post within the same categories #}
{{ post.bloghub.next(1, true) }}

9.15. post.bloghub.previous

Returns the previous published blog post after the current one. Use as a property to get a single post or as a method for additional rules.

Note: bloghub.prev() is an alias for bloghub.previous().

{# Get previous blog post #}
{{ post.bloghub.prev }}

{# Get 3 previous blog posts #}
{{ post.bloghub.prev(3) }}

{# Get previous blog post within the same categories #}
{{ post.bloghub.prev(1, true) }}

9.16. post.bloghub.related

Returns a collection of related blog posts, excluding the current one. Adjust the number of posts and exclude specific posts by passing their IDs.

9.17. post.bloghub.random

Returns a collection of random blog posts, excluding the current one. Adjust the number of posts and exclude specific posts by passing their IDs.

10. Extended User Model

The BlogHub OctoberCMS plugin enhances the backend user class model with additional properties and methods. You can retrieve the author of the current post model using either post.user or the BlogHub alias post.bloghub.author.

10.1. post.user.bloghub.url

Returns the full author archive URL for the current user, provided the author page is set using the [bloghubBase] component as described in the documentation.

10.2. post.user.bloghub.slug

Returns the plain author URL slug for the current user. This can either be derived from the ratmd_bloghub_author_slug column or fall back to the login name if the former is not set.

10.3. post.user.bloghub.display

Returns the display name of the current user. The display name is determined in the following order:

• From the ratmd_bloghub_display_name column
• From a combination of first_name and last_name columns
• As a titlized version of the login name if none of the above are set.

10.4. post.user.bloghub.about

Returns the content of the ratmd_bloghub_about_me column for the current user. This provides a brief biography or description of the author.

10.5. post.user.bloghub.count

Returns the number of published posts authored by the current user. This helps in displaying author statistics and engagement metrics.

11. Dashboard Widgets

The BlogHub OctoberCMS plugin provides the following 3 backend dashboard widgets.

11.1. Comments List

The Comments List dashboard widget displays the last 6 comments, allowing users to approve, reject, or mark pending comments as spam. It also includes overall counters for comment statuses.

Option: postPage

Sets the single post CMS page to be linked in the post title shown with each respective comment.

Option: defaultTab

Allows you to change the default open tab for the widget. Options include:

• Pending (Default)
• Approved
• Rejected
• Mark as Spam

11.2. Posts List

The Posts List dashboard widget shows the most recently published posts, along with details such as view counters, categories, and authors.

Option: postPage

Sets the single post CMS page to be linked in the post title shown within the widget.

Option: amount

Changes the number of posts displayed within this widget.

Option: excludeCategories

Excludes posts from specified categories. You can pass one or more comma-separated category IDs or slugs.

11.3. Posts Statistics

The Posts Statistics dashboard widget presents summarized information as graphs about your blog posts, enabling quick insights into the number of published posts within a specific date range, as well as metrics for views, unique views, likes, and dislikes.

Supported Date Ranges

• Last 7 days
• Last 14 days
• Last month
• Last 3 months
• Last 6 months

Option: defaultDateRange

Changes the default date range used to generate the statistics graphs. (Default: Last 7 days).

RatMD.BlogHub - Update Notices

Upgrade to Version 1.3.0

• You may need to clear the cache using php artisan cache:clear when your global meta data is not shown anymore after the upgrade.