Timeline

The Timeline app is arguably the most central component for user engagement in many UNA communities. It serves a dual purpose:

1. It provides the framework for displaying various Feeds – aggregated streams of activity and content from across the site.
2. It includes its own content type, called Updates, allowing users to post directly to their timelines, similar to microblogging platforms.

Understanding how the Timeline app functions, the different types of feeds it can generate, and how to configure its settings in Studio is crucial for Operators aiming to create a dynamic and engaging user experience. This guide covers these aspects comprehensively.

Core Concepts: Timeline Items and Aggregation

The fundamental principle of the Timeline app is aggregation. It collects various "events" or "items" from different parts of your UNA site and displays them in a consolidated stream. These items can include:

• Native Timeline Updates: Posts created directly using the Timeline app's "Post to Feed" form.
• Content from other Modules: New posts, videos, photos (from Albums), discussions, articles, market listings, group creations, event creations, profile changes (like cover updates), etc., generated by other installed apps.
• System Events: Potentially actions like new friendships or follows (depending on configuration).

Operators control which of these external events are pulled into the Timeline feeds via the app's settings.

Timeline vs. Outline Views

The Timeline app typically offers two main ways to display aggregated items, primarily controlled by the specific block chosen in the Page Builder:

• Timeline View: This is the classic, chronological representation. Items are displayed one after another, ordered by time (usually newest first), much like a standard social media feed. This view emphasizes the sequence of events.
• Outline View: This representation often displays items as combined blocks or cards, potentially grouped differently. It gives a general overview of recent activity but may not strictly adhere to a chronological flow between all items shown simultaneously.

The choice between these views affects how users perceive the flow of information and depends on the design goals for the specific page where the feed is displayed.

Understanding the Different UNA Feeds

UNA generates several distinct types of feeds, each serving a different purpose and pulling content based on specific criteria. Operators place blocks corresponding to these feeds onto various pages using the Page Builder (Studio > Pages).

Note: The exact block names in Page Builder might vary slightly based on UNA version and theme.

Timeline "Updates": Native Content Posting

Separate from aggregating content from other modules, the Timeline app allows users to create posts directly into their feed.

• "Post to Feed" Block: This form block (placed on pages like the Dashboard or Profile via Page Builder) allows users to create "Updates."
• Content: Updates typically include text (with emoji/markdown support), attached links (which generate previews if an embeds provider is configured), and uploaded photos/videos.
• Visibility: Users can usually set the visibility/privacy for their Updates (e.g., Public, Friends Only, Me Only).
• Context: Updates can be posted to the user's own profile timeline or, depending on configuration and permissions, directly into contexts they are members of (like Groups).
• Delayed Posting: A "Publish at" field allows scheduling Updates for future publication (often restricted to Admins/Mods by default).

Configuring the Timeline App (Studio > Timeline > Settings)

This is the central location for Operators to fine-tune how the Timeline app behaves, how feeds are generated, and how content is displayed.

General Settings

• Allow user to edit his items: (Checkbox) Permits users to edit their own Timeline Updates after posting.
• Auto approve an update after creation: (Checkbox) If checked, new Timeline Updates are immediately visible. If unchecked, they may require moderator approval based on permission settings.
• Allow Timeline owner to remove items: (Checkbox) Allows the owner of a profile timeline (the user themselves) to hide or remove items posted by others on their timeline.
• Event uses content's own actions (views, likes, etc): (Checkbox) Determines if actions like views/likes on an aggregated item (e.g., a video shown in the timeline) count towards the original video's stats or if the timeline event tracks them separately. Usually checked for consistency.
• Repost uses its own actions (views, likes, etc): (Checkbox) Similar to the above, but specifically for reposted items. Determines if interactions count towards the repost or the original item.
• Inactivate items upon hiding instead of deletion: (Checkbox) When content is "removed" from a feed by a user/moderator, this setting changes the action from permanent deletion to simply marking it as inactive (hidden). This is often safer.
• Count views for all items in the Feed: (Checkbox) Enables the system to track and display view counts for items appearing in the main subscription Feed.
• Show events: (Checkboxes) Crucial Setting: This multi-select list determines which types of events from other modules will be aggregated and displayed in Timeline feeds. Check the boxes for content types you want to appear (e.g., Albums (add), Articles (add), Channels (New hashtags), Comments (add), Discussions (add), Events (add), Groups (add), Posts (add), Videos (add), Timeline (repost), etc.). Uncheck items you don't want cluttering the feeds.
• Searchable fields for keyword search: (Checkboxes) Select which parts of a Timeline Update (Title, Description/Text) should be indexed for keyword search.

Browse Settings

Controls pagination, sorting, infinite scroll, and external content injection.

• Number of items in context (profile) timeline: (Number) Sets the number of items displayed per page load on individual Profile timelines.
• Number of items in context (profile) + subscriptions timeline: (Number) Sets items per page on the main user Feed (Dashboard), which combines profile and followed content.
• Sort by the date of last comment: (Checkbox, Experimental) Changes the primary feed sorting from content creation date to the date of the last comment on the item. Marked as experimental, use with caution as it changes feed logic significantly.
• Sort by 'unread' state: (Checkbox, Experimental) Prioritizes showing unread items first. Also experimental.
• Number of items in public timeline: (Number) Sets items per page on the main Public Feed (homepage).
• Number of items per page: (Number) A general default for items per page if not specified elsewhere (often redundant if the above are set).
• Show all items in Public Feed including ones which were posted in personal Feeds: (Checkbox) If checked, all public posts, even those made directly to personal profiles, will appear in the main Public Feed. If unchecked, the Public Feed might prioritize content explicitly posted as public or in public contexts.
• The length of RSS feed: (Number) Number of items included in RSS feeds generated by the Timeline.
• Enable Infinite Scroll: (Checkbox) Replaces traditional pagination with "load more" functionality as the user scrolls down the feed.
• The length of Live Updates sample: (Number) Controls how many new items are shown in the "X new updates" notification that appears at the top of the feed when new content arrives. 0 might disable this specific live indicator feature.
• Infinite Scroll: Number of items per preload: (Number) When infinite scroll is enabled, how many items are loaded each time the user triggers the "load more" action.
• Infinite Scroll: Number of auto preloads: (Number) How many times the infinite scroll will automatically load the next batch of items without user interaction as they approach the bottom.
• Show external event as every N-th... Settings: (Numbers, 0 to disable) These settings allow injecting "external" items (potentially ads or system announcements, often requires custom development or specific ad modules) into various feeds at regular intervals (e.g., show an ad every 10th item in the Public Feed). Configure these for each relevant feed type and scroll mode.
• Show 'Jump to' switcher: (Checkbox) Enables a dropdown or switcher element on feeds that allows users to quickly jump between different feed types (like Public, Subscriptions, Hot).
• Filters: By contexts: (Checkboxes) Select which types of contexts (Channels, Events, Groups, Organizations, Projects) should be available as filters within the feed interface (often used with Dynamic Browsing blocks), allowing users to narrow down the feed to content from specific context types.

Card Settings

Control the appearance of individual items (cards) within the feed.

• Enable brief cards: (Checkbox) Switches to a more compact display style for items in the feed, showing less information initially.
• Number of characters in auto-generated update's title: (Number) Max length for automatically generated titles for items lacking an explicit title.
• Number of characters in auto-generated update's short title: (Number) Max length for a shorter version of the title, potentially used in specific views or notifications.
• Videos preload: (Dropdown: None, Metadata, Auto) Controls how videos embedded in the feed are preloaded. Auto might start buffering immediately, Metadata loads basic info, None waits for user interaction. Affects initial page load and bandwidth.
• Videos autoplay (for Timeline view only): (Dropdown: Disabled, Enabled without sound, Enabled with sound) Controls if videos automatically start playing when they scroll into view in the Timeline display mode.
• Number of preloaded comments: (Number, 0-7) How many of the most recent comments should be loaded and displayed directly under an item in the feed. 0 disables comment preloading.
• Show attachments as: (Dropdown, e.g., Showcase, List) Selects the visual style for displaying multiple attached photos/videos (e.g., a grid/showcase or a simple list).

Cache Settings

Configure caching specifically for Timeline data to improve performance.

• Enable table cache (experimental): (Checkbox) Enables caching for the main database tables used by Timeline. Marked experimental, test carefully.
• Interval of time (in days) to get events for cache table: (Number) Defines the lookback period (in days) for events included in the table cache. Affects cache size and relevance.
• Enable item cache: (Checkbox) Enables caching for individually rendered feed items. Can significantly speed up feed loading.
• Item cache engine: (Dropdown: File, Memcached, Redis, etc.) Select the storage engine for the item cache. Requires appropriate server setup for non-File options.
• Item cache lifetime: (Number, seconds) How long cached items remain valid before being regenerated. 604800 seconds = 7 days.

Post Settings

Configure options related to creating Timeline Updates.

• Treat images inserted in the editor as attachments: (Checkbox) If enabled, images pasted or inserted directly into the text editor of an Update are treated as attached files rather than just inline images. Affects storage and display.
• Limit number of attached links: (Number) Redundant setting, likely overridden by the Global Setting (Studio > Settings > Global > General). 0 means no limit.
• Enable priority of media content over links in attachments: (Checkbox) If a user posts both a link and uploads media, this setting prioritizes displaying the uploaded media preview over the link preview.
• Enable post form editor toolbar: (Checkbox) Show or hide the rich text formatting toolbar on the "Post to Feed" form.

'Hot' Feed Settings

Configure the algorithm determining which content appears in the Hot Feed.

• Adjustment coefficient related to content age: (Number, 0 - no adjustment) A factor used to potentially down-weight older content in the Hot calculation, even if highly engaged.
• Use the following actions for content to appear in Hot feed: (Checkboxes: Add content, Add comment, Add vote) Select which user actions contribute to an item's "hotness" score.
• Maximum age of post that gets included in Hot feed: (Number, days, 0 - no limit) Sets the maximum age (in days) for content to be considered eligible for the Hot Feed.
• Minimum number of comments for content to appear in Hot feed: (Number) Require a minimum number of comments for an item to qualify for the Hot Feed.
• Minimum number of votes for content to appear in Hot feed: (Number) Require a minimum number of votes/reactions for an item to qualify.
• Enable Hot feed aggregation: (Checkbox) Master switch to enable the background process (cron job) that calculates and populates the Hot Feed. Must be enabled for the Hot Feed blocks to work.
• Interval of time (in hours) to get Hot events: (Number, 0 - no limit) How often the system should recalculate the Hot Feed content. Shorter intervals are more real-time but use more server resources.

'For You' Feed Settings

Configure the sources and weighting for the personalized 'For You' feed.

• 'For You' feed consists of: (Checkboxes) Select the sources that contribute content to the 'For You' feed:
  • Public: Includes popular or trending public content.
  • Feed: Includes content from the user's standard subscription feed.
  • Channels: Includes content from channels the user follows.
  • Hot feed: Includes content currently appearing in the Hot feed.
  • Suggested friends feeds: Includes content from suggested friends.
  • Who to follow feeds: Includes content from profiles suggested in "Who to Follow".
• Weight for posts from "Friend Suggestions": (Number) A weighting factor determining how strongly content from suggested friends influences the 'For You' feed ranking.
• Weight for posts from "Who to Follow": (Number) A weighting factor for content from profiles suggested in the "Who to Follow" block.

Remember to Save settings after making changes in any section.

Placing Feeds on Pages (Studio > Pages)

Operators use the Page Builder to add Timeline functionality to the frontend:

1. Go to Studio > Pages.
2. Select the page you want to edit (e.g., Homepage, Dashboard, Profile Page, or a Custom Page).
3. Click Add Blocks.
4. Find the Timeline section in the "Add New Block" popup.
5. Select the desired feed block(s) based on their names (e.g., Public Feed (Timeline), Feed (Timeline), Hot Feed (Outline), Post to Feed).
6. Drag the selected block(s) onto the page layout grid.
7. Configure block-specific settings (visibility, title, etc.) by editing the block once placed.

Moderation and Advanced Actions

Users with appropriate permissions (typically Admins/Mods defined in Studio > Permissions) can perform actions on timeline items directly on the frontend:

• Pin: Stick an item to the top of a specific feed (e.g., Pin to own profile timeline, Pin to Public Feed for admins).
• Promote: Highlight an item visually.
• Hide/Delete: Remove an item from feeds (behavior depends on the "Inactivate instead of deletion" setting).

Best Practices

• Configure Aggregation Carefully: Decide thoughtfully which events (Show events setting) should appear in feeds to avoid overwhelming users.
• Optimize Performance: Utilize caching options (Item Cache is often very effective). Adjust infinite scroll settings and Hot Feed intervals based on server capacity and desired real-time feel.
• Choose Feed Blocks Wisely: Select the correct feed block in Page Builder for the intended purpose (Public vs. Subscription vs. Hot, etc.).
• Guide Users: Explain the different feeds available, especially if using 'Hot' or 'For You' feeds prominently.
• Monitor Hot Feed: Ensure the Hot Feed parameters generate relevant and timely popular content. Adjust thresholds as needed.

Conclusion

The Timeline app is a dynamic and highly configurable core component of UNA CMS. By aggregating content from various modules and providing different feed types (Public, Subscription, Profile, Hot, 'For You'), it creates the central activity streams users interact with. Operators use Studio to meticulously configure event aggregation, feed display, performance settings, posting options, and algorithmic parameters, and then utilize the Page Builder to strategically place the desired feed blocks onto the frontend, shaping the core user experience of the community.