Customizing a pre-v7 community

For communities created prior to Connections 7 and/or still using the Overview page as their start page, here are some ways for a community owner to customize their community for visual appeal.

Tip: For community owners creating new communities, Highlights is the default start page. You can change both the content and layout of the Highlights page by using the Customize button on the page.

Use a great icon for a visual connection

Upload a compelling icon image to give users a visual link to the community. If you create a custom icon, here are a few tips:
  • Use any drawing app that lets you save your image as a bmp, jpg, or png file.
  • The default icon size is a circle with a diameter of 110 pixels.
    Note: If you are comfortable working with style sheets, you can change from a round icon to a square icon following the steps in the topic Defining a community theme.
  • If you use text, make sure it stands out from the background to make it easy to read.
  • Centered text displays best in the circle icon.

Customize the community layout

Reorganize your apps. Change the number of columns on the Overview page and then move your apps into different columns.

  1. From the community Overview page, select Community Actions > Change Layout
  2. Select a new layout, for example 3 Columns with side menu.
  3. Change the positioning of apps on the Overview page. Select an app and drag it to any location marked Drag app(s) here.

Customize the apps on the Overview page

Customize the placement and visibility of your apps to make them stand out.

From the community Overview page, click the Actions icon Actions icon in the title bar of the app that you want to work with. There are lots of ways to modify an app, the most important are these:

  • To work with app settings, select Edit. Some apps cannot be edited, in which case you don't see the Edit option.
  • To change the app title, select Change Title. The title of some apps cannot be changed.
  • To temporarily remove the app from the community, select Hide. The app is removed from the overview page but persists in the navigation bar. You can restore the app by selecting Community Actions > Add Apps and choosing the app from the Hidden section of the palette.
  • To permanently remove an app, select Remove. Complete the form that displays and then click Delete.

Change the community start page

Bring critical content into the foreground, change the community's start page to be redirected a particular app. For example, if gathering ideas is important, make the ideation blog the start page:
  1. From the community Overview page, select Community Actions > Edit Community.
  2. Click the arrow next to Start Page: and select a new start page.