How to Customize the Discussion Board Plus User Interface

Discussion Board Plus is a useful tool for enhancing collaboration and sharing information in SharePoint without bombarding your team with email. We recognize, however, that the default HTML output of Discussion Board Plus may not meet the needs of all companies. It’s for this reason that we provide the ability to modify the layout and information displayed to meet your business needs. By modifying the CSS file, you can make a variety of changes, including, but not limited to: text color; change location between text and symbol; and embed an image/icon. In this article, I will demonstrate how you can control styling and HTML output in Discussion Board Plus modifying the CSS and XSL files.

The default layout in Discussion Board Plus for SharePoint 2010 is as follows:

 

With the process I will share, you can customize anything as shown below:


Let’s take a look at how it works.

First, go to the Discussion Board Plus list and press F12.

In the Menu bar, choose the Select element click item menu. This means the HTML page will automatically focus on the element when you click on any location in the Discussion Board Plus list.


 

Here, I am clicking on the Sticky symbol. You will see the HTML page is highlighting the Sticky element. Remember to copy the class name for later use. The class name can be found near the CSS file name on the Style pane.


For example: class = “stickyPlus” with bamboo.forum.css

Next, you need to go to C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedWeb Server Extensions14TEMPLATELAYOUTSXSL, where you will find some XSL files related to the Views in Discussion Board Plus list, including: bamboo.flat.xsl; bamboo. append.xsl; bamboo. forum.xsl; bamboo.thread.xsl, and bamboo.vwstyles.xsl.

From there, open the bamboo.vwstyles.xsl file and find the class name = “stickyPlus”

We have 2 locations for class name = “stickyPlus”; you can change the location between text and symbol for them as shown below.

Before changing:


After changing:


Don’t forget to run the iisreset command line in Command Prompt program:


Go to your site and click refresh page, and you will see your changes.

Also, you can change text color or symbols going to the path
C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedWeb Server Extensions14TEMPLATELAYOUTSSTYLESBamboo.DiscussionBoardPlus. You will see some CSS files related to the Views in Discussion Board Plus including: bamboo.flat.css; bamboo. append.css; bamboo. forum.css; bamboo.thread.css, and bamboo.vwstyles.css files.

 

For class name = “stickyPlus”, we have the related bamboo.forum.css file (as mentioned above).

 

When opening the bamboo.forum.css file, you must find the class name that you want to change such as height, width, background, display, or padding-right:

If you want to change the Symbol, please go to C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedWeb Server Extensions14TEMPLATEIMAGES, you can choose an image and then copy the path into CSS file.


 

After the change:


Finally, please remember to run the iisreset command line in Command Prompt:


Now, go to your site to see your changes:


 

Good luck!

 


SharePoint Online

The cloud parts are functional components that extend your SharePoint Online environment in Microsoft 365.

Supports Classic and Modern sites for SharePoint Online/Microsoft 365

Small Business Pricing and Discounts

SharePoint

Top SharePoint Online Products

Experience greater power and savings by bundling our SharePoint apps and cloud parts.


Calendar Plus


Chart Plus


Knowledge Base


Project Management Central


Simple List Search

 

On-Premises Only

These web parts extend SharePoint beyond its out-of-the-box capabilities by tailoring it to your requirements with Bamboo Solution’s growing portfolio of SharePoint Web Parts.

SharePoint 2016, 2019, 2022 - Classic Pages Only

SharePoint

Top On-Premises Only Products

Experience greater power and savings by bundling our SharePoint apps and web parts.


Calendar Plus


Data Viewer


Password Change


Password Expiration


Password Reset

 

ur team of Microsoft 365 Technology Consultants helps you get the most out of your Microsoft technology, we have the best Microsoft 365 talent to streamline your organization.

Consulting to Streamline Your Department

M365 Plus

Managed Services

Microsoft 365

Consulting to Streamline Your Department


Human Resources


Information Technology


Marketing Campaigns


Healthcare


Sales

 

Our Consultants Have What You Need

Federal Contractors