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12 cool modules for Drupal site builders | January 2016

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The holidays are over for a while now, so it's about time for a new blog. In this article I'll discuss 12 modules that can help you get started with a great Drupal site:

1. Max image size

A default Drupal installation can check if an uploaded image is too large and display a warning. This module does something similar but is also checking previously uploaded images that are too large and likely taking up too much space.
It scans all the images (also already uploaded ones) and reduces the size of the original

More info and download - Drupal 7

2. User Import

Useful module to import users using a CSV file.

More info and download - Drupal 7

3. Select (or other)

Drupal’s form API knows by default a select element that allows you to offer choices to those who enter content. This element is limited to the provision of predefined terms (categories). After installing this module, this element can be expanded with an additional field: let the end user choose ‘other' and offer a free selection field.

More info and download - Drupal 7 & Drupal 8 Alpha

4. Captcha-free Form Protection

Everybody wants to be protected against spammers, this is often done through the Captcha technology; probably you have heard of this before. This module protects you against spammers without Captcha, since this is often a barrier for visitors.

The module applies other techniques (‘behind the scenes’) such as checks if cookies / javascript are disabled, it can also check whether a certain time has exceeded. On the basis of these data it can determine whether the person who sent a form is most likely a spammer or not. The Honeypot module contains similar end features.

More info and download - Drupal 7 and Drupal 8

5. Twitter block

Simple but common used module: shows a Twitter stream from a particular account.

More info and download - Drupal 7 and Drupal 8

6. Leaflet

Leaflet is a javascript library that is quickly becoming popular and that let’s you create maps. It is an alternative to Google maps, allowing you to easily create customized maps and integrate external map services (for example Mapbox, Stamen or Thunderforest). Easy to configure, mobile-friendly to navigate and light in code.

For a detailed introduction see Drupalize.me.

More info and download - Drupal 7 & Drupal 8 dev

7. Better watchdog UI

The Drupal core has a logging module which gives great insights in errors, notices, content and user actions, etc. Install this module if you want to filter better in this log.
FYI: Till Drupal 5 Drupal’s logging module was called ‘watchdog’, this term is still used for logging elements.

More info and download - Drupal 7

8. Check for acknowledgement

In some cases you want to know whether users of your system have read a particular piece of content. This is now possible after installing this module: it places a check mark at the bottom of a content page. Users placing the check mark are logged which is visible to you as a site administrator. This allows you to see who really confirmed they read the article.

More info and download - Drupal 7

9. IP address manager

Log the IP addresses of users logging into your Drupal site. This can be used for many things:

  • Detecting suspicious logins;
  • Identifying misconduct;
  • Detecting duplicate accounts.

More info and download - Drupal 7

10. Taxonomy container

Make the choice easier for content managers by clustering terms better.

More info and download - Drupal 7 & Drupal 8 beta

11. Date Facets

A widget for when you are using the Facet API: generates an additional block in which date-based filtering options are offered.

More info and download - Drupal 7

12. Read only mode

When putting your system in the maintenance mode in a default Drupal installation, the entire system will be temporarily put offline; the visitors will receive a maintenance message. Usually you would prefer that nobody is logged in on your site, as content can be changed during the update process. Those changes could be lost.

If you can ensure that nobody can enter/change content during maintenance, then you are also adequately covered - provided that your update is not generating errors. This module is doing just that: it places your site in the maintenance mode, so visitors can still view the site but cannot enter/change content.

More info and download - Drupal 7 & Drupal 8 beta

Wrap up

And finally, I discovered this cool site: modulecharts.org . Next month again a module update, so stay tuned! Questions or feedback? Let me know in the comments below.

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About Drupal Sun

Drupal Sun is an Evolving Web project. It allows you to:

  • Do full-text search on all the articles in Drupal Planet (thanks to Apache Solr)
  • Facet based on tags, author, or feed
  • Flip through articles quickly (with j/k or arrow keys) to find what you're interested in
  • View the entire article text inline, or in the context of the site where it was created

See the blog post at Evolving Web

Evolving Web