The Scheduler Module

https://www.drupal.org/project/scheduler

Credits & Thanks

Thank you to:

About the Scheduler module

The Drupal Scheduler module allows content editors to schedule nodes to be published (and -- if necessary -- unpublished) at specified dates and times. This functionality allows you to plan and execute your content strategy, which is critical to SEO success.

Let me put it this way: Google loves fresh content. If a website has fresh content, it ranks better. But manually publishing a week’s worth of content requires you to remember to post each time you want a new piece of content.

The Scheduler module allows you to schedule several pieces at once, which fits nicely with your other automated digital marketing tools in addition to helping your SEO.

Install and Enable the Scheduler Module

1. Install the Scheduler module on your server. (See this section for more instructions on installing modules.)
    
2. Go to the Extend page: Click Extend (Coffee: “extend”) or visit https://yourDrupalsite.dev/admin/modules in your browser.

   

3. Select the checkbox next to Scheduler and click the Install button at the bottom of the page.
    
4. You may get the message “Some required modules must be enabled” and “You must enable the Actions module...”. If you do, click the Continue button.

If necessary, give yourself permissions to use the Scheduler module.

1. Click People > Permissions (Coffee: “perm”) or visit https://yourDrupalsite.dev/admin/people/permissions.

   
    

2. Select the appropriate checkboxes for:
    
   • “Administer scheduler”
   • “Schedule content publication”
   • “View scheduled content list”.
      
3. Click the Save permissions button at the bottom of the page.

Configure the Scheduler module

1. Go to the Scheduler module admin page by clicking Configuration > Content authoring > Scheduler (Coffee: “sch”) or visit https://yourDrupalsite.dev/admin/config/content/scheduler in your browser.

   
    

2. Select the checkbox next to "Allow users to enter only a date and provide a default time."
    
3. Set the Default time to 10:15:00. That way, if a time is not specified within the node, it will default to this time. Servers use use military time, so in this case, we have specified 10:15 A.M., which is a good time to publish business content.
    
4. Click the Save configuration button.

Set up the Scheduler module’s Lightweight Cron

If you’re working with a developer, you’ll need to ask them to set up the Scheduler module’s Lightweight cron for you. To get the appropriate information to make the request:

1. Go to the Scheduler module admin page by clicking Configuration > Content authoring > Scheduler (Coffee: “sch”) or visit https://yourDrupalsite.dev/admin/config/content/scheduler in your browser.
    
2. Click on the Lightweight cron tab at the top of the page. You will need to copy the section highlighted in the image below to put into your email to your developer.

   

Here’s a helpful email that you can send to your developer, making sure to copy the instruction portion directly from the Lightweight cron tab within the Drupal interface.

Configure Each Content Type

1. Go to Content Types by clicking Structure > Content Types (Coffee: “content types”) or visit https://yourDrupalsite.dev/admin/structure/types in your browser.

   
    

2. Next to your first Content Type, below the Operations heading, open the drop-down menu next to Manage fields and click Edit.
    
3. Scroll down to the vertical tabs at the bottom and click the Scheduler vertical tab.

   
    

4. Select the following checkboxes within this tab, which will give you additional options:
    
   • "Enable scheduled publishing for this content type"
   • "Enable scheduled unpublishing for this content type"
      
5. Within this tab, expand the following sections: Advanced Options and Node Edit Page.

   
    

6. Make sure the following items are selected:
   • "Change content creation time to match the scheduled publish time"
   • "Display an error message - do not allow dates in the past"
   • "Vertical tab"
   • "Expand only when a scheduled date exists or when a date is required"
   • "Show a confirmation message when scheduled content is saved"
      
7. Click the Save content type button at the bottom of the page.
    
8. Repeat steps 2-8 for the Content Types that need scheduling.

Using the Scheduler module

1. To use the Scheduler module, create a new piece of content.
    
2. Go down to the Scheduling Options vertical tab and enter the Publish on fields for the date and time you would like it to when you create a new piece of content.

   
    

3. Uncheck the Published check-box that is right above the Save button.
    
4. Click the Save button.

The content will be published on the next Cron run after the date and time you specify. The newly saved content will look something like this:

• The green notification at the top tells you when it will be published.
• The pink highlight on the content indicates unpublished content.

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