17 replies to this topic

[Chris Jean]

There is a beta plugin available which adds the necessary integration code. However, it does not add any additional styling which could make specific BuddyPress pages look nicer.

I do not have a date set yet for being able to merge this code into Builder as more tweaks need to be made and all the child themes need to have BuddyPress specific styling added.

[Kris Cone]

I would be really interested in a complete, working buddypress implementation with Builder.......what is the timing? I think you guys should do it because the buddypress themes out there lack functionality and Builder could really be a good platform for this buddypress functionality.

[Chris Jean]

@Kris

The problem with making a complete implementation is that, quite frankly, it isn't possible with right now with the way BuddyPress is designed. I can make a theme that is 100% compatible with BuddyPress and provides all the styling required, but none of the plugins that provide their own templates would work (they wouldn't use Builder to render the page and they would not be styled properly). Even if I added full compatiblity for all the plugins, as soon as a new plugin came out, a plugin changed the way it does things, or BuddyPress changed, I would essentially be back at square one.

This being the case, I've been talking with John James Jacoby about changing the way BuddyPress does things. If we can come up with a solid plan for BuddyPress, a future version should be able to work completely with any theme with only minimal theme modification required (currenlty, you can't even find a list that shows what a theme must do to have full BuddyPress support; it is simply too complex and changes too often). I've sent him a kind of "rough draft" version of BuddyPress that has been modified with some of the changes that would be required, but since we both just got back from the SXSW conference last week, we haven't talked about much since.

So right now things are in limbo. There isn't much sense in making the Builder / BuddyPress integration plugin much better as things can only get so good and are easily broken by any changes to BuddyPress. However, the changes required for BuddyPress to make such a change are quite large and may need to take time to roll out since the BuddyPress plugins would also have to be upgraded.

Hopefully I can get some solid feedback from the BuddyPress devs soon on whether they like the idea or not (when I talked to John, he was quite excited). From there, hopefully a timetable can be set for updating BuddyPress.

[nancyeb01]

I am very interested in this too. I have a client who wants Buddypress forums. I wonder if they would work with Flexx theme? I plan to test.

Thank you,

Nancy

Millbrookcreative.com

[Chris Jean]

@Nancyb

The issue is that BuddyPress is designed to only work with themes that have been specifically designed to be BuddyPress-compatible. To make things even more difficult, the requirements for being BuddyPress-compatible are 1) not listed and 2) subject to change from BuddyPress release to BuddyPress release.

So, none of our themes are BuddyPress compatible. Builder with the additional plugin is as close as we get, but even that has issues and limitations.

This is why I'm working with the BuddyPress developer to see if we can improve the situation to make it clear what a theme has to offer in order to have full BuddyPress support and make that list of requirements as minimal as possible.

[Robin Milam]

I am new to Buddy Press. The only site I have developed via iThemes Builder wants Buddy Press added to it.I am debating whether weshould not attempt to do that. If we added the iThemes BuddyPress plugin, are the limitations/issues to watch forwithin BuddyPress or will we be creating problems within our base Builder site?

Would creating a subdirectory site using the Buddy Press theme is a safer approach?

Any insights and direction are appreciated.

Thanks.

[Chris Jean]

Builder's BuddyPress plugin adds the basic features needed by BuddyPress for it to function; however, it does not style any of the content added by BuddyPress. This styling would have to be created and added manually.

In addition, a big issue with this integration is that all BuddyPress plugins that add new screens provide their own templates. If you want to use these BuddyPress plugins, you will have to manually modify those plugins' template files to match the Builder template file format.

If neither of these are a problem for you, then the integration with Builder should work as you would like; however, if you are unsure on how to do any of this, you would be better off finding an alternate solution.

[Chris Jean]

For those just happening upon this thread, please know that the BuddyPress Template Pack plugin now properly sets up Builder to function as a ready-to-go BuddyPress solution. The styling isn't perfect, but it is good enough that I doubt many people will notice some of the small details.

Note that this means that the Builder BuddyPress beta plugin will no longer be required as the BuddyPress Template Pack takes care of all of the theme modifications.

[Kristi Davis]

Does the BuddyPress Template Pack plugin also properly set up FLEXX to function as a ready-to-go BuddyPress solution?

[Kristi Davis]

What are the alternative social network plugins to buddypress plugin that works well with both Flexx and Builder? Please respond, thank you kindly.

[Chris Jean]

The BuddyPress Template Pack plugin can get the required templates added to Flexx, but the end result ends up breaking the layout of the Flexx themes.

The BuddyPress templates would have to be hand-modified for each Flexx theme to get them to not break the layout. Even then, the styling of any of the BuddyPress templates would have to be tweaked as things start to break outside of content area.

As for an alternative, I really don't know of one to recommend.

[Ronald]

Hi,

watch out for an upcoming plugin release by PluginBuddy this week, perhaps even today!

Ronald

[Walt 4D]

Chris Jean said:
"For those just happening upon this thread, please know that the BuddyPress Template Pack plugin now properly sets up Builder to function as a ready-to-go BuddyPress solution. The styling isn't perfect, but it is good enough that I doubt many people will notice some of the small details.
Note that this means that the Builder BuddyPress beta plugin will no longer be required as the BuddyPress Template Pack takes care of all of the theme modifications."

Is this the current situation? I would like to use Builder with BuddyPress. Which Builder Child Theme would be the best to use with BuddyPress?


Thanks,
Walt

[Ronald]

walt4d, on 25 May 2012 - 02:11 PM, said:

Is this the current situation? I would like to use Builder with BuddyPress. Which Builder Child Theme would be the best to use with BuddyPress?

yes, and check this out: http://ithemes.com/2012/03/14/our-first-builder-child-theme-for-buddypress-yukon/

Ronald