Active Social 1.8 includes many new enhancements to the Journal.  The Journal is probably the most complicated, but extremely powerful,  feature of Active Social.  This is one reason why we have tried to keep the configuration options as simple as possible.  Before implementing any new feature we spend a lot of time trying to find a good balance between simple and advanced configuration options.  We have had the actual journal security implementation completed for a couple of weeks, but I think we have finally found a good balance for the journal security options. 

Just so everyone understands, I'm not talking about access to the journal list or journal tools.  Journal Entry Security applies to the single journal record in the list of items.  The default security for journal entries has always been inherited from the containing view.  Meaning, if the journal is in the context of a profile then it will apply the profile access level defined for the profile.  The same applies for groups.  This has worked very well and will continue to be the default behavior.  However, this is a fairly rigid security model and doesn't work well for communities that may not rely completely on groups or friends.  The other problem is that it isn't as flexible as some may need once they start using the Journal API.  Active Forums integration is a perfect example.  Active Forums will only update the Journal when the post belongs to a group.  With the updated security model for the journal, any forum will be able to submit journal entries along with proper security context to the journal.  We will release an update for Active Forums shortly after 1.8 to include this new support. 

I know some people get a little nervous about upgrades and feature changes.  Before I go further into the new options, please keep in mind that the current behavior will remain the same and continue to be the default.  Upgrading to Active Social 1.8 will not require any extra steps for those that want to continue using the default behavior. 

Changing the journal security options is very similar to managing the member profile visibility options. 

The screen above is what you will see for the default configuration.  This means that each journal entry will inherit the security from their existing container.  Now, lets say we want to allow members to have a few options when they create journal entries. 

The screen above shows that I have selected Everyone, Community Members, Friends Only and Private as options that will be available to members when they create journal entries.  When the member goes to the journal to upload a file they will now see these options available. 

The next step was being able to provide options that work with your current portal security roles.  If want members to be able to secure entries by particular roles you can click the Show Roles button and choose which roles are available to members.


There are a few things that I need to point out that will also be added to the documentation.  Security is store based upon each entry.  The default journal entry options are simply defaults and values that are used at the time the entry is created.  If you go back and change your default journal entry options it doesn't change old entries.  This is the same for those upgrading.  When you upgrade, old journal entries are updated to reflect the inherited security model.  The Journal API allows for any security context.  This means it can also pass in security settings that are not defined in the available options.  The same will apply to Active Forums integration, not specific to groups. 

My next blog post will be about the Journal API along with sample code.