{"active_installs":7000,"added":{"timestamp":1325548800,"timezone":"UTC"},"author":"xnau webdesign","author_profile":{"url":"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xnau/","alt":"xnau webdesign"},"banners":[{"type":"high","url":"https://ps.w.org/participants-database/assets/banner-1544x500.jpg?rev=1494923"},{"type":"low","url":"https://ps.w.org/participants-database/assets/banner-772x250.jpg?rev=1388873"}],"changelog":"

2.7.8.1

fields are now correctly organized by group on the Manage List Columns page
several optimizations of the “previous/next” submit buttons in the admin record edit page
in the frontend list display, prevented search terms in the URL from overriding the shortcode filter

2.7.7

fixed XSS vulnerability in the recover link form code
updated German Formal translation files
XSS vulnerability fix in upload_csv.php

2.7.6.3

fixed admin list filter count control

2.7.6.2

fixed broken admin list search for non-English sites
minor bug fixes

2.7.6.1

fixed issue with some defined fields not appearing on the Manage Database Fields page

2.7.6

added “dark mode” setting
fixed admin list search “clear” button

2.7.5.1

fixed encoding issue with CSV imports

2.7.5

improvements to the admin list filter field selectors
add-ons can now designate fields as undeletable
fixed initialization bug with the list pagination control

2.7.4

fixed admin record save bug

2.7.3

compatibility fixes for WP 6.8
added a setting to optionally prevent the plugin writing a session cookie
signup form CAPTCHA is now checked before uploading any files

2.7.2

fixed initialization error with some add-on plugins

2.7.1

fixed issue with skipped validation in form submissions
fixed php TypeError error on new install

2.7

improved UI for CSV imports
background CSV import now has a realtime import status display
added option checkbox for allowing blank values to overwrite record values with CSV import
improved handling of incorrectly encoded CSV files
date fields now support showing time of day
updated Spanish translation
fixed issue with some elements in the plugin display not translated
several bug fixes

2.6.2

last update user now shows correct user in email templates
ampersands in string combine fields are no longer encoded
several minor warnings fixed

2.6.1

fixed list filtering issues with internal timestamp fields
improved error prevention on CSV imports
admin section next/previous navigator now follows current admin list filter

2.6

new “return to results” shortcode
added a demo preview
double quotes enabled in shortcode list filters
next/previous buttons in admin record edit follow last admin list display filter
loading translations too early issue fixed
bug fixes

2.5.10

added preference to disallow HTML in text fields
admin list column preferences now on a per-user basis
added German Formal translation
minor bug fixes

2.5.9.5

fixed classname reference error causing error when saving dynamic fields

2.5.9.4

fixed issue with link type field not validating
fixed issue in PDb_Template where the value method didn’t return the correct value in some cases

2.5.9.3

further hardening against code injection vulnerability
fixed issue with false reporting of HTTP loopback failure

2.5.9.2

fixed issue with list header sorting not working on AJAX search results
fixed code injection vulnerability in form submissions
list search “clear” now clears the last submitted search value

2.5.9.1

fixed issue win incorrect messaging on file upload failure
minor bug fixes
batter tracking of possible issues with background imports

2.5.9

fixed issue with media library images sometimes not displaying
better handling of “0” default values in field definitions
fixed localization issue when using a translation filter with some settings

2.5.8.1

fixed bug with using exclusive options on dropdown element
prevented failed session start

2.5.8

new “exclusive” option disables options that have been selected in other records
improved handling of php sessions
selector options can now be disabled using a code filter

2.5.7

new setting to suppress uploads directory warning if not needed
fixed occasional save bug in admin edit_participant
fixed record link in images in the admin list
“target” attribute now allowed on dynamic fields that are links
date_recorded value now available to dynamic fields in signup submissions
dynamic fields no longer ignore “null” values from the database
added the ability for custom code to update dynamic fields on a cron
field name editing disabled since it is impossible anyway

2.5.6

new settings for the list search UI strings
scroll to thanks message after successful signup
fixed pagination issue with multiple list shortcodes on the same page
fixed issue with sticky uploads directory error notice
search results by URL now includes instance index and page number targeting
updated the Finnish translation
fixed the “accessed with private link” actions
fixed access vulnerability in admin manage fields page

2.5.5

fixed issue with CSV import fatal error
error on uninstall fixed
compatibility with php 8.2

2.5.4

several bug fixes
fixed issue with importing date_update values
now possible to run shortcodes (using a shortcode field) in a list display

2.5.3

fixed issue with signup shortcode value assignments
internal timestamp values can now be imported with CSV
fixed issue with media embeds on the record edit page

2.5.2

improved efficiency of the main cache
fixed bug in click-to-sort headers in the list display
background process won’t get stuck in a loop if there is an error in the task

2.5.1

fixed the “complete_only” directive on string combine fields
filtering by record timestamp values improved, a simple date match works now
fixed undefined index warning message
admin list can now filter on empty/non-empty link fields
duplicate record checks on link fields now possible
fixed db issue with timestamp sorting on some systems

2.5

new find duplicates operator on the admin List Participants page
click-to-sort headers for the list shortcode
fixed security issue with the admin “with selected” operation
frontend list can now be sorted with URL variables
added new external REST API
sort now places blank values at the end of the list
fixed javascript issue with non-latin fieldnames
fixed major bug related to changing the title of internal fields
fixed frontend CSV export issue with timestamp in shortcode filter

2.4.9

fixed fatal error when updater plugin is deactivated

2.4.8

php 8.1 compatibility
enhanced format tag functionality
improved use of WP Cache API

2.4.7

field order maintained when moving field to another group
fixed issue with field groups not deletable on non-English sites
issue with high ascii (accented and other non-English) characters in search terms
new setting to allow javascript event attributes in fields

2.4.6

fixed CSRF vulnerability on the Manage List Columns page
fixed issue with accented characters in group names breaking field group tabs
several minor bug fixes

2.4.5

fixed fatal error with record updates on the backend

2.4.4

avoid validating fields that are not part of the submission
fixed issue with the use of custom roles for plugin admins
fixed PDb_Template class error on empty record
fixed error on plugin delete

2.4.3

signup forms that don’t validate remember previously submitted values
improved UI on otherselect fields
some HTML tags allowed in field attributes

2.4.2

otherselect inputs no longer getting focus on page load
media embed and shortcode fields now working
HTML5 date fields now included in date calc field calculations
newly-uploaded image now seen after upload

2.4.1

fixed issue with list search error HTML showing
fixed javascript email protection

2.4

fixed issue with captcha field escaping validation
fixed issues with search using unicode characters
fixed display issues with image uploads
hardening against XSS

2.3.4

fixed filter that was removing unicode characters

2.3.3

fixed issue with captcha field not validated in some cases
list search terms now have extra spaces trimmed
php 8.1 compatibility

2.3.2

bug fix: fatal error on activation

2.3.1

security updates: escaping outputs
removed unused PDb_Update class

2.3

fixed visible HTML tags in some displayed admin text
removed included plugin updater library

2.2

added compatibility with the xnau Plugin Updater plugin
fixed issue with admin custom CSS not loaded
custom print CSS implemented
security updates: escaping outputs
removed wp-load.php include

2.1.11

added new “strip_tags” attribute for string combine fields
admin last used tab remembered
fixed issue with link field validation
fixed issue with blank “allowed” attribute in upload field
improved form validation error highlighting

2.1.10

several db call optimizations
fixed bug affecting certain date calculation field setups

2.1.9

improved user feedback on uploads directory issues
ampersands and other special characters now allowed in admin list search

2.1.8

Custom Template Folder plugin no longer needed: this is now incorporated into the main plugin
fixed issue with importing multiselect values
fixed invalid HTML on list pagination control
“with selected” field delete now shows correct field name in the confirmation dialog

2.1.7

fixed issue with math captcha not validating
fixed admin list searches that include an undescore character

2.1.6

an empty value in a date field will overwrite an existing value
prevent fatal error with out of sync message queue
webp files now allowed in the native plugin
min php version updated to 7.4

2.1.5

fixed issue with password field preventing record update
fixed issue with empty file uploads triggering size error

2.1.4

password field regex validation fixed
image and file upload delete options improved
selected file name is now shown when uploading an image or file to a field that already has an uploaded file

2.1.3

date field can now be used for the duplicate record check
class attribute now used in the single record templates

2.1.2

added cache buster option for signup submissions
list shortcode don’t show pagination option

2.1.1

fixed fatal error in dynamic_db_field class

2.1

now export selected records on admin List Participants page
new setting: CSV imports in the background (by default) or immediately
calculated fields supported in Participant Log add-on

2.0.10

added an unsaved changes warning to the add/edit participant page
fixed issue with payment log field losing its configuration on update
fixed issue with string combine templates getting an “unformatted” tag
several minor bug and compatibility issues fixed

2.0.9

better logging of CSV imports
fixed several minor bugs and messaging errors

2.0.8

added new “currency” format tag
fixed issues with record timestamp using the wrong timezone
better handling of errors when updating the database structure
private ids on CSV import now handled correctly

2.0.7

fixed fatal error with php 8.1 when defining field with options
heading field now has auto paragraphs applied

2.0.6

now possible to use another calculated field in a calculation template
fixed issue with spaces in list search term
fixed record id matching mode in signup form

2.0.5

improved localization of numeric values
avoid divide by zero error
dropdown/other respects default setting if no value set

2.0.4

new calculated field values are shown in the edited record
Duplicate field titles now work in the mass edit field selector

2.0.3

fixed setup issue with the PDb_Template class, affecting Field Group Tabs

2.0.2

fixed display issues with some multibyte characters
php 8 compatibility

2.0.1

fixed issue with image uploads in the signup form
timestamps may now be set to use local timezone instead of UTC
new setting to allow editor users to access administrative fields
several minor bug fixes

2.0

New Features:
\n* “Mass Edit” on the admin list participants page
\n* new field types: Numeric Calculation and Date Calculation
\n* CSV imports in the background, avoids timeouts on very large imports
\n* option to delete the associated uploaded files when record deleted
\n* CSV import with “null” value in a field clears the field’s db value
\n* uploaded files deleted on CSV import when upload field value cleared
\n* recently used fields convenience list in the admin list filter selector
\n* new Last Updater ID field records the id of the last user to update a record
\n* hidden field value can be determined by literal string in the shortcode
\n* numeric value displays now localized
\n* new setting to use the private ID to display single records
\n* compatibility with block-based WP themes

Also:
\n* many minor bug fixes and code optimizations

\n","contributors":[{"slug":"xnau","name":"xnau webdesign","count":3,"is_owner":true,"links":{"profile":{"url":"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xnau/","alt":"xnau webdesign's profile"},"plugins":{"url":"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xnau/#content-plugins","alt":"xnau webdesign's plugins"},"activity":{"url":"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xnau/#content-activity","alt":"xnau webdesign's activity"},"translations":{"url":"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xnau/#content-translations","alt":"xnau webdesign's translations"}}}],"description":"

This plugin offers all the functionality needed to build and maintain a database of people or anything you want. The database is fully configurable, allowing you to define all the fields of information you want to store for each record. The records can be entered individually in the WordPress admin section, imported with a CSV file, or let the individuals themselves create their own record. Display lists of records can be sorted and filtered by any field, and the result exported as a CSV file.

This plugin was developed for an organization with the mission of educating and empowering voters. This organization needed to quickly build a database of concerned voters, supporters, and volunteers, giving them an ability to collect input and feedback, organize volunteers, and mobilize its voter constituency with actions such as petition drives and voter education campaigns.

This database could be of use to any organization that needs to build and maintain lists of constituents, supporters, members, volunteers, etc. for any purpose. It is designed to be easy to use and serve multiple purposes, with several very powerful features to customize its functionality to the needs of your organization, club, sports team, or any other large group of people.

The plugin can be easily adapted to work as a database for other applications such as indexes, directories, catalogs, or anything, really. The plugin uses a system of customizable templates for all its displays, and an API for the customization and extension of its capabilities. The plugin is fully internationalized with a growing set of translations.

GDPR Compliance Information for users of Participants Database

Some of the features of the Participants Database Plugin:

fully configurable database for holding any kind of information about people (or anything, really!)
customizable forms for collecting and maintaining records
plugin enhancements and add-ons are available from a growing list of free and premium downloads on xnau.com
shortcode for inserting a configurable sign-up short form into WordPress pages, posts, etc.
completing the sign-up form can direct visitors to another page for a thank you message or reward
shortcode for inserting a full-length form for people to fill out and maintain their own records
shortcode for displaying the list on the site, including the ability to select and order columns to display, sorting and filtering rules to determine which records are shown and in what order
shortcode for showing a search form that takes the user to the search results page
email notification and confirmation with secure individual access link
email notification when a user edits a record
searchable, sortable record listings in the WordPress admin
many form elements to choose from including dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons, image upload, rich text, etc.
export CSV files for interacting with other databases, mass email, print records
import CSV files to add large numbers of records from spreadsheets such as Open Office or Google Docs
forms can be organized into groups of fields, making long forms easier to navigate and fill out
comes with a comprehensive API for deep customization of the plugin functionality

Database

The heart of this plugin is the participants database, which is completely configurable. It comes pre-filled with standard fields such as name, address, phone, etc., but you can define any fields you want, including the type of field, validation, help text and a print title for each field. Fields are also organized into groups so large amounts of information can be better managed, and long forms broken up into logical sections.

Fields can be defined as text-lines, text-areas, rich text (with a rich-text editor), single and multiple-select dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons or image uploads. Each field has its own validation which can be required, not required, or validated with a regular expression.

Sign Up Form

The plugin provides a shortcode for a sign-up form that presents a customizable subset of the fields for a quick signup. For example, your signup form could ask only for a name and email address, creating an easy point-of-entry for new members, supporters or volunteers. The signup can generate two emails: one to an administrator to notify them of the signup, and also to the person signing up. Their email can contain a link to their full record, which they can return and fill out at their leisure. This full form (which is placed on the website with another shortcode) can include any information you want to collect from your signups.

Signup forms are produced by a template, making it easy to add extra functionality and match the presentation of the form to your theme.

Frontend Record Edit Form

This is where people who have signed up can fill in any additional information about themselves you wish to collect. It can be additional demographic info, survey questions, what they would be willing to offer in support. This form is accessible to the signups via an individual link containing an ID number, which is emailed to them when they sign up. They don’t need to register as a user or enter a password, they just need the link.

Backend Record Editing

For your backend users, the ability to edit and enter new records is provided. This backend form can also contain administrative fields that won’t be visible to the front-end (not logged-in) user, so organization staff can keep internal records of volunteer activities, availability, contributions, personal notes, etc.

The backend form is set up for rapid manual entry of multiple records, such as after a signup drive, doorbelling, or public event.

For textarea fields, a rich-text editor will be used if enabled in the settings.

List Display

Display the list on your website with the [pdb_list] shortcode. You can determine which fields get shown, and for long lists, the list can be broken up into pages. You can specify which records get displayed and in what order. Optionally, search and sorting controls can be displayed. Each record listing can be linked to the full record showing all the details of the record.

Record Display

Each individual record can be displayed using a shortcode and accessed by the ID if the record. A template file formats the output of the shortcode. A plugin setting determines how a link to the individual record may be placed on the list of records.

Import/Export Records

All records can be exported as a CSV-formatted text file that can be read by spreadsheet applications and used for mass email campaigns, hard-copy lists, and other applications. The records exported can be filtered by column values: for instance, only people who have consented to receive a newsletter will be included. Records may also be sorted by any column. Which fields are included in the export/import is determined by the “CSV” column of the field definition.

Records can also be mass-imported with a CSV file, allowing you to use existing lists from spreadsheets, or for offline compilation of records using a spreadsheet such as Libre Office or Google Docs. A blank spreadsheet can be exported from the plugin to get people started in entering records offline.

Internationalization and Translations

This plugin is fully compliant with WordPress Internationalization standards and includes several translations, some of which are incomplete at the moment. All of the front-end text is user-customizable, so even if a translation isn’t available for your language, your users will be able to use the plugin in their language.

Translation Credits

\n
Belarusian: Natasha Dyatko UStarCash
\n
\n
Danish: LarsHdg
\n
\n
Dutch: At Voogt www.wederzijdsgenoegen.nl
\n
\n
Estonian: Laura Vunk
\n
\n
Farsi: Mohsen Azarteymoor CodHa
\n
\n
Finnish: Visa Jokela
\n
\n
French: Pierre Fischer
\n
\n
German: Martin Sauter
\n
\n
German Formal: Hanno Bolte Hanno Bolte IT Consulting
\n
\n
Greek: Toni Bishop Jrop
\n
\n
Hebrew: Gila Baam
\n
\n
Indonesian: Jordan Silaen ChameleonJohn.com
\n
\n
Italian: Michele Balderi
\n
\n
Norwegian: Anders Kleppe
\n
\n
Polish: Łukasz Markusik
\n
\n
Brazilian Portuguese: Eric Sornoso Mealfan.com
\n
\n
Romanian: Cornelia Năescu
\n
\n
Russian: Konstantin Bashevoy Полиатлон России
\n
\n
Serbian: Cherry, NBG, www.trade.in.rs
\n
\n
Slovak: Branco Radenovich WebHostingGeeks.com
\n
\n
Spanish: Chema Bescos IBIDEM GROUP
\n
\n
Ukranian: Michael Yunat, getvoip.com
\n

If you are multi-lingual and feel like contributing a translation, please contact me at: support@xnau.com.

Please note that several of these translations are out of date. If your language is in this list and you’d like to help me provide the latest translation, please contact me.

The latest POT file is always available here.

Key Image Credit

By Tukulti65 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Plugin Support

Plugin manual and documentation is published on the developer’s website, xnau.com

Plugin technical support is available on the WordPress Plugin Plugin Support Forum, and on xnau.com in the comments section.

A growing list of plugin add-ons and functionality enhancements are also available on xnau.com.

\n","downloaded":1329020,"faq":"\n

\nHow do I get the form to display? Where does the shortcode go?\n\n

Put the [pdb_signup] shortcode where you want your signup form to go.

\nI can’t find the shortcode. Where is it?\n\n

A shortcode is a WordPress feature that lets you insert plugin content into your posts and pages. It is just a special bit of text that is replaced with the plugin content when the page or post is viewed. Just put this: [pdb_signup] into your page, and when you view the page, the signup form will be displayed.

\nWhat happens when someone signs up?\n\n

Their record is added to the database with the information provided in the signup form. Also, two emails will be sent (if you want) one to the admin to notify them of the signup, and also to the user to tell them they’ve signed up and also give them a private link to their record edit page so they can update or add to their record.

\nWhat do you mean by a users record edit page?\n\n

This form appears on the page where you have placed the [pdb_record] shortcode. It is another form where the record can be edited on the frontend.

An individual record can be edited on the frontend of your website by someone who has the private link to that record. The purpose here is to let people maintain their own records. It’s also possible to put things like survey questions in the form so you can get feedback from people. You have complete control over what fields appear on this form. Fields can be designated as showing up on the signup form, on the frontend user’s form, and on the backend admin form.

\nThe email goes out to the person when they register, but the “edit link” is blank\n\n

This means your “Participant Record Page” is not configured. First, you need a page for the record edit form. On that page, place the [pdb_record] shortcode. Then, look under the “Record Form” tab in the plugin settings, make sure the page where you have the [pdb_record] shortcode is selected in the Participant Record Page setting.

\nHow do I delete all the records but leave everything else in place?\n\n

The best way to do this is to perform a “truncate” on the table. You’ll need to get direct access to the database to do this, usually using phpMyAdmin, which is typically found in your hosting control panel. Open the database and find the main participants database table…usually called “wp_participants_database”. Perform a truncate on that table only. The truncate command is found by selecting the table, then under the “operations” tab in the lower right.

\nWhat if I just want them to sign up and fill out all their info at that point?\n\n

OK, just assign all the fields you want them to fill out to the signup form (this is done in the “manage fields” page). That form can be as big as you want. Then, remove the private link from the email they get when they sign up.

\nHow do I change the text “Participant Info” seen at the top of the single record page?\n\n

This is a group title. Groups are defined on the Manage Database Fields page under the “Field Groups” tab. You will see that each group has a title and a description that you can use to organize and label the ouput of the plugin.

\nHow do I let people upload an image or file?\n\n

Go to the “manage database fields” page and create a new field for your image. Give it a descriptive name like “avatar” or something. Click “add field” and when your new field appears, set the “field type” to “image upload” for images and “file-upload” for other types of file. Be sure to check “signup” if you want it to appear in the signup form. When the form is presented to the user, they will be allowed to upload an image.

There are several settings you should look at before you go live with your uploads fields. Under the “General Settings” tab, you’ll find:
\n* File Upload Location – this tells the plugin where to put the uploaded files
\n* File Upload Limit – this is the size limit in Kilobytes for your file uploads. Be careful not to put this too high, if you have lots of users, it could use a lot of space on your server!
\n* Allowed File Types – this is a comma-separated list of allowed file extensions. You can also define this on a per-field basis.
\n* Allow File Delete – if this is checked, the file will be removed from the server when a user deletes it.

Each file upload field can have its allowed files determined in the “values” field on the Manage Database Fields page. For instance, if you want them to upload only a pdf file, put “pdf” in the values field for that field. The maximum size is determined globally in the settings only.

\nWhen someone signs up, are they now users on my WordPress site?\n\n

No, these signups and records are separate from people who can register on your site as users. If there are things only registered users can do (such as a forum or comments), they will have to register or sign in as usual.

The idea is to use the database as a roster of volunteers, supporters, etc. for the organization, not the website.

If you are interested in having this plugin work with WordPress users, read this article: Using Participants Database with WordPress Users.

\nPeople are signing up, but emails are not getting sent\n\n

Use my Email Troubleshooting Flowchart to help you diagnose the problem.

Of course make sure your settings are set to send emails.

The most common reason emails are not being sent is because the WP application cannot send email. If you are having this problem, I suggest you install an SMTP plugin (like WP-Mail-SMTP) and use that plugin to test your email sending. Sometimes it is necessary to set up and use SMTP (which is not the default on most systems) to successfully send email.

Another common source of email trouble is other plugins that send email. It is not uncommon for such plugins to “hijack” the WP mail function and this can break it for other plugins. Try turning off other plugins that send email to see who the troublemaker is.

Finally, your emails may be getting caught in spam filters. If you find the plugin’s emails in the spam folder, using a “from” email from the same domain as the site can help. If you are using HTML email (the default) keep it short and don’t include lots of links, images or spammy words.

\nI don’t see anything on the page where I put the `[pdb_record]` shortcode. What’s up?\n\n

The form will only appear if someone uses a valid private link to access the page. All that’s required for a private link is a valid “pid” value has to be included in the URI. (it looks like “pid=TH65J” in the link) This code can be seen in the record if you want to make your own links.

\nI don’t want Administrative Fields showing up on the user’s edit record page. How do I control that?\n\n

You can control which groups of fields show up in the frontend record edit screen (the one with the [pdb_record] shortcode) by going to the “manage database fields” page, clicking on the “field groups” tab and deselecting the “display” checkbox for those field groups you don’t want shown on the frontend.

\nI want people to provide their email when they sign up, but I don’t want that information showing to the public\n\n

It’s a good practice to use field groups for something like this. Place all your “don’t show to the public” fields in a group with its “display” checkbox unchecked. This will prevent those fields from being shown in record detail pages, and also the signup form, but you can force them to display by specifying in the shortcode which groups you want included. The normally hidden groups will be included, but only those fields marked with the “signup” checkbox will appear.

For example, let’s say you have two groups: ‘public’ and ‘private.’ The email field is in the private group because you don’t want it displayed. In the signup form shortcode, specify the groups to show like this: [pdb_signup groups=public,private] Now, both groups will be included in the signup form. Remember, only those fields marked as “signup” fields will be shown.

\nI don’t want group titles showing in the forms, how do I do that?\n\n

The easiest way to do this is to simply blank out the title for the group.

\nWhat if someone loses their private link?\n\n

You can show a “Resend Private Link” link on your signup form, just check “Enable Lost Private Link” under the “Retrieve Link Settings” tab. You must define which field is used to identify the record. This must be a unique identifier, usually an email address, but it could be anything. The rest of the settings for this feature are under that tab.

It’s also possible to send them the link again in an email, but the plugin does not currently provide a way to do this. You will have to sent them a link to the edit record page (the one with the [pdb_record] shortcode), adding their code at the end of the link like this: ?pid=RH45L (using whatever the code for their record is.) The code is visible when you view the record from the “list participants” page.

\nIs it possible for users to upload files?\n\n

File uploads use the “file upload” field type. You should define a set of allowed file extensions in the settings: “allowed file types” under the “general settings” tab.

\nMy site is not in English and searches using non-English characters are not working properly.\n\n

If you have a non-English site, you should convert your database to the correct “collation” for your language.

\nI’m seeing strange characters in my CSV export. What’s going on?\n\n

The plugin exports its CSV files in “UTF-8” format. Make sure the program you’re using to read the file knows this…it should detect it automatically, but can fail under some circumstances. Often this can be set on the import screen of the spreadsheet program when you open the CSV.

\nIs the private link to an individual record secure?\n\n

It is what I would call “reasonably secure” in other words, the private code in the link is not easily guessed. It can be sent in an email, which is not secure, but emails getting compromised is not that much a risk for most of us. The level of security is reasonable for the kind of information it is designed to store.

Therefore, this plugin is absolutely not for the storage of any kind of information requiring good security such as credit card numbers, passwords, social security numbers, etc. And I certainly couldn’t be held liable if someone were to irresponsibly use the plugin for such a purpose.

\nCan I make links in records clickable?\n\n

Yes, there is a plugin setting called “Make Links Clickable” that scans the fields looking for something that starts with “http” it will then wrap that in a link tag so it will be clickable. It will also render email addresses clickable.

There is also a form field type called “link” that lets people fill in a URL and also give it a text label such as “My Website” that will click to the URL.

\nIs a CAPTCHA available for the forms?\n\n

You can define a “captcha” form element which will show a simple math question for the user to answer.

\nWhere do I report security bugs found in this plugin?\n\n

Please report security bugs found in the source code of the Participants Database plugin through the Patchstack Vulnerability Disclosure Program. The Patchstack team will assist you with verification, CVE assignment, and notify the developers of this plugin.

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In the admin for your WordPress site, click on “add new” in the plug-ins menu.
Search for “participants database” in the WP plugin repository and install
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Place [pdb_record] in your blog posts and pages to show the signup form
Additonal features and instructions can be found on the help tab of the plugin’s settings page

Download the zip file
Click on “Add New” in the plugins menu
At the top of the “Add Plugins” page find and click the “Upload Plugin” button
Select the zip file on your computer and upload it
The plugin will install itself. Click on “activate” to activate the plugin

Using the Plugin:

This is a complex plugin that can be configured in many ways. I am happy to answer support questions, but please read the documentation, there are also many articles and tutroials to help you get the most out of Participants Database. Here are some helpful links:

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$\"Managing$
Managing Database fields: this is where you set up your database fields and all attributes for each field
$\"Edit$
Edit Record: this is where an individual record can be created or edited
$\"Import$
Import CSV File: page where CSV files can be imported, includes detailed instructions and a blank spreadsheet download

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Blog Members Directory shortcode vs Participants Database