AlphaUserPoints - Help

Presentation: AlphaUserPoints is a Referral User Points System. It's is a component that can distribute or assign points to registered users according to some of its actions and activity on your website. AlphaUserPoints acts as an incentive promoting participation of users. Users often strive for more recognition, as well as competition. It's also usefull for contest, challenge, participation, game, online store. This component has its own component of invite/recommendation for refer which can also be used by non-registered users (based on AlphaRecommend).

License: AlphaUserPoints is made under license GNU/GPL License.

Installation: Installing the component via the administration interface Joomla. During installation, plugins systems are installed and are automatically published. If, however Plugins directory does not have permission in writing, an error and warned the user. The component will be reinstalled after amendment rights in the directory Plugins.

Control panel:

Button / menu Rules
This menu provides access to the list of rules to award points according to some actions of the registered user. The descriptions of the rules will give you information on their roles and conditions for awarding points. To install new rules inter-acting with third components, see To go further.

Button / menu Users Statistics
This menu displays all registered members of the site with their respective IDs AlphaUserPoint, total points for each current members and a link to the details of every action having reported points.

Button / menu Plugins
This menu allows you to add new rules inter-acting with third components. For more information on this menu, see To go further.

Button / menu Sync. users
This menu allows, after the first installation, synchronize Together members already registered on the site to their assigned an AlphaUSerPoints identifier (referral id). Before synchronize users, please read the Getting Started section.

Button / menu Recalculate
This menu allows you to launch a recalculation of the total number of points for each member after removal or modification of action points by an administrator.

Button / menu Reset all points
This menu reset all the counters to zero points for all registered members. You can set this counter manualy for each member (menu Users Statistics)

Button / menu Set max points
This menu sets a maximum limit of points can be assigned to all registered members of the site. 0 or blank if you do not set limits. You can set max points manualy for each member (menu Users Statistics).

Button / menu Purge expires points
This menu allows purging the shares with a deadline of validity. Important: This action results in an immediate recalculation (auto) of all points and for all users.

Button / menu Export active users (CSV)
This menu launches export in CSV file first fifty of the most active members (with the most points).

Button / Menu Export e-mails (CSV)
This menu launches export in CSV file of all email addresses stored in the table details of the component following an action-type invitation/recommendation, recommend an article ...

Button / menu About
Information on the component.

Button / menu How to create a plugin
This menu displays a help file explaining how to integrate the API AlphaUserPoints in a third component and how to generate an XML file installation of the new rule concerning this third component.

Button / Help menu
Displays this file.

Getting Started:


Setting pre-existing rules
Via the administration interface Joomla! Click on the menu components then on the menu AlphaUserPoints. Then click on the submenu rules or click the rules if you are already in the control panel of AlphaUserPoints component .

When you launch the device for the first time, an informational message appears in the control panel component. This message informs you that you must first synchronize users / members registered with AlphaUserPoints. However, if you want to award points to each registering a new user, and not to penalize the former members, you must set the rule for new members before making synchronization. Edit this rule and assign a number of points for each new member. Save this rule. You are now able to synchronize all members. These will be credited with points. As soon as a new member will, it will be credited with the number of points specified in the rule.
Set and activate other rules according to your needs. The descriptions of the rules will give you information on their roles and conditions for awarding points.
Note: The rule for new users can not be disabled. You can only save to zero the number of points awarded for this rule if you do not wish to assign point on this action.

  1. Rule New user: Assigned or not points for each new user registered on the site.
  2. Rule Invite: Assigned or not points when a user to ask someone else to register on the site (send email).
  3. Rule Invite with success: Assigned or not points to the refferal user when a user registers on the site following an invitation.
  4. Rule Submit article: Assigned points or not to the user when it submits an article.
  5. Rule Submit web link: Assigned points or not to the user when it submits a web link.
  6. Rule Invite a friend to read: Assigned points when a member invites a friend to read an article (won on points when the article was read). Using the native function send to a friend included in Joomla.
  7. Rule Reader to author: Assigns points to the author when one of its articles were read by a user.
  8. Rule Answering a poll : Assigns points to the user after he responded to a poll.
  9. Rule User to user points: Allows users to transfer all or part of their points to other users. Requires create a menu linked to component for the frontend.
  10. Rule Referral points: Referral users earn bonus points as a percentage on all points earned by their referrees.
  11. Rule Bonus points: Assigns bonus points to specific users (Backend -> AlphaUserPoints -> menu Users statistics).
  12. Rule Become author: Specifies a number of points sufficient to authorize a registered user to change level and become author.
  13. Rule Become editor: Specifies a number of points sufficient to authorize an author user to change level and become editor.
  14. Rule Become publisher: Specifies a number of points sufficient to authorize an editor user to change level and become publisher
  15. Rule Exclude specific users: Excluded some referring to the allocation of points (useful for administrators).
  16. Rule Email notification: Sending a message to the user as soon as it earns points.
  17. Rule Winner notification: Sending a message to the user and administrator, when it reached the maximum number of points required (requires setting max points).


Creating menus
AlphaUserPoints includes 4 options for creating a menu frontend.

- A menu to display the total number of points a registered user and connected. This menu will be mainly used to match the user menu.
- A menu to display the list of all members with total points and referre ID.
- A menu allowing registered user to assign points to other users. But the latter should know the ID AlphaUSerPoints of his friends. This menu will be mainly used to match the user menu and the rule concerning the assignment of points to other users will also be activated.
- A menu to start the invitation / recommendation. The latter can also be used by guests (non-members, therefore, no points). This menu has several specific parameters for security (anti-flood) and the import of email addresses (integration of the widget Plaxo address book).

To use ReCaptcha (anti-spam), you must first obtain keys for use on the site http://recaptcha.net/api/getkey.

To create a menu selected AlphaUserPoints component in the interface for creating menus Joomla! then choose the type menu to create among the three. Enter a name for this menu, then set it if necessary. For more information on creating menu under Joomla! See you using Joomla!.

Disabled user congratulation message on frontend
Edit the file named helper.php in component directory (site) and set _ALPHAUSERPOINTS_WARNING_CONGRATULATION :

0 = disabled
1 = enabled

To go further:

Installing third plugins
To add new rules or from inter-acting with components third, click on the menu or Plugins button control panel component, and then select the file. Zip or. Xml containing the new rule. Upload the file. If the file is uploaded correctly, a new rule will add to the existing list. Set this new rule and enable there to suit your needs. The fact that click New in the list of rules can also add a plugin via the same function.

If you want more information on how to create a plugin, go on using "How to create a plugin."