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!How to hide a node title?

Unpublish, don't delete

As noted in Forum Finds: Node deletion is forever, when you tell Drupal to delete a node it gives you one "Are you sure...?" chance to recapitulate, but that's it. Confirm the deletion, and that node is gone; there's no Trash Can or Undo to get it back.

To prevent mishaps, be careful in giving users permission to delete nodes. Also, make it a rule to unpublish, not delete, nodes when you want to take them off the site. The node will disappear from view just as if it had been deleted, but will remain in the database should you ever want to republish, reedit, or otherwise revisit it.

Wipe error messages off the screen

Site visitors seeing your ugly error messages on the screen (along with details of your Drupal installation path)? Once your site goes from dev to launch, you probably want to have errors recorded in the log but not splashed across the screen. Head to the handy Error Reporting settings found at admin/settings/error-reporting.

Modify length of user login sessions

Tired of logging in again and again to a Drupal site that keeps kicking you out? You can modify session length, i.e. the length of time that a logged-in session stays logged in, via the ini_set('session.cookie_lifetime'... line in the site's settings.php file. See details in Forum Finds: Modify length of user login sessions.

You can change a user's name

Changing the name of an admin or any other user shouldn't mess up anything. (All "posted by" info and other references to user name will automatically reflect the new name.) User names are just there for our human convenience; the underlying User ID number is what Drupal is concerned with.

Searching Drupal.org

Is search on Drupal.org not turning up what you want – or (as happens at times) is the site's search function not working at all? Let Google help out: give Google your search terms, followed by site:drupal.org . Voila!

Read up on a few more search tips.

Checking whether a site is Drupal

If you're wondering whether a given site was made with Drupal, Is This Drupal? will take an educated guess based on header and file info. The creator can't guarantee accuracy (a given site may use tricks to hide its tech identity), but this is an interesting tool to have on hand!

Path as redirect

Want a quick redirect, without manhandling system files? Just use the core Path module: on the "URL aliases" form (/admin/build/path), complete 'Path alias' with the path you expect visitors to use, and complete 'Existing system path' with the path you'd like to send them. 'Path alias' can be an existing system path; Drupal will still treat it as an alias and send visitors to your specified path.

Logging in when you're locked out

You've logged out as admin, and realize there's no login block on your site... You're locked out! It's the #1 newbie emergency, with daily pleas for help appearing on the drupal.org forums!

Relax; getting back in is simple. The path <your domain>/user will always provide you a login form. (Make that <your domain>/?q=user if you don't have "clean URLs" enabled.) You're back in action.

Printing a book

The Book module creates "Printer-friendly version" at the bottom of Book pages. If you hit that link from a page with child pages, Drupal creates a printer-friendly page from that page and its child pages. If you hit the link from the Book's top page, you get the whole book in a single page!

Access denied problems

Got unexpained "access denied" troubles keeping people from your content? Go to admin/content/node-settings, and try the 'Rebuild Permissions' button.

If that doesn't work, see other ideas for access denied for visitors and access denied for admins.

Don't give theme and node the same name

Don't give a theme and a node the same name. Conflicts can occur.

Module instructions

An obvious but important tip: When installing a new module, be sure to check for READ ME files or other instructions! It's easy to forget that not all modules are simple "plug and play"; some require special preparation, such as modifications to the site's Theme, to work their magic.

Remember, modules often make changes to your ste's database, its very "DNA". Take their installation seriously: read modules' instructions, and back up the database before installation too.

Menu reset

Got a menu item that's acting oddly, such as an admin-only item that's showing up for all users? On the admin/build/menu form, see whether the offending item has a 'reset' link. If so, clicking it may solve the problem.

Statistics module and Popular Content block

If you disable the Statistics module, you'll lose the Popular Content block.

Understanding Drupal

The basic concept of a CMS (content management system) like Drupal, is that you don't create pages as a whole. You create bits of content and other elements (nodes, blocks, header, navigation...) and you configure the CMS so that it puts your page together on the spot.