How can I show a quiz/survey/input form in the main body (content area) of the page?

Quizzes, surveys, and other input forms are shown using the Mad Blanks Create Single Record module. This means that these input forms are normally shown in a module position (for example, left, right, header, or user1). However, there is a special provision in the Mad Blanks component to allow Mad Blanks modules to be shown in the main body (the main content area) of the page.

To show a quiz/survey/input form in the main body (content area) of the page, use the procedure that follows (for Joomla 1.0.x this requires Mad Blanks version 1.1.0 Beta 2 or above; for Joomla 1.5.x this requires Mad Blanks version 1.1.0 final or above). Note that any of the four types of Mad Blanks modules  (Create Single Record, Single Field Input, Display, and Menu) can be displayed this way (by default).

1. Go to the edit page for the copy of the Mad Blanks Create Single Record module that is used to show your quiz/survey/etc.

2. Set the module's position parameter to a position that is not used in your template. For example, choose user9 instead of left, because user9 is not used in most templates but left is used in just about every template.

If you prefer, in Joomla 1.0.x you can create a new module position for this purpose by going to Site -> Template Manager -> Module Positions in the back end. 

In Joomla 1.5.x, you can specify any module position in the position parameter simply by typing it in. (Even though the position parameter appears to be a pulldown menu, you can also manually type in the form field.)

I suggest naming the module position used for this procedure madblanks. Note that if you do name it madblanks (or the name specified in the Mad Blanks component's configuration variable mbCreateSingleRecordPosition), the main component screen (http://www.example.com/index.php?option=com_madblanks) will (with default settings) link to the quizzes / surveys available via this module.

3.  In the Pages / Items Menu Item Link(s): section, select All or Unassigned.

4. Be sure the Published parameter (Joomla 1.0.x) or Enabled parameter (Joomla 1.5.x) is set to Yes.

5. Make note of the id number of the module located just below the radio buttons for the Published parameter.

6. Save the module.

7. Use this URL to access the quiz in the main content area:

Replace www.example.com with your site's URL. Replace X with the id number of the module you noted earlier. Replace Y with the Itemid that shows in the URL when the Mad Blanks main component screen is displayed on the front end. Note that there may not be an Itemid for the Mad Blanks main component screen if you do not have a menu item that points to the Mad Blanks component.

Also note that X can be a list of Mad Blanks module numbers separated by commas (with no spaces).

The module or modules you are showing this way are contained within <div></div> tags. To set the CSS style for this div, in the backend, go to Components -> Mad Blanks -> Edit Configuration Variables and look for the variable named mbModuleWithinComponentStyle. Place CSS declarations here for the div surrounding the module or modules that are displayed in the main content area.

As of Mad Blanks version 1.1.0 final, the types of modules that can be displayed in this fashion are determined by the Mad Blanks configuration variable mbModuleWithinComponentTypes, which allows mod_madblanks_createsinglerecord, mod_madblanks_singlefieldinput, mod_madblanks_display, and mod_madblanks_menu by default.