Admin Settings

BuddyLists settings live under WB Plugins > BuddyLists (admin.php?page=buddylists). A sidebar lists the screens: Overview, General, Visibility, Notifications, Colors, License and FAQ. The defaults below apply until you save your own values.

Overview

A read-only summary. It shows four totals: Total Lists, Lists With Members, List Followers and List Owners. Below that, Current Configuration summarises what members can do with lists right now, based on your settings, with links to the screen that changes each one. Quick Actions links to the settings screens.

The totals are cached for five minutes and refresh when any list changes. If the BuddyLists database tables are missing, the screen says so instead of showing zeros. Deactivate and reactivate the plugin to recreate them.

General

Stored in buddylists_general_settings.

Lists on Member Profiles

Setting	Key	Default
What to call them	lists_label	Lists
Web address	lists_slug	lists

What to call them is the word members see on the profile tab, for example Circles or Rosters.

Web address is the word in every list address, /<word>/<list-name>/, and in the profile tab address. Choose it once, when you set up. Changing it later moves every list to a new address, so links members have already shared stop working. BuddyLists refuses an address that is blank, made only of numbers, or already used by something else on the site (a page, a post type, a BuddyPress page and similar). In those cases the previous address is kept and a message says why. Characters that cannot appear in an address are replaced, and a message shows the address actually saved.

Who Can Create Lists

Setting	Key	Default
Roles that can create lists	buddylists_user_role	all roles
Member types that cannot create lists	buddylists_member_type	none

Administrators can always create lists. With no roles ticked, only administrators can. Any member type you tick is blocked from creating lists even when their role allows it. The member types row appears only when your site has member types. The rule is enforced when a list is saved, not only when the button is shown.

How Many Lists Each Member Can Have

Setting	Key	Default
Lists per member	lists_limit	10
Members per list	lists_member_limit	10

Set either to 0 for no limit. The limit is the same for every role. The owner counts as a member of their own list.

Visibility

Stored in buddylists_visibility_settings.

Who Can Add People to a List

Setting	Key	Default
Adding members	member_permission	Only the person who made the list

The choices are Only the person who made the list, The owner and their friends (needs the BuddyPress Friends component) and Only administrators. This decides who can add and remove people and edit a list’s details. Deleting a list and changing its images stay with the owner or an administrator. Administrators can always manage any list. The server enforces the choice, so it applies even to requests that do not come from the buttons.

Who Gets Suggested

Setting	Key	Default
Suggest from	suggested_members	Only their own friends (recommended)
Roles to suggest	buddylists_member_roles	all roles
Member types to suggest	buddylists_suggested_type	none

The choices for Suggest from are Only their own friends (recommended), Everyone on the site, Only chosen member types and Only chosen roles. This controls the Suggested panel and which people a search can find. If you choose roles or member types and tick none, nobody is suggested and search finds nobody. The screen warns you when this is the case.

Public or Private

Setting	Key	Default
New lists start as	lists_visibility	Public
Changing it later	buddylists_visibility_after_creation	yes
Message on a private list	private_lists_message	This list is private. Only its owner, members and followers can open it.

Changing it later is the checkbox “Let members switch a list between public and private after creating it”. Message on a private list is what a visitor sees when they open a list they are not allowed to view. The default wording mentions followers, but followers of a private list cannot open it, so you may want to reword it to name only the owner, the people on the list and administrators.

Lists in the Activity Stream

Setting	Key	Default
Followed lists in the stream	list_visible	yes
Follow button	enable_follow	yes

This card shows only the rows that apply. Followed lists in the stream appears when the site’s relevant activity feed is on. Follow button appears when a follow feature is active. The list page’s own feed is always on.

Since 1.3.0 these two options live here. They used to be on a separate Activity tab. Saved choices were moved across on update, and an old link to the Activity tab opens Visibility.

Notifications

Stored in buddylists_notification_settings.

Setting	Key	Default
Added to a list	added_member_notification	yes
Removed from a list	remove_member_notification	yes
Email members	email_notification	no

The first two send a BuddyPress notification, and need the BuddyPress Notifications component. Email members also sends one email for each add or removal. It is off by default. Since 1.3.0 the email actually sends when switched on. Before that, switching it on had no effect.

Colors

Stored in buddylists_color_settings. By default lists follow your theme’s colors.

Setting	Key	Default
Use my own colors	custom_color	off
Highlight color	primary_color	#003EDE
Background color	background_color	#ffffff
Border color	border_color	#E7E7E7

The three color pickers appear once Use my own colors is switched on.

License

Enter the key from your purchase receipt. The license is for updates and support only.

Settings that were removed

• Show the lists tab: the tab is always present. Switching it off used to hide the tab while every list page stayed reachable.
• Profile popup and Direct Message: the hover preview and group messaging no longer exist.
• The separate Activity tab, now part of Visibility.