# Forum

A widget `Forum` lets you integrate a specific forum into your product or website to deliver contextual education.

## Create a widget 

To create a widget `Forum`, click on the `New` button in the top right-hand corner and then on `Forum`. A drawer opens: 

* Choose the rendering mode for your widget: 
  * `Embed`: the widget appears as an embed and you can integrate it anywhere on your site or application. 
  * `Modal`: the widget is in a window opened with a button. 
  * `Drawer`: the widget is in a side panel opened with a button.
* Enter a `title`. :bulb: This title will not be visible in the widget integrated into your application. 
* Select a forum using the search bar.
* Click on `Create`: that's it, your widget is ready to be integrated! :point\_right: [Find out more here.](https://help.meltingspot.io/english/manage-spot/widget/implementation)

<figure><img src="https://3055204660-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FrzBxnWaSListMwx3rzKu%2Fuploads%2FRdSJKtkY1x4JGyMVOKq3%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=37074c22-ebbe-420d-a7ba-86671cc6fa74" alt="" width="330"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Edit a widget&#x20;

You can edit a widget in two different ways:&#x20;

* From the widget list, by clicking on the three small dots to the right of a widget's card and then on `Edit`.&#x20;
* From the widget preview window, click on `Edit`.&#x20;

### General tab

The widget drawer opens, where you can edit :&#x20;

* The widget's **rendering type**. <mark style="color:red;">**Warning**</mark>, switching your widget type requires you to update the code.
* The widget **title**&#x20;
* The **selected forum**: simply click on the `X` button at the top right of the selected forum and use the search bar to find the required forum.

Once you've made all your changes, you can save the widget by clicking on `Save`.&#x20;

### Statistics tab

From the Statistics tab, you can access usage data for your widget:

* The first section, `Widget Data`, provides global usage metrics related to the widget:
  * `Views`: the number of times the widget was viewed.
  * `Clicks on topics`: the number of times someone clicked on a forum topic from the widget.
  * `Replies`: the number of times someone replied to a forum topic from the widget.
  * `Votes`: the number of times someone voted on a forum topic from the widget.
  * `New topics`: the number of times someone created a new topic in this forum from the widget.
  * `Last updated`: the date of the widget’s last modification.
* The second section, `Topics clicks`, gives a detailed breakdown of activity on the widget based on the forum topics. For each topic, you will see:
  * The number of clicks on that specific topic.
  * A progress bar showing the number of clicks on that topic relative to the total number of clicks on the widget.
* The last section, `Forum Data`, provides information about the forum itself:
  * `Topics`: the total number of topics in this forum.
  * `Replies`: the total number of replies across all topics in this forum.
  * `Votes`: the total number of votes cast across all topics in this forum.
  * `Last updated`: the date of the forum’s last modification.

A `Open the forum` button allows you to access the forum directly in Spot.

## Widget preview&#x20;

The widget preview depends on its rendering type:&#x20;

* If it's an `Embed` or `Modale` widget: When you click on a widget card, a window opens. In this window, you can see a preview of the widget's rendering in your application or site (in the case of an embed, grey zones materialize the content of your site).&#x20;
* If it's a `Drawer` widget: when you click on a widget's card, a side panel opens. Here you can see a preview of how the widget will look in your application or site.

At the bottom of the modal, there are several buttons:&#x20;

* `Get code`: gives you the choice between [sending](#recovering-code) the widget code directly by e-mail (with `Send instructions`) or [retrieving and copying](#recovering-code) the widget code (with `Copy code`).&#x20;
* `Edit`: opens the editing drawer.&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://3055204660-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FrzBxnWaSListMwx3rzKu%2Fuploads%2FsODlhYp2tJVjIxun2yBj%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=04ac6e06-b383-4966-8841-dc1488b4348b" alt="Preview of a modal widget" width="563"><figcaption><p>Preview of a modal widget</p></figcaption></figure>

## Widget display&#x20;

On your website or application, many members may access your widget. Don’t worry, they will only see the forum if they have the appropriate permissions:

* If the member is logged in and has access to the forum, they will see it and will be able to create topics, reply, vote, and more.
* If the member does not have access to the forum (because they are not logged in or the forum is private), they will not be able to see it.

{% hint style="success" %}
If a member performs any activity on a forum through a widget, it will be properly recorded and can be found in the `Dashboard` section of your Spot settings.
{% endhint %}

**To ensure that the user sees the widget content while logged in, we recommend that you set up SSO authentication in the widget integration space.**

{% content-ref url="../sso" %}
[sso](https://help.meltingspot.io/english/manage-spot/sso)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Once SSO has been set up, **the JWT token authenticating the user can be transmitted directly to the widget script**. Find out more [here](https://help.meltingspot.io/english/sso#embed-widgets--sso).
{% endhint %}

## Deleting a widget&#x20;

There are 2 ways to delete a widget:&#x20;

* From the widget card, click on the three small dots on the right, then on `Delete`.&#x20;
* From the widget editing drawer, click on the three small dots in the top right-hand corner, then on `Delete`.&#x20;

Clicking on either of these two buttons opens a confirmation window.&#x20;

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Warning**, all deletions are final!&#x20;
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
If you delete a widget in your Spot settings, we recommend you also remove it in the code of your application or site - no worries if you forget, your members will only see an empty insert 😉
{% endhint %}