Facebook and Blackbaud NetCommunity Part 2

Our last post on Facebook explained why you should use Facebook; now we'll go into how Facebook works with Blackbaud NetCommunity. First, you need to connect the two applications.  In this post, we'll go through the process.

What do I need to get started?
To get these two applications to talk, you will need:

• Access to the Blackbaud NetCommunity web server (If you're hosted with Blackbaud OnDemand, contact support in the steps ahead)
• A Facebook account (Join Facebook)
• Rights to create Pages and Parts within Blackbaud NetCommunity

What needs to be done in Facebook?
After you set up your Facebook account, you have to create a Facebook application to bridge the gap between the two systems.  If you've never created a Facebook application, follow the steps below.

1. In your browser, go to http://www.facebook.com/developers/
   
2. Log in if you have not already done so.
3. If you haven't added the Developer Application before, you will see a prompt asking you to approve it.  Click .
4. Click the  button in the upper right.
5. Enter a name for your application.
6. Carefully read Facebook's Terms, and if you agree to them, click Agree.  Note: You must agree to these terms to integrate with Facebook.
7. Click .
8. Copy or write down the API Key and Secret Key for your application.  You will need this information to configure your server.

What needs to be done on the Blackbaud NetCommunity web server?

1. Log into your web server.
2. Navigate to the Blackbaud NetCommunity folder.  The default location is C:\Program Files\Blackbaud\NetCommunity\.
   
3. Find the file called Web.Config and open it in a text editor such as Notepad.
   
4. Find the appSettings section in the file.
   <appSettings>
<add key="ConnectionString" value="server=BBNCLEAD-TEST;database=BBNCLatest;user id=BBPortalWebUser;pwd=admin"/>
</appSettings>
   Note: Your appSettings may contain additional settings.
   
5. After the last add key= item in the list, add two more <add key= lines, one for "FBAppKey and FBSecret. The value for FBAppKey and FBSecret should be the values that you copied or wrote down when you created the Facebook Application.
   <appSettings>
<add key="ConnectionString" value="server=BBNCLEAD-TEST;database=BBNCLatest;user id=BBPortalWebUser;pwd=admin"/>
<add key="FBAppKey" value="e239ad1c05e6de055c5bbb88c939c345" />
<add key="FBSecret" value="a6b455364cb81c0cac44a0f6c644239d" />
</appSettings>
   
6. Save and close the web.config file.

What does it do?
After the integration is established, you can do many things with the application.  In my next post, I'll cover importing photos from Facebook and other features that are part of the built-in integration.

Posts in this series:
Facebook and Blackbaud NetCommunity Part 1
Facebook and Blackbaud NetCommunity Part 2
Facebook and Blackbaud NetCommunity Part 3

Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10 Release Information

As many of you know, the Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10 and Online Campus Community 3.11 releases are just around the corner. I wanted to take a few minutes to highlight the key considerations before you update.

Do NOT update to version 6.10 at this time if:

• You have any additional modules such as eStore, Online Application, Custom Form Builder, or any other custom parts. To check the compatibility of these parts please see BB572510.
• You are using The Raiser's Edge and are not updating to The Raiser's Edge 7.91 at this time.  Please review Important Changes in The Raiser's Edge 7.91.

If you are not hosted by Blackbaud OnDemand:

• You must register for the Blackbaud Payment Service to use Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10. When version 6.10 is released, please review the Update and New Features Guide for more information.
• You must update to The Raiser's Edge 7.91 immediately after updating to Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10.
• If you are installing Blackbaud NetCommunity on Windows Server 2008 (IIS 7), you must install the IIS 6 Compatibility components.
• Version 6.10 does not support Windows Server 2000 or SQL Server 2000.
• Version 6.10 supports SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005. SQL Server 2005 will no longer be supported as of our fourth quarter release.
• To access your website's administration, you must use Internet Explorer 7/8 or Firefox 3 browsers.
• In order to track referrer URLs for Google Analytics and other analytic solutions, we changed how the script must be configured. The URL tracked for each page in your analytics solution will change.  For more information, please refer to the Update and New Features Guide when the release is available.
• You must update to Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10 from version 5.0 or higher.  If you are not on version 5.0 or higher, you must update to version 5.6, which will be available on the Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10 download page.
  
• If you do not have Microsoft .Net 3.5 installed, you must be connected to the Internet during the installation process. If you cannot connect to the Internet, download and install Microsoft .Net 3.5 Full Install before beginning the installation process.

If Blackbaud NetCommunity is hosted by Blackbaud OnDemand and The Raiser's Edge is not:

• You will automatically be registered for the Blackbaud Payment Service, which is required by Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10. When the release is available for download, review the Update and New Features Guide for more information.
• You must update to The Raiser's Edge 7.91 immediately following the update to Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10.
• If you are installing Blackbaud NetCommunity on Windows Server 2008 (IIS 7), you must install the IIS 6 Compatibility components.
• To access your website's administration, you must use Internet Explorer 7/8 or Firefox 3 browsers.
• In order to track referrer URLs for Google Analytics and other analytic solutions, we changed how the script must be configured.  This means the URL tracked for each page in your analytics solution will change.  For more information, refer to the Update and New Features Guide when the release is available for download.
• You must update to Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10 from version 5.0 or higher.  If you are not on version 5.0 or higher you must update to version 5.6, which will be available on the 6.10 download page.
• If you do not have Microsoft .Net 3.5 installed, you must be connected to the Internet during the installation process. If you cannot connect to the Internet, download and install Microsoft .Net 3.5 Full Install before beginning the installation process.
  

If both Blackbaud NetCommunity and The Raiser's Edge are hosted by Blackbaud OnDemand:

• You will automatically be registered for the Blackbaud Payment Service which Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10 requires. When the release is available, please review the Update and New Features Guide for more information.
• You will be updated to The Raiser's Edge 7.91 immediately following the update to Blackbaud NetCommunity 6.10.
• To access your website's administration, you must use Internet Explorer 7/8 or Firefox 3 browsers.
• In order to track referrer URLs for Google Analytics and other analytic solutions we changed how the script must be configured.  This means the URL tracked for each page in your analytics solution will change.  For more information, refer to the Update and New Features Guide when the release is available.
• You will no longer be able to use ICVerify as a payment processor for The Raiser's Edge.
• You will be contacted with your scheduled update date.

Please review these considerations carefully before downloading or updating to version 6.10.  If you have any questions, create a case and an analyst will be glad to help you.