Drupal 7 core modules

Credit to: AmazeLabs

These modules are always on each Drupal 7 installation, but do you know what they do and what to configure them? Check the following list. Each module name is a link to the module documentation and it has a description, what the admin URLs are for those and what permissions they define (if any), here we go!

Aggregator

Syndicated feed reader (RSS, Atom, RDF)

• Only fetches from other site, doesn’t syndicate content on your site (use the “Syndicate” block for that)
• Permission: Administer news feeds (admin)
• Permission: View news feeds (admin)

Block

• Permission: Administer blocks (admin)

Blog

• For multi-user blogging only
• For single-user blogging, create custom content type instead
• No Permissions

Book

Tie pages in a hierarchy

• Provides a book navigation block
• Provides a ‘Books’ tab on admin/content/book
• Has printer-friendly links
• Content Type: Book page
• Permission: Administer book outlines (admin)
• Permission: Create new books (admin)
• Permission: Add content and child pages to books (admin)
• Permission: View printer-friendly books (admin) — can be performance heavy

Color

For changing color scheme of compatible theme (e.g. Bartik)

• Locking 2 adjacent color-pickered colors will change each other
• No Permissions

Comment

For commenting on published content

• Requires: Text, Field, Field SQL Storage
• Permission: Administer comments and comment settings (admin)
• Permission: View comments (anon, auth, admin)
• Permission: Post comments (auth, admin)
• Permission: Skip comment approval (auth, admin)
• Permission: Edit own comment (admin)

Contact

For personal and site-wide contact forms that send emails to users and an arbitrary email address (for site-wide)

• Create Contact forms at: admin/structure/contact
• Default Form: Website feedback — view on /contact
• Permission: Administer contact forms and contact forms settings (admin)
• Permission: Use the site-wide contact form (admin)
• Permission: Use users’ personal contact form (admin)

Content translation

This is the older method; should now use Entity Translation, which works with this Content Translation module

• Requires: Locale module
• Should first select another language at admin/config/regional/language
• Then edit the desired content type > on the Publishing Options vertical tab > under Multilingual Support, check “enabled, with translation”
• Then the node of that content type will have a Language field and a Translate tab
• Permission: Translate content (admin)

Contextual Links

Displays links related to regions of pages for quick access

• These links are supplied by modules, e.g. Blocks, Menus
• Contextual Links module collects these links for the theme, and adds JavaScript to hide links until mouse hovers over the region
• Element requires the ‘contextual-links-region’ class
• By default, not available to views with field-based rows
• Permission: Use contextual links (admin)

Dashboard

Creates a Dashboard page for tracking user and content activity at admin/dashboard

Dashboard page is made up of blocks that can be added/removed, by default it has:

• Recent content
• Search form
• Who’s new
• Can also add the following blocks:
• Recent comments
• Who’s online
• Requires: Block
• Permission: View the administrative dashboard (admin)

Database logging

Logs and records system events:

• Recent log messages — admin/reports/dblog
• Top ‘page not found’ errors — admin/reports/page-not-found
• Top ‘access denied’ errors — admin/reports/access-denied
• Top search phrases — admin/reports/search
• Good for debugging
• Usage data, performance data, errors, warnings

Field

• Internal field API that gives the infrastructure such that other field type modules can add fields to entities

Other field type modules in Core:

• Number
• Text
• List
• Image
• File
• Taxonomy
• Option
• Requires: Field SQL Storage module
• No permissions

Field SQL Storage

Default field storage module for storing fields in database

• Primary field info stored in database tables “field_config” and “field_config_instance” (https://www.drupal.org/documentation/modules/field-ui)
• Requires: Field
• No permissions

Field UI

Provides UI for adding and managing fields for entities at the ‘Manage Fields’ tab

• Machine name and the type of a field cannot be changed after field is created
• Fields can be reused
• Saves time over defining new fields
• Can display/group/sort content by field across content types
• Labels can be different on other entities using the field
• Number of values is shared on other entities using the field
• Don’t reuse fields if require different permissions
• Requires: Field, Field SQL Storage
• No permissions

File

Requires: Field, Field SQL Storage

• Provides the File field type — allows file upload and attachment to an entity
• Can be listed (auto display below content) or non-listed (embedded)
• Can specify file uploaded to public or private
• For public files, only web server access is needed, so anyone with the direct URL can view the file

For private files:

• When you specify the private directory in admin/config/media/file-system it will automatically create the sub-directory and create a simple .htaccess file with Deny from all. This stops Apache from serving files from this directory.
• By default, users can access files that are attached and displayed on a node to which they have access to view
• No permissions

Filter

Documentation: https://www.drupal.org/node/213156

• Text formats are a series of filters — configured at admin/config/content/formats

Filtered HTML

• Convert URLs into links
• Limit allowed HTML tags
• Convert line breaks into html (<br> or <p>)
• Correct faulty and chopped off html

Full HTML

• Same as Filtered HTML but does not allow limited html tags

Plain text

• Display any html as plain text
• Convert line breaks into html
• Convert URLs into links
• Security implication — should restrict filter access for untrusted users
• Permission: Administer text formats and filters (admin) — trusted users only
• Permission: Use the Filtered HTML text format (anon, auth, admin)
• Permission: Use the Full HTML text format (admin) — trusted users only

Forum

Used for threaded discussions

• Each Topic contains an initial post (node) followed by replies (node comments)
• Admin Page: admin/structure/forum
• Default Forum: General discussion
• Create a Forum (or a container that groups forums)
• Forums can embed other forums (child forums)
• Content Type: Forum Topic
• Create a Forum Topic node, specify the Forum, and set allow comments for an opened topic
• Permission: Administer forum (admin)

Help

• Main Help Page: admin/help
• Provides help references pages
• Starting point for the Drupal handbooks (drupal.org/documentation) — see handbook for more info

Image

• Provides image toolkit — can change desired quality
• Provides image styles — create copies of original image using effects
• Thumbnail (100x100)
• Medium (220x220)
• Large (480x480)

Effects:

• Crop
• Desaturate images
• Resize
• Rotate
• Scale
• Scale and crop
• When image styles is edited, Drupal automatically refreshes all created image
• Provides Image field type — attach image to entity
• Common ways to name image files:
• With where it will be used, eg. profile-picture
• With its appearance, eg. square-85x85
• Permission: Administer image styles (admin)
• List (enabled)

Provides the following field types:

• List — default, no display labels, order matters for data storage
• Boolean — yes/no, 2 radio buttons or 1 checkbox
• List (numeric) — use numeric keys, order does not matter for data storage
• List (text) — use text keys
• Use with Options to create selection lists
• No permissions

Locale

Provides multilingual support with:

• Translation interface at admin/config/regional/translate
• Import/export language packages in Gettext Portable Object (.po)
• Drupal.org provides some language packages at https://localize.drupal.org/
• You can contribute by adding translation to it (can use Local Update module to do so from your site)
• For right-to-left translation, you’ll need a theme (e.g. Garland) that supports that
• The user can specify language preference on their My Account page
• Permission: Administer languages (admin)
• Permission: Translate interface text (admin)

Menu

Provides menu creation and management

• Each menu has a corresponding block
• Must indicate menus desired per content types if you want to add nodes to certain menus
• Permission: Administer menu and menu items (admin)

Node

Provides node creation, management, revisioning, publishing

Permissions:

Bypass content access control (admin) — view/edit/delete all content regardless of permissions

• Administer content types (admin)
• Administer content (admin) — bulk manage site content
• Access the content overview page (admin) — admin/content
• View published content (anon, auth, admin)
• View own unpublished content (admin)
• View content revisions (admin)
• Revert content revisions (admin)
• Delete content revisions (admin)
• Content Type Permissions:
• [Content Name]: Create new content (admin)
• [Content Name]: Edit own content (admin)
• [Content Name]: Edit any content (admin)
• [Content Name]: Delete own content (admin)
• [Content Name]: Delete any content (admin)
• Number (enabled)
• Defines numeric field types:
• Decimal
• Float
• Integer
• No permissions

OpenID

Allows users to login with an OpenID.net username and password

• Drupal will ask for the user’s OpenID URL (myusername.openidprovider.com), and asked for username/password if not already logged in on OpenID
• No permissions
• Options (enabled)
• Defines selection field widgets for text and numeric fields:
• check box
• radio buttons
• No permissions

Overlay

Uses JavaScript to provide overlay when clicking on an admin link

• Permission: Access the administrative overlay (admin)

Path

Allows creation of URL aliases (or custom URLs)

• Not the same as URL redirects
• Permissions:
• Administer URL aliases (admin)
• Create and edit URL aliases (admin)

PHP Filter

Allows users with permissions to create custom PHP code within a page on the site

• Has high security risks if PHP code is incorrect, malformed, or created by malicious users
• PHP Filter outputs are not cached by filter or field caches
• PHP Snippets on Drupal.org
• Permission: Use PHP for settings (admin)

Poll

Provides a Poll content type

• Can control which users can vote, see results, and create their own polls
• Permission: Vote on polls (admin)
• Permission: Cancel and change own polls (admin)
• Permission: View details for all polls (admin)

RDF

• Resource Description Framework in Attributes (RDFa)
• W3C standard for semantic structured metadata within HTML markup
• SEO friendly
• No permissions

Search

Exact keywords searching on content and users

• Search form block (Region: Sidebar first)
• Search page: /search (Tabs: Content, Users)
• Search users by username (Requires permission: View users profiles)
• Search users by emails (Requires permission: Administer users)
• Permission: Administer search (admin) — can adjust Search settings at /admin/config/search/settings

Reindex

Index throttle (# items per cron run)

• Min. word length to index
• Active and default* search modules (node*, user)
• Content ranking (influence)
• Permission: Use search (admin) — can use search box and page /search
• Permission: Use advanced search (admin) — for advanced options on /search page
• Select content types
• Containing any of words
• Containing phrase
• Containing none of words

Shortcut

• Config: admin/config/user-interface/shortcut
• Shortcut set of links
• Toolbars module displays the user’s shortcuts at the top along with the “Edit shortcuts” link
• Shortcuts block (disabled)
• Users can manage their own shortcut bar
• Choose shortcut set from user profile’s Shortcuts tab
• Default set:
• Find content: /admin/content
• Add content: /node/add

Permissions:

• Select any shortcut sets (admin) — choose sets created by anyone
• Edit current shortcut sets (admin)
• Administer shortcut sets (admin) — edit any sets

Statistics

Recent hits, top referrer URLs, top page views, top visitors

• Provides a Popular content block
• Provides a counter for each page, requires permissions
• Permission: Administer statistics (admin)
• Permission: View content access statistics (admin)
• Permission: View content hits (admin)

Syslog

Sends logs to your web server (a log file)

• Not suitable for shared hosting environments; used for medium — large sites
• Syslog is faster than Dblog since it doesn’t write logs into the database
• No permissions

System

Stores and sends compressed caches of dynamic generated pages

• Only anonymous user pages are cached
• Handles regularly scheduled cron jobs of some other core processes (update statistics, pulls aggregator feeds, etc.)

Permission:

• Administer modules (admin)
• Administer site configuration (admin)
• Administer themes (admin)
• Administer software updates (admin)
• Administer actions (admin)
• Use the administration pages and help (admin)
• Use the site in maintenance mode (admin)
• View the administration theme (admin)
• View site reports (admin
• Block IP addresses

Taxonomy

• Ways of classifying content
• Default vocabulary: Tag
• Guideline: If vocabulary is not well known to all users, keep it below 40 terms.
• Guideline: Use taxonomy parent/child relationship with caution; consider dividing vocabularies first
• Guideline: Use views

Permission:

Administer vocabularies and terms (admin)

• Edit terms in Tags (admin)
• Delete terms in Tags (admin)

Testing (a.k.a. SimpleTest)

Provides a list of tests, and returns passes, fails, exceptions (PHP warning or notices), and debug messages

• Creates a new Drupal install and virtual web browser to run tests; only default Core modules are enabled; no configuration is set on the default tests: https://www.drupal.org/simpletest-tutorial-drupal7
• Permission: Administer tests (admin)

Text

• Provides field types for: Text, Text area, select box, check box, radio buttons
• No permissions

Toolbar

• Provides the admin menu with top-level links, and the drawer section for links by other modules (example: links by Shortcuts module)
• Permission: Use the administration toolbar (admin)

Tracker

• Displays a View of most recently added and updated content
• Page: Recent Content Page (/tracker)
• View: Tracker
• No permissions

Trigger

• When a trigger (event) occurs, provide an action
• Example: When a comment contains a certain word (trigger), unpublish the comment (action)
• Other modules provide Triggers at /admin/structure/trigger/
• From Core: Comment, Node, System, Taxonomy, User
• Provides default Actions; can create advanced actions at /admin/config/system/actions

Trigger Examples:

• Deleting content
• Adding comment
• User logging in
• Running cron

Action Examples:

• Send email
• Publish/unpublish node, comment, terms
• Ban user IP
• Promote to front page
• No permissions

Update manager

• Periodically checks your site for new versions of modules and themes from Drupal.org
• Anonymous usage statistics (unique key with list of software versions) are sent to Drupal.org
• Admin Page: Available Updates page (admin/reports/updates)
• Admin Page: Install Page (admin/reports/updates/install)
• System Permission: administer software updates — Can perform update in the UI

User

• Allows users to register, log in, and log out
• A visitor of the site is assigned a session ID, stored in a cookie (without any personal info)

Provides user roles:

• Anonymous
• Authenticated
• Administrator

Page:

• My Account page per user (/user)

Admin Page:

• People administration (admin/people)
• List, create, block, delete, assign roles to users
• List, create, add, delete roles
• List, create, add, delete permissions

Admin Page: Accounts Settings (admin/config/people/accounts)

• Registration/cancellation settings, user profile settings (signatures, pictures), email settings

Permission:

• Administer permissions (admin)
• Administer users (admin)
• View user profiles (admin)
• Change own username (admin)
• Cancel own user account (admin)
• Select method for cancelling own account (admin)

I hope this list help you understand what each modules does and how they behave.

Go and Drupal now!