WP Easy Contact
Community Edition Documentation

Author: eMarket Design
Last Updated: 2017-08-02

Introduction

WP Easy Contact is an easy to use contact management system which allows to collect, display, and store contact information.

Concepts

The following is the definition(s) of the concept(s) covered in the context of WP Easy Contact app:

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Contacts

Last Updated: 2017-07-19

Quick Start

WP Easy Contact Community Introduction

Watch WP Easy Contact Community introduction video to learn about the plugin features and configuration.

Upgrade to WP Easy Contact Pro - Best Contact Management System for WordPress

WP Easy Contact Pro --> easy to use and powerful contact management system for WordPress with best in class features.

EMD CSV Import Export Extension helps you get your data in and out of WordPress quickly, saving you ton of time

This feature is included in WP Easy Contact Pro edition.

EMD CSV Import Export Extension helps bulk import, export, update entries from/to CSV files. You can also reset(delete) all data and start over again without modifying database. The export feature is also great for backups and archiving old or obsolete data.

EMD Advanced Filters and Columns Extension for finding what's important faster

This feature is included in WP Easy Contact Pro edition.

EMD Advanced Filters and Columns Extension for WP Easy Contact Community edition helps you:

  • Filter entries quickly to find what you're looking for
  • Save your frequently used filters so you do not need to create them again
  • Sort entry columns to see what's important faster
  • Change the display order of columns
  • Enable or disable columns for better and cleaner look
  • Export search results to PDF or CSV for custom reporting

EMD MailChimp Extension for building email list through WP Easy Contact

EMD MailChimp Extension helps you build MailChimp email list based on the contact information collected through WP Easy Contact Community form.

Incoming Email WordPress Plugin - Create contacts from emails

Incoming Email WordPress Plugin allows to create contact records from emails opening up another channel to grow your list or generate leads.

Working with Contacts

Using WP Easy Contact, you can create, modify, delete, and search contact records, associated taxonomies, or relationships.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Creating Contacts

To create contact records in the admin area:

  1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
  2. Click the 'Contacts' tab.
  3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the contact list page.
  4. Start filling in your contact fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
  5. As needed, set contact taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
  6. When you are ready, click Publish. If you do not have publish privileges, the "Submit for Review" button is displayed.
  7. After the submission is completed, the contact status changes to "Published" or "Pending Review". Users must have "publish" right to publish contacts. Users who do not have "publish" right can still create contacts; however, these contacts must be reviewed and approved by a user with contact "publish" right. Check Roles and Responsibilities section of this document to see which access groups have contact "publish" right.

Alternatively, you can create contact records using the contact entry form in the frontend by filling out the required fields.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Modifying Contacts

Contacts can be modified by clicking on the "Edit" link under the contact title in the contact list page in the admin area. Make any necessary changes and then click Publish.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Searching Contacts

In WP Easy Contact, users are only allowed to search contacts they have access to. Users who have access to contacts can search using the filter system in the contact admin area.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Scheduling Contacts

To schedule Contacts for publication on a future time or date in the admin area:

  1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
  2. Click the 'Contacts' tab.
  3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the contact list page.
  4. Start filling in your contact fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
  5. As needed, set contact taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
  6. When you are ready, click "Edit" in the Publish area next to the words "Publish immediately". You can also change the publish date to a date in the past to back-date Contacts. Change the settings to the desired time and date. You must also hit the "Publish" button when you have completed the contact to publish at the desired time and date.
  7. After the submission is completed, the contact status changes to "Published".
Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Password Protected Contacts

To create a password protected contact in the admin area:

  1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
  2. Click the 'Contacts' tab.
  3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the contact list page.
  4. Start filling in your contact fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
  5. As needed, set contact taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
  6. Click the "Edit" link next to Visibility in the publish box and select "Password protected".
  7. Enter a password that will be required to view that contact in the text field. The password is limited to 20 characters.
  8. When you are ready, click the "Publish" button (or "Update" if the contact is already published.)
  9. After the submission is completed, the contact status changes to "Published".

Only an Administrator and users with "publish" right can change the password set for your contact or modify visibility setting by clicking the "Visibility: Edit" link again.

When contact content is password protected, contact title displays the text "Protected: " before the contact Title and the content prints a password form with this text: "This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:".

If multiple contacts have the same password, one will only have to enter the required password once. Only one password is tracked at a time so if you visit two different contacts with two different password, you must re-enter the contact password to access content. WordPress saves passwords for maximum 10 days. After this period expires, one must reenter the password again to view the protected content.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Private Contacts

Contacts can be privately published to remove them from contact lists and feeds.

To create a private contact in the admin area:

  1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
  2. Click the 'Contacts' tab.
  3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the contact list page.
  4. Start filling in your contact fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
  5. As needed, set contact taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
  6. Click the "Edit" link next to Visibility in the publish box and select "Private".
  7. Once you change the visibility to private, the contact status changes to "Privately Published".
  8. When you are ready, click the "UPDATE" button.

Only an Administrator and users with "publish" right for the contact can change visibility setting by clicking the "Visibility: Edit" link again.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Previewing Contacts

To preview contact content press the "Preview" button - a button directly above the “publish” button - in the publish box before officially publishing or sending for review.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Draft Contacts

To create a draft contact in the admin area:

  1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
  2. Click the 'Contacts' tab.
  3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the contact list page.
  4. Start filling in your contact fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
  5. As needed, set contact taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
  6. When you are ready, click "Save Draft" button in the publish box.
  7. After the submission is completed, the contact status stays at "Draft".
Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Setting Contact Tags

Contact Tag can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Contact Tags" box and updating/saving the contact. Setting a value for Contact Tag is optional. Contact Tag is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Contact Tag value to another.

Contact Tags do not have preset values.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Setting Countries

Country can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Countries" box and updating/saving the contact. Setting a value for Country is optional. Country is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Country value to another.

WP Easy Contact comes with a preset Countries defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined Countries.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Setting Country

Countries can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Country" box and updating/saving the contact. Setting a value for Countries is optional. Countries is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Countries value to another.

WP Easy Contact comes with a preset Country defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined Country.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Setting States

State can be set by clicking on the desired option in "States" box and updating/saving the contact. Setting a value for State is optional. State is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one State value to another.

WP Easy Contact comes with a preset States defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined States.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Displaying Contacts

Displaying Contact archives can be done by creating a link in the Appearance Menus Screen in the admin area.

Alternatively, if you'd like to display a specific Contact, you can select the link from Contact metabox and add it to your menu. If you don't see Contact metabox, check the Screen Options to ensure it is set to display.

To create a custom link for Contact archives:

  1. Goto Appearance in the admin menu and click on Menus link
  2. On the right hand side, pick the menu you’d like to include from Select a menu to edit dropdown
  3. Under Links menu navigation item, type in /contacts to the URL field
  4. Type in Contacts or another label describing the custom link URL in the Link Text field
  5. Click “Add to menu” button to add the item to the menu
  6. Pick “primary location” under “Menu Settings” below the menu
  7. Save your menu
  8. Go to the frontend and click on the link you created to access Contacts. Contact archive page content is only displayed to the authorized users who have access permissions.
Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Email Piping Contacts

Contacts can be created through emails by purchasing WPAS incoming email extension. After activation of the extension, incoming email link will appear under WP Easy Contact menu in the admin area. WPAS incoming mail extension allows to poll IMAP or POP3 servers, with or without SSL/TLS to receive emails. Polling frequency can be set to allow processing emails in specified intervals.

Using WPAS incoming email extension. You can define specific message processing rules per Contact:

  • Deleting emails after creating Contacts
  • Setting maximum number of emails to post: a handy feature exp; if you want to accept specific number of Contacts.
  • Protection against spam or unauthorized Contact creation using email pins, authorized addresses, and banned file names.
  • Allowing visitors(users who do not have publish capability) to create Contacts via email
  • Setting default subject for email without any subject line.

  • Setting separate Contact post statuses for users and visitors.
  • Using shortcodes to categorize emails or to set values.

Email processing activity history is recorded for processing errors or validations.

Incoming email settings can be configured by selecting WP Easy Contact menu in the admin area and clicking on Incoming email link.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Locking Contacts

In WP Easy Contact, Contacts are locked during editing, preventing other users from accessing and modifying the Contact.

If a user clicks to edit one of the Contact records that's currently locked they are presented with three options in a pop-up dialog:

  1. Go Back - Return to the Contacts listing.
  2. Preview - Preview the current state of the Contact that's being edited.
  3. Take Over - Lock out the current editor of the Contacts and begin editing. (The other user will receive a notification)

The user that has been locked out receives the following dialog, and is no longer able to edit the Contact. It can take up to 15 seconds for the current Contact editor to be notified that another user has taken over.

Widgets

Widgets provide a simple and easy-to-use way of displaying content and features on your sidebars or dashboard.

Sidebar widgets can be added, removed, and rearranged on the WordPress Administration Appearance > Widgets panel. Dashboard widgets can be enabled or disabled using Screen Options tab in your app dashboard page. All widgets have drag-and-drop functionality.

The following sections list the WP Easy Contact widgets:

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Recent Contact sidebar widget

Recent Contact is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 5 published contact records without any page navigation links.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Recent Contacts dashboard widget

Recent Contacts is an entity dashboard widget which is available in WordPress Dashboard. It shows latest 5 published contact records without any page navigation links.

Forms

Forms allow users to enter data that is sent to WP Easy Contact for processing. Forms can be used to enter or retrieve search results related to your content.

The following sections list the WP Easy Contact forms:

Last Updated: 2015-08-08

Contact submit

"Contact submit" form is used for entering contact records from the frontend. You can use [contact_submit] shortcode to display it in a page or post of your choise as well.

The following are the fields used in the form:

  • First Name (text)
  • Last Name (text)
  • Email (text)
  • Phone (text)
  • Address (text)
  • City (text)
  • Zip Code (text)
  • Subject (text)
  • Message (wysiwyg)
  • ID (hidden_func)
  • Form Name (hidden)
  • Form Submitted By (hidden_func)
  • Form Submitted IP (hidden_func)
  • States (select-only single selection allowed)
  • Countries (select-only single selection allowed)
Last Updated: 2017-07-31

Roles and Capabilities

The following table shows the capabilities and the access roles available in WP Easy Contact app. "Red" color means the users who belong to the corresponding role do not have the capability. "Green" color means the users who belong to the corresponding role have the capability.

CAPABILITYAdministratorEditorAuthorContributorSubscriber
Edit Contacts
Delete Contacts
Edit Others Contacts
Publish Contacts
Read Private Contacts
Delete Private Contacts
Delete Published Contacts
Delete Others Contacts
Edit Private Contacts
Edit Published Contacts
Manage Operations Contacts
CAPABILITYAdministratorEditorAuthorContributorSubscriber
Manage Contact Tags
Edit Contact Tags
Delete Contact Tags
Assign Contact Tags
Manage States
Edit States
Delete States
Assign States
Manage Countries
Edit Countries
Delete Countries
Assign Countries
CAPABILITYAdministratorEditorAuthorContributorSubscriber
All Relationships are open to public.
CAPABILITYAdministratorEditorAuthorContributorSubscriber
View Recent Contacts
View Recent Contacts
Configure Recent Contacts
CAPABILITYAdministratorEditorAuthorContributorSubscriber
All Forms are open to public.
CAPABILITYAdministratorEditorAuthorContributorSubscriber
All Views are open to public.

Administration

Plugins are managed from the Plugins screen in the Administration Screens of your WordPress site. All Plugins listed on this screen are found in your wp-content/plugins directory. Each Plugin has a description in its header section of what it does, an author and website to refer to, and a version number. Find WP Easy Contact from the list.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Installation

To install your WP Easy Contact Plugin using the built-in plugin installer:

  1. Download WP Easy Contact Plugin to your desktop.
  2. Go to Plugins "Add New".
  3. Under Upload, click "Browse".
  4. Find the WP Easy Contact.zip file.
  5. Click Install Now to install the WP Easy Contact Plugin.
  6. A popup window will ask you to confirm your wish to install the Plugin.
  7. Click Proceed to continue with the installation. The resulting installation screen will list the installation as successful or note any problems during the install.
  8. If successful, click Activate Plugin to activate it, or Return to Plugin Installer for further actions.

After the activation, the WP Easy Contact plugin setup may display notification asking if you if you'd like to install setup pages or skip setup page installation, click the appropriate button.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Uninstallation

To uninstall your WP Easy Contact Plugin using the built-in plugin installer:

  1. Go to Plugins screen.
  2. Find the WP Easy Contact Plugin you wish to deactivate and uninstall.
  3. Click Deactivate.
Last Updated: 2016-06-01

Plugin Updates and Upgrades

WordPress auto-update system displays notification in the Admin Bar and also on the plugins page when new version of the WP Easy Contact is available.

To install the new version, simply hit the "Update automatically" button. WordPress will automatically download the new package, extract it and replace the old files. No FTP, removing old files, and uploading is required.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Modifying Form Fields

Administrators can show, hide, and resize form elements by clicking on the Settings page under WP Easy Contact menu. In addition, form captcha element can be set to "Visitors Only","Always Show", or "Never Show".

Required fields can not be disabled however you can change the column size. The optional fields can be enabled, disabled, or modified to occupy more or less space in the form layout.

Make sure to save your changes after any modification otherwise your changes will not take effect.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Localization(l10n)

WP Easy Contact can be translated into any language by editing wp-econtact-emd-plugins.pot and wp-econtact.pot files.

  • wp-econtact-emd-plugins.pot file is for the components used in WP Easy Contact.
  • wp-econtact.pot file is for the WP Easy Contact specific strings that need to be translated.

Follow the steps below to fully translate WP Easy Contact into the desired language:

  1. Copy wp-econtact-emd-plugins.pot as language specific .po file such as wp-econtact-emd-plugins-tr_TR.po.
  2. Copy wp-econtact.pot as language specific .po file such as wp-econtact-tr_TR.po.
  3. Use your favorite PO file editor and complete translation strings in the .po files you created.
  4. When translations are completed, create .mo file of each .po file.
  5. Change the language in the admin settings screen. Settings > general > Site Language. For WordPress v3.9.2 and below set the language parameter in wp-config.php file into the language extension of your choice. For example, define ('WPLANG', 'tr_TR'); for Turkish.

Login to WP Easy Contact and see if you missed any translations. Repeat the process if you need to make more changes.

Last Updated: 2015-03-05

Screen Options

Screen Options is displayed as a hanging tab under the toolbar. Click on the Screen Options tab to expand the options available for a particular Screen, check (or uncheck) the desired options, then click the Screen Options hanging tab to collapse the Screen Options. Each screen may have a different set of Screen Options.

Edit page screen options allow the user to decide the edit boxes ,such as taxonomies, relationships or specific boxes such as authors, are presented in the edit area. You can turn on and off the ones that are not needed for a particular edit session.

List page screen options allow users to set the number of records displayed in the list table.

Glossary

Below is the list of attribute and taxonomy definitions.

Last Updated: 2015-06-26

Contact

First Name
Please enter your first name. First Name is a required field. First Name does not have a default value.
Last Name
Please enter your last name. Last Name does not have a default value.
Email
Please enter your email address. Email is a required field. Email does not have a default value.
Phone
Please enter your phone or mobile. Phone does not have a default value.
Address
Please enter your mailing address. Address does not have a default value.
City
Please enter your city. City does not have a default value.
Zip Code
Please enter your zip code. Zip Code does not have a default value.
Subject
Subject is a required field. Subject does not have a default value.
Message
Message is a required field. Message does not have a default value.
ID
Unique contact id incremented by one to keep tract of communications ID does not have a default value.
Form Name
Form Name is filterable in the admin area. Form Name has a default value of "admin".
Form Submitted By
Form Submitted By is filterable in the admin area. Form Submitted By does not have a default value.
Form Submitted IP
Form Submitted IP is filterable in the admin area. Form Submitted IP does not have a default value.
Country
Please enter your country you reside in. Country accepts multiple values like tags. Country does not have a default value.

The following are the preset values for "Country:"

Afghanistan, Åland Islands, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua And Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote D\'ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard Island And Mcdonald Islands, Holy See (Vatican City State), Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Republic Of, Iraq, Ireland, Isle Of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Democratic People\'s Republic Of, Korea, Republic Of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People\'s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States Of, Moldova, Republic Of, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Territory, Occupied, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts And Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre And Miquelon, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome And Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard And Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Province Of China, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United Republic Of, Thailand, Timor-leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad And Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks And Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wallis And Futuna, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

State
Please enter your state you reside in. State accepts multiple values like tags. State does not have a default value.

The following are the preset values and value descriptions for "State:"

ALAlabama
AKAlaska
AZArizona
ARArkansas
CACalifornia
COColorado
CTConnecticut
DEDelaware
DCDistrict of Columbia
FLFlorida
GAGeorgia
HIHawaii
IDIdaho
ILIllinois
INIndiana
IAIowa
KSKansas
KYKentucky
LALouisiana
MEMaine
MDMaryland
MAMassachusetts
MIMichigan
MNMinnesota
MSMississippi
MOMissouri
MTMontana
NENebraska
NVNevada
NHNew Hampshire
NJNew Jersey
NMNew Mexico
NYNew York
NCNorth Carolina
NDNorth Dakota
OHOhio
OKOklahoma
OROregon
PAPennsylvania
RIRhode Island
SCSouth Carolina
SDSouth Dakota
TNTennessee
TXTexas
UTUtah
VTVermont
VAVirginia
WAWashington
WVWest Virginia
WIWisconsin
WYWyoming