The Drupal Cookbook (for beginners)

The Drupal Cookbook (for Beginners) helps Drupal "newbies" by providing a walkthrough of a common Drupal Setup. This is a great tool for Drupal.org users who are overwhelmed at first.

German version
English version as PDF
Currently these versions are out of date.

Background

This handbook was originally written for Drupal 5. The information in this cookbook is generally transferable to Drupal 6, however some navigation buttons, links, and menu items have been renamed or moved. Every attempt is made to keep these handbooks current.

The original intent of the Cookbook, and for which there have had many positive comments on its original form, is to help the new Drupal user wade through all the other opinionated articles (yes, there are places where this writing expresses the author's opinions) and extraneous stuff to get a site going. It is not perfect and exactly correct in all details. When you have gotten a site or two going, then you will be far better prepared for all those other articles which are perfect and have the excruciating details.

Terminology

This cookbook requires a basic understanding of the General Concepts of Drupal. Additional resources for understanding terms used in Drupal include:

• Terminology (Terms).
• Drupal Jargon.
• Common English expressions and acronyms.

Typing Convention

The Cookbook and other documentation on drupal.org uses the following standard to help users navigate the site:

Administer >> Access control >> User management >> Roles.

This refers to the navigation for an Administration page. The above example tells the user to click on "Administer" in the navigation menu, then "Access control," then "User management," and then "Roles".

Working with Drupal

Before starting with Drupal it is advised that the following recommendations are used:

• Use a test site that uses the same Drupal release, modules and a copy of the live database. Avoid working and experimenting anything for the first time on a live site.
• Don't try to make the "perfect site" on the first shot. Muddle through for a while. Stressing over the perfect solution can lead to frustration.
• Start by learning and using the basic functionality of Drupal. Find what Drupal can do before working towards a specific goal. Once comfortable with the "core" features and behavior, move onto more complex contributed modules such as Views, CCK, and Organic Groups. These modules and some others require a good bit of understanding to master. The power and flexibility of Drupal and its modules will become apparent over time.
• If you must have a custom theme, customize one of the default themes before creating starting from scratch. Refer to the Drupal 5 theme guide or Drupal 6 theme guide.
• Go easy on what "gadgets" such as useless blocks, images, and graphics that clutter the page.
• Participate in the forums, the Documentation Team, and IRC help's many people learn Drupal. A great way to learn Drupal is to teach others. It is a well-known fact that new Drupal users tend to produce the best documentation because they are less confused by knowing what is supposed to happen.

Get support through Drupal.org

Before posting to the Drupal.org site:

• Search to see if the subject has already been covered to avoid having duplicate postings & issues. If Drupal's search fails, Google will often point to the right references. To use Google to limit the results to Drupal.org include in the search field site:drupal.org
• Ask one question per post. The issue tracking system can only handle one at a time.
• Don't hesitate to ask the question again and add I'm a newbie, can you say this in easier to understand terms, please?
• Before posting, read the tips for posting in the Drupal Forums. Try to describe the situation/case completely. Explain what has done so far and what final goals are to be met.
• When requesting changes don't demand or threaten to abandon Drupal, and certainly don't resort to name calling or derogatory comments. Often times the best way is to jump in and ask how to get involved.
• In general you will see core versions written as 5.x and 6.x or a specific version as 5.18 or 6.12. Contributed modules are listed with a core compatibility and a version number, such as 5.x-2.5 or 6.x-1.6, which mean "Drupal 5 compatible, Version 2, release 5" or "Drupal 6 compatible, Version 1, release 6." This way, if you see "5.x-2.5" you can know that it means a module release rather than a core release.

For example, if a page is not showing up correctly, be prepared to provide the following information:

1. A descriptive title
2. Operating system and browser name. Version information and a list of potentially relevant plug-ins you are using are often important.
3. Version of Drupal (5.x, 6.x etc)
4. Any contributed modules
5. The versions of PHP and MySQL being used, as well as the name/URL of the hosting provider. To see which versions of PHP and MySQL (or other database) that the site is using, in Drupal 5 navigate to: Admin >> Logs >> Status Report, and in Drupal 6: admin >> reports >> status.

Things To Keep in Mind

Drupal is very powerful and flexible. It can have a significant degree of complexity. The Developers work hard at balancing features with flexibility. Developing great user interfaces is a process. New users to Drupal have an amazing fresh look to Drupal. Feel free to join the Usability Group.

A common mistake when approaching a solution to a problem in Drupal is to assume how Drupal approaches the problem. Drupal is a unique and powerful platform that is quite different from many other solutions. This difference can be viewed as "strange" to the new user of Drupal, but as you continue to dive into Drupal you will find that the Drupal way is amazing.

Start simply by getting something up and visible. Then celebrate what you have done. One step at a time will lead to a more wonderful website. Don't indiscriminately add tons of contributed modules right away. Get comfortable with modules one at a time. Modules that are not appropriate or used should be disabled and uninstalled.

As with most things worth mastering, there is a learning curve with Drupal. But there is lots of support as well. Gaining control over this powerful software is incredibly gratifying. The collaboration of a large open source Drupal community has the ability to deliver powerful functionality to end users.