I actually made such a module where I work by day -- a fairly large magazine and book publisher. It was originally developed as a DNN 2 module, so I need to re-write it anyway. I can certainly make it available to the community, but it will probably be several weeks before it's ready.

The way this module currently works, you add articles to it and edit the article with certain information that displays in the article list and certain information that is part of the article itself (including rich HTML body). Start and stop dates can be scheduled for articles, articles can be assigned to categories and security can be assigned at the article level. Each module instance can be configured to display articles in various ways -- all site articles, articles by category, current articles, archived articles, etc.

Does this sound like what you are looking for? And have you looked at the Efficion Articles module? I haven't used it in a while, so I don't know about the current version first-hand, but it seems to be well-liked in the DNN community.

There are several modules that have overlapping functionality in this area. I've spent a lot of time with The core Blog, the core Repository and also purchased NukeNews. I also checked out two or three other news modules such as those already mentioned.

None of them are perfect out of the box, but with time spent customising them you will get what you want. There are many and highly significant differences in the details of how each manages users, images, links, files, article descriptions and article bodies etc. As well, there is the issue of making the module look good in a professional site.

The Repository was very promising and is due for a new released in a week or two so it might be worth checking out again. I wanted this one because it would also serve as a resource directory, which is what it primarily is for. The templating system was also promising and I spent loads of time on sorting this module out but it proved too flakey and with too many workflow issues in the end. One good point with the Repository is that it can be set to display only one section of its database which makes it easier to dedicate different instances to different purposes such as files or news. A problem however is that it does not at this point have subcategories. For files I have now opted for the decidated Free Resource Directory which is very good, but is not suited to managing articles.

NukeNews was worth the 20 bucks or so that it cost to test it out and I very nearly went back to it. It was straighforward to customise, the developer is responsive and it gave me the best results quicker than the others. An issue with the way it handles comments in certain types of article and also the way it archives made me head for the blog instead.

The blog has one problem in that it does not let multiple users post to a single category. Although each user can have lots of categories. I'm currently using this module as I am the only contributor. It has some flakiness with DNN4, but I am sticking with this module. Customising the appearance is as hard as any of them but I'm pleased with it now. One flaw is that it does not let one specify a folder for uploaded images or files and so these all end up in the root.

If you are doing this for a professional site then you will have to test and work with several modules before choosing one. If this is determining your choice of DNN in the first place then consider dedicated news/blogging tools instead if the site is primarly for that purpose.

I've missed many of the differences and also the other couple of modules I tried.. mainly because I stress that you will have to install and trial each one in any case.

Good luck

Rob

you should also have a look at free "Articles" module from Efficion Consulting (www.efficionconsulting.com)

I know that this is an old post but I need a module like this too! I have looked everywhere and the only one I can find that comes close is the Articles module found at:

http://www.efficionsoftware.com/DotNetNuke/Modules/Articles/tabid/352/Default.aspx

Please if anyone else has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it! I would like to note that  a module that would perform as the blogs at:

www.blogger.com would be perfect! I may looking in the wrong places but I need this to hook my brother up with a website that he can keep a travel log or travel photo blog while he travels throughout Africa in the upcoming months.

Thanx much for ANYONE that can help :-)

The DNN Blog that you are talking about does not support images in such a way that they can be inserted into various place within the text. I realize that this can possibly be done by using HTML however my brother is not skilled in using HTML and then uploading files. It would be much easier to just have a place to insert images where you want with the option to upload them via the module.

I wish that the DNN Blog would work but for what I need I dont think it will.

I'd still do as I suggested earlier and you have discovered yourself... either sign up for Blogger or install a dedicated blog tool such as Wordpress and others. It''ll be far easier to set up, probably be easier to use, run somewhat snappier, and look better from scratch too. Yes, I'm dissing DNN here, but this is about using the right tool for the job... DNN can do it and so can 200 other web site frameworks, but save yourself a lot of drama and work by getting one made for the purpose.

http://wordpress.com/ Install yourself or get a cheap hosted one
http://www.typepad.com/ Built on Moveable Type and has a good photogallery system

http://www.writerswrite.com/blogging/software.htm List of Blog tools
http://www.lights.com/weblogs/tools.html More tools

If you absolutely must use DNN and are not afraid of putting in a lot of work then that articles module you found will do fine, as will NukeNews and also the core Blog. After much time spent with each, I now use the core Blog myself, but I would not install it for someone else to use on their holiday. I'd give them Wordpress/Typepad or Blogger.

2 cents from Rob

balastrea wrote:

The DNN Blog that you are talking about does not support images in such a way that they can be inserted into various place within the text. I realize that this can possibly be done by using HTML however my brother is not skilled in using HTML and then uploading files. It would be much easier to just have a place to insert images where you want with the option to upload them via the module.

I wish that the DNN Blog would work but for what I need I dont think it will.

That is not true. Blog uses a large text field with the HTML Editor provider, where you can easily add images at any place. For most comfort I suggest installing the FCKEditor provider from dnn.tiendaboliviana.com, where you have a gallery and upload option.

balastrea wrote:

The DNN Blog that you are talking about does not support images in such a way that they can be inserted into various place within the text. I realize that this can possibly be done by using HTML however my brother is not skilled in using HTML and then uploading files. It would be much easier to just have a place to insert images where you want with the option to upload them via the module.

I wish that the DNN Blog would work but for what I need I dont think it will.

As I mentioned earlier, DNN can do what you want, but you have to be prepared to make it do it. It doesn't do it out of the box. Very little in DNN works satisfactorily out of the box.. unless one has pretty low standards of design, usability and workflow that is.

To get the DNN Blog to insert pictures in a useful manner you will have to replace the FTB editor with the FCK editor provider released by Locopon (search to find it). Even with that in place, one has to size the images appropriately before uploading. If you want that to be done automatically, there are a couple of photo album modules that can do that.. but then the photo is no longer in the blog. There is also a tool and a complete file manager replacement that will do resizing, but again, not directly from within the editor.

I really can't stress any more that DNN is probably not the right tool, even if it can be bashed into shape after some work. I can think of half a dozen issues that will immediately crop up as soon as you start the work (on top of the ones already mentioned) and all of them will only hold you up. If you want to learn to use DNN for other purposes then I agree this project could be a fine place to start, however, as it is really intended for someone else' purposes (your brother's?) go with the faster and better solution and save DNN for something else.

Good luck,

Rob

balastrea,

I agree with both of the suggestions made here. If you really want to use DNN, and your brother will be blogging, get the DNN Blog. You can insert images from the site's uploaded files directly into the text of the blog entry.

Then again, if your brother is just going to be blogging, he should probably go ahead and use a dedicated blog tool or service, as Rob suggested.

That said, for those who are still looking for a DNN content management solution, I will be updating the one I did earlier for commercial release -- probably in April or May.

To all that have replied so quick I do thank you for your comments and suggestions! The specialized "Blogging" websites seem to be what direction I should have my brother take. This is disappointing however because I bought him a domain that I was going to host with the hosting provider that I bought for myself. I was going to make a child portal (My new server only allows 1 SQL Database) and point his new domain to that portal. Then with DNN I figured it would be great for him to be able to change the content on the fly from anywhere he could have access to the net via his laptop or an internet cafe. Also he wants the ablility to create a graphic that I can turn into a skin to use for his site. (I am still learning this proccess but have one undermy belt that I made for DNN 2.) He would like it a little more personalized than using one of six templates

So far the blogger.com site seems to have all he needs except for the webspace. I have much more space allowed by my server that I was planning to use. I know that it would be possible to use my space and link images but for him he needs the "Easy-Button"

I will look forward to Tim Roland's module. It totaly sounds like the cats-meow as my brother is a journalism major he wants the layout to allow for many images throughout each article or blog.

I will look into the other suggestions mentioned above and let him choose "for now" which will work.

Has anybody checked out the new DNN Masters Content Builder module?  Only the Lite version is currently available, with the Pro version supposedly due out any time.  I bought the Lite version earlier today, and I thought it's fairly limited as it stands --- truly a Lite version --- but it has great potential and the Pro version could be exactly what I'm looking for.  Unfortunately I've not really been able to figure out what the feature set will be for the Pro version, and of course that makes it pretty tough to know, with deadlines looming, whether to wait for it or proceed with customizing some other choices!