Common Issues and Solutions

This guide provides quick fixes for common setup and usage problems you might encounter while using GravityOps Forum.

1. Forum Shortcodes Are Not Rendering #

If you’ve placed the forum shortcodes on a page but they appear as plain text or render nothing at all:

• Check Plugin Activation: Ensure that both Gravity Forms and GravityOps Forum are active.
• Shortcode Parameters: If you are using a single shortcode (e.g., [gofrm_forum]) on a page without the slug or id attribute, it will render nothing unless the correct query parameter is in the URL.
• Shortcode Mode: If you have disabled “Rewrite Rules”, make sure you have at least one published page containing [gofrm_index]. Dedicated [gofrm_forum], [gofrm_topic], and [gofrm_profile] shortcodes are optional layout overrides.

2. “No Forums Found” on the Index Page #

If the forum index is visible but empty:

• Create a Board and Forum: Navigate to GravityOps > Forum > Forums and ensure you have created at least one Board and one Forum assigned to that Board.
• Check Status: Confirm board/forum statuses are set as expected. draft is admin-only, private requires login + matching access set, and hidden is not listed in the index for non-admin users.

3. Topic or Reply Forms Are Missing #

If you can see the forum but the “New Topic” or “Reply” forms are not showing:

• Form Mapping: Go to the Forms tab and ensure you have mapped a Gravity Form to “Topic” and “Reply” entities.
• Permission Check: The current user might not have permission to post. Check the Access tab to see which role is mapped to Standard User, Read Only, or Moderator.
• Form Active Status: Ensure the Gravity Forms themselves are active and not trashed.

4. Styles Look “Broken” or Distorted #

If the forum layout doesn’t match your theme:

• Theme Conflicts: Some themes apply aggressive styles to table or form elements. You can add custom CSS in your theme’s stylesheet.
• Template Overrides (Paid only): If you have created template overrides in your theme’s /gravityops-forum/ folder, ensure they are up to date with the plugin’s latest structure. This feature is only available in the paid version.

5. Moderation Buttons are Missing #

If you expect to see “Lock”, “Sticky”, or “Delete” buttons but they are gone:

• Moderator Role: Ensure your user account is assigned a WordPress Role that is mapped to the Moderator Access Set in the plugin’s Access settings.
• Board/Forum Level: Moderation is currently a global capability for users with the Moderator access set across all forums they can view.

6. Search Not Finding Forum Content #

GravityOps Forum stores topics and replies as Gravity Forms entries.

• GravityOps Search: For the best experience, use the GravityOps Search plugin, which is designed to search through Gravity Forms entries effectively.
• Standard WP Search: Standard WordPress search does not typically index Gravity Forms entries. You will need a specialized search solution to index forum content.