SharePoint 2013 - allow others to edit a discussion (not just reply)

One of many SharePoint tips...

Some sites may want more collaboration, the ability to edit discussion topics, etc. I would highly recommend turning on version control for the list you modify in order to see who changed what. Here are the steps:

You need to be in the Site Owner group to make these changes. If you don't have the appropriate permissions, contact your SharePoint administrator to  assist.


Go to Site Contents, click on the discussion list name and in the ribbon click on List, then List Settings.

Once in List Settings, click on Versioning Settings and make sure Create a version each time you edit is set to Yes. I typically do not require content approval for submitted items, but this is an option. It would not allow anything to show until one member of the Approval Members group approves the content. 

Once you click "OK" on the Versioning Settings screen, go into Advanced Settings.

Under the Create and Edit access, select the "Create and edit all items" instead of the "...created by the user" like so, then be sure to click the OK button.

Next, we're going to alter the Site Members contribute rights. Click on the Gear in the upper right hand corner and select Site Settings, then under Users and Permissions, select Site permissions. Check the box next to the [Site Name] Members name, and the "Edit User Permissions" option on the ribbon will become available.

Click the Edit User Permissions, the default rights should be set to only Contribute. Check the boxes next to Edit and Approve like so:

Then click the "OK" button. Now have a site member test the ability to "Edit" a discussion but finding a discussion topic, clicking the ellipses and seeing the "Edit" ability like so:

Hope this helps. 

SharePoint 2013 - How to make the discussion edit window wider without altering the Master Pages.

One of many SharePoint tips...

When creating or editing a discussion, the text field for the body of the discussion is way too narrow. Can it be changed?

There are a few ways, the easiest is to implement JQuery in a web part on the page, that way no-one is mucking with the templates in SharePoint - which can be overwritten in patches, etc.

This following way would need to be done at each site or sub-site as the editform.aspx is unique (copied from the site collection level once a site is created). Which means implementing this at one site will not affect this form on any other site.

Note: You need design rights or site ownership rights in order to perform this modification.

Steps:
Go to the site you would like to implement this on.
Go to a discussion, click the Ellipses (...) and then the Edit choice and you should see a layout similar to this where the "Body" textarea is fairly narrow.

 

You'll want to edit the page this form displays in, which is why I've highlighted the gear in the upper right hand corner, click on it and then select "Edit Page":

 

Now you will want to click the "Add a Web Part", we're going to be adding a Content Editor

After you click "Add a Web Part", chose Media and Content, then Content Editor and click "Add":
 

Now you will see your page again with your newly added Content Editor web part. Click the "Click here to add new content":

It will then place your cursor in the Content Editor, but what we want to do is edit the HTML, so select the Edit Source button as shown here:

In the HTML Source editing window, type the following code:


Your window should now look like this:

Click the "OK" button at the bottom of the HTML Source window. Then you are back on the edit page, click the "Page" on the ribbon and select "Stop Editing" as shown here:

It will redirect you to the discussion list, so go back into a discussion, click the Ellipses and Edit, and now your text areas should be wider like this:

Happy Customizing.