In Drupal, a distribution refers to a convenient package consisting of Drupal core, contributed modules, themes, and configurations. It allows for effortless installation, enabling the creation of specific types of websites quickly. Distributions are specifically designed for various use cases, such as building news websites or e-commerce platforms. Examples of popular distributions include:
- Drupal Commerce: This distribution is tailored for creating e-commerce websites. It comes pre-configured with modules and themes that facilitate online shopping functionality.
- Open Atrium: Designed for intranet and collaboration sites, Open Atrium is a distribution that offers essential features like document sharing, project management, and team communication tools.
By utilizing a distribution, developers can save significant time and effort during website construction. Rather than starting from scratch, much of the initial setup and configuration work is already completed. Fully functional distributions are particularly advantageous, as they are ready to use straight away. These distributions typically incorporate commonly required features and functionalities for a specific website or application.
To illustrate the concept, here’s an example of installing the Drupal Commerce distribution using the command line:
$ composer create-project drupalcommerce/project-base mywebshop --stability dev --no-interaction
The above command sets up a new Drupal Commerce website named “mywebshop” by pulling the necessary components from the distribution package.
In summary, distributions in Drupal provide pre-configured packages that expedite the creation of specific websites or applications. They offer convenience and time-saving benefits by bundling together essential components and configurations.
In Drupal, there are several modules that can be used to create feedback forms and surveys. Some popular options include:
Webform
- This module allows you to create forms and surveys using a drag-and-drop interface, and it includes a wide range of form elements and options.
The Webform module in Drupal allows site administrators to create forms and surveys that can be filled out by website visitors. It provides a user-friendly interface for creating and managing forms and allows for a variety of field types, such as text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, and file uploads. Forms can be configured to send email notifications, save submissions to the database, and export data to a spreadsheet. Additionally, the module includes conditional logic, validation, and access controls. Once a form is created, it can be added to pages and posts using a block or a shortcode.
Survey Builder
- This module allows you to create surveys with multiple pages, and it includes support for conditional logic and branching.
In Drupal, the Survey Builder module allows users to create surveys and polls on their website. The module provides a user interface for creating and managing surveys, as well as for collecting and analyzing the results. Surveys can include a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, checkboxes, and open-ended text fields. Users can also set limits on the number of times a survey can be taken, and can choose to make the survey anonymous or require users to log in before taking the survey. Once a survey is created, it can be embedded in a page or blocked on the website, or linked to through a button or link. The results of the survey can then be viewed and analyzed in the module’s admin interface.
Quiz
- This module allows you to create quizzes and surveys, and it includes support for multiple question types and scoring.
In Drupal, the Quiz module allows site administrators to create and manage quizzes on their website. The module includes features such as multiple question types (e.g. multiple choice, true/false), the ability to set a time limit for taking the quiz, and the ability to provide instant feedback and score calculations. The module also includes options for managing quiz access and permissions, as well as reporting and analytics tools for tracking quiz performance. The Quiz module can be used to create quizzes for a variety of purposes, such as education, training, and assessment.
Form Builder
- This module allows you to create forms and surveys using a simple, point-and-click interface, and it includes support for custom validation and submission handlers.
In Drupal, the Form Builder module allows users to create and manage forms through a web interface, rather than having to manually write the code for the form. The module provides a user-friendly interface for creating and editing form fields, setting validation rules, and managing submissions. Once a form is created, it can be added to a page or blocked on the website and made available to users. The Form Builder module also includes features such as email notifications and the ability to export submitted data.
Contact
- This module allows you to create contact forms, including support for multiple recipients and configurable email templates.
The Contact module in Drupal allows website visitors to send messages to the site administrator through a web form. This form can be configured to include various fields, such as name, email, subject, and message. Once the form is submitted, the message is sent to the email address specified in the module’s settings, and can also be viewed and managed through the Drupal administrator interface. Additionally, the module allows to create of different forms for different purposes, and can also be used to create custom contact forms for specific use cases
These are some of the popular modules you can use to create feedback forms and surveys in Drupal, but many other options are also available. It’s always recommended to review the module documentation and check its popularity, stability, maintenance, and community before installing.
Drupal is a popular open-source content management system that is known for its flexibility and scalability. It has been widely adopted by organizations of all sizes and has a reputation for being a secure platform. However, as with any technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using Drupal.
In this text, we will explore the pros and cons of using Drupal as a CMS for your website or application.
Advantages of using Drupal include:
- Flexibility: Drupal is a highly modular and extensible platform, which allows developers to easily create custom functionality and add new features as needed.
- Scalability: Drupal can handle large amounts of content and high traffic loads, making it a good choice for enterprise-level websites and applications.
- Strong security: Drupal has a history of addressing and mitigating security vulnerabilities in a timely manner.
- Large community: Drupal has a large and active community of developers and users, which means that there is a wealth of resources and support available for the platform.
Disadvantages of using Drupal include:
- Steep learning curve: Drupal can be complex and difficult to learn, especially for those without a background in web development.
- Higher hosting costs: Drupal requires a more powerful server setup than some other content management systems, which can lead to higher hosting costs.
- Higher development costs: Customizing Drupal can be more time-consuming and expensive than other platforms, which can be a disadvantage for organizations with limited budgets.
- Slower performance: Drupal can be slower than other CMS’s, particularly when running complex modules and on shared hosting environments.
To sum up, Drupal is a widely used and well-respected content management system that can be an excellent choice for enterprise-level websites and applications. While Drupal offers many benefits, including flexibility, scalability, and security, it also has some drawbacks, such as a higher learning curve and development costs. Ultimately, the decision to use Drupal should be based on careful consideration of the specific requirements and resources of each organization.
The Views module in Drupal is a powerful tool that allows site administrators to create custom lists of content, users, or other data stored on the website. It allows you to select the fields to display, filter the results, and sort the output.

Views can be used to create lists of content, galleries, tables, and even custom pages. It is one of the most popular and widely used modules in Drupal, and is often used in conjunction with other modules to create complex and dynamic websites.
In Drupal, the Views module allows you to create customized lists and displays of content stored in your website’s database.
To create a view:
- navigate to the “Structure” section of your Drupal site’s administration menu
- select “Views”
- create a new view by clicking the “Add view” button.
You can then configure the view by selecting the type of content you want to display, the fields you want to include, and the layout and format of the view. Once you have configured the view, you can save it and then display it on your website by adding it to a menu or by using a block.
The Views module in Drupal allows users to create and manage database queries, and display the results in a variety of ways, such as lists, tables, and graphs. It uses a web-based interface, which makes it easy for non-technical users to create and manage views.They can also be used to create custom pages, blocks, and RSS feeds. The module is highly configurable, with options to sort, filter, and format the results, as well as to provide pagination and caching.
This module is so useful and popular that since Drupal 8 it has been included in the core
In the address bar, type “site:drupal.org” followed by your search terms, and press Enter. This will search all of Drupal.org using Google.

To set up a Firefox shortcut for searching Drupal.org using Google, follow these steps:
- Open Firefox and go to the Drupal.org homepage.
- Right-click on the site search bar and select “Add a Keyword for this Search” from the context menu.
- In the “Keyword” field, type a shortcut that you want to use to search Drupal.org, such as “dru”.
- Click “Save” to create the shortcut.
From now on, you can use the shortcut “dru” followed by your search terms to search Drupal.org using Google. For example, if you want to search for “modules”, you can type “dru modules” into the address bar and press Enter.
You can also use the API documentation search at api.drupal.org to find information about Drupal APIs. Simply go to api.drupal.org/apis and enter your search term in the search box. This will search the API documentation for your search term and display a list of relevant results.
To create an “HTML help” block in Drupal and assign it to appear only on “node/edit” and “node/add” pages, follow these steps:

- Navigate to the “Structure” menu and click on the “Blocks” link.
- Click the “Add block” button.
- In the “Block description” field, enter a name for the block, such as “HTML help.”
- In the “Block body” field, enter the HTML content that you want to display in the block.
- In the “Visibility” section, click the “Pages” tab.
- In the “Pages” field, enter the paths for the pages where you want the block to appear. To show the block on “node/edit” and “node/add” pages, you would enter:
node/add/*
node/*/edit - Click the “Save block” button.
The HTML help block will now appear on the specified pages.