Forums display content based on the current values of the forumid and threadid query string parameters. By default, the URL of a forum thread might look like the following:

 

•<domain>/Forums.aspx?forumid=3&threadid=12

 

A friendly URL of the same forum thread looks like the following:

 

•<domain>/Forums/f4/t13/Frequently-asked-questions.aspx

 

Having your forum URLs in this format is a good practice when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

 

Enabling friendly URLs

 

For this to be enabled, you have to do the following two tasks:

 

1. Set the following properties of the Forum group web part:

 

•Use friendly URLs - check to enable the Friendly URLs feature.

•Friendly base URL - enter the base part of the URL, which is displayed after the domain name, e.g. /Forums for the example above and for the document aliases listed below.

•URL extension - extension that will be used at the end of the friendly URL.

 

2. Assign the following document aliases to the document containing the Forum group web part. The /Forums part of each alias must be equal to the value in the Friendly base URL property of the Forum group web part:

 

•/Forums/f{forumid}/{whatever}

•/Forums/f{forumid}/fp{fpage}/{whatever}

•/Forums/f{forumid}/t{threadid}/{whatever}

•/Forums/f{forumid}/fp{fpage}/t{threadid}/{whatever}

•/Forums/f{forumid}/t{threadid}/tp{tpage}/{whatever}

•/Forums/f{forumid}/fp{fpage}/t{threadid}/tp{tpage}/{whatever}

 

Single forum friendly URLs

 

If you want to enable friendly URLs for a single forum, the Forum (Single forum - General) web part should be set the same way as described in step 1, but only the following two document aliases need to be added to the document:

 

•/Forums/t{threadid}/{whatever}

•/Forums/t{threadid}/tp{tpage}/{whatever}