The General tab is used to configure overall settings for the Business Directory. There are 4 sub-tabs on General:
SEO Settings Sub Tab
Permalink Settings
These indicate what values will appear in various URLs used by Business Directory.
Directory Listings Slug
The slug used in the directory URL. This is the main directory URL. Must not contain spaces or remain empty. Avoid common terms which are likely already in use.
Categories Slug
The slug used in the category display URL, to which the category name will be appended. Example: http://site/wpbdm-category/manufacturing/ where “Manufacturing” is the category, and wpbdm-category is the category slug. Must not contain spaces or remain empty. Avoid common terms which are likely already in use, like “category”
Tags Slug
The slug used in the tag display URL, to which the tag name will be appended. Example: http://site/wpbdm-tags/red/ where “Red” is the tag, and wpbdm-tags is the tag slug. Must not contain spaces or remain empty. Avoid common terms which are likely already in use, like “tag(s)”
Remove ID from directory URLs?
This option allows you to remove the ID from the URL of the directory listing (ie /25/listing-name/). It's off by default to ensure that you have the most searchable URLs. Changing this setting will change the URLs of all existing listings.
The only reason to keep the ID in the URL, is if you plan on the slugs changing regularly. If the ID is included in the URL, and the slug changes, the listing will still be found with an older link.
reCAPTCHA Settings Sub Tab
These are the settings for configuring reCAPTCHA that is used on the BD comment and submission forms.
Use reCAPTCHA for contact forms: If checked, a captcha will appear on the contact form and will be required
Turn off reCAPTCHA for logged in users: If checked, logged in users will not be required to fill out ANY captcha on any page if you have them enabled.
Use reCAPTCHA for listing submits: If checked, a captcha will appear on the submit listing form and will be required
Use reCAPTCHA for listing comments: If checked, a captcha will appear on the comment form and will be required (only works when comments are turned on for listings)
reCAPTCHA Public Key: The public key from http://recaptcha.com that you obtain for your domain
reCAPTCHA Private Key: The private key from http://recaptcha.com that you obtain for your domain
Registration Settings Sub Tab
The Registration section is where you manage whether users are required to have a WordPress user account to post listings or not, along with membership plugin configuration so that BD can use their URLs instead of the default WP ones.
Require login to post listings: If checked, users must have an account on your site to create a listing.
Allow anonymous users to edit/manage listings with an access key: If checked, this allows users to manage their listings without an account and instead, use their email and an access key (emailed to them when the listing is placed, or one you can manually send from the Directory → Directory Listings area) to edit or delete the listing. Do not turn this on at the same time as “Require Login to post listings”.
Login URL: If you are using a Membership plugin such as s2member, MemberMouse, Restrict Content Pro, WishList member or others, you will need to enter their Login Form URL they provide you here. If you don't do this, BD will use the default WP login form instead.
Registration URL: If you are using a Membership plugin such as s2member, MemberMouse, Restrict Content Pro, WishList member or others, you will need to enter their Registration Form URL they provide you here. If you don't do this, BD will use the default WP registration form instead.
Creating a custom registration/login page: Maybe you want a custom registration and login page for your directory instead of using the boring default WordPress pages. Our other amazing plugin we develop — Formidable Forms will allow you to create custom registration and login pages in great detail for your directory!
Get started here: https://formidableforms.com/knowledgebase/user-registration/
Advanced Settings Sub Tab
Disable Advanced CPT Integration: Some themes that we've encountered have incredibly complex implementations and use of hooks and filters that are not entirely compatible with BD's use of a shortcode to output content in a page. For some themes like Elegant Theme or X, we've added this feature which uses a simpler mode of output for a theme that works better under these circumstances. Enable it if you have one of these themes and you are having issues with your directory output on all pages. DO NOT TURN THIS ON unless you are certain you need to.
Enable AJAX Compatibility Mode: BD heavily relies on AJAX callbacks to complete certain actions, such as CSV import and export. If you are having some difficulty performing an import or export and a conflict test seems to help, you may benefit from turning this on to help finish the export or import. Conflicts are serious and you should consider finding and eliminating them, rather than just hide them with this workaround.
Disable Frontend Listing Submission: Turn this on if you only want the admin to post listings and prevent users from doing so. Helpful for curated or private directories.