Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis		Founder	Original designer for ocPortal Also conceived and coded the Theme Wizard and Point Store Son of one of the early inventors of Internet protocols (Usenet, aka Internet newsgroups) Token non-brit	View

C

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham		Founder	Original developer of ocPortal, former lead developer of Composr CMS Masters degree in Computer Science from The University Of Sheffield Undertaken work for over 15 FTSE-100 companies, as well as many small and mid-sized organisations. Includes a number of banks and major brands.	View
Chris Warburton		developer for ocProducts	Made some key contributions to ocPortal	View

H

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment		project manager for ocProducts	None available	View

J

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson		contributor	written many tutorials via Arvixe	View

P

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig		Lead Developer	Joined Chris Graham behind the scenes in the development of Composr CMS in 2016. Took on the lead developer role in 2023 when Chris Graham stepped back to attend to his new lifestyle changes. Spearheaded the development of Composr CMS v11 and the new website, Composr.app. Formed the company PDStig, LLC to take on professional support and development for Composr CMS users especially after the discontinuation of ocProducts, Ltd.	View
Philip Withnall		Early Developer	Coded the chatroom, blogging support, the analytics system, and OcCLE (now Commandr) Masters Degree in Computer Science degree from The University Of Cambridge Other work has included helping out with Firefox, and ongoing work on GNOME	View

R

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher		Founder	Ran some of the early websites where ocPortal came from Technically the original developer of ocPortal, in that he wrote the first few lines of code Heavily involved in the feature design process Hosted some of our early meet-ups	View

S

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis		project manager for ocProducts	Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe	View

Newest 10 Entries

Question	What is Wiki+?
Answer	Wiki+ is a feature in Composr that allows you to create a collaborative, tree-structured database of information. It functions similarly to a traditional wiki but offers enhanced features such as post contributions, a hierarchical structure, and moderation capabilities.

Question	Are there other Composr features helpful for support?
Answer	Yes, features like: Staff-only replies in the Support Ticket system enable private communication among support staff. Notifications for new tickets, replies, or feedback ensure timely responses. Blocks like main_contact_us provide a simplified front-end for ticket creation. Forum moderation tools help manage support discussions effectively.

Question	Can I integrate a dedicated issue management system with Composr?
Answer	While Composr doesn't have a built-in issue tracker, a non-bundled addon (cms_homesite_tracker) provides an integrated, modified version of Mantis. Additionally, the Support Ticket system can function as a basic private issue tracker using features like Post Templates.

Question	How can I restrict access to the support system to specific users?
Answer	Utilize Composr's page access permissions to control who can access the Support Ticket page. This ensures only authorized users can submit support requests. You can also control permissions based on ticket type when adding or editing a ticket type. Make sure if you go this route that the Support Ticket page permissions are very liberal (e.g. allow anyone to access, or just restrict to guests if you will never allow guests to make tickets). Otherwise, some people cannot make tickets even if they have permission on the type.

Question	What are Post Templates and how are they beneficial for support?
Answer	Post Templates are predefined text blocks that can be used as templates for new forum posts. They are particularly useful in support scenarios by: Providing quick responses to common questions. Ensuring consistency in staff responses. Saving time and effort for staff. Post Templates can be configured to be the default post in specific forums or restricted to certain user groups. Go to Admin Zone > Structure > Forums > Post Templates.

Question	How does Composr handle email integration for support?
Answer	Composr can integrate with email for ticket management, assuming certain requirements are met: PHP IMAP extension installed. Functional PHP mail command (local SMTP server or configured Windows SMTP settings). Active system scheduler (Cron). With email integration, users can submit tickets via email, and staff can reply through the system. Composr cleans up email text for ticket clarity and allows forwarding emails to the integrated address for efficient handling.

Question	How can I categorize and prioritize support requests?
Answer	Support Ticket System: Utilize support ticket types, managed in the Admin Zone > Setup > Support tickets. Staff can set individual notifications for different types. Discussion Forums: Create dedicated subforums for different support categories or priority levels. Feedback System: The content to which the feedback is attached implicitly categorizes it. For prioritization, subforums can be used.

Question	What are the advantages of using the Support Ticket system over the Discussion Forums?
Answer	While both systems can be used for support, the Support Ticket system provides advantages like: Separating replies into individual tickets. Ticket assignment to specific staff members. Tracking who has read a ticket. Private replies between staff members. Filtering tickets by type. Automatic ticket creation, unlike manually creating forum topics. Conflict detection when multiple staff are working on the same ticket. Real-time alerts and display updates upon ticket replies.

Question	How can Composr be used as a support desk tool?
Answer	Composr offers three main systems for providing online support: 1. Support Ticket System: This system allows users to submit tickets and staff to respond, track, and resolve them. It features email notifications, ticket categorization and prioritization, staff assignment, and attachment support. 2. Discussion Forums: Conversr, Composr's built-in forum software, can be utilized for support by creating dedicated forums or subforums. Features like post templates and multi-moderations enhance support capabilities. 3. Feedback System: This system allows for comments on various content types, facilitating support directly related to that content.

Question	How can I access the raw data behind the statistics graphs?
Answer	Every graph in Composr offers a spreadsheet export option. This allows you to download the data in a spreadsheet format, enabling detailed manual review or further analysis using third-party tools.

Top 10 Entries

Question	How can I customize Composr without modifying the core files?
Answer	Composr offers a robust override system. Instead of altering the original files, create a parallel structure within _custom directories. For example, to modify site/pages/modules/polls.php, place your customized version in site/pages/modules_custom/polls.php. The tutorials outline additional information on how to utilise overrides.

Question	What are the main components of the Composr framework?
Answer	Composr consists of: Modules: PHP files that provide related screens, forming the building blocks of addons. Comcode: Text files containing content written in a simplified markup language. HTML: Files containing standard HTML for web pages. Sources: PHP code files for the core API and functionality. Hooks: PHP files enabling addons to interact and extend each other's functionality. Blocks/Miniblocks: Reusable components for displaying dynamic content within pages. Themes: Folders containing images, CSS, and templates to define the look and feel. Language files: Files holding text strings for multilingual support.

Question	How can I embed third-party widgets into my Composr pages?
Answer	Composr supports embedding widgets from various websites, like Google Maps, Vimeo, and YouTube, by simply pasting the URL. For manually embedding widget code, you can paste it into the HTML source view of the WYSIWYG editor or within Comcode html tags if not using the WYSIWYG editor.

Question	What is the difference between blocks and boxes in Composr?
Answer	Boxes are visual elements that provide a container for content, while blocks are functional units that generate and display dynamic content. Although blocks often appear within boxes in the default templates, they are not inherently tied to any visual representation.

Question	Can I customize the appearance of blocks?
Answer	Yes, you can style blocks by editing the associated templates and CSS. Templates are typically named after the block they represent. For example, the main_news block uses the BLOCK_MAIN_NEWS.tpl template.

Question	How do I create custom filter forms for my content?
Answer	The main_content_filtering block can help you generate filter forms automatically. You can use it to create a default form and then customize the generated Filtercode string to refine the filtering options. Once satisfied, you can either continue using the block or extract the HTML and modify it further.

Question	Where can I use Filtercode and Selectcode in Composr?
Answer	Filtercode is supported in various blocks, such as main_multi_content, main_gallery_embed, and main_cc_embed. It's also actively used in modules like catalogues, downloads, galleries, members, and news. Selectcode is supported in blocks and Comcode tags that explicitly mention it, including the main_multi_content block and the if_in_group Comcode tag.

Question	What is the difference between Filtercode and Selectcode?
Answer	Filtercode is used for querying content based on properties and values, while Selectcode is used for directly specifying a list of IDs or categories to include or exclude. Filtercode offers more complex filtering options, while Selectcode is more straightforward for simple selections.

Question	How can I filter content in Composr?
Answer	Composr provides two filtering systems: Filtercode and Selectcode. Filtercode is used for selecting content based on defined filters, such as field values, ratings, or keywords. It utilizes a syntax of comparisons, separated by commas, where each comparison specifies a field and a matching condition. Selectcode is a simpler syntax for specifying a list of IDs or categories to include or exclude from the results. It uses a comma-separated list of match-specifier tokens, such as individual IDs, ranges, or wildcard characters.

Question	What are blocks in Composr and how can I use them?
Answer	Blocks are dynamic elements that can be inserted into Comcode pages to add interactive and data-bound functionality to your website. They are essentially reusable components that automatically generate content, such as recent forum posts or information about the logged-in user. You can add blocks to your pages using the block construction assistant, which allows you to select from a list of available blocks, set their parameters, preview them, and generate the necessary Comcode.

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