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Newest 10 Entries
| Question | How do I set up the forum base URL correctly? |
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| Answer | The forum base URL should be a URL prefix to your forums without a script name. For example, http://forums.example.com is correct, while http://forums.example.com/index.php is incorrect. You can fix this using the config_editor.php script and then clear the Comcode page cache. |
| Question | How do comment topics work? |
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| Answer | Most Composr resources with commenting enabled create comment topics in the configured comment forum. If the forum uses BBCode, Comcode features not supported by BBCode may not display correctly. Moderate comments from the forum as you would any other topic. |
| Question | Can I switch forums after installing Composr? |
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| Answer | It's not easy to switch forums after installing Composr. The member and usergroup IDs referenced by Composr would lose their association. Check the "Importing data into Composr" tutorial for more information on this. |
| Question | What is Conversr and why is it recommended? |
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| Answer | Conversr is Composr's built-in forum system. It offers seamless integration, allowing you to use Comcode for forum posts, a unified Admin Zone, shared themes and templates, and innovative features like Private Topics and in-post whispers. Using a third-party forum can be clunky and may lead to maintenance headaches. |
| Question | What forum drivers does Composr support? |
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| Answer | Composr supports several forum drivers, including Invision Board, phpBB, myBB, vBulletin, Burning Board, and Simple Machine Forum. If your forum is not listed, professional developers can add support. Composr also provides converters for migrating from these forums to its own forum system, Conversr. |
| Question | What are the web server requirements for running Composr? |
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| Answer | Composr is compatible with Apache and IIS servers. For Apache:
For IIS:
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| Question | What are the PHP requirements for running Composr? |
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| Answer | Composr requires PHP 7.2 or higher, but versions not officially supported by PHP developers are discouraged. The maximum tested version is PHP 8.3. Required PHP extensions:
Additional recommendations:
Ensure the following PHP settings are configured:
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| Question | How do I uninstall Composr? |
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| Answer | To uninstall Composr, access the uninstall.php file in your web browser, enter your administrator password, and follow the prompts to remove the database data. Afterward, you can safely delete the Composr installation directory. |
| Question | What are the recommended web hosting options for Composr? |
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| Answer | Choosing a web host is crucial. Avoid the cheapest options and look for hosts with recent positive reviews and minimal credible complaints. Ensure they meet Composr's requirements, including adequate disk space, no restrictive file size limits, and support for required PHP extensions. Composr is compatible with various hosting control panels like Plesk and cPanel, and works on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS servers. |
| Question | Can I install Composr on a Windows desktop? |
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| Answer | Yes, you can install Composr on a Windows desktop using software packages like WampServer, XAMPP, EasyPHP, or ampps for simplified setup. Alternatively, you can manually install Apache, PHP, and MySQL, following the instructions provided in the respective documentation. Remember to configure file permissions appropriately and ensure the webserver isn't accessible from outside your network. |
Top 10 Entries
| Question | How does Composr handle color contrast for accessibility? |
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| Answer | Composr is designed with high graphic standards that aim to avoid poor color contrast in the default theme and Theme Wizard. But it is not perfect, especially for dark mode themes. Webmasters are still responsible for ensuring sufficient contrast in their own content and in custom themes. |
| Question | How do I provide text equivalents for images and multimedia in Composr? |
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| Answer | Composr's web standards checker ensures that alternative text (using the "alt" attribute) is provided for images. It will warn if any images do not contain alt text. For multimedia, webmasters are responsible for providing captions and auditory descriptions either in the multimedia itself, on the description of the media, or uploaded as a caption file. |
| Question | How can I make sure my Composr website is accessible? |
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| Answer | Enable the web standards checker in Composr while editing templates. Also do the same when previewing edited or new Comcode pages. Use the provided accessibility options in the Admin Zone to customize the webmaster experience according to your accessibility needs. Follow the webmaster concerns outlined in the "Helping improve site accessibility for disabled users" tutorial. Regularly test your website using third-party accessibility validation tools such as the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool or the AChecker. |
| Question | What accessibility features are built into Composr? |
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| Answer | Composr has an inbuilt web standards checker that helps ensure compliance with accessibility guidelines. Composr provides automatic sitemap generation functionality, a default sitemap page, and an advanced menu editor to manage navigation. Composr supports ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications), which helps make dynamic content accessible. Composr includes options in the Admin Zone to fine-tune the webmaster experience for specific accessibility requirements. |
| Question | Does Composr comply with accessibility standards? |
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| Answer | - Yes, Composr complies with the highest level of the WCAG (version 1.0 at the time of writing), level 3. - Composr also meets Section 508 guidelines, XHTML and CSS specifications, and the highest level of ATAG. - Composr conforms to these standards throughout, from user-facing screens to administrator interfaces. |
| Name | Patrick Schmalstig |
|---|---|
| Photograph |  |
| Title / Role | Lead Developer |
| Contributions / Notes | 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. |
| Links |
| Name | Jim Davidson |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | contributor |
| Contributions / Notes | written many tutorials via Arvixe |
| Name | Chris Warburton |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | developer for ocProducts |
| Contributions / Notes | Made some key contributions to ocPortal |
| Name | Haydn Maidment |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | project manager for ocProducts |
| Contributions / Notes | None available |
| Name | Steve Jarvis |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | project manager for ocProducts |
| Contributions / Notes | Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe |