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Question What other methods exist for featuring content in Composr?
Answer
  • Random Quotes: The quotes feature allows you to display a rotating selection of quotes on your site.
  • Community Billboard (Requires Addon): The Community Billboard addon provides a dedicated space for displaying important announcements or community messages.
Question How can I create countdowns or display hit counters on my Composr website?
Answer Composr offers blocks for both functionalities:
  • Countdowns: Use the main_countdown block to add countdowns to specific dates and times.
  • Hit Counters: While generally considered outdated, you can use the main_count block to display hit counters for specific content.
Question Can I display forum content in a prominent way on my Composr site?
Answer Absolutely! Composr provides several blocks designed for featuring forum content:
  • News-Style Blocks: side_forum_news, main_forum_news, and bottom_forum_news display forum topics in a news format, ideal for forums used for news posting.
  • Topic-Focused Block: main_forum_topics showcases recent topics from specific forums, allowing you to highlight active discussions or important announcements.
Question What is the difference between using the main_awards block and directly selecting content with the main_content block?
Answer Both blocks can feature content, but they offer different approaches:
  • main_awards: Provides a structured system for managing featured content through award assignment, archives, and optional point rewards. Requires active management to update award holders.
  • main_content: Offers direct control over specific content or allows random selection from chosen categories. May require manual updates or adjustments.
Question What is the Composr Award system, and how do I use it?
Answer The Award system is a powerful tool for highlighting and promoting specific content. Here's how it works:
  • Award Types: Define awards associated with specific content types (e.g., "Download of the Week" for downloads).
  • Award Assignment: When editing content, designate it as the current holder of a relevant award.
  • Display: Use the main_awards block to showcase current award holders on your site.
  • Archive: Awarded content is automatically archived for easy access and historical reference.
  • Points: If you use points, recipients of awards can also receive points as a reward.
Question How do I feature specific content items on my Composr site?
Answer You can feature content using various methods:
  • Blocks: The main_content block allows you to display specific items by content type and ID or randomize content from selected categories.
  • Awards: Create awards for different content types and assign them to specific items. You can then use the main_awards block to display current award holders. Awards also integrate with points to credit points to award holders. And you can be reminded on the staff checklist to assign a new award every configurable amount of time.
  • Advanced Embedding: For greater control, use the main_include_module block to embed entire module screens within other content.
Question What are the benefits of featuring content on my Composr website?
Answer Featuring content provides several advantages:
  • Freshness and Activity: It gives your site a dynamic feel, showcasing updates and encouraging return visits.
  • Effortless Variety: Featuring content introduces diversity without extensive effort.
  • User Engagement: It draws users in and motivates them to check back for new featured items.
  • Prominent Placement: Featured content receives prime visibility, highlighting its importance or rewarding its creator.
Question How can I handle bounced emails?
Answer Composr includes a bounce filter tool that helps you remove bounced email addresses from your subscriber list. To use this tool, you'll need:
  • The PHP IMAP extension enabled on your server.
  • A dedicated folder on your email server to collect bounced emails.

The bounce filter tool scans the specified folder for bounce messages and lets you remove the corresponding addresses from your newsletter list. Composr will also halt attempts sending e-mails to those addresses to help prevent you from getting listed on spam blocklists.
Question How can I customize the appearance of my newsletters?
Answer You can customize the look of your newsletters by editing the following templates:
  • NEWSLETTER_DEFAULT_FCOMCODE.txt: This template defines the default content and layout for newsletters.
  • MAIL.tpl: This template controls the overall appearance of emails sent from Composr.
  • Custom mail templates: You can create custom HTML templates for specific newsletters.
Question How can I ensure my newsletters comply with data privacy regulations?
Answer Composr provides built-in mechanisms for compliance:
  • Unsubscribe links: Newsletters include an unsubscribe link, allowing recipients to opt out of the newsletters.
  • Global unsubscribe: All Composr emails include a link to a global unsubscribe page (data/unsubscribe.php), letting users unsubscribe from all site emails.

Top 10 Entries

Question How do I add dynamic content to my Comcode pages?
Answer Composr utilizes "blocks" to embed dynamic content and functionality within Comcode pages. These blocks can range from displaying recent forum posts to showing information about the logged-in user.

To add a block, you can use the "block construction assistant" accessible via a button above the editor. This tool provides a user-friendly way to:
  • Browse and select available blocks.
  • Configure the block parameters.
  • Preview the block output.
  • Generate the necessary Comcode to embed the block.
Question How do I create a new Comcode page?
Answer Composr provides two easy ways to create a new Comcode page:

Method 1: Direct URL Entry
Type the desired URL of your new page into your browser's address bar.
Since the page doesn't exist yet, Composr will present you with a 404 error and a link to create it. Click the link to open the Comcode page editor.

Method 2: Admin Zone
Navigate to Admin Zone > Content > Pages (Comcode pages).
Scroll down to the list of existing pages and enter the name of your new page using the ":" (page-link) format. For example, a new page in the Welcome zone named "about" would be entered as ":about", or a new page in the "site" zone named "foobar" would be entered as "site:foobar".
Question What are Comcode pages?
Answer Comcode pages are standalone content pages within the Composr system that you can create and edit using either a WYSIWYG editor, a simple markup language called Comcode, or a combination of both.

Think of them as documents within your website, offering flexibility beyond the structured content provided by modules like forums or news. You can use them to build landing pages, about us sections, contact pages, and more.
Question Can I create custom Comcode tags?
Answer Yes, you can create custom Comcode tags through the Admin Zone > Setup > Custom Comcode. This allows you to add unique functionality or wrap specific HTML code (especially if you use a certain block of HTML frequently on your site) for easier use. Custom Comcode tags can be tailored to your needs and even include your own parameters. You can also specify if the Comcode is dangerous so only those with elevated privileges can use it.
Question What are the security considerations when using Comcode?
Answer Composr has a multi-tiered security system for Comcode. HTML code is filtered based on user permissions to prevent XSS attacks. Content is parsed with different credentials depending on who is editing or adding it, ensuring users can't elevate their privileges by modifying existing content.
Question What is oEmbed and how does it work with Comcode?
Answer oEmbed is a system that allows you to embed content from other websites simply by pasting its URL. When you paste a supported link in Comcode, oEmbed will automatically embed the content for you in a nicely-formatted box. For example, pasting a YouTube video link will embed the video directly into your content so it can be played on your website.
Question How do I add attachments to my content?
Answer Composr has an integrated attachment system. You can upload files, like images or documents, via the attachments section (or the image button if using the WYSIWYG editor with simplified attachments UI), and they will be automatically added to your Comcode using the attachment tag. You can then move this tag within your content to position the attachment as needed.
Question How do I use Comcode tags?
Answer Comcode tags are similar to HTML tags, but use square brackets [] instead of angle brackets <>. Each tag has an opening and closing tag, with content in between.

Example: [b]This text would be bold.[/b]

Tags can also have parameters:
Example: [img src="image.jpg" alt="Image description"]

A shorthand exists for the param parameter (the primary parameter of Comcode tags):
Example: [page="_SEARCH:howdy_do"]Howdy do[/page]
Question What are the advantages of using Comcode?
Answer Comcode offers several advantages:

Intuitive content authoring: It's written like plain text, making it easy to learn and use.
Dynamic functionality: You can embed dynamic content like blocks, comments, and forms using Comcode.
Special effects: You can easily add prebuilt graphical features like tabs, carousels, and more.
Basic styling and layout: Comcode allows for basic website styling and page layout.
HTML integration: For advanced styling and layout, you can embed HTML code within Comcode with the semihtml tag.
Question What is Comcode?
Answer Comcode is Composr's markup language, similar to BBCode used in forums. It allows you to create formatted text, embed dynamic content like blocks and attachments, and even mix in HTML for advanced styling. It's user-friendly and designed to work alongside standard web technologies.