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 are the different media types supported for banners?
Answer	The Composr banner system supports various media types: Images: Uploaded directly or via an image URL. Text: Textual banners, including support for "hot text" that dynamically displays banners based on keyword matches within the content. Frames: Banners embedded within frames using an iframe URL. Direct Code: Raw HTML or PHP code can be used to integrate banners from third-party banner networks or create custom banner implementations.

Question	What is a banner wave, and how is it different from a banner rotation?
Answer	A banner wave displays all banners within a specific type as a single advertising block, similar to a list of sponsors. In contrast, a banner rotation randomly displays banners from a set based on factors like display likelihood. You can add a banner wave using the main_banner_wave block and configure it to show a specific number of banners or all banners within a type.

Question	What is a banner network, and how can I create one?
Answer	A banner network is a system for exchanging banners between websites. You can create a banner network in Composr by associating banners with specific websites. When a site joins your banner network, you provide them with an iframe code to display banners from your rotation. Composr uses a "hit balancing" system where sites in the network receive banner impressions based on the clicks they generate for other sites in the network.

Question	Can I restrict who can see specific banners?
Answer	Yes, by enabling the "Permissions" configuration option in the Admin Zone (Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Feature options > Banners), you can control which usergroups can see individual banners. This feature allows for banner targeting and prevents inappropriate banners from being shown to specific audiences, such as adult banners to minors.

Question	What are the different types of banner deployment agreements?
Answer	There are three types of banner deployment agreements: Permanent: These banners are always displayed as long as there is available space. Campaign: These banners have a limited number of impressions or clicks before they stop displaying. They can be associated with specific campaigns and can have their hits increased if needed. Default: These banners are displayed only when there are no permanent or campaign banners available to show. The system displays permanent and campaign banners with a 50:50 split.

Question	What should I do if URL Schemes are not working properly?
Answer	If URL Schemes, which rely on web server rewrites, are not functioning correctly, you can disable them using the `http://yourbaseurl/config_editor.php` script. Enable the option "Whether to block the URL Scheme (mod_rewrite)" to override the main configuration setting.

Question	What should I do if an addon causes problems on my Composr website?
Answer	Composr's Safe Mode can help isolate addon-related problems. Enable Safe Mode: Use the safe mode link or the config editor (http://yourbaseurl/config_editor.php) to enable Safe Mode. Uninstall the problematic addon: Once in Safe Mode, navigate to the addon management section and uninstall the addon causing the issue. Disable Safe Mode: After resolving the problem, disable Safe Mode through the config editor.

Question	How can I manually edit my Composr database?
Answer	phpMyAdmin is a widely used web-based tool for managing MySQL databases. It allows you to: Browse tables: View and edit individual rows within database tables. Run SQL queries: Execute SQL commands directly for specific tasks. Repair corrupted tables: Access table repair functions. Refer to the "Manually editing your database with phpMyAdmin" tutorial for more detailed instructions.

Question	How can I reset a forgotten account password in Composr?
Answer	If you have access to phpMyAdmin: Access the f_members table. Find the row corresponding to the user whose password needs to be reset. Edit the row, setting m_pass_hash_salted to the new password using MD5 encryption, clearing m_pass_salt, and setting m_password_compat_scheme to 'md5'. If you have FTP access: Obtain your IP address. Edit your _config.php file, setting $SITE_INFO['backdoor_ip'] to your IP address. This enables a temporary backdoor login for your IP address, bypassing security restrictions. Remove the backdoor entry after logging in and resetting the password through standard means. Caution: Using the backdoor method is a security risk and should be done with extreme caution.

Question	My Composr installation seems corrupted. How can I repair it?
Answer	Composr offers several tools and methods for repairing corrupted installations: Integrity checker: The upgrader tool, accessible via `http://yourbaseurl/upgrader.php`, includes an integrity checker that identifies outdated or corrupted files. MySQL table repair: The Admin Zone > Tools > Cleanup tools provides access to MySQL table repair functionalities. Alternatively, use phpMyAdmin or your web host's database management tools for more direct control. Safe Mode: Access safe mode via the bookmarked link from the setup wizard or by adding &keep_safe_mode=1 to any website URL. This disables custom themes and caching, helping isolate problems caused by themes or custom code.

Top 10 Entries

Question	Can I use the calendar as a personal diary and keep my entries private?
Answer	Yes. When adding an event to the calendar, you can choose to make it public or private. Private events are generally used when someone wants to use the calendar system as a diary.

Question	How can I set up reminders for events?
Answer	When adding or editing an event, you can enable reminders for yourself and specific user groups. You can also choose how much notice you want for each reminder. Members can subscribe for reminders on an individual event screen. They can also personalize their reminder settings, including removing reminders or having multiple reminders at different times. Members can also subscribe for notifications to specific event types to be notified whenever events under those types are scheduled.

Question	How can I schedule Commandr commands to run automatically?
Answer	To schedule commands, create an event with the "System command" event type. This option needs to be enabled in the configuration first. In the event details, you can specify either a URL for Composr to call or a snippet of Commandr code to execute. Be sure to disable the WYSIWYG editor for this type of event. You'll also need to have the system scheduler configured for the commands to run automatically.

Question	Can I add external feeds to the calendar?
Answer	Yes, you can add RSS or Atom feeds to your calendar. This lets you view time-based information from external sources alongside your calendar events.

Question	What do I do if a recurring event needs to be changed or skipped?
Answer	Composr has a "fixing an event" feature to handle changes to recurring events. This is useful if an event needs to be cancelled or rescheduled. You edit the event as if it were a new, standalone event and choose the "Edit with fixing past recurrences" option. This separates the past occurrences from the modified event, ensuring future recurrences reflect the changes.

Question	What is the "recurrence pattern" and how does it work?
Answer	The recurrence pattern is a powerful tool that defines how often an event repeats. While it might seem complex at first, it provides a lot of flexibility. Think of it as a binary code where each digit represents a time period (like a day or week). A "1" indicates the event occurs, and a "0" means it doesn't. This lets you create complex schedules like "every weekday" (daily with pattern `1111100` if it starts on a Monday) or "every other Tuesday" (weekly on Tuesday with the pattern `10`).

Question	What are the different views available in the calendar?
Answer	The calendar has five views: Year view: Displays an overview of the entire year. Month view: Shows events within a specific month. Week view: Displays events for a selected week. Day view: Shows events scheduled for a specific day. Event view: Displays the details of a single event. You can easily navigate between these views to get different levels of detail and focus on specific periods or events.

Question	How do I add events to the calendar?
Answer	You can add events in several ways: Through the Admin Zone or Content Management Zone: Go to Admin Zone > Content > Calendar. Directly on the calendar: Click on a date box on the calendar view. Using the "Add Event" button on any calendar view. Deleting events can be done at the bottom of the event's edit form. You have options for recurring events, such as editing/deleting the specific occurrence, editing/deleting future ones, or all of them.

Question	How do I categorize events?
Answer	You categorize events using "Event types". Composr provides default types like "Anniversary", "Appointment", "Birthday", "General", "Public Holiday", "Task", "Vacation", and the special "System command" for executing Commandr commands. You can also add your own custom event types to suit your specific needs, such as "Appraisal Session" for a business website.

Question	What is an "event" in the Composr calendar system?
Answer	An event is any entry in the calendar. Importantly, an event isn't limited to a single point or range in time. Events can recur based on a schedule you define. This makes them very flexible – they can represent anything from one-time appointments to recurring birthdays or even weekly team practices.

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