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Composr CMS: Content management meets social mediaComposr CMS: Content management…

Composr CMS: Content management meets social media

Earth & Sky

PDStig, LLC

Saving Wallden

Newest 10 Entries

Question	What is a "page-link," and how does it differ from a URL?
Answer	A page-link is a Composr-specific way to reference a page or screen within your website. It's a simplified, local representation of a URL, independent of the URL scheme you might be using. For example, the page-link `site:downloads:browse:10` points to the download category with ID 10 in the site zone. This page-link remains consistent even if your URL scheme changes the way URLs are structured. Page-links also do not consider monikers, so if a URL moniker changes, page-links will stay the same. This is a powerful feature as you can use the Comcode `[page="page-link"]Page title[/page] tag to generate URLs of local content. And these will always work regardless of URL scheme or moniker.`

Question	How do menus work in Composr, and can I customize them?
Answer	Composr has a flexible menu system that can be customized to your needs. Default Menu: Generated automatically from the Sitemap, reflecting the structure of your content. Editable Menus: You can create and fully customize these menus, adding links to specific content or external websites. Menus can be added to panels (sidebars, headers, footers) or embedded directly within Comcode pages. The menu editor provides tools for adding branches, setting captions, tooltips, and URLs, and even defining context-sensitive behavior using "match-keys."

Question	What are "zones" in Composr, and what are they used for?
Answer	Zones are like sub-sites within your Composr website. They provide a way to organize content and apply different settings, like permissions, themes, and navigation. Some default zones include: Welcome Zone: The initial landing page, often used for login/signup. Site Zone: Your main website content, with features for viewing, submitting, editing, and deleting content on the member level. Admin Zone: For site administrators to manage the website. Content Management Zone: Where content is added, edited, and deleted, typically by site staff. Forum Zone (if using Conversr): Houses the forum section of your site.

Question	What are the different ways to control access in Composr?
Answer	Composr offers a robust permission system with various methods for controlling access: Zones, Pages, and Categories: Control which usergroups can view specific zones, pages, and categories (permissions). Admin Zone > Security > Permissions Tree Editor, or on the UI for the Zone / Page / Category. Global Privileges: Define permissions for actions like using advanced Comcode or bypassing the word filter, applicable across the entire site. Admin Zone > Security > Global privileges Module/Page Overrides: Tailor privileges for particular content types by overriding them on the controlling module or page. Admin Zone > Security > Permissions Tree Editor [> Content permissions] Category Overrides: Modify privileges for specific categories, allowing fine-grained control over actions within those categories. Admin Zone > Security > Permissions Tree Editor Match-key Permissions: Implement ad-hoc access control based on specific match-keys, offering flexibility beyond traditional permission structures. Admin Zone > Security > Match-key page restrictions

Question	What happens when I add a new usergroup to a third-party forum integrated with Composr?
Answer	If you are not using Conversr as your forum, Composr won't automatically assign any permissions to the new usergroup. To rectify this, you can use the "Absorb usergroup-permissions" feature in the Admin Zone. This tool allows you to copy the permissions from an existing usergroup to the newly created one, ensuring consistent access and functionality.

Question	What are some security considerations regarding super-moderators and super-administrators?
Answer	While super-moderators have extensive access to manage your site, certain sensitive privileges are reserved for super-administrators. This includes the ability to impersonate other users, execute arbitrary code, and view private content. These restrictions help prevent potential privilege escalation and ensure the overall security of your website. Exercise caution when granting super-moderator status and trust only reliable individuals.

Question	What are some useful tools for debugging permission issues?
Answer	Composr provides a couple of tools to help pinpoint permission problems: FirePHP: This browser add-on allows you to view detailed logs of permission checks performed by Composr. By analyzing these logs, you can identify which checks are failing and adjust your settings accordingly. Permission Check Logging: Enable logging of failed permission checks to a file (data_custom/permission_checks.log). This provides a persistent record of permission issues that you can review and troubleshoot.

Question	How can I test if my permission settings are working correctly?
Answer	Composr's "SU" feature allows administrators to temporarily assume the identity of another user, enabling you to experience the site as they would. Simply enter the desired username in the "SU" box in the footer. You can also use "Guest" to browse as an unauthenticated visitor. Remember that using "SU" doesn't accurately reflect online status and retains administrator access to sensitive areas.

Question	Can I display different content to different usergroups?
Answer	Yes, you can achieve this by leveraging Tempcode within your templates. By using conditional statements like `{$IS_IN_GROUP}` and `{$HAS_PRIVILEGE}`, you can show or hide specific content sections based on the user's group membership or privileges. This technique allows you to "tease" premium content to non-paying users or tailor the user experience based on their access level.

Question	What are match-key permissions and why would I use them?
Answer	Match-key permissions provide a more granular level of access control beyond the standard zone, page, and category permissions. They allow you to restrict access based on specific "match-keys", which are unique identifiers for different actions or content within Composr. For instance, you could use match-key permissions to prevent guests from submitting banners or to restrict access to the member directory for all but specific usergroups. You can also specify custom access denied errors for each match-key. A "match-key" is typically a page-link, such as `cms:cms_banners:add`.

Top 10 Entries

Name	Robert Goacher
Photograph
Title / Role	Founder
Contributions / Notes	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

Name	Chris Graham
Photograph
Title / Role	Founder
Contributions / Notes	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.
Links	gameRevolt (@[email protected]) - LinuxRocks.Online

Website	Earth & Sky
Screenshot
Short Description	Earth & Sky is a Composr v11 gallery website showcasing natural photography by Mark Brunner.

Website	Saving Wallden
Screenshot
Short Description	This is an informational website for a Visual Pinball X game in development called "Saving Wallden". The site features the planned game rules, development news, and a download of the game as it is so far.

Website	PDStig, LLC
Screenshot
Short Description	This is an informational site / portfolio for PDStig, LLC, the company run by one of Composr's lead developers, Patrick Schmalstig.

Website	Composr CMS: Content management meets social media
Screenshot
Short Description	This is the main website for Composr CMS version 11. It runs the latest build of v11. Currently it is just a placeholder but will soon replace compo.sr when v11 becomes stable.

Question

Should I use the bleeding edge releases or the git repository?

Answer

That depends on several factors. Here are some pros and cons of each:

Bleeding edge releases	Git repository (v11 branch)
Easier to set up and use, and does not require knowledge of git	Harder to set up and use unless you are familiar with git; must routinely run the file integrity check, database upgrade tool, and check database schema tools in the upgrader after pulling
More stable, but less frequent updates	Less stable, but more frequent updates (almost daily!)
Only contains core code and addons unless you manually install non-bundled addons; non-bundled addons must be manually updated	Contains all core code and non-bundled addons; non-bundled addons are updated with pulls (though you will need to check file/database integrity often and check blocks/modules for available upgrades)
Ability to test the upgrader / upgrading between new v11 versions	Not able to effectively test the upgrader because git pull might load in and update new code early before the release is available
Always contains the latest files.bin and db_meta.bin because these are compiled with every release	Does not always contain the latest files.bin and db_meta.bin. Therefore, file and database integrity may report false-positives.
Intended for general user testing	Intended for developers / developer testing: * special run-time checks are enabled for extra debugging (if the .git directory exists in the install) * contains the automated test suite for running tests

Click here to access the git repository.

Question	Can I switch a v11 install from git over to using the releases from composr.app?
Answer	It is not recommended you do this because you may run into issues. For example, some changes were made in crypto_master.php and data/upgrader2.php prior to the first v11 alpha. These changes will result in a broken upgrade unless you already pulled these changes from git. Similar situations could happen in the future as well. It is recommended you either discard the git install and use a fresh install from the Downloads, or to maintain a git install and a bleeding-edge release install separately. Do not combine the two.

Question	Should I update my non-bundled addons after updating to a newer release of version 11?
Answer	Absolutely! Frequent changes may be made to both bundled and non-bundled addons. Bundled addons will be updated via the upgrader. For non-bundled addons, you will have to update them through the addons management screen (Admin Zone > Structure > Addons). You will be informed which ones need updated. Once version 11 reaches release candidate, we do not expect frequent updates to non-bundled addons anymore. But it is still good practice to check after every update.

Question	Can I upgrade a version 10 site to version 11?
Answer	Yes, for basic non-custom v10 sites. However, expect some issues to arise in the process. And please report those issues to the tracker. For v10 sites with non-bundled addons or customisations, upgrading to v11 will likely break the site until you update the non-bundled addons or temporarily remove the customisations. We aim to have the upgrader fully functional for a large majority of types of sites and for sites using non-bundled addons by the time version 11 reaches release candidate stage. We do not recommend upgrading production v10 sites at this time until v11 reaches stable.

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