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Newest 10 Entries
Question | Can I display different content to different usergroups? |
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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? |
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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. |
Question | How can I control who can view specific pages or categories? |
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Answer | You can manage access control for zones, pages, and categories primarily through the Permissions Tree Editor (Admin Zone > Security > Permissions Tree Editor). This tool provides a central location to set view permissions for different usergroups. You can also edit individual zone and category permissions through their respective editing interfaces, but the Permissions Tree Editor offers a more streamlined and efficient approach. |
Question | What is the difference between access permissions and privileges in Composr? |
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Answer | Access permissions control whether members of a certain usergroup can view specific areas of your site, such as zones, pages, and categories. A member only needs one of their usergroups to have access permission to view the content. But permissions work on a deny-first policy; if one of the permissions applicable to viewing something is denied for a usergroup, then the whole thing is denied for that usergroup (e.g. even if a download itself grants access, access will be denied if its category denies access). Privileges, on the other hand, dictate what actions a usergroup is allowed to perform across the website, like using advanced Comcode or bypassing the word filter. |
Question | How can I change the news archive display to show summaries instead of just headlines? |
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Answer | By default, the news archive screen shows only headlines. To display summaries like the news block, add :inline=1 to the page-link. For example, if your news archive page-link is site:news, modify it to site:news:inline=1. This will show summaries instead of just the headlines in the archive view. |
Question | What are Trackbacks and how do they work in Composr? |
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Answer | Trackbacks are a blogging feature that creates a link from an article on one blog to an article on another, acting as a citation mechanism. How Trackbacks Work:
To enable trackbacks, go to Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Feature options and check the "Trackbacks" option. You can then enable trackbacks for individual content items. |
Question | How can I filter the news archive to show specific content? |
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Answer | The news system allows advanced filtering:
These filters are controlled through parameters passed to the news blocks and carried through navigation links. When viewing a news post, you can also filter by the categories associated with that post. |
Question | How do I display external RSS feeds on my Composr website? |
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Answer | Composr offers two blocks for displaying RSS and Atom feeds in a news-like format:
To add a block, use the Block Construction Assistant or insert the following Comcode into your page: [block="http://example.com/feed.xml"]main_rss[/block] [block="http://example.com/feed.xml"]side_rss[/block] Replace "http://example.com/feed.xml" with the actual feed URL. Important: Exercise caution when using external feeds. Ensure the source is trustworthy, as malicious feeds can contain harmful code. |
Question | What are RSS/Atom feeds and how do they benefit my website? |
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Answer | Feeds, in formats like RSS and Atom, are XML files that syndicate your website content, making it accessible beyond your website. They can be viewed using feed reader applications (e.g., Feedly, Vienna) or integrated into other websites or web browsers. Composr supports both RSS and Atom for syndicating news and other content. While RSS is more common, Atom is a cleaner, standardized format. Both effectively share your content updates. Benefits:
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Question | What are Personal Categories/Blogs in Composr? How do I create one? |
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Answer | Composr allows members of permitted usergroups to have their own personal news categories, also known as "blogs". These blogs appear as a tab on the member's profile (Conversr-only) and may also appear in the main news block depending on your configuration. To create a blog, a member simply adds a news post and selects their personal category. If the category doesn't exist, it will be automatically created upon submission. A dedicated "Blogs" CMS module (Admin Zone > Content > Blogs) is available if the "Separate blogs" configuration option is enabled. This simplified module focuses on blog posting and can be used to restrict members from submitting to general website news. |
Top 10 Entries
Question | How do I report an emergency problem with my Composr site? |
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Answer | Emergency problems are events that have significantly and suddenly affected your website's functionality due to legitimate bugs or undocumented usability issues. To report these:
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Question | How can I get support for Composr? |
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Answer | The community forum is an excellent resource for support. Users can help each other out with various problems. However, please remember that there's no guarantee of free professional support. If you need immediate or guaranteed assistance, consider hiring a professional developer. |
Question | I'm getting a lot of spam on my site. What can I do? |
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Answer | Composr offers various anti-spam measures. Refer to the Anti-spam settings tutorial for advice on configuring these settings. If you believe there's an issue with the anti-spam system itself, report it to the issue tracker. Do not report general spam incidents. |
Question | My website is experiencing performance issues. What should I do? |
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Answer | If you are experiencing performance issues, first identify the specific problem with your web host's help. Composr provides tools to manage database size, bandwidth, and disk I/O. However, high request volume or CPU usage may require server upgrades like a VPS or dedicated server. If your web host complains about resource usage, gather detailed information from them, including specific URLs causing problems and resource usage metrics. If their limits are unreasonable, consider switching web hosts. |
Question | How do I report a security problem? |
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Answer | Security problems must be reported privately. You can do this by marking the issue as 'Private' on the issue tracker (if you use the Report Issue Wizard, it will do that automatically when you select security-hole). Publicly disclosing security holes is irresponsible and may result in penalties. The core developer team will disclose the issue after a patch is released. |
Question | How do I report a bug in Composr? |
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Answer | Every bug, no matter how small, should be reported. You can report bugs using the Report Issue Wizard or directly through the issue tracker. There is also a link to report bugs on your Admin Zone Dashboard where the version information is located. And when clicking that link, you can view open issues specific to your version of Composr. When reporting a bug, be sure to:
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Question | What is the role of robots.txt in SEO? |
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Answer | The robots.txt file provides instructions to search engine crawlers about which parts of your website they should and should not access. You can customize the robots.txt file to prevent sensitive content from being indexed or to guide crawlers toward the most important areas of your site. |
Question | What is SEO and why is it important for my Composr website? |
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Answer | SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By improving your SEO, you increase the visibility of your website, driving more organic (non-paid) traffic to your content. |
Question | How can I edit the metadata in Composr? |
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Answer | Composr provides several ways to customize your metadata:
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Question | Should I trust agencies that promise top search engine results? |
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Answer | No; be wary of agencies guaranteeing top rankings for any desired keyword. Achieving top results for competitive terms requires significant effort, expertise, and often, an ongoing strategy. Focus on agencies that prioritize ethical "white-hat" SEO techniques like creating valuable content, optimizing website structure, and building natural backlinks. Avoid those employing "black-hat" methods that can lead to penalties from search engines. |