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Question What is the Composr Member System?
Answer The Composr Member System is the system used by the Conversr forum software to manage user accounts and information. This includes usernames, passwords, profile information, and usergroups. It also handles user registration, login, and account management. For websites not using Conversr, the member system of the third-party forum software would be used.
Question Can I Use Composr Galleries to Publish Podcasts?
Answer Yes, Composr supports creating podcasts from galleries. The podcast URL follows this format: http://yourbaseurl/backend.php?mode=galleries&select=galleryname&type=rss&itunes=1. Replace yourbaseurl and galleryname accordingly. This URL can be used to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or other podcast applications.
Question How Do Gallery Slide-shows Work?
Answer When viewing an image or video in a gallery, visitors can initiate a slide-show that automatically cycles through subsequent entries. The slide-show can be paused with a click or keypress. The default slide-show speed can be adjusted by modifying the GALLERY_ENTRY_SCREEN.tpl template.
Question What are Watermarks and How Do They Work?
Answer Watermarks are semi-transparent images overlaid on gallery images to mark their origin or deter unauthorized use. When you add or edit a gallery, you can choose to apply watermarks to the corners of images. Watermarking applies permanently to the uploaded image. Composr uses a reverse tree structure for watermarks: if a sub-gallery doesn't have a watermark defined, it inherits the watermark from its parent gallery.
Question Can Members Create Their Own Personal Galleries?
Answer Yes, members with the "have personal galleries" permission can create their own galleries. These personal galleries are displayed under designated "Personal category container" galleries. They also show up in a tab on the member's profile. Members can only add content to their own galleries unless they have the "Submit to categories belonging to other members" permission.
Question What are Rep-Images and How Do I Set Them?
Answer Rep-images, short for "representative images," are thumbnails that represent a gallery when it's displayed within a list of galleries. They offer a visual preview of the gallery's contents. You can set a rep-image when adding or editing a gallery, or when adding an image to a gallery.
Question How Do I Import Images in bulk into a Gallery?
Answer You can import images in bulk using a CSV file. The file should be named descriptions.csv and placed in the uploads/galleries directory. The first column should contain filenames (without the path), and the second column should contain descriptions. The filenames should correspond to images also located in the uploads/galleries directory. Composr will automatically match the descriptions to the images during import.
Question What Image and Video Formats are Supported?
Answer Images:
  • .jpg/.jpeg: Highly compressed, best for photos due to minimal noticeable quality loss.
  • .png: Good compression with no quality loss, ideal if bandwidth isn't a concern.
  • .gif: Limited to 256 colors and poor compression. Better alternatives are video or APNG.
Note that Composr does not support SVG because hackers can leverage the XML-like structure of SVG files to compromise a website.

Videos:
  • .mp4 (h.264 aac encoding): The recommended format, widely supported.
  • .mov (h.264 aac encoding): Identical to .mp4.
  • .webm: Supported natively in most browsers, but requires plugins for Internet Explorer/Microsoft Edge and Safari.

Other formats, while they may work, are generally discouraged due to compatibility issues and lack of consistent addon or browser support.
Question What are Composr Galleries?
Answer Composr Galleries are a system for storing, organizing, and displaying images and videos. They function like categories, allowing you to group related media together. Galleries can be structured hierarchically, with sub-galleries nested under parent galleries, similar to a folder system. Each gallery has settings that control its appearance and behavior.
Question How are forums structured in Composr?
Answer Composr forums are organized hierarchically:
  • Forum Groupings: Broad categories that contain forums.
  • Forums: Contain topics related to a specific subject.
  • Sub-forums: Forums nested under other forums, providing further categorization.
  • Topics: Threads of conversation containing a series of posts.
  • Posts: Individual messages within a topic.

Top 10 Entries

Question How do I set the correct file permissions for Composr?
Answer If you're using the quick installer, it will handle file permissions automatically. On a suEXEC-style server, default permissions (744 for directories and 644 for files) are usually sufficient. However, _config.php should have 600 permissions for security.

Without suEXEC, specific directories (e.g., caches, uploads) and files (e.g., _config.php) require 777 (full access) or 666 (read/write) permissions. The fixperms.php script can automate this process on Linux and Windows.
Question How do I install Composr on Linux?
Answer After ensuring your web host meets the requirements and you have a database ready, you can install Composr on Linux using the following steps:
  • Upload the Composr files to your web directory.
  • Navigate to the install.php file in your web browser.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions, providing the required information, such as database details and administrator credentials.
  • After the installation is complete, delete the install.php file for security reasons.
Question What are the prerequisites for installing Composr?
Answer Before installing Composr, ensure your web host meets the minimum requirements. Familiarize yourself with your web host's control panel (e.g., Plesk, cPanel), which you'll use to manage databases, subdomains, and other settings. Gather your SFTP/FTP credentials (hostname, username, password), usually emailed upon signup. Set up a MySQL database and note its details: hostname (often 'localhost'), username, password, and database name. Ensure the database user has full read/write/administer access to the database.
Question What tools are available for debugging Composr code?
Answer Composr offers a code quality checker addon that helps identify various types of errors, including parser errors, run-time errors, and logical errors. This tool can significantly reduce debugging time and enhance code reliability. It is available through the testing_platform addon.
Question What are some key coding standards in Composr?
Answer Composr emphasizes clean, well-structured code with a focus on readability and maintainability. Key standards include proper indentation, consistent use of comments, and clear function headers with type definitions. Remember: beautiful code leads to better functionality and collaboration!
Question Where can I find resources for learning PHP programming?
Answer While Composr documentation doesn't cover basic PHP, resources like the official PHP documentation (

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

PHP is a popular general-purpose scripting language that powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

View

), online tutorials, and the Composr API guide can help you learn.
Question What is the purpose of the Code Editor?
Answer The Code Editor is a web-based tool for editing Composr code files directly on the server. It requires password authentication and automatically manages overrides within _custom directories.

To access it, go to yourbaseurl/code_editor.php.
Question How can I export and import custom addons?
Answer Composr allows exporting addons as TAR files, containing all necessary files and an addon.inf file for metadata. You can import these addons to share and reuse them across different Composr installations.

To do this, make your necessary files for the addon in the Composr installation, and then go under Admin Zone > Structure > Addons > Export addon. You can select the relevant files for the addon, provide information about the addon, and then download the TAR file (which can then be imported on other Composr sites).
Question Can you give an example of creating a new module?
Answer Imagine creating a "Testing" module to manage collaborative testing:
  • Define purpose: Allow testers to add, assign, and track tests, with security and forum integration.
  • Design database: Plan the necessary database tables and fields to store the module's data.
  • Create module shell: Write the basic module structure based on standard Composr modules.
  • Define screens: Identify the module's screens and code their corresponding functions.
  • Utilize API functions: Use Composr's built-in API functions like create_table, add_privilege, and do_template to implement functionality.
Question What are the different ways to extend Composr functionality?
Answer You can extend Composr through:
  • File overrides: Replacing existing source files with modified versions in _custom directories.
  • New Modules/Mini-modules: Creating new modules for complex functionalities or mini-modules for simpler ones.
  • New Blocks/Miniblocks: Adding reusable content blocks.
  • New API code: Adding new PHP files to the sources_custom directory.
  • Hooks: Writing hooks to add features to specific areas of functionality.