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Newest 10 Entries

Question How do I manage refunds in Composr?
Answer
  • Monetary payments: Issue refunds through your payment gateway.
  • Point payments: Manually refund points through the points system.
  • Cancellations: Cancel purchases in the Admin Zone to allow repurchasing. Remember to manually undo any associated actions (e.g., removing name highlighting).
Question What are the shipping options in Composr?
Answer You can handle shipping costs in three ways:

  • Flat rate per order: Configure a fixed shipping cost for all orders.
  • Weight-based calculation: Define shipping costs based on the order's total weight.
  • Shippo integration: Get real-time shipping quotes from various carriers based on weight, dimensions, and destination.
Question How do I handle taxes in Composr?
Answer Composr offers flexible tax handling:

  • TaxJar integration: Supports international taxation for many countries.
  • TaxCloud integration: Supports complex USA taxation, including destination-based rules.
  • EU digital goods tax: Handles EU-specific regulations for digital products.
  • Custom tax rates: Define your own percentage-based tax rates.
  • Tax hooks: Developers can extend tax functionality and implement additional tax providers.
Question What are the different types of products in Composr?
Answer Composr offers various "products," which are broader than typical eCommerce products. They include:

  • Usergroup subscriptions: Offer access to specific usergroups with recurring payments.
  • Catalogue items: Physical or digital goods sold through the shopping cart and a special "products" catalogue.
  • Orders: Collections of products purchased together.
  • E-mail addresses: Sell personalized email addresses on your domain.
  • Topic pinning: Allow users to pay to pin forum topics.
  • Name highlighting: Offer highlighted usernames on the forum.
  • Banners: Sell banner advertising space.
  • Custom products: Define and sell any product or service you wish.
  • Permission products: Sell access to specific permissions, such as download categories.
  • Gambling: Allow users to wager points.
  • Work: Represent invoiced services.
  • Non-purchasable products: For accounting purposes (interest, tax, wages, other).
Question How do I set up PayPal in Composr?
Answer
  • Sign up for a PayPal Business Account.
  • Enable "Auto Return" in PayPal and set the return URL to http://yourbaseurl/index.php?page=purchase
  • Enable "Payment data transfer" in PayPal and copy the data transfer identifier for Composr.
  • In Composr, go to Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > eCommerce options > Payment gateway (PayPal-specific).
  • Paste the data transfer identifier and save.
Question What payment gateways does Composr support?
Answer Composr supports PayPal, CCBill, and Authorize.Net for processing payments. While Composr could be extended to support other gateways, doing so may require professional development and customization.
Question What are the limitations for uploading large files?
Answer
  • 32-bit PHP build: Files larger than 2GB are not supported.
  • 64-bit PHP build: Files larger than 2GB are supported, but the file size will not be displayed.

For very large files, it's recommended to upload them manually and provide the URL instead of directly uploading them through the web form.
Question Can users search for specific downloads?
Answer Yes, the unified Composr search system allows users to find downloads based on keywords. This includes searching within download titles and descriptions, as well as within the content of certain file types like PDFs, text files, and even some binary formats (providing they are not too large in size).
Question Can I add images to my downloads?
Answer Yes, Composr automatically creates a gallery for each download (if the galleries addon is enabled). You can easily add images directly after creating the download or through the download-view screen. The download gallery is displayed within the download-view screen itself.
Question Are there security features to protect downloaded files?
Answer Yes, Composr includes security measures to protect downloads.
  • Protection from hackers: Uploaded files are stored with obscured filenames, preventing direct access and bypassing of the download system. Additionally, an anti-leech feature (when enabled) prevents direct download links from being shared on other websites (this is done by requiring a session ID which is validated against the person / device accessing it and only provided when Composr presents the download links to you on the site).
  • Basic security: Composr will not let anyone upload dangerous scripts (such as PHP files) which can be executed.
  • Rootkit detection: The rootkit detection tool under yourbaseurl/rootkit_detection.php can help scan files for shell scripts and backdoors. Composr's Health Check can also do this regularly. Note this only offers very basic detection and will not work for obfuscated backdoors (you should use antivirus to scan for those).

It is the responsibility of webmasters to run antivirus on their site to regularly scan files uploaded to it. Composr does not include antivirus software or virus scanning.

Top 10 Entries

Question What is Tempcode, and how is it used in website themeing?
Answer Tempcode is a templating language used within Composr. It offers a powerful way to control the output of dynamic content and design elements on a website. It works by using:
  • Parameters: Placeholders for content passed to the template from Composr / PHP.
  • Symbols: Global functions that perform operations, calculations, or retrieve information.
  • Directives: Instructions that control the flow or logic of content, such as conditional statements and loops.
  • Language strings: References to pre-defined text stored in language files for easy translation.
  • Escaping: Ensures the content generated is properly escaped according to its use case.

Tempcode empowers theme designers to create highly customizable and dynamic websites, allowing for logic, conditional rendering, and manipulation of various website elements.
Question What are some alternatives to Photoshop for web design?
Answer While Photoshop is a popular choice, there are other excellent options available, including:
  • GIMP/GIMPShop: These free, open-source image editors provide a robust set of features comparable to Photoshop.
  • Paint.NET: This free, Windows-only software offers a user-friendly interface and essential image editing tools.
  • Corel Paint Shop Pro: A more affordable alternative to Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro delivers a good balance of features and ease of use.
Question How can design elements like dominance and attention to detail improve a website?
Answer Dominance and attention to detail are key to a balanced and engaging website. Important elements can be emphasized using techniques like larger text, unique colors, and increased spacing. Conversely, less crucial elements should receive less emphasis. This interplay helps guide the visitor's eye and ensures a visually harmonious layout.

Attention to detail involves eliminating inconsistencies and distractions, such as typos, misaligned elements, and low-quality images, that can detract from the overall aesthetics and message of the website.
Question What is the importance of color schemes in website design?
Answer Color schemes are crucial as they convey emotions and brand identity. Choosing colors that align with your website's purpose can evoke desired feelings in visitors. For example, a website selling chocolates might use shades of brown to subconsciously trigger associations with chocolate. However, an environmental website would be better suited using green, aligning with pre-existing perceptions of environmentalism.

It is also important to maintain consistency with your color scheme, limiting the number of colors used to avoid a conflicting and cluttered appearance.
Question Can I use Comcode / resource IDs directly when working with the repository?
Answer Using Comcode / resource IDs directly is not recommended as they may not match between different sites. Use GUIDs instead, which Composr automatically substitutes for IDs before parsing Comcode. You can use Commandr commands like find_guid_via_id to find the GUID for specific resources.
Question What precautions should I take when using the Composr Repository?
Answer Exercise caution when working with the repository:
  • Avoid using it as the sole backup method; rely on regular database backups.
  • Work primarily under the "var" meta-filesystem and copy specific folders/files rather than the entire repository.
  • Do not use tools like "rsync" or Git on the whole repository without careful consideration.
Question What are the limitations of the Composr Repository?
Answer While powerful, the repository has limitations:
  • Automatic syndication is not performed for content added via the repository.
  • Multi-language content translations are not retained.
  • Transferring complex data schemas between staging sites may have limitations.
  • Merging separate websites into one is not supported through the repository. You should use Composr's import tool instead.
Question How can I access the Composr Repository?
Answer You can access the repository using WebDAV (non-bundled addon), which allows you to view it as a folder on your computer. Composr uses the SabreDAV PHP library for WebDAV functionality. However, please be aware that SabreDAV is deprecated and may not function correctly on newer PHP versions.
Question How is the Composr Repository structured?
Answer The repository is structured as a filesystem with various meta-filesystems mounted under a root directory. These meta-filesystems include:
  • bin: Stores Commandr scripts.
  • database: Provides access to the raw database.
  • etc: Allows access to Composr configuration options.
  • home or filedump: Provides access to the File/Media Library.
    • home contains the files in a special JSON format with metadata
    • filedump contains the raw files
  • members: Lists registered members with their settings and user groups.
  • raw or root: Provides access to the Composr installation directory.
    • raw contains the raw files without overrides, and modifying any file modifies them directly without automatic override handling
    • root contains the files with applicable overrides applied automatically, and Composr will automatically handle overrides and utilizing _custom directories when these files are modified
  • var: Contains structured website resources and content.
Question What are the benefits of using the Composr Repository?
Answer The repository offers several benefits:
  • Opacity: Provides a clear view of Composr's content and resource data.
  • Tactility: Allows easy manipulation of data through drag-and-drop operations.
  • Data transfer: Simplifies transferring data between sites.
  • Desktop application integration: Enables using text editors and file-search tools for tasks like mass search and replace.
  • Configuration management: Tracks changes to options and facilitates transfer between sites.
  • Backups: Allows backing up portions of the repository.
  • Revision control: Supports built-in and advanced revision control.
  • Filesystem for Commandr: Acts as a file system for the Commandr command line.
  • Resource API: Offers an abstract resource API for programmers.
  • API for external apps: Provides an API for mobile apps and other external applications.