Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis Image 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

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C

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham Image 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.

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Chris Warburton developer for ocProducts

Made some key contributions to ocPortal

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H

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment project manager for ocProducts

None available

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J

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson contributor

written many tutorials via Arvixe

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P

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig Image 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.

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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

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R

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher Image 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

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S

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis project manager for ocProducts

Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe

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Newest 10 Entries

Question How do I set up the system scheduler in Composr?
Answer The system scheduler is crucial for scheduled tasks like sending notifications, running backups, and processing reports. To set it up, you need to schedule a system-level task to run the data/cron_bridge.php file at least every 10 minutes. This links Composr's scheduler with your server's scheduler (like Cron on Linux).

Composr can often detect the correct command to use for your setup. You can check by visiting http://yourbaseurl/data/cron_bridge.php?query_mode=1, which should display the suggested Cron command. Note that you may need to replace the php command with the absolute path to PHP if you cannot use the php command directly.

If your hosting doesn't support Cron or scheduled tasks, you can enable scheduled tasks to run when visitors access your site. Navigate to Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Performance options and check "Web requests run scheduled tasks". Keep in mind that this method relies on visitor traffic and isn't as reliable as a dedicated scheduler.

Alternatively, consider using external services like EasyCron, setcronjob.com, or onlinecronjobs.com. These services allow you to schedule calls to the data/cron_bridge.php script by URL at specified intervals.

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Question What are the different security levels in Composr's Setup Wizard and what do they affect?
Answer Composr offers five security levels in the Setup Wizard: Minimum, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra High. Each level sets various security configurations that you can later customize under Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration.

The security levels influence settings such as:

  • Content Security Policy
  • Session expiry time
  • Password reset process
  • Password expiry days
  • Minimum password length and strength
  • Login error secrecy
  • IP strictness for sessions
  • Cryptographic ratchet
  • CAPTCHA usage
  • Brute force threshold
  • Audio CAPTCHA
  • URL Monikers
  • .htaccess restrictions on maintenance scripts
  • Enquiry on new IP addresses

The higher the security level, the more stringent the security measures, with Ultra High offering the most robust protection but the most potential inconvenience to users.

Generally, you should use these settings depending on your site:
  • Minimum: Very bare-bones informational-only sites
  • Low: Sites which do not allow public registrations and do not use eCommerce but have content managed by different staff, and are not concerned with privacy or data
  • Medium: Sites with social features / public accounts but do not use eCommerce.
  • High: Sites which use eCommerce.
  • Ultra High: Sites containing very sensitive data, such as but not limited to cybersecurity sites, government departments, banks, healthcare, etc.

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Question How do I change my website's logo?
Answer You can change your site's logo manually or by using the Logo Wizard. To change it manually, go to Admin Zone > Style > Themes. Choose "logo/-logo" from the dropdown list, which represents the logo for the Welcome Zone and any zone without a specific logo. Replace the current image by uploading a new .jpeg, .gif, or .png file. Ensure that the 'Name' field remains unchanged.

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Question What are Composr addons and how do I manage them?
Answer Composr is built using a series of addons that provide different functionalities. All "bundled" addons are installed by default. Once you are familiar with Composr, it's recommended to remove any bundled addons you don't need to simplify your site and prevent accidental exposure of unconfigured features to visitors (the Setup Wizard can also uninstall these addons based on your preferences). You can manage addons by navigating to Admin Zone > Structure > Addons. Uninstalled addons are archived and can be restored later, but any associated data will be permanently lost.

Composr also offers non-bundled addons. These addons are not bundled because they are not considered mainstream, rely on third-party services, haven't been vetted to Composr standards, or don't fully conform to those standards.

You can install non-bundled addons by going to Admin Zone > Structure > Addons, scrolling to the bottom and clicking "Import non-bundled addon(s)". You will need to browse to the addon file and click the import button. Once imported, review the warnings and proceed to install the addon.

You can also download and import addons from this website under the Downloads section.

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Question What are some of the default Comcode pages in Composr?
Answer Composr includes several default Comcode pages, each serving a specific purpose:

  • home (Welcome and Site zones): The default front pages for the respective zones.
  • sitemap (Welcome zone): Displays the sitemap, typically generated automatically.
  • _rules (Welcome zone): Outlines the site rules, also displayed during registration. The "rules" page (no underscore) is a wrapper for this page.
  • privacy (Welcome zone): Provides privacy policy information. By default, this is generated automatically with Composr's privacy policy generator block.
  • 404 (Welcome zone): The page shown for 404 errors (page not found) and includes a sitemap.
  • help (Site zone): Contains general help information.
  • userguide_comcode (Site zone): A basic guide to Comcode for users.

Remember that you can edit these default pages or create entirely new ones to tailor your site's content to your specific needs.

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Question How do I hide a Comcode page from the sitemap?
Answer If you want to prevent a Comcode page from appearing in your sitemap, you can simply prefix its name with an underscore (_). For example, pages named "_test" or "_example" would be excluded from the sitemap. Note that this generally does not hide the page from your site itself (to do that, use the validation addon to turn validated to "OFF" for the pages); it only hides them from the sitemap / search engines.

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Question Can I organize Comcode pages in a hierarchical structure?
Answer Yes, Composr allows you to simulate a hierarchical structure for your Comcode pages using multi-part paths in the page monikers. By editing the page monikers to include slashes (e.g., "about/team"), you can create a virtual directory structure within a single zone, enhancing your site's organization and navigation.

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Question How do I embed content from other modules into a Comcode page?
Answer You can use various blocks to embed content from different modules:

  • main_content block: Allows you to feature individual entries from modules/content like news or articles.
  • main_multi_content, main_cc_embed, main_gallery_embed, main_news blocks: Enable you to pull in and display multiple entries based on categories or other criteria.
  • main_include_module block: Provides a powerful way to integrate any module screen directly into a Comcode page.

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Question What is the difference between blocks and boxes in Composr?
Answer While both terms may seem similar, they have distinct meanings in Composr:
  • Blocks are functional units that generate dynamic content or provide specific features. They don't inherently have a visual form and their output can vary widely.
  • Boxes are a visual design element in Composr, essentially containers that visually group content on a page and often with a title at the top.

In practice, blocks often place their content within a box, but this isn't a requirement / standard.

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Question Can I customize the appearance of blocks?
Answer Yes, you can customize the appearance of blocks by editing the associated templates and CSS. Each block typically has a corresponding template file (e.g., BLOCK_MAIN_NEWS.tpl for the main_news block) that controls its HTML structure. You can modify this template to change the layout and styling of the block's output.

An easy way to do this is through the template editor in Admin Zone > Style > Themes, and click edit templates for the relevant theme.

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Top 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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