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Question What are gift points, and how do they work?
Answer Gift points are a separate points balance that can only be sent to other members as gifts. They cannot be spent directly or used in escrow transactions.

Gift points are earned daily based on usergroup membership and replenish independently of the regular points balance. When a member sends gift points, they become regular points for the recipient.
Question Can members send points to each other?
Answer Yes, members can send points to each other as a token of appreciation, reward for a service, or as part of an agreement using the Points Escrow system.
Question How does content validation affect point earning?
Answer Points are typically awarded immediately upon content submission to encourage participation. However, forum posts requiring validation only earn points after approval to deter spam. To further encourage high-quality content, consider using the "awards" addon to reward exceptional contributions.
Question Can I reward members who use specific browsers or operating systems?
Answer Yes, Composr allows you to configure bonus points based on browser/platform criteria. You can set bonus points for members using Open Source browsers, specific operating systems, or even those who have enabled privacy features like "Do Not Track" (DNT) or "Global Privacy Control" (GPC).
Question What's the difference between points balance and rank points?
Answer Points balance refers to the number of points a member currently has available to spend. This is the 'liquid' currency they can use for various actions.

Rank points represent the total points a member has accumulated throughout their time on the website. These points determine the member's rank, which can grant access to additional privileges and act as a status symbol.
Question How can members earn points on my Composr website?
Answer Members can earn points in various ways, including:
  • Joining the website: A welcome bonus for new members.
  • Daily visits: Encourage regular engagement.
  • Content interactions: Liking, rating, and submitting various forms of content.
  • Forum participation: Posting and having posts validated.
  • Chatroom activity: Reward active participation in chatrooms.
  • Quizzes and polls: Encourage learning and engagement.
  • Website recommendations: Reward referrals.
  • Receiving points from other members: Facilitate community appreciation.
  • Selling downloads: Monetize content creation.
  • Birthdays: Offer a special bonus on their birthdays.

Most earning methods can be customized in the Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Points options to fit your website's needs.
Question What are cleanup tools in Composr and how do I use them?
Answer Cleanup tools assist with website maintenance by deleting unnecessary data and optimizing database tables. They are divided into "De-cachers" and "Optimizers". You can access them through:

Admin Zone > Tools > Cleanup tools.
Question How can I access PHP-Info in Composr?
Answer PHP-Info provides a comprehensive overview of your PHP configuration. You can access it within Composr by navigating to Admin Zone > Tools > PHP-Info / Server Checks.

This page also provides additional useful server information.
Question What is the purpose of the Health Check feature in Composr?
Answer The Health Check feature in Composr proactively identifies potential issues that may affect your website's performance, security, and overall health. It performs various checks and alerts you to problems like:
  • Broken links and forms
  • Security vulnerabilities
  • Outdated software versions
  • Server performance issues
  • Email configuration problems

The Health Check can be run manually or scheduled to run automatically and send e-mail notifications of results.
Question How can I use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to enhance my website?
Answer CDNs improve website performance by serving content from geographically distributed servers, reducing latency and server load. You can leverage CDNs for your Composr website by:
  • Configuring the CDN option in Composr with a comma-separated list of CDN domain names.
  • Ensuring your files are mirrored on the CDN servers.
  • Utilizing the CDN_FILTER directive and symbol to control what content is served via CDN.

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.