QnECMS: Quick & Easy Accessible CMS, Weblog and Podcasting Software.

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FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

System requirements for QnECMS Content Mangement System

QnECMS Content Management System (CMS) works on any platform that can run PHP (4.1.2+) and MySQL. (3.23.23+)

Most commonly QnECMS is installed on a Linux/Unix type operating system - but has been installed successfully on NT/XP and on Mac OS X when PHP and MySQL are supported. I tested it on Mac OS X myself and had no problems.

The mailing list feature uses Perl rather than PHP as this is more robust for sending larger amounts of email. Perl support for database access must be available to take advantage of this feature.

What member levels and access privileges are available?

QnECMS has three access levels for members; Restricted, Standard and Administrator. The Restricted access level provides a rudimentary 'work-flow' capability, i.e., members can add content but not make that content public - that is done by an administrator. Standard members can add pages and make them public without consent from an administrator, and administrators have access to every feature of the CMS including adding members, editing and deleting all pages.

How to add a new member

Only Administrators can add new members. Add a new member by clicking 'Add new member' on the Administators menu. Fill in the members personal details (only name and email are compulsory) and choose between 'Restricted access', 'Standard' and 'Administrator'.

Restricted access

Members with Restricted Access - can add pages - but only to the 'Pending' category. Administrators must make sure that a Pending category is available (it should be, as it is the only category that QnE ships with).

Once added to the Pending category - administrators can review the new page and add it to a category that is appropriate and publicly viewable.

Restricted access

Members with Restricted access can do the following:

  • Create new pages.
  • Edit their own pages, but not others.
  • View a list of their all of their own pages on the site.
  • Add images
  • List images
  • Upload files.
  • List uploaded files.
  • View their membership profile.
  • Edit their membership profile.
  • Change their password.
  • Choose their editing preferences (e.g., WYSWYG or PHP Markdown or none).
  • Add news to the home page.
  • Edit their own news items.

Standard access

Members with Standard access can do the following:

  • Create new pages.
  • Publish their pages directly to the site without Administrator approval.
  • Edit their own pages, but not others.
  • View a list of their all of their own pages on the site.
  • Add new categories.
  • Edit categories
  • Add new navigation bars.
  • Edit navigation bars.
  • Add images
  • List images
  • Upload files.
  • List uploaded files.
  • View their membership profile.
  • Edit their membership profile.
  • Change their password.
  • Choose their editing preferences (e.g., WYSWYG or PHP Markdown or none).
  • Add news to the home page.
  • Edit their own news items.

Administrator level membership

Admistrator level provides the following:

  • Create new pages.
  • Edit all pages.
  • Delete all pages.
  • Create news items.
  • Edit all news items.
  • Add new page categories.
  • Edit categories.
  • Delete categories
  • Add new navigation bars.
  • Edit navigation bars.
  • Delete navigation bars.
  • List all pages on the site.
  • Add images
  • List images
  • Upload files.
  • List uploaded files.
  • Add new members
  • View all membership profiles.
  • Edit all membership profiles.
  • Choose whether author and modified date appears on content pages.
  • Email all members
  • Change their password.
  • Choose their editing preferences (e.g., WYSWYG or PHP Markdown or none).
  • Turn on/off friendly URLs.
  • Set Weblog prefs (number listed, number of words in each news item) and so on
  • Turn off or on markup validation.

How do I add my own template?

Templates in QnECMS - are just html files with a few php includes. The idea is that you create your own template and divide it into header and footer sections. You then copy your html into the CMS headers and footers files.

The templates to edit:

  • Home page header is called headerhome.php
  • Home page footer is called footerhome.php
  • Header for all other pages is called headermain.php
  • Footer for all other pages is called footermain.php

There is only one PHP section that you must have in your template - and that is the function that adds the admin menu to the foot of the web page. PHP includes are used to add interactive features such as navigation bars, comments, weblogs and so on - so the easiest approach is probably to create your design first and then add the PHP includes later.

Anything that isn't in between <?php and ?> tags can be replaced with your own html. You don't need to touch the PHP - so it doesn't matter whether you have experience of PHP or not.

At first glance it might look complicated - but all you need to do is delete the html and replace it with your own - there is really nothing beyond that.

Header template

Here is the full text from the main page template header:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<title>

<?php
// Get the title tag for the browser bar
if ($avariablename)
{
echo $avariablename;
}
else
{
echo $avariablename." | ".$avariablename;
}
?>

</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
<meta name="keywords" content="<?php echo $avariablename; ?>" />
<meta name="Description" content="<?php echo $avariablename; ?>" />
<style type="text/css" media="screen">
@import "<?php echo $avariablenamee; ?>/stylesheets/likeowen.css";
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="wrapper">
<div id="content">
<div id="navi">

<?php
// Breadcrumbs navigation
include (ACONSTANT."include/breadcrumbs.php");
?>
</div>

<h1>
<?php
// This variable captures the title for each page.
echo stripslashes($avariablename);
?>
</h1>

And the footer looks like this:

<?php
// Code to add comments.
// Do not delete this - comments can be disabled for each page.
include(ACONSTANT."/include/templatecommentscode.php");
?>

<div id ="menu">
<?php
// Code to add the navigation bar
include(ACONSTANT."/include/templatenavbar.php");
?>
</div>

</div>
</div>

<div id="footer">
<?php
// this is the administratin menu - do not modify anything here.
getAdminNavigation ($avariablename, $avariablename, $avariablename, $avariablename, $avariablename, $avariablename, $avariablename, $avariablename)
?>

<p>Powered by <a href="http://www.qnecms.co.uk"><abbr title="Quick and Easy Content Management System." lang="en">QnECMS</abbr></a> - the accessible content management system.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>

Once the template is in place, your users don't need to worry about it - as they can't change it via the CMS - they just update their content on the site.

What plugins come free with the QnE Content Management System?

  • Tell a friend - allows visitors to your site to email a friend to tell them about your website.
  • Photo Gallery. Allows you to build an image gallery automatically. Unlimited categories, unlimited images. Upload one image and it creates both a thumbnail and a larger image to link to.
  • Simple contact form.
  • SiteSearch. A plugin by Rich Pedley that provides a search facility covering both page content and weblog content.
  • Newsletter. Visitors can register for your newsletter, you can create HTML or plain text newsletters and send them to your mailing list. AOL users automatically get a text version.
  • Site map. A plugin by Mel Pedley that automatically generates a site map of your website.
  • Dead page killer. A plugin by Rich Pedley. When you delete a page using the CMS facility the pages remains in the database. This plugin allows you to kill it entirely or bring it back to life.
  • FAQ manager. Allows you to create a simple frequently asked questions page automatically
  • Link Manager. Allows you to create a simple links page automatically.
  • Weblog. The Weblog isn't strictly speaking a plugin as it is integrated into the CMS, but I thought I'd mention it in passing.
  • Podcast software. The Podcasting software also isn't really a plugin, as it is part of the CMS, but again, I thought I'd mention it.


Comments

Mod_rewrite is used to create more friendly URLs - it needs to be turned on within the control panel. URLs are created with the following format: www.youdomain.com/contentid23.html There is also an entry in the forum about an alternative way to set up friendly URLs - look in the tips and tricks section. All the best, Jim

| Sat Sep 15 2007

Do you have a plug in that makes use of php mod_rewrite? I would like to incorporate your CMS into our development projects, but would need to rewrite the pages to names, not just ?contentid=xx. Do you have this functionality at present or would we need to develop it ourselves?

Joseph | Sat Sep 15 2007

Hi Your CMS looks very interesting. I am wanting to start offering CMS websites to my clients. Could you let me know whether it's easy to use your CMS with css drop down navigation? Also, how easy is it to incorporate a main navigation, which when clicked, brings up a side sub navigation. Basiclly, I'd just like to find out how easy it will be to create unique websites using various forms/methods of navigation and layouts. Many thanks. Lee

Lee | Fri Feb 23 2007

Are there any discounts or special programs for non-profits? Our site is for the South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind, and our budget is extremely limited.

Ron | Sat Aug 05 2006

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