Latest revision as of 14:32, 9 October 2008

This article describes a DRAFT under discussion; contents, specifications and recommendations may change until the public discussion is complete.

Introduction

Welcome to the ccHost version 5 Documentation. Here you will find a general overview of ccHost, a FAQ, and detailed descriptions of the various settings available to the administrator.

ccHost is Creative Commons' open source (GPL licensed) media content management system project that powers ccMixter and is the winner of the Linux Journal LinuxWorldExpo Product Excellence Award for Best Open Source Solution. Read more about ccHost here.

FAQ/Cookbook

How do I change the banner (logo)?

Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section. If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top. Click on the "Banner Logo" link, click on the "Browse" button and select your preferred image. Hit Submit and enjoy!

How do I restrict file types users can upload?

Log in as an administrator and navigate to "Global Settings." Each filetype which is desired to be blocked should be set to "(D)isabled." The "(S)ignature" and "(V)erify" options allow uploads with either a simple check of signature or full file verification using getID3, respectively.

How do I restrict licenses?

Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section. If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top. Click on the "License" link. On that page you can select which supported licenses the users are able to assign to their work. When you are satisfied click on "Submit."

For information on the Creative Commons Licenses see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

How do I add administrators?

Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section. If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top. Click on the "Settings" link. On that page you can add more registered usernames to the list of Admins. Simply separate them by a comma and space, eg: admin, fourstones, rejon, greg

How do I edit the navigation tabs at the top of the page?

Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section. If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top. Click on the "Navigator Tab Sets" link. Click on the "[Edit tabs]" link for the associated tab set you want to edit.

To create a new tab click on "Add Tab." Give it a name (internal only), Display Name (what is displayed), Help Hint ("tooltip" when hovering over with mouse pointer), define its action, and set access level.

On that page you are also able to remove unwanted tabs and edit what all of the current tabs' functions are.

How do I manage page and topic content in ccHost?

For the complete howto, see Content Manager Howto.

How do I repair a broken configruation (A.K.A. HELP!!!!)

If you get into 'trouble' with your system you might be able to salvage your site by browsing to either:

If you are not logged in as an administrator when trying this you will have to:

Open the cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php file in a text editor
Remove the two forward slashes '//' before the word 'return' in the line at the top of the file
Save this file to disk
From your browser, go to 'http://your_server/cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php'. This should bring up a configuration editor
Click on the word 'media' to open the configuration settings and see if you can spot the error
After you have fixed (or decided you can't fix) the problem make sure to the put the '//' back into the cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php file otherwise you will leave a large gaping security hole in your site

How to Configure the Query Browser

ccHost 5.0 includes admin configurable query brower. You can see examples of the browser in action at http://ccmixter.org/browse and http://fourstones.net/browse

This browser is a query builder (see http://your_install_root/query for documentation on ccHost Query API). The browser can configured with option sets (optset) that determine several visual features.

In order to create an optset:

1. Click on 'Global Settings' ( admin/site/global )

2. Click on 'Query Browser' ( admin/browse )

3. Here you can edit the default optset and create different optsets for the browser

   Name - The 'name' is important because it will be used in the browse URL's 
          'optset' parameter. If no optset parameter is in the URL then the 
          optset called 'default' is assumed

   Template - Select the template that will be used to show results 

   Style    - Select the style sheet

   Def. limit - Enter the initial amount to display in the results area

   Playlist but. - Check this if you want to have the 'Save to playlist' button 
                   (this only applies to sites with playlists enabled).

   Req. tags - These tags will be added to every query made, the user 
               can NOT edit these.

   Types - Click on the "Edit types" to bring up a popup that allows you edit what 
           the user will see in the 'Types' select box and what tags they map to.

   Filter on: User - Check this to include the 'User' look up field

   Filter on: License - Check this to include the 'License' look up field

Click on 'Add Option Set' to create new, custom option sets.

4. Once you have saved your optsets you can then see the results by specifying them in the 'browse' URL. Examples

To use the 'default' optset simply browse to: http://your_install_root/browse

To use a different optset browse to: http://your_install_root/browse?optset=your_optset_name

5. You can specify 'start-up' values based on the Query API

   http://your_install_root/browse?tags=hip_hop&limit=15

   http://your_install_root/browse?user=teru

The user can then change these values once in the browser.

This can be very useful for menu items and navigation tabs.

Customizing the Query Browser (Developers)

To make your own custom styles for the entire query browser:

     a: Copy ccskins/shared/css/qbrowser_narrow.css to
        your_cchost_files/skins/css/my_browser_styles.css

     b: Edit the 'desc' line at the top to something meaningful to you

     c: Edit the import urls to point to ccskins versions of
        those files

     d: Browse to admin/browse and select your stylesheet
        in the "Style"

To make your custom results templates:

     a: Copy ccskins/shared/formats/simple_qbrowser.tpl to
        your_cchost_files/skins/formats/my_browser_results.tpl

     b: Edit the 'desc' line at the top to something meaningful
        to you

     c: The current dataview for that template is 'playlist_line'
        which has limited information per record. If you like 
        a more full record of information change the dataview 
        line to 'default'

     d: Browse to admin/browse and select your template in the
        "template" section

Administrative Settings

There are two Administrative Settings sections: Manage Site and Global Settings.

To view the Manage Site documentation see Manage Site

To view the Global Settings documentation see Global Settings

Understanding ccHost URLs

Understanding how URLs work in ccHost is a very important concept that you should understand before doing anything else.

URL Parts

ccHost URLs are composed of four main parts:

1. Root URL of installation

This is the URL address of where index.php lives. For example: http://example.com, or http://example.com/cchost

2. Virtual Root

Don't worry if you don't know what a 'ccHost virtual root' is, we'll get to it here but for now assume it's the word media.

3. Command

This part of the URL maps to an internal command in ccHost. This can be anything from a request for a submit form, a feed, a record listing, etc. Examples are people which shows a listing of the latest registered users who have uploaded or files which lists the latest uploads.

4. Parameters

Many if not most commands accept and even require parameters. For example, adding a specific user's name to the people command will display the user's main page, e.g. people/rejon

You should refer to the ccHost Command Reference for a listing of all available commands.

If you have enabled 'pretty URLs'(more info) in your installation then all the elements are strung together into one URL:

http://example.com/media/people/rejon

If not, then everything starting from the virtual root is prepended the following way:

http://example.com?ccm=/media/people/rejon

Difference between revisions of "CcHost5Documentation"

Latest revision as of 14:32, 9 October 2008

Contents

Introduction

FAQ/Cookbook

How do I change the banner (logo)?

How do I restrict file types users can upload?

How do I restrict licenses?

How do I add administrators?

How do I edit the navigation tabs at the top of the page?

How do I manage page and topic content in ccHost?

How do I repair a broken configruation (A.K.A. HELP!!!!)

How to Configure the Query Browser

Customizing the Query Browser (Developers)

Administrative Settings

Understanding ccHost URLs

URL Parts

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

More

Search

default links

wiki navigation

Tools

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=THIS IS A DRAFT PAGE - DO NOT TRUST ANY INFORMATION ON IT=
+{{Draft}}
 =Introduction=
-==Understanding ccHost URLs==
+Welcome to the ccHost version 5 Documentation.  Here you will find a general overview of ccHost, a FAQ, and detailed descriptions of the various settings available to the administrator.
-Understanding how URLs work in ccHost is a very important concept that you should understand before doing anything else.
+'''ccHost''' is Creative Commons' open source ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/ GPL] licensed) media content management system project that powers [http://ccmixter.org ccMixter] and is the winner of the [http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/6026 Linux Journal LinuxWorldExpo Product Excellence Award] for '''Best Open Source Solution.''' Read more about ccHost [[CcHost#Zeitgeist|here]].
-URL Parts
-ccHost URLs are composed of four main parts:
+=FAQ/Cookbook=
-. Root URL of installation
+==How do I change the banner (logo)?==
-* This is the URL address of where index.php lives. For example: http://example.com, or http://example.com/cchost
+Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section.  If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top.  Click on the "Banner Logo" link, click on the "Browse" button and select your preferred image.  Hit Submit and enjoy!
-. Virtual Root
+==How do I restrict file types users can upload?==
-* Don't worry if you don't know what a 'ccHost virtual root' is, we'll get to it here but for now assume it's the word media.
+Log in as an administrator and navigate to "Global Settings."  Each filetype which is desired to be blocked should be set to "(D)isabled."  The "(S)ignature" and "(V)erify" options allow uploads with either a simple check of signature or full file verification using getID3, respectively.
-. Command
+==How do I restrict licenses?==
-* This part of the URL maps to an internal command in ccHost. This can be anything from a request for a submit form, a feed, a record listing, etc. Examples are people which shows a listing of the latest registered users who have uploaded or files which lists the latest uploads.
+Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section.  If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top.  Click on the "License" link.  On that page you can select which supported licenses the users are able to assign to their work.  When you are satisfied click on "Submit."
-. Parameters
+For information on the Creative Commons Licenses see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
-* Many if not most commands accept and even require parameters. For example, adding a specific user's name to the people command will display the user's main page, e.g. people/rejon
-You should refer to the ccHost Command Reference for a listing of all available commands.
+==How do I add administrators?==
+Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section.  If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top.  Click on the "Settings" link.  On that page you can add more registered usernames to the list of Admins.  Simply separate them by a comma and space, eg: admin, fourstones, rejon, greg
-If you have enabled 'pretty URLs' in your installation then all the elements are strung together into one URL:
+==How do I edit the navigation tabs at the top of the page?==
+Log in as an administrator and go to the "Manage Site" section.  If running multiple sites make sure you select the site you want to edit from the dropdown menu on top.  Click on the "Navigator Tab Sets" link.  Click on the "[Edit tabs]" link for the associated tab set you want to edit.
-http://example.com/media/people/rejon
+To create a new tab click on "Add Tab."  Give it a name (internal only), Display Name (what is displayed), Help Hint ("tooltip" when hovering over with mouse pointer), define its action, and set access level.
-If not, then everything starting from the virtual root is prepended the following way:
+On that page you are also able to remove unwanted tabs and edit what all of the current tabs' functions are.
-http://example.com?ccm=/media/people/rejon
+==How do I manage page and topic content in ccHost?==
-=Administrative Settings=
+For the complete howto, see [[CcHost5Documentation/Content_Manager|Content Manager Howto]].
-There are two Administrative Settings sections: ''Manage Site'' and ''Global Settings.''
+==How do I repair a broken configruation (A.K.A. HELP!!!!)==
-Below you will find explainations of the various options available to the administrator.
+If you get into 'trouble' with your system you might be able to salvage your site by browsing to either:
-==Manage Site==
+*http://your_server/admin/edit
-'''Note:''' ''Some of these settings may have been over written in other virtual roots.''
+*http://your_server?ccm=/media/admin/edit
+*http://your_server/cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php
-===Settings===
+If you are not logged in as an administrator when trying this you will have to:
-''Admins, editors, etc.''
+*Open the cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php file in a text editor
+*Remove the two forward slashes '//' before the word 'return' in the line at the top of the file
+*Save this file to disk
+*From your browser, go to 'http://your_server/cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php'. This should bring up a configuration editor
+*Click on the word 'media' to open the configuration settings and see if you can spot the error
+*After you have fixed (or decided you can't fix) the problem make sure to the put the '//' back into the cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php file otherwise you will leave a large gaping security hole in your site
-'''These settings are the general top level things which the administrator needs to set for the site.'''
+==How to Configure the Query Browser==
-Editorial staff: ''Comma-separated list of login names for users with editorial privileges''
+ccHost 5.0 includes admin configurable query brower. You can see examples
+of the browser in action at http://ccmixter.org/browse and http://fourstones.net/browse
-Auto Publish Uploads: ''Uncheck this if you want to verify uploads before they are made public.''
+This browser is a query builder (see http://your_install_root/query for documentation
+on ccHost Query API). The browser can configured with option sets (optset) that determine
+several visual features.
-Homepage: ''For example a file: docs/home''
+In order to create an optset:
-''or a navigation tab: view/media/home''
-Default Feed Query: ''Query to use for pages that do not specify a feed Leave blank for no default feed.''
+. Click on 'Global Settings' ( admin/site/global )
-Ratings: ''Allow ratings for media virtual root. (Click here to configure global ratings)''
+. Click on 'Query Browser'  ( admin/browse )
-Site Administrators: ''List login names of site admins. (e.g. admin, fightmaster, sally)''
+. Here you can edit the default optset and create different optsets for the
+browser
-===Skin===
+    Name - The 'name' is important because it will be used in the browse URL's
-''Choose a skin, theme, layout, colors, fonts, etc.''
+           'optset' parameter. If no optset parameter is in the URL then the
+           optset called 'default' is assumed
+    Template - Select the template that will be used to show results
+    Style    - Select the style sheet
+    Def. limit - Enter the initial amount to display in the results area
+    Playlist but. - Check this if you want to have the 'Save to playlist' button
+                    (this only applies to sites with playlists enabled).
+    Req. tags - These tags will be added to every query made, the user
+                can NOT edit these.
+    Types - Click on the "Edit types" to bring up a popup that allows you edit what
+            the user will see in the 'Types' select box and what tags they map to.
+    Filter on: User - Check this to include the 'User' look up field
+    Filter on: License - Check this to include the 'License' look up field
-====Load a Profile====
+Click on 'Add Option Set' to create new, custom option sets.
-''Start here to pick from an existing skin profile''
-====Basic Settings====
+. Once you have saved your optsets you can then see the results by specifying
-''String profile, listing choices, etc.''
+them in the 'browse' URL. Examples
-====Layouts====
+To use the 'default' optset simply browse to: http://your_install_root/browse
-''Page layouts, tab placement, box shapes, etc.''
-====Color, Font, Text size====
+To use a different optset browse to: http://your_install_root/browse?optset=your_optset_name
-''Fonts and colors''
-====Save this Skin Profile====
+. You can specify 'start-up' values based on the Query API
-''Save the current settings to your own profile''
-====Create Skin Template====
+    http://your_install_root/browse?tags=hip_hop&limit=15
-''For web developers: Sets up a new skin template''
-===Navigator Tab Sets===
+    http://your_install_root/browse?user=teru
-''Create and edit navigator tabs''
-===File Formats===
+The user can then change these values once in the browser.
-''Pick which file formats are allowed to be uploaded''
-Formats available include:
+This can be very useful for menu items and navigation tabs.
-aif, au, flac, mid, mp3, ogg, rm, Riff, wav, wma, zip, avi, mov, rmvb, wmv, bmp, gif, jpg, png, swf
+===Customizing the Query Browser (Developers)===
-===License===
+To make your own custom styles for the entire query browser:
-''Pick which licenses a user is allowed to select from''
-===Upload Renaming===
+      a: Copy ''ccskins/shared/css/qbrowser_narrow.css'' to
-''Configure how uploads are automatically renamed''
+         ''your_cchost_files/skins/css/my_browser_styles.css''
+      b: Edit the 'desc' line at the top to something meaningful to you
+      c: Edit the import urls to point to ccskins versions of
+         those files
+      d: Browse to admin/browse and select your stylesheet
+         in the "Style"
-===Submit Forms===
+To make your custom results templates:
-''Edit what kind of submit forms the user can see''
-Examples:
+      a: Copy ''ccskins/shared/formats/simple_qbrowser.tpl'' to
+         ''your_cchost_files/skins/formats/my_browser_results.tpl''
+      b: Edit the 'desc' line at the top to something meaningful
+         to you
+      c: The current dataview for that template is 'playlist_line'
+         which has limited information per record. If you like
+         a more full record of information change the dataview
+         line to 'default'
+      d: Browse to admin/browse and select your template in the
+         "template" section
-* Derived Work
+=Administrative Settings=
-* Sample
-* Self-Contained
-===Banner and Footers===
+There are two Administrative Settings sections: ''Manage Site'' and ''Global Settings.''
-''Edit what the banner and footer says on each page.''
-====Banner Text, Footers, etc.====
+To view the '''Manage Site''' documentation see [[ccHost5Documentation/ManageSite|Manage Site]]
-''Edit the text of the banner, footer and other elements on every page''
-====Banner Logo====
+To view the '''Global Settings''' documentation see [[ccHost5Documentation/GlobalSettings|Global Settings]]
-''Upload a logo graphic for the banner''
-====New Page Element====
+=Understanding ccHost URLs=
-''Web developers: Create a new element for page template skin''
-===Sidebar Extras===
+Understanding how URLs work in ccHost is a very important concept that you should understand before doing anything else.
-''Pick what features are available on the side bar.''
-TODO: rewording?
+== URL Parts ==
-Drag items from here to sidebar (and back) to add (and remove) items. Drag items within sidebar to reorder.
-===Menus===
+ccHost URLs are composed of four main parts:
-''Edit the menus''
-WARNING: If you change the global language setting all customizations made here will be destroyed. Therefore, if you plan to set the language to something other than the default you should do it before editing here.
+. Root URL of installation
+* This is the URL address of where index.php lives. For example: http://example.com, or http://example.com/cchost
-You can revert to factory defaults menu it will however erase the customization you have done to the main menu, but not affect any virtual ccHosts menus that you have customized.
+. Virtual Root
+* Don't worry if you don't know what a 'ccHost virtual root' is, we'll get to it here but for now assume it's the word media.
-TODO: incomplete, describe the options.
+. Command
+* This part of the URL maps to an internal command in ccHost. This can be anything from a request for a submit form, a feed, a record listing, etc. Examples are people which shows a listing of the latest registered users who have uploaded or files which lists the latest uploads.
-===ID3 Tagger===
+. Parameters
-''Configure how to tag ID3 compatible files (e.g. MP3s)''
+* Many if not most commands accept and even require parameters. For example, adding a specific user's name to the people command will display the user's main page, e.g. people/rejon
-Available fields to set: Title, Artist, Copyright, Original Artist, Remixer, Year, Album ,and Artist's URL.
+You should refer to the ccHost Command Reference for a listing of all available commands.
-Available strings references to grab data from the id3 tag:
+If you have enabled 'pretty URLs'([[CcHost#Enabling_.27Pretty_URLs.27|more info]]) in your installation then all the elements are strung together into one URL:
-%%	Percent sign (%)
+ http://example.com/media/people/rejon
-%Y%	Current year (eg: 2008)
+If not, then everything starting from the virtual root is prepended the following way:
-%artist%	Artist name
-%artist_page%	Artist page URL
-%contest%	Contest (Internal Name)
-%contest_fullname%	Contest (Full Name)
-%d%	Current day (eg: 23)
-%ext%	File extension
-%feat%	Collaborating artists
-%filename%	%title% + %ext%
-%license%	License name
-%license_url%	License URL
-%login%	Artist login name
-%m%	Current month (eg: 06)
-%site%	Site name
-%song_page%	File page URL
-%source_artist%	'Sampled from' artist
-%source_title%	'Sampled from' title
-%title%	Title
-%unique_id%	Guaranteed to be unique number
-%url%	Download URL
-===Menu Groups===
-''Edit the menu groups''
-TODO: Explain this section.
-===Thumbnails===
-''Configure thumbnails handling (for image uploads)''
-Available options:
-* Enabling/Disabling the display of Thumbnails
-* Constrain proportion of image to the original image's height (y value)
-* Set the max Thumbnail width
-** Leave this blank or 0 (zero) to use the image's natural size
-* Set the max Thumbnail height
-** Leave this blank or 0 (zero) to use the image's natural size
-==Global Settings==
-===Admin Help===
-''Help on configuring the site''
-This document.
-===Global Setup===
-''Cookies, ban message, admin email, 3rd party add ins, etc.''
-====Cookie Domain====
-This is the name used to set cookies on the client machine. Recommend to leave this blank unless you are having problems.
-====Default File Permissions====
-chmod() access mask to use when writing new files. Do not edit this unless you understand UNIX permissions, Apache, PHP CGI mode, etc. Changing this value will affect future writes.
-====Use URL Rewrite Rules====
-Check this if you want to use mod_rewrite for 'pretty' URLs.
-Note: In order to enable Rewrite rules ('pretty URLs'), you must include the following lines in your Apache configuration (virtual host or .htaccess):
-RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?ccm=/$1 [L,QSA]
-====Feed Caching====
-Feed caching can optimize replies for feed requests
-====Number of feed items====
-Number of items to list in feeds (recommended: 15)
-====GetID3 File Verify Enabled====
-Enable/Disbale GetIDE File Verification
-====Path to GetID3 Library====
-Local server path to library (e.g. /usrer/lib/getid3/getid3)
-====Tag ID3v1====
-Tag old style v1 tags as well as v2
-====Registration Confirmation====
-What type of registrations confirmation should the system use.
-====Limit Queries====
-Limit the number of records returned from api/query (0 or blank means unlimited - HINT: that's a bad idea)
-====Search Method====
-Check this to use mysql TEXTINDEX searching
-====Show Google(tm) Search Form====
-Check this to show users a Google search form
-====Enable Reviews====
-Allow users to review uploads
-====Include BPM in Upload Forms====
-====Run Once====
-Comma separated list of xml files in viewfiles directory that registered users will see once.
-====Allow email notifications====
-Is it ok to allow users get notified on activity on their accounts and others?
-====Allow User Text Formatting====
-Allow users to format text (bold, italic, etc.)
-====Allow Admin Text Formatting====
-Allow admins to format text
-===Manage Page Content===
-''Manage special pages and topics''
-TODO: Explain what Content Pages/Topics are in the "basics" section
-Here you can Create new Content Pages and new Content Topics.
-====Create a new page====
-Some sample properties which you can set for a new page include: Title, Content Type, Layout Style, and Sort By field.  You can also set if you want an rss/atom feed made for that page.
-===Paths===
-''Configure where ccHost looks for stuff''
-===Forum===
-''Configure forums access, groups, etc.''
-===Ratings===
-''How ratings are calculated, who can rate, etc.''
-===Tags===
-''Edit tag aliases, reserve tags, counts, etc.''
-===Default User Avatar===
-''Upload a default avatar for new users''
-===Super Users===
-''Edit list of super users''
-===Restrict Access===
-''Restrict access to commands''
-===Language===
-''Configure Language use''
-===Upload Throttles===
-''Limit the number and types of uploads per user''
-===Activity Log===
-''Configure the administrator's activity log''
-===Import Files===
-''Import files from your server into ccHost''
-===Disable Site===
-''Disable site when doing maintainence.''
-===Email===
-''Configure system email address and access''
-===Create Contest===
-''Create a new contest, set its start time, rules, etc.''
-===Download Manager===
-''Count, checksum and license options for downloading''
-===Moderation/Flagging===
-''Configure moderation (Ban) and upload flagging''
-===Playlists===
-''Manage Playlists''
-===Pseudo Verify===
-''Configure usage of exotic and other dangerous file types''
-===Quota===
-''Configure user quota''
-===Virtual ccHost===
-''Create a new virtual root''
-===Query Browser===
-''Configure query browser''
-===Channels Page===
-''Configure playlists for the channels page''
-===Sample Pools===
+ http://example.com?ccm=/media/people/rejon
-''Managing sample pools and trackbacks''