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 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:

• http://your_server/admin/edit
• http://your_server?ccm=/media/admin/edit
• http://your_server/cchost_lib/cc-config-repair.php

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 '//' for the line at the top of the file in front of the word 'return'
• Save this file to disk
• From your browser, attempt the the last URL above. This should bring up a configuration editor in your browser.
• Click on the word 'media' to open the configuration settings and see if you can spot the place where things went wrong
• 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.

Administrative Settings

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

To view the Manage Site documentation see ccHost5Documentation/ManageSite

To view the Global Settings documentation see ccHost5Documentation/GlobalSettings

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