Exponent Terminology

From ExponentCMS Docs

Exponent Terminology

This page contains a guide to Exponent Terminology to help you better understand how Exponent works.

User Terminology

Exponent has four levels of site login access for individual users.

Super Administrator

This is the account that is setup when Exponent CMS is installed on a web server. There is only one Super Administrator account for an Exponent website. This account has complete control over the website with the ability to add, edit and delete all site content including modules and themes. This account can also change all site settings and control user and group management throughout the website.

Note: It is recommended that the Super Administrator password be set to a strong and hard to break password. It is also advisable to periodically change this password for increased security.

Administrator

Administrators are similar to the Super Administrator only they can be added to an Exponent website at any time. There can be as many Administrators as desired, but normally this would be restricted to a few key members of a team. Administrators have complete control over the website with the ability to add, edit and delete all site content including modules and themes. Administrators can also change all site settings and control user and group management throughout the website.

Editor

Editors are the most common types of Users on an Exponent website. Editors can be granted access to add, edit and delete all site content, but they can be restricted to editing only certain areas of the site if desired. They can also be given the ability to add, edit and delete modules but this would normally be restricted to ensure the integrity of the website.

User (Site Visitor)

Users or Site Visitors are the lowest level of access on an Exponent website. Users can be given the ability to add, edit or delete all types of content, though this would normally be restricted to specific pages or page sections of the website. On most Exponent websites, Users will have the capability to view pages not accessible to unregistered visitors to the website.

System Terminology

Whether you are an Administrator, Editor or User of an Exponent website, getting a good understanding of the System Terminology will help you better manage your site.

Modules

Modules are the core parts that allow content to be managed on an Exponent website. Each Module has a specific function such as displaying text, creating an image gallery, etc. Most Modules will have the option of setting a View which determines how the content will be displayed on the page. Exponent includes a set of Core Modules which perform most of the tasks required to manage a website, but you can also add additional Modules to meet specific requirements.

Containers

A Container holds the content which is included on any Sections or Subsections of your website. Containers are automatically added to pages when you add a Content Module to a page. You can also add a Container Module to a page which can then hold Subcontainers.

Sections & Subsections

Sections are nothing more than a single web page on your site. Subsections are the various content parts which make up the Section or web page.

Views & Inner Views

A view is the HTML Template which displays a Module's content. All Modules have a Default View and many contain other Views for displaying content in different ways. Inner Views are used to display subpages of content.

Content & Content Re-use

Content is any text, image or other resource which is displayed on your Exponent website. One of the most useful features of Exponent is it's ability to Re-use Content which needs to be available in more than one place on your website. Content Re-use will normally be managed by the site Administrator, but once in place, an Editor will only need to change or add one instance of the Content for the changes to be reflected throughout the site.

Edit Mode

The Edit Mode is the main administrative interface on an Exponent website. When a user logs in as either an Administrator, Editor or User, icons representing various admin tasks will appear allowing the user to manage content on the site. The beauty of Exponent is that most of these tasks are embedded into the main site template so there is no need to waste time learning a complicated back-end to your website. When you log out of the website, or use the Preview Mode, the editing icons disappear to give you the normal view of your website.

Preview Mode

When you are editing content on an Exponent website the editing icons will be embedded in the page. By clicking the Preview link, the page you are viewing will be displayed in the normal view allowing you to review the changes you have just made as they would appear to a regular site visitor. Just click on the Edit Mode link to return to the Editor view.

Revisions

The Revision feature is a history of each change made to a particular item of content. A good example would be text on the home page. You may have original content that stated your store hours, but after posting and saving you make changes and modify the store hours and save, only to be told that the original store hours are still in effect. Instead of editing the text in the text module, you could instead select the last revision before the current revision and select this as the actual content.

Revisions are also effective when you have more then one Editor managing your web site. Each Revision is tagged with the author and allows quick and easy modifications based on this information as well as date and are listed in newest to oldest.

Note: the Revisions feature is not active in all Modules.

Workflow

Workflow is highly configurable and allows you to limit users ability to publish directly to the live site. You can set Exponent to require multiple approval layers so that content can be approved by several people before it can go live.

Note: the Workflow feature is not active in all Modules.

Permissions

The permissions system is based around users and groups. Every container or module can have permissions set for individual users or for groups of users. For example, you could allow one group of users to add content which requires approval, while allowing another group to add content without the need for approval.

Note: the Permissions feature is not active in all Modules

Themes

Themes control the look and feel of the live website and the admin view for users administering the site. Themes are based on the Smarty Template Engine.

Sub-Themes

Themes can also contain sub-Themes which allow you to have a different look and feel for any section or page on your website.

Subsystems

Subsystems add additional functionality to Exponent which can then be accessed by any Module. A good example is the Language Subsystem which allows Exponent to be easily ported to non-English versions.

External Terminology

HTML

Exponent uses HTML (HyperText Markup Language) for Template layout. For more info see Wikipedia HTML or W3C HTML.

CSS

Exponent use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to control Template layout. For more info see Wikipedia CSS or W3C CSS.

MySQL

Exponent uses a MySQL database to store the content of a website. For more info see Wikipedia MySQL or MySQL Open Source Database.

PHP

Exponent uses the general-purpose scripting language PHP to control the interface between the public website and the database. For more info see Wikipedia PHP or PHP Hypertext Preprocessor.

Smarty

Exponent uses the Smarty Template Engine for Templates. For more info see Wikipedia Smarty or Smarty Template Engine.

Getting Started Resources

• www.exponentcms.org
• About Exponent
• Exponent Download
• Exponent Download SourceForge
• Download Themes
• Download Modules
• Download Language Packs
• Installation Tutorial
• Upgrade Tutorial