FAQ

From ExponentCMS Docs

FAQ : Frequently Asked Questions

The FAQ page contains answers or links to answers for many Frequently Asked Questions. Please check here for information prior to requesting further help in the Exponent Support Forums.

Contents 1 Installation, Configuration and Upgrades 1.1 I'm new to Exponent. Where is the guide to Installing Exponent? 1.2 Where do I download Exponent? 1.3 How can I test drive Exponent? 1.4 What are the System Requirements for Exponent? 1.5 How do I set the File Permissions for Exponent? 1.6 How do I create the Exponent Database? 1.7 How do I install Exponent in a subdirectory? 1.8 I get a Content Not Found error. What should I do? 1.9 How do I add Image manipulation support through the GD library? 1.10 I am getting errors after I installed Exponent on my Windows server 1.11 How do I create a default title for all my pages? 1.12 My page is coming up blank. How can I see what is wrong? 1.13 How do I upgrade Exponent? 1.14 How do I Backup the Exponent Database? 1.15 How do I Backup my Files? 1.16 How do I Upload and Extract Exponent during Upgrade 1.17 How do I get Exponent to display European Dates? 1.18 How do I move my Exponent website to a new Location 1.19 Why are some of the Content Editing Icons missing from my Text Editor? 2 Managing Content 2.1 How do I reuse content? 2.2 How do I use recurring events in the calendar? 2.3 How can I enter HTML into the the WYSIWYG editor? 2.4 How do I create a special title for each page? 2.5 What Browser should I use with Exponent? 2.6 Why do images and resources I've deleted remain on the web server? 2.7 Why can't I view images uploaded to my site? 3 Modules and Themes 3.1 How do I install a new Theme? 3.2 How do I preview a Theme? 3.3 How do I install a new Module? 3.4 How do I make a new Module available to add to a page? 3.5 I have added a Module to a page but can't add Content 3.6 My themes will not install properly how can I fix permissions? 3.7 My modules will not install properly how can I fix permissions? 3.8 How do I change the Theme used by my website? 3.9 How do I delete a Theme from my website? 3.10 How do I change the layout or view of a module? 3.11 How do I hide the login box? 3.12 Where do I find views files? 3.13 How do I create a new view for a module? 3.14 How do I find out if a module is hard coded in index.php? 3.15 How do I change a view hard coded in index.php? 3.16 How do I edit a Site-Wide view such as the Pop-Up view? 3.17 Can my site have a different view or layout for users who are logged in? 4 Administrators & Developers 4.1 My site isn't working properly. How do I see what the problem is? 4.2 How can I directly access the Administration Control Panel ? 4.3 How do I change the layout of the HTML Editor 4.4 How do I retrieve my Admin Password or Admin Username? 4.5 How do I protect my Exponent Directories/Folders 4.6 My site is in Maintenance Mode and I can't Login

Installation, Configuration and Upgrades

I'm new to Exponent. Where is the guide to Installing Exponent?

There are various pages on this site to help you install Exponent, but start with:

• See the Installing Exponent Tutorial page for a step-by-step guide which you can view online or download.
• More experienced users should see the Installing Exponent page.

Where do I download Exponent?

• See Downloading the Exponent Software on the Installing Exponent page.
• For more detailed advice see the Installing Exponent Tutorial.

How can I test drive Exponent?

• Use the Exponent Demo link on the What Is Exponent? page.

What are the System Requirements for Exponent?

• See System Requirements on the Installing Exponent page.

How do I set the File Permissions for Exponent?

• See Set Exponent File Permissions on the Installing Exponent page.
• For more detailed advice see the Installing Exponent Tutorial.

How do I create the Exponent Database?

• See Creating the Exponent Database on the Installing Exponent page.
• For more detailed advice see the Installing Exponent Tutorial.

How do I install Exponent in a subdirectory?

• See Installing Exponent in a Subdirectory on the Installing Exponent page.
• For more detailed advice see the Installing Exponent Tutorial.

I get a Content Not Found error. What should I do?

If you have just installed Exponent an get a Content Not Found error when trying to access your website, then:

• See Installing Exponent in a Subdirectory on the Installing Exponent page.
• For more detailed advice see the Installing Exponent Tutorial.

How do I add Image manipulation support through the GD library?

• tbd

I am getting errors after I installed Exponent on my Windows server

• tbd

How do I create a default title for all my pages?

• See Set your General Site Configuration in the Configuration Settings section of the Configuring Exponent page.

My page is coming up blank. How can I see what is wrong?

• See Show PHP Errors on the Configuring Exponent page.

How do I upgrade Exponent?

• See the Upgrading Exponent page.

How do I Backup the Exponent Database?

• See the Backup the Exponent Database on the Upgrading Exponent page.

How do I Backup my Files?

• See the Backup your Files Folder on the Upgrading Exponent page.

How do I Upload and Extract Exponent during Upgrade

• See the Upload and Extract Exponent Over an Existing_Installation on the Upgrading Exponent page.

How do I get Exponent to display European Dates?

• See the Setting Date and Time Formats on the Configuring Exponent page.

How do I move my Exponent website to a new Location

To move your Exponent website to a new server or to a new location on the same server.

• See the Migrating Exponent page.

Why are some of the Content Editing Icons missing from my Text Editor?

• See HTMLArea Toolbar Settings on the Configuring Exponent page.

Managing Content

How do I reuse content?

• tbd

How do I use recurring events in the calendar?

• tbd

How can I enter HTML into the the WYSIWYG editor?

• tbd

How do I create a special title for each page?

• tbd

What Browser should I use with Exponent?

• tbd

Why do images and resources I've deleted remain on the web server?

This is caused by some Exponent modules not being fully functional. When you delete an image or resource from a module there are two things that the Exponent module you are using needs to do:

1. First the module needs to remove the reference to the file from the module's table in the the database. All modules do this part without a problem, so any content you remove will no longer appear on your website.
2. The second thing the module needs to do is remove the actual file from the server. Many modules are released without this functionality, so even though the file doesn't display it's still there on the server. If you really want them removed from the server, do so via FTP.

Why can't I view images uploaded to my site?

• See Fixing Images Forbidden Error on the Configuring Exponent page.

Modules and Themes

How do I install a new Theme?

• See the Installing Themes page.

How do I preview a Theme?

• See the Previewing a Theme on the Installing Themes page.

How do I install a new Module?

• See the Installing Modules page.

How do I make a new Module available to add to a page?

• See Enable Custom Modules on the Configuring Exponent page.

I have added a Module to a page but can't add Content

If you have manually installed a module, then you can't add content until you add the Module's tables to the Exponent database.

• Look for Install Tables in the Manual Module Installation section of the Installing Modules page.

My themes will not install properly how can I fix permissions?

• See the Installing Themes page.

My modules will not install properly how can I fix permissions?

• See the Installing Modules page.

How do I change the Theme used by my website?

• See Setting the Active Theme on the Installing Themes page.

How do I delete a Theme from my website?

• See Removing an Exponent Theme on the Installing Themes page.

How do I change the layout or view of a module?

• See the Module Views section of the Themes and Smarty page.

How do I hide the login box?

To remove the Login Module from a page, you need to edit your Active Theme.

• See the Themes and PHP page for a guide to adding or removing Content Modules from your an Exponent Theme.

Where do I find views files?

• See the Module Views section of the Themes and Smarty page.

How do I create a new view for a module?

• See the Module Views section of the Themes and Smarty page.

Note: You should NEVER modify a View file in your /modules/ folder as this will be overwritten when you upgrade your Exponent website.

How do I find out if a module is hard coded in index.php?

• See the Module Views section of the Themes and Smarty page.

How do I change a view hard coded in index.php?

• See the Module Views section of the Themes and Smarty page.

How do I edit a Site-Wide view such as the Pop-Up view?

• See the Site-Wide Views section of the Themes and Smarty page.

Note: You should NEVER modify a View file in your /views/ folder as this will be overwritten when you upgrade your Exponent website.

Can my site have a different view or layout for users who are logged in?

• See the Preview Module Admin Stylesheet section of the Themes and PHP page.

Administrators & Developers

My site isn't working properly. How do I see what the problem is?

By default Exponent hides all PHP Errors from view. To help diagnose problems, you should Show PHP Errors.

• See Show PHP Errors on the Configuring Exponent page.

How can I directly access the Administration Control Panel ?

For a full list of URLs which you can input directly into your browser:

• See the Administration Control Panel URLs page.

How do I change the layout of the HTML Editor

• For basic layout configuration via the Administration Control Panel, see HTMLArea Toolbar Settings on the Configuring Exponent page.
• For advanced configuration which requires editing the source code, see Advanced HTML Editor Controls on the Configuring Exponent page.

How do I retrieve my Admin Password or Admin Username?

If you have lost your Super User password, or lost your Super User username, you will find them in the file:

/conf/config.php

You will need to connect to your site via FTP to retrieve this file. You can also access and amend this information via your Exponent database. For more info see Forum Post: Lost admin password

How do I protect my Exponent Directories/Folders

To protect your Exponent directories/folders from prying eyes, you should tell Apache to NOT index directories. The easiest way to achieve this is to edit the .htaccess file in your Exponent base directory (/public_html/.htaccess on most servers). Add the code:

Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews

Note: If this file doesn't already exist, then create it. Please also note that this is a hidden file, so ensure you switch on View Hidden Files in your FTP client beforehand. See Forum: Protecting Exponent Sub-directories for more information.

My site is in Maintenance Mode and I can't Login

If your site is in Maintenance Mode and you are unable to login, then you can easily switch it back to Normal Mode as follows:

1. Edit the file

   conf/config.php

2. Set line 47 (or there abouts) to:

   define("MAINTENANCE_MODE",0);

A value of 0 switches Maintenance Mode off, and a value of 1 switches it on.