Admin Guide

This guide describes the functions and capabilities of the SLAED CMS administration area. It serves as a reference for administrators who want to manage the various sections of the CMS.

Table of Contents

Administrators

The "Administrators" section is used to manage users of the administration area. Administrators can access various modules according to the assigned access rights.

Adding an Administrator

To add a new administrator, switch to the "Add" tab and fill in the information for the new administrator.

Explanations of the form fields:

  • Nick – Text field, the nickname is used as the login.
  • Title – Text field for the administrator's title (e.g., position, role).
  • Email – Administrator's email, also used for password recovery.
  • Link – Link to the administrator's website (e.g., their profile on Facebook).
  • Password – Used for login. It is recommended to use an alphanumeric password with at least 6 characters.
  • Receive emails and notifications? – Determines whether the administrator receives notifications (e.g., for new comments).
  • Send notification to user's email – If enabled, after adding the user, an email with the text specified in the "Message text" field will be sent to the specified email address.
  • Message text – Template for the email message sent to the administrator when the "Send notification" option is enabled.
  • Use of editor – Selection of the text editor that will be used by default by the administrator.
  • Language – Selection of the language in which the administration area will be displayed by default (can be changed in the top left corner of the administration area).
  • Permissions – Determining which modules the administrator has access to. When selecting "Full access", the administrator gains access to all modules.

When adding an administrator, the following fields must be filled in: Nickname, Email, Password, and Password confirmation.

Managing Administrators

Management of existing administrators is done in the "Main page" tab. To change an administrator's information, click "Full editing" in the "Functions" column. To delete an administrator account, click "Delete object" in the "Functions" column.

Blocks and Banners

The "Blocks and Banners" section allows you to build the website from "building blocks" called "blocks".

There are the following types of blocks:

  • Standard blocks – Placed in fixed positions on the website.
  • Free blocks (fly) – Can be used in any location, templates, or system modules.

Most website functionality requirements can be covered by standard blocks, but free blocks can be used in some cases.

Standard Blocks

Standard blocks can be divided by the following properties:

  • By Type:
    • File – Blocks whose information is output through HTML and PHP functions from the corresponding file.
    • HTML – Blocks whose information is output through HTML functions from the block content.
    • RSS – Blocks that output information from an RSS link.
    • System – System blocks include: Admin, UserBox.
  • By Access (who sees it): All users, only users, only administrators, only anonymous.
  • By Position: Left, Bottom center, Top center, Right, Top banner, Bottom banner.

Creating a File Block

To add a file block, the following steps must be performed:

1. Create a block file.
A block file can be created in two ways: through the administration interface or through the website's file structure.

Creating a file through the administration interface
Switch to the "Add file block" tab, which displays a form for creating a new file block.
Specify the name of the file to be created (e.g., "mysite"), where SLAED CMS automatically prepends the prefix "block-".
Select the type of file to be created.
Click the "Create block" button, which loads a form where the block code must be inserted.

Attention!
In the block's program code, the $content variable must be used for output instead of the standard echo or print methods. This is the only special consideration. The rest is implemented with standard PHP and HTML methods and functions. When implementing blocks, keep in mind that every PHP code must begin with <?php and end with ?>.

After inserting, click the "Save" button, which creates the corresponding file in the website's file structure (e.g., block-mysite.php in our example).

Attention!
When creating a block file, the permissions CHMOD 777 must be set for the blocks/ folder and then CHMOD 666 for the created file.

Creating a file through the website's file structure
PHP files for file blocks are stored in the "blocks" directory located in the website's main directory. In this directory, a PHP file can be created that must be named in the format "block-name_of_block.php" (if the format is different, the file will not be visible in the list when adding the block).

2. Establish a link between the created file and the block.
To establish a link between a file and a file block, a new block must be added by switching to the "Add block" tab.

The add form contains the following fields:

  • Heading – Enter the block heading (the entered heading is also displayed).
  • RSS Channel Link – If a specific RSS feed should be output in the block, specify the link or select from the standard list. When entering an RSS link, it is not necessary to select a file in the "File name" field and fill in the "Content". When creating a file block, this field remains unchanged.
  • Refresh Time – Determines how frequently the RSS feed should be updated. When creating a file block, this field remains unchanged.
  • File Name – When creating a file block, the pre-created file is selected.
  • Content – Only filled in when creating an HTML block (when filling in the content, it is not necessary to select a file). When creating a file block, this field remains unchanged.
  • Position – Select the position where the block should be displayed.
  • Show Block in Modules – Select the list of modules where the block should be displayed.
  • Language – Select the language version in which the block should be displayed.
  • Activate – "Yes" – Block is displayed, "No" – Block is not displayed.
  • Runtime in Days – Specify the number of days the block should be active. 0 – Block is active indefinitely.
  • After Expiration – Select what the system should automatically do with the block after the runtime expires.
  • Who sees it? – Determine which user categories can view the block.

Categories

The "Categories" section allows you to create thematic branches (categories) for system modules. Creating categories is possible for the following modules:

  • Questions and Answers – faq
  • File Catalog – files
  • Forum – forum
  • Help – help
  • Jokes – jokes
  • Website Catalog – links
  • Media Catalog – media
  • News – news
  • Articles – pages
  • Shop – shop

To view the categories of a module, select the module in the upper right list in the "Main page" tab (the category list update happens automatically).

Managing Categories and Subcategories

The list of categories and subcategories is displayed in the "Main page" tab.
When a subcategory is displayed, the value "Yes" is shown in the "Subc..." column, when a category is displayed – "No".
When outputting a subcategory, the "Category" column also shows the hierarchical structure of the subcategory's affiliation to categories, i.e., first the category name is output, then the subcategory names.
If an image is set for a category or subcategory, the value "Yes" is displayed in the "Image..." column, if no image is set – "No".

Comments

The "Comments" section is used to manage comments submitted by users on the website (moderation).

Managing Comments

Comment management is done in the following tabs:

  • Main page – Management of all comments published on the website.
  • Waiting for review – Management of comments submitted by website "guests" (unauthorized visitors). Comments from "guests" are sent for review when the corresponding option is set in the comment configuration.

The following actions are possible for each published comment:

  • Detailed view – Opens the comment on the website (page of the material to which the comment was added).
  • Full editing – Opens a form to change the comment text.
  • Delete object – Deletes the comment.

Configurations

The "Configurations" section is used to manage the main settings (configurations) of the website and consists of the following tabs:

  • Basic – Setting the basic website settings
  • SEO – Settings for website search engine optimization
  • Language – Management of settings for website multilingualism
  • Censorship – Settings for excluding unwanted words and word combinations
  • Search – Settings for website search
  • Search Engine Bots – Setting the format for outputting information about search engine bots on the website
  • Caching – Setting parameters for caching website pages
  • Mail – Setting the main mail template

Basic

  • System Version – Display of the name and version number of the system on which the website is based.
  • Website Name – Setting the website name, which is displayed, for example, in page titles.
  • Website Address – Specifying the complete URL address of the website.
  • Set Website Logo – Selecting the logo from the directory: images/logos/. The logo is used in the design depending on the website theme.
  • Description – This description is used in the "description" HTML tag of website pages (this field is also analyzed by search engines).
  • Administrator Notes – Information available to all authors (users of the administration area). Display of this information occurs in the upper part of the system's administrator panel.
  • Website Opening Date – Date when the website was launched.
  • Administrator Email – Used when sending informational messages to the website administrator (also for password recovery). When distributing messages to users, this email is specified in the "From" field.

Database

This section is used to perform basic database administration operations for the website.

The following actions can be performed in this section:

  • Optimize Database – The action is executed directly after switching to the corresponding tab. Regular database optimization reduces its size and accordingly increases the speed of information retrieval from the database.
    It is recommended to use this function at least once a week.
  • Repair Database – The action is executed directly after switching to the corresponding tab. When the MySQL server unexpectedly stops during the execution of certain actions, the structure of database tables can be damaged. Using this function repairs the damaged tables.

Please note!
In the "Optimize Database" and "Repair Database" tabs, the "Cost" column is displayed, which shows information about the free disk space released after database optimization or repair.

  • Database Query – Allows execution of arbitrary queries in the database. Through the form in the tab, virtually all queries can be executed, except for data selection queries (SELECT).

Editor

Attention!
This section is intended only for administrators familiar with server software and the PHP language.

The "Editor" section allows direct management of important system files through the administration area. File management is done in the following tabs:

  • System Core – File for inclusion in the system core: config_core.php. In the tab, code can be added that will be placed in the system core.
  • System Header – File for inclusion in the system header: config_header.php. In the tab, code can be inserted that will be included in the system's head. This file is typically used to include JavaScripts and meta tags.
  • System SEO – File with configurations for SEO rules at the system level: config_rewrite.php. In the tab, the default rules for converting browser address lines can be changed or supplemented. This function is only supported when Mod Rewrite is installed on the server.
  • Server SEO – File with configurations for SEO rules at the server level: .htaccess. In the tab, the default rules for converting browser address lines at the server level can be changed or supplemented. This function is only supported when Mod Rewrite is installed on the server.
  • Bot Rules – File with configurations for instructions and parameters for indexing by search engine bots: robots.txt. In the tab, the text file located in the website's main directory can be modified or supplemented, which contains special instructions for search engine bots. These instructions can prohibit indexing of specific areas or pages on the website, specify proper domain "mirroring", recommend search engine bots to maintain a specific time interval between downloading documents from the server, etc. In this file, you can specify the website's indexing parameters for all bots simultaneously or individually for each search engine.

My Favorites

The "My Favorites" section is used to display and manage the list of materials added to favorites by website users. In addition, settings for "My Favorites" can be configured in this section.

"Main Page" Tab

Displays a list of material favorites added by website users. The following information is displayed in the list:

  • Module – Which module the favorite material belongs to.
  • Heading – Accordingly, the heading of the favorite material. Displayed as a hyperlink that leads to the material view.
  • Published by – Display of the nickname of the user who added the material to their favorites list.

Additional Fields

With this section, you can independently and easily extend the information filling capabilities for the following modules: Profile (user profile), Content, Forum, Help, News.

Please note!
Additional fields for the Forum module only work in the system forum (in the SLAED Forum). In integrated forums (e.g., phpbb), additional fields are not displayed.

To add an additional field in the desired module, switch to the tab that corresponds to the module name. Fields of the following types can be added:

  • Single line
  • Text field
  • List with selection
  • Date: Year-Month-Day Hours:Minutes (e.g., 01-11-1900 12:34)
  • Date: Year-Month-Day (e.g., 01-11-1900)

Groups

Groups are used to divide users either according to the number of points collected or by assigning them to a special group.

Every authorized user on the website performs certain actions (views pages, comments, etc.) for which they receive a certain number of points (points) in the settings and thereby enter the corresponding user group (ranking).

Points Management

Management of point values is set in the "Points" tab. Enter the number of points awarded for performing specific actions on the website and click the "Save" button.

Language Management

This section is used to manage system texts displayed in all modules of the website in all language versions.

Text Management

Management of language module texts is done in the "Main page" tab, which contains a list of modules where system texts for language versions can be set.

Explanations for the table displayed in the "Main page" tab:

  • Module – Display of the system module name.
  • Who sees it – Display whether information from this module is seen by all website visitors or only by users (authorized visitors).
  • Status – Is the module currently enabled (Enabled), i.e., visible on the website, or not (Disabled).

Modules

The "Modules" section is used to manage the sections (modules) of the website.

For all modules, editing and activation/deactivation functions are available. For the "News" module, the following additional functions are available:

  • Update database tables – Update the module's database tables
  • Delete database tables – Delete the module's database tables
  • Add database tables – Add the module's database tables (available after deletion)
  • Clean database tables – Delete the content of the module's database tables without changing the structure (data cleanup)

Messages

This section is used to manage informational messages displayed on the website's main page.

Messages can be useful for:

  • Greeting users
  • Publishing important announcements (e.g., that the website will be modernized on a specific date)
  • Publishing "urgent" announcements

Adding a Message

To add a message, switch to the "Add" tab and fill out the form containing the following fields:

  • Heading – Specify briefly and clearly
  • Text – Note that the message text is displayed directly after the heading on the website and not on a separate page
  • Language – Select the language version in which the message should be displayed
  • Runtime, in days – How many days the message should be active. 0 means the time is not limited
  • Who sees it? – Select which user types can view the message
  • Activate? – Select whether the message should be displayed or not

Newsletter

The "Newsletter" section allows creating informational messages and sending them to user groups (e.g., project news, information about discounts, promotions, etc.). Emails are sent according to the number of website visitors: When a website page is requested, sending emails to active distributions is started.

Adding a Newsletter

To add a newsletter, switch to the "Add" tab and fill in the newsletter information:

  • Heading – The heading is used as the email subject.
  • Text – The email text sent to the newsletter recipients.
  • Receive Newsletter – Select the user group to which the newsletter will be sent. The number of users in the group is displayed to the right of the group name. Explanations for some groups:

Private Messages

The "Private Messages" section is used to manage and configure private messages of website users.

The administrator has the following options available:

  • Display of message text
  • Display of message read status
  • Deleting messages
  • Section configuration

Message List

The paginated list of all private messages is displayed in the form of a table in the "Main page" tab. Explanations for some table columns:

  • Heading – Display of the message heading as well as a symbol (i) that shows the complete message text when hovered over.
    The depth of correspondence can be determined by the message heading: When replying to a message, the value "Reply:" is added to the designation.
  • Sender, Recipient – Display of the user's nickname (system name) in the form of a hyperlink, whose click opens the page with user profile information.
  • Status – If the message has been read by the recipient, the symbol (i) for read message is displayed. If not read – (!) for unread message
  • Functions – The administrator can delete any message by clicking "Delete object".

Ratings

With the "Ratings" section, participation of content from the following modules can be managed:

  • Profile – Rating of the profile (personal information) of each user
  • Questions and Answers – Rating of entries in the "Questions and Answers" module
  • File Catalog – Rating of entries (files) in the "File Catalog" module
  • Forum – Rating of topics in the "Forum" module (responses within topics are not rated)
  • Help – Rating of messages in the "Help" module
  • Jokes – Rating of entries (jokes) in the "Jokes" module
  • Website Catalog – Rating of entries (websites) in the "Website Catalog" module
  • Media Catalog – Rating of entries in the "Media Catalog" module
  • News – Rating of entries in the "News" module
  • Articles – Rating of entries in the "Articles" module
  • Shop – Rating of products in the "Shop" module

Referrals

The "Referrals" section is used to display statistics of user and search engine bot transitions from other websites. It allows evaluating the effectiveness of placing a link on the website on a specific resource.

"Main Page" Tab

The transition statistics are presented in the form of a table containing the following information:

  • Nick – If the transitioning user is registered on the website, their nickname is displayed. If not registered, then the IP address. If the transition is from a search engine bot, the search engine name is displayed.
  • IP Address – Display of the IP address of the person transitioning.
  • Referral Addresses – From which page the transition to the website occurred.
  • Entry Addresses – To which specific page the transition occurred.
  • Date – Date and time of the transition.

Word Replacement

The "Word Replacement" section is used to set rules for replacing words with arbitrary content defined by the administrator.

Word replacement is typically used for search engine optimization of page content. For example, rules can be set where mentioning the word "slaed" is replaced by a link to the website [url=https://slaed.net]slaed.net[/url].

Setting Replacement Words

The rules for word replacement are set in the "Content" and "Messages" tabs.

  • Content – Setting rules for word replacement in texts created in the "Content" module.
  • Messages – Setting rules for word replacement in message texts.

RSS Channels

RSS is an international format specifically created for transferring data from one website to another. In addition, news via RSS can be read with special programs - news aggregators - to quickly be informed about website updates.

In the RSS Channels section, the settings of the website's RSS channels can be customized. There are two ways to use the RSS channel.

  1. Direct access. The export file index.php?go=rss is located in the website's main directory. Link to RSS channel: http://site_address/index.php?go=rss
  2. Via the rss_info module, where users or visitors of the website can select interesting channels themselves or view channels from other websites.

Security

The "Security" section is a powerful tool to protect the website from various attacks, from SQL injections to uploading external scripts to the website directory. This section helps track, identify, and optionally block an attacker, as well as any other user or visitor of the project.

"Main Page" Tab

Provides website usage statistics. To view the statistics, click on the value (information) next to the corresponding statistics file, where the information is displayed below the list of statistics files.

To download the information as a txt file, click on the value (Download).

To delete the statistics file, click on the value (Delete object).

To display the storage path and name of the statistics file on the server, click on the symbol (i) to the left of the corresponding statistics name.

Sitemap

The "Sitemap" section allows management of settings for generating the sitemap.xml file. This file allows search engines to learn how your website content is organized. Search engine robots crawl this file to more accurately index departments and pages.

Sitemap files can also be used to provide search engines with metadata about your pages. This includes information such as the date of last modification, content update frequency, and page priority compared to others on the website.

Statistics

The "Statistics" section is used to display website visitor statistics.

"Main Page" Tab

Histogram

In the histogram (bars), information about visitor statistics for the selected period is displayed.

By default, information for the current month is displayed, but the period can be set in the dropdown list "Show statistics for:".

Under each bar, a statistical summary is provided in the order that corresponds to the order of columns in the table.

Templates

Using Themes

To change the website design, themes can be used.

A theme is a collection of files responsible for the visual appearance of website pages. A theme includes: CSS files (Cascading Style Sheets) that set color, background, font size and other key elements of pages, template files of the main page elements, and graphic files. To change the website design, simply change the graphical theme in the administration area to a new one.

Please note!
In SLAED CMS, themes are stored in the "templates" directory.

If the administrator has knowledge of web design and layout, they can create a theme for the website themselves. It is also possible to view and test already created themes on their own website, which can be downloaded from the website's file catalog [url=https://slaed.net]slaed.net[/url].

Uploads and Templates

The "Uploads and Templates" section is used to manage files uploaded to module directories, including: managing uploaded files, uploading new files, managing templates for displaying files on website pages.

"File Catalog" Tab

The following actions can be performed in this tab:

  • Uploading files to the directory of the selected module (directory/module is selected in the upper right corner)
  • Managing the list of files uploaded to the module's main directory
    Main directory – Files uploaded by the administrator, visitors, and users depending on the selected module
  • Managing the list of files uploaded to the module's additional directory
    Additional directory – This usually refers to preview files (thumbnails) automatically created by the system. This function is available when publishing images with the BB editor. The size of automatic image resizing (width, height) can be set individually for each module in the configurations

Users

The "Users" section is used to manage website users.

User Management

Management of existing users is done in the "Main page" tab.

  • Full editing – Changing user information
  • Delete object – Deleting the user account
  • Block IP address – Blocking the user's IP address. Management of blocked IP addresses is done in the "Security" section (there you can also set the message displayed when attempting to log in from a blocked IP address)
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