Problem Solving

How do I change what comments look like?

The formatting of the comments is completely configurable by parameters in /application/config. These parameters are detailed in Documentation.

You can change the colours, start and end markers, and the date format.

Can I see comments when not in edit mode?

The purpose of Editor Comment is to add notes to pages that can only be seen in Edit Mode. Nevertheless, sometimes it can be useful to see all the comments while browsing the site.

To do that, we again have a configuration parameter jl_editor_comment.view.group. You can set this true to show comments to everyone or to a specific user group by gID.

For example, to show comments to administrators, the Administrators gID is usually 3.  See the Documentation.

I have set the gID and the site admin can't see comments

Everyone with edit permission can see comments in edit mode. 

When the configuration parameter jl_editor_comment.view.group is set for the Administrators gID (usually 3), if the super admin cannot see the comments, this will be because they are not in the Administrators group. Go to the dashboard Members page and add the super admin user to the Administrators group and this will be solved.

Can I remove a comment?

Just edit the page and delete the comment block, just like you would any other block.

Can I remove all comment blocks?

Uninstalling Editor Comment will remove all comment blocks.

Comments showing to all visitors

If comments are showing to all visitors, the obvious reason is that you have set jl_editor_comment.view.group while developing the site and forgotten to change it back to false.

The other cause could be the site cache. Editor Comment is designed to not be cached precisely because you do not want it to end up showing outside of edit mode. If you have overridden the block cache settings or forced the page cache, that may cause problems. The solution is to check the cache settings and to clear the cache.

 

The config settings are not working for me

The way configuration of Editor Comment works changed with v7.9.0. This means:

  • If you want to use these settings, you will need to update Editor Comment to v7.9.0
  • When you update an existing installation to Editor Comment v7.9.0, you will need to change any existing config keys and values you may have previously set.

Whoops on install

What we mean here is an internal code exception in an addon or the core when you click the install button from the Add Functionality dashboard page or when you visit a page after installing an addon package. 

If you experience such an issue, here are a few things you can check that may resolve the problem.

  1. Php Version. Check your php version is compatible with the addon, For example, check if you are running php5.6 when an addon requires php7+. You can find the php version in the report at /dashboard/system/environment/info. As a general guide, if your site is ConcreteCMS version 8+ then aim to run on at least php7.2. (It will run on lower versions, but less efficiently)
  2. Database Entities. ConcreteCMS uses a database abstraction layer called Doctrine. Doctrine works by creating proxy classes that map between php data and the database and sometimes these get out of step or muddled into a chicken and egg dilemma. The dashboard page at /dashboard/system/environment/entities has a switch to control when the proxy classes are regenerated. Try placing this into Development mode when installing an addon package (but remember to disable development mode to speed up a live site)
  3. Cache. ConcreteCMS makes extensive use of a number of different caching mechanisms to speed up web pages. When installing a package, sometimes outdated cached data causes issues with the install. Try disabling all the caches at /dashboard/system/optimization/cache when installing an addon package (but remember to re-enable the caches for a live site).
  4. Theme. Most marketplace themes are well behaved. Nevertheless, sometimes a theme can interfere with an addon package, so try switching the site theme back to Atomik using /dashboard/pages/themes. You won't loose any content on the front of your site, but some page areas may not be shown until you swap back to your theme.
  5. Middleware. Some addons implement middleware layers that manipulate pages before and/or after the main rendering of each page. If such addons are installed, there is a possibly they could interfere with the dashboard and other addon installation. Most such middleware implementations include condition checks to ensure they don't mess with the dashboard, but perhaps you can switch them temporarily off just to be sure.

If you experience a code error on or immediately after install and need assistance, please use the Get Help link from the addon marketplace page to report the problem. On the Whoops report, click the [copy] button immediately below the error message. That will provide a stack trace you can paste into the help request and save time having to request that report later.

Manually Installing or Updating an Addon or Theme

Perhaps you are unable to connect your site directly to the ConcreteCMS marketplace to install an addon or theme. This manual process works for all addons and themes - not just mine.

  1. In your concrete account, find the addon/theme in your Purchase History > Licenses and download. Make sure to scroll down to the most recent version before downloading.
  2. Then copy the zip to your site /packages/ directory and unzip (not /concrete/packages !!!). This is usually easiest using your host cPanel file manager.
  3. In your site, visit the Dashboard > Extend page and the theme package will be ready to install or update

The process is exactly the same for addons and themes, except themes have an extra step of activating the theme after installing.

Sometimes step 3 above can run out of PHP execution time. This is most likely when installing an addon or theme that installs a large amount of sample content. You should not run into such an issue with any of my addons or themes.

If you do run into such issues, you can run the install manually from the shell command line.

$ concrete/bin/concrete5 c5:package-install my_package_handle

or

$ concrete/bin/concrete5 c5:package-update my_package_handle

When updating, be sure to replace the previously installed package directory rather than adding to it. If not, you could end up accumulating obsolete debris from a previous version of the package.

If you find yourself needing to install or update many addons or themes manually, consider my Package Magic addon.

Once Package Magic Starter is installed, through the marketplace or manually, all further installs can be handled from the site dashboard using Package Magic.

Additional Pages