Publisher - Installation Guide

Publisher Installation Guide

Complete instructions for installing and configuring the Publisher module for XOOPS CMS.

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System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Requirement	Version	Notes
XOOPS	2.5.10+	Core CMS platform
PHP	7.1+	PHP 8.x recommended
MySQL	5.7+	Database server
Web Server	Apache/Nginx	With rewrite support

PHP Extensions

- PDO (PHP Data Objects)
- pdo_mysql or mysqli
- mb_string (multibyte strings)
- curl (for external content)
- json
- gd (image processing)

Disk Space

• Module files: ~5 MB
• Cache directory: 50+ MB recommended
• Upload directory: As needed for content

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Pre-Installation Checklist

Before installing Publisher, verify:

• XOOPS core is installed and running
• Admin account has module management permissions
• Database backup created
• File permissions allow write access to /modules/ directory
• PHP memory limit is at least 128 MB
• File upload size limits are appropriate (min 10 MB)

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Installation Steps

Step 1: Download Publisher

Option A: From GitHub (Recommended)

# Navigate to modules directory
cd /path/to/xoops/htdocs/modules/

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/XoopsModules25x/publisher.git

# Verify download
ls -la publisher/

Option B: Manual Download

1. Visit GitHub Publisher Releases
2. Download the latest .zip file
3. Extract to modules/publisher/

Step 2: Set File Permissions

# Set proper ownership
chown -R www-data:www-data /path/to/xoops/htdocs/modules/publisher

# Set directory permissions (755)
find publisher -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

# Set file permissions (644)
find publisher -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

# Make scripts executable
chmod 755 publisher/admin/index.php
chmod 755 publisher/index.php

Step 3: Install via XOOPS Admin

1. Log in to XOOPS Admin Panel as administrator
2. Navigate to System → Modules
3. Click Install Module
4. Find Publisher in the list
5. Click Install button
6. Wait for installation to complete (shows database tables created)

Installation Progress:
✓ Tables created
✓ Configuration initialized
✓ Permissions set
✓ Cache cleared
Installation Complete!

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Initial Setup

Step 1: Access Publisher Admin

1. Go to Admin Panel → Modules
2. Find Publisher module
3. Click Admin link
4. You’re now in Publisher Administration

Step 2: Configure Module Preferences

1. Click Preferences in the left menu
2. Configure basic settings:

General Settings:
- Editor: Select your WYSIWYG editor
- Items per page: 10
- Show breadcrumb: Yes
- Allow comments: Yes
- Allow ratings: Yes

SEO Settings:
- SEO URLs: No (enable later if needed)
- URL rewriting: None

Upload Settings:
- Max upload size: 5 MB
- Allowed file types: jpg, png, gif, pdf, doc, docx

3. Click Save Settings

Step 3: Create First Category

1. Click Categories in left menu
2. Click Add Category
3. Fill in form:

Category Name: News
Description: Latest news and updates
Image: (optional) Upload category image
Parent Category: (leave blank for top-level)
Status: Enabled

4. Click Save Category

Step 4: Verify Installation

Check these indicators:

graph TD
    A[Installation Check] -->|Database| B[✓ Tables exist]
    A -->|Files| C[✓ Folders writable]
    A -->|Admin| D[✓ Module visible]
    A -->|Frontend| E[✓ Module displays]

Database Check

mysql -u xoops_user -p xoops_database
mysql> SHOW TABLES LIKE 'publisher%';

# Should show tables:
# - publisher_categories
# - publisher_items
# - publisher_comments
# - publisher_files

Front-End Check

1. Visit your XOOPS homepage
2. Look for Publisher or News block
3. Should display recent articles

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Configuration After Installation

Editor Selection

Publisher supports multiple WYSIWYG editors:

Editor	Pros	Cons
FCKeditor	Feature-rich	Older, larger
CKEditor	Modern standard	Config complexity
TinyMCE	Lightweight	Limited features
DHTML Editor	Basic	Very basic

To change editor:

1. Go to Preferences
2. Scroll to Editor setting
3. Select from dropdown
4. Save and test

Upload Directory Setup

# Create upload directories
mkdir -p /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/
mkdir -p /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/categories/
mkdir -p /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/images/
mkdir -p /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/files/

# Set permissions
chmod 755 /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/
chmod 755 /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/*

Configure Image Sizes

In Preferences, set thumbnail sizes:

Category image size: 300 x 200 px
Article image size: 600 x 400 px
Thumbnail size: 150 x 100 px

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Post-Installation Steps

1. Set Group Permissions

1. Go to Permissions in admin menu
2. Configure access for groups:
   • Anonymous: View only
   • Registered Users: Submit articles
   • Editors: Approve/edit articles
   • Admins: Full access

2. Configure Module Visibility

1. Go to Blocks in XOOPS admin
2. Find Publisher blocks:
   • Publisher - Latest Articles
   • Publisher - Categories
   • Publisher - Archives
3. Configure block visibility per page

3. Import Test Content (Optional)

For testing, import sample articles:

1. Go to Publisher Admin → Import
2. Select Sample Content
3. Click Import

4. Enable SEO URLs (Optional)

For search-friendly URLs:

1. Go to Preferences
2. Set SEO URLs: Yes
3. Enable .htaccess rewriting
4. Verify .htaccess file exists in Publisher folder

# .htaccess example
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteBase /modules/publisher/
    RewriteRule ^category/([0-9]+)-(.*)\.html$ index.php?op=showcategory&categoryid=$1 [L]
    RewriteRule ^article/([0-9]+)-(.*)\.html$ index.php?op=showitem&itemid=$1 [L]
</IfModule>

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Troubleshooting Installation

Problem: Module doesn’t appear in admin

Solution:

# Check file permissions
ls -la /path/to/xoops/modules/publisher/

# Check xoops_version.php exists
ls /path/to/xoops/modules/publisher/xoops_version.php

# Verify PHP syntax
php -l /path/to/xoops/modules/publisher/xoops_version.php

Problem: Database tables not created

Solution:

1. Check MySQL user has CREATE TABLE privilege
2. Check database error log:

   mysql> SHOW WARNINGS;

3. Manually import SQL:

   mysql -u user -p database < modules/publisher/sql/mysql.sql

Problem: File upload fails

Solution:

# Check directory exists and is writable
stat /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/

# Fix permissions
chmod 777 /path/to/xoops/uploads/publisher/

# Verify PHP settings
php -i | grep upload_max_filesize

Problem: “Page not found” errors

Solution:

1. Check .htaccess file is present
2. Verify Apache mod_rewrite is enabled:

   a2enmod rewrite
   systemctl restart apache2

3. Check AllowOverride All in Apache config

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Upgrade from Previous Versions

From Publisher 1.x to 2.x

1. Backup current installation:

   cp -r modules/publisher/ modules/publisher-backup/
   mysqldump -u user -p database > publisher-backup.sql

2. Download Publisher 2.x

3. Overwrite files:

   rm -rf modules/publisher/
   unzip publisher-2.0.zip -d modules/

4. Run update:

   • Go to Admin → Publisher → Update
   • Click Update Database
   • Wait for completion

5. Verify:

   • Check all articles display correctly
   • Verify permissions are intact
   • Test file uploads

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Security Considerations

File Permissions

- Core files: 644 (readable by web server)
- Directories: 755 (browseable by web server)
- Upload directories: 755 or 777
- Config files: 600 (not readable by web)

Disable Direct Access to Sensitive Files

Create .htaccess in upload directories:

<FilesMatch "\.(php|phtml|php3|php4|php5|phtml)$">
    Deny from all
</FilesMatch>

Database Security

# Use strong password
ALTER USER 'publisher_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password_here';

# Grant minimal permissions
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON publisher_db.* TO 'publisher_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

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Verification Checklist

After installation, verify:

• Module appears in admin modules list
• Can access Publisher admin section
• Can create categories
• Can create articles
• Articles display on front-end
• File uploads work
• Images display correctly
• Permissions are applied correctly
• Database tables created
• Cache directory is writable

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Next Steps

After successful installation:

1. Read Basic Configuration Guide
2. Create your first Article
3. Set up Group Permissions
4. Review Category Management

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Support & Resources

• GitHub Issues: Publisher Issues
• XOOPS Forum: Community Support
• GitHub Wiki: Installation Help

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#publisher #installation #setup #xoops #module #configuration