It would be nice if index.php could be named something else.

[artistsinhawaii]

It would be nice if index.php could be named something else.  Index.php should be a blank, customizable form with a single link or button depending on the theme style to the renamed coppermine index.php. This would allow webmasters to create a homepage to their liking.  A number of templates could also be included in the coppermine package to give users a quick start.

Dennis

[Nibbler]

Renaming the index.php file is already possible in 1.4

[artistsinhawaii]

Renaming the index.php file is already possible in 1.4

Well, almost... there are some links in the menus that do not work as a result.  "My Gallery" is one.  There are others that call up URL's with index.php.  The same applies to 86 other files. 

Sorry, but I changed all the URLS in theme.inc to reflect my renaming of index.php and while it works in user mode, changes don't register in admin mode.  So, this is not going to work. So, is this a BUG?

Thanks 




Dennis
7 weeks of html and php with coppermine and already I feel like I spent two years in tradeschool.

[Nibbler]

Make a bug report then.

[artistsinhawaii]

Renaming the index.php file is already possible in 1.4

Ah nibbler,

I think we misconstrued each other.  What is possible in 1.4 is not the renaming of index.php but rather the redirection of the homepage URL under CONFIG/GENERAL settings.  All of my browers have redirection blocks, so it's I have to click an additional two times to get to my new homepage URL.  NOT a very good first impression for customers who may have the same block on.

So, what I was suggesting as a new feature was to have index.php named something else, so that the webmaster could use a blank, totally customizable, yet theme coordinated 'index.php' file as the default homepage without redirection.


Dennis
ps. if you agree to what I stated above, it would be nice if you could undo the DONE on this one .  Thanks

[Tranz]

Sorry, but I disagree on how useful this would be to the majority of users.

[artistsinhawaii]

Sorry, but I disagree on how useful this would be to the majority of users.

Hi tranz,

Imagine if you change host servers? The redirect for someone like me who has a redirection block on my browswer would require me to click 4 times before I got to your home page.  I certainly would not go that far to get there.  I'd have bad feelings about your website before I even ventured there.

I buy over $40,000 worth of goods each year online.  You would miss out on a percentage of my business. As a professional businessperson, I cannot afford to lose customers due to multiple redirection.

FYI, I did change all the index.php entries in the many files of coppermine to a new name. Created a blank index.php with the "require include/init.inc.php".  Made a fresh install, then ported all of my database sections with the exception of sessions and managed to get it up and running on my local server.  Now when I type in my domain name, I am taken to a blank homepage with all the basic trimmings and menu items of whatever theme I choose.  No more redirection, and no iffy plug-ins.  I added a couple new menu items in theme.inc like "about us" and "artist´s notes" and now I have a complete website ready for upload --that is once I get my paypal options all sorted out.


Dennis

[Tranz]

Maybe I don't understand what you want since I don't know what you're talking about. What redirect? What does changing host servers have to do with this? I'm not using redirects on my site. ARgh is how you made me feel. ugh.

[artistsinhawaii]

Maybe I don't understand what you want since I don't know what you're talking about. What redirect? What does changing host servers have to do with this? I'm not using redirects on my site.

Under the Config menu, there is the option to change your Homepage URL from the default index.php in CPG 1.4x.  So, if Coppermine is in the root directory of your domain, the casual visitor who types in your domain address would be directed to your new Homepage URL and not Cpg's index.php.   I suppose this was built-in so that the web administrator could design a custom home page that the visitor would arrive at first before the familiar category list page that most of us see when we open Coppermine.  It's a nice touch as Coppermine's index.php is somewhat lacking as a 'homepage'.

The method used in Coppermine is redirection. Similar to the following code.

<?php
     header("Location:http://www.your_domain.com/your_new_homepage_URL");
     exit();
?>

The problem with redirection is that many people don't like it.  Especially those with kids and those who have been victimized by online identity theft, like me.  When I set out to design my site, I set all of the parental controls in my browsers on so as to design a site that is welcome to all.


Dennis
7 weeks of HTML and PHP and feeling like I spent two years in tradeschool.

[Joachim Müller]

[ot]
If you're on apache as a webserver and your webhost allows you to do so, you should do any redirects using a .htaccess file. Fastest, best way - I can only recommend this option.
[/ot]

I feel like Thu - I can't see how redirection and the name of coppermine's index file relate. There's no real benefit in renaming the file, except additional load for many users, who don't need a second index page and would hate it to be redirected once the browse the coppermine folder.

All the stuff you're trying to accomplish can be achieved by proper use of .htaccess (on IIS, similar methods are available). Marking this thread as "turned down", sorry.

Joachim

[artistsinhawaii]

[ot]
If you're on apache as a webserver and your webhost allows you to do so, you should do any redirects using a .htaccess file. Fastest, best way - I can only recommend this option.
[/ot]


Thanks Gaugau,

I'll look into a .htaccess file option.  I've only been at html and php for 7 weeks, and my only exposure to .htaccess was the one created by the SEF URL plug-in which when installed made it impossible to change themes in anything but album list and search.  But I see now that it has other functions and will definitely look into it.  Coppermine has been an excellent learning experience to say the least.  And having two versions to compare and study (1.33 and 1.41) makes it even better.

Thanks again,

Dennis

[donnoman]

Just FYI, the cpg-minicms plugin for 1.41 includes a way to redirect requests for the index.php page when no category has been specified.  (It does use an http redirect to do it though)

It is used to implement the blog functionality of the "related" page.

The method could be used in a smaller plugin to achieve the same thing.

The config option was simply to provide a convenient way to send folks ALL THE WAY HOME.  For example, if you installed the gallery in http://my.website.com/gallery

You could set the home page to be "/" which is the root of the domain

So clicking on home inside of your gallery would send them all the way to the top.

It only affects the displayed menu, not the underlying coppermine code, and it wasn't meant for users to be able to rename index.php, as this user found out.

[artistsinhawaii]

Just FYI, the cpg-minicms plugin for 1.41 includes a way to redirect requests for the index.php page when no category has been specified.  (It does use an http redirect to do it though)

Thanks donnoman,

I actually did play with minicms for a spell and I liked it.  BUT I uninstalled it to trace a bug in switching themes (which was actually related to SEF URL and not minicms) and haven't been able to get it to reinstall and work again. :-(    Since there is no support for 1.4.  I figured I would just let it ride for now.

Thanks again,

Dennis