Manage modules

This manual explains installing and uninstalling of modules. To use the functionality of modules see other manuals.

When thinking of managing modules in Allmice CMS Classic Edition, then it is meaning first of all installing and uninstalling additional custom modules, which are not provided with Classic Edition.

Some additional custom modules are available on:
http://www.allmice.com/cms/projects.

How to manage additional custom modules

To install new custom modules you should do following:
1) Extract the module.
2) Copy the module's main directory with all its content to directory custom/modules.
3) Go to URL: [path-to-your-site]/system-manager/install-modules and tick in the table these modules, which you wish to install.
4) Click the button "Install checked modules".

The reason to use here the directory custom/modules and not the directory modules, is to keep custom modules intact, if updating classic edition. Such updating would mean among other things replacing directory modules of the old version of edition with the new version of the edition, but not replacing the directory custom.

By default the admin user has through admin role all the access rights for all the method pages of a newly installed module.

If you wish to give access rights for other roles too, then you can do it by going to URL:
[path-to-your-site]/system-manager/manage-access.

To uninstall the custom modules:
1) Go to URL: [path-to-your-site]/system-manager/uninstall-modules and tick in the table these modules, which you wish to uninstall.
2) Click the button "Uninstall checked modules".
3) If the module is uninstalled, then you can delete it from custom/modules directory, if you wish to free storage memory or because of other reasons.

Actually there are two modules, which can be used to install or uninstall other modules: core module App and Classic Edition module System Manager. Classic Edition module System Manager is better for installing and uninstalling, because it informs about depending and required modules. System Manager module's uninstall method does not let to uninstall a module, which depending module(s) is (are) not uninstalled first. System Manager module's install method does not let to install a module, if it requires a module, which has not been installed yet.

Default modules of Classic and Minimal Edition

There are 3 modules, which are included in both editions (Minimal Edition and Classic Edition), which with the framework layer are composing the core system. These modules are located in core/modules directory and can not be uninstalled. These modules are Global Core, App and App User. These three modules are meant not to be uninstalled.

There are 15 modules provided with Classic Edition, which are not included in Minimal Edition. These modules are located in modules directory. All other of these modules are installed, only module Visitor is by default not installed.

Classic Edition modules are:

• Admin
• Block
• Menu
• System Manager
• Form Field
• Global Observer
• Message
• Page
• Profile
• Own Page
• User
• Search
• Theme
• Language
• Visitor

Although you can uninstall the by default installed 14 Classic Edition modules and then install again, it is not suggested to do so. The reason for this is, that Classic Edition modules are tested more and are more stable as part of installable whole edition, than as separately installable modules. Installing has been tested more for the whole edition, than for the Classic Edition modules separately and as such the less stable part of them is SQL file, which will be used by installing. Although reasonable care has been taken, that the SQL files of modules would be up to date, such SQL files may not include sometimes most recent changes, whereas the SQL file of the whole edition would include them.

Using Minimal Edition with some Classic Edition modules

Allmice CMS Classic Edition modules can not be downloaded separately, but as part of the edition.
If because of some reason you wish not to use Classic Edition, but Minimal Edition and to install there some Classic Edition modules, then first you should download both editions. After that you should copy corresponding modules from the Classic Edition modules directory to Minimal Edition modules or custom/modules directory.

First module, which should be installed then, using App module, is System Manager.
After that System Manager should be used to install other modules. As explained before, the reason for this is, that System Manager does not let to install depending modules, if corresponding required modules are not yet installed (App module does not have such protection).