Frequently Asked Questions
Documentation > Frequently Asked Questions
BoltWire is a powerful piece of software with many capabilities just waiting for you to discover them. In this page, we've tried to answer a few common questions helpful to those just starting out. Continue exploring the Documentation to learn more about the many things BoltWire can do.
Question: How do I change one or more BoltWire configuration settings?
BoltWire allows you to set a number of options by simply changing the settings on a page called site.config. Just edit the page, and change a setting. Be careful about changing these config settings however, unless you know what you are doing, as they could cause problem for your site. There are many more changes you can make to your site by modifying your index file, local config files or by enabling plugins. See the Administration tutorial for details.
Question: How do I change the look of BoltWire? I'd like to try a different skin...
Skins are easy to change in BoltWire. Simply go to site.config, and change the default skin setting from blank to any installed skin. Several skins are available on the BoltWire site -- refer to the extensions area. To install a skin, simply extract the skin's zip package into your "skins" folder, which is located in the "farm" folder of your installation. To switch to the skin you have just installed, edit your site.config and specify the skin you want to use, save the change and then refresh your browser. It should take effect immediately! There are also ways to assign different skins to different sections of your site, or to different users, or even at the click of a button. It's also easy to create your own skin, or convert skins from other programs to work in BoltWire. See the Documentation.
Question: How do I install new plugins for BoltWire? What do I have to do to get them to work...
The BoltWire site offers many powerful plugins to extend your site's capabilities, such as chat, store, inbox, rss, and email. And they are easy to install. First, get the plugins you want from the BoltWire site and copy any needed files to your boltwire/farm/plugins folder. Then, go to action.plugins, click the plugin you want, and when prompted, click install! All needed pages will be extracted, and if it requires a php script, it will be automatically turned on as well. BoltWire even creates a log of all extracted pages (go to site.plugins). Some scripts may require additional steps, such as adding a line to the site.config page. Be sure to read any documentation associated with your plugin for details.
Question: How do I control who can access which pages?
BoltWire has a very sophisticated access control system which can be used to specify exactly what actions are allowed or blocked for a given user -- even down to controlling which individual functions or graphics are available. For most cases, however, control hinges on view and write permissions for specific pages. To change these settings simply go to site.auth and select the type of authorization you want to adjust. Study the default settings carefully, and/or read the Member Management and Security pages before making changes. Once you understand the system, full access control will be at your finger tips.
Question: Where can I go to learn more about BoltWire?
The BoltWire has a good bit of documentation available, though it is not always current or complete. We also encourage you to join our mailing list to get the latest news and information about BoltWire. And more importantly, to get answers to your questions -- fast.
