Infradox first time configuration

Last updated November 2023

New Infradox clients

At the bottom of this page you’ll find a list of questions that Xpertise staff may ask you when working on the initial set up of your website. Please read these questions and tell us your answers in a support ticket on xpertise.zendesk.com. Depending on your Infradox version and/or Managed hosting agreement, we will configure your website for you after talking to you about your requirements.

Read this article to learn how you can get started, or how you can make changes after the initial configuration and styling has been taken care of.

Introduction

The Infradox XS/XP platform is a standardised solution that can be configured with the built-in administrator functions. It uses a dedicated database and website for each client. Once your system has been installed, you’ll receive a (temporary) URL where you can access your website. You will also receive a login, a password, and a PIN code for the Super admin account. Note that you can have several administrator/staff member accounts (depending on your version), but only one Super admin account. This account can be used to configure the website and to grant admin permissions on other accounts. The Super admin can also configure which functions are and are not available to other administrators (roles configuration).

There are a few things that must be done first, i.e. before you upload files or start to make changes to the look and feel. We can apply any of the available website themes to use “as is” or to use as a design implementation starting point.

This article is a brief description of the required steps. The Infradox system is very flexible and it offers many functions and settings. If you have questions once you start to use the website, simply create a support ticket and we’ll point you in the right direction as soon as possible. You can also search the Knowledge base articles on our website.

Log in

Log in with your Super admin account. In the account submenu, click on Enable admin toolbar. The page will reload with the toolbar showing on the top left. In the toolbar click on Dashboard. Note that the admin toolbar is not displaying by default. Enabling the toolbar switches your session to admin mode, which requires additional script to be included. Note that you can access the administrator’s Dashboard from the account dropdown menu, even if the admin toolbar is not showing.

Set up your website e-mail

You need to set up an e-mail account that the website can use to send notification messages to you (e.g. someone registered, someone created an order). But that’s also used to send e-mails to your website users. E.g. if someone sends a lightbox, a page link and so on. If you use Gmail or Google for accounts, then you’ll have to make a few changes to your e-mail account first. Please read the article Configuring G-mail for Infradox with an explanation about what you have to do.

Once your e-mail account has been properly configured as described above, click on Site configuration in the administrator dashboard, then click on E-mail configuration (either in the bar on the left or on the large icon in the workspace view). Enter your mail server settings and click Test mail server settings. Once you have done this you can enter the rest of the e-mail settings.

What you enter in the input box Address of your website, will be used to output a value for the macro [websiteaddress]. You can use this macro e.g. in your e-mail signature. The same applies to all other fields that have a macro (between square brackets) displayed on the right next to that field.

Finally scroll all the way down and click the Save button.

More information about configuring your e-mail available is available in the following articles:

General website settings

In Site configuration, click General settings. Most of the back end pages have sections that group specific settings together. To display a section, click Show options. The Save button at the bottom of the pages will save the changes that you’ve made in all of the sections on that page.

The sections that you can access via General settings are self explanatory for the larger part. For now, enter values in the section Website contact details & Page title and select a default country and time zone in the User interface language section.

Configure website access

Until you are ready to launch your new website, you make want to make certain functions (temporarily) unavailable to website visitors. 1) If you don’t want guests to have access to the preview pages, click Site configuration in the administrator dashboard, then click Website configuration in the bar on the left. Untick the box Guests have access to previews and save the settings. 2) If you don’t want guests to use the search engine, go to Search settings in Site configuration and in the General settings section, select a suitable option in the select box. 3) If you don’t want guests to have access to gallery pages, go to General settings in Site configuration, open the section Gallery pages and untick the box Allow guests to access the gallery pages.

Prepare your website for loading files

To configure your website for loading files, you need to create one or more supplier groups and suppliers. Note that Infradox XP websites have a single fixed supplier group and a single fixed supplier (i.e. photographer), but you change the settings described in this paragraph.

You can configure data mappings for each supplier group to specify which data values are to be stored in which database fields. It is recommended that you read the articles: Linking files to suppliers, and Data processing rules.

With Infradox XS, you can add suppliers (photographers) and groups via Supplier management in Back office. Note that you configure the ingestion process to automatically add new suppliers. This is especially useful if you load many files from affiliate agents. You will need to configure other settings too before you can upload files with FTP, with the built-in uploader, by letting your contributors upload files, by receiving syndicated files and so on. The additional steps are described below.

Configure Tag processing

If you want to extract unique words for the live search suggestion function, for the similar files function and/or for tag lists that let you refine your search results – then it’s best to configure this process first. For more information read the following articles:

Metadata display

To configure which data fields are visible on the client facing pages – and/or on different staff member pages – you’ll need to configure the Metadata repository. This is where you configure field labels, where fields will appear and in which display order, who can see the fields, whether or not fields can be clicked to start a new search and so on. Read the article The metadata repository for more information. Once you have done this, you can configure how credits, rights, restrictions and file sizes are displayed on different pages via Site configuration, Metadata display.

Recommended reading: Displaying file details, prices and sizes.

Specifying how photographer names are displayed

Please read the article Configuring how photographer names are displayed for detailed information about this subject.

Watermarking preview and comping files

Infradox automatically generates thumbnails and previews in different sizes for web display. You can protect your preview files – available in 500 and 700 pixels on the longest side or double the size if you have High Density Display support enabled, and your even larger comping images by overlaying a watermark and/or by overlaying text on such images. You can create a watermark file with e.g. Photoshop.

Note that watermark files:

must be PNG files
must be RGB color
must use transparency
may not exceed 300 pixels on the longest side.

Once you have your watermark file ready, go to Site configuration, click on Website files and open the section Watermark for your previews. You can either click the Upload a file button or you can drag the file onto the drop area on the page. You can use the same file for your comping images. Rename the file to compmark.png and upload it in the section Watermark for comping images. Note that you can allow specific users to download comps without watermarks regardless.

Alternatively and if you understand the specifications, you can use the File manager to upload your files.

Configure the New user registration page

First go to Site configuration, New user settings to configure the default values and permissions for new users. Save your settings and then go to Site configuration and click on Website Forms. Open the section Registration page and select the fields that you want to use, you can make fields optional or required. It is recommended to use the option “Use e-mail address as login name”. Note that new users will receive an e-mail with an activation link so make sure to configure your e-mail first. If you want to change the template that is used to send these e-mails then go to E-mail templates in Site configuration. The name of the template is “activation.txt”. If you have the Contributor+ module then please read the article about Contributor registration.

Edit the text on the client facing pages

When logged in with an administrator account with such permissions, you can edit the text on many pages. For example, on the registration page (that you can access by entering /register after the domain name) you’ll see the registration form and a text block next to it. It will read Edit this. Hover over the text, then click on it. An in-line editor will display. If you know HTML and CSS then it’s best to click the Show Source button (the last button in the toolbar) and to enter your text/html in there. When you are done click Save at the bottom. There are several pages with text areas that you’ll need to edit.

Below is a list of the most important relative URL’s for standard pages with editable text. Note that you don’t have to use all the pages if you don’t want to.

/register
/contact-us
/delivery-terms
/privacy
/myaccount
/loginpage
/forgot-your-password
/change-password
/resendactivation

If your version is Infradox Flex, then you can use the Pages function in your toolbar to edit other ancillary website pages, such as your T&C, Privacy, About us and so on. You can add as many pages as you like. Websites not on Flex can edit such pages as described above.

/help
/help/register
/help/faq
/help/search-example
/help/search-tips
/about-us
/terms-and-conditions

For a complete overview of all URL’s, read the article Infradox XS URL’s explained.

Add custom pages

You can easily add custom pages with editable text. For more information, read the article Adding custom pages.
Note that with Flex websites, it’s recommended that you use the “Pages” function instead.

Style your website

Even if you decide to completely customise your website, you should start by selecting a layout in Back office.

To do this, either:

go to Site configuration, Website Style and choose a starting point style – or,
go to Site configuration, Website Themes and apply one of the available themes.

Next you can make changes as required.

Colors

Next, select a color scheme in the dropdown box. This will apply default color settings for your pages, dialogs, links and so on. You can now tweak the color settings in the color overview. For example, you can configure how your thumbnails are displayed. At the bottom of the color overview, you can configure three shadow styles. You can apply these styles to the dialogs (for example the log in dialog, the quote dialog and so on), but also to thumbnails, gallery boxes et cetera.

Google fonts

You can now configure Google fonts, if you want to use this option. You can of course also stick with the standard web fonts that are available for all browsers without having to include any external files. Google fonts however do look nicer and offer more possibilities, so it’s a good idea to learn more about this. Go to fonts.google.com for more information and an overview of all the available fonts. If you have selected the fonts that you want to use, enter the names in the input boxes and then save your settings. Now load the page again so that your newly configured Google fonts are available on the settings page. You don’t have to download or include any Google files, this is done automatically.

You can now choose the fonts and font sizes that you want to use for the body text, the menu and the page titles. Note that you can also include whichever fonts you want to use in the Code editor – as opposed to or in addition to configuring your fonts on the Website style page. To do this, go to the code editor and select Includes (51) in the file dropdown. Insert your link (for example <link href=”http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Inconsolata|Open+Sans|Pacifico” rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css”>) and click on Save.

Button images

Finally, you need to select the button images that you want to use for the thumbnails pages (i.e. buttons for Add to cart, Add to lightbox et cetera). This section offers several options that are still there for reasons of backward compatibility only. Please make sure not to select any of the “Legacy options”. The recommended option is indicated on the settings page.

Website menus

You’ll find the menu settings in Back office too. Go to Site configuration and click Menu and pages in the sidebar. Use the Website menu builder to add items to your menus and to arrange the order in which items appear. You can also create a custom page banner with a custom menu. You can then still configure your menu in Back office, so that you can insert it in your custom banner. But you can also decide to completely make your own menu in the code editor.
Note that most menu styles can be achieved by choosing the correct settings in back office, and without having to use the code editor. In terms of maintenance and compatibility with future updates it’s recommended to stick to what’s possible without using custom code whenever possible.

You can find more information about making a custom menu with the code editor here: Creating a custom header and footer.

Home page

To configure what will appear on your home page, go to Site configuration and click on Home page in the side bar. This section lets you choose all the different options that you can use, e.g. a slide show, galleries and so on. Completely custom made home pages are possible by use of the code editor. If you want to use a custom home page, then you won’t have to spend too much time configuring the settings as custom home pages offer different settings and widgets. For more information, read the article Making a custom home page.

Flex websites however offer so many customisation options that it will not be necessary to create any custom code in most cases. Sticking with just the home page configuration options will make it easier for you to make changes to your page without having to know anything about HTML, Script or CSS.

Lightboxes

You can configure lightboxes to open in a window on top of the page you’re on, or you can use Classic mode to display lightboxes as normal pages. To configure this setting go to Site configuration and click Lightboxes in the sidebar. On this page you can also enable Lightbox collaboration which lets users work on lightboxes together.

Galleries

Build galleries with your favorite content (galleries can be portfolios, subject favorites, stories et cetera) and/or create a category structure with dynamic search results. For more information read Building search categories with the gallery manager and Gallery management.

Customisation

Once you have completed these steps, you can further customise your website using the built-in code editor. Customisation can be as simple as tweaking the CSS. And XS allows you to add Javascript and custom templates too. This is explained in the articles Infradox XS customisation, Using the code editor and Using custom CSS.

For Staff members

For an overview of useful functions for staff members, please the article Staff member Help.

Configuration questions

Below is a list with some of the questions that Infradox staff members may ask you before we can start configuring the basics of your XS website (some questions may not be relevant depending on your version and optional modules):

During development/configuration, your website can be temporarily hosted on a infradoxxs subdomain (e.g. http://mywebsitename.infradoxxs.com). We will limit access to this to prevent search engines or visitors from already seeing/using your website. Please tell us which IP addresses you will be using to view the website during this phase.
If you already have a domain name in place then you can set up DNS A records to point to an IP address in our range (which we will provide you with). If you want us to limit access (see above) then tell us the IP addresses you want to allow access.
What is the default language, the default country and the default currency of your website? E.g. English, United Kingdom, GBP.
* Can you supply us with a design mock-up that we can use to create a starting point in terms of colors, fonts and menu contents?
Which fields do you want to show on the registration page and which of those are required? Do you want to use “E-mail address” as the login (recommended)?
Do you want to allow users to change their own account details with the “my account” page? If not, you’ll receive an e-mail of changes the users wants which you will then have to apply manually.
Do you want to display preview images in “windows” (so called modal previews) on top of the current page, or as a separate HTML page?
Do you want a “Get a quote” button on the preview pages, and if so only if someone is logged in or always? Do you want a simple quote form or do you want to link the quote button to the price calculator?
Do you want to enable the “Order print” button on preview pages, for all images or for selected images only?
Do you want to list galleries in which a file occurs on the preview pages?
Do you want to use the similar files function, and if so where do you want the files to appear?
Do you want full screen lightboxes to appear in in “windows” on top of the current page, or as a separate HTML page?
Do you want to enable the Lightbox collaboration function?
Will your website have RM files, RF files or both?
Which fixed file sizes do you want to make available for RF downloads and what prices will you be charging for each size?
Which file sizes do you want to use for downloadable RM images and which fields to you want users to enter information into when ordering such files?
Do you want to use the price calculator for RM images?
Do you want to enable e-commerce i.e. let users pay online to order and download files unattended? If so, then please read this article about configuring Stripe.
Are you going to work with price agreements and/or subscriptions? You can find more information here: /price-agreements-and-subscriptions/
Will you be uploading new files with the built-in HTTP uploader, with FTP, or both. In case of the latter we need to configure field mappings, i.e. which data goes where in the database?
* Are affiliate agents going to be uploading files directly with FTP? If so, you’ll need to establish field mappings (i.e. which XMP/IPTC data goes where in the database)?
Which metadata fields do you want to display on the client facing pages, in the uploader and edit dialogs – and what labels do you want to use (e.g. keywords, title, caption, credit and so on)?
Which database data do you want to be injected back into files that users download?
Which of the standard filters do you want to use?
Do you want to use custom filters based on metadata (e.g. age, composition, gender, collection and so on)?
Do you want to display live keywords suggestions from extracted words or from predefined lists?
** Do you want to enable contributor registration?
** Do you want to use contributor profile pages and if so, are contributors allowed to modify their own profile page?
* Do you want us to import existing user accounts and/or supplier records?
Do you need us to work on other data conversions?
Do you want to enable automatic creation of galleries?
Please read the article about SEO and then tell us how you want us to configure the settings for you. For Flex websites, please read SEO configuration for Flex.
There’s a single super admin account that among other things is used to grant admin permission on other accounts. This account is protected with a pin code. Please tell us what pin code you want to use (usually 4 numbers).
Staff member/admin accounts can also be protected with a pin code (optional but recommended). Please tell us if you want to protect admin accounts with a pin code and if so what the pin code is.

* Not for Infradox XP
** For XS with the optional Contributor+ module