October CMS Questions & Answers

To fill extra columns of a pivot table when adding a record in October CMS, you can use the ‘attach()’ or ‘sync()’ methods while specifying the additional pivot data. To do this follow the steps given below: 

In your model, define the ‘belongsToMany’ relationship with ‘pivot’ attributes:

Use the ‘attach()’ method to add a record and fill the extra pivot columns:

You can use ‘sync()’ to update multiple records and their pivot data at once:

To store an October CMS project in Git, follow the steps given below:

Run ‘git init’ in the project root.

Use ‘.gitignore’ to ignore sensitive and unnecessary files, like

/storage/

,

/vendor/

,

.env

Track important files, like ‘composer.json’, Custom plugins and themes, ‘Config’ files

Stage and commit your files:

Use ‘composer.json’ to manage dependencies.

To add a default query condition to a model in October CMS, you can use the ‘boot()’ method in your model to apply a global scope. To do this follow the steps given below:

Find the model you want to apply the default query condition to, typically located in

/models

.

Add a ‘boot()’ method in the model to apply the condition:

Test the Condition: Query the model to ensure the default condition status = 'active' is applied automatically:

If you need to query without this condition, use ‘withoutGlobalScope’:

To properly send HTML mail with a plain text alternative from October CMS, follow the steps given below:

Open your October CMS backend

Go to Settings > Mail > Mail templates.

Create a new email template with both HTML and plain text content sections.

Use the ‘Mail::send()’ method to send the email, specifying both HTML and plain text views:

Create two views: one for HTML ‘template_html.htm’ and one for plain text ‘template_text.txt’.

Store them in the appropriate plugin folder

/plugins/author/pluginname/views/mail

Ensure the email is sent with both HTML and plain text alternatives by sending it to yourself and checking different email clients.

To check if a record exists in October CMS, follow the steps given below: 

Use the ‘find()’ or ‘where()’ method with the model to check for the record:

Use an if statement to verify if the record is found:

Alternatively, using exists() with a query:

To delete a record in October CMS, follow the steps given below:

Locate the model that corresponds to the record you want to delete e.g., User, Post, etc.

Use the model to fetch the specific record by its ID or other identifiers:

Call the ‘delete()’ method to remove the record:

Ensure the record is removed by checking your database or user interface.

To add a new feature to October CMS, follow the steps given below:

Open your October CMS backend

Navigate to Settings > Updates & Plugins > Create Plugin to generate a new plugin.

In the

/plugins/authorname/pluginname/Plugin.php

define your feature in the ‘boot()’ or ‘register()’ methods

Create models, controllers, or components under the

/models

,

/controllers

, and

/components

folders.

Register your components or backend features in ‘Plugin.php’. 

Test in the backend and deploy or install the plugin.

To create a static page dropdown with a page tree in October CMS, follow the steps given below: 

Install ‘RainLab.Pages’ plugin for static pages functionality. 

in your form field YAML file, define the dropdown field:

In your controller or model, create a method to fetch the page tree:

Check the dropdown in the backend form to ensure it correctly lists static pages.

To migrate from October CMS to WordPress, follow the steps given below:

• Install WordPress on your server.
• Use a custom script to export content from October CMS or do it manually
• Utilize Import tools like WordPress Importer to import content into WordPress
• To fit the design, rework the WordPress theme
• Test the site to ensure everything works as intended

To create an October CMS plugin, you can use the Builder plugin in the October CMS backend. To do this follow the steps given below:

• Navigate to the Builder page
• Press the ‘arrow’ icon in the sidebar to see the plugin list
• Hit ‘Create plugin’
• Input the namespace and plugin name
• Choose a plugin icon