Because Mura is built to support any number of use cases, it is highly configurable in the way you set up your website, with some features disabled or hidden by default. Mura is also capable of multi-web site configurations, where a single instance can support, one, several or a large number of individual web sites (which we refer to as Sites).
You should also be aware that, at the server/code level, there are core configuration files like the settings.ini.cfm, that can override these settings.
Site Settings
The Site Settings section of the Mura administrator allows you to manage a variety of site-level settings. Some of these are covered in other sections of the documentation, such as Permissions, Approval Chains and Site Bundles. You will also find links here to Web Services and the JSON API, which are covered in the Extending Mura section.
Edit Site Settings
Edit Site Settings is the section of the administrator where you configure a single Mura Site. Each Site can hold its own general configuration, and also some of these settings may be configured (or overridden) in the global settings.ini.cfm.
Site Settings Basic Tab
The Basic tab contains a number of Mura Site configuration options.
Type
Description
Site ID
This is the id the Site was created under. Note that this cannot be edited once created, as all content created below it is tied specifically to this id.
Site Name
The "friendly" name of the site, a name that is also displayed in the top of the web browser when visiting the web site.
Tagline
An SEO setting that may be displayed in the "meta" information in your web site's header.
Primary Domain
The primary domain this site is hosted under (see below).
Domain Alias (Line Delimited)
The alternate domains this site is hosted under. A single Mura Site may be configured (in your web server) to be hosted under any number of alternative domains.
Enforce Primary Domain
If this is set to "yes", then any visitor arriving to the Site via a Domain Alias will be redirected to the domain listed under Primary Domain.
Use SLL (Sitewide)
This requires that all pages are only accessible via the secure https:// request, rather than unencrypted http://. All insecure requests will be redirected to use the secure prefix.
Locale
This is the locale language (i18n) that Mura will enforce for the Site. This is useful for i18n and in conjunction with other server-level settings and resource bundles.
Theme
This is the Theme currently associated with this Site.
Page Limit
Mura Folders and other "pageable" content on the website is returned in groups we refer to as "pages". For very large websites, this can mean a large amount of content can be returned in some contexts. This setting will limit the number of pages returned by a single request.
Default Rows (in Content Tree View)
As with Page Limit, this setting controls the number of records returned with a single request (in this case, the number of records returned per page.
Site Caching
Mura uses integrated site caching to insure high levels of responsiveness and performance. It is recommended that all Sites in production (live) have this setting enabled.
Cache Free Memory Threshold
This is the amount of available memory Mura will use to cache content. This value is usually associated with the Java memory allocated to the site.
Lock Site Architecture
This prevents content editors from altering the current site content, effectively locking the site from having pages added or removed (content can still be edited, however).
None: no pages are locked
All: all pages are locked from removal, and no new pages can be added
Top: only the top-level (pages immediately below "Home") are locked
Allow Comments ...
... to be Posted Without Site Admin Approval.
Yes: comments posted on your website do not need to be approved
No: comments must first be approved via Comments Manager
Static HTML Export Location
The site architecture and content can be exported to a static HTML version of the website. This field indicates where the export will be placed.
Custom Tag Groups
Site Mode
Multiple site modes can be defined in your settings.ini.cfm file, and each will be displayed in this dropdown. This allows the Site to be run individually according to that configuration.
Is this a Remote Site?
This setting is reserved for Headless/Decoupled websites.
No: The site will be rendered normally on the front end, using the specified Theme.
Yes: All content will be returned via the JSON API.
Remote Port
This is the port (i.e. https://somesite.com:80) that the site is expected to be returned on via the hosting web server. Defaults to 80.
Resource Domain
Site assets (CSS files, images) may be hosted external to the website. If there is a url present here, Mura will use this for all of these resource.
Use SLL for Resources
Yes: the Resource Domain requests will be made using https://
No: the Resource Domain requests will be made using http://
Google reCAPTCHA Site Key
To secure form submissions, it is recommended you enable Google reCAPTCHA on your site. Enter your site key here to enable reCAPTCHA.
Google reCAPTCHA Secret
Enter your Google reCAPTCHA secret here.
Google reCAPTCHA Language
As they are internationalized, you should select your Google reCAPTCHA language here.
Site Settings Shared Resources Tab
The Shared Resources tab allows you to share data pools between several Mura Sites.
Setting
Description
Member User Pool
Identifies the Mura Site that contains the shared Member Users. Users will be managed via that Site, and any Users who sign up under this Site will appear in that Site's User pool.
System User Pool
Identifies the Mura Site that contains the shared System Users. Users will be managed via that Site.
Display Object Pool
Identifies the Mura Site that contains the shared Modules. All Modules for the Site should be placed within the identified Site's directory structure.
File Storage Pool
Identifies the Mura Site that contains the shared files. All files for the Site will be placed within the identified Site's directory structure.
Category Pool
Identifies the Mura Site that contains the shared Categories. All Modules for the Site should be placed within the identified Site's directory structure.
Related Content Pools
Identifies the Mura Site that identifies the Sites within this Mura instance that may hold Related Content. As the Related Content may exist across multiple Sites, in this case you can select multiple Sites.
Site Settings Modules Tab
By default, Mura does not have all features enabled, as some are use-case specific or would needlessly consume resources. Enabling these modules will often activate related administrative areas or enhanced functionality.
Module
Description
Extranet (Password Protection)
If you are using Mura alongside external single sign-on or enhanced user management, enabling this feature will provide a more robust set of integration hooks.
Collections Manager
If you intend to use Mura Collections, you should enable this feature.
Forms Manager
If you intend to use Mura-generated Forms on your site, you should enable this feature.
Comments Manager
If you intent to accept Comments on your website and wish to moderate them, you should enable this feature. Note also that to enable moderation, you should enable this setting in the Site Settings Basic Tab.
Content Staging Manager
If you intend to use Mura Change Sets, you should enable this feature.
If you are using Change Sets and only wish to allow publishing via this feature, set this to Yes.
Dashboard
If you wish to display the Mura Administration Dashboard, enable this feature.
Mura ORM Scaffolding
If you wish to use the Mura Scaffolder & Assembler, enable this feature.
Site Settings Email Tab
The Site Settings Email tab is for setting up the email server settings for this Site. Note that the defaults for these settings can be found in the settings.ini.cfm file.
Type
Description
Default "From" Email Address
The default Email address for the Site.
The mail server for submitted Forms, i.e. "mail.server.com".
The mail server port for submitted forms. Defaults to 25.
The mail server port for submitted forms. Defaults to 110.
Mail Server Username
The username for the email account. Do not use a personal account, as Email will be removed for tracking purposes.
Mail Server Password
The password for the email account.
Set to yes to enable TLS.
Use SSL
Set to yes to enable SSL.
Use Default SMTP Server
If you have configured your Email settings in the settings.ini.cfm and wish to use those settings, set this option to yes.
Content Pending Script
There is also a Test Email Settings button that will allow you to verify these settings. Clicking this button will send a test message using the settings you have entered. If you do not receive the test Email, ensure your settings are correct and that the message has not gone into a SPAM or similar folder.
Site Settings Images Tab
The Site Settings Images Tab allows you to configure image settings and defaults for images uploaded as content (i.e. via the Content "add content" option) or Associated Images (images you uploaded in association with Content, such as a Page or Folder). These settings do not apply to images uploaded through the file manager.
Images uploaded as content or associated images automatically have a minimum of three (3) smaller created (resized, and cropped where required): Small, Medium, and Large. You can configure the dimensions of these three default sizes here, as well as add new custom sizes that will also be automatically created when an image is uploaded. Note that all original images are retained, so that any future adjustments that you make to these settings will use the original source image, rather than the resized smaller images.
Note that all of the settings listed below are global to all of the image types that are created, default and/or custom.
Note: The image uploaded should always be as large as the largest resized image requires. For instance, if you have a custom banner image that is 1400 x 600, that should be the minimum size of any associated image files that you upload. Most images uploaded should be of 72dpi resolution, as this is the resolution that images are rendered on the web. If your source images are of a larger resolution, the file sizes of your uploaded will be very large indeed. We suggest you do a bit of research on web-based images if you are unfamiliar with this subject, as it will avoid unnecessarily long upload and processing times.
Image Size Settings
When specifying Height and Width, you have several options. You can either:
Specify both as numeric values, which will correspond to the pixel-dimension of the image, i.e. a setting of 300 for Height will create an image that is 300 pixels high. If you specify a number for both settings, Mura will resize the image to that fixed size. If the uploaded image is not of the same dimension, then Mura will resize along the shortest dimension, then crop the longest dimension to size.
If you specify AUTO for one of the Height / Width options, then Mura will size the image according to the numeric value, and then crop the other dimension if required.
Custom Sizes
You can also add as many custom sizes as you like by clicking on the Add Custom Image Size button.
Placeholder Image
You can also add a default "placeholder" image that will be used if a piece of content does not have an associated image. This image will be resized into all the specified thumbnails as well.
Site Settings Extranet Tab
Enabling the Extranet will allow users to sign up on the front page of your website and become Member Users (as opposed to System Users).
Setting
Description
Allow Public Site Registration
Yes: Users visiting your site will be able to create an account, becoming a Member User.
No: Users will not be able to create an account.
Custom Login URL
When this value is appended to the end of your site's URL, a login/create account form will be displayed in place of the Content's "body" content. By default this is ?display=login
Custom Profile URL
When this value is appended to the end of your site's URL, a manage profile form will be displayed in place of the Content's "body" content. By default this is ?display=editProfile
When a new user signs up, a notification is sent to the Email address entered here.
Site Settings Display Regions
Mura content pages can be divided up into a number display regions (maximum 20). So, areas like a left-hand sidebar, the main body area, masthead and/or footer can all constitute a separate "region", depending upon your needs to place and manage specific content there. Of the number of regions you enable, there will always be a Primary Display Region, which is normally where the "body" of the content is displayed, but may be substituted depending upon the situation (such as when a login page has been requested).
Each Display Region is considered a separate "physical" space and is closely related to the concept of Themes and how templates are defined, but is also important in Decoupled Websites as this can be used to segregate different types of content.
Setting
Description
Number of Display Regions
The number of display regions you wish to enable for this Site.
Primary Display Region
A region within the range specified above that will contain the main or "body" content for the rendered Content. Dynamic system content such as Login Forms and Search Results will get displayed here as well.
Display Region Names
User-friendly names for each region, divided by a carat "^" character, for instance: Left Column^Main Content^Right Column
Global Settings
The Global Settings section of the Mura administrator allows you to manage a variety of global-level settings, such as adding new Sites.
Edit Global Settings
The Global Settings section of the Mura administrator allows you to manage a variety of global settings.
Sites
The Sites section of Global Settings allows you to organize the current Sites in the Mura instance. All of the Sites currently set up will be listed here.
Bind Order
When a visitor comes to a site hosted by Mura...
Adding Sites
To add a new Site to Mura, choose the Add Site option under Global Settings.
You will be taken to a tabbed page that is essentially identical to the Site Settings > Edit Settings page (reference this documentation for details).
SiteID Note: please choose your site name carefully. It should contain only letters and/or numbers (no spaces or punctuation), and importantly it cannotbe changed once created, as all associated content, modules and folders are tied to that SiteID.
Once you have finished entering all of the settings, click on Add to add the Site to Mura.
Copy Site
Sites can be copied across to other, existing Sites.
Note: copying a site will overwrite all existing content and configuration. This cannot be undone.
Edit Plugins
Plugins are extensions to Mura CMS that require an integration to Mura's back-end administrator, and while most development tasks can be completed using Modules alone, sometimes a Plugin is required.
Most of the Mura Plugins documentation can be found within the Extending Mura section, but editing and managing them is done within the Global Settings section.
Note: this section of the administrator is different than the one listed on the top level of the left-hand administrator toolbar. They do look similar, but this section is restricted to Site Administrators only and includes options like removing the plugin or editing its configuration settings.
Site Plugins
This page allows you to install new Plugins, as well as access existing Plugins.
Each installed Plugin will be listed here, with options to edit the plugin configuration, or remove the plugin.
Reload Application
If you have made core changes to your Mura website, such as updating the settings.ini.cfm file, edited an eventHandler, or updated a Mura ORM object that already existed, it is likely that you will have to Reload or "restart" Mura, so that it can capture these changes.
Clicking on Reload Application will perform this action. It can also be performed by appending the reload application variable to the end of your site's url, such as ?appreload. This clears the local cache and configuration, and Mura then reloads and instantiates the core application.
Note: by default the reload variable that Mura looks for is called "appreload", however you can (and should) change this in your settings.ini.cfm file. Locate the variable appreloadkey=appreload and change "appreload" to something only you will remember (words & letters only, no spaces or punctuation). This prevents unwanted reloads of your Mura site, which could result in high server loads and loss of access to your website.