Download Campsite 3.3.5 now!

Improvements:

• New Template Package.

The Classic Template Package is now the default sample publication in Campsite. The template package serves both an educational and functional purpose - you can use these templates "out of the box," or to increase your understanding of how Campsite works, or as a base to create your own templates and skins. The Classic Template Package also features new modern designs and overhauled, comprehensive documentation. Download the new template package now or take a look at the improved documentation.

• Insertion of maps and other iframes.

Embed your maps (Google, OpenStreetMap) or other iframe embedded item anywhere in the article text using the TinyMCE WYSIWYG editor.

• Improved multilingual search in the article search results list.
• Improved template management on global (issue) level.
• Enhanced logging of IP addresses for comments.

Bug fixes include:

• URI options "next_items" and "previous_items" now working in plugins lists
• The articles list no longer empty when issue or section not defined
• Cache keys for database objects now match when using different character cases
• Preview functions correctly when switching user in the same browser.
• Topics list works correctly when multiple languages are used and cache is on
• Obsolete function split() replaced for future PHP compatibility
• Correct PHP version is checked during installation process
• Published articles from "Not published" issue no longer listed in "list_articles" when ignore_issue or issue constraints used
• The list of issues now accepts the publish_date parameter
• Attachment file can now be selected when description has quotes.
• Fixed email notifiers setting invalid content type for email
• Pagination improved in poll plugin

Campsite is a community effort and help is always appreciated. If you like Campsite and would like to help it develop even faster, please find some time to read the How to Contribute section of the Campsite wiki!

Download Campsite 3.3.4 now!

The main enhancements Campsite 3.3.4 brings are:

Improvements:

• New Issue and section constraints for article lists (a time-saving feature for Campsite web developers)
• Option to enable browser-based spell checking (Firefox) for all article fields

Bug fixes include:

• Several issues when APC cache is on (updating of the blog plugin screen, article reordering, updating of the Article Edit screen, published articles not showing up immediately on the front end)
• URI options "next_items" and "previous_items" not working in plugins lists
• IMG inserted via TinyMCE editor wrapped in table tags
• Conflicting sections can be created in different issue translations
• Cyrillic characters are not displayed properly in TinyMCE Campsite image plugin popup
• Special chars do not work properly in image caption and alternative texts
• Notice message breaks image display
• Slash character can not be used in the image description fields
• IP address authentication does not work

Campsite is a community effort and any help is appreciated. If you like Campsite and would like to help it develop even faster, please find some time to read the How to Contribute section of the Campsite wiki.

Larger donations can be used toward specific feature requests for Campware software, and individuals can also group together to reach larger goals.

Smaller donations can help us to pay for expenses such as server connectivity and general operations. (We also are not opposed to people earmarking their donations for beer ;-))

You can even donate using your credit card via our Digital Kiosk, powered by Paypal. Click here to make a donation.

The first thing to remember is that after you get Campcaster up and running, you will need a streaming server. This is a server that takes an audio signal and converts it into internet streams which you can listen to in programs such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, WinAmp and others. Like a transmitter tower, a streaming server is the one users connect to when they want to listen to your broadcast.

We don't recommend situating your streaming server inside your broadcast studio (unless you're sitting on a very large internet connection). If you did put your streaming server inside your station, you run a fairly large risk that your station's internet connection would get swamped from having too many people trying to connect to it. Instead, it's better to put the streaming server in a hosting facility which has fast connections and guaranteed uptime. You can then send a stream from your station to the streaming server, where it is retransmitted to end users.

Two systems have been tested and documented by members of the Campcaster community: Icecast and Flumotion.

Campcaster + Icecast + Darkice + JACK
Icecast is an open source streaming server that can send streams in MP3 or its open source counterpart, Ogg Vorbis, to large numbers of users at the same time.

Philippe Drouot of Openradio.info has written a how-to document for using Campcaster with Icecast using a couple of important and very useful tools, namely Darkice and JACK. Darkice is an intermediary program that sends an audio stream from your facility to the Icecast server (think of it as being something like Skype - a small program for sending out sound) and then the Icecast server is what end users connect to to get the stream. JACK is a program that acts as a virtual patch bay, connecting different sources of audio with different potential outputs.

In the howto Philippe wrote, Campcaster is used to manage a broadcast by creating playlists of sound files on a schedule. Campcaster's sound output is routed through JACK and connected with Darkice, which then sends your stream out to an Icecast server. The benefit of a setup like this is that your station doesn't have to host the Icecast server locally - remember that streaming audio requires a lot of Internet connectivity.

Philippe's howto document for using Campcaster, Jack, Darkice and Icecast is located here: http://trac.campware.org/campcaster/wiki/campcasterJack.

All of these packages are included in most of the major Linux distributions, so you should be able to install them very easily. But in case you need them, you can download them directly.

Icecast: http://www.icecast.org/
Darkice: http://code.google.com/p/darkice/
JACK: http://jackaudio.org/

Campcaster + Flumotion + Cortado
A second approach is to use a different open source streaming server, one called Flumotion. Campcaster community member Hilaire F. Nollette III wrote a white paper explaining how Campcaster can be used with Flumotion and a client program called Cortado. The benefit of using Cortado is that it handles the stream directly in a web page (Cortado is a Java applet that works as a streaming client). This means that if you're using Cortado and Flumotion, users don't need a program like Windows Media Player, iTunes or WinAmp to listen to your stream as long as they have Java installed.

Hillaire's white paper can be found here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg49pkzx_21g4j5tqs5.

Both Flumotion and Cortado are included in most major Linux distributions.

Flumotion: http://www.flumotion.net/
Cortado: http://www.flumotion.net/cortado/

For more support info, check this page, which includes a link to the Campcaster support mailing list.

Download Campsite 3.3.3 now!

The main enhancements Campsite 3.3.3 brings are:

• Online template editor (EditArea) now highlights Campsite template language properly
• Topics attached to an article are displayed in a tooltip on mouseover in section view
• Smarty template engine upgraded to the latest stable version
• HTML anchors are now insertable via the TinyMCE rich text editor
• Updated Russian, Belarusian, and Spanish localizations
• Online Interview and Blog plugins are now fully localizable

Bugs fixed include:

• Several upgrade process bugs (autopublish,.httaccess and plugin related)
• A table is no added within paragraph when inserting images via the TinyMCE editor
• Image resize ratio field is no logner mandatory in System Preferences
• Quality of automatically generated thumbnails has been improved
• TinyMCE text editor no longer filters the anchor tag
• Topic objects are now cached properly
• Long image captions no longer cause images to occupy wider space than necessary
• Search indexer now properly filters out invalid words and does not leave out valid words
• Image resizing ratio is no longer reset when editing an article
• Topics with names that contain digits are now properly recognized in the template language
• The Blog plugin now works well with APC cache
• The code that sends Campsite system notifications has been fixed, so Campsite no longer floods admin mailboxes in case of noncritical problems
• Several localization bug fixes (including the Author field label)
• Order option for topics list and article switches now work as documented
• The obsolete PHP function split() has been removed from Campsite code

For a full list of new features and bug fixes, please see this Trac report.

Campsite is a community effort and any help is appreciated. If you like Campsite and would like to help it develop even faster, please find some time to read the How to Contribute section of the Campsite wiki.

Follow Campsite and other Campware development more closely via Twitter and Identi.ca (@campware). For more deatails, read this article.

Download Campsite 3.3.2 now!

The main enhancements Campsite 3.3.2 brings are:

• Easier installation in php-cgi environments
• Expanded topic-filtered articles list, allowing, among other things, for easier creation of nested navigation menus
• Improvements to the campsite-backup script, which makes database backups smaller
• Installer now warns more explicitly that register_globals PHP setting should be OFF
• Sections are now ordered alphabetically instead of by section number in the advanced search dropdown

Bugs fixed include:

• Automatic bug reporting doesn't work
• Add article topic field tries to clear cache while cache is not enabled
• Unable to delete an template, if (another one) is not readable
• System preferences are not saved in proper PHP syntax
• Using section select field in the search form crashes the template
• The article indexer does not filter out invalid words
• The value of the issue date input field can't be modified
• The URI function returns null if there was no published issue
• The articles list ignores false values of ignore_* options 
• Warning messages when cache enabled and displaying URL
• The calendar doesn't work in the search form when no translation found
• The publish date calendar in the article edit screen doesn't work
• Unable to convert the character set of the file
• Invalid syntax in sample templates
• The audioclip select window does not close on submit

For a full list of new features and bug fixes, please see this Trac report.

Campsite is a community effort and any help is appreciated. If you like Campsite and would like to help it develop even faster, please find some time to read the How to Contribute section of the Campsite wiki.

Download Campsite 3.3.1 now!

The main enhancements Campsite 3.3.1 brings are:

• Easier template editing (choose template on edit template screen)
• Several blog plugin templating iimprovements
• Full CSS control over the look of Subheads

Bugs fixed include:

• Internal links don't work if style or class is added to tag
• Plain text paste popup mangles valid HTML tags
• XML import does not support empty fields -
• Sorting articles by comments works with unaproved comments too
• The configuration.php file is not regenerated by the upgrade script
• APC can be enabled even it's not installed -
• TinyMCE doesn't read custom caption and alt text when image properties are re-edited
• TinyMCE Insert Image popup defaults to first image regardless on what image is selected for re-editing
• Editarea template editor messes up lines on syntax highlighting
• list_articles fails if topic was set

For a full list of new features and bug fixes, please see this Trac report.

Campsite is a community effort and any help is appreciated. If you like Campsite and would like to help it develop even faster, please find some time to read the How to Contribute section of the Campsite wiki.

Download Campsite 3.3 now!

The main enhancements Campsite 3.3 brings are:

• New article-field types: switch and numeric
• Pluggable caching mechanism
• Much improved caching (list classes, all database access classes, images, object lists, template meta action list)
• Optimization of the ArticleType and ArticleTypeField classes
• Caching for static methods that return objects list
• Better log of all backend activity
• Better online template editor (Editarea)
• Global setting for resizing images inserted via the TinyMCE editor
• Upgrade of the TinyMCE editor to the latest stable version, with a completely rewritten Paste from Word plugin
• Enhancements to the Article Type management screens
• Usability improvements to the Localizer tool (progress indicator and highlights to string groups needing attention.

For a full list of enhancements and bug fixes, please see this Trac report

If you like Campsite and would like to help it develop even faster, please take a minute to read our new How to Contribute section of the Campsite wiki.

You can start by spreading the word about Campsite: simply send the attached press release to any relevant people or addresses you may know, or help us make a translation into your language (mail us)

Enjoy the new release!

Sagart Paroiste -

• Installer displays warnings related to session initialization
• Tiny media plugin is not localized

Read the howto on our developers' wiki here.

As always, we'd love your feedback on this howto or others. Feel free to leave your comments in the comments here, or on the Campsite support mailing list, the developers' mailing list or, if you don't want to sign up, in the support forum and developers' forum.

The new release brings the following features:

• Article attachments in article edit mode via TinyMCE editor
• Image shrinking for images inserted by TinyMCE
• Integration of Media TinyMCE plugin and Article media files
• Add image derivates cache
• Rename "Import legacy archive" into "Import XML" in Actions menu
• List most recently commented articles and most recent comments
• Ordered "Clear System Cache" and "Import Legacy Archive" in Action Menu
• List most recent comments / most recently commented articles
• Implement custom size parameters for text edit fields
• Plugin update functionality

Bugs fixed:

• Blog plugin: Add confirmation for user that images have successfully uploaded
• Blog plugin: Add option to automatically resize image
• Adding new content to the blog is broken because of the lack of validation
• Blog plugin: Allow some HTML tags
• Information about writable directories is missing
• It's not possible to create new interview
• Blog plugin: published/creation date renamed
• Interview plugin admin: input validation failed
• Article edit screen: >Save All< does not save topic fields
• Adding a blog on new install, without having image generates error
• Comments not appearing in admin interface
• Import script doesn't report omitted content
• Password strength meter rates passwords generated by strong password generartor as weak
• Login action always returns error
• The sections list is empty when the issue or language were not set
• The issues list is empty when the language was not set
• Garbage remains in the database after article delete
• Misspelled list name in search list error reporting
• The subscription by publication action is not handled properly
• Constraints in articles list do not accept dynamic fields
• Type parameter in articles list constraints does not accept case insensitive values
• Blog plugin: form smarty plugins does not respect template parameter
• Advanced setup and sytem preferences screen are not documented
• Blog plugin: delete child object on delete blog/blogentry
• Invalid article selection in articles list on topic exclude constraint
• Crash when submitting comments
• Blog plugin: Column "published" have to replaced by "date"
• Interview plugin: Fix the limit parameter for lists
• Poll plugin: Fix the limit parameter for lists

Campsite 3.2: Saving news organizations money on their websites
 
With all the talk recently about newspapers worldwide facing difficult financial situations, the time is right for tools that let them both make more money and also save them money. The new release of the Campsite content management system can help. Made and released by a non-profit foundation called the Media Development Loan Fund, Campsite 3.2 helps news organizations get their sites online quickly and easily, and with features tailor-made for news.
 
"Campsite 3.2 is made by journalists for journalists," says Sava Tatić, the head of the Media Development Loan Fund's technology arm, the Center for Advanced Media Prague (CAMP), "It gives news organizations websites with features that would cost in the tens of thousands of dollars."
 
Campsite 3.2 brings a number of new features that are high on news organizations' lists, including a host of plugins, small programs that can be quickly written to address a certain need or provide a certain functionality. The plugins shipping with Campsite 3.2 include:

• Blogs --support for either staff-created or public blogs that can share design appearance with the news site, with all the features users have come to expect from blogs.
• Online interviews - support for in-office "live" interviews with guests. The plugin can also be used for by-the-minute breaking news coverage.
• Polls - The ever-popular instant surveys can be integrated with other site content flexibly, quickly and easily.

 
"We think the blogs plugin is significant because they leverage a feature Campsite has had for years - the ability to tag content for later retrieval. These "topics" in Campsite lingo mean it's easy to tag a news article and a blog item with the same topic. Then when a site visitor clicks on that topic, they can browse all articles with that topic with a single click," said Douglas Arellanes, who works with Tatić at CAMP.
 
Because Campsite is free and open source, it's available for anyone to download and start using. It's written in the popular PHP programming language, making it even easier to adapt to do new things. "We strongly encourage cash-strapped news organizations to focus their limited resources on making the things they need, as opposed to paying for a costly, proprietary website content management system," Tatić said.
 
"Our organization supports independent media in developing countries. Many of these media organizations have been cash-strapped for as long as they can remember. For us, the open source model was the most efficient way of getting everyone the features and functionality they needed - because people share their improvements, everybody wins."

Campsite 3.2 can be downloaded from the Campware website, or directly from SourceForge at http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=66936&package_id=65091

You can find out more about the Media Development Loan Fund at http://www.mdlf.org.

UPDATE: Thanks to Claudia Cruz, we now have the press release en Español. It's attached here.

The highlights are:

• Improved search engine (allows for advanced search options)
• New WYSIWYG editor (TinyMCE instead of Xinha)
• Static author field (allows for easier article author/writer-related features on sites)
• Improved article statistics (including more front-end use of the stats: e.g. most commented)
• AJAX saving in the article edit screen (as the first step of UI ajaxization)
• New or improved plugins: Blogs, Polls, Online Interview.

The full changelog is here.

• New WYSIWYG editor (TinyMCE instead of Xinha)
• Improved search engine (allows for advanced search options)
• Static author field (allows for easier article author/writer-related features on sites)
• Improved article statistics (including more front-end use of the stats: e.g. most commented)
• AJAX saving in the article edit screen (as the first step of UI ajaxization)