Frequenty Asked Questions

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Technical queries

Can I create and host my entire site with you?
I get a 500 server error when I add or update a site.
How can I test my FTP details are correct?
My site is behind a firewall. What should I do?
Some of my editable elements aren't appearing.

Pro plan

I paid for Pro, but I don't know what to do now.
"subdomain is invalid" appears when setting my Pro preferences.
I / my client can see Cymbit branding! What is wrong?
How do I use my own domain name?

Payment enquiries

How do I change my payment details?
Are there any other payment plans? Can I get a discount?
How can I get Cymbit receipts for tax purposes?
Can I donate to Cymbit without going on the Pro plan?
How do I cancel my Cymbit subscription?

Miscellaneous

Can I use Lightbox with Cymbit?
How do I change font styles in Cymbit?
I cannot remember my password.
Can I host Cymbit locally? Can I pay for a licensed copy?
Do you provide support over the phone?
I have a suggestion, where can I send it?
I found a bug or need help with something that isn't covered here!

Technical queries

Can I create and host my entire site with you?
No. We do not offer any hosting, domain or site creation services -- for Cymbit to work properly, your site must already be active and hosted, and you will require the FTP details for that site to plug into Cymbit.

I get a 500 server error when I add or update a site.
In most cases, this error is caused by having entered your FTP details into Cymbit incorrectly. Please see the question below to make sure you've done it properly. It can also be caused by changing your Path information (either in your server configuration, or individual page settings) AFTER your site was originally set up in Cymbit. In this scenario, you should delete and re-add the individual pages (or even the entire server) and ensure the Paths are correct.

I get a 500 server error when I add or update a site.

In most cases, this error is caused by having entered your FTP details into Cymbit incorrectly. Please see the question below to make sure you've done it properly.

It can also be caused by changing your Path information (either in your server configuration, or individual page settings) AFTER your site was originally set up in Cymbit. In this scenario, you should delete and re-add the individual pages (or even the entire server) and ensure the Paths are correct.

How can I test my FTP details are correct?
There are several methods of testing your details. Windows: Hit Start, Run, and type: command MacOS: Go to the application directory, go to utils, double click terminal In the window that opens, type: ftp yourserver.com (obviously you will substitute 'yourserver.com' with the particular FTP server address you were given by your hosting company) You should now get a prompt for a username and password. Type these manually, no copy and pasting! If the login appears successful, perform a simple directory command: ls Now change into the directory all your HTML files are kept in (this is usually a folder called public_html, or www, or similar), by typing: cd foldername Once in this folder, perform two simple 'get' and 'put' commands with a random file on the server, by typing: get filename.html and then put filename.html (substituting 'filename.html' for an actual file on your server). If both of these tests pass without error, then your FTP details are fine. End your connection to the FTP server by typing: bye If any of these tests failed with the errors "Connection Refused", "Connection Timeout", "Permission Denied", or anything along those lines, then your details are probably incorrect, or there is server misconfiguration. You will need to get in touch with your hosting company to provide new FTP details or reset server permissions. Another method is to try connecting with a standard FTP program (Filezilla etc), but re-typing the server address, username and password fields manually (do not use any cached details). Once you're sure the details are correct, jump into your Server Settings in Cymbit, and ensure they are exactly matched. This means selecting the PROTOCOL from the drop-down -- usually this is ftp://. Then in the field to the right, typing in the full FTP server address (usually something like ftp.yourdomain.com). The Path field can be left blank, but hitting 'Choose' will actually test the FTP details you just entered; should hitting Save Changes down the bottom still not work, you will need to double-check the details.

How can I test my FTP details are correct?

There are several methods of testing your details.

Windows: Hit Start, Run, and type: command
MacOS: Go to the application directory, go to utils, double click terminal
In the window that opens, type: ftp yourserver.com (obviously you will substitute 'yourserver.com' with the particular FTP server address you were given by your hosting company)
You should now get a prompt for a username and password. Type these manually, no copy and pasting!
If the login appears successful, perform a simple directory command: ls
Now change into the directory all your HTML files are kept in (this is usually a folder called public_html, or www, or similar), by typing: cd foldername
Once in this folder, perform two simple 'get' and 'put' commands with a random file on the server, by typing: get filename.html and then put filename.html (substituting 'filename.html' for an actual file on your server).
If both of these tests pass without error, then your FTP details are fine. End your connection to the FTP server by typing: bye
If any of these tests failed with the errors "Connection Refused", "Connection Timeout", "Permission Denied", or anything along those lines, then your details are probably incorrect, or there is server misconfiguration. You will need to get in touch with your hosting company to provide new FTP details or reset server permissions.

Another method is to try connecting with a standard FTP program (Filezilla etc), but re-typing the server address, username and password fields manually (do not use any cached details).

Once you're sure the details are correct, jump into your Server Settings in Cymbit, and ensure they are exactly matched. This means selecting the PROTOCOL from the drop-down -- usually this is ftp://. Then in the field to the right, typing in the full FTP server address (usually something like ftp.yourdomain.com). The Path field can be left blank, but hitting 'Choose' will actually test the FTP details you just entered; should hitting Save Changes down the bottom still not work, you will need to double-check the details.

My site is behind a firewall. What should I do?
All you should need to do for Cymbit is allow incoming connections from it's two IP addresses: 72.47.223.40 and 72.47.217.150. Should you have connectivity issues and you know your site is behind a firewall, we cannot provide support.

Some of my editable elements aren't appearing.
This problem occurs mostly when tags with class="cymbitcms" are nested. You must close whatever tag you opened before creating another with class="cymbitcms" on it, like so: `Good: <div class="cymbitcms">Editable text</div>` `Bad: <div class="cymbitcms"><p class="cymbitcms">Editable text</p></div>`

Pro Plan

I paid for Pro, but I don't know what to do now.
You may have closed the window or missed the part where you were required to enter your Pro preferences into Cymbit. All you have to do is log in to www.cymbit.com, hit "Preferences", and fill in all the new fields. Once you've done this, and selected yourself a subdomain, you must then log in via that subdomain to perform all administration -- and so must your clients.

"subdomain is invalid" appears when setting my Pro preferences.
This will happen if you have entered anything other than alpha-numeric characters into this field. Please do not use hyphens, underscores or full stops.

I / my client can see Cymbit branding! What is wrong?
This will happen if you are not using your new custom subdomain to do your administration. Once you've gone Pro, you will not log in via www.cymbit.com again (unless you downgrade to the Free version).

How do I use my own domain name?
Simple: add a CNAME record for the domain/subdomain you own - eg: cms.yoursite.com - and point it at www.clienteditor.com. (note the trailing full stop). You can usually set these up yourself via a control panel provided by your hosting company; if not, please get in touch with your host to do it for you. Make sure you've set this subdomain up in your Cymbit preferences also. More info available here (under 'Specific instructions for popular domain hosts').

How do I use my own domain name?

Simple: add a CNAME record for the domain/subdomain you own - eg: cms.yoursite.com - and point it at www.clienteditor.com. (note the trailing full stop). You can usually set these up yourself via a control panel provided by your hosting company; if not, please get in touch with your host to do it for you. Make sure you've set this subdomain up in your Cymbit preferences also. More info available here (under 'Specific instructions for popular domain hosts').

Payment enquiries

How do I change my payment details?
Your payment information is managed through your Paypal or Alertpay account. Generally, if you make changes within these systems, you have to add a new card, or account, etc -- which means your Cymbit subscription will not be associated with your new details. You will need to re-subscribe to Cymbit via www.cymbit.com/Pro using your new details. This means you will want to cancel your old subscription first, which can also be done via the Paypal/Alertpay interface. Please note however, that Cymbit bills for one month of service in advance, so you may want to double-check when this period will lapse before you cancel your old subscription and re-subscribe.

How do I change my payment details?

Your payment information is managed through your Paypal or Alertpay account. Generally, if you make changes within these systems, you have to add a new card, or account, etc -- which means your Cymbit subscription will not be associated with your new details. You will need to re-subscribe to Cymbit via www.cymbit.com/Pro using your new details. This means you will want to cancel your old subscription first, which can also be done via the Paypal/Alertpay interface. Please note however, that Cymbit bills for one month of service in advance, so you may want to double-check when this period will lapse before you cancel your old subscription and re-subscribe.

Are there any other payment plans? Can I get a discount?
No.

How can I get Cymbit receipts for tax purposes?
Via the Paypal and Alertpay admin systems, there should be options to print invoices or receipts for previous payments. These will be sufficient for the tax man.

Can I donate to Cymbit without going on the Pro plan?
Certainly. We welcome donations via cymbitcms@paypal.com. Our developers won't shower unless they're paid.

How do I cancel my Cymbit subscription?
You must do this yourself via the Paypal/Alertpay admin systems. Find your subscription and cancel it -- be aware that since Cymbit bills one month in advance, you may still be "Pro" until 1 month after your last payment. Once that lapses however, you (and your clients) will have to log in via www.cymbit.com to do your administration -- none of your settings will be lost during the downgrade of course.

How do I cancel my Cymbit subscription?

You must do this yourself via the Paypal/Alertpay admin systems. Find your subscription and cancel it -- be aware that since Cymbit bills one month in advance, you may still be "Pro" until 1 month after your last payment. Once that lapses however, you (and your clients) will have to log in via www.cymbit.com to do your administration -- none of your settings will be lost during the downgrade of course.

Miscellaneous

Can I use Lightbox with Cymbit?
You certainly can. Since most versions of lightbox require nothing more than rel="lightbox" on your tags to work, you can do this via the Cymbit WYSIWYG by first hitting the the image icon to select and upload your thumbnail, then pressing OK. After that, click the "link" icon and flick over to to the Upload tab first, to upload the large version of the image, then over to the Advanced tab to place the word lightbox into the Relationship field.

Can I use Lightbox with Cymbit?

You certainly can. Since most versions of lightbox require nothing more than rel="lightbox" on your tags to work, you can do this via the Cymbit WYSIWYG by first hitting the the image icon to select and upload your thumbnail, then pressing OK. After that, click the "link" icon and flick over to to the Upload tab first, to upload the large version of the image, then over to the Advanced tab to place the word lightbox into the Relationship field.

How do I change font styles in Cymbit?
As an Editor, you cannot change font styles. This is purely because styling should always be handled in external CSS (this includes colours). As a Designer, you can cater for a few styling options (selectable when editing via the "Format" drop-down in the WYSIWYG) in your CSS -- from h1 to h6. To reference these styles in your CSS, you might do something like: `.cymbitcms h1 { font-face: arial, "lucida console", sans-serif; }`

How do I change font styles in Cymbit?

As an Editor, you cannot change font styles. This is purely because styling should always be handled in external CSS (this includes colours). As a Designer, you can cater for a few styling options (selectable when editing via the "Format" drop-down in the WYSIWYG) in your CSS -- from h1 to h6. To reference these styles in your CSS, you might do something like:

.cymbitcms h1 { font-face: arial, "lucida console", sans-serif; }

I cannot remember my password.
Use the "Recover password" option at the top of www.cymbitcms.com to have a new password emailed to your address. For Pro users, your Editors can also find the link at the top of your custom subdomain.

Can I host Cymbit locally? Can I pay for a licensed copy?
No and no, sorry.

Do you provide support over the phone?
No. Mainly due to the fact Cymbit is dead simple to use, and also because we may be in a totally different timezone, most issues can be simply resolved via the Google Groups or email.

I have a suggestion, where can I send it?
We love suggestions -- head on over to http://cymbit.com/support/suggest/. If it's already been suggested, make sure you cast your vote for it!

I found a bug or need help with something that isn't covered here!
Post on the our Forum first: http://forum.cymbit.com. Pro users can email us directly for help. . The email address for this is visible only if you are signed into your pro account.