Configuration: verify settings

The configuration process starts after installation when you see this screen:

This chapter deals only with the Verify Settings instruction, because attributes, lists, subscribe pages and subscribers are dealt with in other chapters.

The Settings page discussed in this chapter is normally accessed through Config > Settings There are lots of settings you can change at any time, however, it's good to have an overview after install.

To start your settings verification click Go there next to Verify settings in your configuration overview, or navigate to Config > Settings from the main menu.

Please note you do not need to click save for every item, keep editing and click save just once at the end.

General Settings

These settings will have been completed for you during installation. This example is taken from a personal website/blog.

If any of these is incorrect, change it by clicking on the edit icon:

[WEBSITE]  placeholder

Once you have set your website address, it will be used to complete the [website] placeholder if you use this in your template or content.

 

System settings

It is important that you keep your installation secure: this means keeping it uptodate. This setting, when set as "Yes" will notify you whenever a new Release Candidate is available. When you are notified of a new version, you should update as soon as you can for security reasons.

 

Security settings

On this section you will be able to see your secret for the remote queue processing. More details on the remote queue processing you will find on the Methods of Sending (Browser, Cron, Command-line) page.

Reporting settings

These settings establish who will be notified, by email, of events in your phpList install. These include system messages, such as notices of new subscribers, or reports such as when your campaign sending starts and finishes.

It may be that you have a team of people or just an individual, some standard emails, like name@mydomain.com, or specific secondary accounts, like phpList_admin@mydoimain.com.

You can change these settings any time, but it's good take some time to decide how you want to manage your system now.

You can also choose to send yourself notifications about subscriptions among other things. To edit this setting click the edit icon, choose Yes from the dropdown and click save changes.

 

Campaign settings

This section specifies many of the defaults for your campaigns, for example, which email to display in the From: line of your campaigns (the sender).

 

While you can change some of these options during the composition of each individual campaign, they will always display as stated here during the next new campaign.

If you will often use the same details, it is simpler and safer to specify them correctly here so you don't need to remember to add/edit these details every time you send a new campaign.

The settings regarding html template and the default footer are dealt with in the chapters about templates. 

Transactional settings

These are the settings for the automatic emails that get sent by phpList to your subscribers when they perform an action. For example, when they subscribe or change their details. The emails in this section are usually noreply@mydomain.com.

 

Noreply is used because it is common for subscribers to reply to these emails, for example asking to be unsubscribed. Subscribers should be encouraged to use the automated processes provided by phpList, which can unsubscribe them without any additional work by the list manager (you!).

In addition to specifying the email addresses to be used for transactional messages, this section also deals with the content of these emails. These are ready-made for you, however, you may wish to customize them to reflect your circumstances or brand identity.

If you do this, make sure not to remove any of the important information included in the default messages, especially the placeholders in [square brackets].

subscription-ui settings

This section deals with the design of subscribe pages. This section is dealt with in the chapters on subscribe pages.

Segmentation settings

This section allows you to edit your list category organization. This is dealt with in the chapter about categories.

Subscription settings

This section provides you with the links to various functional pages within your phpList install. Most of the time you should not edit these settings. They provide a useful reference.

Composition settings

This area changes depending on which plugins you are using, and has some useful tweaks for your WYSIWYG editor. For example you can specify the width of the editor. This might be useful if you plan to compose your campaigns on a tablet computer or smart phone.

You're done!

You should now see a green thumbs up next to your settings verification. Don't forget, you can come back to this page at any time to update your settings, and refer back to this guide for help.

If you wish carry on with the rest of your set up, see the chapters corresponding to each item in the list, for example attributes or adding subscribers.

Feedback

Discuss this chapter here.