Step-by-step instructions for installing CBOX Classic and CBOX OpenLab are provided in the documentation; these are some general guidelines for installing CBOX and switching between the CBOX Classic and CBOX OpenLab packages.
If you do not have an existing WordPress or WordPress Multisite installation, you cannot yet install Commons In A Box. Install WordPress to get started. If you’d like to run the CBOX OpenLab package, or provide secondary blogs/sites for your network’s members, you’ll also need to set up WordPress’s Multisite feature.
If you have an existing WordPress or WordPress Multisite installation, the CBOX installation process will install and activate a number of plugins, and, depending on the configuration you choose, will activate a CBOX theme. Depending on your configuration, CBOX may also install sidebar widgets, default slider images, or other default content.
Note that CBOX OpenLab is a comprehensive package that will have a significant impact on the appearance and functionality of an existing site; it is best implemented on a new WordPress Multisite installation. If you wish to add CBOX OpenLab to an already-existing WordPress, WordPress Multisite, BuddyPress, or CBOX Classic installation, this can be done. However, you will need to perform some additional steps after installing CBOX OpenLab, so that your existing data appears and functions correctly within the CBOX OpenLab interface. See the Additional Steps for Existing Installations section of the CBOX OpenLab installation guide for details.
If you have an existing CBOX installation and wish to remain with CBOX Classic, no changes are required.
If you have an existing CBOX installation and wish to adopt CBOX OpenLab (or vice versa) please follow the instructions below for switching between packages.
Switching Between Packages
Commons In A Box (CBOX) consists of two packages: Classic and OpenLab. These packages consist of a theme and a collection of plugins that have been vetted for compatibility with the theme. Selecting a package at the time of installation is akin to deciding the kind of site you want to run, and there is no simple mechanism for changing that decision once the site is set up. However, many of the components between the two systems are shared, and it is possible to migrate from one package to another.
To enable the ability to switch packages, add the following to your wp-config.php file:
define( ‘CBOX_SHOW_PACKAGE_SWITCH’, true );
This will display a “Change packages” link in the CBOX dashboard’s footer.
Clicking on this link will reset the package marker, allowing you to choose a new package for activation.
Please keep in mind that resetting the package marker does not deactivate any plugins or the current theme. This is a good opportunity to audit the plugins you have currently activated.
Some caveats to keep in mind when migrating between packages:
- Much visual configuration of a WordPress site takes place through theme options, and most theme options do not transfer in a natural way between Commons In A Box packages. For example, the homepage of the OpenLab package is controlled by a series of widget areas, which are populated with default data at the time of installation. When switching to the Classic package, this configuration will be lost, and may need to be reproduced. Likewise, navigation menus are built in a somewhat different way between the two packages, and may need to be repositioned or rebuilt> Appearance > Customize).
- The OpenLab package requires that all groups have a Group Type, all members have a Member Type, and all sites have an associated group. See “Additional Steps for Existing Installations” for more details.The OpenLab package contains a great deal of teaching-specific functionality that is not present in the Classic package. Some of this infrastructure includes group types (such as “Course”) and member types (such as “student”) that will need to be created after switching packages. The OpenLab package generally requires that each user and group have a valid type; you will need to generate this group/member type data manually or via script (see bp_set_member_type()) before items will appear properly in the CBOX OpenLab interface.
- The homepage slider tools in Classic and OpenLab are different, and slides must be moved manually between the systems.