About TYPO3
What is TYPO3?
TYPO3 is a Content Management System that enables multiple people to maintain and update a website at the same time, in separate locations.
It is free software, licensed under the GNU Public License.
Who wrote it?
TYPO3 is written largely by Kasper Skårhøj, a Danish software developer, who happens to be a Christian too.
It is now maintained by a team of people from around the world, who are predominantly from northern Europe (you may notice some weird grammar in places...).
How does it work?
TYPO3 divides up any site into two main sections: the frontend and the backend.
The frontend is the part that you are viewing now. It is the website as most people view it. The backend, on the other hand, is an administration/maintenance interface to the site. It is (mainly) through the backend that you can add new pages, modify the colour scheme of the site, etc.
The backend is divided into a number of different modules to help you modify the site, such as the Page module which lets you edit page content, the Template module which lets you modify the look of the whole site, and the Filelist module that lets you upload/rename/delete files such as MP3s, graphics files, Word/PDF documents etc.
The frontend is located at www.pbc.org.au, while the backend is at www.pbc.org.au/typo3/. There are separate sets of users for the frontend and the backend: you won't be able to login to the backend using your usual site username and password.
Note: The distinction of frontend as viewing, backend as editing isn't entirely accurate. We use an extension (called TIMTAW) which allows designated frontend users to edit pages while viewing them in the frontend. See "How do I edit pages?" below for more information.
Ultimately most site content is stored in a database on the server. TYPO3 works by displaying this content as it has been configured to.
How do I edit pages?
If you have the correct permissions, you will see a book & pencil icon at the bottom of each page. Click this, and you will be transferred to edit mode. Each content element in the page will have an edit panel below it. This edit panel has links to edit, move and delete the content element.
In edit mode you will also see another edit panel, right at the bottom of the page. This panel is for working with whole pages rather than content elements. Buttons available: edit the page properties (title, keywords etc), delete the page, create a new page, and create a new content element on the page (for when there is no existing content element).
How do I restrict access to a particular page?
The access restrictions of a page are controlled by the "Visibility" setting in the page properties. In the visibility field you can choose who is allowed to view the page. "Show at any login" is the most straightforward - use this for pages which should only be viewed by the PBC family. You can also restrict access to a particular group (or groups) by selecting the group names from the list.
Page properties are found by clicking the edit page properties button which is in the bar right at the bottom of the page when you are in edit mode.
More information
There's lots to read about TYPO3 on the net if you would like to know more. Unfortunately almost all of the information is overly technical. We'll write documentation describing things that you need to know about. Please use the form below to submit any questions you have.
You may find the TYPO3 Documentation helpful, but otherwise submit your questions here: