2.3 Configuration
Once you have installed Bistro, there are several configuration options that should be reviewed. This section of the manual describes those settings that will have the greatest impact on the design and development of a website and is intended primarily for the use of whomever is creating the website. For complete information on all settings, please refer to the chapter entitled Using Bistro and the individual module sections of this manual
2.3.1. System Setup
The System Setup area of Bistro is only accessible to SuperAdmins and is accessed by clicking on the System Setup icon on the main menu toolbar across the top of your web CMS homepage. Within the System Setup area, click on "Modify your Settings" to change the following configuration options.
Debug Mode:
When Debug Mode is set to "on", additional debug information is logged to the debugging event log. This can be useful to help you trouble shoot installation issues, however the debug log will grow very quickly. Feel free to turn it on during development and design, but be sure to set it back to "off" for a site that is in a production environment (once the site goes live).
Search Engine Friendly:
Search engine friendly URL's are disabled by default so that proper debugging can be performed when new or custom modules are being installed. Be sure to turn this setting on and to test the site before it is pushed live.
Your Website's Theme:
Feel free to choose any theme, however if you are working on developing a new theme, and intend to provide the end users with access before the theme is complete, we recommend you enable the "Vanilla" theme. This theme is as simple and stark as possible, and will avoid presenting your clients with pre-conceived notions that may conflict with your design.
2.3.2. Using the config.local.inc.php file
Bistro stores many settings within the database. However, there are certain key settings (such as database connection settings) that are stored in a file called config.inc.php. This file is located in the /admin/config folder.
If you are developing a site on an on-going basis, and are dealing with the problem of maintaining a development site and a live site simultaneously, you may find yourself struggling with the repetitive effort of modifying the config.inc.php folder every time you synchronize your development and live sites.
A way around this problem is to create a config.local.inc.php file for your development site. When Bistro is initializing, before it loads the config.inc.php file, it will first search for a config.local.inc.php file. If you create such a file on your development site, and place it in the include path for PHP, then your development site's config.inc.php can be set to the same values as the live site's config.inc.php. This will allow you to synchronize the two sites without worrying about the different configuration options; the live site would include the config.inc.php file as it should, and the development site will include the config.local.inc.php files, where the development site settings are stored.
For more information on PHP's include path, read the PHP Manual entry regarding the php.ini file at http://www.php.net/manual/en/ini.core.php#ini.include-path