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Template Dashboard

 

What This Page Does

The Template Dashboard is your control center for customizing the look, features, and content of your site. From here, you can manage themes, turn features on and off, edit files, change translations, and create backups of your site. Think of it as mission control for your site's appearance and functionality.

[Screenshot: page-overview]

How to Get Here

Navigate to Admin Panel > Template Manager > Dashboard

Understanding the Page

When you first open the Template Dashboard, you'll see several areas that help you manage different aspects of your site.

Statistics Bar at the Top

Six boxes show you quick information about your site:

  • Active Theme -- Which visual theme your site is currently using
  • Features Enabled -- How many site features are turned on (like video sections, user comments, etc.)
  • Editable Files -- How many files you can edit through the admin panel
  • Translation Keys -- How many text strings are available in different languages
  • Languages -- How many language packs are installed
  • Total Themes -- How many themes you have available to choose from

 

Navigation Tabs

Just below the header, you'll see nine tabs that let you jump to different management tools:

  • Dashboard (the current page)
  • Themes -- Design and visual appearance
  • Files -- Edit your site's code files
  • Features -- Turn site features on or off
  • Styles -- Customize colors and fonts
  • Layouts -- Change page layouts
  • Translations -- Edit text in different languages
  • Media -- Manage uploaded images and files
  • Database -- Database tools and utilities

 

Quick Actions Card

This card contains buttons for the most common tasks:

  • Create a new theme
  • Edit your main stylesheet (the CSS file that controls how your site looks)
  • Toggle features on and off
  • Edit translations
  • Backup your frontend files
  • Backup your database

 

The last two buttons are especially important because they help you save copies of your site before making major changes.

Recent File Changes Card

Shows the last 10 files that were edited on your site. Each entry shows:

  • The file that was changed
  • What type of change it was (created, edited, deleted, or restored)
  • Who made the change
  • When it happened

 

This is helpful for tracking what's been modified recently.

Active Theme Card

Displays information about the theme your site is currently using, including:

  • Theme name
  • Version number
  • Author name

 

Features by Category Card

Shows how many features are enabled in each category:

  • Content -- Videos, galleries, models, categories
  • Live Cams -- Webcam performers and chat
  • Creators -- Creator profiles, posts, tipping
  • Users -- Registration, favorites, playlists, comments
  • Site -- Search, dark mode, age verification

 

Common Tasks

How to Create a Backup of Your Frontend Files

Before making any major changes to your site, it's smart to create a backup. This saves all your current files so you can restore them if something goes wrong.

  1. Look for the Quick Actions card on the dashboard.
  2. Click the Backup Frontend Files button.
  3. Wait while the backup is created. The button will show "Creating Backup..." with a spinning icon.
  4. When it's done, you'll see a success message telling you how many files were backed up and where they're saved.

Your backup will be saved in a ZIP file with the date and time in the filename, like frontendbackup2025-01-0412-30-00.zip.

Tip: Always create a backup before:
  • Switching to a new theme
  • Editing important files like your main stylesheet
  • Making bulk changes to features or settings
  • Updating or installing new components

How to Create a Database Backup

Your database contains all your site's content, user accounts, settings, and other critical information. Backing it up regularly protects you from data loss.

  1. In the Quick Actions card, click the Backup Full Database button.
  2. Wait while the backup is created. This can take a few minutes for large sites.
  3. You'll see status updates showing the progress.
  4. When complete, you'll get a success message with the filename.

Your database backup will be saved as an SQL file like fulldatabasebackup2025-01-0412-30-00.sql.

Tip: Create a database backup before:
  • Adding or removing large amounts of content
  • Changing user permissions or settings
  • Making changes to site features
  • Any time you create a frontend backup (keep them as a matched pair)
Warning: Database backups can be large. Make sure you have enough disk space before creating one. If your site has a lot of data, the backup might take several minutes to complete.

How to Switch Between TMS Pages

The Template Management System (TMS) has nine different pages for managing different aspects of your site. You don't need to go back to the main menu each time.

  1. Look at the navigation tabs just below the page header.
  2. Click any tab to jump directly to that page.
  3. The current page will be highlighted in green.

For example, if you want to change your site's theme, click the Themes tab. To turn features on or off, click Features.

How to Check What Files Were Recently Changed

If you're working with a team or want to see what's been modified recently, use the Recent File Changes card.

  1. Look at the Recent File Changes card on the right side of the dashboard.
  2. Scroll through the list to see recent edits.
  3. Each entry shows what file was changed, who changed it, and when.
  4. To see more than the last 10 changes, click the View All link at the top of the card.

How to Create a New Theme

  1. In the Quick Actions card, click Create New Theme.
  2. You'll be taken to the Theme Manager page.
  3. Follow the instructions there to set up your new theme.

How to Edit Your Main Stylesheet

Your site's main stylesheet controls colors, fonts, spacing, and overall visual appearance.

  1. In the Quick Actions card, click Edit Main Stylesheet.
  2. The file editor will open with your style.css file loaded.
  3. Make your changes carefully.
  4. Save when you're done.
Warning: The stylesheet controls how your entire site looks. Make sure to create a backup before making major changes. If something goes wrong, you can restore the backup and try again.

Understanding Demo Mode

If you see an orange banner at the top of the page saying "Demo Mode Active," it means the backup buttons are disabled. This is used when showing the admin panel to others without allowing them to make actual changes. You can still browse everything and see how it works, but you can't create backups or make permanent changes.

Demo mode is controlled by the site administrator and isn't something regular users can turn on or off.

Understanding Backup Files

Frontend Backups

When you create a frontend backup, the system saves:

  • All your public-facing pages (homepage, video pages, galleries, etc.)
  • Your CSS and JavaScript files
  • Your uploaded images and media
  • Your language translation files
  • Your theme files

 

The backup is compressed into a single ZIP file that you can download and store safely. Inside the ZIP, there's a file called backupinfo.json that lists what was backed up and when.

Database Backups

Database backups save:

  • All your videos, galleries, and other content
  • User accounts and profiles
  • Comments, ratings, and favorites
  • Settings and configurations
  • Creator profiles and posts

 

The backup is saved as an SQL file, which is a text file containing instructions to rebuild your database if needed.

Note: Backup Speed: The system automatically uses the fastest backup method available. On some servers, backups run in the background so you can continue working while they complete. On others, you'll need to wait until the backup finishes.

Tips for New Users

Tip:
  • Create backups regularly, especially before making changes
  • Check the Recent File Changes card occasionally to see what's been modified
  • Start with small changes when customizing your theme or styles
  • Use the statistics at the top to track how many features are enabled
  • The dashboard refreshes automatically every minute, so statistics are always current
  • Keep your backups organized by date so you can easily find the one you need

Troubleshooting

My backup button isn't working

What you see: You click the backup button but nothing happens, or you see an error message.

How to fix it:

  1. Make sure you're logged in to the admin panel. If your session expired, refresh the page and log in again.
  2. Check if you're in demo mode (look for the orange banner). Demo mode disables backups.
  3. If the button says "Creating Backup..." it's already working. Wait for it to finish before clicking again.
  4. If you get an error about permissions, contact your hosting provider or system administrator to check folder permissions.

 

My backup is taking a very long time

What you see: The backup has been running for more than a few minutes with no success message.

How to fix it:

  1. For large sites, backups can take 5-10 minutes or more. Be patient.
  2. Check your internet connection. If it dropped, refresh the page and try again.
  3. If it's been more than 15 minutes, something may have gone wrong. Refresh the page and check your backup folder to see if the file was created anyway.

 

The statistics show zero or incorrect numbers

What you see: The statistics cards at the top show 0 or unexpected numbers.

How to fix it:

  1. Refresh the page. The dashboard automatically updates every minute, but manual refresh can help.
  2. If numbers are still wrong, there may be a setup issue. Check that your themes and features are properly installed.

 

I can't see recent file changes

What you see: The Recent File Changes card says "No recent changes" even though you know files were edited.

How to fix it:

  1. The system only tracks changes made through the admin panel's file editor. Changes made directly on the server via FTP or SSH won't appear here.
  2. Make sure the file editor is properly set up and that file versioning is enabled.

 

I accidentally deleted or changed something important

What you see: You made a change and now something on your site doesn't work right.

How to fix it:

  1. If you created a backup before making changes, restore that backup.
  2. If not, check the Recent File Changes card and go to the file editor's history tab. You may be able to restore an earlier version of the file.
  3. Contact support if you need help restoring from a backup.

 

Page When to Use It
Theme Manager When you want to change your site's visual design, create a new theme, or customize an existing one
File Editor When you need to edit specific PHP, CSS, or JavaScript files on your site
Feature Toggles When you want to turn site features on or off (like videos, galleries, comments, etc.)
Style Manager When you want to change colors, fonts, and other visual elements without editing CSS directly
Translation Manager When you need to change text on your site or add support for new languages
Database Manager When you need to run database utilities or maintenance tasks

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