At this time, Camac IT is not taking on any new website development projects.

Thank you for your interest.

rgds,

Brenton

Subscription Groups are one of the options for a Post or Page’s Visibility setting; the other options are Everyone and All Subscribers.

Subscription Groups are useful if you want to restrict a Post or Page’s access to subscribers who have a particular Subscription Plan.

For instance, you might have a Paid Subscription Plan and a Guest Subscription Plan offered to your users and you want only paid subscribers to have access to a particular post.  In this case, you would create a Subscription Group (perhaps labelled Privileged Subscribers) and have it comprised of the Paid Subscription Plan.  Then you can set the Post’s Visibility to that Subscription Group.  This would limit access to that Post to subscribers who are subscribed to the Paid Subscription Plan (and is active, obviously).

To continue the example further, you could also define a special Guest Subscription Plan with a Promotional Code intended to provide access to the same content as the Paid Subscription Plan does but without cost – perhaps this is for special users who you want to give premium access but not charge them for it.  All that is needed to include this Plan in the Access configuration is for you to add it as a Plan of the Subscription Group you defined earlier; you don’t need to go back and change any of the premium Post Visibility settings because they are already set to limit access based on a Subscription Group and not individual Subscription Plans.

Likewise, if you wanted to offer an alternative Paid Subscription Plan which has access to the same content but perhaps different terms (e.g. a yearly subscription instead of 3 monthly) then you would simply create this new Plan and add it to the Subscription Group(s) where the alternative Plan appears.

See Also:

• Managing Subscription Plans
• Subscription Plans

When a Promotional code is specified for a Subscription Plan that Plan will not be displayed in the list of available Subscription Plans during the user’s registration experience unless the user enters the promotional code for that Subscription Plan.  The reason for hiding Promotion-related Subscription Plans is that if the Plan were to offer a discount, for instance 20% of the normal price, compared to a regular Plan and both were displayed but the discounted one were not accessible, then your users would be disappointed that they were not given the better deal.  Thus, promotion protected Plans are only displayed to the user when the user enters the Plan’s code.

Another aspect to note about Promotional codes is that if there are no Plans which have promotional codes then the promo code input field is not displayed on the registration form.  This would be the case, for instance, if you had a Plan with a promo code but that Plan’s state was Listed = No.

Below is a screenshot of the registration form when a promotional code can be used.

Promo codes are set on Subscription Plans from the Tools→Subscription Plans area of the Wordpress Control Panel.

Note that these subscription and billing pages are only shown to users who registered through Suma. Users who’s accounts weren’t created through Suma would not have access to such pages (wouldn’t make any sense) and this ofcourse also includes Administrators.

Running pre-2.9 Suma?

If you have Suma 2.8.x or older then you should first upgrade to the Suma 2.9.x version before undertaking the upgrade to Suma 3.0.

What will I notice?

Suma 3.0 introduced a lot of new features and quite a different underlying architecture to allow it to be more flexible and accommodate all sorts of new feature requests that I’ve received.  All of the existing 2.9 features are included in Suma 3.0 except the following:

• Paid Subscription Plans no longer offer an initial payment feature.  This is to harmonized Suma with some other payment processors (other than PayPal) which we’ll be including in later releases which don’t support this feature.
• Paid Subscription Plan Trial Periods have been simplified so that there are no billing cycles, just a trial period and trial frequency.

These restrictions will not affect any subscribers who may have already subscribed to plans with these features.

Other than that all the functionality is still there, and much more.

The 12 step program to Upgrade to Suma 3.0

Note 1. For a short period of time during this upgrade, Suma will be deactivated.  While deactivated it will not be protecting access to your content.  For this reason alone you shoul use a maintenance mode plugin (such as The Maintenance Mode plugin) to keep the public out of your site, but you should do this for another important reason.  Some upgrades can take 15-30 seconds on large datasets (lots of historical information in the database).  If a request arrives at your website during this time when the plugin hasn’t completed the schema conversion, it will launch another batch of conversion actions which will only interfere with the conversion already taking place.

Note 2. Suma 3.0 uses a different license manager than Suma 2.x.  Hence your old 2.9 license key won’t work.  You’ll need to obtain a new one (available here: Suma 2.9 Upgrade Licenses) and activate it once Suma 3.0 is installed.  If you upgrade but don’t activate a new key then your installation will only be operating in test mode not production mode.

1. Admit Ensure that the database account used by Wordpress to access the database has DROP, CREATE and ALTER privileges.  The upgrade will not work without these.
2. Backup all Suma database tables in the Wordpress database (i.e. those beginning with wp_Suma_*)
3. Backup the Wordpress wp_options table because Suma will be updating its options that are saved there
4. Backup all files currently in the suma plugin directory (i.e. wp-content/plugins/suma).
5. Deactivate the Suma Plugin from the Wordpress Control Panel
6. Remove all files from the Suma plugin directory.
7. Copy the new Suma 3.x files into the suma plugin directory
8. Activate the Suma Plugin
9. Check the Suma Admin Event Log in the Dashboard area of Wordpress for any errors that may have been encountered during the installation
10. If you have Suma 3.0 license keys then you should activate them from Suma’s Settings page
11. If necessary, you should copy back any customizations you may have had in the suma plugin directory such as a suma_userforms.php file (which are now called suma_customization.php) or any changes to the suma.css file you might have done.
12. Test that the installation is operating correctly.  As of Suma 3.0 you can now run Test mode alongside Production mode.  See this article for details: Test Mode Setting.

Upgrade complete.

See Also:

• Purchase an upgrade license from the Suma shop
• Download the latest Suma v3 from the HelpDesk
• Ask for help at the HelpDesk if you have questions

Users can click on the Checkout button and be automatically transferred to PayPal’s website to complete the payment or can enter credit card information on the form and Suma will submit this to PayPal.  Thus users do not need a PayPal account to pay for a subscription.  Users are automatically transferred back to your site if paying with PayPal whether they complete or cancel the checkout process.

Using this feature in Production requires a license.  The license can be purchased from the Suma shop.

You can also experiment with this feature in Test mode which doesn’t require a license.  If used in Test mode, all transactions will be routed to the PayPal Sandbox.  Thus you will need to create an account in the PayPal Sandbox.

See Also:

• A Comparison of Payment Modules showing their similarities and differences
• A Payment Module screencast demonstrating the different Payment Modules
• A list of Licensed features in Suma
• The Suma shop for purchasing licenses

Users would click on the Checkout button and be automatically transferred to PayPal’s website to complete the payment.  Users will need a PayPal account to and they can open one during the checkout process.  Users are automatically transferred back to your site whether they complete or cancel the checkout process.

Using this feature in Production requires a license.  The license can be purchased from the Suma shop.

You can also experiment with this feature in Test mode which doesn’t require a license.  If used in Test mode, all transactions will be routed to the PayPal Sandbox.  Thus you will need to create an account in the PayPal Sandbox.

See Also:

• A Comparison of Payment Modules showing their similarities and differences
• A Payment Module screencast demonstrating the different Payment Modules
• A list of Licensed features in Suma
• The Suma shop for purchasing licenses

In 2007 a client of mine needed a subscription-based pay-to-view website. I determined that Wordpress would suit her needs well and so went about evaluating the various technology, products and plugins available.  I even prototyped a solution consisting of several plugins combined.  But I was not completely satisfied with any of these for one reason and another. So I decided to develop myself what I needed and at the same time fill a void in the marketplace.

The design and initial development of Suma took 6 months.  Then for another 12 months I had Suma in the market but kept “under the radar” (no advertising) so as to receive valuable feedback from real customers in real scenarios. I call it real world validation, where you get to see what the rest of the world thinks of your product.  Plus, you get to see how customers use the product which sometimes is quite different from what it was designed for.  Having worked for various software companies and pure research organizations in the past I am convinced that the best R&D laboratories around are your customer’s businesses.  They are the ones who know better than anyone what a great product would look like (at least for them – and ultimately, that’s who matters).

From that feedback and the many in-depth conversations I had with website developers and business owners came a much deeper insight into the business of blog-based commerce than I could ever have conceived of on my own. Consequently, I spent Sept 2009 to January 2010 redesigning the architecture and fundamental principals of Suma to be flexible, adaptable and aligned with the needs of small business owners seeking to utilize Wordpress for paid-access content delivery.

The result is the modest Suma 3.0. In these early releases the functionality will not seem dramatically different from Suma 2.x versions. However, its new architecture has laid the ground work to be able to add more payment processors (not just PayPal), to allow Suma’s dynamically generated forms to be customizable, and to allow developers to extend Suma even more to suit their own particular business requirements.

I’m always interested to hear from other developers and business owners about the projects they’re working on and how Suma can help and I especially like hearing feature suggestions or about any other technology you’re considering. You can reach me directly at b1@camacit.com.

And yes, there is a story to the name Suma.  It was the project code-name I had been using with that earlier client.  It was a short-hand way for me to label the Subscription Management component of the project (SUbscription MAnagment).

Cheers,
Brenton Camac

Architect and Developer
Suma Plugin for Wordpress

Suma Software Product License Agreement

Last Updated November 14, 2009

1. GENERAL

Notice to user:

This License Agreement is a CONTRACT between you (either an individual or a single entity) and CamacIT LLC (CamacIT) which covers your use of the Suma Subscription and Payment Management plugin (Suma) software product (Product) that accompanies this License Agreement and covers your use of its related software components, associated media, printed materials, and “online” or electronic documentation. All such software and materials are referred to herein as the “Software Product.”

Throughout this License Agreement, CamacIT refers to CamacIT LLC which is a legally incorporated company in the United States of America in the beautiful state of Oregon. A software license, issued to a designated user only by CamacIT or its authorized agents, is required for each user of the Software Product. If you do not agree to the terms of this License Agreement, then do not install or use the Software Product or the Software Product License. By explicitly accepting this License Agreement, however, or by installing, copying, downloading, accessing, or otherwise using the Software Product and/or Software Product License, you are acknowledging and agreeing to be bound by the following terms.

YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE USING THIS PRODUCT. IT CONTAINS SOFTWARE, THE USE OF WHICH IS LICENSED BY CamacIT TO ITS CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR USE ONLY AS SET FORTH BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE.

USING ANY PART OF THE SOFTWARE INDICATES THAT YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS.

This license is for one (1) Installation on one (1) Computer/Server/IP. Each license of the Software Product may additionally have limits imposed on the features and/or its use. These will be presented to you during your purchase of the Software Product and/or in other documentation and forms part of this contract / License Agreement.

If you have purchased a license to the Suma Software Product in conjunction with any other product(s) then you will also be bound by any and all licenses, restrictions, agreements, License Agreement’s, and/or contracts for the other product(s).

2. GRANT OF NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENSE

(a) Software Product License. The Software Product License, which is issued to a designated user, enables such designated user to use a single instance of the Software Product on a single computer system. Each user on a multi-user computer system who uses the Software Product requires an additional Software Product License. You may not modify or create derivative copies of the Software Product License.

(b) Grant of License. Subject to a validly issued Software Product License, CamacIT grants to you the non-exclusive, non-transferable right for you to use the Software Product on a single computer running a validly licensed copy of the operating system for which the Software Product was designed. You may not modify or create derivative copies of the Software Product. All rights not expressly granted to you are retained by CamacIT.

(c) Backup Copy: Software Product. You may make copies of Software Product as reasonably necessary for the use authorized above, including as needed for backup and/or archival purposes. No other copies may be made. Each copy must reproduce all copyright and other proprietary rights notices on or in the Software Product.

(d) Backup Copy: Software Product License. You may install each Software Product License on a single computer system and make copies of the Software Product License as necessary only for backup and/or archival purposes. No other copies may be made. Each copy must reproduce all copyright and other proprietary rights notices on or in the Software Product License.

3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED BY CamacIT

The Software Product is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws and treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. You must not remove or alter any copyright notices on any copies of the Software Product. This Software Product copy is licensed, not sold. Furthermore, this License Agreement does not grant you any rights in connection with any trademarks or service marks of CamacIT. CamacIT reserves all intellectual property rights, including copyrights and trademark rights.

4. NO RIGHT TO TRANSFER

You may not rent, lease, lend, sub-lease, or in any way distribute or transfer any rights in this License Agreement or the Software Product to third parties without the express written approval from CamacIT and subject to written agreement by the recipient of the terms of this License Agreement.

5. PROHIBITION ON REVERSE ENGINEERING, DECOMPILATION AND DISASSEMBLY

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, defeat license encryption mechanisms, or disassemble the Software Product or Software Product License except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation.

6. SUPPORT SERVICES

CamacIT may provide you with support services related to the Software Product. Use of any such support services is governed by the CamacIT and/or Suma polices and programs described in “online” documentation and/or other materials provided by CamacIT. Use of any such support services and/or any supplemental software code or related materials that CamacIT provides to you as part of the support services is to be considered part of the Software Product and is subject to the terms and conditions of this License Agreement.

With respect to any technical information you provide to CamacIT as part of the support services, we may use such information for our business purposes without restriction, including for product support, marketing, development and/or any other purpose as deemed reasonable by CamacIT. CamacIT will not use such technical information in a form that personally identifies you.

CamacIT reserves the right to charge you for any and all support requests that CamacIT and/or its authorized agents deem to be excessive or a misuse of the support services provided to you under this License Agreement. CamacIT and its authorized agents will be the sole judge in what is deemed an excessive or a misuse of the support services, and any and all associated charges and fees.

Abuse and/or threatening behaviour towards any CamacIT employee and/or authorized agent during the course of any support services provided to you by CamacIT will not be tolerated and CamacIT reserves the right to terminate this License Agreement under clause eleven (11) below.

7. FURTHER RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT

By accepting the conditions of this License Agreement as defined in clause one (1) above, you agree and understand that:

a) You may not offer or sell a hosting solution that includes a Suma software license and/or provide hosting with the sole intent that users would use it to host a Suma software installation without explicit written approval from CamacIT. Your right to sell hosting where users install or use a Suma installation in due course is not affected.

b) You may not market any hosting solution as including or being suitable for Suma and/or any Suma component(s) without explicit written permission from CamacIT.

8. NO WARRANTIES

YOU ACCEPT THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND SOFTWARE PRODUCT LICENSE “AS IS”, AND CamacIT (AND ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS) MAKE NO WARRANTY AS TO ITS USE, PERFORMANCE, OR OTHERWISE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, CamacIT (AND ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS) DISCLAIM ALL OTHER REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT REMAINS WITH YOU.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. IN NO EVENT SHALL CamacIT (OR ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS) BE LIABLE FOR ANY COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY SPECIAL,  INCIDENTAL,  INDIRECT,  OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT OR THE FAILURE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT SERVICES, EVEN IF CamacIT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ANY CASE, CamacIT (AND ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS) ENTIRE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU FOR THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT OR U.S. $5.00.

10. GOVERNING LAW; ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This License Agreement is governed by the laws of the beautiful State of Oregon U.S.A., excluding the application of its conflict of law rules. The United Nations Convention for the International Sale of Goods shall not apply. This License Agreement is the entire agreement between us and supersedes any other communications or advertising with respect to the Software Product.

11. TERMINATION WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO ANY OTHER RIGHTS

CamacIT may terminate this License Agreement if you fail to comply with any clause, term orcondition of this License Agreement. In such event, Licensee agrees to return to Licensor or to destroy all copies of the Software upon termination of the License. In the event this License Agreement is terminated under this clause eleven (11), CamacIT is under no obligation to refund you in whole or in part any fees paid to CamacIT previously or in the future.

No discussion will be entertained by CamacIT and/or its authorized agents in the event this License Agreement is terminated under this clause eleven (11).

12. UPDATES TO THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT

CamacIT reserves the right to update and modify this License Agreement at any time and such changes will take affect fifteen (15) calendar days from the date they are published. Notification of changes and updates will be posted at the CamacIT website, located at: http://www.camacit.com. It is the users responsibilty to check the CamacIT website for any License Agreement updates on a regular basis. In the event you disagree with the updated License Agreement, you must notify CamacIT within fifteen (15) days, and this License Agreement will be terminated as detailed in clause eleven (11) above. If you do not notify CamacIT within fifteen (15) days after the notification of an updated License Agreement is posted, you are acknowledging and agreeing to be bound by the updated version of this License Agreement.

This publication of the Suma License Agreement is correct at time of writing (12 September 2008).

13. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions about this License Agreement, or if you want to contact CamacIT, LLC. for any reason, please direct all correspondence to:

CamacIT, LLC.
PO Box 506
Lafayette. OR 97127
USA

or email: info@camacit.com