IC Helium - Docs

Getting Started

• System Requirements
• Installation
• Uninstallation

Using IC Helium

• How It Works
• Step-by-Step Guide
• Field Types Supported

Use Cases & Examples

• GDPR Data Scrubbing
• Store Bulk Price Updates
• Seasonal Content Changes
• Cartthrob / Ecommerce Free Shipping
• Status Bulk Changes
• Pro Tips

Troubleshooting

• Common Issues
• Error Messages

Support

• Contact Support
• Changelog
• Licence Agreement

System Requirements

IC Helium is compatible with modern ExpressionEngine installations.

Minimum Requirements

Recommended Environment

• Memory Limit: 256MB or higher
• Max Execution Time: 300 seconds (for large batches)

Server Permissions

Your ExpressionEngine installation must have:

• Write access to /system/user/addons/

• Permission to execute database queries

   

Installation

Installing IC Helium takes just a few minutes.

Step 1: Upload Files

Upload the add-on folders to:

/system/user/addons/ic_helium/
/themes/user/ic_helium

Step 2: Install Via Control Panel

1. Login to your ExpressionEngine Control Panel.
2. Go to Developer → Add-Ons.
3. Find IC Helium in the “Uninstalled” Add-ons list.
4. Click Install.

Step 3: Set Permissions

1. Go to Members → Roles.
2. Select the Member Role you want to grant access.
3. Ensure you the Member Roles you've granted access to the add-on, also have permission to edit the Channel Entries you'd like them to edit using IC Helium.

Verify Installation

1. Go to Add-Ons → IC Helium.
2. You should see the IC Helium dashboard.
3. Select a channel to begin.

Troubleshooting Installation

Add-on not appearing in Add-On list?

• Check file permissions (folders should be 755, files 644).
• Verify files are in the correct directory.
• Clear ExpressionEngine caches.

"Permission denied" errors?

• Ensure your Member Role has correct permissions.
• Check channel-specific edit permissions.

Updating

After updating IC Helium to the latest version, it is recommend you Clear All ExpressionEngine Caches before processing any changes.

Uninstallation

Follow these steps to safely remove IC Helium from your site.

Before You Uninstall

IMPORTANT: Uninstalling IC Helium will:

• Remove the add-on settings.
• Remove any saved field configurations.
• NOT affect your channel entries (your data is safe).

Step 1: Uninstall Via Control Panel

1. Go to Developer → Add-Ons.
2. Find IC Helium in the installed add-ons list.
3. Click Uninstall.
4. Confirm the uninstallation.

This removes IC Helium's database settings and deactivates the extension.

Step 2: Delete Files (Optional)

To completely remove IC Helium files:

1. Connect to your server via FTP/SSH.
2. Delete the folders:
   /system/user/addons/ic_helium
   /themes/user/ic_helium

Step 3: Clear Cache

1. Go to Developer → Utilities.
2. Click Clear All Caches.

Reinstalling

If you uninstall and later reinstall IC Helium:

• Settings will be reset to defaults.
• Field configurations will need to be created again.
• No entry data will be affected.

Field Types Supported

IC Helium supports the most popular ExpressionEngine native field types.

Fully Supported

Text

Field Type: text
Actions: Clear or replace with new text value
Example: Replace customer names with "REDACTED".

Textarea

Field Type: textarea
Actions: Clear or replace with new multi-line text
Formatting: Respects field's text formatting settings (Auto BR, Markdown, etc.)
Example: Clear customer addresses.

Toggle (Yes/No)

Field Type: toggle
Actions: Set to On (1) or Off (0)
Example: Enable "Free Shipping" on all products.

Select (Dropdown)

Field Type: select
Actions: Clear or set to specific option
Example: Change product options.

Radio Buttons

Field Type: radio
Actions: Clear or select specific option
Example: Set shipping method to "Standard".

Checkboxes

Field Type: checkboxes
Actions: Clear all or select specific options
Multiple: Can select multiple checkbox values
Example: Add "Clearance" and "Final Sale" tags.

Entry Status

Field Type: System field
Actions: Change to any available status
Example: Set old orders to "closed".

Cartthrob Simple Price

Field Type: cartthrob_price_simple
Actions: Set price value
Validation: Must be positive decimal (e.g., 19.99)
Example: Set all products to “0.00” (free).

Clear-Only Fields

These fields can be cleared (emptied) but not edited:

Rich Text Editors (RTE)

• RTE (rte)
• Redactor (redactor)
• Wygwam (wygwam)
• CKEditor (ckeditor)

Why? Complex HTML content requires special handling. Clearing is safe; editing 
could break formatting.

Action: Check "Modify value" → Field will be emptied

Not Supported

These field types cannot be modified (yet!):

• File fields
• Grid fields
• Relationship fields
• Date fields
• Member fields
• Third-party field types (unless listed above)

Field Content Validation

IC Helium validates field content types:

Numeric Fields

Content Type: Numeric
Validation: Must be a number (e.g., 123 or 45.67)
Example: Price, quantity, age

Integer Fields

Content Type: Integer
Validation: Must be whole number (e.g., 5, 100, -3)
Example: Stock count, order number

Decimal Fields

Content Type: Decimal
Validation: Must be decimal number (e.g., 19.99, 3.14)
Example: Price, weight, rating

All Content

Content Type: All
Validation: Any text allowed
Example: Names, descriptions

Use Cases & Examples

Real-world examples of how to use IC Helium.

GDPR Data Scrubbing

Scenario: You need to remove customer personal data from orders older than ‘x’ years to comply with GDPR and your Privacy Policy.

What to Scrub

• Customer names
• Email addresses
• Phone numbers
• Billing/shipping addresses
• Order notes

Step-by-Step

1. Field Settings

Date range:

• From: 2022-01-01
• To: 2022-12-31

Fields to modify:

• Customer Name → (blank)
• Customer Email → (blank)
• Customer Phone → (blank)
• Billing Address → (blank)
• Shipping Address → (blank)
• Order Notes → (blank)

2. What NOT to Clear

• Order number
• Order date
• Product SKUs
• Prices
• Payment status

Financial records stay intact for accounting and stats analysis!

3. Result

• Before:
  Customer: John Smith
  Email: john@example.com
  Total: £150.00
• After:
  Customer: (empty)
  Email: (empty)
  Total: £150.00

Store Bulk Price Updates

Scenario: Set all products to $0.00 for a “Free Sample” promotion.

Step-by-Step

1. Filter Products

Date range: (leave blank for all products)

2. Set Price

Fields to modify:

• Price → 0.00
• On Sale Toggle → On
• Product Status → Active

3. Result

100 products updated to Free, in seconds!

Seasonal Content Changes

Scenario: Update all blog posts from Q1 2024 with seasonal tags.

Step-by-Step

1. Date Range

• From: 2024-01-01
• To: 2024-03-31

2. Add Tags

Fields to modify:

• Season (Select) → Winter 2024
• Tags (Checkboxes) → Select: Seasonal, Archive

3. Result

All Q1 2024 posts now tagged for easy filtering!

Cartthrob / Ecommerce Shop: Free Shipping

Scenario: Enable free shipping on all products for Black Friday.

Step-by-Step

Fields to modify:

• Free Shipping (Toggle) → On
• Shipping Price → 0.00

Result: All products now ship free!

Status Bulk Changes

Scenario: Close all blog posts older than 3 years.

Step-by-Step

Date range:

• From: (leave blank)
• To: 2021-12-31

Fields to modify:

• Entry Status → closed

Result: Old content archived in one click!

Pro Tips

Test with Small Batches

1. Process 10-20 entries first.
2. Verify results in entry edit screen.
3. Then process the full batch.

Backup Before Large Changes

For 500+ entries:

1. Create database backup.
2. Test on staging site first.
3. Then run on production.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to solve them.

Installation Issues

Add-on doesn't appear in Add-On Manager
Cause: Files not uploaded correctly

Solution:

1. Verify that files are in the correct directories on your server. See Installation instructions.
2. Check folder permissions.
3. Clear EE cache: Developer → Utilities → Clear All Caches.

"Permission denied" error
Cause: Member group lacks permissions

Solution:

1. Go to Members → Roles
2. Edit your Member Role
3. Enable:
   - Can access add-ons
   - Can access Control Panel
   - Edit entries for the channel

Processing Issues

"Invalid channel ID" error
Cause: Accessing page without selecting a channel

Solution:

• Return to IC Helium home and select a Channel

"Unauthorised access" error
Cause: User doesn't have permission to edit this channel

Solution:

1. Check member group permissions.
2. Ensure user can "Edit other entries" for that channel.
3. Contact site administrator.

Processing stops/times out
Cause: Server timeout on large batches

Solution:

1. Process is limited to 50 entries at a time (automatic).
2. If still timing out, contact your host to increase:
   - max_execution_time to 300 seconds
   - memory_limit to 256MB

"Invalid request token" error
Cause: CSRF token expired or page was reloaded

Solution:

• Return to Preview page and click "Proceed" again.
• Don't refresh the Processing page.

"Already processed" warning
Cause: Trying to re-run same batch

Solution:

• This is a safety feature.
• Return to Field Settings to configure a new batch.

Field Issues

Field shows “Not supported”
Cause: Field type isn't compatible with IC Helium

Field types:

• Supported : Text, textarea, toggle, select, radio, checkboxes, status
• Not supported : File, grid, relationship, dates

Solution:

• Edit those fields manually in entry edit screen

"Validation failed" error
Cause: Replacement value doesn't match field's content type

Examples:

• Numeric field but entered text.
• Price field but entered letters.

Solution:

1. Check the error message for field name.
2. Verify your replacement value matches field type.
3. For numeric fields: Use numbers only (e.g., 123 or 45.67).

Changes not saving
Cause: Field validation failing

Solution:

1. Check Processing page for error messages.
2. Common issues:
   - Required fields left blank (uncheck "Modify" for required fields)
   - Invalid format for field type
   - Min/max length violations

Browser Issues

JavaScript errors in console
Cause: Browser caching old files

Solution:

1. Clear browser cache.
2. Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac).

Progress bar not updating
Cause: JavaScript not loading

Solution:

1. Check browser console for errors.
2. Ensure JavaScript is enabled.
3. Try a different browser.

Performance Issues

Processing very slow
Cause: Large database or slow server

Expected speed:

• Small database (<1000 entries): Very fast.
• Medium database (1000-10000): Moderate.
• Large database (10000+): May take several minutes.

Solution:

• Use date ranges to process smaller batches.
• Run during off-peak hours.
• Contact host about server resources.