Unix/Linux Installation Instructions
| | If you need assistance with this software you must
use the resources in the CGI Works owners lounge. See the bottom of this
file for more details on obtaining technical support.
- At this point it is assumed you have extracted the archive
containing AutoRank PHP. If you have not yet done so, you should do that
now.
You should also have the following information on hand:
- The name of the mySQL database which you will be using to
store the data* - The
username which you use to access the mySQL database - The password
which you use to access the mySQL database
If you do not have
this information, contact your server administrator to get it.
* This name is not
something you can just make up. The database must be created by your
server administrator in order for you to use it. If you don't know the
name of a database which you are allowed to use, contact your server
administrator to get that information or to have them create a database
for you.
- You will now need to login to your server and create some
directories for AutoRank PHP. First off, decide where you want the .php
files installed. On most servers they can go in any directory
except the cgi-bin. Inside the directory you have decided on, you
will need to create 4 subdirectories; name them templates, data, inc,
and admin. Note: The only files you should place in these
directories are the ones indicated in this documentation. Uploading
other files can and will cause problems.
Now, you need to decide
where you want the HTML files written to. This can be in the same
directory as the .php files if you wish, but we recommend placing them
in a seperate directory.
Example Directory Structure:
/home/username/php/toplist |
location of ar.php
and in.php files |
/home/username/php/toplist/admin |
location of
admin.php and setup.php files |
/home/username/php/toplist/data |
location of script
data files |
/home/username/php/toplist/templates |
location of all
template files |
/home/username/php/toplist/inc |
location of all .inc
files |
/home/username/toplist |
where the main HTML
files will be generated |
- Next you need to edit the ar.php file in a text editor. Four
variables need to be set in this file.
$user = 'devel'; $pass
= 'devel'; $db = 'devel'; $host = 'localhost';
These
variables tell the software the name of the database you are using, the
username/password combination to access the database server, and the
hostname of the server where the database is located. In most cases, you
do not need to change the $host variable - if you do not know what to
use in this field, contact your server administrator for assistance.
The remaining variables are straightforward. $db is the name of
the mySQL database you will be using to store the data. If a database
has not yet been created, contact your server administrator to have them
create one for you. The $user variable is the username you use to login
to the mySQL server, and the $pass variable is the password you use to
login to the mySQL server.
Once you have made the changes, save
the file and continue with the next step.
- You now need to edit the .htaccess file from the admin directory of
the archive. This is the file that will enable the password protection
of the admin directory once it is on your server. A description of what
needs to be edited and how to do it can be found in the .htaccess file.
This file should be edited in a text editor.
- Now you are ready to begin uploading the files to your server. On
most servers it is not necessary to upload the files in ASCII mode,
however we recommend that you do so anyway.
Below is a table of
where each file should be uploaded, using the example directory
structure above:
/php/toplist accounts.php ar.php comments.php http.php image.php in.php init.php mysql.php out.php phpworks.php proxy.sql quick.php random.php rate.php search.php sort.php
Do not upload cleanup.php unless you are
removing the software from your server or have been instructed to by
the CGI Works tech support staff.
/php/toplist/admin .htaccess admin.php help.php setup.php
/php/toplist/data .htaccess def.html errors.php
/php/toplist/inc .htaccess All .inc files
/php/toplist/templates All .htmlt, .etmpl, and .phpt
files
- Next, you will need to set permissions on the directories and files
that AutoRank PHP will be using. If you are not sure how to set
permissions, consult the documentation for your FTP client and/or
contact your server administrator for more information. Below is a table
containing the permissions you will need to set on each directory or
file. If you do not see a file or directory listed,
you do not need to change the permissions on it.
File or Directory |
Permissions |
Directory
Containing the .php files |
711 |
inc
Directory |
711 |
templates
Directory |
711 |
data
Directory |
777 |
admin
Directory |
777 |
Directory
where HTML files will be written |
777 |
All .htmlt
& .etmpl Files |
666 | | These
are only the recommended file permissions, and may need to be
altered depending on your server configuration. Once you have all
permissions set, continue to the next step.
- You are now ready to begin the WWW based portion of the setup. In
your browser, type in the full URL to the init.php file on your server.
This will initialize the installation, and prepare the administrative
directory. Once you have run init.php, and received a message indicating
you may proceed, you can bring up setup.php in your browser. It is also
now safe to remove the init.php file from your server - it is no longer
needed. The default login info to access the password protected
administrative area is:
Username: admin Password: admin
You will then be presented with a page where you will fill in
variables and options for the software. After you have set all of the
variables, click the button near the bottom of the page. If everything
went well, you will be presented with a page telling you that the
variables have been recorded, and some self tests will be done by the
script. If all the tests pass, you are ready to go on. If any of them
fail, you will need to check file permissions and directory settings. If
you get any error messages after you press the button, you most likely
have either a permissions setting wrong or one of the variables in
arp.php is incorrectly set.
- You should now be ready to begin using the software. The first thing
you will want to do is point your browser to admin.php. Use the same
login information as is listed above.
Once inside the admin
script you can start exploring the features, but make sure that you
change the username/password combination soon after your initial
installation. This can be done by selecting the Change Admin Password
function from the first pull down menu. Make sure you use a password
that contains a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols so that it
is very difficult to guess.
In the administrative script, you
will find links to "help" near the bottom of each page. Clicking on that
help link will bring up a description of the function you are working
with.
- Help Prevent Software Piracy
If you have uploaded the AutoRank PHP zip (or tar or tar.gz)
file to your server, remove it now. Leaving it on your server provides a
chance for other users to steal it from your web space. Make sure you
never leave a copy of the software where other people can access it.
Never share your software with anyone. The license you purchased
is for your use only - you may not give the software to anyone under any
circumstances. If you are caught doing this, you will be charged with
software piracy and face fines up to $100,000.
Never share your
owners lounge username or password with anyone. Again, that is for your
use only. We will never ask for you to send your password to us, so if
you ever get an e-mail requesting it you should not send it.
Do
not upload the software documentation to your server or share it with
anyone. We keep the documentation in the owners lounge so only
legitimate customers can access it. This makes it much more difficult
for users of pirated software to figure out how to use it.
If
you ever find a site that is offering our software for download, please
contact us immediately so we can have the site shut down. Every time our
software is pirated instead of purchased, it means less money for us to
continue the development of that and future software.
After Installation is Complete
| | Once
you have completed the installation you will want to get your ranking page
setup and ready to accept new members. Here we will outline the steps you
will want to take immediately following the installation. You should also
begin reading the overview.html
documentation file so you can get an understanding of how the software
works.
- The first thing you will want to do is setup the HTML for each of
your ranking pages. This is done through the administrative script.
Complete details on setting up your HTML can be found in the HTML.html
documentation file.
- After HTML is setup for all of your ranking pages, you can use the
Rerank the List function. This is the first option available in the
first pull down menu of the administrative interface. Note that you
should always let the script create the html files. If they already
exist on the server, you should delete them before reranking the list
for the first time. Once you have successfully reranked the list, you
can view the output on the HTML files you selected to have the rankings
written to - there is a link on your administrative page to the main
ranking page.
- The next thing you will probably want to do is edit the templates
for the accounts.php, comments.php, and rate.php scripts. These can all
be edited by using the built in template editor in the administrative
interface. Complete descriptions of each of the templates can be found
on templates.html
which is available from the owners lounge.
Getting Tech Support For Your Software
| | Where
To Get Tech Support
If you need any assistance with this
software, you must use the resources in the CGI Works owners lounge. This
is the only way to contact the tech support department. Use the following
URL, and the login information you selected when you purchased the
software:
http://www.jmbsoft.com/owners/
Important Tech Support Notes:
If you edit the scripts in any way other than described above, you
will no longer be eligible for technical support. We absolutely cannot
provide support for edited copies of our software.
The only way we
provide support for our commercial scripts is through the owners lounge.
We do it this way to make sure we are providing support only to those who
have paid for the scripts and deserve it. If you post a message at the
Freeware Help Board it will be deleted - you must post on the Owners
Lounge board. Also, sending a plain e-mail to us will be ignored, you must
use the tech support request form in the Owners Lounge.
These
methods also help to ensure that we are not wasting our time providing
support for illegal copies of our software, and will result in faster
responses to legitimate owners questions.
Thank You, and enjoy
your new software! |