DCForum+ Version 1.0
© 1997-2002,
DCScripts
Release Date 10-30-2002
Installing and setting up DCForum+ consists of following steps:
In the following installation procedure, we assume that you have already downloaded DCForum+ zip file to a window-based PC and that you will be using an FTP program to install it on your web server.
If you downloaded DCForum+ zip file directly onto your web server, then copy the files to appropriate directories instead of uploading them.
NOTE: If you downloaded DCForum+ zip file onto a Linux-based Server/PC you will need to use the "-a" option when you use "unzip" command. That is, you must run
unzip -a dcforumpackage.zip
Failing to use -a switch will result in script errors. Run "man unzip" for more info.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT "chmod" FUNCTION IS OR DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CHANGE FILE AND DIRECTORY PERMISSIONS, PLEASE READ about_chmod.txt BEFORE YOU CONTINUE WITH THE INSTALLATION.
IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU USE ASCII MODE FOR UPLOADING SCRIPTS FILES (EXCEPT IMAGE FILES, USE BINARY MODE)
There are more than one way to setup DCForum+ system. The following setup what we recommend.
/htdocs directory (Your top HTML directory accessible by your domain URL)
|----/dc (This directory would be accessible via http://www.yourdomain.com/dc)
|--- index.html
|--- admin.html
|--- dcf.js
|--- dc.css
|---/admin_lib (directory)
|----index.html
|---/include (directory)
|----index.html
|---/lib (directory)
|----index.html
|---/templates (directory)
|----index.html
|---/temp_files (777 - directory)
|----index.html
|---/user_files (777 - directory)
|----index.html
|---/docs (directory)
|---/images (directory)
|----index.html (to hide the directory)
|---- gif files
|---/avatars (directory)
|--- gif and jpg files
Installation Steps
Change directory to your root html directory. By root html directory we mean the directory corresponding to your home site URL.
NOTE - Please note that you may also drag-and-drop "dc" directory from your local PC to the server's root directory so long as you setup your FTP program to automatically recognize .php, .inc, .html file extension as ASCII text files and .gif and .jpg as image files.
DCForum+ allows you to make a backup of your entire database using mysqldmp function. In order to perform this action, however, there are two thing things that you must consider.
NOTE: Creating a backup directory can wait until you finish your installation. You may elect to get the forum running before you revisit this issue.
1. In order for the browser to create a backup and save it to a location on your server, we need to create a backup directory so that the browser has the permission to write a flie in that directory. In a nutshell, this means that the backup directory must be set to 777 permission
2. A more important requirement for this backup directory is that the contents of this directory must not be accessible via the browser. Therefore, you must create this backup directory above your root HTML directory that your hosting company has setup for you. For example, they may have a directory named "data" or "cgi-out" where it is not accessible using the browser.
You may also place this backup directory below your cgi-bin directory if this directory is set to execute scripts only. If you are not sure, do a simple test. Place a simple html file in your cgi-bin directory and try to view this file. If setup correctly, you should get an internal server error. On the other hand, if you can view this html file, then you cannot create a backup directory in your cgi-bin directory.
Once you determine where where to create this backup directory, create the directory and set this directory to 777.
This file contains parameters that DCForum+ requires to run. You won't need to edit most of them. Just to get it started, you'll only need to define the following variables in dcsetup.php
Database paramters - Ask your ISP
what these values are
-------------------------------
DB_HOST
- Typically "localhost" since most MySQL servers are on the same
server as web server
DB_NAME -
database name
DB_USERNAME - database
username
DB_PASSWORD - database password
Forum parameters
--------------------------------
ROOT_URL - This is the URL
to /dc directory...for example, http://www.yourdomain.com/dc
BACKUP_DIR - Location where backup file will be saved. This can wait until your forum is installed.
Open dcsetup.php file in your text editor and define these variables. Once you're done, upload dcsetup.php to your /dc directory.
Start dcadmin.php by opening this page using your browser. The URL should be something like,
http://www.yourdomain.com/dc/dcadmin.php
The firsttime you run this program, it will ask you to read the DCForum+ End-User Licensing Agreement. Click ok to continue with installation.
Follow the instruction as provided until you have registered and login page appears. Proceed with login and this will bring you to the main page of the forum. Look for the "admin" menu icon. Clicking on this icon will bring up the administrator's program.
If you get any errors during above steps, please go back and check to make sure that all path variables and permissions are set correctly. Also, check and make sure that you didn't use BINARY mode when you transfer the files. If you're still stuck, use our support forum at
http://www.dcscripts.com/dc/dcboard.phpOr email us at support@dcscripts.com.
If you did not receive any errors thus far, then you are all set with DCForum+ installation. Now, go ahead and login as the administrator. You should not have access to the forum administration utilities. Please refer to the administrator user's guide for post-installation setup and configuration.
© 1997-2002 DCScripts.com - All rights reserved
DCScripts is a DC
Business Solutions company