Rocky,
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you on this. You were right. I
was uploading the scripts in binary! I started using Dreamweaver and found
out that if I didn't define the file extensions in one of my configuration
files, they would default to binary during the upload, instead of staying
ASCII. I never realized that this could happen. THANK YOU for the help!
I've been racking my brain for a long time on this (see subject again).
Now, I've gone back to lots of scripts that didn't work before and am able
to get them running flawlessly. I'm a happy camper now!!!!
I can not express how happy I am with the service that I've received from
YOA. If you ever would like any kind of reference or testimonial, I would
be pleased to comment on your superior service. "Above and beyond" would
be
an understatement! Also, I want to thank you for the calendar script. It
was just what I was looking for!
barry@hometownlinx.com
Installing VBPro: Using the Master Admin program
VisitorBook Pro was designed from the ground up as a guestbook system that could easily be
modified and controlled through the web. One of VBPro's most powerful programs, the Master
Admin program allows you to create, maintain, and delete any number of guestbooks in your
guestbook system.
In later chapters in this section, we delve into the specifics of how different modes of
the program work. For now, let's just get accquainted with the basic functionality of the
program as a whole.
The Master Admin program (and the VBPro system in general) is written with the assumption
that in the installed guestbook system, there will be one "master admin" who
controls the maintainence of the guestbook system and oversees adding news books and
related tasks. This master admin is assumed to be a trusted person who is familiar with
and has access to your web site and server information.
Most likely, you are the master administrator. Alternatively, the master admin could be a
few trusted people (yourself included) to whom you have given access information for the
master admin program. In any case, it should be hard to figure out who we are refering to
when we talk about the master admin.
In order to do any sort of editing or administrative functions built in to the master
admin program, the master admin must first login. The VBPro distribution comes with a file
called "masterlogin.html". This file in turn has a form for logging in to the
CGI. Be sure to edit this form to point to the correct CGI on your server.
You probably uploaded this HTML login form to some place on your web site. Find it, and
view the login page in your favorite web browser. By default, VisitorBook Pro is written
with a standard master admin user ID of "admin" and a corresponding password as
"admin". (Remember: after you log in for the first time, the first thing you
should do is change this password to something less obvious and more secure. Otherwise,
anyone guessing or reading the VBPro documentation could gain access to your system with
very little effort.
After you login for the first time, you will see a few different modes on the master admin
main page. They are described below:
New VisitorBook
This mode is used for adding a new guestbook to the VBPro system. New guestbooks can be
created online based on any pre-defined layout or with custom HTML and options. Creating a
new VisitorBook can last anywhere from two to twenty minutes, depending on desired
complexity.
Delete a VisitorBook
This mode is fairly obvious; it is used for erasing a VisitorBook, including all posts and
related from-submitted data.
Edit a VisitorBook
This powerful mode can be used to access, display, and modify any preferences set for any
book in the current guestbook system.
Change Master Password
Click on this mode for a very simple password-changing screen.
For more detailed descriptions of how these modes operate, continue by selecting the
desired chapter at left.
Installing VBPro: Creating a new book
Creating a new guestbook with the master admin program is typically very quick and
painless. Depending on your needs, you can set up a book from scratch or use a pre-defined
layout. We will cover both methods on this page. Regardless of which method you choose,
some basic information is required that both methods use. So, we will describe the setup
process up until the point where you choose what method you'd like, and then we'll
describe what to do for each method.
First, begin by pressing the button marked "New VisitorBook". This will bring
you to the first page of the setup process. You are asked to fill in a few required
fields:
After you figure out these fields, click next to continue the setup process. The next page
details setup of the live directory.You must create a live directory on your web site
where all web files will be stored. This is where the guestbook will actually be located
on your site. Specifically, the default thank you page and actual guestbook page will be
created in this directory.
You must choose a name for the live directory, and a location for it. For example, if you
wanted to store your guestbook files in www.mysite.xyz/html/guestbook, you would set the
Live Directory Path to html and Live Directory Name to guestbook.
Also, note that only the actual Live Directory will be created. For example, if you set
the path to html/pages/morestuff, all of those directories must first exist. In other
words, the system will not make any other directories to accomodate your path.
The value for Entry File is the name of the file (that will be created by the system)
which will print guestbook entries.
Creating a new book: using a template
VisitorBook Pro's built-in templates let you quickly build a new guestbook based on one of
a variety of HTML layouts and styles. This method should work well for most situations;
unless you have a specific idea of exactly what fields you want and other such options,
you should be able to find a suitable template with which to base your new book.
The important thing to understand about templates is that they merely exist in the setup
program; if you make a new book using the "Standard Guestbook" template, you can
always change any setup information at a later date. Think of templates as a way to
transparently fill in default values for book options, field information, and HTML layout.
Most users choose to create a new book based on a template, and customize it later as
their needs see fit.
If you re going to create your book based on a template, select the template from the
pop-up mennu and click "Use Template". Command-O Software includes a few sampler
templates that should be enough to get you started; you can create additional templates on
your own or check visitorbook.com for updated
template downloads.
The next page you will see is the last page of the book setup. It gives you a chance to
review and modify any setup parameters you wish. Once you have made any changes you
desire, click on the "Create Book" button and your new book will be created.
Creating a new book: using custom options
VisitorBook Pro's master admin program has the powerful ability to create an entirely new
guestbook through your web browser. You can specify every parameter of the book, define
any number of fields, and set all relevant options online so your new book is ready-to-go
once you create it!
Though this method is powerful, it is more time consuming than setting up a book with a
template. Review this method prior to cerating a book with it; you will need to prepare
some HTML ahead of time to paste into a form input, for example.
Click on the "Custom Book Setup Assistant" button. You see a form where you can
add fields. You can create a new field of your own by typing in the expected form input
and a title, or you can use one of several built in fields. Specifically:
Below the form section, you will see a section of all fields currently in the new
guestbook. Click on the number next to the field to remove the field.
You can play around on this screen all you want, adding and deleting fields at will.
Remember, your changes are not saved until you click the submit button near the bottom of
the page, labeled "Continue Custom Setup".
Next, you will be asked to fill out a few template fields. Follow the directions on the
page to get a better understanding of how these work and what they do. You may wish to
write this part of the setup ahead of time so you can just paste your HTML in; if you
spend too long on this page, you might get logged off. Also, it is a good idea to keep a
copy of your HTML on your local hard drive (rather than simply typing your book's HTML
into the form input) in case you encounter problems later when creating the book. In this
manner, you will have a backup offline.
Alternatively, you could leave these fields blank for now and edit the actual data in the
useradmin or masteradmin programs later when you actually want to use the new book.
When you finish with this page, the next page will present you with a handful of options
that you can set on the new book. These are pretty much the same value that you can set
and modify later with the admin programs.
Finally, when you are ready, click "Continue Custom Setup" on this page and you
will arrive at the summary page. If all information looks to be in order, click
"Create Book". If, however, you see any changes that need to be made, you must
usse your browser's back button to return to the appropriate setup stage.
Installing VBPro: Modifying a book
Modifying a book allows you to instantly change any options or informaton about the
guestbook through your web browser. You can change the maximum number of posts, register
bad words, or instantly change the way the entire book looks, all through either of the
admin programs.
For this example, we will use the master admin program. The user admin program functions
exactly the same as the edit book mode of the master admin program, except that the user
admin program will only let the user modify that user's book.
To modify a book, first log in to the master admin program and press the "Edit a
VisitorBook" button. The next screen that will appear asks you to select a book to
edit. Since you can modify any book you wish, you must select which book specifically you
want to edit. You can only edit one book at a time.
The next screen that appears is the main book editing screen. You are presented with a few
different panels of controls, each with different functions.
Creating and Maintaining Books: Deleting a book
Deleting a book is simple, but you should know a few things about how it works before you
try to delte a book. The process removes the book's datafiles from the system, but it does
not remove the actual HTML. So, the book's directory in your vbfiles folder will be
removed, but the guestbook html, form, and any toher related HTML files will not be
erased. If you want to get rid of these too, you should do that manually in your FTP or
telnet program.
When you are ready to delete a book, click on the "Delete a VisitorBook" button
on the main admin control screen. The next page that appears will prompt you for which
book to delete. Select the book from this pop-up menu and click "Select Book".
Before VBPro erases the files, you will be asked to confim the operation. To do this, you
must type the word "yes" in the text box and then click "Delete". The
book's datafiles will be permanently erased and you will be returned to the main screen.
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