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Installing Ikonboard
Welcome to Ikonboard v2.1.8 Important note:: If you are upgrading, please use the 'upgrade.html' file! Please take a few moments to read through this documentation, even if you have experience in setting up perl scripts. Many problems reported on the support forums are caused by bad installations. We've tried to make things as easy as possible to set up - so if all goes well, you'll be logging in to your administration center in 10 minutes! What do I need? You'll need some webspace (about 20megs) that has perl 5.005 enabled. If you are unsure, please contact your web host. You'll need a web browser (IE4.5+, or NN4.5+) and an FTP client to upload the files. You'll also need your path to perl, it's usually '#!/usr/bin/perl', if you are unsure ask your web host. Step 1:: Setting up the 'cgi' directories In your 'CGI-BIN' directory create a directory called 'ikonboard' and create the following directories. cgi-bin/ikonboard/data cgi-bin/ikonboard/help cgi-bin/ikonboard/members cgi-bin/ikonboard/messages Set the CHMOD (or Permissions) value to '0777' (drwxrwxrwx). If your webhost will not allow this, set the CHMOD value to '0755' (-rwxr-xr-x). If you do not have a 'CGI-BIN' directory, then first create a directory called 'cgi-bin' and then inside that create the 'ikonboard' directory. Step 2:: Setting up the 'non cgi' directories In the 'public' part of your web space (usually the directory is called 'public', 'public_html', 'www' .etc) Create another directory called 'ikonboard' and in that new directory, create the following directories. /ikonboard/emoticons/ /ikonboard/avatars/ /ikonboard/images/ Step 3:: Uploading the files to your webspace Using your FTP client, upload the files as follows. 'Non-cgi directories' If you open up the folder from the Ikonboard zip file called 'non-cgi', you'll see three folders inside of that called 'avatars', 'emoticons' and 'images'. All of these files must be uploaded in BINARY (Graphic) mode in your FTP client. Upload these files into the corresponding directories you created in the 'non cgi' part of your webspace. Upload the contents of images folder into 'ikonboard/images' for example. Repeat this with the 'avatars' and 'emoticons folders, uploading them into the directory with the same name on your webspace. CGI directories All of these files must be uploaded in ASCII mode, with CHMOD permissions set to '0755' (-rwxr-xr-x). Local means the Ikonboard zip file you downloaded and unzipped. Upload the contents of the local 'data' folder into the 'cgi-bin/ikonboard/data/' directory you created on your webspace. Repeat this with the local 'help' folder, uploading it to the directory you created on your webspace. Finally upload the *.cgi files that are left (admincenter.cgi, announcements.cgi etc) into the 'cgi-bin/ikonboard/' directory. Step 4:: Time to run the Ikonboard Installer To make things as easy as possible, we've created an installer that'll help you get your board configured correctly. Please take the time to read the instructions as you configure your board. If you get any error messages please go back and double check all the information you provided. Your web host will be able to answer all the questions for you. 4(a):: Starting the installer Using your web browser, go to your installer by entering the following address. 'www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/install.cgi' (Substitute 'www.yourdomain.com' with your URL). Take a few moments to read through the information. 4(b):: Using the installer Please enter the information that is requested. Please ensure that you enter the details in the correct format. Once you have entered the information for the first screen, hit 'submit'. You'll be then told of any errors you made while entering that information. If everything is correct, please click on 'Step 3'. If you get a 'cannot find boardinfo.cgi' message, please go back to step one and check the CHMOD permission on the data directory. It needs to be sufficient to let the scripts write into it. If the permissions are set correctly and it still returns an error, double check the paths you entered. 4(b):: Creating an administrator This section will let you set yourself as the board administrator. Please enter a username and password. Make sure you don't use any non-ascii characters such as '*', '?', '|', ';', '"', etc If you are happy that the information is correct, click on the submit button. You should then be able to log into your administration center. Step 5:: Time to set up your board The administration center is the 'Nerve Center' of you new Ikonboard. This is where you can create, edit and delete categories and forums, edit, ban and review your members. You can also change any of the information that you entered using the installer, edit the board's styles (colors) and edit the board template the suit your website. Click on 'forum control'. It's time to set up a Category and Forum. A Category is a group of forums, usually they are linked by a common theme. For example, if your website was about 'Food', you may have a Category and Forum set up like: - Fruit (Category Name) --- Choosing the right fruit (Forum name) --- Cooking with fruit (Forum Name) - Meat (Category Name) --- How to prepare meat (Forum Name) --- Where to find the best meat (Forum Name) Once you are inside 'Forum Control' you'll see the following options: 'Reorder Current Categories' and 'Add New Category and Forum'. Click on 'Add New Category and Forum'. You'll then be presented with a form titled 'New Category and Forum set-up'. Enter the Category name, our example used 'Fruit' as the name for the first category. Then, enter the Forum name, our example used 'Choosing the right fruit' as the first forum name. Enter a short description to summarise what the forum is about. Our example may use 'Tips on how to find the right fruit' Enter the names of the Forum Moderator(s). A moderator will be able to 'moderate' the forum. They will be able to lock, unlock, delete and move topics as well as deleting messages. If you don't want a moderator for now, then simply leave it blank. Set up the rest of the options. If you wish to make the Forum 'private' then switch it to 'yes'. You'll need (via the admin center) to give permission to each member you want to allow access to in the private forum. You can only do this once the private forum has been set up. Once you are happy that all the information is correct, simply click on the 'Submit' button. The next page will tell you if this action was successful or not. Please read this carefully. If you get a message saying 'Forum1 not created'. Then hit the back button of your browser. Then using your FTP client create a directory called 'forum1' in 'cgi-bin/ikonboard'. The scripts should create this for you, but in some cases it cannot due to the permissions set by your web host. Go back to your web-browser and re-submit the information. Step 6:: You're done! Clicking on the 'Go to your board' will take you to your new Ikonboard. Have a click around and try posting some test messages. You can always delete them later. If you need some more help on how to use the features of Ikonboard, click on the 'help' link in the top menu bar. To access the Moderation Features 'help' you'll need to enter your Username and Password at the bottom of the help window. ::Help and support:: If you need any help, then please visit our support forums Please help us by including as much information as you can, like which script caused the error, what version you are using - what action caused the error and where ever possible, a link to your Ikonboard. Please do not email us, we get a lot of email and do not have the time to reply. You'll get a far faster answer from our support board. We currently have over 1,300 members who can try to help. Thanks for supporting Ikonboard! --Matt, Ikonboard Author. |