Installation details

Please read these instructions carefully and proceed step by step.

The package consists of a set of php-scripts and some supplementary material. The idea is to install the package as a template for your course. The installation script sets up all necessary files and directories in your course folder within your web space Any other courses correspond to other copies in other folders.

You have downloaded the package electure-vx.xx.tgz into some folder of your choice.

Untar and unzip: Enter that folder and unzip and untar it:
- For installations, where tar supports the z-option:
```
tar xzf electure-vx.xx.tgz
```
- For other installations:
```
mv electure-vx.xx.tgz electure-vx.xx.tar.gz
gunzip electure-vx.xx.tar.gz
tar xf electure-vx.xx.tar
```
This creates a folder entitled electure-vx.xx which contains a README file and a folder entitled SampleCourse.
Rename: Enter now the folder electure-vx.xx and move (rename) the folder SampleCourse to your web space. If your web home is $HOME/public_html and your course should be accessed under the URL
```
http://your.webserver.address/~yourid/MyCourse/
```
then you should type
```
mv SampleCourse $HOME/public_html/MyCourse
chmod -R a+rX $HOME/public_html/MyCourse
```
(Replace the course name MyCourse by the name you want to use.) This creates the online course directory, e.g. $HOME/public_html/MyCourse and opens it for access by the webserver. Some folders (like the installation folder) may later be "closed to the public".
general_vars.inc.php: You now enter the course home subfolder inc
```
cd $HOME/public_html/MyCourse/inc
```
and edit the file general_vars.inc.php containing general variables (like title, paths etc.) of your course. (Maybe you want to save a copy of the original file.)

This step should be done carefully, take your time and read the commented information in the file. The file should be edited in a normal text editor. You can specify details like
- The name of your course, the lecturer's e-mail address and the location of various folders.
- The lines with Meta Tags to be included or not in the header-part of the running course. This allows you to exclude robots or to include the "favicon" feature (the small icon in the URL-line of the user's webbrowser).
- Data base details; you may switch off the data base. In this case there is no restriction to access the course. However, this disables many of the salient features (like user login, forum, filedepot and other user activities).
- Information on the userspace area 'filedepot', limits on allowed maximum filespace and individual file sizes.
- Normally the title images and various button are built during the installation process (see below). This needs GD-library support compiled into the php-module. And then there is still the chance that the installation supports either TrueTypeFonts (ttf) or Postscript Type 1 Fonts (pfb, "t1lib"). The requested version of the font is defined in the file modules/makeimages/localinc/makeimages.inc.php (relative to the course's home) . During the setup you will get a message, what font type is possible. If it disagrees with the default value, please change the mentioned file accordingly. Then you may proceed (if you chose the correct one).
- If you have no GD-library support at all in your php-module you may switch off that image-generation feature. Buttons and title images will look not as nice in that case.
- Title field: title, subtitle, colors
- Sizes and colors for fonts and title background may be customized in the file modules/makeimages/localic/makeimages.inc.php (cf. the FAQs for more details).
- Course menu entries and specific links (keep, change, add or remove them according to your wishes)
- Specification, whether you want to activate the search feature (which lets your students search for a word or string in the course material) and the location of a search program.
- Details like name of the course's data base (please use only characters for its name!), lecturer userid/password for data base access
- You may specify, whether the login feature should be disabled and whether the users should be allowed to add public notes
The file contains information on the necessary changes. Absolutely necessary changes are indicated by the comment line "MANDATORY CHANGE:"

You find more information in "FAQs" under menu point "installation".
Check the configuration and start the installation process: Call the the page install.html in the folder install, i.e. open in your web browser the URL
```
http://your.webserver.address/~yourid/MyCourse/install/install.html
```
The internal consistency of the variables of your course and the availability of used executables is checked and the necessary files are created during this setup process. You are informed about possible problems.

Database-installation: In a standard installation you will want to use an SQL data base for the course. For this the SQL-Administrator (often the SysAdmin) has to create the data base and add you as an SQL-user. The necessary script for this will be provided during the installation process and you can forward this to the SQL-Admin. When this is done, you proceed with the installation process in the browser.

During the installation you are asked to execute (from your account on the webserver) two scripts (setup-open.sh and setup-close.sh) in order to allow the webserver to create some files in your course's home (like the userspace/Filedepot or some image files). You will be informed when this is necessary and for this you should have login-access to your filespace on the webserver.

After the installation

Once the setup has been completed and the database has been installed, the lecturer (course administrator) may find further information (changing the setup, user administration, exercise administration, lecture notes etc.) under the URL

http://your.webserver.address/~yourid/MyCourse/admin/

The access to these pages is restricted to the lecturer. The access id and password was defined in the file inc/general_vars.inc.php as discussed above. You need this password in order to access the admin area. As a first step you should (possibly create a group and) give yourself a user identity for logging in as a standard user. This can be done by choosing the entry "Administrate users" and then "Add a user to the course's database".

Important: There is a hierarchy of userid/passwords

Only the SQL-Admin knows the userid/passwd for setting up another data base in the MySQL system.
In the file inc/general_vars.inc.php you have defined your lecturer's userid/passwd for access to the course database. This allows you (and indirectly, via the php-scripts to a limited amount also the course users) to access data in the course's data base. This userid/passwd may be changed only when also changing the corresponding MySQL-entries.
The course's administration area (http://your.webserver.address/~yourid/MyCourse/admin/) and parts of the installation script are restricted to the course's administrator (the lecturer) for various tasks like installing course users, adding exercises etc. Access to this area is via another userid/passwd combination has been defined in the file inc/general_vars.inc.php. You may freely change this userid/passwd at any time.
Finally, unless you have disabled the login feature, all standards users of the course (the students and you, when testing the course as a student) need to have a userid/passwd for login to the course. This userid/passwd has to be defined by you with help of the "administrate users" feature in the admin area and may be modified any time.

Now you are ready access the course in your web browser with the URL

http://your.webserver.address/~yourid/MyCourse/

Try to login with the userid/passwd combination you have defined for the lecturer ("working as a standard user").

A sample course has been provided to allow a quick and easy check of the main features. You will be instructed to activate the exercises and to create the tables for the search function. You may also use the sample as a starting point for you own content.

In the login menu there is also an application form for new users. Whoever wants to join the list of users may fill up this application form. The information then is mailed to the course administrator's e-mail address as given in the file general_vars_inc.php. That e-mail message contains a shortcut-link, which allows the course administrator the almost-automatic installation of the new user. The users themselves may change their password and e-mail address at any time with help of the course's login menu.

Further hints

Once the setup process has been completed, it is generally a good idea to remove the general access and read admission for the installation folder MyCourse/install by executing e.g.

cd MyCourse
chmod -R og-rX install

(where MyCourse denotes your course home). Remember, however, to open the access again ( chmod -R og+rX install), whenever you want to repeat the setup, rebuild the images or perform the various installation checks from that folder!

In case any prerequisites (like php-support or MySQL) are missing at your webserver installation please consult again the download-page for further information and links and the page FAQs.

Your course's contents files will end up in the folder

http://your.webserver.address/~yourid/MyCourse/contents/

After the initial installation there are already some sample files in this folder. When adding your own material you may remove most of them. However, some of these files are addressed by menu items (filenames defined in inc/general_vars.inc.php) and you may remove them only if you have removed these menu items in the setup. Some files are mandatory by -scripts, although you may change their names defined in inc/general_vars.inc.php. These are the files

contents/motd.html
contents/newlogin.html

You should adapt their content to your needs.

More information can be found in the HowTo-documentation.