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Set-up instructions, notes and Guides for both user and admin functions.
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Setup Instructions
Requirements
Getting Started
If you are going to use MSSQL databases then the first thing to do is to create them.
You will need two databases; one for the homepage and one for the newsletter..why separate ones you ask? I didn't want users to be automatically signed up for the newsletter but rather give them the choice. Suggested names: Homepage database = "hmpage" Newsletter database = "news" or "newsletter" Make sure you note the server name, database name (you can name it anything you like), login id, login password. You will need this info when you install the script. If you are not using your own servers and don't know how to do this then ask your web host for assistance If you are going to use MS Access as your database then you will not have to configure the database at this time. If you are going to put the script in another folder IE: "scripts/aspgateway" or if you are going to rename the folder IE: change folder name from "aspgateway" to "portal" then do so at this time. After you have created the database upload the script to your server. Installation
Once you have completed configuring the script as described above in "Getting Started" you can now install the script.
Open your favorite browser and navigate to install.asp?I=y in the main folder of the aspgateway...For example if you haven't changed the name of the folder and you put the script in your root folder then the address would look something like this: "http://www.yourdomain.com/aspgateway/install.asp?I=y" if you put it in another folder and/or changed the name of the folder then...you get the picture. The first thing you will see when you view install.asp is an intro page (gives you time to opt out of the install) Click on the Continue button. MSSQL If you choose MSSQL then you will be taken to the MSSQL setup page. Here you will be asked to supply the database info you noted when you created the database on your server (did you remember to note it?) MSSQL NOTE: Be sure you have created the database and that the information supplied is correct and complete (ALL fields are required) it also assumes that both the newsletter database and the homepage database are on the same server Click on the Continue button after you have supplied the required information. MS Access Configuring the script. After you have taken care of the above procedures, you will then be taken to the configuration page Here you will be ask to supply the path to the script and the name of the folder. The path to the script needs to be a physical path IE: "C:\path\to\aspgateway" note there is NO trailing backslash "\" If you put the script in another folder and/or if you have renamed the folder make sure that it is reflected here The name of the directory field is self explanatory, Make sure it begins and ends with a forward slash "/" and that you have included both folders if you put the script in another folder. Additionally, if you selected MS Access as your database then it will ask you for the paths here. Make sure it is a virtual path IE: has forward slashes "/" and make sure you start with a forward slash and include both folders if you put the script in another folder. Click on the "Install" button. If you have completed the steps above correctly you will you will be taken to a Success page. MSSQL NOTE: If you had problems and need to reinstall be sure to delete all the tables in both MSSQL databases on your server The Next Step
After you have successfully installed ASP Gateway you will end up at a Success page. From there click on "login" and login to Admin Control Panel using "admin" for both login name and password or click on "Readme" to visit this page again.
Please follow the instructions below in the order it is presented, if you don't and try to change your password or make other changes out of sequence, you WILL get error messages. Next on the left menu click on settings Once at the Settings page make the necessary changes. If you need help click on the ??? to the right of the field, make sure you have any pop-up blockers disabled or set to allow pop-ups for your site. Once you have made the changes to the Settings page, click on "Gallery" and create your site gallery. You MUST create this gallery, you can delete it after another USER gallery has been created. After this has been done you should change your login info by clicking on "Password" in the left menu. If you followed the instructions above correctly you should now be ready for your first sign-ups. Cleaning up
If you are satisfied with the installation then DELETE the "install" folder. If you don't someone will be able to access it and reinstall it messing everything up!
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Users Guide This Section will cover the basics of the Users area of ASP Gateway, I suggest you signup yourself and play with it so you can get a feel for it before people start signing up and asking a bunch of questions.
Center Area.
Right side Menus.
Options Menu Homepage
This is the focus of this application. From here you get all the homepage features; Weather,News...
My Account
This is the area where the user controls every aspect of their account.
Messages
Users can send Private Messages to each other. They can either type in the user name or they can select one or more users from the drop down menu.
Sending a Message To send a message click on "Send a Message", fill in the information requested. If the user has Internet Explorer they will have the ability to use an editor, otherwise the user will get a standard textarea box. Reading a message To read a message click on "Read Messages", all your messages will be displayed, with the newest being on top. Replying to a message If you are replying to a message and want to include and/or edit the quote click on "Quote" at the bottom of the message, the message will be included in the textarea box. If you want to reply without a quote but want the subject to remain the same, click on "Reply" and the subject will be included preceded by "RE:". To delete the message simply click on "Delete" at the bottom of the message. Forum
A link to the main Forum page.
Gallery
A link to the main Gallery page
Profiles
The "Profiles" Section is were you view others profile. Select a user from the dropdown box and click the "View Profile" button and their profile will appear.
When you view someone's profile you can send them a PM by clicking on the "Send 'username' a message" link and that will take you to the message center. If the user allows it you will be able to send the user an email as well. Search
In the Search area you can search for users by a number of different ways; First or Last name, Address, City, Country and so on...
Just select a search field from the dropdown menu and enter a search term in the input box. The search term can be any length, you can search for anyone matching a single letter IE: "a" or you can search any combo of letter IE: "STRE" all search terms can be any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. when you press the "Search" button you get a table with information about the user. If you click on the users name you will be taken to the "Profile" page with the users profile showing.
Here a user can send an email to one or more members that allow emails to be sent to them.
Just select the members you want to send to and press "Add" and the emails addresses will be added to the email box. Alternately you can type in the users address if you know it. then fill in the subject and message boxes and press "Send" |
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Admin Guide This Section will cover the basics of the Admin area of ASP Gateway. Make sure you have followed the procedure for installing and setting up ASP Gateway before you start doing other things in the admin area. Admin
The starting page for the Admin Control Panel is the "Admin" page. Here there are links to the different areas of the Admin Control panel with descriptions below each link.
Users
Administer different areas for the Users.
Features
This were you control the different features of ASP Gateway.
Settings
Here is where you set the Admin Preferences and settings
If you have any questions about any of the fields click on the ??? to the right of the field...make sure you have any pop-up blockers disabled. Styles
You can edit or delete existing styles here, you can also create new styles
Editing a Style Select the style you want to edit from the dropdown box A table will appear with the styles info in input boxes. You can change these to you liking. If you change the background or header images be sure you include "images/" before the name of the image The existing colors are displayed to the right of the field If you need help click on the ??? the right of the field...Remeber...pop-ups A box for copying and pasting is provided for you convenience. Deleting a Style Simply select the Style you want to delete and press "Delete" Create a New Style To create a new style click on the "Create a Style" link A table will appear much like the edit table You will notice a field called "Style Name". The style name cannot contain spaces or special characters If you name it the same as an existing style the existing file will be over written as if you were editing it. Config
You should not have to change anything here!
Just check to make sure the info is correct. Database **MS Access version only**
Compact and Repair the Database
You should do this often to save space and improve performance Password
Change your User Name and Password here
You can keep your Name and just change the password if you want. You are STRONGLY urged to change this info shortly after Installing this script! Remove Link
Start the process to remove the links at the bottom of the pages here.
**NOTE: You may change settings before you start the process, but while going through the process do not change any settings. A unique Key is generated using the Domain Name in your settings if you change the Domain Name before the key is installed it will not work! The key will only work for the Domain Name it was purchased for! |
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Gallery There is enough information about the Galley I thought it necessary to give it its own section Users
For Users to access their galleries they need to click on "My Account" in the left hand Options menu then "My Gallery", They will then be taken to a Gallery control panel.
From this page they can administer their galleries To edit certain galleries select a gallery from the appropriate dropdown box and click "Go". You will be taken to a page were you can edit the comment or designate it as Public or Private or rename it. If you decide to delete the gallery you will delete the folder and all the images in it. To upload to one of the users galleries, select a gallery from the appropriate dropdown box and click "Go". You will be taken to a page were you can upload to the gallery selected. This works the same way as all the other upload features ...click on the browse button and select an image from your hard drive and enter a comment then press "Upload". To create a new gallery for the User enter a name for the gallery and a comment and whether you want it to be public or private then press "Add" To edit images in a gallery click on the image for that gallery on the left hand side of the page. You will be shown all the images in that gallery. Click on the image you want to edit, you will be taken to a page were you can edit the comment of the image or delete the image. I use this feature to delete the placeholders (the empty images that are placed there on sign-up) that the users don't delete. Admin
This provides you with a list of all the Users and some stats for each one. This is where you can suspend users galleries.
If you suspend someone, they will still be able to access and edit their galleries, they just will not be displayed with the others until they are unsuspended. If you click on a users name you can edit the users gallery just as if you were the user. You cannot delete the user from the gallery with out deleting them from the whole application. An active member must have at least one gallery. The Users "Favorites" gallery is created on sign-up. To edit a users galleries click on the users name and you will be taken to a page that looks just like the users gallery homepage. To edit certain galleries select a gallery from the appropriate dropdown box and click "Go". You will betaken to a page were you can edit the comment or designate it as Public or Private. If you decide to delete the gallery you will delete the folder and all the images in it. To upload to one of the users galleries, select a gallery from the appropriate dropdown box and click "Go". You will be taken to a page were you can upload to the gallery selected. This works the same way as all the other upload features...click on the browse button and select an image from your hard drive and enter a comment then press "Upload". To create a new gallery for the User enter a name for the gallery and a comment and whether you want it to be public or private then press "Add" To edit images in a gallery click on the image for that gallery on the left hand side of the page. You will be shown all the images in that gallery. Click on the image you want to edit, you will be taken to a page were you can edit the comment of the image or delete the image. I use this feature to delete the placeholders (the empty images that are placed there on sign-up) that the users don't delete. General
The public can access the Gallery if you supply a link going to:
"aspgateway/gallery/index.asp" The public will be able to view all unsuspended galleries and be able to upload to any "Public" Gallery. As noted elsewhere; A member whose galleries have been suspended will still be able to make changes to their galleries giving them to fix the problem that got them suspended in the first place. |
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Notes Miscellaneous Infromation Rotating Quotes
The quotes at the top of the user pages rotate through a list of qoutes located in the "common" folder and is called "quotes.txt". The file comes with some quotes and others are added whenever a user first edits their profile and adds a "Favorite Quote"
If you open the file you will see that above each quote are two percent sign (%%). If you manualy insert quotes, the percent signs must be there above the quote. |
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