Elxis Installation Guide

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This page explains in detail Elxis 2009.1 and later versions installation process. For elxis latest version please visit http://elxis-downloads.com
Before proceeding with elxis installation please read first about Elxis Requirements

Since you downloaded elxis latest version at your computer, unzip and upload all elxis files at your server using an FTP client. Your next step is to open your browser and visit www.yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com/somedir if you choosed to install elxis in a sub-directory at your server... and hit enter, elxis will automatically redirect you to the installer's page.
The installer has a multilingual interface and it will load the proper language depending on your system's settings, if you want to switch to an other language you can select the desired one at the upper right corner of the page where is a language selector.
Elxis installation process will be completed in eight(8) steps, once you have approached the installer you will be able to see the first step(ico.1), this is a pre-installation check.

Pre-installation check (step 1)

(ico.1) Elxis 2009.1 pre-installation check

At your first contact with elxis installer you will see a page like this one at the right(ico.1), the installer has already made a pre-installation check to your system settings and printed the results. Elxis pre-installer check results starting with PHP environment...

Results printed from the pre-installation check with red color are those you need to consider, they are even mandatory and must be fixed or recommendations that worth to take care of.

PHP version must be >= 5.0.0 for any elxis version later from 2008.1. If you see an Elxis warning regarding Timezone you should edit php.ini and set the proper timezone.
Zlib compression support is not mandatory unless you want to make use of it, zlib compression is not enabled by default, you can enabled it thought Global config after installation if your system supports it.
XML must be available at your system, elxis widely uses XML.
Configuration.php probably is unwritable by this moment, you can use your favorite ftp client to make it writable(777) in order elxis be able to update configuration.php contents for you and save time by not copying content and manually modify-upload configuration.php file at your elxis directory.

Supported databases

MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL, ODBC, Oracle, FireBird, Frontbase, Informix, DBX, Sesam, Z39.50, InterBase... are some of the bata-base types that elxis supports.
The installer will try to detect all available database-servers at your system and will print anyone founded with green color.
Here must not that elxis is well tested and optimized with MySQL database installations, although that probably won't have any problems with other types, consider the use of MySQL!

Recommended settings

At that point the installer performs a check at your system's php environment settings and print the results highlighted with red or green color in a list as shown below

Safe Mode: Off
Display Errors: Off
File Uploads: On Off
Magic Quotes GPC: On
Magic Quotes Runtime: Off
Register Globals: Off
Output Buffering: Off
Session auto start: Off
Allow URL fopen: Off
Short Open tag: Off

Elxis have been developed with security in mind, it makes no use of risky php configuration options, consider of those settings below to secure your system rather than elxis! We recommend you to disable these PHP functions in php.ini (if you don't use them): system, exec, passthru, shell_exec, suexec, dbmopen, popen, proc_open, disk_free_space, diskfreespace, set_time_limit, leak.

you can find a detail guide on how to configure you php enviroment in PHP settings documentation page

Directory and File Permissions

In order for Elxis to function properly it needs folders cache and tmpr to be writable. If they are not writeable please make them writeable.

Depending on the situation Elxis might need to write to other folders too. For instance during a module installation Elxis will need to upload files on folder "modules". If you see "Unwriteable" you can change the permissions on directory to allow Elxis to be able write to it or, for maximum security, you may leave it unwriteable and make it writeable just before you are going to use it.

administrator/backups/
administrator/components/
administrator/modules/
administrator/templates/admin/
administrator/templates/login/
administrator/language/
components/
images/
images/banners/
images/stories/
language/
mambots/
mambots/content/
mambots/search/
media/
modules/
templates/

If you enable FTP later, Elxis will be functional even if some of these folders are read-only.

Other Recommendations

Elxis cms is compatible with most end-user systems and server-softwares.
Beside this we want to mention that elxis team has use and test hundred of hours the following software with elxis cms and recommends it with out any hesitation: linux operating systems with Apache web server, MySQL data base. As for end-users firefox web browser and a screen of 1024x768 resolution or higher will guarantee the proper result.

Elxis license (step 2)

Elxis CMS is a Free Software released under the GNU/GPL license.
Please read at this step the license and check the check-box below it in order to proceed to the next step.

FTP access (step 3)

Elxis installer step 3

Elxis can open and use an FTP connection to handle files that are not writeable by the web server. This connection opens and closes automatically by Elxis whenever it needs it. It is important the FTP settings to be correct if you enable FTP access over files. On Elxis installation step 3 you set the FTP related options.

Temporary configuration file

Elxis installer uses a temporary file (tmpconfig.php) placed inside the installation folder to store your configuration settings during installation.

The contents of this file will be copied to Elxis global configuration file (configuration.php) after installation is complete. This file must be writeable in order for the installer to be able to write in it. You can alternatively enable FTP access. Elxis installer will be able to write in it even if it is not writeable. In the top of the Step 3 page you see the full path to this file and if it is writeable or not.

FTP Access

Exactly after the temporary configuration file informational area there are the FTP settings. If you are going to enable the FTP access (recommended) you must provide all the required information. If you don't know the values for them ask your hosting provider.

Elxis FTP access

FTP host: The host that will be used to connect to your FTP account. Can be something like this ftp.mydomain.com, your domain name (mydomain.com), an IP address (123.456.789.0), or something else.

FTP user: The username of your FTP account. For some control panels like CPanel it is the same as the username of your control panel account. Note that Elxis will try to detect automatically your username.

FTP pass: The password of your FTP account. For some control panels like CPanel it is the same as the password of your control panel account.

FTP port: Normally this is 21 except if your hosting provider uses an other port.

FTP path: This is the relative path from your FTP root to the directory where Elxis is located, without trailing slash (/). When you first login to your FTP account you see your FTP root directory (/). Your web site's files are usually in a folder named public_html or htdocs or httpdocs or www or web (this depends on the control panel and the operating system of your server). So, if you have uploaded Elxis on the WWW root folder then the FTP Path would be: /public_html or /htdocs or /httpdocs or /www or /web. If you have elxis is a sub-folder named "subdir" the the FTP path will be /public_html/subdir or /htdocs/subdir, etc. Note that Elxis will try to detect automatically the right FTP path.

Check FTP settings

To make sure FTP settings as correct click on the Check FTP settings link. Elxis will try to login to your FTP account and detect the Elxis installation. If everything is fine you will yet a SUCCESS message. If not, Elxis installer will notify you which is the problem. You can change the settings and re-try without pressing the "Next" button and without leaving this page. Elxis installer uses AJAX technology to verify your FTP settings and detect Elxis files.

Database (step 4)

At fourth step elxis installer will request from you to add informations about your data base server:

Host Name: as the installer's notice this will be in most cases "localhost", in case that you are not able to connect please ask your provider about database server's host name.
Database Type: MySQL is perhaps the most common and widely used data base server and well tested with elxis cms, in any case is preferable. using the drop down menu you are able to select other types, for more information you can visit the link next to drop down menu, it contains detail information about all supported databases.
Database Name: this is the name of the database, it must exist on your server, the installer won't create it for you.
Database Table Prefix: this is a prefix that will be assigned to each database table, e.g: elx_anytable, if you want to install multiply elxis installations on the same database you can change the prefix on each installation, if you do so you will avoid overwriting data among DB tables and installations. In any case is good to have a prefix for now or future use, use always the underscore [ _ ] character as last character in your prefix, eg.: myprefix_ .
Database UserName: this the user of the database, it must exist and have write privileges on the database
Database Password: password for database user, you will need to verify it by inserting it again into the text field bellow.

Always use strong and secure passwords, do not share them with any one, do not let browsers to store them, keep them secured!

Other Database options during DB creation

Drop Existing Tables: check this checkbox if you want to drop any existing DB tables, Note this action is NOT recoverable, any tables will permanently removed form this database!
Backup Old Tables: you can check this in order not to remove existing DB tables but to backup them, the installer will add to them an "old_" prefix,

If your database holds tables from previous elxis installations and want to keep them then you must a)change the prefix for the new installation or b) check both the checkbox "backup the old tables" and "remove old tables"... or else the installer will throw errors.

Site Settings (step 5)

In Elxis installation step 5 there are some important options for your site.

Elxis 2009.1 Installation - site settings

Site name. This will be displayed in the pages headers, in the e-mails you send, in welcome and notification messages, etc.
Site URL. The URL of your Elxis site home page. The Elxis installer will automatically detect this URL and propose it to you but you can edit it if you like. We recommend you to fill in the www prefix in this URL if it does not exist.
Site path. The absolute path to your Elxis site root directory. Normally this value is already set by the Elxis installer. Change it only if needed.

Offset

Elxis 2009.1 Installation - Offset

Offset is the time difference in hours between the server that hosts your site and your computer. If you wish to synchronize Elxis with your local time set the appropriate offset.

Elxis will automatically calculate and suggest you the proper offset.

Language

Elxis has a unique multilingual interface that allows you to have unlimited published languages for the front-end and one default language for each front-end and back-end. Users can switch between the published languages and see different versions of your site for each language. Although you can set up your languages later from within the Elxis administration we strongly recommend you to do it from the installation step as the Elxis installer will prepare for you a multilingual site structure that will save you time later.

Default Front-End language. This is your site's front-end default language. When someone first visits your site he/she will see your site in that language.
Default Back-End language. This is your site's back-end default language. When someone first visits your site's administration he/she will see your site in that language.
Published languages. This is a list of all available languages for your Elxis web site. To publish a language just click on the check box next to it. Elxis installer will highlight the selected languages.

Don't forget to set the default front-end language as published.

Static cache

Elxis 2009.1 Installation - Static cache

Static cache is a file caching system that stores the dynamically generated by Elxis HTML pages to a kind of memory. The cached pages can be recalled from the memory without the need to re-execute the PHP code or to re-query the database. Static cache caches whole pages instead of single HTML blocks. The usage of Static cache on heavy loaded web sites leads to noticeable speed improvement. You can enable static cache during Elxis installation or leave it for later.

Cache folder must be writeable by PHP in order to use static cache.

Search Engines Friendly URLs

Elxis 2009.1 Installation - Sef

If enabled (highly recommended) Elxis will generate Search Engines and Human friendly URLs instead of the standard ones. SEO PRO URLs will boost your site's ranking in search engines and pages will be much easier to remember by your site visitors. Additionally all PHP variables will be removed from the URLs making your site safer against hackers.

Since Elxis 2009.0 the enable of SEO PRO can be done automatically by the Elxis installer if all the following requirements are fulfilled.

Your web server is Apache.
Elxis is located in the web server's root folder (public_html, www, htdocs, web, etc) and not in a sub-folder.
There is no existing .htaccess file on Elxis root folder.
Elxis installer is able to rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess (if you have enable FTP you have much more chances to success).

Click the rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess link and Elxis will try to set the proper .htaccess file for you. If success then set the SEO PRO option to YES. If it fails set it to NO. You can enable SEO PRO later manually.

Layout and content (step 6)

Elxis 2009.1 Installation - Layout & Content

Elxis installation package contains four templates(themes) to choose for your site fronted, at this step you can select any of them. Later on you will be able to install any other template you want.

Elxis default sample data

At the bottom of the page, there is a drop down box which by default selects the option to install elxis default sample data.
It will install a fully factional site in your database that will help you to understand quickly and more easily the usage of elxis cms. If you are a new to elxis cms we strongly recommend you to install sample data.

Personal information (step 7)

Elxis 2009.1 installation - Personal Information

You are only a step away but you have first to fill in those fields your personal information.
All fields are required

Your Name: your namer as you want it to appear.
User name : for login to administrator area.
Password: choose a strong one.
Valid email address : must be valid for sending system messages.

Don't forget those informations, you will need them to log in your site's administrator.

Finish (step 8)

Elxis 2009.1 Installation step 8

If you achieved this step then you have done. Congratulations! Your site is ready to run!
You have only to delete the installation folder fron elxis root dir.
To delete the installation directory you have to click on link "Automaticaly delete installation folder", a popup window will raise up with a message about the results of this action, in some cases this link might fail to remove the installation folder, especially when you haven't enable elxis ftp access, if so you will be informed by the message in the popup, in such a case you have to remove the installation folder manually through ftp.

You have to remove the installation folder from elxis root directory or else the site will not be available until you remove it! Do not rename, just delete it!