Table of Contents
I. Installing VBPro
1. Introduction
2. Pre-install decisions
3. Editing the files
(a) cgi files
(b) config files
4. Uploading the files
5. Setting permissions
6. Testing the setup
II. Creating and Maintaining Books
1. Using the Master Admin program
2. Creating a new book
(a) using a template
(b) using custom options
3. Modifying a book
(a) book options
(b) field options
(c) html and templates
(d) banning options
4. Deleting a book
III. The User Admin Program
1. Controlling user access
2. Overview of user abilities
If all went well in the last five chapters, then your VBPro setup should be ready for prime time. The first way to test this is to log in to the masteradmin CGI.
First, locate the masterlogin.html file. If you haven't already done so, modify the HTML form in this file to point to the masteradmin.cgi script on your server. Then, upload the form to your server and log in with the user id "admin" and default password "admin". If all goes well, you will be presented with the main admin screen.
However, this first test will probably not fail. We're not saying that our programs or documentation lead you in to building a flawed setup; rather, from our experience in distributing and supporting CGIs over many many years, we have seen that typically new users have trouble setting up programs for the first time. Additionally, you could have configured the programs with invalid information about your server. Follow this troubleshooting checklist when things don't work.
- Are you getting a server error (something like "Internal Server Error") or a VBPro error (the error page begins with "VBPro: Error")? If it is a VBPro error, then you know the CGI executes and your setup (permissions or configuration file) is flawed somewhere. If, however, you get a server error, continue following the checklist to pinpoint the problem.
- Check your web server's error log. Can you glean any useful information for the error message? Can you ask your system admin what it might mean?
- Did you use the correct path to perl in the scripts?
- Did you upload the files in ASCII mode? Try viewing a script in your FTP ot telnet program. Does it look okay? Do you see strange characters or is the file all on one line? If so, you need to re-upload the file in text mode and in such a manner that your FTP program will translate it correctly. Experiment.
- Rethink your permissions. Try setting every file and folder related to VBPro to 777. See if it works, then set the permissions back (because leaving files accessible like this is not a good idea from a security standpoint). If doing this worked, then play around with the permissions until you find the setup works. Ask your ISP for help if you have resolved it to be a permissions problem.
- Check the file name. Do the scripts end with .pl or rather do they end with .cgi? Though either should work, your server may be finnecky or configured to only support one in a particular directory.
- Check all user-configured options. Are you sure they are correct? Would your system admin be of help to verify?
If all else fails, you can send us an e-mail describing your problem. Please try to tell us as much as you know about the problem. The most important advice is not to get too frustrated about your setup problem; often we find CGIs not working for very simple reasons, much to the frustration and annoyance of webmasters. Be patient, because once it works, you are going to have the coolest guestbook system on the block!