Installation instructions

In order to install vldPersonals you will need to know 4 pieces of information. If you do not know what they are, please contact your hosting provider and ask them.

• MySQL Database Name
• MySQL Server Address (often “localhost” or the server IP address)
• MySQL Username
• MySQL Password

Note: You will need to either create your database or have an existing database before running the vldPersonals installation. This can usually be done either using something such as phpMyAdmin or through your web hosting account control panel.

This is an optional step and increases security by keeping the control panel hidden from public access.

To perform this step: Rename the directory called “cp”. Choose a name that is not easily guessed.

Using an FTP program such as Filezilla, CuteFTP, etc. upload the vldPersonals files to your server.

Image files and font files should be uploaded in BINARY format. All other files should be uploaded in ASCII format (also known as “text” format).

Note: If you are hosted on a Windows server you will skip this step, but you should ensure that the files and directories are writable by vldPersonals. You may need to contact your Host or server admin for this.

If you are using a Unix server (or Unix variant, like Linux, OS X, FreeBSD, etc.) you must set the following files to 666:

• includes/config.php

You must set the following directories to 777:

• includes/cache/
• includes/templates/tmp/
• templates/webby2/tmp/
• media/uploads/

Point your browser to the vldPersonals Installation Wizard, located in your main vldPersonals root:

install.php

This file will perform changes that are required in order to update you to the new version of vldPersonals.

Important: Make sure you are accessing the file as you would a regular web page, using an address similar to http://www.your-site.com/install.php Do not access the file locally on your desktop computer.

When you are finished delete the install.php file from your server. Leaving them on the server is a security risk.

Your vldPersonals system is now installed and ready to accept new users. However, you may want to take some time to look over your Admin Panel and adjust vldPersonals's preferences to suit your needs.

If your server is running Apache and you have mod_rewrite installed, you can enable the search friendly URLs and short member URLs. This gives your users shorter, search engine friendly URLs. To enable these features, visit the “settings” page of your admin panel.

Assuming that you have installed vldPersonals in a root directory, these are some important URL examples:

Admin Panel: http://www.yourdomain.com/cp/ Front End: http://www.yourdomain.com/