Quote:
Did that fix your problem or were you still unable to complete the installation?

Part V: troubleshooting

If the following the steps in parts I - IV did not yield a working database for your XOOPS installation, then you'll most likely need some hand-holding. You can get this online (even here in this forum), but you will need to be very explicit and forthcoming about your setup. Take screenshots of every step that you take (or copy every command you issue) and present them with the results.

An easier way to troubleshoot is to find a knowledgable friend who is willing to help you out for a few hours. If you can convince someone to do this, try to make it convenient for them by meeting them where they want (if possible). If your site is hosted, this shouldn't be a problem, since all one needs is an Internet connection (e.g., a local library in your friend's area). If you can afford it, make absolutely sure that you at least feed that person (as a thank you for the courtesy) either at the time, or afterwards (dinner) or both.

I hope this helps.

Part IV: setting up XOOPS

This process is mainly described by the XOOPS documentation and is further simplified by the XOOPS installation wizard, so I won't go into too much detail here. Please consult those places for additional information.

1. Start with a fresh install. Download XOOPS and unpack it. Move the xoops2/html directory to somewhere in your web server's tree. For example if your web server has its root directory in /var/www/html then you can either replace the entire contents of /var/www/html with the contents of xoops2/html or you can move xoop2/html to be a subdirectory of /var/www/html. If you do the latter:

mv xoops2/html /var/www/html/xoops

Then your XOOPS installation will be available via:

http://yourhost.yourdomain.dom/xoops/

If you did the former:

mkdir /var/www/html/bak
mv /var/www/html/* /var/www/html/bak
mv xoops2/html/* /var/www/html

Then your XOOPS installation would be available via:

http://yourhost.yourdomain.dom/

Either way (it doesn't matter to me), just point your browser there. If you get a blank screen, then make sure you're starting with a fresh install. If it still doesn't work, check your web server error logs and do a search on this site to see if someone else has figured out what your problem is already. After doing a search and trying to fix the problem on your own, if you're still stuck, make a new post to the appropriate forum and someone will most likely be able to help you. When you do this, please include all relevent information (which web server, specific error messages, log output, anything you can think of that might shed light on your problem).

2. Assuming you were presented with the installation wizard, follow the instructions until you get to the page entitled:

General configuration

Fill in all of the information here according to what you created in parts I & II:

Database select MySQL
Database Hostname whatever your MySQL hostname is
Database Username xoops
Database Password whatever password you entered in part II, step 3
Database Name xoops

If you do not know what your DB hostname is then ask your system administrator, or look at the main screen when you first log into phpMyAdmin. You'll see a line that says something like:

MySQL X.XX.XX running on HOSTNAME as USER@HOSTNAME

You will most likely be able to copy and paste HOSTNAME from this line directly into the Database Hostname field of the XOOPS installation. If this doesn't work, ask your system administrator.

3. Finish the installation. If all went well, you should be up and running. If you still have a problem connecting to your database, double-check your work in parts I - III. If this fails, contact your system administrator.

Part III: assigning permissions

1. Log phpMyAdmin. You should be presented with a list of operations under the heading MySQL. If you're not, follow the Home link (in the upper left corner). You should see something like this:

MySQL
Create new database [Documentation]
+--------------+
|______________| Create

Show MySQL runtime information [Documentation]
Show MySQL system variables [Documentation]
Show processes [Documentation]
Reload MySQL [Documentation]
Users [Documentation]
Databases statistics
Change password
Log out (*)

If you do not see this, then ask your system administrator how to get to this page. Better yet, ask your system administrator to create the DB for you.

2. Provided you're looking at this page, follow the Users link. You should be presented with a list of existing users (including the one you created during part II).

3. To the left of the xoops user, there should be three links. Click on Grants. If you followed the steps in part II exactly, you should be taken to a screen called Host % - User xoops which contains a form to set privileges. If you received and error or if you do not see this screen, contact your system administrator to help you.

4. In the form, select "Database (*) :" and select the xoops database that you created from part I from the drop-down. Select "Any table" and "Any Column". In the "Privileges :" section, make sure only the following are checked:

Select Insert
Update Delete
Create Drop
Index Alter

When this is done, click the "Go" button. You should see a screen that says:

You have added a new privilege..
Remember reload the server.

Note: if you did not reload MySQL in part II, then this step will not work.

5. Go back to the main screen (follow the Home link in the upper left corner), and click on the Reload MySQL link. You should see a message that says:

MySQL reloaded.

If you got this far, congratulations, you've now assigned the permissions to the user. Now you can set up XOOPS (see part IV: setting up XOOPS).

By the way, everything I have outlined here so far is in the MySQL documentation available online.

Part II: creating the user

1. Log phpMyAdmin. You should be presented with a list of operations under the heading MySQL. If you're not, follow the Home link (in the upper left corner). You should see something like this:

MySQL
Create new database [Documentation]
+--------------+
|______________| Create

Show MySQL runtime information [Documentation]
Show MySQL system variables [Documentation]
Show processes [Documentation]
Reload MySQL [Documentation]
Users [Documentation]
Databases statistics
Change password
Log out (*)

If you do not see this, then ask your system administrator how to get to this page. Better yet, ask your system administrator to create the DB for you.

2. Provided you're looking at this page, follow the Users link. You should be presented with a list of existing users as well as a form at the bottom to create a new user.

3. In the new user form, make sure "Any host" is selected (you can change this later, but for now we want to make sure you can connect). Make sure "User name :" is selected and enter in "xoops" as the user name. Make sure "Password :" is selected and enter in and confirm your password (it can be anything, just make sure it's reasonably hard to guess and make sure you remember it for later). In the "Privileges :" section, make sure all the privileges are unchecked (click on Uncheck All). And finally, click the Go button.

If there was an error, contact your system administrator. You should see a screen that says:

You have added a new user.
Remember reload the server.

4. Go back to the main screen (follow the Home link in the upper left corner), and click on the Reload MySQL link. You should see a message that says:

MySQL reloaded.

If you got this far, congratulations, you've now created a user. However, you still need to assign the appropriate permissions (see part III: assigning permissions).

Part I: creating the database

1. Log phpMyAdmin. You should be presented with a list of operations under the heading MySQL. If you're not, follow the Home link (in the upper left corner). You should see something like this:

MySQL
Create new database [Documentation]
+--------------+
|______________| Create

Show MySQL runtime information [Documentation]
Show MySQL system variables [Documentation]
Show processes [Documentation]
Reload MySQL [Documentation]
Users [Documentation]
Databases statistics
Change password
Log out (*)

If you do not see this, then ask your system administrator how to get to this page. Better yet, ask your system administrator to create the DB for you.

2. Provided you're looking at this page, you'll want to create a new database. Enter "xoops" into the text field next and click the Create button.

3. The database should now be created and you should be presented with a screen that looks something like:

Database XOOPS running on ********
Database XOOPS has been created.

_| Structure |__| SQL |__| Export |__| Search |__| Drop |_

No tables found in database.
...

If you received and error instead, or if you do not see this screen, contact your system administrator to help you.

Provided everything went well, congratulations, you've now created a database. However, you will not be able to access it until you create a user and permissions (see Part II: creating the user).

You'll definitely want to take some time to read the MySQL documentation either that came with your installation or here. This might help as well.

Basically, you've got to do the following:

1. Install MySQL
2. Create a database user that XOOPS will use
3. Give access to log in to the database user
4. Create a database instance that XOOPS will use
5. Give access to the database instance to the database user

I think that just about covers everything, but I'm not sure. Good luck!

Quote:
An alternative is to create blocks which are only viewable on the user page. Check out this thread or this patch to see what I mean.

For an alternative, check out this thread. It suggests building the links right into the theme. This may be less flexible, but it will be a lot easier for you.

Quote:
AFAIK, you can write a very simple module to do this, but it's kind of (read as "very much") a hack. Here's an example which creates a like to The EFF (where you should immediately go and donate if you haven't done so recently). This example also creates a sub menu with a "donate" link (however, you should be careful with sub menus, because some themes won't display them unless you're actually in that module, which will never happen here). Create the following files:



I think that should work. It's a total hack though. Are there any other easier ways that anyone else out there knows of?