Documentation Wiki

Installing PostNuke

Once you have the requirements outlined below you are ready to install PostNuke… almost.

First create a MySQL database for PostNuke to use, and note down the user and password. In many hosting environments, this can be done through CPanel. If you intend to use an existing database, which is already being utilized for another purpose, then it is suggested you back up the database before proceeding.

If your hosting environment does not include CPanel∞, then you may need to use a database administration tool to create your database, or another tool provided by your host. For this, we recommend phpMyAdmin, available from www.phpmyadmin.net. Please read the documentation included with the package for information on creating a database.

It is useful if all installations of PostNuke have access to phpMyAdmin, as this tool is often used for support purposes, and it saves time if users already have it installed. You can also learn much about the PostNuke structure through browsing the database, and comparing it to the code.

When you have your database name, username and password to hand, you can continue with the installation. First, you need to download PostNuke from www.postnuke.com if you have not done so already. Next, upload all the files in the html directory of the distribution to your web server. For commonly asked questions about the install and uploading process, please see the installation section of the knowledgebase at http://community.postnuke.com∞.

PostNuke is simple to install once these details are sorted, to begin the install script, type the URL of the install.php file into your web browser. If you installed PostNuke to your root folder, the install file will be located at www.yoursite.com/install.php.

From here, you can select the default language for your PostNuke site, the English language files are included with the distribution, and more language files can be downloaded from the pnLanguages Project∞. When you have selected your language, click next.

Please read through the license agreement. PostNuke is open source, but there are still a number of conditions that must be obeyed when using the software.

Following the license agreement, a CHMOD (or permissions) check is run on some files and directories. In order to install correctly, PostNuke must be able to write to certain files during the installation, and for the more advanced features certain directories must also be writable. If the conditions are not met, a warning is displayed and you should follow the process below.

To set CHMOD settings, you can use an FTP client (there are other ways, but only FTP clients will be covered here. An online search can bring up more information on the matter). In general, although this varies from client to client, you can right click on the file or directory you want and set the permissions through an interface. PostNuke requires CHMOD 666 to config.php, config-old.php and CHMOD 777 to the pnTemp directory to install correctly.

Once you have passed the CHMOD, information about the database you created is required. The database host, database name, username, password, database type (i.e MySQL, PostgreSQL or similar) and table type is needed. The table prefix setting allows you to specify a prefix for each table in the database – meaning that PostNuke database tables will not conflict if you wish to have more installation than one in the same database. For most installs this can simply be left as ‘pn’, though if you plan to install PostNuke multiple times you should change the prefix.

Once the details are filled in, click ‘new install’, you will be asked to verify the details you provided to the installer.

Having verified the details, and clicked continue, the install will now run. If you experience any errors at this point, please check out the knowledgebase at http://community.postnuke.com∞ - the Installation and Upgrades Section. Most installation errors have been covered there.

You are now asked to define the type of installation you wish to use. The two types available by default are 'basic' and 'full'. Basic will only install modules vital for PostNuke to function, whereas the full install will install every module found on the system, meaning that you could upload a set of modules into the 'modules' directory to install at this stage.

The penultimate screen contains information for you to set your administrator account login. This is the user account you will use to log in to your PostNuke site and being making changes. Although it is possible to change the information you provide after setting it up here, it is best to ensure the information is correct from the start. There is no confirmation screen here. Finally, the credits screen. Please review the credits, as it is the people listed here that have helped make PostNuke a reality. Underneath this is the link to your PostNuke site.

It is vital you remember to delete your install directory and install.php file as these items may be used to gain the details of your database if not deleted.

That’s it, you’re done! Feel free to look around your PostNuke site, and experiment with the options available.

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