Installation
Installing CMS from Scratch is usually a straightforward process.
The steps are:
Unzip the files to your local system
Download the zip file and unpack it to a handy directory. You don't need to change anything in the files. You'll upload them all just as they are.
Upload the files to the right place on your web server
Most people will use CMS from Scratch to manage a whole web site, so the files should be uploaded into the web root. If you upload the CMS into a subdirectory, it will only work for pages within that subdirectory, and once you have set up your license, it will not work if the CMS files are moved.
Fire up your preferred FTP client and take a look at the files on your web server. (WinSCP is a recommended free FTP client.)
On some servers, you will only be able to see directories in the browsable "web root folder", i.e. your Index page will be in the folder you first see when you go in via FTP, and you can't navigate any higher than that point.
If this is the case, this is where you should upload all the CMS from Scratch files.
If you can see several directories, one of which may be called "www" or "public_html" (i.e. the web root folder), then you need to go into that folder and upload the CMS from Scratch files there.
Once you've uploaded, check that you have the following in your web root folder:
- A directory called cache
- A directory called cms, with a number of files and directories within it
- 5 files starting with phpthumb..
- general.php
- cmsfns.php
- cmsdirname.php (if you need to change the name of the /cms/ folder, you need to edit this file and change the setting to the new name of the folder)
Troubleshooting
After I edit my settings and log out, I keep getting told to edit my settings
This is most likely caused by PHP not having write permissions for the folders it needs (i.e. the web root and /cms/ folders). If that is the case, you will also get a JavaScript error box if you try to create a new text include.
- If you are able to set folder permissions in your FTP software (often a right-click option on the folder itself), try setting permissions (may be called a CHMOD command) to 666 or 777.
- If this does not work, and you have access to a Control Panel for your domain, you may be able to edit folder permissions there.
- Alternatively, contact your web host and ask them to assign the appropriate permissions to PHP / Apache on the whole site.