Most of our customers operate their web sites on 3rd party web hosting services such as rackspace.com, easy-cgi.com, seekdotnet.com, godaddy.com, and many others. Below is a list of some of the benefits of hosting your web site on a 3rd party server.
Often, it costs less to operate a web site on a large-scale web hosting service (as opposed to operating a dedicated, "in-house" server).
Such companies have well-trained staff to manage their server environment and you can be reasonably assured that your web site will operate reliably and suffer very little "down-time".
Having said that, advanced users who have a web server at their disposal may prefer to operate their web sites "in-house" to allow them greater control and immediate access to the full range of services and options that web servers offer.
Instructions
These instructions cover the following steps to help you configure and use 20/20 DataShed on web host running the Windows Server operating systems:
Extract/Unzip the 20/20 DataShed package to a suitable folder on your computer.
Upload the product's source files to your web site.
Configure the appropriate permission and security settings to ensure that 20/20 DataShed will operate properly.
Proceed to the "Setup" page of 20/20 DataShed - further instructions are provided during setup.
Step-by-Step
Extract the 20/20 DataShed zip file that you downloaded from www.2020applications.com into a folder on your computer. The contents of 20/20 DataShed will be extracted and you will see the "README_2020datashed.html" document and a folder called "2020datashed" Inside the "2020datashed" folder you will see the following subfolders and other files.
Note that in this example, we have extracted the zip package into a folder called "www.yourdomain.com".
Access your web site online using an FTP application such as CuteFTP, FTP Explorer, or Windows "Network Places" and navigate to the parent/"root" folder of your web site.
Next, choose one of the following two options:
If you wish for 20/20 DataShed's public pages to be available in the parent folder of your web site, then upload only the subfolders and files of the "2020datashed" folder to your web site. Doing this will put 20/20 DataShed's public pages directly into your parent folder and the URL to your listings will be:
http://www.your_website.com/listings.asp
If you wish for 20/20 DataShed's public pages to be segregated into a subfolder of your web site, then upload the "2020datashed" folder and its sufolders and files to your web site. Doing this will create a folder structure similar to the graphic above in step #1. (Note however that the "2020datashed" folder can be renamed as you please.) The URL to your listings will be:
You may skip this step if you want, however you should revisit this point if you encounter any errors. In order for 20/20 DataShed to function properly, the "2020datashed" folder and its' subfolders on your web site must have READ / WRITE / MODIFY / DELETE permissions. If the "2020datashed" folder does not have these permissions, they can be set in one of three ways:
By logging into your hosting control panel. Generally the permission settings can be altered within the "File Manager" area.
By contacting your hosting provider and asking them to set these permissions for you.
If you are a skilled MS FrontPage expert user, permissions can be set from within FrontPage.
Using your web browser, go to http://www.your_website.com/2020datashed/login.asp to begin setting up the software. You will see the "20/20 DataShed Setup Overview" screen.
Read the 20/20 DataShed Setup Overview page and click "Continue".
Read the "Server Environment" page, address any failures by searching through this documentation or following the steps provided on screen in your web browser. When all items pass, click "Continue".
Read the "Authentication" page. Enter a username, password, and email address that you wish to use for your administrative user account, then click "Continue".
Read the "Database Connectivity" page. If connection to the database file is successful, you will see:
Database connection was successful.
Read/Write/Modify/Delete test was successful.
If there is a problem connecting to the database, then you should:
Revisit "Step 3" to ensure that your web site has the proper permission settings.
And ensure that the information listed in the "Database Connectivity" form is accurate. (i.e. ensure that the script knows where your database is located).
You must successfully connect to the database before proceeding to the next step.
Read the "Email Services" page and:
Select the first SMTP component in the list
Enter the SMTP server name/address. Common examples of this include: 127.0.0.1, localhost, mail.yourdomain.com, smtp.yourdomain.com, or sometimes mail.yourhostingcompany.com or smtp.yourhostingcompany.com.
Enter your email address and click "Test".
If you are taken to a page that states that the email was sent successfully, then great! Click the link to proceed with the setup.
If the email test did not work, select the same SMTP component but use a different server name/address. If you continue to experience failures, try the second, third, fourth, etc. SMTP component in the list with varyious server names/adresses.
If you continue to experience errors, it's likely that your SMTP component requires a username and password. Contact your hosting provider for this information or have them help you through this step.
Read the "Basic Options" page. Select the options that best suit your use of 20/20 DataShed and click "Continue".
Read the "Select Model" page and preview the model that best fits your needs.
Note that the Main Categories and Sub Categories can be added to, deleted, or renamed at a later point. In addition to having the ability to edit the Category names, all field names can be altered as well! These options can all be changed later, so we recommend only that you choose the model which closely resembles your marketplace then click "Continue".
Read the "Preparing Database" page and then click "Continue".
Read the "Update Files and Login" page, print it as suggested, then click the "Setup" button. This process is now complete and you will be directed to the 20/20 DataShed login page so that you may login for the first time.
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