• Perl 5.0
• LWP:Simple module
• SSI enabled server
• JavaScript enabled

1. Before FTP'ing, modify the location of Perl in each of the *.pl files to point to perl on your server.  This is the first line in each *.pl file. Usually this statement is in one of the following two formats.  The scripts are preset with the first format and our experience has found that this format should work on the vast majority of servers. (Please note: this is the only editing that any of the scripts will require. All other script variables will be customized via the rtinstall.pl script).

   • #!/usr/bin/perl

   • #!/usr/local/bin/perl

2. You may need to rename the *.pl files changing the file extensions from .pl to .cgi.  This depends on your server's requirements.  If you need to make this change, do it now.

3. Create a new folder in your cgi-bin folder. This will be the folder that will contain your RandText scripts. You could name it anything you want. After you have created this folder, set the folder's permissions to 755.

4. FTP all of the scripts from the "cgi-bin scripts" folder to the folder you created in step 3. Be sure to FTP all scripts and files in ASCII format.

5. Set the permission for the rtinstall.pl script to 755

6. Run rtinstall.pl from your browser.  The URL to execute it will be
   http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/cgi-bin/MYFOLDER/rtinstall.pl.  All you need to do is replace YOURDOMAIN with your domain name, and MYFOLDER with the name of the new folder you created in step 3 (above).

7. If everything works properly, you should be up and running in less than a minute.  

8. If you have been using a free (RandText Lite) version of RandText and have any existing *.dat files, you can now upload these files to the folder created in step 3. After you complete the installation of RandText Pro v5.0, you can convert the RandText Lite version files to RandText Pro format one at a time via the randadmin.pl script. When you edit an older file, the randadmin script will ask you if you want to convert the file to the RandText Pro file format, or if you would like to leave it in its current format.

9. If you were upgrading from an earlier version of RandText Pro (4.0 or earlier), you can now upload your *.dat files to the folder created in step 3. Any *.dat files created with a previous version of RandText Pro do not need conversion.
10. After you are satisfied with the installation, for security purposes, be sure to delete the rtinstall.pl script from your server. The rtinstall.pl script can be run as often as needed in order to correctly set up the paths to the folders and scripts.

Step 2: Html Editor (FCKeditor) Installation
In order to take advantage of the WYSIWYG editor, you must be using one of the compatible browsers listed below.

• IE 5.5+
• Firefox 1.5
• Safari 3+
• Opera 9.5+

Note for Opera: By default Opera is configured to not allow scripts to receive right click events. The context menu will not work because of this. To correct it, just enable this option in the Opera settings: Tools (Menu) > Preferences... > Advanced (Tab) > Content (Left List) > JavaScript Options... > Allow script to receive right clicks (must be checked).

If you are using one of the compatible browsers, you can install the html editor now. If you are not using a compatible browser, you can either skip this step or you can install it anyway. I would recommend installing FCKeditor, regardless. Who knows, it might work anyway. 

Installing FCKeditor requires the below three steps.

1. FTP the FCKeditor folder directly to the root area of your web site. If you're using CuteFTP or WS_FTP, all files and folder should be automatically uploaded in the correct format (Ascii or Binary). There is no need to "pre-create" a new folder in the root area, as the FTP process should automatically create the FCKeditor folder for you.
2. FTP the userfiles folder directly to the root area of your web site. Here again, there is no need to "pre-create" a new folder in the root area, as the FTP process should automatically create the userfiles folder for you.
3. Activate the editor by setting the editor's customization variable to ON. This can be done via the customization feature found in the admin script. (see Customization section below).
   

That's it. The editor is now installed.

Miscellaneous Info about FCKeditor folders:

• FCKeditor folder- contains the JavaScript and miscellaneous files that are needed to integrate a WYSIWYG html editor into RandText Pro
• userfiles folder - contains folders that will be needed to house uploaded images/flash for display in content files

The WYSIWYG editor will convert all standard <textarea>'s used in the admin script into a WYSIWYG format, thereby simplifying the process for creating dynamic html content. If you are not using a compatible browser, all <textarea>'s will display as a standard textarea.

Please note:
The html editor is not written by pointafter.com and is therefore not maintained by us. It is written by www.fckeditor.net and has been integrated into RandText Pro as a bonus feature without any warranties as to its performance. According to the FCKeditor website, Version 2.5.1 works with IE 5.5+, Firefox 1.5+, Safari 3+ and Opera 9.5+. If you're experiencing technical problems with the editor, we will try to assist as much as possible to get the editor to work for your installation, however, because the editor was not written by us, we are limited beyond suggesting configuration options.

Installation problems/issues

Problem:	Admin script (randadmin.pl) repeatedly keeps asking for your user id and password, even though you are certain that the user id and password are correct.
Solution:	This problem typically occurs immediately after you have completed running rtinstall.pl. The most common cause is that you are running a personal firewall (e.g., Norton Firewall). Please contact us if you experience this problem and we will provide you with a solution.

Our experience has shown that installation problems can vary. Checking your server's error logs can often provide valuable information in terms of determining causes. Our experience has show us that in some cases, tweaking file permissions will resolve many issues, but we've also found situations where required perl modules were not installed on servers.

If you are continuing to experience installation problems, please contact us and provide a detailed description of the problem you are experiencing.  We normally respond during the same business day, and always within 24 hours.

Or, if you prefer, we will gladly install RandText Pro on your server at NO extra charge.  Once again, just contact us and we will work with you to schedule your installation.

If you experience display problems or technical problems when using the WYSIWYG html editor (FCKeditor), please verify that your browser is included on the list of supported browsers for FCKeditor. If after upgrading you continue to experience display problems, please return to the Admin Center, select the Customize RandText option, and set the html editor variable to OFF. We will try to assist as much as possible to get the editor to work for your specific installation, however, because the editor was not written by us, we are somewhat limited beyond suggesting configuration options.

Customization
After you have RandText Pro up and running, you can customize some of the visual aspects, such as background colors, table border colors and table border sizes. 

This customization is controlled via the randadmin.pl script. At the bottom of the control panel is a radio button for customization.  Select this button and click submit.  The customization option will provide you with enough instructions and information to complete your customization.

By default, the customization variable for the html editor is set to OFF. If you installed the editor and would like to use it, you must activate the editor by setting this variable to ON. Otherwise, the admin script will display standard <textarea>'s.

RTHIST.PL Script

• Display Historical Content in a Dropdown Menu - This feature is a stand alone function of the RTHIST.PL script. RTHIST.PL will dynamically create a dropdown menu whose options are "click and go" links to previous content. When an option is clicked on, RTHIST.PL will display the selected record in a controlled popup window format. It can be used with the following five file types (all of which are created by the admin script) and will display text from previous days, weeks or months, depending on the file type.
  • Day of Week
  • Day of Month
  • Day of Year
  • Week of Year
  • Month of Year

The 'Day of Month' and 'Week of Year' menus will show month to date and year to date elements. E.g., If the menu being created is for a Day of Month file and you would like the menu to contain 10 elements, the menu will not contain 10 elements until the 11th day of the month. Prior to the 11th, the number of selection elements will be one less than the current day of month. On the first of each month, a message would be displayed to indicate that no historical data is available

The menus for the remaining file types will 'recycle' their data. E.g., the Day of Year menu will always contain the number of elements requested. In the case where you would like to display 10 menu elements and the date is January 5th, the menu would display selections for January 4th through December 26th.

How to call the script:
The call to this script must must be inserted twice in the html of your webpage, once in the <head> section, and once in the <body> section. It performs two functions:

1. When called with the type=head option, this script will create the javascript function that is needed in the <head> section of your webpage and controls the size, location and attributes of the popup window. This javascript defines the following new browser window parameters:

An example of the correct format for this SSI call is:

<!--#include virtual="/cgi-bin/myfolder/rthist.pl?type=head&width=xx&height=xx&scrollbars=xx&toolbar=xx"-->

Browser window parameters that are not defined in the SSI call will use their default values. Myfolder should be replaced with the name of the folder that contains the RandText Pro scripts.

2. When called with the type=menu option, this script will create the dynamic dropdown menu that contains the "click and go" links to prior content. This call must be placed in the <body> of the html page at the location where the dropdown menu should appear.

The following table defines the parameters that apply when type=menu is specified:

An example of the correct format for the SSI call is:

<!--#include virtual="/cgi-bin/myfolder/rthist.pl?type=menu&file=yourfile.dat&links=nn&font=xxx&size=n&color=xxx"-->

Parameters that are not defined in the SSI call will use their default values. Myfolder should be replaced with the name of the folder that contains the RandText Pro scripts.

* * *

For additional information about RandText Pro, please see our FAQ page.

Thank you for trying my product.  If I can be of any assistance to you regarding this script, its installation or its use, please don't hesitate to contact me.

George Prociuk
pointafter.com