Install

Installing GrandCMS

This guide will walk you through how to successfully install and uninstall GrandCMS.

Downloading and unzipping GrandCMS archive

The latest version of GrandCMS (v.0.2.0.1.1) can be downloaded from the GrabdCMS website (recommended) or from SourceForge. The download page also offers access to previous versions of GrandCMS. In the Downloads table, locate v0.2.0.1.1 and press the “Download” button . This will download the compressed archive of that version of GrandCMS in a zip file. For GrandCMS version 0.2.0.1.1, a file named “grandcms_v0.2.0.1.1.zip" will be downloaded.

If you don't have a program on your computer that can extract files from a zip file, 7-zip can be downloaded for free. Unzipping the zip file will uncompress the GrandCMS archive so the files can be accessed by a web server.

When opening the zip file, the following files will be visible:

"upload" folder
"install.txt" file
"license.txt" file
"README.txt" file

The "upload" folder contains all the files needed to upload GrandCMS to a web server. The "install.txt" file contains detailed instructions about install process. The "license.txt" file contains the license agreement regarding the use of GrandCMS on your site. The "README.txt" file provides links to the GrandCMS website. When you are ready, you can extract the files from the zip file to a location of your choice on your computer.

Uploading GrandCMS

At this step you should have a web server established and the GrandCMS archive extracted. We will now use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client to upload these uncompressed files to a web server.

Installing and configuring the FTP client

We recommend using WinSCP as your FTP client. WinSCP is a free FTP client that will transfer the GrandCMS files to any web server specified. The WinSCP can be downloaded from http://winscp.net/eng/index.php and installed onto a computer.

When you first open WinSCP you should see this:

You may need the .htaccess file later so you have to see the hidden files too. Select: Tools -> Preferences -> Panels -> Show hidden files

Before we continue, we need to make sure that you have the following information about your website:

the host name
protocol (FTP mostly)
port number (The default FTP protocol is 21)
username
password

This information can be obtained by contacting your hosting provider.

Fill in the information gathered above regarding hosting information.

Now you can save this connection with the "Save" button.

Press “Login” button.

Your computer's file directory will be on the left side and the file directory of your website will be on the right side.

Uploading files

If you haven't already located the GrandCMS upload folder on the left side, you need to do so now and keep it open. In the Remote Site directory (right side), you need to open the folder that the GrandCMS site will be located in. The location of site varies based on whether the you want the site to be seen on the main page, a sub-folder, a subdomain, etc. If you want to make GrandCMS the main page, you would need to upload files to the root folder of their website.

Be aware that some hosting services require public files to be upload to a public directory, such as public_html, if they are to be visible on the website. You should check with your hosting provider to see where you can upload public files.

Once the location of the GrandCMS site has been determined, all the content within the “upload” folder on the computer's (left) side of WinSCP must be selected, and uploaded. Uploading all the files might take a few minutes on the FTP client.

If you want the site to be on the main page, for example www.hugesite.com, you must upload the contents of the “upload” folder, but not the “upload” folder itself. Including the “upload” folder will create a sub-folder, making the site available only on www.hugesite.com/upload.

After WinSCP finishes uploading the files to the location specified, you should see the same files on both the left side(computer) and on the right side (the website), as seen in the screenshot below:

The WinSCP window should look similar to the above image (minus some directory details). This means that the GrandCMS files were successfully transferred the target site.

Rename config-dist.php to config.php and admin/config-dist.php to admin/config.php

The site now contains the files necessary to setup a GrandCMS site.

Creating a database for the site

The next step is to create a database on the MySQL server for GrandCMS to store a site's data on. You should log into the site’s control panel and locate MySQL Databases. Using MySQL Databases, you can create a new database by entering a database name and a username/password to access this database. The user that was just created needs to be added to the database, along with enabling all of the necessary permissions. We will use this database information later when we are configuring GrandCMS using the auto-installer.

Launch the auto-installer

With a new database freshly created, we are now ready to install GrandCMS directly onto a website. You should open up a web browser and enter in the web address of where they uploaded GrandCMS. If the "install" folder in "upload" was uploaded correctly, you should be automatically greeted by the following page:

This page is the installation page. The following steps will help you complete the installation process for GrandCMS.

Step 1. License

You may read through the license, and press “Continue”.

Step 2. Pre-Installation

This step checks to see if the web server has the technical requirements and correct permissions to setup GrandCMS properly. If red marks are visible on #1 or #2, you need to make sure that these components are properly installed onto the web server. You should contact your hosting service if there are any issues with this. If there are red marks on #3 or #4, there might have been an issue with uploading the files using the FTP client. If everything is configured correctly and green marks are visible (as seen below), you may press "Continue".

Step 3. Configuration

You need to fill in the spaces below #1 by adding the database connection details (database driver, host name, username/password, database name, prefix) established when you created the site's database using MySQL Databases. Under #2, you should create a new username and password for administration access to the GrandCMS site. When finished, you may press "Continue".

Step 4. Finished

Now that installation is complete, the "install" folder is no longer required. You should delete the “install” folder in the Remote Site section of WinSCP for security reasons. You now have the option to browse the frontend of your site or choose to log into the administration side.

After the install, you should make the necessary steps towards improving the security of your server and GrandCMS site directory. These steps are detailed in Basic security practices.

Installing vQmod

vQmod for OpenCart lets you add modules to your site without modifying the core GrandCMS code. See vQmod for more information on how to download and install vQmod for your site.

Updating GrandCMS

GrandCMS releases new versions from time to time with updated features and bug fixes. To learn how to update a site from an earlier version of GrandCMS, visit Updating GrandCMS.

Uninstalling GrandCMS

Uninstalling GrandCMS is a quick and simple process.

Delete the files/folders in the location you uploaded them to in WinSCP.
Delete the GrandCMS database from MySQL Databases or phpMyAdmin.

Once GrandCMS is uninstalled, all information and users will be lost. You can save a backup database file in case you want to reinstall GrandCMS at a later time. See Backup/Restore for more information.

Support

If there are any issues regarding your sitee's installation or update, please visit the Installation, Upgrade, & Config Support section of the GrandCMS community forum.

‹ › ×