Installation and Configuration Guide

Version 4.01

(3) Tech Free Version

© 1996-2003 Internet Software Sciences

July, 2003

 

Installation and Configuration Steps Overview

 

Welcome to the Web+Center Installation and Configuration guide.  This document contains the information necessary to install and configure the Web+Center web-based customer support  Help Desk and contact management application.  This document only contains initial installation and configuration information.  Please refer to the Web+Center User Guide for complete information on how to use Web+Center functions. 

 

Installation Support is provided by:

·         Web-based FAQ, Help Desk Knowledgebase at http://www.inet-sciences.com/support/

·         Emails at support@inet-sciences.com

·         Phone based support at (650) 949-0942 (9 AM -5 PM PST  Pacific Standard Time)

 

Important Upgrade Information:

If you are upgrading from a previous 2.X or 3.X version, be sure to BACKUP your database AND your entire existing site files before attempting to install the new version.   Web+Center Version 4.X installs into a new directory structure that should not impact your existing configurations. 2.X , or 3.X configurations. For complete UPGRADE instruction, please refer to Appendix C and Appendix D of this installation and configuration guide.

 

What is new in version 4.01?

Version 4.01 is database compatible with version 4.0, but it offers a new 4th application called Pocket+Center, in addition to the 3 other Web+Center suite of modules including Tech+Center, Customer+Center, and Business+Center.  Also, some minor enhancements and fixes have been made to some ASP modules in the other applications for the 4.01 release.

 

What is Web+Center?

 

Web+Center is a suite of three web-based applications consisting of Customer+Center, a customer self help web application, Tech+Center, a Tech Staff Help Desk web application and Business+Center, a web Customer Relationship Management CRM application.  The application is entirely a web-based application where the software is installed on one machine (typically Windows 2000 Server) and then clients access the application through any web browser (IE or Netscape or others) over the network just like any website.

 

Requirements to Run Web+Center

 

Operating Systems

Web+Center will run on most Microsoft Operating Systems. To run Web+Center, one must have installed and have running the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) or Personal Web Server (PWS) on the server machine.  Listed below is a table of compatible operating systems.

 

Compatible Operating Systems

 Windows NT Workstation

Windows NT Server

Windows 2000 Professional

Windows 2000 Server

Windows XP Professional

 

Databases

Web+Center supports two back-end databases, MS Access and SQL*Server 7/SQL 2000.  For Access installations, one DOES NOT have to install Access on the server.  All of the necessary Access database drivers come installed with Windows operating systems.  SQL*Server users must separately purchase SQL*Server product to run this configuration.

Required Experience

Web+Center is a easy to install and easy to run web application but we recommend that anyone installing Web+Center should have some knowledge of web servers, and databases and managing a web application or web site such as creating a virtual directory and setting file permissions.  It can be easily installed in 30 minutes or less.

 

There are 9 basic steps to installing the Web+Center application including:

 

Step 1 – Install Web Server - MS Internet Information Server (IIS)

Step 2 -Install Database Application (Access or SQL*Server)

Step 3 – Download and Run the Web+Center Installation Program.

Step 4 - Installing the Web+Center database

Step 5 -  Configuring the ODBC Database Connection for Access /SQL

Step 6 - Setting up Web+Center’s Web Server Virtual Directories

Step 7  -  Install Software Artisans SMTP ASP mail utility

Step 8  -  Set File Security Permissions for Web+Center Application

Step 9  - Verify Web+Center Operation and Set SMTP Host address

 

It is important that the steps are performed in the sequence listed. 

 

This document contains instructions for Windows 2000 configurations and for both SQL*Server/SQL 2000 and Access versions of the database.  Web+Center can be installed on NT/XP operating systems as well following the same components (IIS, Access or SQL*Server).

 

 

Hardware and Software recommendations

 

Web+Center is a web-based client/server support system.  Web+Center is the software that is installed on a PC running  Microsoft web server software (Internet Information Server or IIS).  Internet Software Sciences does not provide any client software since each client user must install and use their own web browser. (Netscape 2.0 or above and/or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or newer is compatible)

 

To help maintain high availability and reliability, it is recommended that “production” uses of Web+Center reside on a machine that is dedicated as a web server where the proper backup, server maintenance, full time connectivity, and reliable power issues are handled.   For evaluation purposes, Web+Center can be installed on any desktop machine equipped with the necessary software.

 

Web+Center can be configured to run on several Microsoft operating system platforms including Windows 2000 Server and Professional, Windows NT Server and Workstation, and Windows XP.  Due to Microsoft web server (10) connection limitations on platforms other than Windows NT server or Windows 2000 Server, we recommend installing Web+Center’s software on a machine with the Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server operating system when possible.

 

Any Web+Center machine should have sufficient memory (128 MB) and disk capacity (1-4 GB minimum) to support the web server application, although the application can be installed on machines with fewer resources.  The Web+Center application itself only requires around 7MB for the initial installation.


Web Administrator Advanced Installation Notes

 

Available in Appendix B is a set of Advanced Installation Notes that can be used for web administrators and persons very knowledgeable about Windows NT, 2000, XP, IIS web server, databases and ODBC configurations.    If you are familiar with setting up virtual web directories and configuring ODBC configurations, please jump directly to Appendix B and by-pass the detailed instructions below.

 

Step 1 – Install Web Server - MS Internet Information Server (IIS)

 

Internet Information Services 5.0 is not installed on Windows 2000 by default. You can install IIS or select additional components by using the Add/Remove Programs application in Control Panel.

To install Internet Information Services

Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel and start the Add/Remove Programs application.

Select Add/Remove Windows Components and then follow the on-screen instructions to install, remove, or add components to IIS.  This will also install an application called Personal Web Manager, which is a simpler interface to the same Internet Information Server.

 

Step 2 -Install Database Application (Access or SQL*Server)

 

Web+Center is a web-based database driven application and requires a “backend” database to run all the database record creation and SQL queries.  Web+Center can use either an Access compatible database or a SQL*Server 7/SQL 2000 database.

 

Access Configurations

Access configuration is easiest to install and lowest cost database configuration.  MS Access or Access 200 IS NOT even required to be installed on the Web+Center server machine as long as the Microsoft Access ODBC database drivers have been properly installed with the operating system which they typically are by default.  

 

If you want to review the Web+Center database tables or install the Access ODBC drivers with the Access installation, install Microsoft Access 97 or later.  If your installation asks whether to install ODBC drivers, select YES to install them. 

 

The Web+Center database comes in Access 97 format to be compatible with older NT based Access drivers but the Web+Center database is also compatible with Access 2000 drivers as well.  If you wish to view or change the database with Access 2000, it will ask if you wish to convert the database. The database can be converted but it should be converted back to Access97 format by selecting a menu option in Access under Tools…. Database Utilities…. Convert Database… Convert to Previous Version.

 

SQL*Server 7/SQL 2000 Configurations

 

SQL*Server/SQL 2000 must be purchased separately from Microsoft.  We recommend SQL 7/SQL 2000 for Web+Center installations with more than 20 techs instead of Access although Access has proven to work for support groups with over 30 techs.

 

If you are running Web+Center with SQL*Server/SQL 2000 then install SQL*Server version 7.0/SQL 2000 on your machine.

 

All of the Microsoft software should now be installed and operational.  Please verify that the database and web server appear to be properly installed.


Step 3 – Download and Run the Web+Center Installation Program.

 

·         Download the Web+Center self-extracting executable installation program from the Internet Software Sciences Web site into a local directory on your machine. The Web+Center installation program can be downloaded from the Internet Software Sciences web site at:

 

http://www.inet-sciences.com/evaluations.html

 

The file that should be downloaded is called webcenter40.exe.

 

·         Once installation executable is downloaded to a local directory, run the application by selecting Start -> Run -> Browse and select the executable file where you just downloaded.

 

·         Note: If you have purchased a licensed version you will be sent a special license key with instructions on how to install the license key.  This key can be installed after a normal FREE (3) tech installation is completed with no change to your current configuration.

 

·         Note: Do not install this product under the wwwroot directory.  Installing this application under the wwwroot will cause some special restrictive directory permissions that make the default Access database un-updateable unless the directory permissions are changed.

 

Complete all of the installation steps.  The Web+Center installation program only creates directories and places files into those directories.  Web+Center will not run until the remaining configuration steps listed below are completed.

 

Step 4 - Installing the Web+Center database

 

The Web+Center can be configured to work with Access or SQL*Server 7/SQL 2000.  To use the Access database version, you will be using the “seed” database which is an Access database file called webcenter40.mdb.  This file comes configured with initial tech accounts and some default settings.

 

The SQL*Server version can be configured running the (2) SQL scripts to create the Web+Center tables and load default data into the database.  The Access Database file and SQL Server database create scripts are all located in the \database directory of your webcenter40 directory tree.

 

Access Version – No additional installation steps are required for the Access database.

 

SQL*Server Version - Please follow the following steps below to create a Web+Center 40 SQL*Server database.

Step 4.1 – Launch the SQL Server Enterprise manager from the SQL*Server program list

 

Step 4.2  - Select the Action…. New Database menu option

 

Step 4.3 - In the Database Properties window, enter WebCenter40 into the name text box.

 

Step 4.4 - Click the Ok button to create this initial blank database.

 

Step 4.5 - Select the Tools… SQL Server Query Analyzer menu option and connect to your SQL*Server

 

Step 4.6 - Select the File … Open Menu option and navigate to the Webcenter40\database directory and select the Createwebcenter40.sql SQL script.

 

Step 4.7 IMPORTANT:  Select the database you want to run this query against. In the DB: drop down list on the right hand side of the Query analyzer tool bar, select the WebCenter40 database.

 

Step 4.8 – Press the green arrow (Query…Execute Menu Option) to build all of the tables and database settings.

 

Step 4.9 - Now that you have created the tables, create the Web+Center default tech user accounts and initial configurations by Selecting the File … Open Menu option and navigate to the \Web+Center 4.0\database directory and select the LoadWC40Defaults.sql SQL script.

 

Step 4.10 IMPORTANT:  Verify that the database selected is still pointing to the Webcenter40 database in the DB: drop down list.

 

Step 4.11- Execute this script by pressing the green arrow (Query…Execute Menu option) to build all of the tables and database settings.

 

Step 4.12 – You must create a user account for the webcenter database.  The software is initially configured with user account with a LoginName of  “wc30” and a password of “wc30pass”.

 

NOTE:  Wondering why login name of “wc30” and not “wc40”?  This is to maintain compatibility with existing Web+Center 3.5 installations and their SQL*Server users.

 

To add this user account for your webcenter40 database,  return to the SQL Server Enterprise Manager and expand the tree that displays Databases, Data Transformation Services, Management, and Security.

 

Expand the Security Folder to show the Logins icon.

 

Click on the Logins Icon.

 

Right Mouse click in the right hand window and select the New Login option.

 

In the Name text box, enter “wc30”.

 

For Authentication area, select the SQL Server Authentication radio button and enter the password of:

“wc30pass”

 

Enter the password again to confirm the password

 

Next select the Database Access Tab of this window.  Check the Permit checkbox next to the webcenter40 database and select all of the roles for the wc30 user.

 

Next select the Server Roles Tab and check the System Administrator option.

 

Press the OK button to save this user profile.

 

Step 4.13 - If you do not want to use login of “wc30” and password of “wc30pass”, you must edit the following 4 ASCII files with  your login and password for your database.  Edit the file css_access.dat, which is installed into the \web+center 4.0 \techcenter\ directory.  Secondly, edit the Global.asa files in the \customercenter, \techcenter and \businesscenter directories that exist under the Web+Center 4.0 directory tree.  Restart the server after performing these changes to allow the web applications to parse the new information at startup.

 

 

Step 5 -  Configuring the ODBC Database Connection for Access Database  (See Step 5B for steps for configuring SQL*Server)

 

To configure the Web+Center application to communicate with the database, the ODBC database drivers are used to connect the application to the backend database.

 

Follow the steps below to configure an ODBC connection for the Web+Center MS Access  database configuration.  See steps 5B for SQL*Server configurations

 

Step 5A.1: Open up the control panel selecting the START button and move to Settings and Control Panel.  For Windows 2000, open the ODBC Data Source application by pressing Start… Programs… Administrative Tools, and Date Sources (ODBC).

 

Step 5A.2: Launch the ODBC application by double clicking on the ODBC Icon.

 

Note: If the ODBC icon does not exist in the control panel or if when you click on the ODBC icon nothing happens, then you probably do not have any ODBC drivers installed.

 

ODBC drivers can be installed from several sources including MS Access installation, other application installations and service packs and option packs available from Microsoft.

 

Step 5A.3: In the ODBC Data Source administrator, click on the System DSN tab.

 

 

 

Step 5A.4: Inside the System DSN tab, click the Add… button to add a new system DSN.

 

 

 

Step 5A.5: Inside the Create New Data Source window, select the Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb) and press the Finish button.

 

 

 

Step 5A.6: In the ODBC Access 97 Setup window enter the following information for each of the text fields:

 

Data Source Name:WEBCENTER40_DB

 

Description: Web+Center Database

 

 

 

 

 

Step 5A.7: Press the Select… button to browse and find the exact access database file.

 Navigate to the “webcenter40.mdb” access database file which is located in the c:\<Your Web+Center Installation Directory>\Database directory where c: <Your Web+Center Installation Directory> is the directory where you chose to install the Web+Center application.

 

Press the OK button in the Select Database window.

 

 

Step 5A.8 Close and save all of the ODBC settings by pressing:

 

OK in the ODBC Microsoft Access 97 Setup window

OK in the ODBC Data Source Administrator window

 

The ODBC DSN database configuration should now be set. 

 

Step 5B - Configuring the ODBC Database Connection for SQL*Server 7/SQL 2000 Database  (See Step 5A for steps for configuring MS Access)

 

 

To configure the Web+Center application to communicate with the database, the ODBC standard is being used to connect the application to the backend database.   Before your can configure the ODBC database connection, you must have previously installed SQL*Server 7.0 Database and the Web+Center Database for SQL*Server.

 

Follow the steps below to configure an ODBC connection for the Web+Center MS SQL*Server database configuration. 

 

Step 5B.1: Open up the control panel selecting the START button and move to Settings and Control Panel.

 

Step 5B.2: Launch the ODBC application by double clicking on the ODBC Icon.

 

Note: If the ODBC icon does not exist in the control panel or if when you click on the ODBC icon nothing happens, then you probably do not have any ODBC drivers installed.

 

ODBC drivers can be installed from several sources including MS SQL*Server installation, other application installations and service packs and option packs available from Microsoft.

 

Step 5B.3: In the ODBC Data Source administrator, click on the System DSN tab.

 

 

 

Step 5B.4: Inside the System DSN tab, click the Add… button to add a new system DSN.

 

 

 

Step 5B.5: Inside the Create New Data Source window, select the SQL*Server Driver and press the Finish button.

 

 

 

Step 5B.6: On the New Data Source to SQL Setup window enter the following information for each of the text fields:

 

Data Source Name: WEBCENTER40_DB

 

Description: Web+Center Database

 

Server: Click the drop down arrow.  Select LOCAL or the correct server.

 

Click the Next when these fields are completed.

 

Step 5B.7: On the next screen with the question: How should SQL Server verify authenticity of the Login ID?  Select the checkbox with:

 

With SQL*Server authentication using a Login ID and password.

 

In the newly highlighted box enter set the following fields


Login ID: wc30

Password:wc30pass

 

                Important Note: If you do not want to configure your database login with these default values, then you must edit the following additional configuration file and three *inc files in the \techcenter and \customercenter directories.  Edit the file called css_access.dat, which is installed in the \web+center 4.0\techcenter directory.  The first three lines define the ODBC source name, the database Login ID and password.  Change this information as necessary to your specific database login requirements.  Secondly, edit the global.asa files located in the \techcenter, \customercenter and\businesscenter directories under the web+center 4.0 directory tree with the new login and password information.

 

               

                Click Next to proceed to the next screen.

 

Step 5B.8: Important: On the next screen check the box that says Change the default Database to:

 

Select webcenter as the default database.   If you can’t find this database, then your database was not properly setup during an earlier step.

 

Click Next to continue

 

Step 5B.9 On the next screen, do not check any additional boxes and use the defaults.

 

 

Click Finish.  You can press the Test button to verify that your ODBC connection is working.

 

Click OK on the ODBC Data Source Administrator window to exit out of the ODBC settings.

 

 

Step 6 -  Setting up Web+Center’s Web Server Virtual Directories

 

To enable users to find the Web+Center application running on the webserver, one must configure 6 virtual directories on the webserver. A virtual directory maps a web URL path of “/customer30/” in a web URL of  “http://MyCompanyName.com/customer30/” to a specific file physical directory on the web server(like c:\webcenter\customercenter\).   To configure these virtual directories, one must use the Internet Information Services application or Personal Web Manager. For additional information on virtual directories, please refer to the web server documentation provided by Microsoft.

 

Web+Center requires SIX (6) virtual directories for proper operation: one for Customer+Center’s application program, one for Tech+Center’s application program, one for the Business+Center application and one for Web+Center’s User Documentation, one for the Pocket+Center application program and one for the Language options that define all of the labels and graphics for the application.  Repeat each of the steps below 6 times to configure the 6 virtual directories required for Web+Center.

 

Virtual Directory Name

Physical File Location

customer40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\customercenter

tech40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\techcenter

business40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\businesscenter

docs40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\documentation

wcLanguage

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\language

pocket40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\pocket

 

Where C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory> is the directory you selected to put your Web+Center installation.

 

To configure these virtual directories with Internet Information Services:

 

Step 6.1: Click on the Start button.  Select the Settings option and the Control Panel. Once the control panel is opened up, open up the Administrative Tools folder.  Double click on the Internet Services

 

 

 

 

Step 6.2: In the left hand window of Internet Information Services window, expand the properties of the Internet Information Server by clicking on the “+” box next to the machine name.  Expand the view 3 times until it shows the detail properties of the default web server as shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6.3: Right mouse click on the Default Web Site and select the New… Virtual Directory menu option.

 

 

 

 

Step 6.4: Inside New Virtual Directory Creation Wizard first click Next window,

 

 

 

Next enter the required alias name.  Enter either “customer40”, “tech40”, “business40”, “docs40” , “pocket40” or “wclanguage” depending which of the five virtual directories you are configuring. Do not include the URL forward slash character “/”.   Then click the Next button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6.5: Press the Browse button to enter the full physical path (like: c:\<your web+center installation directory\customercenter\) containing the files you want to reference.  Please select one of the full physical paths from the list below depending on which virtual directory you are configuring.  By default, the program is installed in a folder under Program Files.  Once the directory is selected, press the Next Button.

 

 

 

Web+Center Physical Directories

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\customercenter

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\techcenter

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\businesscenter

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\documentation

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\language

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\pocket

 

 

Step 6.6: Set the access permissions for this directory.  Select the Read, Run Scripts and Execute Access permissions for the 5 virtual directories.  Do not select any other access permissions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6.7: Press Finish. 

 

 

 

Step 6.8 Once each virtual directory is created, it is very important that you set some additional properties for this virtual directory.  Right mouse click on the virtual directory (tech40, or customer40 or Business40 and select the Properties option.

 

 

 

 

 

 In the properties window on the Virtual Directory tab set the Application Protection drop down box to High (Isolated).  Verify that the Execute permissions are set to Script and Executables.

 

 

 

Step 6.9:  Repeat steps 6.3 – 6.8 to configure the remain (4) virtual directories (tech40, business40, docs40, wclanguage, pocket40)  . Your virtual directories should now be configured and should appear in the virtual directory list under the default web server in the left hand window of the Internet Information Services Window.

 

 

Step 6.10: (Optional) To set the Home directory virtual directory for the default web server, right mouse click on the Default Web Server and select the properties menu item. 

 

 

 

Select the Home Directory tab.  In the local path field, enter the full file of the directory that the home directory should point to.  Press the Apply button when completed.  Use this option if you want a host name or domain name URL (like www.company.com) to point directly to Customer+Center or Tech+Center application pages. Be sure to set the High (Isolation) for this window if you are configuring this home page option.

 

Select the Home Directory tab.  In the local path field, press the Browse… button and find the directory that the home directory should point to.  Press the Apply button when completed.  Use this option if you want a host name or domain name URL (like www.company.com) to point directly to Customer+Center or Tech+Center application pages. Be sure to set the High (Isolation) for this window if you are configuring this home page option.

 

 

Microsoft Personal Web Manager Virtual directories Setup Instructions

 

To setup the Web+Center virtual directories for the Microsoft Personal Web Server, (the web server that is installed with Windows NT Workstation), carefully repeat steps 6.10 – 6.14 for each of the three web+center virtual directories.

 

Step 6.10:  Launch the Microsoft Personal Web server by selecting: Start … Settings… Control Panel.  Open up the folder with Administrative tools and select  Personal Web Manager

 

 

Step 6.11 In the left hand panel of the Personal Web Manager window, click on the Advanced icon near the bottom of the panel.


 

Step 6.12:  For each of the 5 virtual directories listed below, follow these steps

 

 

 

Virtual Directory Name

Physical File Location

customer40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\customercenter

tech40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\techcenter

business40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\businesscenter

docs40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\documentation

wcLanguage

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\language

pocket40

C:\<Your Webcenter Directory>\pocket

 

Where C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory> is the directory you selected to put your Web+Center installation.

 

Step 6.13: Click on the Add… button.

 

 

 

Step 6.14: In the Add Directory window, press the Browse button to enter the full physical path (like: c:\<your web+center installation directory\customercenter\) containing the files you want to reference.  Please select one of the full physical paths from the list below depending on which virtual directory you are configuring.

Web+Center Physical Directories

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\customercenter

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\techcenter

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\businesscenter

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\documentation

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\language

C:\<YourWebCenter Directory>\pocket

 

 

In the Alias text box, enter one of the 5 alias names. Enter either “customer40”, “tech40”, “business40”, “docs40”,  “wclanguage” or “pocket40” depending on which of the five directories you are configuring. Do not include the URL forward slash character “/”.

 

In the application permissions settings area, click the Execute (including scripts) radio button.

 

Press the OK button to save this virtual directory setting.

 

Repeat these steps for each of the 4 virtual directories settings.

 

Step 6.15: (Optional) To set the Home directory virtual directory, right mouse click on the <Home> Virtual Directory entry and select the properties menu item.  Set the directory and alias as it was set for the other virtual directories.  Use this option if you want a host name or domain name URL (like www.company.com) to point directly to the Customer+Center or Tech+Center application pages.

 

 

 

Step 7  -  Install Software Artisans SMTP ASP mail utility

 

The Web+Center application requires the use of the third party FREE ASP email utility from Software Artisans.  This must be installed or the automatic emails will not be sent from the Web+Center application.

 

If your web server already has the Software Artisans SMTP mailer utility or other SA products that include this mailer on your web server, then you do not need to install this component.

 

This SMTP ASP mail utility is included in your Web+Center download and it is located in the \SMTPUtility\ directory of your Web+Center installation. 

 

To install this component, follow these steps:

 

Step 7.1 Press the Start button on the desktop and select the Run option

 

Step 7.2 Press the browse button and navigate to the c:\<Your_Web+Center_Installation_Directory\SMTPUtility\ directory.

 

Step 7.3 Click on the sasmtpmail10 executable (a box icon) and press the Open button.

 

Step 7.4 Run the application.  It will install the SMTP mail utility on your machine.  We recommend installing it in the default directory.  If you have problems installing this utility, please check the support options at the Software Artisans website.

 

 

 

Step 8  -  Set File Security Permissions for Web+Center Application

 

In order to run the Web+Center application for the anonymous web users, the file security permissions that are often inherited in the Web+Center default install location in the Program Files directory must be reset.  Without these changes, you will experience web access errors and database read and write operation errors.

 

Step 8.1 Open Windows Explorer by clicking Start… Programs. Accessories… Windows Explorer

 

Step 1) Expand My Computer display and navigate to the Web+Center 4.0 directory which is typically installed under:

 

                 c:\Program Files\Internet Software Sciences\.Web+Center 4.0

 

Step 2) Perform a right mouse click on the Web+Center 4.0  directory and select the Properties Tag

 

 

Step 3) Click on the security Tab.  If you do not have a security tab, you are probably running a FAT32 partition and need to convert to FAT to NTFS.  Under XP if you cannot see the security tab then enable it by launching the Windows exploring and then clicking on Tools. View and remove the option for Simple File Sharing.

 

 

Step 4) First uncheck the Allow inheritable permissions from parent to propagate to this object near the bottom of the window.  Un-checking this box will bring up a security window asking whether to Copy, Remove or Cancel.  Select the Remove option.

 

Step 5) Click the Add… button to add groups and users back.  Find the Everyone Group and double click on that group.  This will add that User group for this folder.

 

Step 6) In the permission settings, check the Full Control checkbox.  This should set the Allow checkbox for all of the permissions listed (Full Control, Modify, Read and Execute, List Folder Contents, Read, and Write).

 

Step 5) Click on Advanced… 

 

Step 6) In the Access Control Settings for the Web+Center 4.0 window , check the checkbox that says:

 

                Reset permissions on all child objects and enable propagation of inheritable permissions.

 

Then click Apply.  This will reset this permission (Everyone -  Full Control) to all files, and sub folders under the Web+Center 4.0 directory tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 7)  Click OK to close this window.  If necessary, verify that all files inside of the Web+Center 4.0 directory and subdirectories have only file permission settings for Everyone with permission Full Control.

 

Step 8 ) Reboot the machine.  This will properly reset all of the Access Control Lists maintained by the operating system and without a full reboot, the permissions may not be completely set.

 

Step 9 – Verify Parent Paths Enabled in Web Server Settings

The Web+Center uses Active Server Pages (ASP) and  uses #include statements to access files for internationalization options and graphics in the language directory.

 

The Enable Parent Paths option under App options must be enabled for proper web+center operation.  To verify or enable this option:

 

(1)     Open up the IIS Services Manager

(2)     Right Mouse Click on the Default Web Site and Select the Properties Option

(3)     Click on the Home Directory Tab

(4)     Click on the Configuration button in the Application Setting area

(5)     Select the App Options Tab

(6)     Verify the Enable Parent Paths is checked

(7)     Click Apply and Close the window

 

 

 

Step 10 - Verify Web+Center Operation and Set SMTP Host address

 

Note: If  you are installing Web+Center on IIS version 6.0 or higher, please review special additional instructions in Appendix E.

 

Once all of the software is installed and configured, confirm the proper operation of Web+Center with the following tests:

 

Step 10.1: Access the Tech+Center web application

 

To access the Tech+Center application, enter the following URL into your web browser:

 

http://<YourHostName>/tech40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

You should see a webpage like:

 

 

 

Login into the Tech+Center

 

Tech+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Tech+Center comes configured with (3) default tech staff accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

               

Tech Username

Password

Access Level

CSS-1000

Config

Configurator (highest)

CSS-1001

Admin

Administrator

CSS-1003

Tech

Read/Write tech level

 

These default tech staff accounts are automatically available with the initial seed database.   They should only be used to access the system initially and they should be immediately modified or deleted once other tech accounts are created.  Refer to the Web+Center Users Guide on how to edit or add Tech+Center accounts.

 

You should see the Tech+Center login page static HTML page.  In the Login box, enter “CSS-1000” for the Tech ID field and “config” for the password, and press the login button.  This will log you into Tech+Center as a “configurator” which is the highest level of access into the system.

 

Once you log into the Tech+Center you should see a (3) Frame document similar to the image below. SQL*Server users large frame will look different.

 

 

 

Note: If the Tech+Center application does not appear, please review Appendix A for common installation and configuration problems.

 

 

 

 

Step 10.2 Configure Web+Center outgoing SMTP mail address

 

Important: Before registering any customers or entering new support cases, we recommend you first configure your local SMTP host address setting inside of Web+Center.  This Web+Center setting directs all of the automatic email notification messages to this outgoing SMTP host  address.  Typically this will be provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or corporate mail server and typically defined as the “outgoing SMTP mail address”.  For example, for Earthlink ISP users, the SMTP mail address might use

 

smtp.earthlink.net

 

To set this value follow the steps below:

 

 

·                     Log into the Tech+Center using a “configurator” level password.  The system is initially configured with a “configurator” level account with Tech ID = css-1000 and password of “config”.

·                     Click on the Administration button in the left hand control panel

·                     Click on the System configuration menu text link at the top of the System Administration page

·                     Click on the Configuration options link on the Systems Configuration page

·                     Scroll the window down if necessary to the Email Addresses option area.

·                     Set your local SMTP address into the box labeled SMTP Mail Server Address.  Replace any previous values that may have been entered into the field.

·                     Optionally set the Default Reply-To Address to a “reply to” email address like “support@mycompany.com”

·                     Press the Submit button located at the bottom of the page to process these changes

·                The same page appears again after processing the submit so that any changes can be verified. 

·                Verify that the SMTP Mailer server address is successfully entered and press the Cancel button.

·                     Close your browser to completely log out of Tech+Center application

 

Step 10.3: Accessing Customer+Center web application

 

To access the Customer+Center application, enter the URL of:

 

                http://<YourHostName>/customer40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

 

Self register a customer by clicking on the New User button.  Enter all of the registration information as instructed.

 

If the registration was completed successfully, your Customer+Center application has been properly installed and configured.

 

Step 10.4: Access the Business+Center web application

Business+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Business+Center uses the same 3 pre-configured tech accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

               

Tech Username

Password

Access Level

CSS-1000

Config

Configurator (highest)

CSS-1001

Admin

Administrator

CSS-1003

Tech

Read/Write tech level

These default tech staff accounts are automatically available with the initial seed database.

 

To access the Business+Center application, enter the following URL:

 

http://<YourHostName>/Business40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

Step 10.5: Access the Web+Center on-line documentation

 

 

There are still numerous configuration options available for site customization.  Please refer to the Web+Center Users Guide for information on additional configuration options.

 

The Web+Center user guide and this installation guide are both installed as part of the Web+Center installation and it is available on your local Web+Center system at:

 

http://<hostname>/docs40/

 

If you have any questions or problems, please check Internet Software Sciences Support options at www.inet-sciences.com.

Step 10.6: Access the Pocket+Center (Tech+Center Interface for Pocket PCs)

 

Pocket+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Pocket+Center uses the same 3 pre-configured tech accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

               

Tech Username

Password

Access Level

CSS-1000

Config

Configurator (highest)

CSS-1001

Admin

Administrator

CSS-1003

Tech

Read/Write tech level

These default tech staff accounts are automatically available with the initial seed database.

 

To access the Pocket+Center application, enter the following URL with your Pocket PC device.

 

http://<YourHostName>/pocket40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

To view or test the Pocket+Center on a full size screen interface, use the special Pocket+Center test interface page by accessing:

 

http://<YourHostName>/pocket40/testpocket.htm

 

 

Important: Once the system is installed and initially configured, one should review the Getting Started Guide (GettingStarted.html or GettingStarted.doc) located in the \documentation directory.  This guide will help you customize and configure your Web+Center application for your own business and organizational requirements.

 

 

Appendix A  Common Installation Errors and Solutions

 

Listed below are some of the common Web+Center installation errors and solutions.

 

Complete list of FAQ and an extensive knowledge base of Web+Center questions and problems are available from the link on the Internet Software Sciences support page if you click on the Web-based support link.

 

The Internet Software Sciences main support page is at:

 

http://www.inet-sciences.com/support.html

 

 

From the main support page, click on the Web-Based support link to obtain an FAQ and knowledge based search options as well as options to self-register and submit trouble tickets and enhancement requests.

 

(NEW) To help diagnose database read and write access connectivity, we have created a set of scripts to help test and debug your configuration if you are having problems.  If you experience problems with your installation, then open up the following page with your browser:

 

 http://<hostname>/tech40/installtest.htm.   where <hostname> is the ip or fully qualified host name.

 

This HTML file will provide 7 tests to test database connectivity, read and write permissions, Tech+Center logins and SMTP mail configurations.

 

Error: ODBC Driver reports an error after installing another product

 

Solution:  ODBC Drivers can be overwritten by other applications that install their own ODBC drivers that may be written by a vendor other than Microsoft or they replace the current ODBC driver with an older ODBC driver if the installer does not properly check for dates or versions.  To fix this problem, it may be necessary to re-install a known version of an ODBC driver from an Access, SQL*Server or Microsoft Office installation.

 

Error: Table is locked by Admin User

 

Solution:  With the Access and SQL*Server Database version, if a user has one or more of the tables in “design mode”, the table will be locked and no data updates or data read can be made from the table until it is released.  No user should ever be changing the tables structure or have the database in design mode. 

 

Error: After submitting a case or registration the browser reports an ASP error.

 

Solution: First, verify that the SMTP mail address set under administration/configuration is specified and it is either a domain name or IP address that web server can properly resolve.  Some users have experienced problems connecting to certain mail servers due to their configuration and who they will accept mail from to prevent SPAM from getting sent through their SMTP mail servers.  It may be necessary to select a different SMTP mail server if you cannot re-configure the SMTP server to communicate with the Web+Center application properly.  Another common problem is that if the SMTP ASP mailer utility described in step #7 was not installed, you will get an ASP error when you perform a customer registration or case update or any step where you send an email notification.

 

Error: When running the system on Windows 2000 and Access 2000 the application does not run.

 

Solution: Please contact IIS support or check the Internet Software Sciences support FAQ page for details on configuring the application for this OS and database configuration.

 

Typically, most of the Windows 2000 installation issues come down to security permissions on the database file or the web application files (*.asp and *.dll) inside of the Web+Center directory trees.  Depending upon your configuration, most issues can be solved by setting the directories or individual files to permissions like “Everybody” with Full Control and if that works then start to restrict the permissions as needed.

 

Appendix B Web Administrator Advanced Installation Notes

 

These instructions perform the same installation procedure as step 1-7 available in the main document, but assumes that the installer is very knowledgeable about the NT/2000/XP operating systems, web servers and ODBC configurations.

 

Step 1: Install the latest version of the Web+Center application, which is downloadable from the Internet Software Sciences web site at:

 

http://www.inet-sciences.com

 

Step 2: Configure the 5 virtual directories listed in the table below with either the Windows NT/2000/XP Management Console/Internet Information server or the Personal Web Server.  They must have read, script and execute permissions and when configuring these virtual directories on the IIS  you must select the Application Protection to high (Isolated) option selected which can be found by right mouse clicking on the virtual directories and selecting the properties option.  Refer to the detail instructions for information on setting these permissions.

 

 

Virtual Directory Name

Physical File Location

Customer40

C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory>\customercenter

Tech40

C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory>\techcenter

Business40

C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory>\businesscenter

Docs40

C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory>\Documentation

wclanguage

C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory>\Language

pocket40

C:\<YourWebCenterDirectory>\pocket

 

 

Step 3: Install the Web+Center Database.  If you are using the Access database, no additional steps are required to install the database.   To run the SQL*Server version of the Web+Center database, use the two SQL scripts located in the \database directory (CreateWebcenter40.sql and LoadWC40Data.sql) to build a SQL Server database called “webcenter40”.  It is configured for Logins of “wc30” and password of “wc30pass”.  Refer to the full instructions of Step 5 for complete details on creating the database.

 

Step 4: Configure a system DSN ODBC configuration for either the webcenter40.mdb file (Microsoft Access File) which is located in the C:\<Your Web+Center Installation Directory>\database directory or the SQL*Server database called webcenter40.  In both cases, name the ODBC connection WEBCENTER40_DB.  For Access database ODBC configurations, do not set any advanced username/password settings. See step 5A and Step5B for more details.

 

 

Step 5   Install Software Artisans SMTP ASP mail utility

 

The Web+Center application now requires the use of the third party FREE ASP email utility from Software Artisans.  This must be installed or the automatic emails will not be sent from the Web+Center application.

 

If your web server already has the Software Artisans SMTP mailer utility or other SA products that include this mailer on your web server, then you do not need to install this component.

 

This component is included with your web+center download in the SMTPUtility directory of the web+center folder.

 

To install this utility, follow these steps:

 

Step 5.1 Press the Start button on the desktop and select the Run option

 

Step 5.2 Press the browse button and navigate to the c:\<Your_Web+Center_Installation_Directory\SMTPUtility directory.

 

Step 5.3 Click on the sasmtpmail10 executable (a box icon) and press the Open button.

 

Step 5.4 Run the application.  It will install the SMTP mail utility on your machine.  It does not have to be installed in the Web+Center directory.  If you have problems installing this utility, please check the support options at the Software Artisans website.

 

 

Step 6 Verify Parent Paths Enabled in Web Server Settings

The Web+Center uses Active Server Pages (ASP) and  uses #include statements to access files for internationalization options and graphics in the language directory.

 

The Enable Parent Paths option under App options must be enabled for proper web+center operation.  To verify or enable this option:

 

(8)     Open up the IIS Services Manager

(9)     Right Mouse Click on the Default Web Site and Select the Properties Option

(10)  Click on the Home Directory Tab

(11)  Click on the Configuration button in the Application Setting area

(12)  Select the App Options Tab

(13)  Verify the Enable Parent Paths is checked

(14)  Click Apply and Close the window

 

 

Step 7:   Verify Tech+Center operation.

 

Tech+Center requires a Tech ID and a password to log into the application.

 

Tech+Center comes configured with (3) default tech staff accounts with the following levels of permissions:

 

Tech Username

Password

Access Level

CSS-1000

Config

Configurator (highest)

CSS-1001

Admin

Administrator

CSS-1003

Tech

Read/Write tech level

 

               

These default tech staff accounts are automatically available with the initial seed database.   They should only be used to access the system initially and they should be immediately modified or deleted once other tech accounts are created.

 

To access the Tech+Center application, enter the following URL:

 

http://<YourHostName>/Tech40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

 

Note: If the Tech+Center application does not appear, please review Appendix A for common installation and configuration problems.

 

 

You should see the Tech+Center login page shown above.  In the Login box, enter “CSS-1000” for the Tech ID field and “config” for the password, and press the login button.  This will log you into Tech+Center as a “configurator” which is the highest level of access into the system.

 

Important Note for Windows 2000/XP Installations:

Many Windows 2000/XP users require this additional file permission change before the software will run properly.

 

In order to run the ASP pages for the anonymous web users, the file security permissions for the ASP script and the Access Database must be modified to have only Everyone Full control.

 

Follow the steps below to make this change to your Web+Center installation.

Windows 2000/XP Step 1) Open up the Windows File Explorer and navigate to the WebCenter 40 directory which is typically installed under c:\program files\.

 

Windows 2000/XP Step 2) Perform a right mouse click on the WebCenter40 directory and select the Properties Tag

 

Windows 2000/XP Step 3) Click on the security Tab.  If you do not have a security tab, you are probably running a FAT32 partition and you cannot set up security for individual files.

 

Windows 2000/XP Step 4) you will want to remove all users and only add Everybody and give them Full Control.  Also, uncheck the Allow inheritable permissions from parent to propagate to this object.  

 

Windows 2000/XP Step 5) Click on Advance… button to propagate this Everyone full control permission setting to all directories and files below the Webcenter40 directory tree by selecting the Reset permissions on all child objects and enable propagation of inheritable permissions.

 

Windows 2000/XP Step 6) Verify that all files inside of the Webcenter40 directory and subdirectories have only one file permission setting for everyone/full control.

 

 

Step 8 Configure Web+Center outgoing SMTP mail address

 

Important: Before registering any customers or entering new support cases, we recommend you first configure your local SMTP host address setting inside of Web+Center.  This Web+Center setting directs all of the automatic email notification messages to this outgoing SMTP host address.  Typically this will be provided by your Internet Service provider or corporate mail server and typically defined as the “outgoing SMTP mail address”.  For example, for Earthlink ISP users, the SMTP mail address is:

 

smtp.earthlink.net

 

To set this value follow the steps below:

 

·                     Log into the Tech+Center using a “configurator” level password.  The system is initially configured with a “configurator” level account with Tech ID = css-1000 and password of “config”.

·                     Click on the Administration button in the left hand control panel

·                     Click on the System configuration menu text link at the top of the System Administration page

·                     Click on the Configuration options link on the Systems Configuration page

·                     Scroll the window down if necessary to the Email Addresses option area.

·                     Set your local SMTP address into the box labeled SMTP Mail Server Address.  Replace any previous values that may have been entered into the field.

·                     Optionally set the Default Reply-To Address to a “reply to” email address like “support@mycompany.com”

·                     Press the Submit button located at the bottom of the page to process these changes

·                The same page appears again after processing the submit so that any changes can be verified. 

·                Verify that the SMTP Mailer server address is successfully entered and press the Cancel button.

·                     Close your browser to completely log out of Tech+Center application

 

 

Step 9: Accessing Customer+Center and Business+Center, Pocket+Center web applications

 

To access the Customer+Center application, enter the URL of:

 

                http://<YourHostName>/Customer40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

 

Self register a customer by clicking on the New User button.  Enter all of the registration information as instructed.

 

If the registration was completed successfully, your Web+Center evaluation version has been properly installed and configured.

 

There are still numerous configuration options available for site customization.  Please refer to the Web+Center Users Guide for information on additional configuration options.

 

The Web+Center user guide and this installation guide are both installed as part of the Web+Center installation and it is available on your local Web+Center system at:

 

http://<hostname>/docs40/

 

If you have any questions or problems, please check Internet Software Sciences Support options at http://www.inet-sciences.com/support.html

 

 

To access the Business+Center application, enter the URL of:

 

                http://<YourHostName>/Business40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

To access the Pocket+Center application, enter the following URL with your Pocket PC device.

 

http://<YourHostName>/pocket40/

 

where <YourHostName> is either:

·         your local machine name

·         Your domain name (www.mycompany.com)

·         The word “localhost” if browsing on the same machine as the server

 

To view or test the Pocket+Center on a full size screen interface, use the special Pocket+Center test interface page by accessing:

 

http://<YourHostName>/pocket40/testpocket.htm

 

 

 

Important: Once the system is installed and initially configured, one should review the Getting Started Guide (GettingStarted.htm or GettingStarted.doc) located in the \documentation directory.  This guide will help you customize and configure your Web+Center application for your own business and organizational requirements.


 

.

Appendix C  Web+Center Upgrade Instructions

Please select the correct upgrade instructions below.  Your Web+Center version number can be found in the Tech+Center button panel just below all the buttons and the ISS logo.

 

Upgrading to Web+Center  Version 4.X from 3.X

 

Included with the 4.X release are SQL and ASP scripts to upgrade existing previous Web+Center  3.X implementations to Web+Center 4.0 database formats and new enhanced application functionality.  Please review Appendix D for a complete breakdown of database import scripts for Access and SQL*Server.  Please review all of the required upgrade instructions before attempting a version upgrade.

 

One recommended approach to upgrading if you have made significant customizations to your Web+Center system is a multiple step process which prevent minimum down time on a production system.  This approach can be briefly described as: 

 

(1)     Install and configure Web+Center 4.0 system

(2)     (SQL*Server users)Backup your current 3.5 database. Once complete, restore that database and rename it to webcenter40. (Access User)Copy and paste and rename file webcenter40new.mdb or some new name.

(3)     Perform the database migration on this duplicated Access database or SQL Database and start running the 4.0 code against this updated database in Test mode only!

(4)     Continue to use your 3.5 system for production use.

(5)     Apply any application ASP module updates, graphics and any customizations made to the 3.5 system to the 4.0 version.

(6)     Once you are finished with migrating all customizations, then duplicate the database again to get a fresh and current copy of the database and perform the database upgrading on that database

(7)     Start running the 4.0 as your production system.

 

Upgrading from version 3.5 to version 4.0

 

Version 4.0 includes many new features including:

 

Version 4.0 is database upgradeable from version 3.5 using the database migration scripts provided.

 

There are new ASP modules and updated ASP pages for the Tech+Center, Customer+Center and Business+Center applications.  A new directory has been added called “language” where all of the labels for all of the ASP pages are located and all of the buttons.

 

Important Note:  The Access Database file with the 4.0 version has been renamed Webcenter40.mdb instead of Webcenter35.mdb.  This renaming of the database file is to prevent users from over writing their current database file if you do an upgrade over their existing file structure.  You can keep the name of your database Access file webcenter35.mdb if you wish since your ODBC DSN points to this file.

 

Step 1)  Backup your database (Access or SQL*Server) and entire Web+Center directory completely before any upgrading.

 

Step 2)  Download and completely install the new Web+Center version 4.0 into a DIFFERENT directory than your current Web+Center directory tree.  The 4.0 version will install by default into a directory under program files called /Internet Software Sciences / web+center 4.0/.  Complete the virtual directory setup for this setup and new ODBC DSN called webcenter40_DB.  Verify that both Version 4.0 is operational with the 4.0 seed database and Version 3 is still operational with your current database configuration.

 

DO NOT ERASE YOUR OLD WEBCENTER Version 3.5 DIRECTORY.

 

Step 3) Reconfigure your new ODBC connection (webcenter40_db) to point to your previous web+center version 3.5 database.  For SQL*Server users, the webcenter40_db ODBC DSN will be pointing to your webcenter30 SQL database.  For Access users, the webcenter40_db will now be pointing to webcenter35.mdb in your webcenter version 3.5 database directory.

 

Step 4)  Access Database Users:

Run the Access Database upgrade script located in the new webcenter 4.0 techcenter directory (tech40 directory by running the ASP page:

                http://<hostname or ip>/tech40/UpgradeWebcenter35to40.asp

 

Note: This will upgrade your older Web+Center  webcenter35mdb/webcenter30.mdb file in the original webcenter directory tree since your ODBC DSN still points to that database.  This does not move the database file.  This script adds new database columns and data to your existing Access database file.

 

 

Step  4) SQL*Server Users:

Run the SQL script called UpgradeWebCenter35to40.sql located in the new Web+Center 4.0 database directory using SQL Query tool.  Select the Webcenter30 database before running the upgrade script.  This will upgrade your existing Web+Center database on SQL*Server.

 

 

Step 5) Login into the 4.0 Tech+Center.  Once you are logged in, change the URL to point to the script called FixCategoryLists.asp which is located in the same techcenter directory.  Run this script once.  This will fix the category table entries to be compatible with the 4.0 database structure.  If you do not run this script, your categories may display incorrectly.  This is required for both SQL and Access users.

 

Step 6) Integrate any graphic or ASP code you have performed into this new version by comparing, integrating and copying over files from your old directory tree to the new directory tree.

 

Any graphics (*.gif, jpg) should be able to be directly copied from the old version directory tree to the new version without problems.  Static HTML pages (default.htm) can be copied directly as well.

 

Any ASP code modifications have to be CAREFULLY integrated with the new code.  To help determine what modules you might have modified and what modules have changed since the previous version, the version different tool available from Microsoft development tools called WinDiff is extremely helpful.

 

This tool allows one to compare entire directories and it will list file by file the differences between matching files and graphically show the changes between the two modules.  Once modules are marked as being different, they can be reviewed side by side in various editors for integrating any changes. 

 

When doing any integrating, make copies of your original file and the original webcenter 4.0 version ASP module.  A fresh version of the ASP module can also be obtained from the Internet Software Sciences Version Server by running the CheckVersions.asp script found in each of the Tech40, Business40 and Customer40 virtual directories.

 

Step 7) Licensed User Only:

For licensed user, please refer re-apply the special license key as defined in the license key email when you purchased the license keys or contact ISS if you need additional help in installing the license keys.

 

Additional Information:

For more information on the various database upgrade scripts, please refer to Appendix D.

 

Upgrading from Version 4.0 to 4.01

 

The main difference between version 4.0 and 4.01 is the new addition of the Pocket+Center application, which is a fairly complete version of the Tech+Center functional scaled to fit on a Pocket PC pocket explorer browser.  This 4.1 release also includes some updated modules in the other applications (tech+center, customer+center and business+center).  It is also to important  to update files from the “language” directory since this directory includes important 4.0 updates as well.

 

Before doing any upgrading, back up all web+center directories and databases.

 

Version 4.01 is database compatible with Version 4.0, and no database migration or database updates are required.  Listed below are two possible migration approaches.  If you have made any ASP customizations or graphic customizations, they must be carefully integrated into the new 4.1 release.

 

Approach 1:

Step 1: Download and install the 4.01 into a different directory than your current 4.0 installation.  Copy and paste all of the files in each of the following directories in the new 4.01 tree into your existing code tree.

 

Copy files from the following directories:

                \techcenter\

                \customercenter\

                \businesscenter\

                \language\

               

Step 2: Additional, create a new physical directory called “pocket” at the same level as customercenter and techcenter and copy all of the files from the \pocket directory in the 4.1 tree to this new directory.

 

Step 3: Create one new virtual directory named “pocket40” which points to the “pocket” physical directory.

 

Step 4) Licensed User Only:

For licensed user, please refer re-apply the special license key as defined in the license key email when you purchased the license keys or contact ISS if you need additional help in installing the license keys.

 

Approach 2:

 

Step 1: Download and install the 4.01 into a different directory than your current 4.0 installation. 

               

Step 2:  Edit all of the properties of your existing tech40, customer40, business40, wclanguage, and docs40 virtual directories by going into Internet Services Manager and setting the local path to point to the new 4.1 directory tree.

 

Step 3: Create one new virtual directory named “pocket40” which points to the “pocket” physical directory.

 

Step 4: Do not erase your old 4.0 tree since your database and ODBC still points to the older existing database.

 

Step 5) Licensed User Only:

For licensed user, please refer re-apply the special license key as defined in the license key email when you purchased the license keys or contact ISS if you need additional help in installing the license keys.

 

 

Upgrading from version 3.0 to Version 3.1

 

To migrate users from Web+Center 3.0 to Web+Center 3.1, please refer to the special scripts 3.0 to 3.1 Upgrade notes below.

 

The main difference between version 3.0 and version 3.1 is a newly re-built asset management component that allows for asset assignments and better searching.  Included in version 3.1 are also bug fixes for version 3.0.

 

The main difference between 3.1 and 3.2 is the new feature that allows exporting of customer, tech and assigned case to MS Outlook and PDA’s.  There is no database changes between version 3.1 and Version 3.2.

 

Note: Versions 3.5, 3.2 and 3.1 are considered to be  a minor 3. 0 release so some file names and virtual directories may have the 30 ending when it is a 3.1 version.

 

Special scripts have been written to help migrate users from their current version to this new version.

 

Version 2.5 to Version 3.1/3.2 Upgrade

To upgrade from Web+Center version 2.5 to Version 3.1. please take the following steps.

 

(1)     Completely backup your current web+center directory tree and verify you have successfully backed up the database.  Web+Center version 3.1 installs into a new set of directories and do not use the same virtual directory settings or database name or database ODBC name as version 2.5, although it can be configured to use the same virtual directory names if necessary (See below).

(2)     Download and install the WebCenter3.1 application from the Internet Software Sciences website. DO NOT install this over your existing webcenter installation directory.

(3)     Set up 4 new web server virtual directories with the following name and pointing to the following physical directories:

* Note: You can point your existing virtual directory to these new Web+Center 3.1 physical directories if required if you have published your Tech+Center and Customer+Center URLs.

 

Physical File Path

Virtual Directory Name

Permission

Notes

D:\webcenter30\techcenter\

Tech30

Read /Execute

Tech+Center

D:\webcenter30\customercenter\

Customer30

Read/Script

Customer+Center

D:\webcenter30\businesscenter\

Business30

Read/Script

Business+Center

D:\webcenter30\documentation\

Docs30

Read

Documentation

 

 

(For Access Database users)

First rename the existing webcenter30.mdb file in the webcenter30\database directory to webcenter30.seed.mdb to save this initial database for later comparisons if necessary.

(4)     Take a COPY of your current database (webcenter.mdb) and copy this database into the webcenter30\database directory and rename it webcenter35.mdb  

(5)     Create a new ODBC Data Source Name  (DSN) called “webcenter30_db” and have this reference your new webcenter35.mdb database file located in the \webcenter30\database directory.

(6)     Run the script located in the techcenter directory called UpgradeWebcenter25To31.asp script by running the URL:

 

http://yourhostname/tech30/UpgradeWebcenter25To31.asp

 

This script will add 10 new tables to your newly named webcenter35.mdb file and populate some of the tables with default data.

 

 (For SQL*Server Database users)

(7)     For SQL*Server users, add a new DSN called “webcenter30_db that points to your current database.  The default username and password for the database must now be “wc30” and “wc30pass”.  Create the necessary user “wc30” if necessary.  See directions below if you want to use another username and password for your SQL*Server login.

(8)     Open up the SQL*Server Enterprise manager and then select the Tools. SQL Server Query Analyzer tool. 

(9)     Press the File… Open menu item and navigate to the new WebCenter30 directory and view the files in the database directory.  First, open the file called UpgradeWebcenter25To31sql script.

(10)  Select your current Webcenter database as the database to run this script on. 

(11)  Press the green arrow to execute the script.  This will add 10 new tables to your webcenter database.  Tables include: Bconfiguration, customernotes, customertechassignment, deletelist, emailcategory, emailcategorylinks, emailtext, priority, assetAssignment and usercategory.

(12)  Press the File… Open option again and select from that same webcenter/database directory the LoadWC31UpgradeDefaults.sql script.

(13)  Select your current Webcenter database as the database to run this script on by selecting the appropriate database from the DB drop down menu option near the upper right of the screen.

(14)  Press the green arrow to execute this script.

 

(15)  Run the script located in the techcenter directory called ImportToWebCenter30.asp script by running the URL:

 

http://yourhostname/tech30/importToWebCenter30.asp

 

This should only add new tables to your newly created webcenter30.mdb database file or to the SQL*Server database.

 

(Both Access and SQL Server Users)

(16)  Reboot the webserver or server to properly un-load the existing techsupp.dll out of memory cache. Web+Center 30 is now ready to run.  Reference the new Web+Center 30 URL listed below.

 

(17) Important:  Do not run both the old Tech+Center component and new Tech+Center on the same machine due to possible problems when caching the ISAPI techsupp.dll unless the run in separate memory space has been configured when configuring the techcenter virtual directory.  Do not let person’s bookmark code within the Web+Center application since their bookmark may attempt to call Web+Center web code with parameters that are in-compatible with the new version.

 

Instructions for using your existing virtual directory names

 

If you wish to use your existing virtual directory names or any name other than the web+center 30 default names, you must edit two files with the names of the tech+center and business+center virtual directories.

First, edit the file called Businesscenter.asp located in the \techcenter directory.  Near the top of the file is define the business+Center virtual directory name.  Replace the current business30 name with your businesscenter virtual directory name.

 

Secondly, edit the Techcenter.asp file in the \businesscenter directory with the name of your techcenter virtual directory near the top of this file replacing the default tech30 virtual directory name.

 

Instructions for using SQL*Server usernames and passwords other than “wc30” and “wc30pass”.

 

The Web+Center 30 version defaults to wc30 and wc30pass for the SQL*Server login for the application.  To change this database login to something else, you must edit 4 files with your specific username and password for SQL*Server.  In the \techcenter directory, edit the css_access.dat file with you username and password in the 2 and 3rd lines of this configuration file.  Also, in the \techcenter directory, edit the db_define.inc with your username and password as documented in this file.

 

You must also edit in the exact same approach, the db_define.inc files located in the \customercenter and \businesscenter directories.

 

Be sure to reboot the server to allow the application to be properly re-cached once you have made these changes.

 

 

 

The table below (Table c-1) defines the Web addresses to access the 4 Web+Center Customer Support and Contact Management Components:

 

Table C-1 Web+Center URL Mappings

URL

Notes

http://<yourhostname or IP>/tech30/

Tech+Center Login Page

http://<yourhostname or IP>/customer30/

Customer+Center Home Page

http://<yourhostname or IP>/Business30/

Business+Center

http://<yourhostname or IP>/Docs30/

Web+Center Documentation Home Page

       

 

(18)         Test and verify the Web+Center 30 database before turning all of the users to this use version.  Note: Data entered into the webcenter 30 system will only be available with the Web+Center 30 system.

 

 

 

Important : Once the system is installed and initially configured, one should review the Getting Started Guide (GettingStarted.htm or GettingStarted.doc) located in the \documentation directory.  This guide will help you customize and configure your Web+Center application for your own business and organizational requirements.  There is also new information in the User Guide on how to use the new Business+Center component.

 

 

Migrating customized pages and graphics from your 2.5 to the 3.0 version

 

If you have customized the Customer+Center or Tech+Center login pages (default.htm) from the \customercenter or \techcenter directories, they can simply be copied into the new webcenter30 respective directories.

 

Also, any graphics (*.gif, *.jpg) replacements can easily be moved over to the new site.

 

Other ASP scripts that have been customized must be integrated with the new webcenter30 scripts.  This integration should only be done by carefully analyzing the new scripts and your current script and determine if any changes occurred between the 2.5 and 3.0 release.  Custom reports and additional scripts can also be used on the webcenter 3.0 system.  The previous database tables have NOT changed, but only new tables have been added so existing customizations should not be broken with the new version.

 

 

Upgrading from version 3.0 to version 3.1

 

Version 3.1 mainly differs from version 3.0 by offering a new asset management component that allows asset assignments along with some bug fixes.  This includes some database table changes and new and updated applications code.

 

Step 1) Backup your database (Access or SQL*Server) completely before any upgrading.

 

Step 2) to upgrade from an existing 3.0 installation, use the checkversions.asp script, which is located techcenter directory.  To run this script, enter into your browser URL:

 

http://<your Hostname>/tech30/checkversions.asp

 

This will perform a version check between files located on your machine and files located on the Internet Software Sciences Version server.

 

For SQL*Server DatabaseUsers:

 

Using the existing checkversions.asp script in the techcenter directory, grab the latest version of UpgradeWebcenter30To31.sql  SQL script.

 

Using the SQL*Server enterprise manager, run this script on your current Web+Center database.

 

Also, upgrade any other existing files that are out of date and move them to techcenter directory.  Perform this checkversion.asp script for your Customer+Center and Business+Center directories.

 

For Access DatabaseUsers:

 

Using the existing checkversions.asp script in the techcenter directory, grab the latest version of UpgradeWebcenter30to31.asp script.

 

Place this file into your techcenter directory and run this script with the URL:

 

http://<your Hostname>/tech30/upgradewebcenter30to31.asp

 

Also, upgrade any other existing files that are out of date and move them to techcenter directory.  Perform this checkversion.asp script for your Customer+Center (customer30) and Business+Center (business30) directories.

 

Other upgrade methods:

Another option is to download and install the latest 3.1 version into a separate directory and simply copy and paste files.  Do not install the 3.1 directory tree over an existing site.  Copy and paste individual files in after reviewing their dates and sizes.   If you sort both your current Web+Center directory and the new version 3.1 directory by date, you can quickly identify which scripts have been updated. The SQL*Server SQL scripts are located in the \database directory and the ASP scripts (for upgrading Access) are located in the \techcenter directory.

 

Appendix D  Database Upgrade and Create Scripts

To avoid any confusion on the numerous database scripts for creating, upgrading or loading default values for the database for the two database formats, the following table below was created to help define all of the files and their purposes.  Running certain CREATE database scripts will DROP all tables and delete your database records so backup the database before performing any scripts or upgrades.

 

Path\Filename

Database

Function

\database\createwebcenter40.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to initially create an initial database structures for new installations

\database\loadwc40defaults.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to load the default data into the tables

\techcenter\upgradewebcenter35to40.asp

Access

ASP script to upgrade existing 3.5 databases to 4.0 compatability

\database\createwebcenter35.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to initially create a initial database structures for new installations

\techcenter\fixcategorylists.asp

Access/SQL

Script to fix the category table to be compatible with 4.0 database structures

\database\loadwc35defaults.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to load the default data into the tables

\database\upgradewebcenter25to31.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to upgrade existing 2.5 database into 3.1 table compatibility

\database\loadwc35upgradedefaults.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to load new priority table with default values for upgrading 2.5 database into 3.5 table compatibility

\database\upgradewebcenter31to35.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to upgrade existing 3.1/3.2 versions to new 3.5 version tables.

\database\upgradewebcenter30to31.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to upgrade existing 3.0 database into 3.1 table compatibility

\techcenter\upgradewebcenter25to31.asp

Access

ASP script to upgrade existing 2.5 database into 3.1 table compatibility

\techcenter\upgradewebcenter31to35.asp

Access

ASP script to upgrade from 3.1 to 3.5 into 3.5 table compatibility

\techcenter\upgradewebcenter30to31.asp

Access

ASP script to upgrade existing 3.0 database into 3.1 table compatibility

\database\upgradewebcenter35to30.sql

SQL*Server

SQL script to upgrade existing 3.5 database into 4.0 table compatibility

 

For new installations with Access, none of the scripts are required.  Your initial database is already current and contains initial seed database values.  For new installations with SQL*Server, you will need to run only the first two scripts.

 

For Existing systems wishing to upgrade, use the Upgradewebcenter* SQL scripts for SQL*Server or ASP scripts for Access.

 

If you need to upgrade from a version other than 3.5, you must run all of the necessary database upgrade scripts (2.5 to 3.0) (3.0 to 3.1)(3.1 to3.5) and (3.5 to 4.0).  You can upgrade the database and then start to use all of the latest application code.

 

Appendix E – Additional Instructions for configuring Web+Center on Microsoft Web Server Version 6 (.net)

 

Internet Information Server (IIS) Version 6 has additional security option enabled that may prevent the Web+Center from working.  Please perform these additional two steps listed below when installing under IIS 6.X

 

Step #1 Add Techsupp.dll to IIS Web Service Extensions

Step #2 Verify that Parent Paths are enabled if they have been disabled.

 

   Step #1 Adding TechSupp.dll to IIS Web Service Extensions

 

  1. Open IIS MMC Console. To do this go to “Start” then “Administrative Tools”. Click on “Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager”.

 

  1. Expand the IIS console until you can see the server you need to add the Extension to. Expand the machine  tree and click on the “Web Service Extensions” folder. See Figure 2.1

 

figure 2.1

 

  1. Click on the top link in the right pane “Add a new Web service extension.

 

  1. In the dialog box which is created type in a descriptive name for the extension. “ISS Tech+Center DLL” will allow other administrators to quickly identify the extension. See Figure 4.1

 

figure 4.1

 

  1. Click the “Add” Button.

 

  1. Use the “Browse” feature to find the appropriate file. By Default it will be “C:\\Program Files\Internet Software Sciences\Web+Center 4.0\TechCenter\TechSupp.dll”

 

figure 6.1

 

 

  1. Highlight the file and click “Open” Click “OK”. See Figure 6.1
  2. Ensure that the checkbox “Set extension status to Allowed” is checked. See Figure 8.1

 

figure 8.1

 

  1. Click OK. You should not see the new service in the list, with a green icon next to it indicating it is now Allowed and functioning. See Figure 9.1

figure 9.1

 

 

Step # 2 - Enabling Parent Paths-

 

The Web+Center uses Active Server Pages (ASP) and  uses #include statements to access files for internationalization options in the language directory.

 

The Enable Parent Paths option under App options must be enabled.  To verify or enable this option:

 

(15)  Open up the IIS Services Manager

(16)  Right Mouse Click on the Default Web Site and Select the Properties Option

(17)  Click on the Home Directory Tab

(18)  Click on the Configuration button in the Application Setting area

(19)  Select the App Options Tab

(20)  Verify the Enable Parent Paths is checked

(21)  Click Apply and Close the window

 

Appendix F – Configuring MS Exchange Server to allow relaying of mail from Web+Center application
 

Web+Center has numerous email notification messages that sends notifications to customers and techs with case updates, customer survey options and lost Username/Password information.

 

The Web+Center web application uses a 3rd party ASP mailer that requires an SMTP server to relay mail out to the Internet.  The Web+Center sends these emails out as an anonymous user without email login and password information.

 

Most Exchange and other SMTP mailer servers are now “locked down” to prevent spam from being relayed through their gateway and may prevent anonymous emails from being properly relayed.  To allow the Web+Center emails to be properly relayed, one should configure your exchange or other SMTP gateway  to allow relay of email for a particular IP or machine that the Web+Center resides on while preventing relaying of mail with other machines.

 

If you are not using MS exchange, another option is to use the Virtual SMTP server that comes with IIS.  This virtual SMTP server can also be configured to allow relay of mail from that specific machine while preventing emails from being relaying through the SMTP server.

 

To configure MS Exchange to permit relay from another machine, follow the following steps:

 

Step 1:

Click on START -> ALL PROGRAMS -> MICROSOFT EXCHANGE -> SYSTEM MANAGER

 

 

Step 2:

 

Expand the ADMINISTRATIVE GROUPS folder

Expand the FIRST ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP folder

Expand the SERVERS folder

Expand the folder with your Exchange Server name

Expand the PROTOCOLS folder

Expand he SMTP folder

Right click on Default SMTP Virtual Server then click on Properties

 

 

 

Step 3:

 

Click on the ACCESS Tab then Click on the RELAY button

 

 

 

Step 4:

 

Click on the ONLY THE LIST BELOW radio button then click the ADD button

 

 

 

Step 5:

 

In the IP address box type in the IP address of the server Web+Center is installed then press OK

 

Step 6:

 

Verify that  the server added is in the access list