Zelerate AllCommerce 1.0.4 Documentation

2. Installation

This section will guide you through the installation procedure for Zelerate AllCommerce.

This installation procedure assumes that you have installed and configured all the needed prerequisites to run AllCommerce and are familiar with command-line arguments.

2.1 Prerequisites

  1. Perl 5.005 or higher

  2. A database from the list below for which you can find a database driver.

  3. Database drivers (i.e., DBD & DBI)

  4. A Web server (e.g., Apache)

  5. libwww-perl (optional, required for cookieless shopping)

All of these prerequisites are readily available for the Linux operating system. Other operating environments, such as Unix, Solaris, FreeBSD, and Windows 2000, are also supported.

If you have not installed all of the prerequisites that are needed for AllCommerce we strongly advise that you install these prerequisites before continuing on with the installation procedure.

2.1.1 Perl

AllCommerce requires that you have Perl installed and working properly. You can find out if you have Perl installed by entering perl -v from a shell prompt. If you have Perl installed, this command will return a response like:
       This is perl, version 5.005_03 built for i386-linux
       Copyright 1987-1999, Larry Wall
       ...

The version number should be of the form "5.005_xx" or "5.x.y". If you do not receive this response, or if your Perl version is not at the supported version, you will have to install (or update) Perl before continuing with this installation.

2.1.2 Databases

AllCommerce requires an installed database management system. Currently, it has built-in support for these databases:

  • MySQL

    This is our database recommendation at this time.

  • Informix, mSQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL

    Support for these databases is currently experimental and is not stable in this release.

2.1.3 Database Drivers (DBI and DBD)

Perl will need DBI and DBD drivers, in order to communicate with your selected database.

DBI is a database interface API for Perl. It allows AllCommerce to smoothly connect to a database. DBI defines an API, but it omits the implementation-dependent details for the specific database. DBD Drivers are written to bridge the gap, implementing the API for a specific independent database.

The DBI alone is not sufficient, as it is merely an interface between your Perl code and a specific database driver. Therefore, the DBI Driver needs a functional DBD Driver to communicate with the database.

2.1.4 A Web Server

AllCommerce requires that you have a Web server installed and working properly before installing AllCommerce.

At this time AllCommerce is optimized to only run with the Apache Web server. However, there is a ported version of AllCommerce available which runs under the Microsoft IIS server. In future releases of AllCommerce the ported functionality for IIS will be included in the standard release.

2.1.5 Cookieless Shopping

AllCommerce can provide cookieless browsing, using the "wrapper" interface. The wrapper interface is dependent on the libwww library for Perl. To get libwww-perl working properly, the following packages must be installed:

  • Digest::MD5

  • HTML::Parser

  • MIME::Base64

  • URI

These packages can be obtained from www.linpro.no/lwp or www.cpan.org.

2.2 Expanding the Tarball

Before expanding the AllCommerce tarball, move the file os_allcommerce.1.0.4.tar.gz to the directory which your Web Server uses for served data.

If you have Apache installed, the Apache default directory should be /home/httpd.

Untar Zelerate AllCommerce by entering:

    tar -zxvf os_allcommerce.1.0.4.tar.gz

Now check the directory ownership:

    ls -ld os_allcommerce

In the case of a default Apache installation, you should see something like:

    drwxr-xr-x 15 nobody nobody {size} {mm dd time} os_allcommerce

If the directory is not owned by nobody.nobody, enter:

    chown -R nobody.nobody os_allcommerce

using ls to verify that the change in ownership took effect.

In general, you will want all files and directories to be owned by the account under which the Web server will be run (typically, this is nobody).

If you wish to conserve disk space, you may now remove the tarball by entering:

    rm os_allcommerce.1.0.4.tar.gz

2.3 Automated Installation

Zelerate AllCommerce can be installed by means of an automated installation procedure that will set up and configure various aspects of the product. This procedure prompts the user for various data throughout the installation process and is recommended for non-technical users.

2.3.1 Installation using configure.pl

configure.pl is a Perl script which will assist you in the installation and configuration of Zelerate AllCommerce.

Please note: At this time, configure.pl is limited to the MySQL database (running locally) and to the Apache Web Server. If you are not using MySQL as your database for AllCommerce, you will need to configure AllCommerce manually (see section 2.4, Manual Installation).

2.3.2 Executing the Script

If you are ready to run configure.pl and begin the installation process, you will need to be in the os_allcommerce directory.

From a shell prompt, type:

    ./configure.pl

to execute the script and begin the installation process.

* The command line arguments assume that you are in the os_allcommerce directory.

2.3.3 The Installation Process

configure.pl will perform several dependency checks, then allow you to perform a step-by-step installation of Zelerate AllCommerce.

2.3.3.1 Check for Dependencies

AllCommerce has several prerequisites; these must be installed before AllCommerce will work properly. The configure.pl script will make sure that the prerequisites are installed and working properly.

2.3.3.1.1 Perl and Perl Modules

This step will perform a check to see if Perl is installed and will check to see if the libraries needed for cookieless shopping are present.
    #####
    #
    # Zelerate AllCommerce Version 1.0.4
    #
    #####

    Welcome to the Install Script for Zelerate AllCommerce.
    This script will guide you through the installation
    process.

    Do you wish to continue with this installation? (y/n)

    #####
    #
    # Perl Setup
    #
    #####

    Checking Perl version ... using Version 5.00503 ... ok.

    libwww-perl and other needed libraries from CPAN are not
    installed for cookieless shopping, please refer to the
    install notes for more details.

If you are missing Perl or the needed Perl library for cookieless shopping, a message is displayed on the screen explaining which is missing. For more information on the prerequisites needed to run AllCommerce, please refer to section 2.1.

2.3.3.1.2 DBI and DBD Drivers

This step will perform a check to make sure that DBI (including the needed DBD drivers) are installed and working properly.
    #####
    #
    # DBI Queries
    #
    #####

    Checking for available DBI drivers ... done.
    Listing each DBI driver with recognized data sources (databases) ...

    Driver: mysql
    (1)Data Source is DBI:mysql:mysql
    (2)Data Source is DBI:mysql:test

If DBI and DBD are installed and working properly, you will see a list of data sources that can be used with AllCommerce.

2.3.3.2 Database

This step will allow you to create a new database table or use an existing database.

If you have multiple databases installed, you will be prompted to select the appropriate data driver for use with AllCommerce.

    #####
    #
    # Database Driver
    #
    #####
 
    Which database driver will you be using? [mysql] 
If you are using mysql as your database, press the return key. If you are using one of the other stable supported databases, enter the name of the data driver and press return.

    #####
    #
    # Database Table Setup
    #
    #####

    Do you wish to create a new database table? (y/n)

Type [y] to Continue and create a new database table. See section 2.3.2.2.1 (Create New Database Table).

Type [n] to Continue and use an existing database table. See section 2.3.2.3.2 (Use Existing Database Table).

2.3.3.2.1 Create New Database Table

This step will walk you through the creation of a new database table for use with AllCommerce.

Default values are shown in brackets.

    Which database driver will you be using? [mysql]

This step is asking for the name of the database driver you are using for AllCommerce. For example, if you are using MySQL as your database driver, you would enter mysql.

    What is the name of the database? [osallcommerce]

This step is asking for the name of the database table you wish to create, for use with AllCommerce. Suppose you are setting up a store to sell shoes; you may want to call the database table shoes or even bigfeet.

    What is the database username? [root]

This step is asking for the database account user name. If you have not set up an account for the database user in MySQL, the default user will be root.

    What is the database password? []

This step is asking for the database account user name's password. If you have not set up a password for the database user in MySQL, the default password for the database user should be left empty.

    What is the database servername? []

This step is asking for the server name of the machine which is hosting your database. This machine can be either a separate server or the same server on which you have AllCommerce installed. If you are running AllCommerce and the database server on the same machine, this setting can either left blank or set to localhost.

    What is the database port? [3306]

This step is asking for the communications port is used to communicate with the database server. In the case of MySQL, if you are using a separate database server, the default communications port should be 3306.

2.3.3.2.2 Use Existing Database Table

This step will walk you through the recreation of a new database table, for use with AllCommerce.
    Do you wish to recreate the database (i.e. drop and create)
      (y/n)?

Type [y] to Continue and select an existing database table. Type [n] to abort the installation.

    Driver: mysql
    (1) Data Source is DBI:mysql:mysql
    (2) Data Source is DBI:mysql:osallcommerce
    (3) Data Source is DBI:mysql:test

    Which database ( e.g. 2 for (2) ) do you want to recreate?

This step is asking for the number of the database that you wish to drop and have recreated. Use the number that is listed next to the name you desire.

    What is the username? [root]

This step is asking for the database account user name. If you have not set up an account for the database user in MySQL, the default user will be root.

    What is the password? []

This step is asking for the database account user name's password. If you have not set up a password for the database user in MySQL, the default password for the database user should be left empty.

    What is the servername? [localhost]

This step is asking for the server name of the machine which is hosting your database. This machine can be either a separate server or the same server on which you have AllCommerce installed. If you are running AllCommerce and the database server on the same machine, this setting can either be left blank or set to localhost.

    What is the port? [3306]

This step is asking for the communications port which is used to communicate with the database server. In the case of MySQL, if you are using a separate database server, the default communications port should be 3306.

    Are you sure you want to recreate the database osallcommerce
      (recreating the database will destroy any existing information
      in the database)? (y/n) 

Type [y] to continue the installation. Type [n] to abort the installation.

Please note: If you answer "y" to this step, all data in the database you are recreating will be dropped and overwritten and all information stored in this table will be lost.

2.3.3.2.3 Setting up the AllCommerce Data Structure

A data structure for AllCommerce will need to be imported into the database table that you have just created. If the database table was created successfully, this step will create the AllCommerce data structure without any prompting.
    #####
    #
    # AllCommerce Data Structure 
    #
    #####

    Creating tables ... done.

If this step was not automated or displayed error messages, please refer to database creation in a manual installation (section 2.4.2.2).

2.3.3.3 Web Server Configuration

A Web server will need to be configured for use with AllCommerce. At this time, configure.pl only supports the Apache Web server.

2.3.3.3.1 Apache Virtual Host

This step will walk you through the configuration of a Virtual Host for the Apache Web server.

Please note: due to the variations of Apache and SSL, you may need to hand-edit your httpd.conf file in order for the system to work properly. The Apache configuration part of this configure script can be bypassed at the appropriate prompt, if necessary (this allows AllCommerce to be run with other Web servers).

    #####
    #
    # Apache Virtual Host Setup
    #
    #####

    Do you want to add virtual host entries into your Apache httpd.conf
    (httpsd.conf) file? (y/n) 

Type [n] to skip automated configuration of the Apache Web Server and go to section 2.3.2.4 (AllCommerce Configuration Files).
Type [y] to continue with the configuration of the Apache Web Server.

    Please give the directory where your Apache httpd.conf or httpsd.conf
      file is located.

This step is asking for the directory in which your Apache Web server keeps the configuration files on your server. In a default Apache installation, this will be either /etc/httpd/conf or /usr/local/httpd.

    Will you be running ssl? (y/n) 

If you wish to run AllCommerce through a secure Web server, so user information is encrypted, you will want to enable ssl. This setting is used in various areas of AllCommerce which run in a secure mode.

    ServerName?

This is the server name for the virtual host which you are configuring. Remember, this server name must either have a DNS record or an entry in your /etc/hosts file for Apache to work properly.

Server Name Example: www.mydomain.com

    Port?

This is the port the Apache Web server uses to communicate. The default port for the Apache Web server is 80.

    Server Admin?

This is an email address the Web Server can contact if a problem occurs.

    Document Root?

This Document Root setting should be set to the directory which holds your AllCommerce file tree. In the case of a default AllCommerce installation, this will be /home/httpd/os_allcommerce.

    Error Log?

The Error Log is the error log file name.

    Transfer Log?

The Transfer Log is the transfer (access) log file name.

    cgi-bin Directory?

The cgi-bin Directory should be set to the directory which contains your AllCommerce cgi-bin scripts. In the case of a default AllCommerce installation, this will be /home/httpd/os_allcommerce/cgi-bin.

configure.pl will now show you a preview of the entry it wishes to make in the httpd.conf or httpsd.conf file.

    Write this output to Apache httpd (httpsd) conf file? [n]

Type [n] to skip saving the configuration for your Apache Web Server.
Type [y] to continue and save the configuration for your Apache Web server.

2.3.3.4 AllCommerce Configuration Files

AllCommerce has four configuration files that need to be configured in order to run the product. These configuration files contain almost all of the business rules for your site. The three configuration files which are set up with configure.pl are: site.conf, machine.conf, and database.conf. These files are opened automatically and will prompt you for the answers to various configuration parameters.
    #####
    #
    # Configuration Files Setup
    #
    #####

    Configuration file settings ...

2.3.3.5 Initial Data Load

An initial data load needs to be primed into AllCommerce in order for the platform to take on its personality as a commerce application. The initial data load is performed automatically if the database was created successfully and the import of the AllCommerce data structure was completed.
    #####
    #
    # Initial Data Load
    #
    #####

    Adding initial data load ... done.

If this step was not automated or displayed error messages, please refer to "importing the initial data load in a manual installation" (section 2.4.2.5).

2.3.3.6 Shipping Methods and Rates Data Load

The shipping methods and rates data load allows you to use the download information from United Parcel Service (UPS), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and Federal Express (FedEx) to calculate shipping costs for a customer transaction.

Using information that you download from the shippers you want to use, this step translates these files into SQL insert statements that can be imported into your database.

    #####
    #
    # Shipping Tables Data Load
    #
    #####

    Running import_shipping_tables.pl ... done.

    Adding shipping entries (This may take a few minutes) ...

    No shipping entries to add.

If this step was not automated or displayed error messages, please refer to "shipping methods and rates data load in a manual installation" (section 2.4.2.6).

2.3.3.7 Successful Installation

After configure.pl has been successfully executed, you should be able to proceed to login to the AllCommerce admin screen and start creating your site.
    https://sitename.sitedomain/cgi-bin/om/admin/login.cgi

    username: admin
    password: allcommerce

For more information on how to use the AllCommerce Administrators, see section 3 (Administration).

2.3.4 configure.pl Options

configure.pl also has several command-line options that can be used while invoking the script, as:

    ./configure.pl help

Please note: if no keyword is provided after the script name, the entire installation process above is invoked.

* The command line arguments assume that you are in the os_allcommerce directory.

The options supported in configure.pl are:

  • help

    provide a list of options

  • database

    check Perl version, DBI, create new (or recreate) a database, load in the AllCommerce Datastructure

  • idl

    almost the same as database, but this will also import the initial data load needed by AllCommerce

  • conf

    allows you to change only the AllCommerce configuration files

  • httpd

    allows you to append the Virtual Host settings (as long as they do not already exist) to the end of httpd.conf

  • ship

    almost the same as idl, but allows you to import your shipping tables (see section 7.4) in order to properly execute this part of the script

2.4 Manual Installation

The manual installation procedure should be used if you cannot run configure.pl or choose this method to install and configure AllCommerce. This procedure will walk you through the various steps of installing and configuring AllCommerce, creating a database, and setting up a virtual host for your Web server.

2.4.1 Taking over from configure.pl

If you had problems installing AllCommerce using configure.pl, you can start from the first manual step and begin the installation process again or you can move forward to the step where configure.pl ran into difficulties.

2.4.2 The Installation Process

The manual, step-by-step installation of AllCommerce requires that you have access to a command prompt. In the manual installation procedure, you are walked through the database creation, the Web server configuration, and the various configurations and data loads that are needed for AllCommerce.

2.4.2.1 Check for Dependencies

AllCommerce has several prerequisites that need to be installed in order for the system to work properly. Please make sure (manually) that the prerequisites are installed and working properly.

If you have not installed all the prerequisites that are needed for AllCommerce (described in section 2.1), we strongly advise that you install them before continuing on with the installation procedure.

2.4.2.2 Database Table Creation

AllCommerce uses a database table to store information that will be accessed by the commerce application. The information stored in the database table allows a centralized point for all data within your site.

There are two options in the creation of the database table: create a new database or use an existing database table. We strongly recommend that you choose to create a new database table for use with AllCommerce.

2.4.2.2.1 Create New Database Table

This step will walk you through the creation of a new database table, for use with AllCommerce.

To create a new database table go to a command prompt and type:

       mysqladmin create {new database name}

2.4.2.2.2 Use Existing Database Table

In future releases there will be a better way to integrate with an existing database table.

To integrate with an existing table we recommend that you follow the steps below.

From a command prompt type:

      mysqldump -t mysql {existing database table} > data/{existing database table}.mysqld
   
This will save all data from the existing table you wish to use with AllCommerce. A copy of this data is stored in a file named {existing database table}.mysqld located in the data directory of AllCommerce.
      mysqladmin drop {existing database table}
   

You will then see the following warning message:

        Dropping the database is potentially a very bad thing to do. 
        Any data stored in the database will be destroyed.  
        Do you really want to drop the '{existing database table}' 
        database [y/N]
   

Please be sure you really are prepared to drop this data. By answering 'y' to this step all data stored in this database table will be lost.

* The command line arguments assume that you are in the os_allcommerce directory.

2.4.2.2.3 Setting up the AllCommerce Data Structure

AllCommerce requires that your database table be configured with a set of data structures specific to AllCommerce. This specific set of data structures is known as the AllCommerce data structure.

To import the AllCommerce data structure into the database table you created for AllCommerce, from a command line type:

For MySQL:

      mysql {name of database table} < conf/tables.mysql.skel
For PostgreSQL:
      PostgreSQL  {name of database table} < conf/tables.postgresql.skel
For Oracle:
      You must use the configure script, configure.pl, for Oracle.

* The command line arguments assume that you are in the os_allcommerce directory.

2.4.2.3 Web Server Configuration

AllCommerce requires that you have a Web server installed and working properly.

At this time AllCommerce is optimized to only run with the Apache Web server. However, there is a ported version of the AllCommerce available which runs under the Microsoft IIS server. In future releases of AllCommerce the ported functionality for IIS will be included in the standard release.

2.4.2.3.1 Apache Virtual Host

The Apache Web server will need to have several changes to the default configuration in order to work properly with AllCommerce. The Apache Web server configuration file which will need to be edited is named httpd.conf. This file is located in the server root for Apache in a directory named conf.

For example, on a default installation of Apache the server root will be either /etc/httpd or /usr/local/httpd.

It is recommended that you create a Apache virtual host for the site you wish to use with AllCommerce.

Here's an example virtual host entry for a typical AllCommerce installation:

    <VirtualHost host.some_domain.com>
       ServerAdmin Webmaster@host.some_domain.com
       DocumentRoot /home/httpd/os_allcommerce/
       ServerName host.some_domain.com
       DirectoryIndex index.html index.shtml index.htm index.cgi
       ErrorLog logs/host.some_domain.com-error_log
       TransferLog logs/host.some_domain.com-access_log

       AddHandler cgi-script .cgi
       AddType text/html .shtml
       AddHandler server-parsed .shtml

       ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /home/httpd/os_allcommerce/cgi-bin/

       # allow access to the site
       <Directory "/home/httpd/os_allcommerce">
          AllowOverride all
          Options Includes FollowSymlinks ExecCGI
          Allow from all
       </Directory>

       # disallow access to everything else
       <DirectoryMatch "/home/httpd/os_allcommerce/(DOCS|bits|conf|crons
          |data|lib|skel|tools|transit|var)">
          Options None
          Order deny,allow
          deny from all
       </DirectoryMatch>

    </VirtualHost>
There are several important elements that need to be configured for Apache to work properly with AllCommerce.

  • DirectoryIndex

    AllCommerce uses index.cgi as the directory index. You must make sure index.cgi is specified in the list for DirectoryIndex.

          DirectoryIndex index.html index.shtml index.htm index.cgi

  • Directory Permissions

    You will need to turn on some directory permissions in order for Apache to execute cgi scripts and follow symbolic links. These options are enabled using the Directory tag.

           <Directory> </Directory>

  • ExecCGI and FollowSymlinks

    The initial script, index.cgi, that welcomes users to your site and redirects them to the appropriate language and interface tree is a cgi script. Therefore, in order for the Web server to execute this script in the os_allcommerce directory you must give permissions to the Web server to execute cgi scripts.

    AllCommerce uses symbolic links in the creation of its file names. You must allow the Web Server to follow symbolic links in the os_allcommerce directory.

    The ExecCGI and FollowSymlinks options should be placed in the Options tag within the Directory brackets.

          Options Includes FollowSymlinks ExecCGI

  • ServerName

    This setting must match the combination of siteserver and sitedomain in the AllCommerce configuration file machine.conf. This will be the server and domain name you are configuring to run with AllCommerce.

    Please note: this is the most common problem uses have when configuring Apache to work with AllCommerce. If you do not have these parameter set correctly you will experience a login loop problem when trying to use the AllCommerce administrator. This problem is caused because the Web server is unable to set a proper cookie.

    Here is an example of a proper configuration for AllCommerce and Apache ServerName.

          ServerName	www.mysite.com

    AllCommerce machine.conf:
       
          # The site domain name for the server you have OS AllCommerce installed.
          # For example: '.mydomain.com'
     
          sitedomain      .mysite.com 
     
          # The server name for your site.
          # For example: 'www'
     
          siteserver      www
You will need to restart your Web server after editing Apache httpd.conf for your changes to take effect.

2.4.2.4 AllCommerce Configuration Files

In order to configure your site parameters for AllCommerce, you will need to edit four configuration files located in the os_allcommerce/conf directory.

These configuration files are site.conf, database.conf, machine.conf, and cluster.conf.

  • site.conf

    This configuration file contains business rules for your site.

  • machine.conf

    This configuration file contains information about your Web server, payment gateway and mail server.

  • database.conf

    This configuration file contains information about your database server.

  • cluster.conf

    This configuration file contains information about your cluster and CCVS payment gateway.

In order for your changes in the AllCommerce configuration files, you will need to execute the update_conf.pl script, which is located in the os_allcommerce/crons directory.
      ./update_conf.pl
   
Note for users of openmerchant0.7.pre6 and earlier versions:

The site configuration file store.pm has been changed to site.pm, which is now a machine-generated file. Some variables within have also had name changes. It is therefore (strongly) recommended that you do not attempt to re-use any existing store.pm files you may have and upgrade to this version of AllCommerce.

2.4.2.5 AllCommerce Initial Data Load

You will have to load an initial data load into AllCommerce which contains default behaviors for this application.

To import the AllCommerce initial data load, from a command line: Change directory to the os_allcommerce directory and run:

      ./configure.pl idl 

2.4.2.6 Shipping Methods and Rates Data Load

AllCommerce uses real-time shipping methods in checkout. The shipping carriers supported in this release are: UPS, Fed Ex and USPS.

  • Overview

    import_shipping_tables.pl allows you to use the download information from United Parcel Service (UPS), U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and Federal Express (FedEx) to calculate shipping costs for a customer transaction. By using information that you download from the shippers you want to use, import_shipping_tables.pl translates this files into SQL insert statements that can be imported into your database.

  • Preliminary Information

    In order to charge shipping for an item, you must have weight information for each item being sold. This information should be placed in the database at the time of the creation of the object in the AllCommerce Administrator. Failure to provide weight information could result in incorrect shipping calculations.

  • Restrictions

    import_shipping_tables.pl is designed for U.S. domestic service only. International shipping involves a greater set of problems (e.g., import taxes, currency, import restrictions).

  • Information Needed For import_shipping_tables.pl

    Shipping tables are normally constructed based on the distance ("zone"), along with the type of service (e.g., "overnight") and weight ("rate"). In practical terms, two sets of tables are needed from each shipping company.

    import_shipping_tables.pl is designed to take information from UPS, USPS, and FedEx Websites, in order to construct the required shipping tables that will be put into the database.

    For UPS:

    • Go to www.ups.com/using/software/currentrates/rates_in_us.html.

    • On the UPS Website, for zone information input the first three digits of the "Origin Postal Code" (i.e., where you will be shipping from) and press the download button.

    • You will be prompted to download a file that is named by the three digit zip, suffixed with the extension .csv (e.g., 944.csv). This is your zone information, specific to your shipping location.

    • After getting the zone information, download the "Download All Rate Charts" via ZIP format.

    For USPS:

    • Go to postcalc.usps.gov/Zonecharts. Enter the first three digits of the origin postal code, and press the "Get Zone Chart" button. You will need to save this Web page.

    • Use the "Save as" button from the browser to save the file "default.asp".

    • For the rate chart, download the Express Mail and Priority Mail files (em.txt and pm.txt) from www.framed.usps.com/consumer/csv.htm (note that the extension is .com, rather than .gov).

    For FedEx:

    • Go to www.fedex.com/us/rates/zonelocator. Enter the 5-digit ZIP code and click on the "search by zip" button.

    • You will then be prompted to download a PDF-formatted file. Download the file.

    • Open the PDF format with your PDF viewer (e.g., Adobe Acroread (TM)).

    • Click on the text button on the view and cut and paste the first table containing the continental US information (zipcodes and zones only - do not cut and paste header info) to a file called fedexfile1.txt.

    • Cut and paste the other PDF table (containing Alaska and Hawaii ZIP codes and zones) to a file called fedexfile2.txt (remember to cut and paste only the ZIP codes and zones - no header info is needed).

    • Download the rates by service at www.fedex.com/us/rates/services/download.html. Use the unix format to download Rates_by_Service.tar.gz.

  • Using import_shipping_tables.pl

    If you are using all three shipping companies, then you should have the following files: UPS -> xxx.csv (where xxx is the three digit post zip) usrates.zip USPS -> default.asp em.txt pm.txt FedEx -> regionlocator.cgi Rates_by_Service.tar.gz

    In the tools directory, create a directory called "data", if it is not already there. Place the files you will be using into the data directory. For .tar.gz, uncompress and untar the file and unzip the .zip files, as well.

    In the tools directory, run import_shipping_tables.pl, which should convert the files above into SQL insert statements for import into your database. The SQL insert statements are grouped into files per the shipping method and either zone or rate (e.g., UPS.rate.dbid or UPS.994.zone.dbid).

    Once these files are created, you will need to load them into your database. They will then be available as shipping options during customer checkout.

2.4.2.7 Successful Installation

After manual installation has been successfully completed, you should be able to proceed to login to the AllCommerce admin screen and start creating your site.
    https://sitename.sitedomain/cgi-bin/om/admin/login.cgi
 
    username: admin
    password: allcommerce

For more information on how to use the AllCommerce Administrators, see section 3 (Administration).

2.5 Site Templates and Customization

AllCommerce uses a template based publishing model. In this template based model, html templates are stored in the file system and template names are stored in the database using the AllCommerce Content Manager.

The templates are in the os_allcommerce directory:

  • Administrative templates

    These are the templates the AllCommerce administrator uses. They are divided into page templates that store page information and row templates which are used for repetitive elements.

       bits/eng/admin/pages
       bits/eng/admin/rows
  • Site templates

    These templates are used for your Web site that users will view. This includes the pages for the shopping cart and checkout. They are divided into page templates that store page information and cell and row templates which are used for repetive elements.

       /bits/eng/html/pages
       /bits/eng/html/cells
       /bits/eng/html/rows
AllCommerce provides a list of field names and functions that can be easily called out of the templates using a very simple AllCommerce expansion language defined in section 6.1.2 (Template Creation and Customization).

2.6 Loading YOUR Data

AllCommerce provides a Content and Inventory manager to load data into the system. For more information on loading your data into AllCommerce, see section 3 on administration.

2.6.1 Critical Concepts

See section 3 on AllCommerce administration.

2.6.2 Importing Existing Data

At this time, there is no tool in this AllCommerce release to load existing data. For more information on the AllCommerce data structure see section 5.3 (Data Structures).

2.6.3 Loading Images

AllCommerce stores images in the filesystem in the os_allcommerce/images directory. On most systems this directory can be mounted which allows for a drag and drop interface. If you are running AllCommerce on one server images can be transferred through your systems secure copy.

As items are created using the AllCommerce Content manager, unique object identifiers are assigned. These unique identifiers should be used in naming the assets in the images directory.

2.6.4 Tax Tables

There are no tax tables used in this release of AllCommerce. The tax information is handled in the configuration file site.conf.

2.7 General System Security

AllCommerce is fully capable of taking advantage of the secure encryption schemes offered by secure Web servers.

You can offer secure online ordering and processing of data by utilizing an SSL-enabled Web server such as IBM httpd or Stronghold.

2.7.1 Blowfish

AllCommerce utilizes the Blowfish algorithm for password, gift certificate, and other internal data encryption. This 64-bit, variable-length key designed by Bruce Schneier is gaining wide acceptance as a very strong encryption algorithm. It is unlicensed and freely available.

For more information on Blowfish visit: www.counterpane.com/blowfish.html

2.8 Upgrading from 0.7.x to 0.9.x or 1.0.x

There is no upgrade for this version available at this time.

2.9 Server Farms and Cluster Operation

This release of AllCommerce supports only one server farm operation.