Introduction to phpCollab

phpCollab is an open-source internet-enabled collaboration workspace for project teams. Modeled on Macromedia Sitespring, phpCollab's architecture allows for the consulting team to share information with each other in one space and publish that information, when desired, to another space for the client. phpCollab encompasses the most important aspects of project management, such as task planning and document sharing, and hooks into other open source applications, such as Mantis for bug tracking, and PhPNuke (using phpCollabPublisher) for content management, for ongoing project support. phpCollab's community, part of the larger sourceforge open source software community, is highly active and the dedicated volunteer team of developers, testers, and documenters is constantly enhancing the application to meet user needs.* In this document, you will find: Features for phpCollab Version 2.4 and 2.5 Installation Guide for phpCollab Version 2.5 Upgrade Guide for phpCollab Version 2.5

Current Features
ADMINISTRATION:

Install: easy installation that allows for flexibility with firewalls and intranets Updates: automatic system updates to the latest available version Themes: availability of interface themes Permissions: permissioning for different types of users Logs: track user activity Database: backup data Settings: manage system settings such as default language and file size allowance

PROJECT TEAM

Team/Client: 2 distinct sites - one for project team information and one for client team information Notifications: automated notifications of project changes and events through email Project Lifecycle: customizable organization (through phases, tasks, and subtasks) Planning: manage assignments, monitor task status, track estimate vs. actual work Graphical View: JPGraph graphically maps task progress Scope Creep: automatic display of difference between project estimates and recorded actuals Documents: file storage, versioning, peer reviews Support: manage and respond to support requests Bug Tracking: manage software issues through integrated Mantis Discussions: open and post to a project bulletin board Notes: record miscellaneous project information Reports: produce project statistics Calendar: visually track assignments and add milestones and recurring project events Bookmarks: record and share important web site addresses Search: search system on keyword basis Export: save project file as a CSV

CLIENT TEAM

Tasks: view existing and post new tasks Documents: upload new files, approve or edit existing documents Bulletin Board: open new and contribute to discussions Support: file support requests and view responses

UPCOMING FEATURES FOR RELEASE 2.5

Invoicing Newsdesk for publishing articles with RSS feed System-wide email capability Export reports to PDF

* Please note that while phpCollab integrates well with some content management systems, like PhPNuke, phpCollab is not itself a web site publisher or a content management system.

phpCollab Installation Guide (2.5)

This page covers first-time installation; for upgrading an existing phpCollab implementation, see the "Upgrading phpCollab." 1. Extract files from zip into one folder (ie - "phpCollab") 2. Unix/Linux: Rename the file "settings_blank.php" (includes/settings.php) to "settings.php" 3. Unix/Linux: change permissions (chmod) to 777 on the following files/folders (you may also have to perform a "chown apache"): o "includes/settings.php" file o "files" folder o "logos_clients" folder 4. Create a new MySql, PostgreSQL or Sql Server database to house the phpCollab data (the install utility will create all the tables so long as the database exists) 5. Open a window in either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator and enter the URL of the setup.php file in your installation of phpCollab (ie - http://www.yourdomain.com/phpCollab/installation/setup.php) 6. Read the GNU License Agreement, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Step 2" link (Note: if you are creating this inside a firewall, ie for intranet only use, click the checkbox next to "Offline installation..." at the bottom of the page)
7.

The "Settings" Page will appear, as below:

Continued

phpCollab Installation Guide (2.5)

Settings Fields: - Installation Type - defaults to "Online" - Database Type - defaults to "MySQL" - Database Server - the name of your server (for instance "localhost"); check with your web server administrator if you are unsure of the name of the database server - Database Login - create a new user to access this particular database (in some cases, you will need to append your host server login to the database username, ie - "yourdom_username") - Database Password - create a password for the database user login (not for the admin in the phpCollab interface, which is the last field, "Admin password") - Database Name - the name of the database you created in Step 4 of this Installation Guide (in some cases you will need to append your host login to the database name, ie "yourdom_phpCollab") - Table prefix - you would only need to set this property if you had multiple installations of phpCollab running in the same database - Create Folder Method - (defaults to "PHP") for safe-mode, use FTP; if safe-mode is off, use PHP - Notifications - (defaults to "True") if set to "True," the system will allow users to receive automatic updates when certain project changes/updates occur; valid sendmail class must be installed on the server - Forced Login - (defaults to "False") if false, you will not be able to setup an external login page - Default Language - (defaults to "Blank") if left blank, the phpCollab will choose the language based on the browser's default language settings; there are 29 languages from which to choose if you would prefer to set to a single language - Root - automatically populates with the location of the original installation from step 1; do not change unless you have changed the location of the phpCollab files since starting the installation wizard - Login Method - (defaults to "Crypt") refers to method for securing the storage of passwords in the database: "Crypt" uses the htaccess file and cvs authentication, which must be enabled; "Md5" is a one-way hashing algorithm that is highly secure; and "Plain" is normal password encryption - Admin Password - set the password that the phpCollab administrator will use to log into the user interface (different from the database password) 8. Click on the "Please log in" link on the "Control" Page that appears after you have successfully installed the systems and set its properties properly 9. When the login page appears, type "Admin" for username and the password you set in the last item of step 7 (after you log in you will be able to create the other system users) 10. After successfully logging in, delete the "setup.php" file, which is located in the "installation" folder 11. Edit settings by clicking on the "Edit Settings" link on the "Administration" Page or if you are an advanced user, manually edit the "settings.php" file located in the "includes" folder

Upgrading phpCollab (2.5)

This page covers upgrades to existing implementations of phpCollab; for installing a new phpCollab system, see the "Installation Guide." 1. If you have version 2.2 or earlier, copy the "settings.php" file (located in the "inc" folder) to an "includes" folder 2. Backup up the "settings.php" file and the phpCollab database 3. Extract all files from the zip file into the phpCollab folder on your server where you kept your previous installation 4. Log into phpCollab as the administrator 5. Click the "Edit Settings" under "Update" on the administration page; click Save button when finished to generate a new settings.php file (Note that XOOPS integration is no longer included in version 2.5)

Settings different from 2.4: o Notification Method - notifications via smtp (instead of only phpmail) are now possible; to use smtp, fill in your smtp server (ie - smtp.yourdomain.com); smtp login name (ie - yourname@yourdomain.com); and smtp login password o Theme - now has "xpblue" option o Deletion of XOOPs integration settings 6. Click "Edit Database" under "Update" on the administration page; click the Save button when finished (Note: if your version is lower than 1.8, run the "fixFilesSize.php" file in the "installation" folder to remove incorrect size units in database)