Finding the Message/Ad Posting Area
When the Personals/Classifieds was installed, a default "General Message Area" was created. You can proceed to start posting messages/ads to it if you wish, or jump ahead and configure your own areas. When posting a message/ad, be sure to write down the user name and password you used. You'll need to reenter those when you go to check for replies to your message.
To access the public message software (which your web visitors will use), you'll need to remember what directory you installed it in. Personals/Classifieds uses the script in that directory (called 'pc.cgi' for UNIX users or 'pc.pl' for NT users.) An example of the url might be:
http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ads/pc.cgi (UNIX)
http://www.mydomain.com/scripts/ads/pc.pl (NT)
Finding the Area to Check Replies
There is a separate program used for checking to see if there are replies to a message. From here you can read the replies, delete them if you wish, and even delete your original message.
The 'check replies' script is located in your Personals/Classifieds directory, as check_replies.cgi (UNIX) or check_replies.pl (NT).
For example:
http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ads/check_replies.cgi
http://www.mydomain.com/scripts/ads/check_replies.pl
Finding the Administration Area
The administration area is setup for you to:
- Delete unwanted messages/ads.
- Change the administrator user name and password.
- Edit the name and description of message areas.
The admin panel is also located in your Personals/Classifieds directory, as pc-admin.cgi (UNIX) or pc-admin.pl (NT).
For example:
http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ads/pc-admin.cgi
http://www.mydomain.com/scripts/ads/pc-admin.pl
You will be prompted for a username and password for administrator access. By default, the software is configured to accept the following:
Username: Admin
Password: ChangeMe
Once you enter the system you will have the option of changing the username and password for administrator access. We recommend you do so immediately!
Emergency Password Changing
We have included an emergency administrator-login restoration program in the event that you forget the username and/or password assigned to the administrator console.
If your server has a mapping for .pl programs, simply type the following to restore the default administrator login (Admin, ChangeMe):
change_admin.pl
If not, type the following:
C:\Perl\Bin\Perl.Exe change_admin.pl
(substituting the correct directory for your Perl interpreter if necessary).
Adding/Removing Message Areas
There are separate scripts included with Personals/Classifieds to allow you to add or remove message areas from the system. By default, the system has one message area, but you'll probably want to add others. For example, if you're using the system for a personals message board, you'd probably want to create areas for "Men Seeking Women" and "Women Seeking Men", etc.
These scripts are located in your Personals/Classifieds directory, as add_group.pl and del_group.pl. If you're using the UNIX version, you must run the scripts from the shell prompt.
