Installing TUFaT
To install TUFaT, you must have available a web server running PHP/MySQL, with the ability to change the permissions of files and folders (CHMOD). If you know how to use an FTP client, then you should be able to do this. TUFaT may not work on some "free servers", however. If you encounter a server on which TUFaT does not work as expected, you're encouraged to post this information on the forum, or email it to Darren for analysis. Or, use another server. TUFaT works on most standard PHP/MySQL-enabled servers.
Please backup your database and web files before starting this installation.
First, unpack the TUFaT distribution to your desktop, then FTP the files in the "public_html" folder to your document root (or a directory beneath the document root if you prefer) on your server. Be sure to preserve the directory structure, including the empty directories like "cache", "temp", and "templates_c".
Start the installer by pointing your web browser to the "install.php" file: http://www.yourdomain.com/install.php or similar. You should see the first step of the installer. Click "Start Installation" to begin!
In Step 1 of the installer, the system will check your server environment to ensure that the necessary files and folders are writable by PHP, and that you have an appropriate version of PHP. In case you're wondering about that RedHat Linux check... RedHat's PHP sessions are buggy in some versions of PHP 4.2.x. If that circumstance is detected (very unusual), you'll be asked to upgrade your PHP installation before continuing. This problem should not affect the vast majority of users.
If any errors were detected, fix the errors then Refresh/Reload your web browser to re-check. Don't click on "Start" however, or you'll be re-taken to the welcome page. If you need to make one or more files writable, you can do that using most FTP clients. Using AbsoluteFTP, for example, you simply right-click on the file or folder in question, then go to the "Properties" menu option, as shown below (this is after the files have been uploaded to your server, of course).
In this particular screenshot, I have uploaded the files to a folder called "tufat".
Ok, assuming that everything checks OK in Step 1, click "Step 2 >" to continue to the next step. In this step you will be asked for your MySQL login information. Please note that the "Host" is NOT the same as your domain URL. This is usually "localhost", but not always. You should check with your website hosting company for the correct values to input here.
The "Table Prefix" value is the string that should be appended to all table names that are added to MySQL. This permits you to use multiple copies of the same script on one server, or to easily manage several different scripts, without concern about conflicting table names.
If you are upgrading from a previous version of TUFaT, you should use the same database login and table prefix. If the TUFaT installer detects tables of the same name, it will display the prompt shown below. Before continuing with this step, be sure to BACKUP your entire MySQL database. This is always a good idea when you install any PHP/MySQL script for the first time.
If you choose "Clean Install", then the existing tables will be over-written with new table data, and any existing information will be lost. If you already have TUFaT installed on your system, choose "Upgrade". This will "fill in" any missing tables and fields, while preserving your existing family tree structures.
In Step 4, you will be asked for some basic configuration information, like the family tree supervisor name and email address, the name of your family tree, and the "master password", with which you will be able to access ANY tree in the system without having to lookup the password. Also, if you are tracking animal genealogy rather than human genealogy, you can specify that here, and also specify your email method: either SMTP email or standard PHP mail.
For most users with a standard PHP/MySQL server setup, PHP Mail should be sufficient. You can change the template later, and other values can be changed later by directly editing the "config.php" file. Step 4 writes this new data to TUFaT's config.php file.
We're almost done! In the final step of the installer, the system updates your config.php file, and provides a link to start TUFaT. You will need to delete the "install.php" file before starting TUFaT, however. This is done for obvious security reasons.
When you start TUFaT (after deleting the install.php file), you will be asked to create logins for your tree. The "General Use Password" probably what most of your family members will use to access and add to your family tree (these are the people who have permission to EDIT your tree), whereas the "Read Only" password is likely what you would give to your non-family friends to view your tree, but not edit it. All users will use the "User ID" as the login ID/username for accessing your family tree.
Read more about the different levels of login, and what the interface differences looks like when a user logs in with these various levels of access.
Good luck!
Darren