FAQ Manager - Program Manual
  • Introduction:

    Thanks for purchasing FAQ Manager by CGI World. This document will help you install and configure FAQ Manager to run on your webserver...

    Program Requirements:

    * Perl v5.002+
    * Web Server (Unix or Windows)
    * CGI-BIN or Access to Execute CGI Scripts

    License Notice:

    Please take the time to carefully read the license agreement included in this package. The license agreement details the terms and conditions of the Software License for FAQ Manager by CGI World / I2 Services, Inc. Make sure you have read and understand these terms and conditions before using the software. By executing or modifying the FAQ Manager program, you have agreed to this license.

  • Table of Contents:

    1. Program Files
        1.1 Program License Agreement & Manual
        1.2 Directory & File Structure / Permissions

    2. Installation
        2.1 Install Instructions
        2.2 Run Program & Set Configuration
        2.3 Using & Customizing Output Templates
        2.4 FAQ Interaction CGI Info

    3. Technical Support
        3.1 Program Does Not Execute (Server/Forbidden Error)
        3.2 Server Error While Executing
        3.3 Can Not Create Groups / FAQs

    4. About CGI World
        4.1 About Us
        4.2 Product Support
        4.3 More Products
        4.4 Custom Programming
        4.5 Contact Us


    1. Program Files: - Top

    1.1 Program License Agreement & Manual:

         * License_Agreement.html - Product License Agreement
         * Program_Manual.html - Product Manual
         * BlatMail_License.txt - NT Blat Mail License

    1.2 Directory & File Structure / Permissions :

         * / - (Permission: 755 / Execute)

               - FAQ_Manager_v1.0.cgi - ( Permission: 755 / Executable )
               - FAQ_Interact_v1.0.cgi - ( Permission: 755 / Executable )

               - Note: You May Change the 2 File Names Above
               - Note: Do NOT Change the File Names Below
               - Note: NT Servers Require .pl Extensions, not .cgi

               - blat.exe - ( NT Server Only - Binary Upload )

         * /faq_manager/ - (Permission: 777 / Writable)

               - _admin_login.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _config.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _edit_templates.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _faq_add.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _faq_delete.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _faq_edit.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _faq_list.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _faq_preview.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _groups_add.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _groups_delete.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _groups_edit.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _groups_list.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _new_question_answer.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _template_delete.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _view_new_questions.html - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - faq_config.dat - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - faq_groups.dat - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )

         * /faq_manager/images/ - (No Permission Change )

               - configuration.gif - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - faq_manager_v1.gif - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - publish.gif - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - reload.gif - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - templates.gif - ( No Permission Chanage )

         * /faq_manager/mail_files/ - (No Permission Change )

               - _answered_question.txt - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _faqs_by_email.txt - ( No Permission Chanage )
               - _submitted_question.txt - ( No Permission Chanage )

         * /faq_manager/templates/ - (Permission: 777 / Writable)

               - _email_faqs.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - _faqs_sent.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - _publish_group.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - _publish_index.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - _question_submitted.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - _search_faqs.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )
               - _submit_question.html - ( Permission: 666 / Writable )


    2. Installation: - Top

    2.1 Install Instructions:

    1. Unzip the distribution archive and preserve directory structure.

    2. Choose a directory on your webserver that you want to run the FAQ Manager CGI Program from (Some Servers require the cgi-bin).

    3. Create the following directory structure inside the directory you chose in the previous step. Also set the permissions on the directories listed below.


    /faq_manager/   ( Permission: 777 / Writable )
    images/   ( No Permission Change )
    mail_files/   ( No Permission Change )
    templates/   ( Permission: 777 / Writable )

    4. After creating the above directory structure and setting permissions, upload each file to its appropriate directory and set the files permission. You can find the directory/file structure in the Program File List section above. .

    You will need to create one more directory which will hold your new FAQ Area. This directory can be any name of your choice (normally /faq/). You will need to add the full server path to the directory you created in the FAQ Manager configuration (After running the FAQ Manager Exec CGI)

    UPLOAD HTML & IMAGE FILES IN BINARY - ALL OTHER FILES REQUIRE A ASCII UPLOAD.

    2.2 Run Program & Set Configuration:

    You should now have all the FAQ Manager Exec & Program related files uploaded and permissions set on them. Now with the web browser of your choice, run the Main CGI File (Originally: FAQ_Manager_v1.0.cgi).

    The first time you run the program you should be prompted with the configuration screen. This is where you setup all needed information required by FAQ Manager to run successfully. You cannot go beyond the configuration setup screen until you enter an administration password.

    Also run the FAQ Interaction script (Originally: FAQ_Interact_v1.0.cgi). This CGI is used for having FAQs emailed to users who request such, Searching Your FAQs, and Submitting Questions by viewers who have not found answers in your FAQ.

    If you run into server or execution errors when running these CGI's on your webserver, review the Technical Support section of this manual.

    2.3 Using & Customizing Output Templates:

    To make the customizing of HTML & e-Mail output simple, we have created HTML templates that you may edit to make your FAQ area created by FAQ Manager match your sites current look exactly.

    Before you modify these output templates, which are located in /templates/ & /mail_files/. Make backups of the originals so that you have copies to rely on should you delete/remove needed syntax located inside the templates.

    When customizing the templates, be cautions of a few things not to delete... Tags or Variables that look like:

    <-- insert : $var_name$ -->   or any word that begins with a dollar ($) sign or ends with a dollar ($) sign (ie: $var_name$).

    Also be sure to not remove or modify tags that look like:

    <-- def : text_here --> or
    <-- /def : text_here -->

    or any text in between those two tags.

    YOU SHOULD NEVER REMOVE THE TAGS/HTML DESCRIBED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ARE 100% SURE OF WHAT THEY OUTPUT WHEN YOU PUBLISH YOUR FAQ AREA FROM THE ADMIN CGI PROGRAM

    2.4 FAQ Interaction CGI Info:

    The FAQ Interaction CGI Program is used for three things. e-Mailing of Selected FAQs to ones email address, Searching of your FAQs, and the ability for a viewer to submit a question to you that has not been answered in your FAQ section.

    Example URLs to each of these ares would be:

    FAQ_Interact.cgi- e-Mail FAQs Section
    FAQ_Interact.cgi?search- Search FAQs Section
    FAQ_Interact.cgi?submit_question- Submit a Question

    You can customize the 3 areas above by editing their templates located in /templates/


    3. Technical Support: - Top

    3.1 Program Does Not Execute (Server/Forbidden Error):

    If the Program does not run at all you have a couple of possible problems. First make sure you have uploaded the Program Exec Files (.cgi) in ASCII mode, NOT Binary. This will cause the CGI to be corrupted on the server.

    If you have uploaded the CGI's in ASCII mode, the next thing to look for is if you have the top line of each CGI script pointing to Perl5 on your webserver. Perl 5 is normally in one of three places. '/usr/bin/perl' , '/usr/bin/perl5', or '/usr/local/bin/perl5' .

    Perl scripts require on the top line to have the # & ! charactars before the Perl5 location. Meaning:

        #!/usr/local/bin/perl for example.

    If all the above checks out, the last possibly problem is that you probably did not set the CGI's to executable permissions. In unix change the files permission/mode to 755 (executable), on NT Servers check to see if the file is set to Execute.

    3.2 Server Error While Executing:

    If the FAQ Manager Program Errors out while executing, it is most likley because the program is trying to send mail out and is not finding the Sendmail or Blatmail program.

    Be sure you have the correct sendmail path in the configuration if you are using Unix. Sendmail is normally located in one of three places. '/usr/sbin/sendmail' , '/usr/bin/sendmail' or '/usr/lib/sendmail' .

    If you are running on an NT server, make sure you have blat.exe inside the same directory as the Executable CGI files, and that you have a correct SMTP mail server, and Blat Port set (Use Blat Port 25).

    Another reason the Program could error when executing is if you did not set the /faq_manager/ directory to a writable permission. This directory is used to create a filelocking file. If it is not writable the filelock file cannot be created, therefor the program will terminiate.

    3.3 Can Not Create Groups / FAQs:

    If you are having trouble creating FAQ groups or individual Questions for your FAQ Groups, check the permissions on the directory '/faq_manager/'. Make sure this directory is writable (777) and the .dat files inside the directory are also writable (666).


    4. About CGI World: - Top

    4.1 About Us:

    CGI World, a division of i2 Services, Inc Developes and Markets Interactive CGI Products created in the Perl language to Companies and Web Developers around the world.

    4.2 Product Support:

    If you are in need of Support for this product or others you have purchased from CGI World please visit our Product Support Department.

    4.3 More Products:

    Looking for other Web Applications? CGI World offers a wide variety of CGI Products that can simplify your everyday web tasks. Programs to handle Online Forms, Surveys, Website Protection, Realty Management, News management, Image management, Calendars and much more!

    4.4 Custom Programming:

    CGI World offers Quality Custom Programming to meet your individual needs at reasonable rates. If interested, visit our Custom Scripting Department.

    4.5 Contact Us:

    If you need to get in contact with us for any reason, visit our Contact Us Page.

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