To install Discus onto a Windows server using the console:

1. Visit the appropriate download page (Discus Freeware or Discus Professional) and follow the instructions to obtain the appropriate zip file (discus3_10_xxx.zip). Note that the file name will vary depending on whether you are downloading the Freeware or Professional version, and which international version you are downloading if any. Save this file to a place on your hard drive where it will be easy to find later.

2. If you downloaded the file to a computer other than the one you are using as your server, copy the zip file to that server. If you use FTP to transfer the file, be sure to use binary mode. Note that you should NOT extract the zip file on your own computer and transfer individual files to your server.

3. On the server, double-click the discus3_10_xxx.zip file to open it in a zip program (such as WinZip). Extract this zip file to any location on the server (preferably a temporary directory) where you can easily find it later. This will create a directory called "discus3_10" containing the installation files.

4. During setup, the world wide web server must be able to write to the "install.pl" script within your discus3_10 directory. On many servers, you will need to set permissions on this directory to allow this access to the server. Permissions of "full control" for "everyone" (on Windows NT) or equivalent permissions on later Windows version will accomplish this. See this document for hints on setting Windows permissions.

5. It is assumed that you have already done all of the following to make your Windows server meet the Discus system requirements:

   • Installed a World Wide Web server (e.g., Microsoft IIS or Apache)

   • Installed Active Perl 5.6 or higher

   • Configured your web server to associate an extension with Active State Perl (sample instructions for: Personal Web Server, IIS, Apache)

   If your server does not meet these requirements, please reference the aforementioned documentation to set up your server correctly.

6. Double-click the file entitled "1st_install.pl" to run it with Perl in a command window. You will be prompted to follow these on-screen instructions:

   • Enter license number (if you are installing Discus Professional)
   • Choose Perl interpreter
   • Choose CGI extension
   • Choose CGI directory

   This step generates a script called board-setup.cgi (or perhaps board-setup.pl) in the specified CGI directory. This board-setup.cgi script provides an HTML form to help you choose the settings for your discussion board.

7. Use your web browser to access the WWW setup form at http://your.domain.com/cgi-bin/board-setup.cgi (or perhaps http://your.domain.com/cgi-bin/board-setup.pl or http://your.domain.com/scripts/board-setup.pl, etc.). Here, you need to substitute in the exact URL to the chosen CGI directory. If you get 404 (not found), you have this URL wrong.

   When the interactive setup form appears, follow the on-screen instructions to configure your Discus board.

   When you are finished, click the button to submit the form. This should immediately bring up a screen which lists further instructions.

8. Refresh your directory listing of the discus3_10 directory and make sure the install.pl file has grown in size (if it is 0 kb or 1 kb, then you probably did not set permissions correctly on the discus3_10 directory). If it is larger than 1 kb, double-click it to run it. This completes the setup.

9. Access your installed board!

   The URL is given both in the command window and in your browser. You should immediately ensure your security by setting up a password for the board administrator's account. To do this:

   • Click the "Administration" link
   • Enter "admin" for your username, and leave the password box blank
   • Click the "Log In" button and follow the instructions to set up a password and register
   
   

10. Set up your board!

    DiscusWare strongly suggests that all of our new customers complete the "Board Administrator Getting Started" tutorial to learn the basics of operating the administration and user interface, and to confirm that the software was properly installed.