To install Discus Freeware using FTP:

1. Proceed to the Discus Freeware download page (this link opens in a new window). Select your installation method as "Prepare custom distribution for installation by FTP." Read and agree to the license and click the button to download. On the resulting page, you will be provided a link to download ftpdiag.zip. Click this link and choose to save the file to disk, placing it in a location where you can easily find it (e.g. on your desktop).

2. Using a zip program (such as WinZip), open the zip archive. It should contain one file, named ftpdiag.cgi. Extract this file to a location where you can easily find it (e.g. on your desktop).

3. Using your FTP program, log in to your server.

   • Navigate on the server side to your CGI directory, where you ordinarily put CGI scripts. Typically this directory is called cgi-bin although this can vary. Note: you should not create a special directory for Discus at this time - you will receive the most accurate parameter suggestions by placing the ftpdiag.cgi script directly in the root of your CGI script directory.

   • Navigate on the local side to the directory where you put the ftpdiag.cgi file in the previous step.

   • Choose ASCII mode. In most FTP programs this setting is readily noticable, sometimes directly on the transfer screen. Please note: "binary" or "automatic" mode will generally not work correctly.

   • Upload the ftpdiag.cgi file from your computer to your server. Because the ftpdiag.cgi file is small, this transfer should happen quickly.

   • On the server side, change permissions on the ftpdiag.cgi file to 0755 (rwxr-xr-x). For help with this step see the permissions changing tutorial.

4. In your web browser, open the ftpdiag.cgi script on your server. This will be done using a URL such as: http://your.server.com/cgi-bin/ftpdiag.cgi. You should see the Discus setup form. If you do not, see troubleshooting below.

5. Follow the instructions on the FTP setup form to choose settings for your newly installed discussion board, including:

   • Administration Directory
   • HTML Directory and URL
   • Script Directory and URL
   • Board Title
   • Contact Person and E-mail
   • Language

   When you are finished, click the button. You will be redirected to DiscusWare's website.

6. From the DiscusWare website, download the produced file (which will be named, as an example, discus4_00.zip). Save this to a location where you can easily find it later.

7. From the DiscusWare website, click on the link to the readme.html file. That file contains complete instructions to complete your installation.

Troubleshooting

• 404 (file not found) accessing ftpdiag.cgi

  Check that you have typed the URL correctly, remembering that many systems are case sensitive. If you are certain the URL is entered correctly but you still receive this error, your web host may have your cgi-bin directory misconfigured. DiscusWare can't help you with this problem, since it's not a problem with our product that your web server can't find the script. Contact your web host if you need help with this error.

• 500 (internal server error) accessing ftpdiag.cgi

  The most common causes of this problem are either not selecting ASCII mode before making the transfer, or not setting the permissions on the file once you have uploaded it. Check each of these by re-uploading the file and setting the permissions again. If the problem persists, read this document for more.

• %1 is not a valid Windows NT application

  This message is caused when, on a Windows server, the CGI extension has not been correctly set up in the server's configuration. On many servers, you can avoid this problem simply by renaming the ftpdiag.cgi file to ftpdiag.pl on your server. After renaming the file, fix the URL in your browser and try again. If you still receive this error, then your server is not configured correctly at all. Refer your web host to this document so they can correctly configure their systems.