Need a virtual office? You can try phpGroupware, which is an official GNU Project. If you're not sure how to install it, just follow along with Don Parris as he installs the latest phpGroupware on a hosted Debian GNU/Linux System.

I am installing phpGroupware on a hosted service, using PHP4 and MySQL 5.x (they recently upgraded, but haven't yet changed the version number in my info page). You should create your database for this through your hosting provider. If you are running it on your own box, then just create the database yourself, or get the appropriate admin to do so for you. My hosting provider has a simple MySQL database management tool. If you don't know how to create a database in MySQL (or PostgreSQL, if you run that instead), you won't get very far with this project.

Upload files to preferred directory. In my case, I chose to install it in a sub-domain with its own htdocs directory. Once the files are uploaded, you can point your browser to the /setup directory, or even just to the root directory - phpGroupware knows it isn't installed and will redirect you to the setup page (site/groupware/setup).
http://mysite.net/groupware/ or http://groupware.mysite.net/

Pre-Installation

The first task is to create your header.inc.php, which should be the first page you see (manageheader.php). It should have detected your SQL server type, PHP version and whether IMAP support is enabled already. It should also have correctly detected its own document root directory. You will need to set the header administration password.

You can now choose:

• Persistent connections (whether to have them)
• Sessions Type (DB or PHP4/5 - they suggest the PHP session type)
• Enable MCrypt
• MCrypt version
• MCrypt initialization vector
• Domain select box on login (only makes sense if you have multiple domains)
• Automatically detect domain from hostname

Next, you need to enter the information about your database server:

• DB Host
• DB Name
• DB User
• DB Password
• DB Type
• Configuration Password

Now Click the Write Config button to create the header.inc.php file. In the resulting page, you should see the message:
Created header.inc.php!, along with the [Continue] button. Click Continue. Note: if you see something else, something is probably wrong and you should go back and change one of the settings.

Installation

Now we come to the actual Setup (installation) page. You should enter your password in the Setup/Config Admin prompt - the other takes you back to the header administration page. In the Setup/Config page, you need to install the core applications first. Click the Install button.

The install script creates the tables, and installs the administration and preferences tools for you. Click Re-Check My Installation. Now you can either un-install, or move to the next step. I suggest moving on. What's done is done - no sense in crying over spilt milk, you know!

Configuration:

Click the Configure Now button. You will need to set the following paths:

• temp directory
• files directory (must be outside your document root, i.e., outside /htdocs)
• URL for phpGroupware's login page.

In the Host Information section, I left the hostname as it was detected to be, and then set the FTP server. The remaining options in this section are more useful if you are managing your own server, and you should already know the settings to add in that case.

In the Accounts section, you need to choose the method of authentication and account storage (If you don't know about LDAP, choose SQL). Then set the minimum and maximum account ID numbers (using the examples given is fine). The Auto-Create Accounts option lets users sign up for their own accounts. In the MCrypt section. enter some random text and select an encryption method. In the Additional Settings section, you should probably just accept the defaults, unless you have good reason to do otherwise.

The next step is to create the admin user. Enter the userid, firs and last names, and password for the admin user. Then check the box if you want to create demo accounts. Bear in mind the password you use here is not all that important, as you will be prompted to change it anyway on initial login.

Note: If you want to use mail, it is recommended that your phpGroupware userids match your e-mail account userids exactly.

Language Management:

In the language management section, you can choose a number of languages to install. Choose the ones you want, and then check the appropriate box to delete the current language(s) and install new ones, just add new ones to the installation, or simply to add new phrases. I chose to simply add new languages. Once this is done, we can go onto the application configuration step.

Advanced Application Management:

Don't let the "Advanced" designation fool you. The applications are all installed by default. However, you can definitely remove the ones you don't need. I didn't see the need for 2 forums to be installed, so I removed one. And since I'm not using LDAP, I removed the Eldaptir application. Click Save, and then Go back after seeing the confirmation messages. Now you can logout (link at top-right of page). The logout screen offers a link to the newly installed phpGroupware system. Login, you sly old admin, you! Yeah, using your admin userid. You will be required to change your password on your first login.

We'll stop here for now. If you just can't wait for the next article, go ahead and play with your system configuration. If you goof up your installation, just start all over. By the time you do, I should have your next step ready.