$Name: l-forum-2-2-0 $
L-Forum by Leszek 'Leon' Krupinski d@z.pl

Table of Contents

1    Introduction
1.1  About
1.2  Features
1.3  Copying
1.4  Where to download
2    Installation
2.1  Requires
2.2  Web server pre-requistions
2.3  Where to put
2.4  Tarball decompression
2.5  Configuration file permissions
2.6  Database preparation
2.7  Post-install configuration
2.8  Attachment support
2.9  Installation without shell access
2.10 Updating L-Forum
3    Usage
3.1  Adding new forums

__________________________________________

1.1   About L-Forum

L-Forum is a set of PHP scripts providing discussion forum to your web site. 
If you are going to include this forum on your page - mail me.


1.2   Features

- Multiple forums
- Full threading
- Highly optimized tree-drawing algorithm
- Opening/collapsing threads
- Opened threads are remembered in HTTP cookies
- Simple search engine
- Marking unread messages
- Converting WWW and e-mail addresses to HTML links
- PostgreSQL or MySQL backended (other database support in future)
- Speed-optimized database design
- Recording posters IP address in database
- Multiple design themes
- Multiple languages: Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek,
  Italian, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish
- Full configuration at WWW page
- Removal of messages thru administration page
- Banning IP's from posting
- No JavaScript
- CSS support


1.3   Copying

L-Forum is copyrighted under GNU General Public License. Details in file
'COPYING'.


1.4   Where to download

Latest version of L-Forum can be found at http://www.l-forum.w-wa.pl/
There you can subscribe to L-Forum Newsletter.


2.1   Requires

L-Forum is a PHP-based script. It is compatible with PHP3 (version 3.0.8 and
above) and PHP4. This buletin board is backended with SQL database, so to use
it you'll need PostgreSQL (tested with version 7.0.3) or MySQL (tested with
3.22.32).


2.2   Web server pre-requistions

Web server type doesn't matter. It's important to bind .php extension to 
PHP module. You may also want to bind .inc extension, so no one will see any 
of libraries included with L-Forum.


2.3   Where to put

You can copy L-Forum to any place in web server tree where PHP files are
parsed.


2.4   Tarball decompression

To install L-Forum untar archive in desired directory:

tar -xzf l-forum-2.0.2.tar.gz


2.5   Configuration file permissions

Make sure that file config.php has proper access permissions. Web server must
have write permission to that file. If you don't know anything about Unix file
permissions, change this file access to 777. You can do it using ftp client
(most of these - including command-line - have possibility to change file
permissions) or Unix shell command 'chmod' (all you have to do is enter
'chmod 777 config.php').


2.6   Database preparation

You may want to create separate database for L-Forum. To do it just enter
that:

PostgreSQL:
 # createdb <database name>

MySQL:
 # mysqladmin create <database name>

L-Forum also needs prepared table. You can do it using prepared installation
script called (surprise) install.php, which lies in 'admin' directory.
Initially administration username is set to 'admin' and password to
'adminpass'. This script will also save database access information to L-Forum
configuration file. After creating tables for L-Forum you can delete file
install.php.
You can create tables also using database consoles. In 'doc/' directory you
can find files with sql extension, which are containing queries needed to
create tables (for now there are two files: 'base_mysql.sql' and 
'base_postgres.sql' - according to database type). Commands can look like
this:
For PostgreSQL:
 psql <database name> < base_postgres.sql

For MySQL:
 mysql <database name> < base_mysql.sql


2.7  Post-install configuration

Just after database preparation you have to initially configure L-Forum. To do
this you have to enter administration page with your web browser.
Administration page is in '/admin/' directory in forum tree. First of all you
have to choose 'L-Forum administration'. There you can set all basic options.


2.8  Attachment support

First of all, you have to know that giving many unknown people possibility to
put some files on sever brings some danger - L-Forum is protected against
uploading PHP scripts (any file with extension .php(s|3|4)? is renamed), but
there's still some danger. But if you still want to enable this feature, make
sure that directory 'upload' have 777 attributes. Also, each forum with
attachment support have to have this feature  enabled in forum configuration.


2.9  Installation without shell access

First, you have to decompress L-Forum tarball on your local machine. Every OS
has application, which can untar this file (i. e. under Windows you can use
WinZip). Then you have to use FTP application to upload L-Forum to desired
location. You have to remember to change access permissions to config.php file
(in Windows Commander you have to use 'Change file attributes' on uploaded file
and check all permissions). After that database need to be prepared (see 2.6)


2.10 Updating L-Forum

L-Forum database structure hasn't changed since version 2.0.0pre1, so only
thing you have to upgrade is code. If you hadn't changed design, you can copy
whole new L-Forum code into correct directory and then reconfigure it. You
cannot use your old configuration file, because it has been changing almost
every version. If you have changed design, you have to check which new styles
has been added and then update your own stylesheet.

3  Usage

3.1  Adding new forums

On L-Forum administration page you can find everything that you need to set up
any number of forums. There you can add, remove and modify forums.
