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Earnings Tracker Installation Guide

Earnings Tracker is a web-based application and, therefore, needs to be installed on a web server. The application is written in HTML and PHP 4.x, and uses MySQL as the database server, and should run comfortably on any current PHP/MySQL implementation (PHP 4.x and MySQL 4.x upwards).

Before you can install Earnings Tracker you first need to download it. Go to the download page for access to the latest version of the application.

Having downloaded the zip file, unzip it.

As with many applications, Earnings Tracker comprises quite a few files. Fortunately, for a new installation, only two of them need to be edited: classes.php and db_setup_v7.sql. Earnings Tracker has been written using a very simple object-oriented approach, with pretty much all of the processing done by the classes.php file.

classes.php

If you open classes.php using a suitable text editor, you'll see a section towards the top of the file that looks like:

     function Spreadsheet() {
       $this->dbHost = 'enter the database host name here';
       $this->dbUser = 'enter the database username here';
       $this->dbName = 'enter the database name here';
       $this->dbPass = 'enter the database password here';
       $this->dbUserTable = 'user_v3';
       $this->dbSpreadsheetTable = 'spreadsheet_v3';
       $this->dbSalaryTable = 'salary_v3';
       $this->dbYearTable = 'year_v3';
       $this->dbColumnTable = 'display_columns';
       $this->dbDividendTable = 'dividend_payments';
       }

The bits that read 'enter the ... here' are the bits you need to complete. (Do not edit anything else at this stage otherwise the application might not work.)

If you are planning to install Earnings Tracker on a web server installed on your own (local) computer you will probably know already what these pieces of information are. In this situation, the database host name will almost certainly be 'localhost', the database username will quite possibly be 'root', and the database name and password will be whatever you have set them to. If you do not yet have a database set up, the db_setup_v7.sql file (see below) suggests that you use 'spreadsheet', but you can use whatever you want to.

If you plan to install Earnings Tracker on a web server controlled by someone else, you will need to get the bits of information from them. In this situation, they may well have set up a database for you, and will probably have allocated a database username and password for you.

Once you have edited the file, save it (make sure the name remains as classes.php).

Upload/Copy Files to Web Server

Next, upload/copy all the files and subdirectories (except db_setup_v7.sql and upgrade_v6_to_v7.sql) to the directory on your web server where web pages need to be located (it will possibly be called 'www'). In order to keep all the Earnings Tracker files in an easily-identifiable area on your web server, you should create a folder (for example, EarningsTracker) into which you upload/copy all the files.

db_setup_v7.sql

db_setup_v7.sql is a file that contains the SQL commands to create the database tables used by Earnings Tracker.

Open the file with a text editor.

You'll see at the top of the file the line 'CREATE DATABASE spreadsheet;'. If you want/need to use a database that already exists, which would probably be the case if someone else has set up the database for you, remove this line and edit the second line in the file ('use spreadsheet;') so that it refers to the name of the database you want/need to use.

Alternatively, if you have not yet set up a database, you can leave both lines as they are if you want to, or you can change them to something else.

If you are using a database editor, for example, phpMyAdmin, you can remove both of these lines from the db_setup_v7.sql file, as phpMyAdmin will already know what the name of your database is.

Save the file (keeping the name as db_setup_v7.sql).

You now need to run db_setup_v7.sql to create the database (possibly - depending on how you have edited the file) and the database tables.

If you are using a database editor such as phpMyAdmin, copy and paste the contents of db_setup_v7.sql into the SQL area and run the script to create the tables (the database will already exist).

If you are using a web server installed on your local computer, you can copy the file into the mysql/bin directory and run the file from within a command window, for example:

     mysql -u dbuser -p < db_setup_v7.sql

Upgrading from Earnings Tracker v6 to v7

Earnings Tracker v6 uses a subset of the database tables and fields used by v7. You can upgrade to v7 without losing any of your v6 data.

To upgrade to v7:

1. To be on the safe side, back up all of your existing Earnings Tracker files - this includes all of the application files (for example, classes.php) and all of the database files. If you have installed Earnings Tracker on a local drive, the database files will be typically located in a directory such as: c:\wamp\mysql\data\spreadsheet. If you have installed Earnings Tracker on a remote database server, you will probably be able to back up the complete database using admin tools provided by your hosting provider.
2. Download and unzip the v7 zip file.
3. Modify the bits towards the top of classes.php (see above), and overwrite your existing Earnings Tracker v6 application files with the v7 files.
4. In a text editor, open upgrade_v6_to_v7.sql, and change the name of the database at the top of the file (if necessary).
5. Run upgrade_v6_to_v7.sql to update the database tables for v7. See the instructions about db_setup_v7.sql, above, for help on how to run upgrade_v6_to_v7.sql.

Upgrading from an Earlier Version of Earnings Tracker to v6

If you are currently running an old version of Earnings Tracker (pre-v6), you can still upgrade to the latest version. Each version of Earnings Tracker builds on the previous version - adding new database fields, etc - so you can upgrade from any previous version without losing any data.

If you contact me, John Dixon, I will supply you with instructions and the sql files you need to upgrade to the latest version.

php.ini

In most situations, the php.ini file will be already configured to be able to handle Earnings Tracker. However, we have found that from time to time, a couple of settings need to be amended. If you have access to the php.ini file, ensure that the following configuration parameters are set accordingly. If you do not have access to the php.ini file, we would recommend using the online version of Earnings Tracker.

Language Options

In Language Options, change:

short_open_tag = Off

to:

short_open_tag = On

Error handling and logging

Error handling and logging should be set to:

error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE

We want you to get the most out of Earnings Tracker. If you are having problems with the installation procedure, please contact us and we'll try our best to get you up and running.

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