When you run the script, and see the source code of the script in your browser instead of
the expected results, it probably means that your site is hosted on
a web host
that does not support the execution of the type of script you chose, whether
PHP or
Perl. To fix the problem, you will need to
get a new
web host. If you don't know which to choose, you can
take a look at my current favourites.
It is my intention to write wizards for more scripts and web pages as well as extend and
improve existing wizards. If you would like to be informed when such wizards are
available or updated, you might want to consider subscribing to
thesitewizard.com's RSS feed. If you
don't know how to do that, check out my FAQ on
How to Subscribe to or Read ATOM and RSS Site Feeds.
As and when I have new wizards (or new major versions of existing wizards) I will announce it in the feed.
If you are using the PHP scripts, Perl scripts, JavaScripts and web pages
generated by the Wizards and installing them into your own web server
account, there are no advertisements displayed other than what
you place yourself (or what your web host places, if you use a free web host).
You can of course use any of the suggestions given on the Link to Us page.
If you have found this site useful, please reciprocate by linking to it.
I have observed this behaviour while using Internet Explorer 4.0 on Windows as well.
When you copy the code generated by the Wizard from the text box and try to paste it into an
editor somewhere, you may wind up with code that appears garbled and interspersed with
rectangular boxes.
What happens is that the code copied has each line terminated by carriage returns (CR)
instead of carriage return and line feed pairs (CRLF) or just line feeds (LF). If you use
an editor like Notepad that does not recognise carriage returns as line terminators, all
your lines will run into each other.
The solution is to use another browser for the purpose of cutting and pasting the code generated by the wizards.
Opera and Firefox
do not appear to have this problem.
(
)
Note that if you encounter this problem, you cannot just ignore it and hope that it will go away
when you upload the file with your
FTP program.
My experience is that some Windows FTP programs don't know how to handle local files like that and
will translate it wrongly when uploading it to the server.
There is no point telling me your web host's name and expecting me to tell you where Perl is
located on your web server. Such information can only be obtained from your web host. If you
cannot find it on your web host's site, try contacting their support department and asking them.
Remember, Perl is only available for use on your site if your web host allows CGI access
and has installed Perl.
You basically need a few things before you can get started:
A web host that gives you CGI access. Not all web hosts provide this (especially the
free web hosts). My favourite commercial hosts, listed on the
Which Web Host Would You Recommend? page,
provide both CGI/Perl and PHP access. Note that just because you can create a directory named
"cgi-bin" does not mean that you have CGI access on your web server.
Find out the directory where you can install your CGI scripts from your web host
(usually "cgi-bin" in your web directory, but not always).
You will need to know your account username and password to access your site by FTP.
A text editor. Note that this is not the same as the wordprocessor that you use to type
your documents. If you use Windows, you already have a text editor on your system called
Notepad. On Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP, for example, you can run it by clicking the Start
button, followed by the Programs menu item, the Accessories item and finally the Notepad
item. Notepad will then start up. Warning: Do not use Wordpad or Microsoft Word for this.
If you don't like Notepad, you can get other free text editors from the
Free Text Editors,
Free Programmers' Editors page.
An FTP program or a means to upload your CGI scripts
to your web server. Some web hosts allow you to do it with your browser via a "File Manager".
If so, be sure that you have a way to upload in ASCII mode and change permissions on the file.
This guide assumes that an FTP program is used. You can get a free FTP program from
the Free FTP Programs
page.
Do the following to install your CGI scripts:
Generate the script that you want using the
Wizards.
The script will appear on a page with brief instructions on what to do.
Copy the CGI script from the box into your text editor. Do not re-type
the script. Select the script in the box and use the Copy function in your browser. This will
cause the text to enter into your system clipboard. Then open your text editor and use the
Paste function in the editor to create an identical copy there. Copy and paste functions are
available in most modern operating systems.
Save the file in your text editor using the name suggested by the Wizard.
This is important, because either the script or the HTML code that calls the script may depend
on it.
Fire up your FTP program. Change the directory to the correct directory for the CGI scripts
(usually "cgi-bin") and upload the script to your web server. Critical: You
will have to upload the file in ASCII or Text mode. Do not rely on the auto-detection facility
of your FTP program since the FTP program might assume that the file you're uploading is a
binary file from its unknown extension.
If your web server is a Unix system, you will probably have to change the permissions
on the uploaded file. Change it so that it is readable and executable by everyone. If you
are using a Unix FTP program, change the permissions to 755. If you are using WS_FTP on
Windows, right click the file you've just uploaded (on the web host, not your local file)
and choose "chmod". You'll be presented with a dialog box where you should check "Read, Write,
Execute" for the owner, and "Read, Execute" for the group and everyone else.
Congratulations. You've installed your CGI script.
Firstly, check up from your web host whether they have PHP support. If this is not available,
simply uploading the PHP script to your server is not going to work. Once you are sure that
your web host supports PHP scripts, simply upload the script to your site the same way you
upload your other web pages. No other special actions are needed.
Most web hosts allow you to upload files using what is known as an FTP program or client;
there are a few free
FTP programs/clients available on the Internet. After downloading and
installing one, please read the program's documentation on how to use it to upload your files.
Some web hosts also allow you to upload files via your browser, using what is often called a
"File Manager" (or the like). If so, instructions on how to use the "File Manager" should be
available from your web host.
If the Wizard tells you to insert the JavaScript into your web page:
If you are using a simple text editor or a specialized raw HTML editor
to write your pages, just cut and paste the code from the Wizard-generated page to your
web page. Do not manually re-type or you might accidentally introduce errors
into the code.
If you are using a WYSIWYG editor (like DreamWeaver, FrontPage,
Mozilla Composer or
Nvu),
you will need to find instructions from that editor's documentation on how you
can insert raw HTML code into your document. Do not simply paste onto
the page - the code will not be inserted correctly.
If the Wizard tells you that you need to upload a JavaScript as a file to your website,
copy the code generated into a plain text editor (like Notepad), save it using the
name supplied by the Wizard, and upload it to your web server.
If you're looking for a commercial web host, you can find the list of my personal favourites
(places where I host this site and others) in my FAQ page on
Which
Web Host Would You Recommend?.
Before you rush out to file a bug report, remember that my scripts
run on hundreds of websites around the world. Chances are that you have done something wrong.
Read this page as well as the instructions given by the wizards to figure out what went wrong.
None. The scripts come without warranty and without support. It is likely that if you write to
me for help, your message will not be answered. Your best bet is to read the documentation on
this site, this FAQ and any documentation that came with your script or web page.
Simply use the feedback form to report it. Remember
to specify which script you're referring to and give as many details as is relevant.
Important note: support requests disguised as bug reports will be ignored.
Be sure you read the FAQ (this page) before reporting
anything. Please be forewarned that although I read all messages sent by the form, it is likely
you will not get any reply, particularly when the answer is already given in one of the FAQs on this site.
No. I do not have the time to hand-hold thousands of users per
day in installing the scripts. Please read the step by step
instructions given on this page on how you can install it youself.
You can make suggestions about existing scripts or about possible new scripts (or even about
the Wizards and the website itself) by using the feedback
form.
Please be forewarned about a few things: (1) while I read all messages sent through that form,
I may not reply to you. I receive too many messages per day to be able to do that
and still expect to "have a life"; (2) I have my own plans and implementation schedules
for the wizards and thus may not take up your suggestion.
