README.HTM for ASP-DataAdmin 1.1
Contents
Requirements
How to setup on your website
Data
Admin Login
Additional setup options
Global variable definitions
History - Enhancements/Bugs
Naming
Conventions
Creating
a child web
Requirements
NT/IIS or Win 2000/IIS
on the server
Any web browser software on the client
MS Access on a local computer (optional)
IMPORTANT:
DataAdmin will only work with Access database
files which have at least one "auto
increment" field. This field is used to
create the link for each record. Most Access files
have this field so it should not be a problem.
However, if this field does not exist then you will
not be able to edit any records for that database.
How to setup on your
website
1.
download the file ADMIN11.ZIP from the website
2. unzip the file ADMIN11.ZIP. The
following files should be included:
README.HTM
ADMILOGI.ASP
DATALIST.ASP
EDITRECO.ASP
EDITRESU.ASP
LOGIRESU.ASP
COMMFUNC.ASP
GLOBVARS.ASP
DATAADMI.MDB
3.
create a new folder on your website for the .ASP
pages (i.e. "/dadmin")
4. upload all the *.ASP files to
this new folder
5. create a child web (see below)
using frontpage. This child web will be used to store
the database DATAADMI.MDB. This also could be use to
store other site databases if you wish.
6. upload DATAADMI.MDB to the
"_private" folder of this new child web.
7. using Frontpage Explorer go to
Tools | Permissions, then go to the
"Groups" folder, edit "Everyone"
to make the permissions "Author and
browse." This is very important. The Data Admin
pages will not run until the database is located in a
child website with these permissions.
8. Call up the page
"admilogi.asp" (See Data Admin Login below)
Data Admin Login
The following
describes each input field for the login page.
Name.
This is a security field. The inputted text must
match the value of LogiName from GLOBVARS.ASP to
successfully use DataAdmin. (original value =
"administrator")
Password.
This is a security field. The inputted text must
match the value of LogiPass from GLOBVARS.ASP to
successfully use DataAdmin. (original value =
"dataadmin")
Use DSN-Less
Connection.
Check this box if you will be using DSN-Less
connections. This affects Database Path/Name below.
Database
Path/Name.
1. DSN-Less Connection Checked
Input the relative path and name of the Access
database file you wish to edit. This path must be the
relative path from the folder the DataAdmin .ASP
files exist. I realize this is somewhat of a hassle
but it does provide more security to your site.
Examples might be
"../data/_private/dataadmin" OR
"/_private/filename". Note you should not
put the ".mdb" extension.
2. DSN-Less Connection Not Checked
Input the DSN name of the database you wish to edit.
Examples might be "dataadmin" OR
"filename". Note you should not put the
".mdb" extension.
Database User
ID.
Input the database User ID name here if there exists
one. Typically this is "admin" or something
similar. For DATAADMI.MDB it is "admin". If
the database neither has a user ID nor a password,
leave this field blank.
Database
Password.
Input the database password here if there exists one.
For DATAADMI.MDB it is "dataadmin". If the
database neither has a user ID nor a password leave
this field blank.
Table Name.
Input a valid table name for the database here. The
table for DATAADMI.MDB is "dataadmin".
Ascending
Order by Field.
Optional input. If you are looking for a particular
record listing the table entries in ascending order
by a particular field may help. Of course, this value
must be a valid field name for the table.
Descending
Order by Field.
Optional input. If you are looking for a particular
record listing the table entries in descending order
by a particular field may help. Of course, this value
must be a valid field name for the table.
DataAdmin will return
an ERROR if any of the above information is invalid.
A user must input the correct information in order to
use DataAdmin. See Use_Cook variable in GLOBVARS.ASP
to help.
Additional Setup Options
1. Edit
GLOBVARS.ASP for other options to change names,
passwords, redirection page url, home page url,
etc...See below
Global variable
definitions
LogiName
"Login Name" is the name users must use to
log in succesfully to Data Admin.
LogiPass
"Login Password" is the password users must
useto log in successfully to Data Admin.
RediPage
"Redirection Page" is the URL that pages
will use when a user tries call on of the Data Admin
pages without the proper authority. This typically
will be your home page URL.
HomePage
"Home Page" is the URL that
"Home" will link to thoughout the Data
Admin pages.
Use_Cook
"Use Cookies" denotes whether Data Admin
should or should not use cookies to save information
from the login page. Passwords are not save in
cookies.
CookFile
"Cookie file name" is the name, along with
the website URL, all cookies are saved for the
discussion group. ASP-DataAdmin uses cookies to save
login information for users' convenience.
NumbRecoPage
"Number Records Page" is the number of
records to display on the data listing page. Must be
greater than 1.
History -
Enhancements/Bugs
Version 1.1
a. Bug. Fixed the handling of Null values
for fields in editing records.
b. Bug. Previous version assumed the
auto increment field was always the first field when
updating records. Very bad assumption!
c. Enhancement. Included the global
variable NumbRecoPage.
Naming Conventions
1.
General. I believe the first four characters of most
words are usually descriptive enough to remind the
reader what a word is when used in variable names.
Therefore, I use this "four-character" rule
for file, function, and variable names for three
reasons. One, it creates a consistent naming
convention. Two, it usually gives enough information
to suggest to the reader what the name means. Three,
it helps reduce the size of .ASP files.
2.
File Names. ASP files are named using four-character
rule of the most two descriptive words I can come up
with for that file. i.e.
insemess.asp is "Insert Message"
dispthre.asp is "Display Thread"
commfunc.asp is "Common Functions.
3.
Function Names. Again I use the four-character rule
of the 2-3 most descriptive words for the function
with a '_' between each word. i.e.
open_data() is "Open Database"
upda_info() is "Update Info Table"
save_emai_addr() is "Save Email Address".
4.
Global or Public Variable Names. Global variables use
the four-character rule with the first character of
each four letters in upper case. i.e.
SearStri is "Search string"
PageNumb is "Page Number"
AutoNumb is "Auto Number"
Conn is "Connection"
5.
Local or Function Variable Names. Local variables can
and should be treated differently because they are
used in a relatively small section of code.
Therefore, if they are appropriately defined (or the
definition is obvious), then it is not important to
have a long descriptive name. As such, all local and
function variables are restricted to one or two
characters and are always lower case. The letter may
signify the beginning of a descriptive word but do
not always. Another benefit of this approach is that
there should never be a conflict with global and
local variables..
Create a child web
1.
Open your root web in FrontPage Explorer.
2. Create a new folder using the
name you want for you child web.
3. Click on "File, New
FrontPage Web".
4. Select from Wizard or Template:
"Empty Web."
5. Give it a title with the same
name and case of the sub folder you created from 2
above. i.e. "disc", "images"...
6. Make sure server path is correct.
i.e. "www.domain.com." This does not
include the folder name.
7. Make sure "Add to Existing
Web" is unchecked.
8. Click OK.
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