installation frustration

The folder and those two files should be in the zip. Please try downloading it again and see if they exist.

AMDbuilder

It really sounds like you have a bad download of MODx or a bad upload to the site. With so many files in the package, it happens more often than you might think.

I did go on while awaiting advice on the previous issues - and now I’ve come to something of an Alice-in_Wonderland moment.

In the previous message, I asked about two files that are supposed to be there, yet there is no instruction to create them . . . and now the next step is to create one (For new Linux/Unix installs, please create a blank file named config.inc.php in the manager/includes/ directory with file permissions set to 0666.)

But after creating, naming and saving such a file, I opened my FTP client and connected to the server to discover that there already is a file called config.inc.php.blank that obviously is there waiting to be renamed by removing ".blank"

Curiouser and curiouser . . . I know I am not the first person using these instructions, so why am I the only one who finds them . . . strange.

I think those instructions are slightly dated. I know on my servers (phpsuexec enabled) I don’t need to create a config file (or rename anything). It’s basically just upload the zip (I extract on server), extract, create DB with needed permissions, run the install, login.

I don’t need to do anything file wise other than upload and extract. This might vary some if you don’t use phpsuexec so you may need to create a config file with the correct permission (or rename in this case).

I would still upload a fresh copy tho as it sounds like yours is corrupt.

AMDbuilder

Well, based on that info, I think it would be prudent to wipe out the current installation, get a fresh download and start all over. If two files are missing, who knows what else got lost in translation?

However, I must say that my other comments about the obtuseness of the instructions should stand. Modx comes highly recommended by trusted sources but so far, the most basic thing of all, the instructions in the first few instances, are not as good or complete or clear as I had expected. I sincerely think that others new to this product will be confused until those issues are fixed.

I am going to continue. I see that the support community here is genuinely supportive and tolerant of my dumb newbie issues. That goes along way in establishing confidence that things will work out. I’ve need sleep right now but I will start again in the morning with a fresh download and installation.

Thank you all for the help.

In free, open-source software, where the work is done by a diverse crew of overworked volunteers, the instructions don’t always keep up with the code.

Your discovery is exactly what the "bugs and requests" link is for at the top of the page. People often find their own solutions in situations like this but fail to report them so they can hide for months. Thanks for reporting on your experiences.

Reporting them on Jira Tracker (the "Bugs and Requests" link) greatly multiplies the odds that they’ll be corrected in a later release.

The most up-to-date install instructions are usually found here: . Unfortunatly, the Wiki is down at the moment. I don’t know when it will be back up.

Quote from: joehark at Feb 01, 2009, 05:59 PM

(and BTW, as professional writer, this is the first time I’ve ever seen the word "collation" used to mean anything other than a light meal). What does it mean here? I have installed dozens of php/mysql scripts and never have seen that word. Is there some other term more commonly used?

See http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/charset-general.html for a good description of what character sets and collations are in respect to a database.

Quote from: joehark at Feb 01, 2009, 05:59 PM

It strikes me strange that the installation fields for the DB never ask for the DB password. I can’t see how it wouldn’t fail, but what do I know?

The database host, login name, and password are the top three fields above the link that says:
Click here to test your server connection and get the available collations
I’m not sure I understand what problem you are having. Are you sure you are using the proper user and password for the database you created?