Installing Eprints 3 on Windows

We are working to support the Windows platform. This guide describes the process of getting EPrints 3 running on Windows (tested with XP and Vista).

Recent versions of the EPrints 3.0 Windows Installer are licensed under the Microsoft Reciprocal License.

Caveats

• Releases before r3380: The installation directory is fixed as C:\EPrints\
• Releases from r3380: You can now specify the installation directory. However, EPrints assumes GhostScript and catdoc can be found relative to this directory.

Required Software

Apache

Apache 2.2.6/2.2.8 have an incompatibility with mod_perl. Use 2.2.4 until this problem is fixed.

Download the MSI Win32 binary of Apache 2.2. Available in the "Other files" section of http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi

ActivePerl

Note: ActiveState Perl 822 has an incompatibility with mod_perl. Use 820 until this problem is fixed.

Update (20th May 2009): ActiveState Perl 822 has been reported to work.

Download ActiveState Perl Free Edition from http://downloads.activestate.com/ActivePerl/Windows/5.8/ActivePerl-5.8.8.820-MSWin32-x86-274739.msi

MySQL

Download MySQL Community Server, Windows Essentials (x86) from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/

EPrints has been tested with MySQL 5.0, but other versions may work.

EPrints 3.0 Windows Installer

1. http://files.eprints.org/336/1/EPrints.exe

Like all EPrints releases, this is supplied without warranty and cannot be guaranteed to be free of bugs. Good backups are essential in a live archive.

Optional Software

GhostScript 8.60

This is used to convert PS and PDF formats. If it isn't installed these formats cannot be previewed or indexed by EPrints, but can still be accessed normally by users.

Download from http://downloads.sourceforge.net/ghostscript/gs860w32.exe

Catdoc 0.94.2

This is used to convert Microsoft Word and Powerpoint files. If it isn't installed these formats cannot be indexed by EPrints, but can still be accessed normally by users.

Download from http://webaugur.com/wares/files/catdoc-0.94.2-win32.zip

ImageMagick 6.3.5-6

This is used to convert image formats for preview. If it isn't installed these formats cannot be previewed, and thumbnails will have a generic icon.

Note: Recent versions of ImageMagick do not work with ActiveState Perl 820. Use 6.3.5-6 until this problem is fixed.

Old versions of ImageMagick are not available from the main site.

Download the Q16 DLL version from http://list.veidrodis.com/image_magick/binaries/ImageMagick-6.3.5-6-Q16-windows-dll.exe

Installation

Each component of the complete EPrints system will be installed in a subdirectory of C:\EPrints\ for ease of maintenance.

Install Apache

Run the Apache installer. When prompted, choose to install in the directory C:\EPrints\Apache2.

Install ActivePerl

Run the ActivePerl installer. When prompted, choose to install in the directory C:\EPrints\Perl. Ensure that Perl is added to your PATH.

When installation is complete, some optional components need to be installed from the command line. Open a command prompt and enter:

ppm install http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/ppms/DBD-mysql.ppd
ppm install http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/ppms/mod_perl.ppd

The mod_perl installer will prompt you for the Apache module path. Enter:

C:/EPrints/Apache2/modules

To add mod_perl support to Apache, edit the Apache configuration file, C:\EPrints\Apache2\conf\httpd.conf in a text editor, and add the following lines:

LoadFile "C:/EPrints/Perl/bin/perl58.dll"
LoadModule perl_module modules/mod_perl.so

Configuring Apache and Perl

You will need to set some environment variables so EPrints can find Perl and its libraries. To set environment variables, use Control Panel → System → Advanced system settings → Advanced → Environment Variables…

• Make sure both C:\EPrints\Perl\bin and C:\EPrints\Apache2\bin are included in the Path variable, separated by a semicolon ;
• Create a new variable PERL5LIB, with the value C:/EPrints/EPrints/perl_lib (note forward slashes).

Install MySQL

Now run the MySQL installer, and choose a Custom installation in C:\EPrints\MySQL. You will need to set the following options:

• Install the server and client programs
• Do not install the C files
• Skip signing up to MySQL.com

Configure MySQL

When the installation completes, you should configure the server as prompted (this tool is also available from the Start Menu afterwards).

Choose Detailed installation. Accept most of the default settings:

• As the character set, choose Latin-1.
• Choose a secure root password when prompted

When configuration has finished, you need to set an option manually in MySQL's configuration file by editing C:\EPrints\MySQL\my.ini in a text editor.

• In the sql-mode option, remove NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER from the list

Now restart MySQL so that the new options take effect. In Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Services, find MySQL and choose Restart.

Install optional components

Install GhostScript, ImageMagick, and catdoc. These tools are not essential to try out EPrints, but provide extra functionality.

GhostScript should be installed in C:\EPrints\GhostScript .

Catdoc should be unzipped into C:\EPrints\catdoc-0.94.2 .

ImageMagick should be installed in C:\EPrints\ImageMagick . Select the options "Update executable search path" and "Install PerlMagick for ActiveState Perl". Other options can be deselected.

A ppm error may occur while installing the Perl component. If so, open a command prompt afterwards and enter:

cd\EPrints\ImageMagick\PerlMagick
ppm install Image-Magick.ppd

Install EPrints 3

Run the EPrints installer. This will install files into C:\EPrints\EPrints.

When the installer has finished copying files, it will prompt you for site specific information. Follow the instructions to complete the installation.

Configure EPrints 3

Now you can run epadmin to configure the archive. This process is the same on all platforms, so you can follow the standard instructions for the details of this process: Installation/Getting Started

Note: Whenever you need to run an EPrints command line tool, it must be prefixed with perl:

perl bin/generate_static myarchive

First open a command prompt and change directory to C:\EPrints\EPrints. To start the process, run: perl bin/epadmin create

epadmin will fail to run generate_static, import_subjects, and generate_apacheconf automatically. Run them manually according to the standard instructions.

Finally you need to add the EPrints configuration file to Apache. Edit C:\EPrints\Apache2\conf\httpd.conf and add at the bottom of the file:

PerlPassEnv PERL5LIB
Include C:/EPrints/EPrints/cfg/apache.conf

Starting Apache

Control Apache from the Services panel. Stop and start the service before testing, to reload the configuration file.

Finish

EPrints should now be accessible from your browser, at the hostname you specified to epadmin above.

Administration

Scheduling tasks

The Windows Task Scheduler can be used to automate regular tasks, similarly to the cron daemon under Unix. This tool can be found on Windows Vista under Accessories → System Tools → Task Scheduler.

Choose Create Basic Task... to add a new task. You will need four tasks in total: one for generate_views and three for saved searches.

For Trigger, select Daily, Weekly, or Monthly and configure the time appropriately.

For Action, choose Start a Program.

• Program name is C:\EPrints\Perl\bin\perl.exe
• Arguments are the path to the script and its arguments; either:

C:\EPrints\EPrints\bin\send_alerts myarchive daily
C:\EPrints\EPrints\bin\send_alerts myarchive weekly
C:\EPrints\EPrints\bin\send_alerts myarchive monthly
C:\EPrints\EPrints\bin\generate_views myarchive

• Start In is C:\EPrints\EPrints

On the Finish screen choose to display the properties for the task.

• Choose Run whether user is logged on or not, and select Do not store password.

Indexer

Task Scheduler should also be used to replace the indexer daemon. The options are as above, except with the script is called:

C:\EPrints\EPrints\bin\makeindex

However, to run more frequently than once per day, it is necessary to create a recurring Trigger. In the properties screen, modify the Trigger and set the Repeat task every: option.