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).
The EPrints 3.0 Windows Installer is under a proprietary license and is NOT redistributable.
Caveats
- The installation directory is fixed as C:\EPrints\
Required Software
Either download Apache and ActivePerl, or the Apache Perl bundle. Apache Perl was supported because of the license conditions of ActivePerl, but contains older versions which may be missing security fixes.
NOTE: There is a problem with Apache and ActiveState, causing Apache to crash on startup. Please use Apache Perl for now.
Apache
Apache 2.2.6 has 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
Download ActiveState Perl Free Edition from http://www.activestate.com/
Apache Perl
Alternatively, the Apache Perl bundle includes Apache, Perl, and mod_perl. However it is an older version of Apache which may be missing important updates.
Includes the Perl interpreter, Apache web server, and the mod_perl library. Get the latest version from http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/other/Perl-5.8-win32-bin.exe
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
This file is under a proprietary license and are NOT redistributable.
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
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.
Download the Q8 DLL version from http://www.imagemagick.org/download/binaries/
The installation must update the search path and include the Perl component. Make sure Perl is installed first.
Installation
Each component of the complete EPrints system will be installed in a subdirectory of C:\EPrints\ for ease of maintenance.
NOTE: There is a problem with Apache and ActiveState, causing Apache to crash on startup. Please use Apache Perl for now.
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 DBD::mysql 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
Install Apache Perl
Follow these instructions if you chose to use Apache Perl.
Run the Apache Perl installer, selecting to install into C:\EPrints. This will install Apache in C:\EPrints\Apache2, and Perl in C:\EPrints\Perl.
When the installation completes, it asks you to configure the binary. Set the following options:
- Disable configuring CPAN.pm
- Disable building HTML documentation
- When prompted, choose not to install nmake.
Leave the other options at their defaults, and press Configure.
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:
- Choose Best Support for Multilingualism as the character set
- 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 . Make sure to update the search path and install the Perl components.
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:
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.
Apache Perl
If using Apache Perl, Apache will not automatically be registered as a service.
To test, start Apache from the command line:
C: cd \EPrints\Apache2 bin\apache
To terminate Apache, press Ctrl-C.
To register Apache as a service, run the following command as Administrator (right-click on the Command Prompt application icon and select Run as Administrator):
C: cd \EPrints\Apache2 bin\apache -k install
Note that this does not start Apache immediately nor configure it to start automatically. These options should be set in the standard Services tool as normal.
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.
