Installing Eprints 3 on Windows

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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\
  • EPrints cannot yet run external commands, for example using ImageMagick to generate thumbnails of image deposits.
  • Documents are not yet indexed. A workaround is available and will be added to this page shortly.
  • The "Apache Perl" bundle currently used* includes an old release of Apache which is missing subsequent security updates: see http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/CHANGES_2.0 Alternative versions of Apache, Perl, and mod_perl have not yet been tested.

* This Apache/Perl bundle was chosen because ActiveState Perl's license does not permit redistribution.

Required Software

Apache Perl

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 is an evaluation release. We do not recommend that it be used in a production environment.

This file is under a proprietary license and are NOT redistributable.

  1. http://files.eprints.org/300/1/EPrints.exe


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

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

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

This should be installed in C:\EPrints\catdoc-0.94.2 .

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 from http://www.imagemagick.org/download/binaries/ImageMagick-6.3.5-10-Q8-windows-dll.exe

This should be installed in C:\EPrints\ImageMagick . 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.

Install 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.

Configure Apache 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.

When the configuration tool is finished, 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…

  • Add both C:\EPrints\Perl\bin and C:\EPrints\Apache2\bin to Path, 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.

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

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:
C:\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.

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