*****************************************************
     CLAROLINE 1.8
*****************************************************

Thank you for downloading Claroline 1.8. This text will guide you
through the basics of installation and operation of Claroline 1.8. Please
ensure you read this fully BEFORE proceeding with the installation.

TABLE OF CONTENT :

  1. REQUIREMENTS
  2. INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
     2.1 New Claroline installation
     2.2 Upgrade from previous Claroline version
  3. TROUBLESHOOTING
  4. ADMIN

REQUIREMENTS
============

To install Claroline 1.8 on a computer, whether locally or remotely,
you need the following on your machine :

1. One of the following Operating systems :

        Linux / BSD / Unix (*)
        Windows (9x, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista)
        MacOs X.

  (*) We thoroughly test Claroline on Debian, Ubuntu and Mandrake distributions,
      but other Linux distributions should work too. We've received
      positive feedbacks from users working on Red Hat and Suse.
      Don't hesitate to notify us of any problem encountered on other
      Linux distributions.

1. A web server (We recommend Apache, but others should work too),

2. PHP scripting language (version 4.3.10 or later), configured with the
   following modules : mysql, zlib, preg. Most of the PHP4 compiled
   distributions are provided with these modules. Anyway, their presence
   is checked by the Claroline install script.

   Some users could meet problems if their PHP setting doesn't fit
   these ones:

        safe_mode            = Off

3. The MySQL databases server (version 4.0 or later) plus a login/password 
   allowing to administrate and create at least one database.

   Claroline can be installed in tow different modes : 'Single
   Database' and 'Multi Database'. In 'Multi Database' mode, Claroline
   will create a new database for each course created. This mode is
   sometimes more appropriate to manage a platform with a huge bulk of
   course sites. But it means the database account used by Claroline
   has to allow to create and administrate several databases. By
   default Claroline is set to be install on a 'single database host'
   If you want to use Claroline in 'Multi Database' mode, you have to
   select this option on purpose at install.

       WARNING ! If you use the 'single database' install option, it is
       recommended to use this database for Claroline use only. If you
       share this database with other applications, interferences could
       occurs between table names of both applications that could conducts
       to serious problems.

4. Web Write access to web directory where Claroline has been moved
   or unzipped to. On a Windows machine locally, this
   is not a problem. Remotely, you need to be allowed to CHMOD
   through FTP, telnet or any means.

5. A Mail Transport Agent (MTA). This not absolutely necessary but some
   Claroline features will remain silent if you don't provide MTA.
   Most Linux distributions provide MTA (Sendmail, Qmail, PostFix,
   ...). On Windows machines, no MTA are provided by default. You can
   either modify the php.ini file to redirect mail to an MTA available
   on an other machine, or install an MTA on the Claroline server.
   Several MTA are freely available for Windows (Mercury, Blat,
   Netmail95, WMailto , Hamster ...).

INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
======================

NEW CLAROLINE INSTALLATION
--------------------------

1. Download 'claroline1811.tar.gz'

   Windows : download 'claroline1811.zip


2. Open a shell, go to download directory and type

    tar -zxvf claroline1811.tar.gz

   Windows : unzip 'claroline1811.zip'.

3. FTP or move by any means 'index.php' file and 'claroline' directory
   to your website on web server (whether web root or subdirectory).
   'index.php' should remain where it is, outside 'claroline' directory.

   Windows: If you use easyphp locally (http://www.easyphp.org), just
   drag and drop 'index.php' file and 'claroline' directory into
   C:\Program Files\easyphp\www\

4. The following directory need to be readable, writeable and executable
   for everyone: 

    chmod ugo+w claroline1811/

4. Open Web Browser and go to

    http://www.mydomain.org/mysite/mydir/claroline/install/

   Windows : with easyphp locally, open:

    http://localhost/claroline/install/ (don't forget the final /).

5. Follow instructions.

   Windows: if you use easyphp out of the box, login and password
   for MySQL should remain empty.

UPDGRADE FROM PREVIOUS CLAROLINE VERSION
----------------------------------------

The upgrade works only from Claroline 1.5.x, 1.6.x and 1.7.x. Older Claroline 
versions should upgrade first to Claroline 1.5.x before upgrade to Claroline 1.8.x

Before upgrading we heavily recommend you do a full backup of the previous
Claroline directories and databases. If you are unsure how to achieve this
please ask your hosting provider for advice.

1. Download 'claroline1811.tar.gz'

   Windows : download 'claroline1811.zip'


2. Open a shell, go to download directory and type

    tar -zxvf claroline1811.tar.gz

   Windows : unzip 'claroline1811.zip'


3. Replace your previous Claroline directory and index.php by the new one.

        WARNING ! Don't delete the previous directory before
        installing the new one. You will loose your previous
        configuration files (eg 'claro_main.conf.php'). Simply
        replace the old directory with a new one with a 'copy'
        command. That way, the new file versions will overwrite the
        old ones and leave the others intact.

4. Open Web Browser and go to

   http://www.mydomain.org/mysite/mydir/claroline/admin/upgrade/upgrade.php

   Windows with easyPhp locally, open:

   http://localhost/mydir/claroline/admin/upgrade/upgrade.php

5. Follow instructions.

TROUBLESHOOTING
===============

In case web install doesn't work

1. Go, if needed, to 'http://www.claroline.net' and ask a question on the
   Support forum. Read however the previous messages to see if there is
   already an answer to your question.


ADMINISTRATION SECTION
======================

To access the Claroline administration section, open browser
and go to http://www.mydomain.org/mysite/claroline/admin/

==========================================================================
            Europe, Belgium, Brussels - July 23 2008
================================== END ===================================
