=====================
 Installing Agora H5
=====================

:Contact: dev@lists.horde.org

.. contents:: Contents
.. section-numbering::

This document contains instructions for installing the Agora forums
application on your system.

For information on the capabilities and features of Agora, see the file
README_ in the top-level directory of the Agora distribution.


Prerequisites
=============

To function properly, Agora **requires** the following:

1. A working Horde installation.

   Agora runs within the `Horde Application Framework`_, a set of common tools
   for web applications written in PHP.  You must install Horde before
   installing Agora.

   .. Important:: Agora H5 requires version 5.0+ of the Horde Framework -
                  earlier versions of Horde will **not** work.

   .. Important:: Be sure to have completed all of the steps in the
                  `horde/docs/INSTALL`_ file for the Horde Framework before
                  installing Agora. Many of Agora's prerequisites are also
                  Horde prerequisites. Additionally, many of Agora's optional
                  features are configured via the Horde install.

   .. _`Horde Application Framework`: http://www.horde.org/apps/horde

2. A working Horde DataTree driver.

   Agora stores its data in the Horde DataTree system.  You must have a
   DataTree driver configured in Horde that supports persistant storage.

3. The following PEAR modules:
   (See `horde/docs/INSTALL`_ for instructions on installing PEAR modules)

   .. Important:: If you are going to install Agora the recommended way,
                  i.e. using the PEAR installer, you can skip the remainder of
                  this section. Installing Agora through PEAR will
                  automatically download and install all required PEAR modules.

   a. Text_Figlet [OPTIONAL]

      Text_Figlet is required if you want users to enter a verification string
      if they are submitting a new message, to determine real users from spam
      bots.  Text_Figlet requires a Figlet_ font available on your local file
      system.

      .. _Figlet: http://www.figlet.org/


Installing Agora
================

There are several ways to install Agora. The recommended way to install Agora
is using the PEAR installer. Alternatively it can be installed from
tarballs. Finally, if you want to run the latest development code, or get the
latest, not yet released, fixes, you can install Agora from Git.


Installing with PEAR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First follow the instructions in `horde/docs/INSTALL`_ to prepare a PEAR
environment for Horde and install the Horde Framework.

When installing Agora through PEAR now, the installer will automatically
install any dependencies of Agora too. If you want to install Agora with all
optional dependencies, but without the binary PECL packages that need to be
compiled, specify both the ``-a`` and the ``-B`` flag::

   pear install -a -B horde/agora

By default, only the required dependencies will be installed::

   pear install horde/agora

If you want to install Agora even with all binary dependencies, you need to
remove the ``-B`` flag. Please note that this might also try to install PHP
extensions through PECL that might need further configuration or activation in
your PHP configuration::

   pear install -a horde/agora


Installing from Release Tarballs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. Important:: As of today, there are no tarballs released for Agora 1
               yet. Please use the `Installing with PEAR`_ method to install
               Agora 1.

Agora can be obtained from the Horde website and FTP server, at

   http://www.horde.org/apps/agora

   ftp://ftp.horde.org/pub/agora/

Or use the mirror closest to you:

   http://www.horde.org/mirrors.php


Configuring Agora
=================

1. Configuring Horde for Agora

   Agora requires a permanent ``DataTree`` backend in Horde to manage forums
   messages.  If you didn't setup a DataTree backend yet, go to the
   configuration interface, select Horde from the list of applications and
   select a driver different than ``None`` on the ``DataTree System`` tab.
   Make sure that you ran the necessary scripts to create a storage backend for
   the DataTree system, e.g. one of the ``create.*.sql`` or
   ``horde_datatree.*.sql`` SQL scripts in ``horde/scripts/sql/``.  You should
   have done this already during the installation of Horde.

2. Configuring Agora

   You must login to Horde as a Horde Administrator to finish the
   configuration of Agora.  Use the Horde ``Administration`` menu item to get
   to the administration page, and then click on the ``Configuration`` icon to
   get the configuration page.  Select ``Forums`` from the selection list of
   applications.  Fill in or change any configuration values as needed.  When
   done click on ``Generate Forums Configuration`` to generate the
   ``conf.php`` file.  If your web server doesn't have write permissions to
   the Agora configuration directory or file, it will not be able to write the
   file.  In this case, go back to ``Configuration`` and choose one of the
   other methods to create the configuration file ``agora/config/conf.php``.

   Documentation on the format and purpose of the other configuration files in
   the ``config/`` directory can be found in each file. You may create
   ``*.local.php`` versions of these files if you wish to customize Agora's
   appearance and behavior. See the header of the configuration files for
   details and examples. The defaults will be correct for most sites.

3. Testing Agora

   Use Agora to create forums and post in them. Test at least the following:

   - Create a new forum
   - Edit a forum
   - Post to a forum
   - Reply to a message


Obtaining Support
=================

If you encounter problems with Agora, help is available!

The Horde Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQ), available on the Web at

  http://wiki.horde.org/FAQ

The Horde Project runs a number of mailing lists, for individual applications
and for issues relating to the project as a whole.  Information, archives, and
subscription information can be found at

  http://www.horde.org/community/mail

Lastly, Horde developers, contributors and users may also be found on IRC,
on the channel #horde on the Freenode Network (irc.freenode.net).

Please keep in mind that Agora is free software written by volunteers.  For
information on reasonable support expectations, please read

  http://www.horde.org/community/support

Thanks for using Agora!

The Horde team


.. _README: README
.. _INSTALL:
.. _`horde/docs/INSTALL`: ../../horde/docs/INSTALL
.. _`horde/docs/TRANSLATIONS`: ../../horde/docs/TRANSLATIONS
