Installation/Configurate Question

[wakewatcher]

This is a general question prior to my attempt to install TP. My question is after installation is there a mode where my forum appears as prior to installation and such that only admins (myself) see TP until I've figured it out, added content and then enabled it for general consumption. My needs, for now, are very basic. I would initially use it to generate a frontpage with content that describes the forum membership requirements and then a link to either register or login.  As this may take me some time to grok I would like it to be invisible to my members until I'm ready.

[@rjen]

When TP is first installed the panels will be active and a number of blocks are created that are visible to all users.

The first thing you need to do is go to the panel settings and deactivate the panels you don't need: they will immediately disappear for all users.

Then you can go through the blocks access screen: each block has a permission setting where you can indicate which groups may see it: untick them all except the administrator.

Then, when you are creating new blocks or articles, first make them available only to admins, so you can test. When you are happy you the change the permissions for the articles and or blocks (whatever you choose to use) and they are visible to all...

[wakewatcher]

When TP is first installed the panels will be active and a number of blocks are created that are visible to all users.

The first thing you need to do is go to the panel settings and deactivate the panels you don't need: they will immediately disappear for all users.

Then you can go through the blocks access screen: each block has a permission setting where you can indicate which groups may see it: untick them all except the administrator.

Then, when you are creating new blocks or articles, first make them available only to admins, so you can test. When you are happy you the change the permissions for the articles and or blocks (whatever you choose to use) and they are visible to all...

Fantastic.  Thanks.  Oh and is the automagic mod installation pretty foolproof? I will do the backups of course but would hate to have to dive in with my limited understanding of it all to try to recover if things go sideways. I have no mods at this point as this will be the first and I am on SMF 2.0.18.

[lurkalot]

TP should install just fine, I'm sure you won't have any issues in that department.

When it comes to setting up first time, I do things slightly differently to how @rjen described above.  I leave my panels active, but turn all blocks off that I don't need, and the ones I wan't to keep I set them to only show where I need them.

Reason I do this is because there might be an occasion where you need a certain block showing in the forum for example, but not on the front page, or vice versa.

We have a dedicated documentation site which you might find handy as well, you can find it here, https://www.tinyportal.net/docs/index.php  or from the TinyPortal Docs link to the left.

[wakewatcher]

Thanks.  (I also found your signature websites insightful.)

[wakewatcher]

TP should install just fine, I'm sure you won't have any issues in that department.

hmmm... As my site administrator I went to my Package Manager browsed and found the TP package and hit download.  I got this message.

Although the package was downloaded to the server it appears to be empty. Please check the Packages directory, and the "temp" sub-directory are both writable. If you continue to experience this problem you should try extracting the package on your PC and uploading the extracted files into a subdirectory in your Packages directory and try again. For example, if the package was called shout.tar.gz you should:
1) Download the package to your local PC and extract it into files.
2) Using an FTP client create a new directory in your "Packages" folder, in this example you may call it "shout".
3) Upload all the files from the extracted package to this directory.
4) Go back to the package manager browse page and the package will be automatically found by SMF.

I went to my cpanel's filemanger and I didn't see any package, empty or not, that was downloaded. I could manually move stuff but am wondering why this might not have worked.  All directories are permission 755. SMF 2.0.18.

Edit: Still don't know why the package manager didn't work but I've done it manually and went without a hitch after I manually uploaded the TP zip file to the packages directory.

[lurkalot]

Sounds more like an issue with how you have SMF setup or installed.

Where did you download the TinyPortal zip from?

[wakewatcher]

Sounds more like an issue with how you have SMF setup or installed.

Where did you download the TinyPortal zip from?

Ultimately I downloaded it from this site. Very excited here!

[wakewatcher]

When it comes to setting up first time, I do things slightly differently to how @rjen described above.  I leave my panels active, but turn all blocks off that I don't need, and the ones I wan't to keep I set them to only show where I need them.

This is interesting/weird.  When I login as the administrator all the default panels/blocks/etc are all there.  When I login as a normal user none of that is there. The only indication of TinyPortal is on the menu between My Messages and Members. I'm scrambling looking for something as I would have expected that yours and @rjen's answers would have been something like..  When first installed it is only visible to admins. 

NEVER MIND: I scrambled and found the block access page and all is good in paradise (for now.) 

[lurkalot]

You'll probably find the blocks you can see are not set viewable to guests.  If you click the edit link at the top of each block, or any of the active blocks in the block manager page you can see who can see who can see that block.

"Choose your membergroups that will able to see this block.
(Note that if none are chosen, it will only display it to admin.)"

Or better still, in TP admin click the Block access icon, you'll get a page showing all your blocks and who can see them.

[wakewatcher]

Thanks!  Now how do I mark this 'solved'?

That's how! :-)