php User Base

Introduction
Installation
Usage
Customization
Add-on Modules
Language Files
License
Support
Credits

Introduction
The script is a basic user management system that uses php sessions to authenticate users. It is highly customizable. The template directory contains all of the parts that make up the pages, so it's easy to change the look and feel. The pages are built from included files in the target file, so you can easily create additional content by copying index.php as something else and adding your own content. Several add-on modules are in development.

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Installation
Installing the script is easy! Just follow these steps:

  • Open /require/config.php in a good text editor and set the values for your database.
  • Upload the package with its directory structure in tact to your server (you don't need the doc directory).
  • Point your browser at: http://mysite.com/install
  • Fill in the configuration information according to the instructions and submit.
  • Delete the install directory.
  • Log in as admin with the password admin1
  • Change your password!

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Usage
 The basic script includes routines for typical user-based sites such as registration, login, logout, change password, etc. It also includes some necessary administrative functions. Beyond that, the basic package doesn't do much! You can download add on modules or use the basic script to develop your own user-based site.

Check out the files in the root directory to see how the page layout and content is included. Each page should have the session code at the top, before any output:

Otherwise your visitors will lose their session & have to log in again. There are two ways of showing different content to logged in users. The file: example.php and /include/example.php shows how to display different content using a single included file. The example shows how you can either include the html right in the file for both cases or include a separate file for invalid users. Take a look at admin.php for an example of how to show content for the admin and a go away page for all others. For more information, please visit the forums.

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Customization
You can easily change the colors to suit you by editing the style sheet in the directory: /templates/default/css. If you want to change the layout, you'll find these files in the templates/default directory:

  • header.inc.php
  • body.inc.php
  • footer.inc.php
  • menu1.inc.php

Its best to save a backup of the default directory before you begin editing things. Most all of the wording is in the files in the template directory. I tried to give the files logical names to make it easier to find things. The guts for the index page is in the /include directory.

To add your own content, use index.php as an example. Take note of the order of things as it is important! First we start the session and then include some important files. Everything that gets plugged into the header, body & footer comes next, then we include those files to build the page.

The main page (index.php) is an example of a page that anyone can view. If you take a look at /include/index.inc.php you will see how we display different content to logged in (valid) users.

Some pages are only meant for valid users. Take a look at example.php and its content file to see how that works. Just be careful of the curly brackets that hold the if and else statements. In example.inc.php, I used content right in the if statement by ending php with a ?> and then starting it again after I said what I wanted to say. For the else statement, I simply included another file. You can use either or both for your content!

You can add rows to the menu by editing /templates/default/menu1.inc.php. You'll notice the

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Add-on Modules
The reason I wrote the script was as a base for development. I'm thinking of several modules including classified ads, auctions, profiles, personals & more that would use the basic system and could be easily added on. Hopefully others will also work on some ideas. To check for add-on modules or to submit your own, please visit: Linux Web Shop. Before starting to write an add-on module, please review this document.

Language Files
The messages throughout the script are recited by entries in the language file: lang/default.inc.php. These messages include everything that is not in the template directory. Since the idea is that most people will want to modify the template anyway, that text can be changed while the other modifications are made. Rather than having to root through the include directory, I put all of those messages in the language file. The only thing in the include directory to worry about is index.inc.php since you'll surely want to change that anyway.

The default language is English, since that's the only language I speak well! If you create a language file in a different tongue, you're welcome to submit it for inclusion in the next release. Just save the file in the standard format such as: EN.inc.php and email it in zip format to: scripts@linuxwebshop.com. You might want your site to have varying responses to certain actions, but please keep the translation you send as close to the default responses as would make sense in your language.

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Licensing
The basic script is available free of charge under the GNU General Public License. Visible copyright tags must stay in place. If you like the script you may visit Linux Web Shop and make a donation to aid in further development! All donors are free to remove the copyright tags. The script may not be redistributed without the owner's expressed consent.

Support
For support, please visit the forums at Linux Web Shop. I visit often and will answer post as soon as I can. Please don't use the contact forms there to request script support. You may use the contact forms for licensing questions and the message will be forwarded to me.

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Credits
The following Open Source code was used in developing this script:

Secureimage Class
Image Verification routine
Copyright 2007 Drew Phillips
http://www.NeoProgrammers.com
http://www.neoprogrammers.com/Securimage_Docs/ Online Documentation
NOTE: This routine was pretty much unmodified.

Show Hint script
Javascript to show form hints
© Dynamic Drive
Visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com/ for this script and 100s more.
NOTE: The head portion of the script was saved in the file: /include/hints.js and included in the header where needed. The style elements were incorporated in the main style sheet.

Enjoy!

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