aePartner-0.8.x manual

This manual is for those Lovecompass.com partners who want to have their own dating site. Those who work with Lovecompass.com site only do not need to read this.

Formerly known as LC-Partner, this software package is now called aePartner because of the agreement between LoveCompass.com and AEwebworks Dating Software company. LoveCompass.com partners can check out AEwebworks solutions for partner sites of LoveCompass.com (functions modification, custom design, installation, hosting, etc...) as well as independent stand-alone dating services solutions.

Upgrade from LC-Partner-0.8.2 to aePartner-0.8.3:

You can keep your custom design and languages from LC-Partner 0.8.2 just substitute all other files with the ones from aePartner 0.8.3 package. Files to keep: All in themes directory, all in langs directory. If you didn't implement any custom languges and themes it's recommended to put fresh files instead of others.

Note: aePartner 0.8.3 brings critical functionality changes, so make sure that you install the package until the deadline mentioned on LoveCompass Partnership homepage. After that date and time LC-Partner 0.8.2 will stop working as a part of LoveCompass Online Personals & Dating Services Network.

Platform:	Linux/Unix
Server software:	Apache 1.3.x
Server module:	PHP 4.1.x or higher
Disk space:	1 MB or more

Download the latest version from our support sites: http://info.lovecompass.com (Russian partners: http://ru.lovecompass.com).

Currently software packs archives are supplied in 2 formats: gz and zip.

aePartner-X.X.X.tar.gz - is a Linux/Unix archive. To extract code from it you will need tar and gzip programs.

aePartner-X.X.X.zip - is a Windows archive. To extract code from it you will need almost any Windows archiver program (Winzip, Winrar). Archive of such type can also be unzipped by Unix program unzip.

Future software updates and technical news will be announced in partners area, so we strongly encourage you to visit http://www.lovecompass.com/partner and login to your LoveCompass partner account every day to be sure that you have the newest software and to be ready to install all necessary updates for your site. All critical updates will be announced beforehands.

aePartner-X.X.X.tar.gz
In Linux/Unix command line type the following directives:

#shell gunzip aePartner-X.X.X.tar.gz
#shell tar xf aePartner-X.X.X.tar

aePartner-X.X.X.zip
In Windows extract the archive (with Winzip or Winrar applications).

If you are in Linux/Unix command line type the following directive:

#shell unzip aePartner-X.X.X.zip

Upload the files and directories from "code" directory to your hosting account with your favourite FTP client. If you are not sure how to do this, contact your ISP for assistance.

Now that you have the set of scripts on your hosting account, you should set necessary system and site design settings.

a) Set full permissions for directories "articles", "data", and "id_img".
To do this, type in the Linux/Unix command line of your hosting account www root directory the following directives:

#shell chmod 777 articles
#shell chmod 777 data
#shell chmod 777 id_img

If you are not sure how to do this, or do not have TELNET/SSH access to your hosting account, ask your ISP for assistance.

b) Set your system settings.
To do this you don't necessarily need to be familiar with programming but knowledge of HTML and PHP would help you greatly. First of all, open file "inc.php" (in "inc" directory) with your favourite text editor. Now, please, find the lines:

$AFFILIATE_ID = 'XXX';
$AFFILIATE_PWD = 'xxxxxxxx';

This is your unique partner account ID number which you receive from LoveCompass with your confirmation e-mail and your partner account password. Please, make sure to set these right.

Next line:

$COMPANY_NAME = 'My Company';

This is your company, or your personal name, used for displaying copyright on the bottom of the pages like "© My Company, 2002".

Next line:

$dir[root] = '/path/to/www/files/';

This is your filesystem path to the root directory of your site - just the one where you uploaded the files.

Next line:

$DEBUG_MODE = 0;

You can set it to 1 to switch to the debug mode and see pages execution time on your server. If you do not use LoveCompass hosting services, and scripts execution is considerably slow (above 7-10 seconds), we strongly encourage you to use our hosting services because only this will give you the fastest speeds for a LoveCompass partner site.

c) Set additonal settings and activate your site.
Login to your partner account at http://www.lovecompass.com/partner. Go to "My Account" page. Among your settings you will see a section called "Partner site settings". They are related to your site functionality.

Domain - Your site domain name.
IMPORTANT: Remember to keep "/" sign in the end of domain name. Example: ' http://my_dating.com/'. 'http://my_dating.com' will be incorrect.

Site Name - Your site name for site interface.
This is your envelope site name string, which will be used on your pages for reference to the site, like "Welcome to MyDatingSite.com", for e-mails being sent to members, etc...

System e-mail - Technical purposes e-mail address.
Set a valid e-mail addresses which you own. It will be used to deliver you visitors' feedback and also for sending e-mail messages. We advise you to create an e-mail account on your server, so, the address will look like "info@my_dating.com ", or "admin@my_dating.com".

Default site language - Default interface language for your site.
Here you must set the name of one of the languages in "langs" directory of your site.
NOTE: Language files look like "lang-XXXXX.php", but you will need to set "XXXXX" for your default language. Example: To set English as a default language, you will need to set "English" and to have "lang-English.php " in your "langs" directory.
NOTE: If you leave this field blank, English will be set as default.
NOTE: English language module is the only one supplied with the software pack. More language modules can be downloaded from Lovecompass.com in your partner area.
NOTE: Feel free to create your own language module for your native language. Please, use proper language and test all labels and texts. You can send it to us and we will put it into downloads area.

Visitors can modify language - option allowing your site visitors use alternate languages rather than the default.
NOTE: Visitors will only be able to choose languages available in your "langs " directory. For their choise there will be a listbox on the index page.

Default site theme - Default interface theme for your site.
Here you must set the name of one of the themes in "themes" directory of your site.
NOTE: Themes are folders looking like "theme-XXXXX", but you will need to set "XXXXX" for your default theme. Example: To set "default" as a default theme, you will need to set "default" and to have "theme-default " folder in your "themes" directory. In each theme folder there are "theme.php " and "styles.css" files with optional "img" folder.
NOTE: If you leave this field blank, Lovecompass brand "default" theme will be set as default.
NOTE: "default" theme module is the only one supplied with the software pack. More theme modules can be downloaded from Lovecompass.com in your partner area.
NOTE: Feel free to create your own theme module for your taste. To do this you need to be familiar with HTML and hexadecimal color representation in it. PHP knowledge is also highly recommended. You can send it to us and we will consider it for putting into downloads area.

Visitors can modify theme - option allowing your site visitors use alternate themes rather than the default.
NOTE: Visitors will only be able to choose themes available in your "themes " directory. For their choise there will be a listbox on the index page.

When you are done with your site settings, click "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the page. After saving your settings, you can apply them to your site by clicking "< Apply site settings >" link. After that you will finally see your site 100% ready to operate. Congratulations!

If you experience problems with anything described in this manual and/or have additional questions, you are welcome to visit our Support Forum for partners.