1. Installation
  2. Upgrades
  3. Contral Panel
  4. Listings
  5. Locations
  6. Users
  7. Forms
  8. Settings
  9. Design

Part 1 – Installation

We have tried to make installing AutoBoss as straightforward as possible. Follow the steps outlined below and you should have AutoBoss up and running in just a few minutes.

If you have any problems or questions, please contact us and we will be happy to help you through the process.

AutoBoss System Requirements

Before beginning the installation process please ensure that your server meets AutoBoss's system requirements.

  • Apache: 2.0+
  • PHP: 5.3+
  • MySQL: 5.0+
  • Apache extensions: mod_rewrite
  • PHP extensions: ionCube Loader, MySQLi, GD (with JPG support), cURL, Zip, JSON
  • PHP safe_mode off

1. Downloading AutoBoss

To get started you'll first need to download the AutoBoss zip file from the custom area. Navigate to the Download section of the custom area and save the zip archive to your computer.

Once the download has completed, unzip the archive.

2. The AutoBoss Configuration File

Before uploading the AutoBoss files you'll need to add your database connection information to the AutoBoss configuration file.

  1. Open the /admin/includes/include.config.default.php file using a text editor.
  2. Locate the section containing the lines shown below and update the values with your website's information. If your website uses SSL change the protocol value accordinly.
    defined('__protocol') or define('__protocol', 'http://');
    defined('__domain') or define('__domain', 'www.example.com');
    defined('__path') or define('__path', '/path/to/autoboss/');
  3. Locate the section containing the lines shown below and update the values with your database connection information. The $dbprfx line is optional but can be useful if AutoBoss will be sharing a database with other scripts.
    // database connection information
    $dbhost = 'localhost';
    $dbname = '';
    $dbuser = '';
    $dbpass = '';
    $dbprfx = '';
  4. Save the file as /admin/includes/include.config.php

3. Uploading AutoBoss

At this point you are ready to upload the AutoBoss files to your server. You will need an FTP client and FTP access credentials for your server. If you don't have FTP access credentials for your server, your hosting provider will be able to assist you.

  1. Connect to your server and navigate to the directory where you want to install AutoBoss.
  2. Upload the AutoBoss files and directories to your website being sure to maintain the directory structure. This can usually be done by dragging the files and directories into the server's window in your FTP client.
  3. The upload may take a few minutes to complete depending on your internet connection.

4. Setting Directory Permissions

Before running the AutoBoss Setup Wizard you must set the permissions (or CHMOD) for the directories used by AutoBoss for storing images and other data. You can usually do this with your FTP client. Set the permissions for the following directories to world writable (CHMOD 0777).
  • /admin/storage/
  • /admin/storage/backups/
  • /admin/storage/cache/
  • /admin/storage/data/
  • /admin/storage/images/
  • /admin/storage/images/huge/
  • /admin/storage/images/large/
  • /admin/storage/images/medium/
  • /admin/storage/images/original/
  • /admin/storage/images/small/
  • /admin/storage/logs/
  • /admin/storage/temp/

5. The AutoBoss Setup Wizard

Now you are ready to run the AutoBoss Setup Wizard. The AutoBoss Setup Wizard will create the necessary database tables and populate them with the default configuration settings and information.

The AutoBoss Setup Wizard will also register your installation with our servers.

  1. Direct your browser to the setup.php script (e.g., www.example.com/admin/setup.php).
  2. Follow the on-screen prompts until the installation is complete.

Once the installation is complete, you can sign in to the AutoBoss Administrator Control Panel.

6. Importing the Zip Codes Table

AutoBoss includes a proximity (distance) search feature. In order for this feature to function correctly you will need to import the zip codes database table.

  1. Unzip the /admin/storage/data/zipcodes.zip archive.
  2. Import the zipcodes.sql file into the zipcodes database table on your server using phpMyAdmin. Your hosting provide will be able to assist you with this if you run into any problems.