Publish - Publish to UNIX

Here's how to get an EZSurvey web form up and running on your UNIX web server. All instructions assume that you already have your survey form (.ezf file) created:

Instructions:

  1. From the Edit form window, select Publish Create a web form. You should see the Web Site Configuration window. If nothing happens when you make this selection, make sure you have a valid database associated with your form. Alternately, if you have never set up a web site before, you will go directly to the New Site Setup window mentioned below.

  2. Select the Add button next to the "Site profile" text box. You will see the New Site Setup window. In this window you will provide EZSurvey with detailed information about a particular web server. You may have more than one web server or perhaps more than one location to place files on a particular web server. Each server or server location should have its own web Site profile for EZSurvey to track. However, most EZSurvey users will have only one web Site profile to use.

  3. Within the New Site Setup window, first select the most appropriate server program from the "Quick Setup" list box. Next, enter the web server address for the server. You can enter it as an IP address, like the default one shown, or you can enter the more common URL name, such as "www.raosoft.com". In the "Script directory" text box enter the scripts directory for your web server. On UNIX servers, this is usually named "cgi-bin", but it may have any name as long as the directory has "cgi-bin" (755) permissions. Also, you may be assigned a sub folder location by the network administrators. In which case you would edit the entry to something like "cgi-bin/yourname".

    You may have noticed by now that while you make changes in the "Server address" and "Scripts directory" text boxes, the entry in the "Directory in which to place uploads" path changes accordingly. By default, the path that EZSurvey places in this text box is the installation folder of your EZSurvey program, such as "c:\ezsurvey", plus the extended path name of "\out\http\[server address]\[scripts directory]". This path will be the temporary folder location for all the files that will eventually need to be uploaded to the web server. If the web server "scripts" directory is on your computer, then the program will use the actual folder on your computer and will place the web form files there automatically without needing a temporary folder to store them in prior to publishing.

    Finally, on this New Site Setup window, you need to give your web site configuration a meaningful name, such as "mysurvey-UNIX".

  4. Once you click on the OK button, you will be returned to the window. The name of your new web site should appear in the "Site profile" text box. You next need to click on the radio button for the appropriate type of web server. In your case, you will choose one of the UNIX options. The "compiled" option is preferred, but requires more configuration on the server than the PERL option. Before choosing one arbitrarily, read the help article titled "Before Publishing" which is linked at the bottom of this page.

    You will also notice a default "password" in the "Password" text box. This is the password for being able to access your web file data files remotely through the Administer web site function indicated by the button at the bottom of the window. You may change this password if you wish. This password is only for remote data retrieval via your web browser. It does not affect your FTP access to your web server in any way.

  5. Select the OK button to save your changes.

  6. You will see the Web Site Configuration window. Make sure the correct "Site profile" appears and that the correct "Type of server" is selected. Then click OK again. Next, the Web form setup window will appear. (For follow-up use of this same web site, the Web form setup should appear without first seeing the Web Site Configuration window.)

  7. Make sure the correct web Site profile appears in the "Web site" text box. Next, select the correct radio button for creating single or multiple-page forms. If you select multiple page forms, your EZSurvey form must have Section Break entries to serve as headings for the page breaks. Also, select the radio button for "Save responses on the server".

    Use the "Show a web page after submission" and "Write a thank-you message" options to let the participants know that their responses have been saved, and as a means for continuing their path to a new web page of your choice.

  8. Select the Publish button to create all the files needed for the web server. Remember that this set of files will be placed in your temporary folder location ("Directory in which to place uploads") for transfer to your web server folder. Depending on the web site choices and web form choices you make, there will also be an HTML window that will appear at the same time a Windows Explorer window appears, showing the files placed in the temporary folder. The HTML window may be hidden or partially hidden by other windows that pop up. It is very important that you read and follow any instructions that may appear in this EZSurvey HTML window.

Unless you set your "Directory in which to place uploads" to be on the web server, you will then need to use FTP or some other appropriate means for transferring all the files from your EZSurvey workstation computer to the web server.

See also...