pinlocator - Installation Guide

Installation Guide

This section will guide you through the installation process of the PinLocator Script on your live server. Installation of PinLocator Script is so easy, just upload the script to your live server and follow the below steps.

Note: Node.js and NPM are not required on the live server, as the CSS and JS files are already pre-compiled and bundled for production. PinLocator is a shared hosting-friendly script with minimal technical setup.

Installation Steps

Follow these steps to install and set up the forum on your live server:

1. Upload Files to Server

Upload the PinLocator script to your server using FTP or a file manager. Extract the zip file into your server's public HTML directory (e.g., public_html).

Also create database and mail configuration.

2. Visit your website's home page

Open your website in new tab, it will redirect to the installation URL (e.g., yourdomain.com/install).

You will see the Welcome Screen of the installer.

Click the Next button to proceed.

3. System Requirements Check

The installer will check if your server meets all the necessary requirements for running the PinLocator script.

Ensure that all required PHP extensions and configurations are met:

  • PHP version (e.g., 8.1 or higher)
  • Required extensions (e.g., OpenSSL, PDO, Mbstring, Tokenizer, XML, etc.)
  • Writable directories (storage, bootstrap/cache, etc.)

If any requirement is not met, fix the issue and refresh the page.

Click Next to continue once all requirements are satisfied.

4. Email Configuration

The Email Configuration page allows you to set up email settings for notifications and user communications. Proper email setup ensures that system-generated emails, such as password resets and user alerts, are sent successfully.

Fields and Their Descriptions

  1. Mail Driver – Defines the email transport method. Common options include:

    • SMTP (Recommended)
    • Mailgun
    • Sendmail
    • Amazon SES
    • Postmark

  2. Mail Host – The SMTP server address (e.g., smtp.gmail.com for Gmail).

  3. Mail Port – The port number used for SMTP communication:

    • 465 for SSL
    • 587 for TLS
    • 25 for non-secure connections

  4. Mail Username – The username or email address used to authenticate with the SMTP server.

  5. Mail Password – The password or API key for the SMTP authentication. This field is masked for security.

  6. Mail Encryption – Specifies the security protocol for email transmission:

    • SSL
    • TLS
    • None (Not recommended for production)

  7. From Address – The sender's email address that will appear in outgoing emails (e.g., [email protected]).

  8. From Name – The sender's name that will appear in outgoing emails (e.g., Your Company Name).

Available Actions

  • Back – Navigate to the previous setup step.
  • Test Connection – Verify if the email settings are correct by sending a test email.
  • Save and Continue – Save the email configuration and proceed to the next setup step.

5. Database Configuration

Enter your database details:

  • Database Host (e.g., localhost or your server's database hostname)
  • Database Name
  • Database Username
  • Database Password

Click Test Connection to verify database connectivity.

If successful, click Next to proceed.

The installer will now set up the database, migrate tables, and seed default data.

This process may take a few minutes; do not close the browser.

Once completed, click next button to proceed next step.

6. Admin Account Creation

Enter the administrator details:

  • Admin Name
  • Admin Email
  • Admin Password

Click Create Admin Account to finalize the setup.

7. Now, Installation Process Completed

Once the installation is successful, you will see a confirmation message.

Click "Login to Admin Panel" to access the admin panel.

Your PinLocator script is now installed and ready to use!

Troubleshooting

If you encounter errors, check the storage/logs directory for error logs.

Ensure that .env file is correctly configured with database and app settings.

Set correct permissions for storage and bootstrap/cache directories (chmod -R 775 on Linux servers).