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BigSender Administrator Guide
Uploading BigSender
Before uploading the "bigsender.cgi" Perl application (and the other files you extracted from the zip archive) to your website, you should ensure that the first line of the script (often called the shebang) correctly points to the location of Perl on your server. By default, it is set for #!/usr/bin/perl but on some servers, you may need to change it to #!/usr/local/bin/perl (another common path to Perl). A shortcut for finding the path to Perl on your server is to open a different CGI known to be functioning on your server, copy that first [shebang] line and paste it into the first line of the "bigsender.cgi" document.
Note: If your website is hosted on a Windows NT, Windows 2000 or a Windows 2003 server, the location of Perl may begin with the drive and its path delimited with backslash (\) characters as in C:Perl\bin\perl and you may also need to change the BigSender application filename extension to .pl or .plx so that the Windows server can detect that it is a Perl executable. For example, before uploading, change the filename from bigsender.cgi to bigsender.pl or to bigsender.plx as needed.
Then save and upload the "bigsender.cgi" document to your server forcing ASCII text mode (not auto, default, intelligent nor binary mode) using AdminPro or other FTP software. On most servers, a special directory is set up for executables, usually named cgi-bin. Though there is no location restriction inherent in BigSender, some servers are set up to only execute CGIs when they are located in that directory, so it is a good idea to upload your BigSender application to that directory.
Note: If your website is hosted on a Mac OS X Server or if your server is WebStar, you will likely need to locate BigSender and related files in the CGIExecutables folder.
If your website is hosted on a Unix or Linux server, change permissions for the "bigsender.cgi" application and other related files to world executable (755 or rwxr-xr-x) using AdminPro or other FTP software.
Note: For Windows NT, Windows 2000 or a Windows 2003 server, set the properties for the directory to which you upload the BigSender component files to read/write/rewrite/delete/execute and also make a \data and \news directory and set their properties to read/write/rewrite/delete and your server will not impede BigSender's various file-management functions.
The BigSender Gateway (bs-gateway.txt), BigSender Snapshot (bs-snapshot.txt), BigSender Instant Updater (bs-updater.txt), editable "bounce" Criteria Reference file (bs-criteria.txt), Custom Field Groups plug-in (bs-fieldgroups.txt) and all BigSender Langauge File plug-in files (bs-language.txt) included in the downloaded archive should also be uploaded in the same directory as the "bigsender.cgi" application. BigSender will automatically recognize those plug-in files and will provide you the appropriate options.
If Your Server Returns a "Server 500" Error...
If you have uploaded your BigSender component files to your server and, upon invoking BigSender via your web browser, a "server 500" error is returned by your server, it is common for either or both of the following two issues to be a cause:
- Your path to perl (shebang) is not correct. Check the first line of a Perl CGI known to be working on your server and ensure the shebang in "bigsender.cgi" is identical, or ask your server administrator for the correct "path to Perl" on your server.
- Your FTP software uploaded your BigSender and/or component files in binary mode, rather than ASCII text mode as required. Administrators must often force their FTP software to upload in ASCII text mode rather than "default," "automatic" or "intelligent" mode because most FTP software and desktop MIME tables do not correctly recognize the .cgi file extension as a text file.
Remember that your BigSender license comes with "above and beyond" support directly from Craig Richards Design and, should you get stuck at any point, we'll be happy to help get you through it as quickly as humanly possible.
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