TYPO3

=TYPO3=

Typo3 is a content management system (CMS) that works on Dreamhost servers, however, it must be installed manually.

Step 1 - Download the packages
Download the "source" and "dummy" tarball from typo3.com. Then upload both of those to the root directory of your "Web ID" user.

Step 2 - Install the Source
Dreamhost makes it easy to manage multiple TYPO3 websites with one TYPO3 database and one "Web ID" user. The trick is to create multiple domains all using the same "Web ID" and the directory structure for that user then contains all the websites.

For example, if you create one website called "mydomain.com" and use a "Web ID" called "chucky", then the directory structure will look like this:

/home/chucky /home/chucky/mydomain.com

(+logs, etc.)

If you create a second domain, say "myseconddomain.com", and assign it to "chucky", it will then appear in that same directory as:

/home/chucky /home/chucky/mydomain.com /home/chucky/myseconddomain.com

Now unzip the Typo3 source file into the root /home/chucky directory like this:

/home/chucky/typo3_src-4.0.2

Then in each domain to be run by typo3, unzip the dummy package into those directories, i.e.

/home/chucky/mydomain.com/

The symlinks for all the files TYPO3 needs will now point to the previous directory where the source exists.


 * If you unzip the dummy tarball in the mydomain.com/ directory, you will have to change into the dummy directory (mydomain.com/dummy-4.0.2) and move it back to the mydomain.com directory.

Step 3 - Running 1-2-3 Install
Typo3 comes with a handy install tool, which you can get to by going http://yourdomain.com/typo3/install and it will take you through the process of creating a database, and testing the environment.


 * Dreamhost servers includes all the graphic processing tools that TYPO3 uses by default, including some obscure ones like AI and PDF handling (Test it with the install tool -> graphic processing). They also have "pspell" installed in PHP, but it isn't clear yet how to get spell checking working with the "htmlarea" plugin.

Importing a TYPO3 site from a different host
Depending on the number of sites, most TYPO3 databases can get quite large, but before moving it over, clear the cache which will reduce about %50 or more of the size. Then use FTP to upload the .sql file and then a command like: cat myold_typo3_database.sql | mysql -u chucky -pmypassword -D -h mysql.mydomain.com &

It will then run in the background and could take up to twenty minutes to complete the upload. Then update the DB information in localconf.php and check the install too to make sure everything is working.

Important Notes

 * "Curl" must be enabled in TYPO3 in order to import extensions from the repository. In the install tool, goto "All configuration" and search the lengthy page for "curl", then enable it.  There is no need for proxy settings, etc.
 * I had originally placed the templates in the "/home/chucky/Templates" directory and then created a symlink inside a "/home/chucky/mydomain.com/media" directory back to the Templates, but this doesn't work. It works if it is /home/chucky/mydomain.com/fileadmin/ and I suspect it is because fopen_url is off.  Anyway, the point here is that if an extension doesn't seem to be working (like the automake template importer), it might be because it can't access files unless they are under "fileadmin" or another directory.

= Installing Direct Mail Extension =

If you are attempting to get the cronjob working but get an "unexpected T_CLASS error on line 233", it is because you need to use the PHP5 interpreter, which as of Feb. 10th 2009, is /usr/local/php5/bin/php on the dreamhost servers. Change it at the top of the dmailerd.phpcron file.

= See Also =
 * How to install Typo3(Typo) using Ruby gems : Typo [Typo is not the same as Typo3. "Typo is a lean engine that makes blogging easy" that unfortunately chose to name it's self confusingly similar to Typo3--a PHP based CMS.  Follow the above link only if you wish to install Typo, NOT Typo3.]