Installing Graffiti

Use the following procedure to install Graffiti.

We wanted to make it easier to see Graffiti locally in action as well as provide you local access to the Graffiti help site. By default, Graffiti uses a VistaDB database. Graffiti.vdb is the standard empty VistaDB database. When you unzip the downloaded Graffiti files (Step 6 of the procedure below), a Data folder containing two VistaDB databases is loaded onto your computer. You can optionally use SQL Server, MySQL, or Microsoft Access.

Graffiti_Docs.vdb is a copy of Graffiti documentation database. To use this database, copy it to your web/App_Data folder and update the connection string found in web/__config/connectionstrings.config. You must then regenerate your site.

Graffiti now supports Mono, so you can run Graffiti on the following platforms:

  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Solaris
  • Max OS X
  • Unix

Mono does not require any special settings apart from the normal installation instructions described below.

If you are installing Graffiti on a local server

Graffiti has a very simple setup process, as long as you have the proper hardware. When it comes to web hosting, this is not an issue. Just about any Windows capable ISP will be able to support Graffiti. However, if you want to run Graffiti locally, that could be a little more challenging.

Generally to run an ASP.Net application locally, you need to have access to a database server and Internet Information Services (Microsoft's web server software). Developers will usually have both of these tools installed, but designers and more casual users will likely not have either of them available.

Graffiti via VistaDB and Microsoft Access support has removed the need to have any special database software.

To run Graffiti locally, all you need to do is double click a file called "Graffiti_demo.exe" which is included in the Web folder of the Graffiti download. This will use its own local web server and allow you to experience Graffiti in just a couple seconds after downloading it.

The following procedure provides you with detailed installation instructions.

Installing Graffiti

  1. Ensure your system meets the system requirements for installing Graffiti.
  2. From http://graffiticms.com, select Get It Now. The download page displays.

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  3. From the download page, enter your name and password.
  4. Click Download.
  5. From the File Download window, click Save to save the zipped Graffiti files to your computer.
  6. Extract the files to a folder on your computer. You can FTP the files to your server or load them directly onto your computer.
  7. After the extraction process is complete, navigate to the parent folder into which you extracted the files. Along with a number of files, Graffiti extracts two folders – Web and Data – and loads them into the parent folder.
  8. Select the child Web folder and copy it and its contents to your Web site folder or virtual directory.

     Telligent recommends that you carefully read the EULA and readme.htm files.

  9. Right click on the folder you selected in Step 8 and select Properties. The folder’s Properties window displays.
  10. Select the Security tab.

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  11. Click Add. The Select Users, Computers or Groups window displays.

     

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  12. Click Locations to display the Locations window. Ensure your computer name is selected.

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  13. Click OK to return to the Select Users, Computer, or Groups window.
  14. Do one of the following:
    • If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2000, type aspnet in the text field.
    • If you using Windows 2003/8, type Network Service in the text field.

    After you type your object name in the text field, the Check Names button is enabled.

  15. Click Check Names to auto-format the text entry.
  16. After the formatting is complete, click OK. The Properties tab displays with ASPNET displaying in the Group or User Names list.

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  17. With your object name selected in the upper panel, check the Modify checkbox in the Allow column to enable permissions.
  18. Click Apply and then OK. You can close out of the Properties window.
  19. Navigate to the folder you selected in Step 7.
  20. Double-click graffiti_demo.exe. You may see a Firewall Alert box. If so, click Unblock. Your browser will open.
  21. Add /graffiti-admin/ to the URL to open the login page.

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If this is your first install of Graffiti, you can find the default administrator password in the web.config file at the following key:

key="Graffiti:User:DefaultPassword" value=[password]"

To log in to Graffiti, open your browser (for example, http://yoururl/graffiti-admin) and use the following account:

  • user name: admin
  • password: [value from web.config file]

Telligent recommends you add your own user name and password immediately. See user roles for more information.

When you login for the first time, Graffiti opens with a sample VistaDB database. If you want an empty VistaDB database, edit the Graffiti key in /path-to-graffiti/web.config to use Graffiti.vdb3 instead of Graffiti_Samples.vdb3.