Admin Manual - Preparing Your PC
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Mapping a Network Drive to Your Pika Site
In order to install, maintain and customize your Pika site, you will need to be able to access the site files from your desktop PC. There are many ways to accomplish this, but the recommended method is to use a third-party application called WebDrive to map a Windows drive letter to the Pika site. The following instructions explain how to set this up.
Install WebDrive
- Download the WebDrive software from the South River Technologies web site at http://www.southrivertech.com/products/webdrive/index.html. Save this installation file to the Windows Desktop.
- Go to the Desktop and double click WebDrive.exe
- Proceed through the WebDrive installation wizard; accept all default settings.
- Once the installation is complete, run WebDrive from the Windows Start Menu.
- Click the New Site button on the WebDrive window.
- A new window titled "Add New Site" will appear. Enter a site name and the site address. The site name can be anything and is used to label the connection to the Pika site. The site address should be the network address of the web server that is hosting your Pika site. This information is provided to you by your server administrator. In some cases it will be a hostname such as "pika.mplp.org", in other cases it may be an IP address such as "70.117.99.107". When done, click Finish.
- You will return to the main WebDrive window, and your new connection will be highlighted. A few more changes need to be made before you're done. Change the Server Type to SFTP. Change the Drive letter to something you won't forget, like �P� for Pika. Uncheck the Anonymous/Public Logon box, and enter the username and password that was provided by your server administrator. Your changes are saved automatically.
- Click the Connect button to test your new connection.
- If the connection is successful, a "P" drive will be added to your PC, and that drive will be opened in a Windows Explorer window.
- Now try disconnecting the drive. Right click on the WebDrive icon in the System Tray, and select "P: Pika Server -> Disconnect" from the menu. The P: drive should disappear.
Using WebDrive
Whenever you want to work on your Pika site, you'll need to reconnect your P: drive. These instructions explain how.
- Find the icon that WebDrive adds to your Windows System Tray, right click on it, and select Connect to -> Pika Server from the menu.
- If the connection succeeds, the P: will be added to your computer, and P: will be opened in a Windows Explorer window (just like the test connection during setup.)
- When you are done working on the Pika site, be sure to disconnect. Right click on the WebDrive icon in the System Tray, and select "P: Pika Server -> Disconnect" from the menu. The P: drive should disappear.
WinSCP - a WebDrive alternative
WebDrive is not a free application. An alternative to try is WinSCP (http://winscp.net/eng/download.php) which is free to download, and open source. It doesn't create a drive letter as conveniently as WebDrive does, but it looks alot like FTP, which many people may be familiar with.
Miscellaneous Workstation Software
You might also need to install these software applications to help maintain your Pika site.
Database Administration
If you plan on adding custom fields to Pika, you will need a tool to let you make changes to the Pika database. In all examples in this document, MySQL Control Center (MYSQLCC) will be used as the database administration application. According to mysql.com, MYSQLCC is "a platform-independent GUI administration client for the MySQL database server." It is available with no licensing costs under the terms of the Gnu Public License.
HTML Editor
An HTML (or web page) editor is required for adding or removing custom fields. Macromedia Dreamweaver is the editor used in all examples in this document.
Reporting Applications
Many programs use Microsoft Access for writing reports. Please read Reporting with Microsoft Access for instructions on using Microsoft Access with your Pika database.
Word Processor
A word processor is needed to create form letters, envelopes, labels, etc. for document assembly. The Pika database can also be used as the data source for a mail merge. Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word and Sun StarOffice are all compatible with Pika. See Document Assembly for information on document assembly and Mail Merge with Microsoft Word for information on mail merges.
