webERP Manual

Preface.............................................................................................................................................................2
Preface

This manual was original created by webERP. As it was a text file with
minimum formatting I have edited it for best understanding and PDF
creation. I have added a table of contents and a quick check list to this
manual so that it might be very useful for the first time implementer.
I hope in some next version I shall provide screen shots too.

Zahid Ali Khan MCS, Oracle Certified Professional. Pakistan zahid.ocp@gmail.com

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Getting Started

Prerequisites
• PHP greater than 4.2. The system is therefore operating system
independent since PHP can be configured as a CGI module for
use on MS IIS or as a module for Apache under either Windows
(NT, 2000 or XP) or Unix/Linux. It has been tested under both
Windows (NT and XP) and Linux.

• MySQL greater than version 4 with Innodb transactional tables

support. Foreign key constraints are also required. These were
added to Innodb in 2003. Innodb was introduced in 2001 to
MySQL and has Oracle like functionality - row level locking and
database transactions with similar speed. (The system could be
used with Oracle or other database systems, with minimal
modification.) An example configuration file, my.cnf, normally
under /usr/local/mysql/var is available in the MyySQL
documentation to show typical settings for the Innodb
configuration. The expected size of the data is useful although
Innodb can create an auto-extending data file and does so by
default as of MySQL 4. All tables are defined as Innodb tables as
of version 2.8.

• A web server. Apache - the software serving most web pages - is

recommended but most web servers are supported by PHP in
various forms. The most popular choice on Windows will likely be
MS IIS.

• If the web server is accessible over the Internet and not just
over a LAN then encrypted communications are required. The
openssl and mod-ssl modules for Apache can be easily used to
ensure all data is transmitted in encrypted form.

Using Apache with mod_ssl and openssl secure sockets makes sense
where there is any data transmitted over the Internet and not just
over a LAN. Getting PHP and MySQL installed are well covered
elsewhere - see the following links:

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http://logidac.com/apache/apache-install-rpm.phtml

http://www.linux-sottises.net/en_apache_install.php

It is important to ensure that the php.ini setting for session.auto_start

= 0. Some rpm distributions come with this set to 1 which makes it
impossible to use classes within php code. Classes are used
extensively in the system and the system starts sessions whenever it
needs them. It is safe to set this to 0.

The main issues with installation of PHP appear to be:

1. Some Windows installations come with a setting for

session.save_path= /tmp this is an inappropriate directory for
Windows and should be changed to session.save_path=C:\temp
or something more appropriate.
2. When the system is hosted on a multi-homed web server farm,
the session needs a directory to be specified as a permanent
directory otherwise alternative servers serving subsequent pages
depending on the load at the time will not be able to find the
session cookie. There is a config.php setting for
$SessionSavePath which should be set appropriately for the web
server host.
3. For a reason unknown some servers are unable to obtain the
correct directory automatically using the line: $rootpath =
dirname($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']); This will be evidenced by the
system's inability to find the page links for the various system
options. If this happens the $rootpath variable can be set to the
root path of the scripts directly.

The system could be used with many other database servers but
it is tested and developed on MySQL. A Postgres ConnectDB.inc
is provided and there is a $dbtype setting in config.php that
allows the system administrator to use a Postgres database if
preferred. Postgres database dumps are also available for
building a postgres webERP installation. Independent
benchmarks show that MySQL is one of the fastest databases for
most common database tasks. It is especially fast at initiating a
connection. Due to the stateless nature of the web, a new
connection is required to be established on every page. This
makes MySQL particularly suitable for web based applications.

If integration with a company knowledge base is required then

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an installation of Wacko Wiki on the same web-server is
required. This is entirely optional but is highly recommended as
a way to share free form information across the business.
http://wackowiki.com/WackoDownload/InEnglish?v=xlv

The ftp library for PHP is only required for sending order files to
a Radio Beacon ftp server for remote warehouse services.

Assuming that a web server with PHP functionality is operational

and a MySQL database server is available either on the same
machine or on the network, a new installation consists of the
following five steps:

o Copying all the PHP scripts and include files to a directory

under the web server document root directory.
o Creating the database and populating it with initial data
o Editing config.php for the database connection information
and any other requirements
o Logging into the system for the first time
o Setting system parameters
o Setting up company specific information in the system

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Copying the PHP Scripts
All files in the archive except the installation instructions in
INSTALL.txt, weberp-demo.sql and weberp-new.sql should be
copied to a directory under the web server DocumentRoot
directory. This varies by distribution but:

/srv/www/htdocs

is the default Apache DocumentRoot directory under SuSE.

Copy the archive to this directory and then extract the archive.
The webERP directory will be created here
(/srv/www/htdocs/webERP) and all scripts and other directories
will be copied to that directory.

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Creating the Database
The information provided assumes that you are using a MySQL
database server. An sql dump file suitable for Postgres is also
provided. However these instructions refer to the set up
necessary using MySQL.

You need to know the user name and password for the MySQL
server. If you have not set these up the default is

user root
password ""

BUT ... you should NOT use this account. You should set up
another user for your MySQL installation and change the root
password to something other than "".

All instructions for using MySQL refer to the command line client
that comes with MySQL. To run this under Windows a DOS box
must be opened. From XP or 2000 click Start, Run, enter "cmd"
and click Run. The mysql.exe binary is located by default under
C:\mysql\bin\mysql.exe. This would be the command line
statement required to run the mysql client. The options
discussed below should be appended as required.

From the MySQL manual (edited):

The MySQL root user is created as a superuser who can do
anything. Connections must be made from the local host. NOTE:
The initial root password is empty, so anyone can connect as
root without a password and would have all privileges. Because
your installation is initially wide open, one of the first things you
should do is specify a password for the MySQL root user. You
can do this as follows (note that you specify the password using
the PASSWORD() function):

You can, in MySQL Version 3.22 and above, use the SET
PASSWORD statement:

shell> mysql -u root mysql

mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR
root=PASSWORD('new_password');"

where 'new_password' is the new password you chose for the

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root user.

Also from the MySQL manual (edited):

Also, if you have changed the root user password, you must
specify it for the mysql commands below. You can add new users
by issuing GRANT statements:

shell> mysql --user=root -p 'new_password' mysql

mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO weberp@localhost
IDENTIFIED BY 'some_pass' WITH GRANT OPTION;"

Where 'some_pass' is a password of your choice for the new user

'weberp'. Note that this user 'weberp' can only connect from the
local machine so if the web server is on a different machine then
the MySQL server you need to give privileges to connect from
other computers. See the MySQL manual.

Innodb tables must be enabled in the MySQL server. These

tables allow database transactions which are a critical
component of ERP software. Innodb tables require some
parameters to be set up in my.cnf. There are some examples in
the MySQL manual under table types - Innodb tables.

If you have an account set up already in MySQL and Innodb

tables enabled, then all you need to do is to run one of the sql
scripts.

Two scripts are provided:

1. weberp-demo.sql This has a minimal amount of

demonstration data with a bogus company set up so that
transactions can be tried to see how the system works.
2. weberp-new.sql This script has only the basic data
necessary to start a new company. If you wish to set up
your company using the webERP software, then this is the
script to use. This creates a webERP database and
populates it with only the very basic starting data.

The files weberp-demo.sql and web-erp-new.sql should be in the

directory with all the PHP scripts. Change to the directory where
the scripts are held or use the full path and enter:

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shell > mysql --user=weberp --password='some_pass' <
/path_to_the_sql_script/weberp-demo.sql

or

shell > mysql --user=weberp --password='some_pass' <

/path_to_the_sql_script/weberp-new.sql

as required. Modify the user entered here as 'weberp' to the user

you created in MySQL for the purpose, and modify the password
stated here as 'some_pass' to the password appropriate for the
user. Also modify the path_to_the_sql_script to the appropriate
path - perhaps something like /srv/www/htdocs/webERP/.

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Editing config.php
config.php contains a series of user defined variables that
determine how the system behaves. Critically it contains the
host (computer name), username and password of the database
connection required to connect to the database server. There is
also an option to chose which type of database server is to be
used. Currently there are only options for mysql and postgres.
There is no going forward without this data.

The default contents of the config.php file are as follows and

must be edited in an editor of choice (KATE, Wordpad, etc.).
Then, save config.php in the web directory where the scripts are
located. Note, the system is continually evolving and may well
have changed since this was written.

========================================
====
beginning of config.php
========================================
====
<?php

/* $Revision: 1.8 $
config.php
Web-ERP - http://web-erp.sourceforge.net
*/

// User configurable variables

//---------------------------------------------------

//DefaultLanguage to use for the login screen and the setup of

new users - the users language selection will override
$DefaultLanguage ='en_GB';

// Whether to display the demo login and password or not on the

login screen
$allow_demo_mode = false;

// webERP version
$Version = '3.04';

// The timezone of the business - this allows the possibility of

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having
// the web-server on a overseas machine but record local time
// this is not necessary if you have your own server locally
// putenv('TZ=Europe/London');
// putenv('Australia/Melbourne');
// putenv('Australia/Sydney');
// putenv('TZ=Pacific/Auckland');

// Connection information for the database

// $host is the computer ip address or name where the database
is located
// assuming that the web server is also the sql server
$host = 'localhost';

//The type of db server being used - currently only postgres or

mysql
$dbType = 'mysql';
//$dbType = 'mysqli';

// sql user & password

$dbuser = 'weberp_db_user';
$dbpassword = 'weberp_db_pwd';

//It would probably be inappropriate to allow selection of the

company in a hosted environment so this option can be turned
off with this parameter
$AllowCompanySelectionBox = true;

//If $AllowCompanySelectionBox = false above then the

$DefaultCompany string is entered in the login screen as a
default - otherwise the user is expected to know the name of the
company to log into and a selection is required from the
company selection box which is populated from the list of
directories under the companies directory. These directories are
created automatically each time a company is created from the
Z_MakeNewCompany.php script - this script also creates the
company databases.
$DefaultCompany = 'weberp';

//The maximum time that a login session can be idle before

automatic logout
//time is in seconds 3600 seconds in an hour
$SessionLifeTime = 3600;

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//The maximum time that a script can execute for before the
web-server should terminate it
$MaximumExecutionTime =120;

//The path to which session files should be stored in the server -

useful for some multi-host web servers
//this can be left commented out
//$SessionSavePath = '/tmp';

// which encryption function should be used

//$CryptFunction = "md5"; // MD5 Hash
$CryptFunction = "sha1"; // SHA1 Hash
//$CryptFunction = ""; // Plain Text

// END OF USER CONFIGURABLE VARIABLES

/*The $rootpath is used in most scripts to tell the script the

installation details of the files.

NOTE: In some windows installation this command doesn't work

and the administrator must set this to the path of the installation
manually: eg. if the files are under the web server root directory
then rootpath =''; if they are under weberp then weberp is the
rootpath - notice no additional slashes are necessary.
*/

$rootpath = dirname($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']);
if ($rootpath == "/" OR $rootpath == "\\") {
$rootpath = "";
}
//$rootpath = '/web-erp';

/* Report all errors except E_NOTICE This is the default value

set in php.ini for most installations but just to be sure it is forced
here turning on NOTICES destroys things */

error_reporting (E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE);

/*Make sure there is nothing - not even spaces after this last ?>
*/ ?>

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========================================
====
end of config.php
========================================
====

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Logging In For the First Time
Open a browser connected to the network upon which the web
server is also connected. Enter the URL for the web server
directory where webERP is installed. If the browser is on the
same machine as the web server then perhaps:

http://localhost/webERP/index.php

enter user name 'demo'

enter password 'weberp'

The quotation marks are not required. To set up additional users

go to Main Menu > Setup > User Accounts. Users can change
there own passwords at any time by clicking on their user name
shown at the top left of the screen. For example: "webERP
Demo: administrator". Be careful not to delete the
demonstration user until a new System Administrator user has
been set up. If there are no users defined the next time you try
to login you won't be able to! In this situation the only way then
to create a user to login with is to manually edit the SQL table
WWW_Users to insert a user. If phpMyAdmin is installed on the
web server as well then this can be achieved by adding a new
record to WWW_Users.

NB The importance of setting a password for the root user of

MySQL, otherwise anyone could modify WWW_Users and gain
access to private company information.

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Adding New Companies
At this point having followed all the instructions above you
should be able to log into the single company database you set
up above. However, you may wish to add additional companies.
If you system is set up such that the user account that is
running your web-server is able to write to the webERP directory
then it is possible to enter the URL:

http://yourdomain/webERP/Z_MakeNewCompany.php

This script allows you to set up any number of additional

companies - a fresh database is set up as is the directory
structure required under webERP/companies. Each time you get
to the login prompt the list of companies shows and you must
select the company you require.

This script may not work because it requires that the web-server
has write permission to the scripts directory, in which case you
may need to fall back to the manual method described below.
In the default install above you created a database called weberp
and there is a directory under webERP/companies also called
weberp. To make another company you need to copy the

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Configuration Parameters
In versions prior to version 3.0, configuration parameters were
stored under the config.php file which required manual editing of
the system parameters. Since version 3.0 a new screen for
System Parameters was developed that allows all the system
wide configuration variables to be set. These are now stored in
the database allowing for upgrades without then having to re-
edit the config.php file. The system parameters screen is at Main
Menu > Setup > Configuration Settings. Each of these settings
should be reviewed in detail. Notes describing the function of
each variable are shown along side it.

There is additional information on installation in

webERP/doc/INSTALL.txt

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Themes and GUI Modification
Often what visually appeals to one does not appeal to another.
Whilst accounting software is primarily about function -
appearances do matter! Some flexibility is available with the
colour scheme and font sizes of the GUI using cascading style
sheets (css).

The user interface can be modified by adopting one of the

defined themes or making up a new theme. There are currently
four themes defined in the distribution: 'silverwold', 'default',
'professional' and 'fresh'.

Each user can select their own preference from the user settings
screen. This is revealed by clicking on their user name shown at
the top left of the screen. For example: "webERP Demo:
administrator".

To create a new theme copy the directory of one of the defined

themes to a new name. The themes are held under the css
directory of the distribution. There is a directory under the css
directory for each theme. After copying the files to a new
directory, say 'New_theme', they should be edited to reflect the
look desired. New theme directories are revealed automatically
on the user setting screen so users can select the customised
theme.

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Setting Up Users
Having logged in as user 'demo'. A new user should be defined
whom has administrative privileges and the user 'demo' should
be deleted.

From the menu click on the 'Setup' tab and then click 'User
Accounts'. The users defined are displayed. User names must be
5 characters or more. Passwords entered must be 5 characters
or more too. The password cannot also be the user name or
contain the user name. It is not necessary to enter the full name
telephone and other details. The access level selected is
important as this determines the pages that the user can access.
In any business where the employees are not also the owners it
is advisable to split the functions between staff so that no user
can complete an entire transaction. There are occasions in
smaller businesses where this is impractical. However, the
system has great flexibility to allow the user access to be finely
defined. See the security schema section.

As well as allowing the access to be restricted there is some

flexibility about the links that are made available to a user. In
the 'User Accounts' screen the system administrator can define
which tabs of the main menu are activated and available to the
user.

There is also the facility to set up customers with their own

logon. This restricts them to inquiries on their account including
invoice re-prints and to entering new sales orders. Customer
logins do not allow any modification to the pricing. To do this the
access level must be set to customer logon and the settings for
customer logon in config.php must not be modified - i.e.
$PageSecurity = 1 allowed only. In addition, the customer code
and branch code applicable to the person logging on must be
entered.

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