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How to Install ProductCart: Complete Installation Instructions

NOTE: The contents of this article apply ONLY to licensed versions of the ProductCart software. They do not apply to stores running as a hosted application under a ProductCart Live agreement.

 

STEP 1: Download ProductCart Zip File

Download the latest copy of ProductCart by logging into your account on the ProductCart Web store. A link to the file will be provided by ProductCart as soon as the purchase is determined to be legitimate. Due to the high rate of fraudulent orders that a software company like NetSource Commerce receives, we have to personally verify each order. Typically, this takes less than an hour, but it may take longer during a weekend or on a holiday.
To download the file, you will need to log into your account on the ProductCart Web store. Your user name is the email address that you used when you purchased ProductCart. If you have forgotten your password, you can use the password reminder tool to retrieve it. For security reasons, the download link will expire after a few days from your purchase. If the link has expired when you attempt to download ProductCart, please contact us and we will promptly re-activate it.

STEP 2: Unzip the Zip File

All ProductCart files are contained in a compressed (*.zip) file. Download and “unzip” the file on your local computer using your favorite unzip utility. Don't double-click on the ZIP file to unzip it, but rather right-click on it and choose from the context menu. This ensures that you will not unzip the files into a single folder, but rather unzip them respecting the folder structure that is contained in the ZIP archive.
The Temporary User Name and Temporary Password mentioned in the order confirmation email refer to the activation of your ProductCart license, and not your account on the ProductCart software store.

STEP 3: Uploading ProductCart to Your Hosting Server

NOTE: Before uploading your ProductCart files, you can remove the “productcart/database” folder from the files that will be uploaded to the hosting server. Don't delete this folder, but rather move it elsewhere on your computer, as it doesn’t need to be uploaded via FTP. Later you’ll need to use the .SQL file contained in this folder to populate your MS SQL database.

Using FTP to Upload Files

Your ProductCart files will now have to be uploaded to the root directory of your hosting server through FTP from your computer to your hosting server. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It allows you to move files between your computer and the online server that will host your ProductCart-powered store. If you don't have an FTP program installed on your computer, you can download a free one like FileZilla.
In addition, your hosting company may have an FTP utility built into the online hosting control panel. However, these utilities may not be able to upload many files at the same time. Therefore, don't use it for uploading the “unzipped” ProductCart folder. You may want to “rezip” the ProductCart folder to upload as one file instead.

You have two options to upload ProductCart to the “root directory” of your hosting server:

  1. Uploading Unzipped Files: You can upload the ProductCart folder with all its sub-folders and files unzipped as is.
  2. Uploading a Zip File: You can first ZIP the ProductCart folder with all its contents, then upload the zipped file, to be unzipped on the hosting server.
Let's review each option separately.

Uploading Unzipped Files

Use your favorite FTP program to upload the unzipped “productcart” folder to your hosting server. ProductCart is made up of over 1,000 ASP, HTML and other files. This puts its total size over 15 MB. Therefore, the process of uploading them to your hosting server could take several minutes, depending on the speed of your Internet connection. Be patient as the file transfer completes, as its crucial for all files to correctly transfer to your server.
If for any reason the transfer is interrupted (e.g. your internet connection is terminated), we recommend that you begin the process from scratch to make sure that all files are uploaded to the server.

Uploading a ZIP File

Some Web hosting companies provide their customers with a “File Manager” utility that gives you the option to zip/unzip files directly on the hosting server. If that is the case, you should take advantage of this tool as follows:
  1. ZIP the productcart folder on your computer.
  2. FTP the zipped file to the hosting server (typically in the “root”, i.e. the top level directory).
  3. Load the File Manager in your hosting account administration area / online control panel.
  4. Unzip the *.ZIP file that you have just uploaded.
  5. When the process has been completed (it could take a little while as many files need to be processed), click on the unzipped “productcart” folder to make sure that it does not contain another “productcart” folder, but rather several folders including “pc”, “includes”, etc.
NOTE: If it contains another productcart folder, that's because some unzip utilities automatically unzip the files to a folder with the name of the ZIP file. If that is the case, move the second or “inner” productcart folder to the root (or to where it should be located).

STEP 4: Rename “productcart” and “pcadmin” folders.

For security reasons, you should always rename the “pcadmin” folder. Most stores also choose to rename the “productcart” folder to personalize the store and pick a friendlier name for the storefront (e.g. “shop” or “store”). You can rename these folders before or after uploading the files to the hosting server. However, you should do so before you activate ProductCart using the Setup Wizard.
In ProductCart documentation, we refer to the “productcart” and “pcadmin” folders with their original names. Just remember that they may have been renamed on your hosting server.

STEP 5: Setting Up Your ProductCart Database

Now that you have your files copied to your hosting server and folders named appropriately, it’s time to set up your database, using a script in the “productcart/database” folder that was set aside in STEP 3.
Read this article “Installation: Setting up Your ProductCart Database” for instructions on how to set up your ProductCart database.

STEP 6: Activating Your Store / ProductCart Setup Wizard.
In order to make the activation process as smooth as possible, ProductCart includes a user-friendly Setup Wizard that will take you through all the necessary setup steps. Among other things, the Setup Wizard will perform a series of system checks on your hosting server to ensure that the server can successfully host a ProductCart-powered store.
Before moving forward, please ensure that:
  1. You Set Permissions Properly on ALL ProductCart folders/files
  2. You Obtained Your ProductCart License
If you've done all the above, load the following page, where “YourStore.com” is the domain name of your ecommerce website (remember that you might have renamed the productcart folder in STEP 4)
http://www.YourStore.com/productcart/setup/

Checklist and Recommendations

The ProductCart Setup Wizard consists of a few steps outlined in the window that is initially displayed to you.  First you will be asked to review an “Activation Checklist”, whose purpose is to make sure that you have everything you need to quickly get started with ProductCart. Then, ProductCart will encourage you to review a series of Security Recommendations that are meant to minimize unauthorized access to your store and store data. If you are using a MS Access database, it is a good idea to review them now since some of them involve editing the database connection.

Defining a Database Connection

ProductCart supports both DSN and DSN-less database connection methods. You will be required to provide a database connection string in the next step of the Setup Wizard. This connection string tells ProductCart how to connect to your store database.

The Setup Wizard will test the validity of your database connection string and only allow you to activate ProductCart if you have a valid database connection. The procedure to activate your copy of ProductCart is discussed in the next section. Below are examples of connections strings that you may use.

Using a DSN-less Connection
A DSN-less connection is typically faster than a DSN connection, and it is recommended. There are several ways to connect to a database using a DSN-less connection. You should inquire with your web hosting company to see which one they recommend. Here is an example connection string that will work with most servers.

MS SQL

Here “SERVER-IP” is the server’s IP address, “DB-NAME” is the name of the database, and “USER” and “PWD” are the username and password that grant access to it (your web hosting provider can help you obtain your server's IP address and retrieve your database name, username and password).

EXAMPLE DATABASE CONNECTION STRING
Provider=sqloledb;Data Source=SERVER-IP,1433;Initial Catalog=DB-NAME;User Id=USER;Password=PWD;
 

Troubleshooting on Dedicated Servers

NOTE: If you have no problems at this point SKIP TO “Web Server Compatibility Check.”
This section “Troubleshooting on Dedicated Servers” assumes you know SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and are running on a dedicated server. Shared hosting will not allow this, and the hosting provider may require external access be enabled in your Control Panel to even connect via SSMS

If you run into issues, try the following:

Verifying Port in SQL Server Manager
  1. Open the SQL Server Manager
  2. Expand Databases Folder
  3. Right-Mouse Click (Your SQL Server Name) and Click Properties
  4. Click Network Configuration
  5. Click TCP/ IP then Properties
  6. Verify Default Port is Set to 1433 and Click "OK"
  7. Click OK 3 Times
  8. If you had to change the Default Port, then you must restart the MSSQL Server Service
Disabling Dynamic Port on DSN
  1. In control Panel, open the ODBC Data Source Administrator
  2. On the System DSN tab, Select the appropriate DSN (ProductCart) and click configure
  3. Click Next in the Microsoft SQL Server DSN Configuration dialog box
  4. Click client configuration
  5. Uncheck Dynamically Determine Port
  6. Click OK
  7. Click next 3 times
  8. Click Test Data Source
  9. Click OK 3 Times

Web Server Compatibility Check

The Setup Wizard will then run a series of tests to verify that your Web server is ready to host a ProductCart-powered store, including checking the validity of your database connection string. The tests are:
  • Whether the correct folder permissions have been set.
  • Whether a valid database connection string has been entered.
  • Whether the store has one or more e-mail components installed, so you can select a supported e-mail component when configuring e-mail settings.
  • Whether an XML parser exists on the server
  • Whether or not .NET is installed and available. (This may only apply post setup / upon first login.)
The results page will provide information on each of the tests. If everything is ready, proceed to the next step, where you can enter your license information and finish the activation process. Otherwise, correct any problem found by the Wizard and run the tests again (e.g. folder permissions have not been correctly set, or the database connection string is invalid).