Introduction

This document describes how to install and get started with CRE Loaded. For further information see the online documentation.

New Fuctionality added:

• buySAFE - Code support for those who choose to use the buySAFE bonding service. Stop losing sales -- let every shopper know you are reliable, trustworthy, and safe to buy from.
• CRE Messenger - A Free powerful live-chat solution that is directly integrated with CRE Loaded. It's easy to use and connects to your customers on MSN, SKYPE, YAHOO, ICQ, and AOL!
• CRE Merchant: Authorize.net - By signing up for a CRE Merchant number to be used with a special authorize.net payment module, you receive free support for the life of your on-line store.
• Certified PayPal Pro Payment module - This new payment module replaces the old express and direct payment PayPal modules. The new module provides both the Express Checkout option and the optional Credit Card processing option. It is built to the current PayPal standards and certified by PayPal. (Support will be dropped on the older modules.)

Minimum System Software Requirements

What type of Server is required for this product?

The software is designed to run on a LAMP server with the following minimum requirements:

• The Linux Operating System
• The Apache Web Server version 1.3 or greater
• MySQL database version 4.1.1 or greater
• PHP 4.X requires 4.3.1 or greater or PHP 5.X requires 5.1.4 or greater
• with these components compiled in:
  • MySQL support
  • PCRE support
  • ZLIB support
  • cURL support
  • GD support - recommend the bundled GD library
  • MCrypt support - optional, but required for full functionality
  • EXIF support - optional, but required for full functionality
  • FTP support - optional, but required for full functionality
  • Sockets support - optional, but required for full functionality
  • The follow configuration settings can be set in the php.ini, httpd.conf or in the .htaccess, but they must be set as:
  • • safe_mode - must be off
    • session.auto_start - must be off
    • magic_quotes - must be off
    • file_uploads - must be on
    • allow_url_fopen - must be on
    • register_long_arrays - (PHP 5 only) must be on
  • SOAP support - (PHP 5 only) must not be compiled into PHP

Do you support any other types of servers?

Officially, we do not support any other servers or configurations. However, there have been reports of people successfully running CRE Loaded 6.2 Pro on a WAMP server. This is a server running the Windows operating system with Apache Web Server, MySQL and PHP.

Installation

How do I install my CRE Loaded Store?

• General Preparations:
  1. Obtain access to a LAMP server (See software Requirements).
  2. Obtain a registered domain name.
  3. Obtain an SSL certificate for your domain, or ensure that the hosting company has provided you a shared SSL to be used with your domain.
• Database Preparations:
  1. Acquire the ID and Password for MySQL. The ID must have CREATE privileges for databases.
  2. The hosting company should have supplied the hostname to be used. It is required to access MySQL.
  3. Check if the hosting company has any rules concerning the database names. Ex: database names must be prefixed with the hosting account ID.
  4. Any problems accessing MySQL should be reported to the hosting company for resolution.
• Server Preparations:
  1. Validate that the DNS for your domain is set up and is pointing to the server. If there is a problem, contact your hosting company for support on this.
  2. Verify that you have a working ID and Password for FTP access to the server.
  3. Decide if you will install the CRE Loaded Store in the root of your web site or in a sub-folder. Root is recommended, but not required.
  4. Set up the sub-folder if required.
• Load Files to Server:
  1. Unzipping your download package created a doc folder (where this documentation is stored) which contains a file called catalog.zip.
  2. For sites with access to a control panel such as CPanel or Plesk:
     • Upload the catalog.zip file to the folder that will contain your store files.
     • Log in to your control panel and go to the File Manager menu.
     • Use the File Manager to unzip the catalog.zip on the server.
  3. For sites without access to a control panel:
     • Unzip the catalog.zip file to a folder on your hard drive.
     • Upload all the files and subfolders to the server folder that will contain your store.
     • FTP may fail to upload all files correctly, so check for failures and re-upload any files if necessary to get a full copy on the server.
• CRE Loaded Installer:
  1. File and folder permissions will have to be changed as the installer checks for accessibility. This can be done with either FTP or a control panel option provided by the hosting company. It is recommended that you keep this open during the install process.
  2. Select an Administration user ID and password.
     • The ID must be a valid email address.
     • The password should be at least 8 characters and contain one or more numeric or special characters.
  3. Finally, point your web browser to http://your.domain/install/ and run it. Follow the instructions.
  4. You will be prompted for server information twice. This is not a mistake. It will allow you to set the store up using a MySQL user with limited privileges for security purposes. Do not attempt this on a live store without carefully establishing what MySQL grants are required to run the script on your server.
• Post Installation:
  1. Secure the includes/configure.php and admin/includes/configure.php by setting the permissions to 444.
  2. Create an encryption key. Please see the admin Encrypt & Decrypt >> Help for details. The key file will need permission 777 to create it, but then secure it by setting it to 444.
  3. The install folder is unsecure and must be removed to protect your store. It is recommended that you delete the folder and all its contents. Renaming the folder is strongly not recommended.
  4. Your CRE Loaded Store is now installed.

How can I uninstall the CRE Loaded Store?

Simply remove the files from the catalog root or sub-folder and delete the database.

Getting Started

How can I quickly get started using CRE Loaded Pro?

You should start by exploring your Admin tool. It can be used to accomplish most if not all of the following tasks. Some of them may require a PHP programming editor. We suggest HTMLKit, which may be acquired at Chami.com.

1. Configure the Store Admin
2. General Configuration
   • Store Name and Address
   • Owner information
   • Policy Setup
3. Zone Setup
   • Tax Zones
   • Payment Zones
   • Shipping Zones
4. Module Setup
   • Payment Modules
   • Shipping Modules
   • Order Total Modules
   • Checkout Success Modules
5. Design Adjustment - use the Design Control Menu options.
6. Product Creation - use tools found in the Category/Products menu.
7. Testing - use a variety of web browsers. We suggest FireFox and Internet Explorer. Use others if at all possible to assure your site looks and functions correctly for the widest possible variety of users.