Ideas for Newie XAMPP Setup

[leaning]

Hello,

As a newbie installing and using XAMPP, these are just my ideas for just getting it set up that I think could happen at installation. Please consider these and these type of things. (I didn't see a forum for XAMPP ideas or feedback so hopefully this is the right one. )Thanks!

Questions the program could ask at install:

1) The default location (root directory) for your local webpages is /xampp/htdocs. Do you wish your files in a different directory? [Browse]

2) In the root directory, we have placed a sample homepage (index.php). Do you wish to use that sample, or one of these basic templates? [index.php mostly blank, index.php with flowers and birds, index.php with alot of writing, etc.] Do you wish me to call it index.php, welcome.php, home.php, or another name?

3) Shall we place a shortcut to your new server's root directory on your desktop?

4) In your root directory, we have placed a homepage. We can also install a testme.html file (which has a simple form and submit button), and a testme.php which receives the input from that html file. (You can log into the php file using /localhost/rootdirectoryname/). Shall I install that for you?

5) Would you like a beginner's Control Panel, or Advanced? (With Beginner, you get tooltips over buttons like "Shell" and "Netstat" to describe what those functions are for. You also get a question mark ? button next to each that when clicked goes to a Shell FAQ, Netstat FAQ, etc. You also get tooltips over the column headers (Service, Module, PID(s), etc.) which describe what those items mean and why (for instance), the Service column always has just gray boxes that don't do anything. With Advanced, you don't get tooltips or links to the individual FAQs.).

6) If you decide not to install certain modules (Mercury, for example), we grey-out the four buttons on the control panel for that module since it is not available until installed. Would you like me to 1) replace the 4 greyed out buttons with an enabled "Install" button so that it can be installed from the control panel? (After install, the Install button will be replaced by the 4 in service buttons.), and 2) on the Control Panel Configuration screen, if Mercury is not installed, we do NOT grey out the Autostart of Modules Mercury selection. Would you like me to grey out any selections that are not installed since making an autostart decision doesn't matter for those?

Just my two cents. I know something like these would have made it easier for me, faster to get started, and then the tooltips and ?-to-FAQ links would help me learn.

I'll keep using it and see if I see other things that I am having to go outside the program (Googling like crazy) to figure out.

Regards,
leaning

[leaning]

Something like this for just the bare-bones, no-frills index.php. Just an idea. Regards, leaning

Code: Select all

<?php
   if (!empty($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && ('on' == $_SERVER['HTTPS'])) {
      $uri = 'https://'; } else {$uri = 'http://';} $uri .= $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];

#header('Location: '.$uri.'/dashboard/'); If you remove the pound sign from me, I'll startup the default XAMPP homepage which shows the XAMPP dashboard.

echo 'Hello world! This is the homepage of your new website! Congratulations! Feel free to customize it as you wish.';

exit;?>
Something is wrong with the XAMPP installation :-(

[leaning]

Here's another:
7) I've tested your ports and a port that XAMPP needs for setup is being used my another service. Shall I 1) re-assign XAMPP (Apache) to a different port, or 2) disable the other service. (Note, in most cases, it will be Port 80 which is needed by XAMPP, but also used by Web Deployment Agent Service, Skype, World Wide Web Publishing Service, etc. I can set their service to Manual vice Automatic.)

Maybe the install process can make sure that the right ports are available and configured correctly, and with your input, fix it so that the install can continue.

Regards,
leaning