PC Repair Tracker installation instructions.

1. Unpack the distribution file.

2. There are several main folders, repair, store, pcphotos, attachements and productphotos which are contained
in the PCRT folder. Upload these 5 folders to either the root folder
of your website or a subfolder. All 5 folders must be in the same folder.

3. Set permissions on the productphotos folder, pcphotos folder, attachments folder, and the ~/repair/images/scans folder to be writable.

4. Using what ever tool your webhost provides for managing a MySQL databases (almost always MyPHPAdmin), 
create a new database and import the pcrepairtracker.sql file in the distrubution package into your newly created database.

5. Edit the deps.php files in both the repair and store directory to your liking. You can also change your monetary symbol
in this file from dollars to pounds, euros or whatever symbol you need in the $money variable. You will need to 
specify your database name, username and passwords in each of these two files at a bare minimum to get PCRT running. 
Some of the settings in these files are arrays, be careful to preserve the syntax.

6. At this point you should be able to load the site for the first time by going to either the store or repair
 folder in your browser. Login given the suppled admin password. Only the admin user can modify store definitions,
define workareas, add new users or 
change other users passwords. On the repair side of the system click the "Settings" link to add new users, set tax rates, 
and setup your store contact info, scans, installs, actions, and notes, and other options.

7. There is also a repairstatus folder. This contains a simple script to allow your customers to check the
status of their	repairs. Only upload this folder if you	wish to	use this feature. You can place	this folder 
anywhere on your website, separate from	the main PC Repair Tracker Installation. You must edit the settings 
in the deps.php file in this folder for the script to work. Some fairly empty header and footer files are also
provided so that you can customize it with your own websites template to make it integrate nicely. There is also
a separate stylesheet. You must also specify the location of these scripts in the repair/deps.php file.

8. There is also a servicerequest folder. This script allows you to collect service requests from your website.
You can place this folder anywhere on your website, separate from the main 
PC Repair Tracker Installation. You must edit the settings in the deps.php file in this folder for the script to work. Some fairly empty header and 
footer files are also provided so that you can customize it with your own websites template to make it 
integrate nicely. There is also a separate stylesheet. 

9. If you use the webcam image asset upload feature, I would recommend getting a white backdrop or posterboard
to take your pictures against. There is also a sample htaccess file in the the pcphotos directory that you can 
use to block direct access to your images so it can be safe to take pictures of things like Windows product 
keys without unauthorized access. The htaccess blocks by referrer, so make sure random visitors cannot 
get a directory listing with your pcphotos folder listed, or they will be able to view your pictures.  

10. If you would like to set up a custom payment method, there is a "CustomPayment.php" script. You can rename and make multiple copies 
of this file. For instance, you could rename it to Bank.php, open it up and edit the two variables at the top of the file. 
Edit the scriptname variable to match what you named the PHP file minus the php extension. Then enter the extra fields 
you wish to collect info for. Then in your store/deps.php file enter the your name for the payment plugin into the payment methods array.

11. Test your attachments folder by loading it in a browser windows, the folder contains a .htaccess file that should give you a access
denied message. If you are able to browse the folder and do not get the access denied message, do not use the attachment feature
until this folder is secure or your attachments may be publically accesible.



General FAQ

Q: Does PCRT support cash drawers?
A: No, as it is a web app, it is limited to what hardware it can access on a client machine.

Q: What label printers are supported?
A: I personally use a Dymo LabelWriter 400, but any dymo printer with a recent version of the 
   Dymo label software for the Windows platform should work.

Q: Do other label printers work?
A: No, I can only write support for printers that use XML label file formats. 

Q: What barcode scanners are supported?
A: I use an Adesso NuScan 1000U, but any barcode scanner that inputs things as if they
   were typed in at the keyboard should work.

Q: Can PCRT import or export to Quickbooks
A: No, and there are no plans to do so. PCRT manages invoicing and receipts internally. Personally,
   my accountant does use QB but just import totals from PCRT as well as use it to keep track of 
   the bank account and write checks

Q: Does it run with XAMPP?
A: Yes there are a few people that run it on XAMPP.

Q: Can I run this on Windows hosting or on my own Windows server?
A: I do not recommend it and cannot fully support it, but there are people that do. But also they
   tend to have way more installation problems and issues with the email functions in the app.

Q: Are there any issues running on IIS
A: Yes, there are several known issues.

Q: Does it support any payment gateways?
A: There is AuthorizeNet,PayPal Website Payments Pro, and Sage Payments support. 
   The link between PCRT and the gateway is secure, but it is
   up to you make sure your link between the browser and PCRT is secure. (https). Also the payment
   plugins only supports debit cards when run as a signature card. There is no support for PIN code keypads.

Q: Can I make modifications to the code?
A: Yes, but we cannot provide support for this or support you if you break things.

Q: Does the software shut down if I do not renew it?
A: No, you can continue to use it with no problems, you just will no longer receive free
   updates or support.

Q: Does the software phone home?
A: No

Q: Can I change the monetary symbol?
A: Yes, you can use any monetary symbol you want. 

Q: Can I import customer lists from my old system?
A: Yes, if you can get a CSV file from your old system, you can use phpMyAdmin to import your CSV file. 

Q: Do you offer a trial version?
A: No, just an online demo, offering a trial version would tie up to much of my time with installation support for people that are not necessarily serious  
   about purchasing. I would rather spend time writing new code than providing support to people installing a trial version.


Usage FAQ

Q: Why is the Customer Repair Sheet links greyed out on a repair page?
A: You must type some basic notes for the customer before the button comes available. Our techs got in the 
   habit of only adding the canned responses. We felt it was important to give a least a general statement about
   the work done to a PC.


Q: Why can I not set the status on a PC to "ready for pickup"?
A: You must add charges or "NO CHARGE" to a PC. We had a problem in our shop where technicians would put PC's 
   in the ready for pickup status without setting the prices, which resulted in the customer not getting charged for
   everything.

Q: How do I add scan icons when my webserver doesn't have the ImageMagick "convert" command available, 
   what can I do?
A: Add your scans like normal, but fill in the image filename field with the name of your icon that is 
   24X24 pixels large. Also create a copy of the image 84X84 pixels and prefix the filename with a l_, and create
   another icon 84X84 pixels that is grayscale and faded and prefix it with a gl_ and place these 3 icons in
   your scans folder. 

Q: Why can I not create a printable quote or copy a current cart to a repair cart.
A: You cannot perform this action while items are staged for return are in the cart.

Q: How do you identify store inventory?
A: As we enter items to inventory, they are assigned a stock ID number which we used to enter on the top line of a 2-line
   price tagger. But now we use a dymo printer and the price tag printing feature that prints our price tags complete
   with a scanable code 39 bar code.


Q: How do I use the asset label - price tag printing function?
A: This function is written to use a dymo thermal printer with 1-1/8 x 3-1/2 (28 x 89 mm) address labels. If you 
   have your dymo printer and software installed, the PCRT will offer up a download of your label, and you can 
   just open it and click print. 

Q: How do webcam asset image upload feature to stop asking me to allow access to the camera?. 
A: Click the settings button and check the box to "Remember" your webhost.

Q: Why does the webcam not reset for taking more pictures after taking a picture?
A: Some versions of Flash on Linux and other systems have issues. Just click the link to reload the applet to 
   reset it.

Q: Can I perminently delete work orders or customers?
A: Yes, but you must be logged in as admin to be able to access the function.

Installation FAQ

Q: Why do I get an error that says something about an error with header.php, output already started.
A: You edited your deps.php scripts with and editor that introduced extra line returns or spaces and the
   end of the deps.php file. Delete these extra spaces all the way to the final ?> php closing tag
   and re-upload the file.

Q: Why do I just get a blank page when loading the system?
A: Your host may default to php3. You need to create an .htaccess file that contains the line
   "AddType x-mapp-php5 .php" and place it in your main folder so that the proper php version is used. 

Q: How do I start PCID, Invoice, Receipt, PC Work Order Numbers from something other than "1"?
A: In your database management tool, probably phpMyAdmin

	type in the SQL box:

	Invoice Number:
	ALTER TABLE invoices AUTO_INCREMENT = 1234;

	Pcid Number:
	ALTER TABLE pc_owner AUTO_INCREMENT = 1234;

	Receipt Number
	ALTER TABLE receipts AUTO_INCREMENT = 1234;

	PC Work Order Number:
	ALTER TABLE pc_wo AUTO_INCREMENT = 1234;

	Where 1234 is the number you want to start with.

Q: Why do I have issues/php warnings when I entering info with quotation marks?
A: It is recommended to run with magic quotes off. If your server has this on place the following
   in a .htaccess file to turn it off. Magic Quotes are problematic and being depreciated in future
   versions of PHP

        php_flag magic_quotes_gpc Off

