Reciprocal Manager: Installation Help

Reciprocal Manager is a great reciprocal linking program, however many people have trouble getting it installed.

Part of the problem is with the instructions provided on the Reciprocal Manager site. I find the instructions more complicated than necessary. So here are Reciprocal Manager installation instructions that I hope you find easier to follow.

Note: For non-technical people, another option is to hire someone to do the install for you. If you go this way, be sure to change all passwords after the hired person completes the install.

Reciprocal Manager Install Overview

Here is a brief overiew of the install process:

Unzip the Reciprocal Manager program files
Create a MySQL database
Create a links directory on your site
Upload the Reciprocal Manager program files
Set file permissions
Run the install script
Login to the Admin area and setup your system

Now we will go into each of those steps in detail.

1. Unzip the Reciprocal Manager Files

OK, after you download the Reciprocal Manager ZIP file to your hard drive, just extract the files from the zip.

If you are running Windows XP, ZIP files can be unpacked by the standard Windows File Explorer. For older operating systems, you will need to get a copy of WinZIP.

You should end up with 34 files and one directory named "Net" (the capitalization is important!).

For a complete list of files that you should have, see this page.

2. Create a MySQL database

This is the first place that many people get confused, so let's start with some background info.

MySQL is the most popular open source database software. MySQL provides data storage and retrieval for Reciprocal Manager, so all your links, your configuration options, templates, and preferences are stored in the MySQL database.

You may have already created a MySQL database for another application, or perhaps your ISP has already created one for you.

If you already have a MySQL database created, the Reciprocal Manager tables can be placed in that database, so move on to the next step.

Just about every hosting provider has a different setup for creating a MySQL database. The best advice is to simply follow the instructions provided by your web host to create a database under your account. A good web host should provide videos or other self-support information to help you through this.

You will need to know the following information about your database when you run the install script in a later step.

MySQL Host - the name of the server on which MySQL is running
MySQL username - the username for accessing the MySQL database
MySQL password - the password for accessing the MySQL database
MySQL database name - the name of the MySQL database

Note: MySQL Host is often "localhost" or sometimes "server.domain.com" where server is a server name at your hosting provider and domain.com is a domain name from your hosting provider.

The information you need is often provided under the MySQL administration section of your control panel. Sometimes the information is provided as connection strings, which are in various programming languages. Look for the information in a table form unless you know how to read the connection strings. Once again, a good hosting company should help you here by making this information available.

3. Create a Links Directory On Your Site

Next, you need to create a directory to hold the Reciprocal Manager files on your website. I usually just create a directory named "links", so it is accessed as "http://www.mydomainname.com/links" where "mydomainname.com" is the domain name of your site.

Some people prefer to name the directory "partners", "resources" or "othersites". Use whatever name you like. For simplicity, this directory will be referred to as your links directory for the remainder of these instructions.

You can create your links directory using an FTP program, or using the control panel provided by your web host.

Again, if you are using the hosting provider's control panel, the best advice is to simply follow the instructions provided by your web host to create a directory on your domain. A good web host should provide videos or other self-support to help you through this.

4. Upload the Reciprocal Manager Program Files

Next, you need to copy the Reciprocal Manager program files from the directory on your hard drive to your links directory.

Again, if you are using the hosting provider's control panel, the best advice is to simply follow the instructions provided by your web host to upload files to your domain. A good web host should provide videos or other self-support to help you through this.

You can also copy the files using an FTP program (strongly recommended if you will be uploading lots of files to many websites over time), or using the control panel provided by your web host.

There are many FTP programs available that offer a 30 day trial, which is enough to get through this task.

Important Note: Be sure you upload all the files and directories. Also verify that the "Net" subdirectory starts with a capital "N" to make sure everything works properly.

5. Set File Permissions

Next, you need to set file permissions for your links directory and some of the Reciprocal Manager program files that were just uploaded.

You can set file permissions using an FTP program, or using the control panel provided by your web host.

Again, if you are using the hosting provider's control panel, the best advice is to simply follow the instructions provided by your web host to set file permissions on your domain. A good web host should provide videos or other self-support to help you through this.

The following files must be set to "777":

your links directory

directory_template.php

ez_sql.php

backup.txt

If you cannot set permissions to "777", set them to "775" instead.

6. Run the Install Script

Now, it is finally time to run the install script. Simply browse to your links directory and add install.php to the end of the URL (e.g., http://www.mydomain.com/links/install.php).

In the above example with Reciprocal Manager installed to a "links" directory, the install URL would be: http://www.mydomain.com/links/install.php

This part of the instructions on the Reciprocal Manager site is actually pretty good, so just browse to this page for full instructions.

7. Link to Your Link Form and Links Directory

Reciprocal Manager is installed, but you need to link to your links directory main page and your link form from your home page, or better yet from your site navigation.

Use links like the following:

<a href="/links/index.html">Links</a>

<a href="/links/user.php">Add a Link</a>

You should continue with the Reciprocal Manager Getting Started Instructions to get Reciprocal Manager customized for your site.

For more information:

Reciprocal Manager Site for the full Reciprocal Manager story.
Review of Reciprocal Manager for an honest look at Reciprocal Manager.
Reciprocal Manager Getting Started Instructions to help you get started right and fast.
How to Put Reciprocal Manager In Overdrive with the Relevant Link Exchange.