Smart tip: This handbook is also designed to be printed... set your printer's page orientation to landscape format, so there is enough space to place hand-written notes on the left and right margin easily.
 

In a common environment, we recommend to create a new sub-directory within the existing "cgi-bin" folder to separate the software from other already installed products.

Required "template.en" directory:

Inside the directory you desired for installation, please create a new sub-directory called "template.en". It's used to hold the content of "template.en" directory delivered with your software package.

Required "data" directory:

Inside the directory you desired for installation, please create a new sub-directory called "data". It's used to hold the content of "data" directory delivered with your software package.

Adjust path to Perl:

Open all program files (*.pl and *.cgi) in a text editor and change the first line "#!/usr/bin/perl" that it reflects the correct path to Perl 5 (or higher version) on your system. This is required to let your server know where the Perl interpreter is located.

Usage note: On most systems, /usr/bin/perl is already the default path to Perl and so no modifications are required.
 

Detailed file table: Scheme: [filename | suggested place to upload (short description); file permission]:
 

Filename...	Description...	Filename...	Description...
*	cgi-bin (program & data files); 755	template.en/*	template.en (templates); 666
		data/*	data (basic data files); 666

Important notes: Please double-check file permissions and transfer mode, otherwise the software may not work as intended. Depending upon the server configuration, different file permissions than the ones stated above may be necessary.

Smart tip: Our installation helper install.cgi makes it easier... just call it from your web browsing software (requires correct installation of this script) and it automatically checks your entire installation, adjusts permissions and fixes typical errors.
 

Before you proceed, it is highly recommended to set an administration password. After this is done, access to the admin panel is granted only by using "admin" as login together with the chosen password.

Now click on the button "Edit system parameters" and configure the shown parameters according your needs.

Usage note: Since all parameters are automatically filled with correct values, modifications on your side may not be required.

Directories and files:
 

Name of parameter to set...	Description...
CGI files directory Example: /usr/www/cgi-bin/ag	Absolute path to the location of AccessGuardian on your server.
"data" directory Example: /usr/www/cgi-bin/ag/data	Absolute path to the location that holds databases and related files.

Platform specific settings:
 

Name of parameter to set...	Description...
Mailing program (for Unix only) Example: /usr/bin/sendmail	Absolute path to Sendmail (or compatible) application on your server.
SMTP server Example: smtp.sunnyscript.com	SMTP server for handling mails; when left blank, the default mail application is used. This setting is required for non-Unix systems, otherwise optional.
Don't use flock Example: Unchecked	"flock" is normally supported directly by the operating system; should it be unavailable for any reason (e.g. on Win9x, WinMe), mark this checkbox.
Admin e-mail address Example: admin@sunnycript.com	E-mail address of the system administrator (e.g. webmaster).

URLs:
 

Name of parameter to set...	Description...
URL of CGI files directory Example: http://www.sunnyscript.com/cgi-bin/ag	URL to the location of AccessGuardian on your server.
URL of checkout script (should be secure) Ex.: https://www.sunnyscript.com/cgi-bin/ag/checkout.cgi	URL pointing to the checkout part of AccessGuardian. In order to enable SSL encryption, change the transfer protocol to HTTPS.
URL of user's help document (optional) Example: http://www.sunnyscript.com/myhelp.htm	URL to an optional help document (not included); may also consist of an e-mail link (e.g. "mailto:support@sunnyscript.com"). Usage note: Should contain a link to your company's terms of business, customer service details or any other related document.

Various parameters:
 

Name of parameter to set...	Description...
Authentication time (in seconds) Example: 10800	Time frame keeping user authentications active (after expiration, people must log in again); recommended range: 1 to 12 hours.

After you have verified all settings carefully, click on the button "Save parameters" to take over modifications to the system. It is also possible to bring back previous values with the "Let the script restore defaults" button.
 

How to access the member lounge (registered user area, online subscriptions):
 

Helpful hint: For more information about this feature, please refer to the chapter "Member lounge and template management".
 

The top menu line provides additional selections (depending on the current system status):
 

The software is able to handle multiple subscriptions, which may be either free of charge or fee based (refer to the following parts of this chapter for more information).

You can protect confidential business data, provide private areas to your employees (e.g. sales staff), sell paid memberships of your website or (web-)services, distribute all kinds of downloadable goods like software, e-books and much more.

Seen on the technical side, two security methods are provided:

Proxy script (normal security, Unix and other OS):

All data stored in the protected directory(ies) is delivered through AccessGuardian after the user has provided its authentication. This method works well with most websites and is recommended, if .htaccess/.htpasswd is not supported by your server.

Technical notes: Server-side scripting, server-generated directory listings and SSI is not supported; embedded multimedia objects (e.g. Flash animations, Quicktime movies or PDF) should work. CGI software must be called by using full URLs.

.htaccess and .htpasswd files (strong security, Unix only):

AccessGuardian uses the server's .htaccess and .htpasswd files to protect content with the highest level of security.

It's the recommended method suited for all kinds of deliverable data, e.g. binary content, multimedia files, embedded objects and executable software like CGI scripts as well as other server-based applications - fully compatible to your existing website.

Technical note: This method may not work on most Windows systems; please use "proxy script" instead of.

Subscriptions - the way AccessGuardian works:

If users are interested to access protected content, they must become a member first. By doing so, they have normally not access to any provided subscriptions (at least unless you specify a particular subscription to be available for new members).

As soon as the users are registered (now called "members"), they can proceed to order the desired subscriptions (which can be free or fee based depending upon your settings and desired application).

After approvement (either automatically or by the admin), members are able to access the subscriptions they have registered for. In this way, it is possible to host multiple subscriptions only accessible by certain users.
 

General settings:
 

Security settings:
 

"Welcome new member" e-mail message:
 

Currency settings:
 

Admin's notification:
 

Order logging settings:
 

Order restrictions:
 

Payment methods: See next part of this chapter.

AccessGuardian member lounge layout:
 

This payment option applies, when you handle payment processing outside (orders are only taken, no invoices generated).
 

Send invoice:

This payment option will create a customizable invoice for each order.
 

Credit card real-time processing:

This payment option requires a "merchant account" registered at a payment processor. In this way, you can handle credit card payments electronically through an online payment system.

Usage note: If you process credit cards by yourself (e.g. via terminal or an electronic cash register), please refer to the payment option "Credit card manual processing" as described later.

Passing back order details from the credit card processor to AccessGuardian:

After a payment has been processed (no matter, if accepted or declined), the payment processor must hand over the results back to AccessGuardian. For this application, the program passback.cgi is intended.

Instruct your credit card processor to transfer all data to passback.cgi of your AccessGuardian installation:
 

And here you can see how to configure AccessGuardian to work together with a payment processor...
 

Credit card manual processing:

This payment option is suited to accept credit cards for manual processing (e.g. via terminal or an electronic cash register).
 

Payment details by phone or fax:

This payment option is suited when using a 3rd-party payment system working with reference IDs or when you desire to get credit card details sent by fax. Following applications may be handled with this payment method:

* 3rd-party payment systems where customer receives (after successful payment) a confirmation ID that needs to be submitted by the customer to you (either by phone or fax). For example, paying by phone bill or credit card acceptance via call center.

* 3rd-party payment systems where customer pays cash and receives a confirmation ID that needs to be submitted by the customer to you for collecting payment. For example, money transfer companies or special banking transfer services.

* High-risk environments (e.g. blacklisted countries with high rates of credit card abuse) requiring you to take credit cards only by fax, perhaps together with a photocopy of the original credit card for verification purposes.
 

Prepaid code:

With this payment option you can allow customers to pay with a special code (e.g. issued by a telephone payment system or by yourself, like gift certificates or as activation code after arrival of cheques).

Technical note: Prepaid codes are kept in the system unless their balances reaches zero. This is done to allow your members buying prepaid codes in advance and then spend them for different subscriptions from time to time.
 

What is a subscription ?

A subscription is like a product your members can subscribe to (after general registration). Such a membership grants access to a protected area of your server for a limited time period and/or number of accesses.

Accessing a subscription can be either free of charge or fee based depending upon your settings for the concerned membership (e.g. when protecting business data, subscriptions are free; when selling memberships, subscriptions are charged).

How to create a new subscription:

Type in the name of the new subscription (e.g. "My online book") and click on the button "Create new".

How to edit / remove a subscription:

Select the subscription from the list, click on "Delete" or "Edit" and follow the provided instructions.

How to change the sorting of subscriptions:

Look for the one you wish to move around and click on either "move up" or "move down" to change its position (this affects the subscription's order within the list appearing on the member lounge).
 

Limitations:
 

Security settings:
 

Subscription expiration:

You can send warning and notification messages to notify members regarding expiration of their subscriptions.
 

AccessGuardian is much more than just an access manager. It also provides various office management tools, like a customer address database, order and invoice handling as well as electronic newsletters.

In the following we explain how to use these features. But before you proceed, you should have been read the previous chapters (some matters are described there we have considered as being known).
 

The "table of registered users" (members) holds all information about customers owning an account on your system, regardless of currently active subscriptions.

Members on this table are able to use the member lounge to login, access protected content and manage their profiles.

Some usage examples:

You can use "View records" in order to search for specific parameters, like age or origin of your customers and so find out what kind of people your business attracts - the ideal basis for creating sales statistics and do targeted marketing.

Add new fields to request further details during registrations to get a clear picture about your customers or ask for information which are required to have for your business.

Inform registered users about upcoming new services, special events and general company news by sending mailings and regular newsletters. And with personalized mails, you may achieve much more attention.

Manual subscription management:

It is possible to manually add, update or delete subscriptions for a particular profile (search for the desired profile and click on "Update" link at the upper right corner). At the system field "Subscriptions" you find a list with all available subscriptions.

Add new subscriptions:

Specify the starting date/time (format: YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss) for the subscription becoming active as well as its quantity (usually "1"). Now move the cursor into a new field to take over the new entry automatically.

Update or remove existing subscriptions:

Change the date/time (format: YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss) or quantity for a desired subscription (set quantity to "0" or leave it empty to delete). Now move the cursor into a new field to take over the entry automatically.

Technical note: This feature requires JavaScript being enabled at your web browser's preferences.

"Table of registered users" settings (accessible from the main admin menu):
 

Restructure table:

On the main admin menu, click on "Restructure" found at "Table of registered users".

Edit fields structure:

Create new fields, edit or remove existing ones and change the sorting of fields.

By the way: When removing a field, concerned table parameters are automatically updated.

Empty table:

Just select the desired options and click on the "Clear data" button in order to clear the concerned table. Please note that once a table (or part of it) is cleared, all related content will get lost and cannot be recovered.

Field properties parameters:

Go to "New field name", type in the desired name, select the data type and click on "Create new field". Otherwise look for the field you wish to modify and click either on "Edit" or the field name. Now the screen "Field properties" appears:
 

Important notes: If you edit a system field, some of the settings above may be not available for selection. Don't touch pre-filled settings for system fields, you may negatively affect their behavior.

Change table parameters and layout of registered users table:

On the main admin menu, click on "Change table parameters and layout" found at "Table of registered users".

Table layout parameters:
 

* These are required (and important) fields; double-check them for containing correct values.

Search layout parameters:
 

* These are required (and important) fields; double-check them for correct values.

Behavior:
 

Permissions:
 

Technical note: If you wish to modify records that are currently in moderation queue, mark the button "Remind to update" when approving these records. On the moderation result screen, you can edit them right away (new browser window opens).

Menu layout:
 

Database script pages headers / Login script page headers:

Customize the headlines of generated pages; also usage of images (IMG tags according HTML) is allowed.

Table modifications logging:

Check this button in order to log all table modifications (add, update and delete records) to TABLENAME.modif.log located in the "data" directory (TABLENAME is replaced with the name of the concerned table).

In this way, you are able to manually recover lost data or track IP addresses of users trying to cheat your system.

Technical notes: Content of memo / image / binary field types is not logged.

Table automatic maintenance:
 

Data file backing up:

What exactly is backup generation ?

AccessGuardian is able to generate backups of its data files automatically to allow restoring them later. Generated backup files (extension .db.bak) are located within the "data" directory.

Pre-requisites for generating backups:

Maintenance interval: Ensure that a maintenance interval is specified. Please see screen "Table parameters", "Table automatic maintenance". Recommended range: 3600 to 43200 seconds (1 to 12 hours).

Important note: The backup update period must be longer than the specified maintenance interval.

Enable / disable backup generation:
 

Technical notes: In order to disable the backup feature, set "Number of backup files" to 0 or leave it empty. New backups are not generated for unchanged files (since backup already exists).

Recommended backup settings:

Maintenance interval = 3600; number of backup files = 4; backup file #1 update period = 6
Rename backup file #1 to #2 after this number of updates of backup file #1: 4
Rename backup file #2 to #3 after this number of updates of backup file #2: 5
Rename backup file #3 to #4 after this number of updates of backup file #3: 6

<TABLENAME>.db.bak1 holds 0 to 6 hours old database content.
<TABLENAME>.db.bak2 holds 6 to 24 hours old database content.
<TABLENAME>.db.bak3 holds 1 to 5 days old database content.
<TABLENAME>.db.bak4 holds 5 to 30 days old database content.

<TABLENAME>: Name of the table, concerned backup file belongs to.

Retrieve data from backup:

If you wish to roll-back a corrupted data file, just replace the original file with the latest error-free backup copy.

Before doing so, please ensure that the table definition did not change recently (e.g. by adding new fields). In this case, the table definition needs to be set to the configuration of the data file to restore.

Important note: Restoring data files should be managed by an experienced system administrator only. In case of emergency, SunnyScript can provide you with special assistance to professionally handle this task (optional fee-based service).

Helpful hint: In order to create a backup of an entire database, you may use the "Download/upload table package" feature.

"Password reminder" utility:

If a member forgot its password to access the member lounge, AccessGuardian is able to re-send account details at request.
 

Important note: Since the admin password is saved encrypted for higher security, it cannot be restored. See chapter "Helpful hints and technical reference" about information on how to reset the admin password.

Templates substitution:

If you wish to use your own templates instead of the pre-defined ones, please select your desired templates here (more details about templates are available in the next chapter). "--use default--" will activate the standard template for concerned output.

Helpful hint: If you're unable to find your recently created templates within the lists, hold CTRL or SHIFT key and click on the "Reload" button of your browser software to reload the browser window (to replace an old copy in cache).
 

This powerful back-end feature allows you to watch about incoming subscription orders, track payments and more.

Watch incoming orders & track payments:

Use "View orders" to see a list of all orders currently active on the system. You may also search for specific ones, e.g. by using the automatically assigned order number (request this number from customers in case of inquiries).

Important... Activate a pending subscription:

In order to activate a subscription, go to the appropriate record in order table and mark the "Payment confirmed" checkbox. Only if this step is done, the concerned subscription will be alive.

Usage note: This task is not required for the payment methods "Credit card real-time processing" and "Prepaid code" (since subscriptions are activated automatically after the payment has been processed successfully).

How to cancel or modify a particular order:

For already processed orders, go to the concerned member profile (table of registered users) and edit or remove the member's subscriptions according the situation. Then remove or update the order and invoice records to match the new values.

Usage note: Where applicable, please ensure to provide a chargeback for made payments; this task is not done automatically.

For unprocessed orders, simply remove the order and invoice records from the system and ask the user to place a new order by using the member lounge.

"Table of orders" settings (accessible from the main admin menu):

Important note: Since these are very similar to the ones of the registered users table, please refer to this part for all details.
 

Auto removement of orders:

See screen "Table parameters", part "Table automatic maintenance" / "Records expiration". Specify the number of days after order creation, before an order is removed automatically from the system.

Mark "Auto. remove only if payment confirmed" to ensure that only orders are deleted, for which payment has been received.

Pre-requisite for this feature:

The maintenance interval must be set for this table; recommended range: 3600 to 43200 seconds (1 to 12 hours).
 

The table of invoices is mainly used for internal purposes to create printed invoices for each subscription order processed by AccessGuardian. So you are able to take over invoices from AccessGuardian directly to your bookkeeping.

Search for invoices and print them:

Use "View invoices" to see a list of all invoices currently available on the system or search for a specific one. Click on the link "printable" (invoice number) to see the appropriate invoice ready-to-print or click on the order ID for a web-like formatting.

"Table of invoices" settings (accessible from main admin menu):

Important note: Since these are very similar to the ones of the registered users table, please refer to this part for all details.
 

Auto removement of invoices:

See screen "Table parameters", part "Table automatic maintenance" / "Records expiration". Specify the number of days after invoice creation, before an invoice is removed automatically from the system.

Pre-requisite for this feature:

The maintenance interval must be set for this table; recommended range: 3600 to 43200 seconds (1 to 12 hours).

Technical note: When removing invoices here, customers will lose also access to the printable versions; so it is recommended to set a generous interval (recommended value: 30 days).
 

The table of history is used to build the history and statistical information (member lounge). In addition, it is very helpful for the administrator to investigate stolen passwords (tracking IPs of thieves) or other abnormal system usage.

"Table of history" settings (accessible from the main admin menu):

Important note: Since it is very similar to registered users table, please refer to this part for all detailed information.
 

Auto removement of history records:

Different than the auto removement features of other system tables, the records are handled automatically and will be removed once they become useless. This is done by a special algorithm which decides about the system status.

So unless you are really sure about, you should not delete history records by yourself.
 

You can send out mailings either to all record owners of a selected table (recipients filter set to "Send to all") or just mail such people who have allowed you to do so (recipients filter set to "Send to subscribed users only").

Mark "Do not send duplicate e-mails" in order to send only one single mail, even a particular address is found multiple times.

Reach the correct recipients:

Table of registered users: General mailings to all registered members (e.g. new product announcements, company news).
Tables of orders and invoices: Mailings regarding payment or service issues.

Custom recipients filter:

You can specify a search query that filters only recipients matching particular criteria. It is possible to use any field available in the table this mailing is intended for. Click on "view filter results" to get a listing of all selected records.

For example: income>=3000 AND education="high"
Only recipients will receive this mailing which have an income of more than 3000 currency units and a "high" education level.

Usage note: For more details about how to perform search operations, please refer to "Searching of databases (tables)" below.

Personalized mailings:

Personalized mailings contain an individual "To:" field for each recipient. In addition, you can include fields from the concerned table  (format: <!--$FIELDNAME-->) which are replaced by appropriate content.
 

Sample personalized mailing:
 

Dear <!--$first_name--> <!--$last_name-->, you recently added your website <!--$URL--> to our database. If you would like to increase the popularity of your <!--$BUSINESSTYPE--> company, you should take a closer look at our valuable offers ! With kind regards, John Smith (my sample company).

Technical note: If "Do not send duplicate e-mails" is marked, a recipient with multiple records receives mail for the first found record only (and so will just see content of table fields for this specific record).

Quick mailings:

Quick mailings are used to send identical messages to all recipients (faster processing). However the usage of personalized elements is not possible (included table tags are removed automatically).
 

Intelligent mail content delivery:

The most powerful feature is the delivery of intelligent message parts based on a record's content and "if/then/else" conditions. So a mailing can be written absolutely targeted, which leads to higher response rates and increased user convenience.

Important note: This works only with "Personalized" mailing method. "Quick" mailings will ignore intelligent message parts.

Each "intelligent message part" has the following structure:
 

<!--if <expression>--> Message delivered when <expression> is true. <!--else--> Message delivered when <expression> is false. <!--endif-->

Usage notes: "if" and "endif" tags are required, while the "else" part is optional. Recurrent tags may also be used.

<expression> can contain these operators:
 

Format of field values: $fieldname (field names are handled case-sensitive).

Sample applications (non-recurrent tags):
 

<!--if $gender eq "m"--> Ties for 5 Euro only. Just a limited time, buy now ! <!--else--> Parfums starting at 10 Euro. <!--endif--> <!--if $income < 20000 AND $intelligence_quotient <= 30--> Hi <$name>, participate in our "get rich fast" special offers ! This is your chance to live like the <rich & beautiful>. <b><i>So start acting now - start today.</b></i> <!--endif--> <!--if $index * 10 / $basetax + 0.03 == 2 AND $taxstatus eq "high"--> Save taxes by ordering our book "1001 (il)legal tax tricks". <!--else--> Increase your income by ordering our book "1001 ways to get wealthy". <!--endif-->

Usage notes: Second sample does not have an "else" tag, which means that a false result will lead into not displaying anything. Should a field value be unavailable (spelling error, non-existing field), then the argument is considered as being empty.

Technical note: It is also possible to use HTML and client-sided scripts (like JavaScript) within intelligent message parts.

Sample application (recurrent tags):
 

<!--if $gender eq "m"--> Special offer for <b>men</b> from our drug store: <!--if $age > 50--> Gray hair remover for just 9,99 Euro. <!--else--> Shaving foam - just 3,99 Euro. <!--endif--> <!--else--> Special offer for <b>women</b> from our drug store: <!--if $age > 50--> Wrinkle remover for just 9,99 Euro. <!--else--> Lavender bath salt - just 3,99 Euro. <!--endif--> <!--endif-->

Usage notes: Parts in green text belonging together. Do not forget to close all "if" tags avoiding malfunctions.

How to perform a test of personalized and intelligent mailings:

In order to let the system process a sample message, click on the button "Send test message to admin". The system then generates a mailing, which is sent to the administrator under real life conditions.

And these default values are used: Numerical = 0; date/time related fields = actual date/time; URLs = http://test.<fieldname>/; e-mail addresses = test@<fieldname>.test; fields in general = test-<fieldname>.

Smart tip: Have a look at MailingStar (plus) - professional mailing list management and e-mail marketing software.
 

Import data into database:

Click at the button "Start data import..." to begin reading in an existing 3rd-party database.
 

Click on the button "Import data" to start the importing process. After it is finished successfully, please check the read in data for consistency first. It is also recommended to keep a backup copy of all original database files for later references.

Technical note: Data formats "... with field names" requires that the first line of the importable file holds the names of the fields. Alternatively, default names are chosen you can rename later at any time.

Importing already uploaded source files:

This feature is useful especially when trying to import huge databases, because the file size allowed to read in through the admin panel may be limited by your server or webbrowsing software...

Just place the source file into the directory data/import.tmp. Now go to the admin panel, click on "Import / export data" and select the concerned file from the list (see parameter "Determine data file being uploaded").

Export data from database:

Select the appropriate source table and click on "Continue..." to go to the next screen.
 

Now click on "Export data" to start the exporting process. A "save file" dialog is shown by your web browsing software to store the exported data file on your computer.

Advantages of the "EasyData exchange format":

The "EasyData exchange format" is a tab-delimited text-based format also storing binary field content, like images or software files together with the textual data (URL-encoded).

Where possible, this format should be used for data import and export tasks to ensure best results when handling non-textual contents (all other supported formats cannot handle binary fields).

Technical note: If you are a programmer interested in implementing our exchange format into your own applications, please let us know. We are able to provide you with additional information upon request.

Helpful hint: Should you wish to manually back up an entire database or to carry an existing one over to an other AccessGuardian installation, you may decide to create a "table package" as described more closer in the following.

Table packages - overview:

A table package contains an entire database (the table and all related elements) in one single file (TABLENAME.ede). So table packages are ideally suited for carrying an entire database to an other server or for generating manual backups.

Download table package:
 

Now click on "Download table" to save the table package. A "save file" dialog is shown by your web browsing software.

Upload table package:
 

Now click on "Upload table" to copy the table package to the server.

Technical note 1: Should there already exist a table with equal name, AccessGuardian chooses a new name for the uploaded table (may be changed later at "Restructure table" screen).

Technical note 2: The choices "Use internal GZIP compression" respectively "Use internal GZIP decompression" for table package down- and uploads are only available, if there is the Perl module "Compress::Zlib" installed.
 

The member lounge works like a shopping cart for new customers to register and put desired subscriptions in a virtual basket. After completing their orders, they can go to the member lounge and access them right away.

Of course, the member lounge works also well for closed systems, e.g. companies wanting to provide access to sensitive business information through a convenient platform.

How to access the member lounge:
 

In order to get access to the member lounge, users must sign-up first and create their own profiles. Members already having a password can use their login ID and password to log in. Both is done on the first member lounge screen:
 

Subscription manager:

After you have logged in, you'll see the subscription manager main area with the following available sections:
 

The top menu line provides additional selections (depending on the current system status):
 

By default, a standard template scheme is used. It's the ideal basis to create your own templates or modify the existing ones. More detailed information will follow later in this chapter. You have two choices of modifying the lounge templates:

1. Modify color and font schemes only:

You may adjust the color and font schemes to achieve a similar layout as the one of your business website...

Go to the admin menu, click on the button "Edit templates" and search for "main template" labelled entries. These contains various layout settings taking effect to all sub-templates connected with the concerned main template.

2. Full set of freely configurable templates:

Beside of just customizing color and font schemes with style sheet commands, you can create your own set of templates or re-write the standard ones (they are a good basis for your own templates).

Each template is written in HTML and contains special tags which will be replaced by appropriate content. There's nothing you cannot customize, however you should have a familiar understanding of AccessGuardian and HTML programming.
 

There are three kinds of templates: Main templates contain the master layout; sub-templates hold the layout of output blocks appearing in these main templates; independent templates stand alone.

A detailed list with comprehensive descriptions of all template files is available from the admin panel (see "Templates editor" screen). Please contact our customer service for pre-sale inquiries asking for this list.

Helpful hints: If you create your own template sets, start creating the main templates first to have a better overview. After each single template is ready, run a test-drive to check correct functionality.

Important note: We strongly recommend to keep backup copies of the original template files for later referencing purposes.

Location of templates:

All template files are physically located in the templates directory you specified during installation of AccessGuardian.

As long as you create or modify templates using the admin panel, you don't have to care about. However if you create templates manually, you must copy them to this location, because AccessGuardian only recognizes files in this directory as templates.
 

For some advanced functions, Perl code is used on the templates together with internal script variables. You may just surround these codes with additional HTML tags or modify them as desired (suggested only if you are familiar with Perl).

Important notes: Some tags are specific for selected templates. If you add a tag to a template which cannot use it, concerned tag will be simply ignored. However a missing tag can cause that users are not able to get access to selected features.

If you wish to customize templates, go to the admin menu and click on the button "Edit templates".

List of tags and Perl script variables you can use on templates:

A detailed list with comprehensive descriptions of all valid variables and tags is available from the admin panel (see "Templates editor" screen). Please contact our customer service for pre-sale inquiries asking for this list.

Expert note: Common script variables available in all templates are $in{<form_var>}, which gives access to form variables submitted by the user (<form_var>) and $namespace->{'TAG'}, which offers access to special tag variables.

Custom software solutions:

Contact our sales department to request a free quote for our individual programming and customization services. Our team of experienced programmers and website designers looks forward to take over your project at affordable rates.
 

Beside of correct configuration of the order logging settings within "AccessGuardian parameters", you don't have to take care about anything else as long as YourAffiliates uses the same domain name as the member lounge.

The reason for this pre-requisite is a security limitation in the cookie technology, that allows only domains reading a cookie, which have originally set it - that's why the domain names of YourAffiliates and AccessGuardian must match each other.

Use a different domain name:

For this application, AccessGuardian must set the affiliate ID instead of YourAffiliates on customer's computer. So you are able to use different domain names for both software packages.
 

<id>: Affiliate identification; <prg>: Affiliate program code.

According the above URL scheme you have to modify the advertising HTML codes used by YourAffiliates (please refer to the electronic manual of this product regarding details).

Auto-processing of order cancellations:

If you (or your customer) cancel an order at AccessGuardian, any paid sale commission is automatically deducted from the concerned affiliate's account.

Technical note: Since the table of orders does not store affiliate IDs, it is impossible for the software to recall commissions when setting a cancelled order back alive - this task has to be added manually via YourAffiliates' admin panel.
 

AccessGuardian provides a wide range of powerful search features to retrieve information from your stored data fast and accurate. In the following, we want to show how to built search operations in an effective way.

Let's first have a look at these two records used to explain the sample operations below:
 

id: 1 firstname: John lastname: Smith age: 27 postcode: 12345 city: Samplecity country: Somewhere

id: 2 firstname: Max lastname: Smith age: 12 postcode: 02345 city: Samplecity country: Somewhere

Usage note: All samples don't consider special features like searchable fields, whole word or case-sensitive search operations. They just refer exclusively to their concerned explained features.

Interpreting keyword searches:

In most cases, you can use any text string for query fields in order to start searching a table.

Sample query: smith
Delivered records: 1, 2

Multiple keywords should be separated by spaces. AccessGuardian automatically adds the logical operator AND unless an other one is specified (read below for details and additional explanations).

Sample query: john blanche
Delivered records: none ("john" is found in record 1, but "blanche" is not existing)

If you are not sure about the spelling of a word (e.g. singular/plural or different spelling alternatives), then just type in a partial word.  AccessGuardian will perform a sub-string search for the provided string.

Sample query: some
Delivered records: 1, 2 (finds string "some" in values of field "country")

Boolean operators: AND (&) OR (|) NOT (!)

The logical operators AND, OR, NOT are supported. Instead of the words AND, OR and NOT you can also use the operator characters ampersand (&), pipe (|) and exclamation mark (!).

Sample query: john AND smith
Delivered records: 1

Sample query: john OR max
Delivered records: 1, 2

Sample query: john ! max
Delivered records: 1 ("!" stands for "NOT")

Technical note: At advanced searches you can specify a default operator.

Parentheses: ( )

Operations put within parentheses are processed first; the result is then used for further operations within the search string.

Sample query: (john NOT max) AND samplecity
Delivered records: 1 ("john NOT max" delivers record 1; then looks there for "samplecity"; both statements are true (AND))

Phrases: " "

Strings put within phrases are searched exactly as they are (not case-sensitive).

Sample query: "sample"
Delivered records: 1, 2 (finds "samplecity")

Sample query: "JOHN"
Delivered records: 1

Wildcards: * ? \

Beside of the standard sub-string search, it is possible to use more specific wildcards for automatically expanding a search operation. Wildcards marking variable parts of a string; they are helpful when looking for word variations and different spellings.

The asterisk (*) is considered as placeholder for none, one or more characters; the question mark (?) is considered as placeholder for exactly one character.

Place an escape character (\) before any symbol to disable its special meaning (e.g. a search for the string "book\*" will look for "book*" as it is written and does not consider the special meaning of the asterisk character).

Sample query: sample*
Delivered records: 1, 2 (would also find "sampletown", "samplevillage" or just "sample")

Sample query: ?2345
Delivered records: 1, 2 (but would not find "012345", since only one character is allowed being there).

Comparison operators: = == < > <= >= <> ~ !~ ~~

Within a search query you may address a specific record field being searched for a given string or numerical value.

Available operators:
 

= wildcard match (wildcard symbols allowed)	== exact match (disabled wildcard search, "as is")
< less than	> greater than
<= less or equal than	>= greater or equal than
<> or != not equal	~ contains text (default operator)
!~ does not contain text	~~ whole word match

Sample query: age <= 12
Delivered records: 2 (looks exactly at the field "age" and disregards other fields)

Technical note: When just entering a string, AccessGuardian converts it into <searchable field> ~ <search string>. In case of using "whole word" match, the search string is converted into <searchable field> ~~ <search string>.

Priority of used operators:

When processing a search request, AccessGuardian first handles all parentheses, then comparisons and finally any boolean operator found (in this priority: NOT, AND, OR).

Search options at "Advanced search" screen:

By clicking at the "Search" link in the upper left corner of the screen you will come to the advanced search area for the concerned active table. Beside of a standard search mask, also the following options are available:

Case-sensitive: Mark this button to handle search operations case-sensitive (CAPITAL and lowercase chars are differed).

Whole words: Mark this button to search for entire words only (recognizes space characters).

Match method: Select whether all arguments must be found (AND) or just one is sufficient to list a record (OR).

Sort by / then sort by: Define sorting of search results over two levels.
 

In order to translate system messages into your desired language, download the files *.en (located in the software directory), which holds all pre-defined text parts and load them into a text editor.

Each language file uses the same structure:

<Meaning or default text> => <Translation>

Please change only the part <Translation> while keeping the left-sided ones. After you finished translation, please upload the files to your server and give them a try.

Important note: You should create a backup copy of all original *.en for later reference.

Custom payment method labels:

If you wish to use different labels for payment methods than the default ones (for example "Banking transfer or cheque" instead of "Send invoice"), you need to modify the entries at file order.en , section "List of all implemented payment methods".

Important note: Alterations done to order.en can negatively affect the software's behavior, so please be careful.
 

Before you contact our customer service department, please read this manual first. In most cases you find the answer here. However if you still experience problems, we will be more than happy to help you...

For all support inquiries, please contact support@sunnyscript.com and provide the following information:

* The license number of the concerned product.
* A close description of the problem or question you have (no file attachments, please).
* For technical inquiries: Used server environment, URL of admin panel & admin password.