Installing the Web Application

The dbFront Installer can fully install the website within minutes.

This section is only for people who chose to manually install the website files or for those who would like to tweak the setting to better match their own environment.

If you chose a manual install then you will need to find where you saved the website files and use IIS Manager to create a Web Application.

The webserver needs to be Microsoft IIS version 6.0 or better. For more details see: Preparing Windows to host a Dotnet 4.0 website

Manually Installing dbFrontUI on the Web Server

Ensure that your Web Server has the WebServer role configured.
Copy the contents of the dbFrontUI folder somewhere on your server. A reasonable default is [C:\InetPub\dbFrontUI]
Open IIS Server Admin and browse into the Application Pools
Add an Application Pool with the following settings:

Name dbFrontPool

Framework Version v4.0.30319

Enable 32-Bit Applications True (Advanced Settings)
In IIS Server Admin browse into your Default Web Site

Name	dbFrontPool
Framework Version	v4.0.30319
Enable 32-Bit Applications	True (Advanced Settings)

Create a WebApplication (Not WebSite) with the following settings:

Alias	dbfront
Path	The path to the website files. e.g. [C:\InetPub\dbFrontUI]
App Pool	Select the Application Pool you just created.

Update the included [web.config] file and adjust the following settings:
NOTE: You should have the Cache and Logs folders outside the web folder.

ServiceHost	If the Web Server is in a DMZ this should be the IP address of the Firewall port leading into the network. Otherwise specify the Servername or IP address which is hosting the Application Service.
ServicePort	The port used to communicate with the Application Server. The default is 42057.
CachePath	e.g. [c:\\temp\\dbFrontCache\\]
LogPath	e.g. [c:\\logs\\dbFrontUI\\]

Update an Existing Install

Make a backup of your existing dbFrontUI folder.
Update all files except the file named web.config.

Test the Install

On the server browse to the URL where you installed dbFront, e.g. [http://localhost/dbFrontUI/].
If you see a license notification then follow the directions to receive a license number for your server.

Layout Settings

Layout settings are moved to the Settings dialog opened from [Help] / [Settings] / [Website]. If upgrading is not an option then you can continue to edit the settings as described below.

The following [web.config] settings allow you to adjust how the dbFront website is rendered.

SiteHeaderHtml	[HTML] Allows you to specify HTML that will be inserted at the top of the Page. The HTML can include any valid HTML tags. The site header currently supports the following replaceable tags. {%DatabaseCaption%} : The caption of the current database or blank if no database is selected. {%TableCaption%} : The caption of the current table or blank if no table is selected. {%LogoUri%} : The currently selected Database or Site logo. {%InspirationalQuote%} : An inspirational Quote. As of dbFront 1.1.2, fields from the user profile table can be included in the header. Profile fields are formatted: {profile[fieldname]} A good default value for the SiteHeaderHtml is: <div class='headerLeft' style='background-image:url({%LogoUri%})'> </div> <div class='headerCenter'> <h2>{%DatabaseCaption%}</h2> <h3>{%TableCaption%}</h3> </div> <div class='headerRight'>{%InspirationalQuote%}</div>
SiteFooterHtml	[HTML] Allows you to specify HTML that will be inserted at the bottom of the Page. The HTML can include any valid HTML tags.
SiteTheme	Allows you to specify the name of the main website theme. e.g. [start, pepper, le-frog]
SiteCssFile	[filename] Allows you to specify the name of a custom CSS file. e.g. "css/customSite.css"
UseHtml5NumericInput	[true, false] Specify if dbFront should use the Html5 numeric inputs. Html5 numeric inputs don't handle different numeric formats as dictated by the Cultural Settings in an intuitive manner.
UseCDN	[true, false] Specify if the user will be provided links to local resources or CDN resources. Locally hosted resources are more reliable but they use up more bandwidth.

NOTE: These [web.config] settings will be depreciated with the install of dbFront 1.0.14.3353.

Login Screen Settings

Login Screen settings are moved to the Settings dialog opened from [Help] / [Settings] / [Login Screen]. For more details see: Login Settings. If upgrading is not an option then you can continue to edit the settings as described below.

The following [web.config] settings allow you to adjust the Login Screen functionality.

Notice	This represents an HTML formatted message that can be added to the head of the login screen.
RememberMe	[true, false] Indicate if dbFront offers to remember the current user on that workstation.
UsageAgreement	If set then the user will be required to indicate agreement before login.

NOTE: These [web.config] settings will be depreciated with the install of dbFront 1.0.14.3353.

User Help Settings

User Help settings are moved to the Settings dialog opened from [Help] / [Settings] / [User Help]. For more details see: Help Settings. If upgrading is not an option then you can continue to edit the settings as described below.

The following [web.config] settings allow you to adjust the Help functionality.

HelpURL	Replace the default dbFront help as requested from the menu.
SidebarHelp	[on, off, disable] Determine if the SideBarHelp is enabled.

NOTE: These [web.config] settings will be depreciated with the install of dbFront 1.0.14.3353.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues then please read our Troubleshooting Guide.

The Next Step

Once the website is installed then the next step is to install and configure the application server.

Application Server Install