Is ZenPhoto a Standalone application?

erika_conn

I'm beginning to think it is not.

kagutsuchi

This is a loaded question. Zenphoto, by itself on a server, cannot run alone. It requires typical web server software, these being such things as the actual webserver (Apache or some other), PHP, and SQL of some sort. If this is the question that you're asking, then yes, Zenphoto does require that it be run on a server that is set up to serve web pages in PHP and retrieve particular values from a database.

However, the converse of this is that, yes, Zenphoto is a standalone application. Most typical web servers will come with the software necessary to run Zenphoto, meaning that it should be possible in most instances to simply upload Zenphoto and run the installation script. In most cases, Zenphoto requires nothing beyond itself and what is provided by the web server.

The real problem comes that there are many different softwares for the same thing. There are many different softwares and many different ways that these softwares are loaded and many more ways that these softwares can be configured.

Therefore, there is no one way to set Zenphoto up that will work with every single web server. Every web server is different in many ways.

Zenphoto does, however, provide the user with the information necessary to understand exactly what is required/suggested to have Zenphoto working as well as it can. This can entail suggesting that the user change settings in the underlying web server software.

There are no concrete instructions on how to set Zenphoto up on any given web server. For this reason, Zenphoto only provides you with the information necessary to understand exactly what is required/suggested. It is up to the user to discover how to do it on their own server. In some cases, it does require contacting the user's server provider to change things on their behalf.

erika_conn

OK, thank you for that information.

azdustdevil

I'm having a problem also. Does that mean Zenphoto will only run within WordPress or something similar? I keep getting this crap when I try to install:

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /zp-core/setup.php on this server.

Now, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Sheesh. I'm ready to go back to WordPress.

kagutsuchi

Zenphoto will work on its own as a photo gallery. It will also work in conjunction with other software such as WordPress, a CMS. They can even be used together if that's what you want (search for ZenphotoPress if you're interested).

The error you're getting indicates a permissions problem on your server. Have you tried changing permissions as described by here: http://www.zenphoto.org/2009/03/troubleshooting-zenphoto/#29

If changing Zenphoto's permissions does not work, then chances are that your server is blocking your access. You may want to ask your hosting provider about this issue in that case.

azdustdevil

I only had to change the permission level on the main folders. Worked like a charm! Thanks!