Frequently asked questions on the Facil Web Interface (FWI)
General Questions
- How do I get the FWI?
- Here's the a summary of the process:
- To make sure the web server you're using is supported, have your web designer download and unzip this file: site.php.zip and place it in the document root (where the home page is) on your web site
- Fill out this application for the installation.
- Once approved, you can ourchase the FWI from Access Tucson
- After purchase, a timeframe will be given for the installation (usually a few days to a week), Artisan Computer will install the FWI on your website
- What service is provided with my FWI purchase?
- Installation and configuration support will be provided. The FWI requires little to no maintenance once installed, and automatically updates the website on a schedule of your choosing.
- How are software upgrades and support provided?
- Yes - for $200/year, you will receive the newest version of the software upon request, and post-installation email support from Artisan Computer.
- What if I need service beyond the basic installation, such as customization, changes in functionality, website integration, moving the installation, or other repairs and changes?
- These services can be provided at Artisan Computer's standard hourly rates.
Facil Related Questions
- What version of Facil do I need?
- Facil 4.5 is the first version of Facil supported by the FWI. As the FWI tracks Facil's development closely, you must have the current version of Facil for it to work properly. Maintaining an up-to-date Technical Support agreement with Becker Software is highly recommended.
- We put special characters or words in the fields of Facil as a means of notetaking/record keeping. Can you strip this out of our data when it gets put on the web?
- No. The data you have entered in Facil is the displayed on the website, without any modifications
- I made a change to Facil, but the web site doesn't reflect the change?
- See below - changes made in Facil will not be reflected on the web site until an export and update cycle has happened.
Technical Questions
- What are the web server requirements?
- Many web hosts will meet the first few requirements, but come up wanting for the last few:
- Apache 1.x or 2.x, with mod_rewrite
- PHP 4 or greater
- MySQL 4.1 or greater, and access to mysql command line utility
- Cron or other method to periodically run a command line program.
- Secure shell (SSH) access to web server
- Subversion (SVN) client with ssl enabled
- Do you support Microsoft-based web servers, such as IIS?
- No, we don't currently. There do exists ports of PHP and MySQL to Windows web servers, but the cost of maintaining multiple versions of the FWI software would be prohibitive.
- Does my web hosts meet these requirements?
- Please apply for installation, and I can tell you whether or not your host meets the requirements. If you run your own web server internally, apply and provide the phone number of your IT department in the notes field.
- I found out my host doesn't meet the requirements - how can I still get the FWI?
- We're exploring the possibility of offering web hosting specifically for the FWI. Availability and pricing information is forthcoming.
- If the web server is not at our physical location, how does the web software connect to the Facil data file?
- The web software doesn't directly connect to the Facil data file. Periodically, data from the Facil is automatically exported and uploaded to the web server (via FTP or SCP), which is then used by the FWI. Therefore, changes made to the Facil datafile will only reflected on the website after this process has occurred. Optionally, this data export can be run on demand, although the import on the web server side must be scheduled.
- What are the requirements for the machine that holds the Facil data?
- The FWI has only been tested on computers running Windows 2000 and XP. You will also need a copy of Perl on the computer (ActiveState ActivePerl has been tested and works fine) to do the actual export. A high speed internet connection between the computer running Facil and the web server.
- What has to be done on that machine to allow the export of data from the Facil data file?
- You must have Perl installed with the proper modules, and have created an ODBC data connection to your Facil datafile. Graphical instructions for performing this task are provided upon installation.
- What information about the web host is most needed in order to install the FWI?
- See the above list for information on web server requirements. Additionally, passwords to access the web server will be needed.
- How can the FWI integrated into our existing web site? We want to have the currently playing program on our home page.
- This is the responsibility of the web site developer. A web developer who knows PHP should be able to integrate the FWI tables into your existing web page design. This can also be performed by Artisan Computer during your installation process.
- Can the FWI's appearance be customized?
- The FWI can be styled using cascading style sheets (CSS) by your web designer.
- What controls are there over what data is displayed through the FWI?
- There are currently controls for:
- showing information about Persons (in general, and granular for address, email, and phone information)
- showing future replay dates for programs (not project placeholders) in the program guide.
- showing a message next to items marked as Adult content.
- various other controls, generally of the "how many items of X should we show" or "how do we display the date and time" variety.
Any questions?
If you have a question that wasn't answered by this FAQ, please let me know at fwi@artisancomputer.com.