Installing Omeka

Omeka is an open-source web application that can be used to create and display online digital collections. Developed by programmers at George Mason University, Omeka was designed to be user-friendly, both during installation and setup and during daily usage. To install Omeka, use these simple steps:

1. Login to usccreate.org with your network username and password.

   

2. Once logged in you’ll be at the homepage of your control panel. Navigate to the Applications section of the cPanel then select Omeka.

   

3. This page gives you more information about the Omeka software. To begin the install click install this application in the upper-righthand corner. 

   

4. On the next page the installer will ask for some information about this install. The first thing you’ll want to do is decide where to install it. If you want to install Omeka on your main domain, you can leave the directory area empty. If you created a subdomain, you can select it from the dropdown menu. You also have the option of installing Omeka in a subfolder by typing in the folder name in the Directory field. Click here for more information about subdomains and subfolders.

   

5. By default the installer will automatically backup your website and update it anytime a new version comes out. While we recommend you keep this option, it is possible to only do minor updates, or turn them off completely. The installer will also create a database for you automatically, but if you’ve already created one for this website you can choose Let me manage the database settings and enter the details. Click Install to continue.

   

6. The installer will take just a few moments to install Omeka and a progress bar will keep you updated. When it is complete you will see a link to your new Omeka site as well as a link to the backend administrative section for your Omeka site. Click the image of the website and then the Overview tab to configure your new Omeka installation.

   

7. Enter the Username, Password, and Email you would like to use. The Administrator email is the address that messages from the system (e.g. forgot password email reminder) will appear to come from. The Site Title will appear at the top of your visitors’ browser windows. Select Save All.

   

8. Congratulations! Omeka is now installed. Use the buttons to either proceed to the Public Site, or to begin adding content, go to the Admin Dashboard.

Installing Plugins

There are a variety of plugins that enable additional functionality in Omeka. All the plugins available for Omeka and their descriptions can be found on this page.

1. Find the plugin, and click the green button on the right to download the zip file.

2. Next, open up your cPanel Dashboard and click on the File Manager. You can find the File Manager under ‘Files’ or by typing “File Manager” in the upper right search bar.

3. Go to the public_html > omeka > plugins folder by clicking on the folder icons in the file menu, or by typing “public_html/omeka/plugins” into the navigation bar at the top and clicking ‘Go’.

4. Next you will need to upload the zip file you downloaded into the plugins folder. Select the Upload option in the top menu to open up a new tab where you can upload the zip file. When the upload is complete, click the ‘Go back to home/yourdomain/public_html/omeka/plugins’ link at the bottom of the page to return to the File Manager. You will see that the zip file has appeared in the plugins folder.

5. Make sure the zip file is selected (it should be highlighted in blue), then click Extract from the menu at the top of the page. A small window will open up to confirm where the file will be extracted to. If you were in the plugins folder, it should say public_html/omeka/plugins, if not, type that into the box before you hit Extract File(s).

6. Another window will open that outlines the contents of the file. Just hit the Close button and the installation will be complete.

 7. The plugin should now be available in the plugins tab in your Omeka.

Using Omeka

You can learn how to use this application in the official Omeka Support Documentation. This support guide will help you get started and begin creating your Omeka site.

Managing Permissions

Installing WordPress

Read More

Mapping your domain is an important part of usccreate.org; it reinforces the idea that you don’t necessarily need to host all your own applications. You should, however, be mindful of making your web presences part of a domain you control. If you would like to map a subdomain and have not yet created it, use this tutorial on creating subdomains before proceeding. To map your domain, or a subdomain, to Blogger, use these steps:

1. Login to usccreate.org with your network username and password.
2. Once logged in you’ll be at the homepage of your control panel. The easiest way to navigate the panel is using the search feature in the top right panel. Click the Search box and type “DNS” (without the quotes). Click on Advanced Zone Editor and you will automatically be directed to the DNS Advanced Zone Editor page.
3. Find the domain, or subdomain, you want to map to Blogger in the list of Zone File Records. Under the Action column, click Edit. 
4. Leave the Name, and TTL fields set to their defaults. Update the Type drop-down menu to CNAME, and the Address field to ghs.google.com. Click Edit Record when you are done. Keep this window open; you will need it in later steps. 
5. In a new window, go to the Blogger website, and login with your Blogger/Google username and password.
6. From your Blogger Dashboard, find the blog you’d like to use, expand the More Options menu, and click Settings.
7. On the “Basic Settings” page, find the Publishing section, and click the Setup a 3rd party URL for your blog link.
8. Under Advanced Settings, type the full subdomain or domain you are mapping into the box, leave the Use missing files host? option set to No, then click Save.
9. You will be presented with a message that your domain cannot be verified, along with information about your existing DNS entry, and an additional DNS entry that needs to be made. This is normal. Copy the second entry under the Name, Label, or Host entry to your clipboard.
10. Go back to the window or tab containing the Advanced DNS Zone Editor in your usccreate.org cPanel. In the Add a Record section, paste the text you just copied into the Name field. This information will be different for each domain. Set the TTL field to 14400, and the Type drop-down menu to CNAME. 
11. Go back to the window or tab containing the Blogger Advanced settings panel, and copy the second entry under the Destination, Target, or Points to column to your clipboard.
12. Go back to the window or tab containing the Advanced DNS Zone Editor in your usccreate.org cPanel. In the Zone File Records section, find the domain you were editing Action for and paste the text you just copied into the CNAME field. This information will be different for each domain. Click Edit record when you are done. 
13. Return to the window or tab containing the Blogger Advanced settings panel, and click Save.
14. If everything was successful, your domain will now appear as the Blog Address. Keep in mind that it may take up to 72 hours for your domain or subdomain to correctly point all visitors to the correct location.

Mapping your domain is an important part of usccreate.org; it reinforces the idea that you don’t necessary need to host all your own applications. You should, however, be mindful of making your web presences part of a domain you control. If you would like to map a subdomain and have not yet created it, use this tutorial on creating subdomains before proceeding. To map your domain, or a subdomain, to Tumblr, use these steps:

1. Login to usccreate.org with your network username and password.
   
2. Once logged in you’ll be at the homepage of your control panel. The easiest way to navigate the cPanel is using the search feature in the top right panel. Click the Search box and type “DNS” (without the quotes). As you type, the cPanel page will begin to narrow down results. Find and click on Zone Editor to continue.
   
3. To the right of your domain, click “Manage“. 
4. Find the domain, or subdomain, you want to map to Tumblr in the list of Zone File Records. Under the Action column, click Edit.   
5. Leave the Name, and TTL fields set to their defaults. Update the Type drop-down menu to CNAME, and the Address field to domains.tumblr.com. Click Save Record when you are done.   

6. Visit the Tumblr website, and login with your Tumblr username and password. 

7. After logging in, click the Tumblr Settings icon.

   

8. In the right panel, select the blog you’d like to map.   

9. On the Tumblog you’d like to use, under Username, click the pencil icon to edit.

   

10. Check the Use a custom domain checkbox. Type the name of the domain or subdomain you want to map to Tumblr into the box, then click Test your domain.

    

11. If your domain mapping was successful, you’ll see a message that your domain is now pointing to Tumblr. Click the Save button before leaving the page. Keep in mind that it may take up to 72 hours for your domain or subdomain to correctly point all visitors to the correct location.

Domain mapping, simply put, is deciding where visitors should be directed when they visit various pieces of your website. Domains and subdomains can be mapped directly to folders located within your webhosting account, where you may have installed WordPress, Omeka, MediaWiki, or other web applications.

Remember back before everyone had computers that fit in their pocket, how companies would ship a book full of phone numbers to your doorstep? We might have known who we were looking for, but we needed to look up phone numbers to reach them unless we had the number memorized. When you get your own domain name, by default it’s nothing more than a shortcut, an address, or (to fit this very imperfect analogy) a phone number. When you type a domain name into the address bar of your browser, someone has to identify it and tell it what to display. That’s where a name server comes in.

A name server is a computer, running as a server, that keeps a record of all the domain names that are associated with it and keeps track of where those domains should go. In the case of usccreate.org the name server is the same computer that runs the hosting. DNS stands for Domain Name System and the name server on usccreate.org gives control to it to identify what should be displayed when someone types in your domain. Consider the fact that you might have one or more subdomains in your account. The name server and DNS are able to identify those subdomains and let the world wide web know that they exist and point to some files/folders on a computer somewhere.

When you signed up for a domain through the usccreate.org system your name servers were chosen for you. So when people type in your address, the server responds with information about your account. When you migrate an account away from one hosting platform like Create Digital and onto a new service, it will require you to change the name servers so that your domain name points to a new server with its own files and structure. It’s also possible to have subdomains that point to entirely different servers than usccreate.org. For example, you could have a subdomain that looks to Tumblr for files.