(Updated 12/03/2010)

This guide is intended for individuals and small business partners to get started on AppleSeed.  Please note that AppleSeed is in its very early stages of development and is currently only in Release Candidate status.  This is meant only as a preview of the next generation of Rainbow Portal.  AppleSeed is built on the formal portal by developers and Architects that have a long history in Rainbow Portal Development.  We have now re-branded the old portal into AppleSeed with the simple aims of : simple install, design , and extension on the Microsoft Platform.  Please note that for the time being, the computer savvy will have a slight advantage installing AppleSeed while we work to make it a turnkey solution ( ala WordPress).  This binary release can also be used to update old Rainbow Sites to be in aligned for future releases.  It follows the same update script method of Rainbow sites of old with the latest version being 2.0.0.1888.

Please follow us on Twitter (@appleseedapp) and myself ( @ramseur) for any direct questions.

For the broader vision of Appleseed please see :

http://appleseedapp.com/2010/06/16/welcome-to-appleseed/

http://appleseedapp.com/2010/10/01/appleseed-one-solution/

For a demo of this port working :

http://anantwebserver1.anant.us/ASWebRC2/site/1/Default.aspx

AppleSeed will be released open source and free of charge at :

http://code.google.com/p/appleseedapp

Our Source Code :

http://code.google.com/p/appleseedapp/source/browse/

You may also offer feedback through our forum or  email at our list :

http://appleseedapp.com/support/

http://groups.google.com/group/appleseedportal?hl=en

Anyone can sign up for free  and help us evolve the product through feedback.  If you are a developer or an individual that needs a CMS or portal platform, please sign up and offer feedback .

Requirements for Install :

A common knowledge of SQL Server and  IIS 7

Software needed for Install :

• Windows Vista, Windows 7 , or Windows 2008 Server Suite
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 | 2008 Express or Suite : http://bit.ly/bgvOcE
• Microsoft MVC 2.0 : http://bit.ly/ad0PKh
• Microsoft.NET 4.0 : http://bit.ly/cehebm
• Microsoft SQL Management Express : http://bit.ly/bHHt29

For now you may go grab the latest binary here : http://appleseedapp.googlecode.com/files/AppleseedPortal.RC2.BIN.zip

After you have downloaded the code, extract it in a public directory ( as in a directory not blocked by windows that IIS can access).  Then setup a virtual directory application or web site on the directory you extracted the binary to.  You must then assign AppleSeed to an Application pool in integrated Mode with .NET 4.0 enabled.  If you are setting up IIS 7 for the first time, make sure your isapi filters have permission on .NET 4.0.  I ran into this issue a few times setting up dedicated machines.

Before Browsing the directory, you must create a SQL Server empty database.  You can name it whatever you wish and in the near future this will be done within the portal itself.  For now open up your version of SQL Server ( express, Standard, 2005,2008) and create an empty database on either Windows Authenticated security or user based.  I recommend Windows Auth as it is the easiest and most secure.

You should now be able to browse your install directory which will be http://your-site-root/Installer/   . We added this to allow for easier install.  For now, it guides you through the process of AppleSeed install and sets up your web.config for you to get rid of all the SQL Service issues.  Please note, that your web.config needs to be able to be edited for this to happen.  Otherwise the installer will inform you of what to place in the connection string section.  Give the Network Service user or the user running your website access to write to this file ( web.config in the root).

Below is a screen shot of what the installer looks like when your web.config is NOT editable :

To resolve this issue, give NetworkService or the IIS7 user permission to modify the web.config :

After you have given the proper permission, just refresh and the installer should display :

The next step is the License Step.  The Apache License comes with our portal and allows your to use it how you wish .  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 :

You need to setup your database information with this step.  Just point AppleSeed to your DataBase Server and it will query your avail databases :

Click next and AppleSeed will display your Available database :

After you have chosen a db, fill in some simple Site Info such as title :

When you click next for the final time, your information will be written in the web.config ( as long as its writable) otherwise you will have to place this info yourself.

You will then be asked to click to the setup directory to process your installation.

In the future this will be a one click process but for now we are using the old Rainbow Updater :

Just simply click next and AppleSeed will begin an install or update depending on your Database.  Please note that you will need to copy over your portal directories if you are performing an update.  We have not fully tested this with a lot of portals so feedback is encouraged.  Your custom modules will also need to be copied over and work on .NET 4.0.  We have also removed all old rainbow themes and use the new Master Page approach.  AppleSeed should be able to run your old themes however you will not be able to take advantage of Drag and Drop and an easier design.

Once done with Install, AppleSeed should display :

Clicking on Finish will bring you to the Default Theme for fresh Installation :

The default login is admin@appleseedportal.net and password : admin .

This concludes how to install the AppleSeed open source portal/CMS Release Candidate.  We will offer more blogs on AppleSeed’s use as we close in on the October Release.  Former Rainbow developers should feel very familiar using the interface.  The basic concept of Appleseed is user control modules that can be placed on any page.  The main module used is the HTML module which is on the home page on default install.  After you login, you will be able to see the Admin menu and add modules to your site.  You may also click Drag And drop to move modules around.