Untar Applications using Cpanel
I take the time to peruse comments about Xaraya from time to time. I like to see feedback from folks that are not CMS or PHP savvy for ways that we can improve. Surprisingly, one of the most common complaints about Xaraya is the number of files and the size of the package that someone has to upload to the server. The actual number of files that you need to upload is one. That's right O N E.
It never really occurred to me that folks were actually uploading individual files, except for an one off manner. Ignorance is blissful from time to time, ain't it? In this tutorial, I will give screen shots of how to get away from this for even the novice web developer / web master, for hopes that someone actually learns an easier way.
First Step – Download and Upload
Download the application (I will assume Xaraya in this tutorial, but the steps are the same regardless), and then re-upload the application to your server. Feel free to extract it locally for testing, but keep the tar.gz in a place where you can find it. The download and upload times will vary but the time involved should be similar. I am going to assume that you have created a sub-directory for your application, but uploading to the root of your web space will work as well.
Once you have uploaded the application, open your Cpanel (note click on thumbnail for full picture):
Second Step – Navigate the File Manager
I uploaded my application to a directory off my root, called “xaraya”. You should see something along these lines when you have navigated to the correct place:
As you can see, our tar is sitting out there just waiting to be untarred and played with.
Third Step – Untar the File on the Server
At this point within the file manager, all you have to do is click on the file name once. The frame to the right will change as seen below:
Now all you have to do is click in the right frame the link for “Extract File Contents”. Once that is done, the frame to the left will refresh, and you should see a nice shiny new folder waiting for you.
From here, it is very simple. Xaraya's main contents are in the HTML folder. You can highlight the contents in that folder and move them back to the root, or any other folder for that matter.
The time to download / upload and untar was a total of 5 minutes for me. I am on a high speed line though, and those times are subject to bandwidth. My guess for someone uploading individual files for Xaraya would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 to 50 minutes. In addition, you have to factor in FTP time-outs which can cause you problems down the road.
As mentioned, this method will work for any application, not just Xaraya. I hope this saves you time in the future, and changes your perceptions about larger web applications.