FotoWeb is managed using the FotoWeb plugin in the Operations Center. You can start the Operations Center from the shortcut on the desktop or by accessing the server via http protocol. (Url: http://servername:7000/operationscenter)
When you access the FotoWeb tab in the Operations Center, you get a list of all sites running on the server.
When the configuration wizard ran after the software was installed, you configured a number of settings related to the FotoWeb server. These settings can be verified or changed by entering the FotoWeb service options. To get there, go to the FotoWeb tab in the Operations Center, then click on the Configuration button and choose Open, as shown below.
This will open the FotoWeb configuration page, where you have access both to service-specific settings as well as site settings. The service-specific settings discussed here can be found under the Service Options tab, as shown below.
Important note: FotoWeb data files are always stored in <System drive>\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare\FotoWeb. The FotoWeb data folder is referred to as the FotoWeb base folder throughout the manual.
FotoWeb offers several tools to help you identify which version is currently installed on your server. One is through this property page. This page displays the following information about the system:
System version – The version and build of the system.
System level – License level of the system: Standard or Enterprise.
Licensed users – Number of users allowed for the license level.
Licensed sites – Number of sites allowed for the license level.
Days to expiry – Days to expiry for time limited licenses.
Licensed to – Specification of whom the license is issued to.
License notice – Special license notes if any.
Note: Changing any of these will require you to restart the FotoWeb services. See below for information on how to do so.
FotoWeb uses a powerful system-logging engine to provide you with information on how your system is working and help you troubleshoot any problems that may appear. All FotoWeb modules report events to the FotoWeb Service Engine service, which stores them in the correct sequential order. You can then view the content of the log through the FAC or request it through a web browser. See ‘System Logging’ for more details.
The system log engine allows you to set a filter so that you only see messages that are relevant. The three levels are ‘Information’, ‘Warning’ and ‘Error’. During installation and configuration of your system you should run with all messages enabled. When your system is stable and working, as you want, you may consider increasing the filter to show only warning and error messages. The filtering setting is set in the System log tab under System Properties.
Tip! If you have a technical problem with FotoWeb, the System log should be the first place to check. Don’t just read the newest line in the log, it often only tell you that something is wrong; earlier events may explain the real reason for the error.
You can select to forward the log messages to the FotoWare Log Server for permanent storage in a log file. FotoWare Log Server is installed together with FotoWeb. It is also possible to forward messages to the Windows Event Log so that you can see all your system events in one place. You can filter the events for each of these destinations individually.
Tip! Under normal circumstances, it should be enough to store the log data in one place. If you do not run other FotoWare applications on the server, it is recommended that you use the Windows Event Log for permanent storage of the log data.
Log errors in embedded web server (Apache): If enabled, all errors detected by the embedded Apache web server are logged into a file called error.log in the Operations\Logs folder.
Log requests to embedded web server (Apache): If enabled, all HTTP requests processed by the embedded Apache web server are logged into a file called access.log in the Operations\Logs folder.
Note: Changing any of these will require you to restart the FotoWeb services. See below for information on how to do so.
Encryption Secret: In process of securing the server from unauthorized access, FotoWeb also encrypts vital information that is passed through the clients’ browsers. To further enhance the encryption, the system is allowed to enter a unique key that is used by the encryption algorithms. By doing so, the encrypted data produced by one FotoWeb system cannot be interpreted by another one. This key is called ‘encryption secret’ and can be set on this page.
This key is randomly generated upon installation and is different each time you install FotoWeb. If the URLs and ‘fox tokens’ produced by FotoWeb are saved for future use, then it is important to have this encryption secret stored somewhere safe so that it can be re-entered upon reinstallations. Otherwise, the stored URLs with encrypted data will no longer by recognized by FotoWeb.
Allow 'Everyone' to access Session Manager: If you are running the Session Manager Service on a separate computer, you may need to enable this option to allow the FotoWeb services on the main server to access the session management services.
Tip! If you change the encryption secret regularly, you make it much more difficult for hackers to attack your system. However, this will also break any bookmarks to previews or thumbnails your users may have saved.
To start or stop the FotoWeb server, click on the Service actions button in the Operations Center and choose either Start Service or Stop Service. This will start up or take down all the FotoWeb services in the correct order.