These questions do not pertain to customers interested in the ATPmail Hosted Service.

Requirements

Q. Can I use ATPmail if I use a Web host?

A. Yes. This applies for nearly any Web host that allows Perl scripts. ATPmail uses 100% standard Perl. This means that it will work on nearly all systems. You won't have to ask your Web host to install any additional Perl modules. The installation of ATPmail can be done with just ftp and a Web browser, so you don't even need command line access.

Q. What will I get when I purchase a standalone license?

A. After ordering your license, you will get an email with a link to the ATPmail download area. The download area has the installation script you will need to install ATPmail Pro.

Q. How much disk space does ATPmail use?

A. The file you download to install ATPmail Pro is around 300Kb. After you install ATPmail, the program and images take up less than 1Mb of disk space. Your data area is up to you.

Q. What applications are necessary to run ATPmail Pro?

A. Just a few really. There aren't many servers that don't fit the requirements. Here is the comprehensive list.

• Web server - Apache is recommended, but ATPmail uses no apache specific commands, so any Web server should work.
• Perl - ATPmail Pro is developed and tested on Perl 5.6, but any version of Perl above 5 should work. This is 100% standard perl, so you don't have to install any special modules. ATPmail Pro even runs on ActiveState's Perl for Windows with no modifications.
• sendmail - you don't actually need to have sendmail on your system, as ATPmail can also work with an SMTP server. However, sendmail is recommended. Any program which emulates sendmail (qmail, exim) will also work.
• du - "disk usage" utility. This is used on the multi-user version to detect quota. du is present by default on nearly all unix systems, and is also available for Windows.
• aspell - (optional) aspell is used for the ATPmail spell check. This is a free program, ported to nearly every platform. Information about aspell can be found here. aspell needs to be compiled (except on Windows), which is simple, but may seem daunting to some people. If you want aspell installed on your server, we can perform that service for $50.
• tar and gzip - these utilities are necessary only for the installation process. They should be present on any server.

Q. What about the database? Do I need a special database?

A. ATPmail writes it's own database, so no external database is necessary. The ATPmail database is optimized for Web server performance and portability. It will work on any server and can even be transfered across different types of servers.

Server Setup   top of page

Q. What do I need to do on my server before I can install ATPmail?

A. The only thing the installation script does not do is to create the necessary directories. You need to create three directories for ATPmail (progam, images, and data) before you can install. You will be given detailed requirements for these directories.

Q. What are some useful apache directives to use with ATPmail?

A. This question mainly applies to users who run their own Web server. If you rent space on a shared server, you probably don't have control over your Web server configuration.

In general, the default apache configuration will work fine with ATPmail. There is one exception, however. If you purchase a multi-user license. You need to password protect your admin scripts, or anyone can access your installation. All of the admin scripts are placed in one directory. The recommended method for securing this directory is with a .htaccess file, which the installation script will create for you.

You have to make sure that your apache configuration supports htaccess authorization. This is done with the AllowOverride directive. This can be set to "AuthConfig" or "All".

There are two other useful directives you may want to set. The first allows you to run scripts from anywhere. This is useful if you want to have a short path to ATPmail, but can only run scripts from the cgi-bin. The directive that allows this is
AddHandler cgi-script .cgi. You also have to add "ExecCGI" to the Options directive for the directory you want to run from.

Finally, add "index.cgi" to your DirectoryIndex directive so that you don't have to type "login.cgi" to get to the the login screen. With this set, you can enter http://domain.com/mail, instead of http://domain.com/mail/login.cgi.

Only the first directive is necessary, but should be set already on most systems. The installation script will check that your admin directory is secure.

Q. Can someone help set my apache directives?

A. Sure. If you want us to log onto your server and adjust your apache configuration, we can do that for $50. Send us an email and we'll work out the details.

Admin Scripts   top of page

Q. Why doesn't the single user version have an admin script?

A. The primary purpose of the admin script is to manage users. The single user version only has one user, so there isn't much of a purpose to the admin script.

Q. How do I access the admin scripts?

A. In your program directory is a secure directory with several scripts. All of the admin scripts can be accessed through the script called admin.cgi.

Q. What can I do as an administrator?

A. There are many function available to the administator.

• ATPmail settings: default user quota, session timeout, logout redirect, server time zone, sendmail/SMTP, utility location
• User management: add users, remove users, change individual quotas, see disk usage, disable account, change password, add/edit POP account for user.
• Other functions: edit ATPmail stylesheets, mail ATPmail users

Service and Maintenance   top of page

Q. What sort of support will I get with the standalone program?

A. When you purchase the ATPmail program, you will get the help you need you get ATPmail installed on your server. We try to make the installation as simple and fool-proof as possible, and most of our customers need no additional help after receiving the ATPmail installation. However, if you do need help, we will provide you with email support, and phone support if necessary.

Once ATPmail is installed, it requires very little maintenance. For the most part, as long as your Web server is running, ATPmail will be running as well. It cannot be accidently shut off.

If you do run into a problem within a year that causes ATPmail to break, we will make sure it gets fixed.

Q. Will I get free upgrades with my purchase?

A. If you purchase the ATPmail program, you will qualify for free upgrades for 6 months, and free bug fixes for one year.