Server Administration
 

The Administrative section of the phpChess server is log-on protected. More then one user can be an Administrator, but every administrator has the same rights in the Admin-panel. 

To log-on to the admin panel, go to our phpchess server on the web (for exampl http://www.myphpchessserver.com and add /admin to the end of the url (making it http:///www.myphpchessserver.com/admin). To see an example visit http://www.phpchess.net/phpchess/admin .

You should see the following screen. If not, please re-install the server or visit the troubleshooting area

You will need your user as defined in the installation to log on. 

You will be presented with the following options:

1. Main
2. Tournament Set-up (see 6)
3. Create Newsletter
4. Players
   1. Accept new player
   2. Manage Current Players
   3. Tournament Player Exporter
   4. Tournament player Importer
5. Player Billing
   1. View new bills
   2. View Previous Bills
   3. Create Redemption Code
   4. Manage Multi-redemption codes 
6. News/ Misc. Data
   1. Manage Front News
   2. Manage Tip of the day
   3. Manage Server messages
7. Server Management
   1. Manage Skins
   2. Manage User registration
   3. Manage Tournament Settings
   4. Manage Link Settings
   5. Enable/Disable Billing
   6. Billing e-mails
   7. Manage Language Settings
   8. Manage Rating System
8. Log-out

The following sections will describe what each section is designed to do, and what options are available. However it should be fairly obvious from the descriptions and the options available on what it is and does.

1. Main

The main entry screen to the Admin area. Here you can get a brief overview of the server status, how many people are playing, number of games, server version and so on. You have all available menu areas at the top menu level.

2. Tournament setup

This area allows for the creation and proposal of tournaments. phpChess currently allows for 4 types of tournaments as well as individual calendar management and who participates in the tournaments. Tournaments can also be proposed/ initiated by the chess community, and can involve guest players.

For more details on tournaments please see the tournament section

3. Create Newsletter

Newsletters are sent to all members of the phpchess server, and can be authored online. phpChess utilizes MCE, which is installed as a default with phpchess. 

You can hover over every action button, to preview the action. In addition you can edit in html, and link to images (please ensure absolute links.

Pressing the send key will mail out the newsletter. You can not save the newsletter other then copy out the html content.

4. Players

This area is reserved for managing Players this includes accepting players (if manual acceptance is selected in the server management area), Manage Current players and the Import and Export of tournament lists.

4a) accepting players only is relevant, if you have opted for manual approval of players. This set in the server section of this manual, and is the default setting. Player approval is a simple click of the button. Acceptance will send out a mail informing the applicant that they have been accepted, and they are given a computer generated password, that can be changed by the user.

4b) This section lists all current players, and allows the administrator to block any player as he/she sees fit. You can also trigger a mailing conversation directly with a user from here

4c) Export Players. The idea of importing and exporting players is basically designed to allow for inter server championships. Players from one server can easily "visit" another phpChess server in a secure form. 

The image below shows the basic arrangement, where the admin can select the profile of each player, and how it creates an encrypted file. This can simply be pasted to a text file and send to the admin of any other server.

4d) Importing players is very simple, since it simply involves pasting the exported string into the provided import space, and click import. Faulty strings do not lead to an import.

5 Player Billing

Player Billing is designed in conjunction with paypal (c)  and should not be used, unless you have an appropriate account set-up. Player billing is augmented with an additional reward/ marketing option. Redemption codes.

Redemption codes are used to give players a reduced or free playing period and are a powerful tool to help a pay site grow.

5a) Viewing new bills is designed to let the administrator see any bills coming up to be paid by members. The list is for information purposes only

5b) View Previous Bills show a billing history and is for information purposes only.

5c) Create Redemption Codes is for special promotion purposes. the codes are linked and can only be redeemed by the target person. This allows for players to join the club at a lower cost.  

5d) Manage Multi-redemption codes is designed to allow a single code to be used for multiple redemptions, independent of players. The code can be used to allow people to join the server for a limited period of time for free. Simply create the code and publish it as you see fit. It will also allow you to track where players are coming from (for example a marketing activity)

News management is critical to keep a club/community server alive. The phpChess server allows for three different news elements to be run simultaneously..

6a) Manage Front News - This is designed to allow for the welcome note to the server to be personalized. You should change this message from time to time to reflect changes in the way the server operates. Maintenance is simple.

Simply click on NEW to create a new news line. or
Select an article (radio button) and press EDIT or
Select an article (radio button) and press DELETE.

6b) Manage Tip of the day - Tip of the day is presented at the side of the server in its own box (see below) 

To maintain the Tip of the day simply select Tip of the day from the menu, and then add tips as you feel they are worth displaying. The image below shows how this is done. Simple select any item via the button in front of the news item, and select DELETE.

6c) Manage Server messages

Server news is the direct communication part about planned downtimes and upgrades. It appears in the users inbox (see red area in the picture below)

The edditing is very much identical to the above two sections, and allows for the multiple messages to run at the same time. 

7a) Manage Skins - allows for the selection of the way the server looks to the user. In the directory on the phpChess server you can see a folder called skins. This includes graphics and formatting files in a discreet folder for each skin. The skin management simply allows the administrator to activate any skin present within that skins folder on the server. The activation is a simple selection in the drop down list.

7b) Manage User registration - This area allows for the selection on how users should be admitted to the server. They can either be allowed automatically, or they can require a manual approval step. The administrator will be informed in either case via an e-mail.

7c) Manage Tournament Settings - Tournaments can be suggested by members of your online chess community. This section allows you to decide if players can simply go ahead an create their own, or if tournaments require approval. In a small club this option can be useful, we however urge to keep the value as 'YES' for public sites.

7d) Manage Link Settings - this section allows for the altering of the link used in all e-mail communications generated by the phpChess server.

7e) Enable/Disable Billing

This section allows you to simply manage weather or not membership to your club is billable or not. In conjunction with non automatic approval this allows for very tight club membership management.

phpChess only accepts membership payments via paypal. However redemption codes may be bought via other means (for example cash) allowing you to make the site flexible for your requirements. 

The paypal information as well as the level of charge and currency of charge can be selected here. The currencies available can be extended if required.

7f) Billing e-mails

This area allows for the composition of the basic e-mail that is generated when billing becomes due. Please note that this should be held generic. Simply save the e-mail text to store it.

7g) Manage Language Settings

For every language file installed this will ensure that the correct text is served to the users logging on to your server. 

7h) Manage Rating System - 2 Scoring alternatives are available on the phpChess server. A basic points system, and a FIDE compliant scoring system. Setting this to "No" will select the basic scoring system. You can also set up here how many points should be given as a default for new players. 

This is used to return out of the administration part of the server. The initial log-on screen to the admin area is displayed. To return to the menu, simply log back in.