How to install DotProject - Project Management Tool in CentOS 7

How to install DotProject - Project Management Tool in CentOS 7

As we know, there are many project management tools to be used extensively in Linux or UNIX. DotProject is a free and open source web-based multi-user and multi-language project management application. It provides the project manager with a web based efficient tool for managing tasks, schedules, communication and sharing easily.It has a wide range of application and environment from small offices to big companies, government departments, schools,etc. This article will explain the instalallation procedure of DotProject in CentOS 7.

Pre-Requisite:

Install LAMP environment before starting the installation procedure of DotProject.

Installation procedure

Before beginning the installation, configure the MariaDB Database by running the following command. In MariaDB, create a database named dotprojectdb and also create a user that is to be identified by password. Execute commands to grant privileges to the created user and flush all other privileges of the system.

[root@linuxhelp1 Desktop]# mysql -u root -p
Enter password:
Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with   or g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 2
Server version: 5.5.52-MariaDB MariaDB Server
Copyright (c) 2000, 2016, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.
Type ' help '  or ' h'  for help. Type ' c'  to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]>  CREATE DATABASE dotprojectdb 
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

MariaDB [(none)]>  CREATE USER ' dotprojectuser' @' localhost'  IDENTIFIED BY ' password'  
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

MariaDB [(none)]>  GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON dotprojectdb.* TO ' dotprojectuser' @' localhost'  
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

MariaDB [(none)]>  FLUSH PRIVILEGES 
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

MariaDB [(none)]>  exit
Bye

Configure the php.ini file using the nano editor. Verify and modify the following options to the file. Save and exit from the file.

[root@linuxhelp1 Desktop]# nano /etc/php.ini

memory_limit 128M
register_globals = Off
session.auto_start = 1
session.use_trans_sid = 0
date.timezone = Asia/Kolkata

Next configure the Apache web server by creating a virtual host configuration file. Add the following lines to the file. Save and exit from the file.

[root@linuxhelp1 Desktop]# nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/dotproject.conf

< VirtualHost *:80> 
ServerAdmin info@dotproject.linuxhelp.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/dotproject/
ServerName linuxhelp1.com
ServerAlias www.dotproject.linuxhelp.com
< Directory /var/www/dotproject/> 
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
< /Directory> 
ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/dotproject.linuxhelp.com-error_log
CustomLog /var/log/httpd/dotproject.linuxhelp.com-access_log common
< /VirtualHost> 

Now restart and enable the Apache and MariaDB services by executing the following command.

[root@linuxhelp1 Desktop]# systemctl restart httpd mariadb
[root@linuxhelp1 Desktop]# systemctl enable httpd mariadb
ln -s ' /usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service'  ' /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/httpd.service' 
ln -s ' /usr/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service'  ' /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/mariadb.service' 

Download the dotproject installation package by running the wget command.

[root@linuxhelp1 Desktop]# cd /tmp/
[root@linuxhelp1 tmp]# wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/dotproject/dotproject/dotProject%20Version%202.1.8/dotproject-2.1.8.tar.gz
--2017-07-17 10:39:30--  http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/dotproject/dotproject/dotProject%20Version%202.1.8/dotproject-2.1.8.tar.gz
&hellip 
&hellip 
&hellip 
Saving to: ‘ dotproject-2.1.8.tar.gz’ 
100%[=========================================================================================================================================================================> ] 45,29,234    118KB/s   in 39s   
2017-07-17 10:40:20 (114 KB/s) - ‘ dotproject-2.1.8.tar.gz’  saved [4529234/4529234]

Extract the package by running the tar command and extract the contents of the file.

[root@linuxhelp1 tmp]# tar -xvf dotproject-2.1.8.tar.gz
dotproject/
dotproject/queuescanner.php
dotproject/fileviewer.php
dotproject/classes/
&hellip 
&hellip 
&hellip 
dotproject/data-style/dp-grey-theme/tabLeft.png
dotproject/data-style/index.html
dotproject/index.php
dotproject/ChangeLog

Move the extracted files to /var/www/dotproject directory path.

[root@linuxhelp1 tmp]# mv dotproject /var/www/dotproject
[root@linuxhelp1 tmp]# cd /var/www

Change the ownership for the dotproject directory by executing the following command.

[root@linuxhelp1 www]# chown -R apache: dotproject/

Add the HTTP service to the firewall by running the following command.

[root@linuxhelp1 www]# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
Success

Reload the firewall by executing the following reload command.

[root@linuxhelp1 www]# firewall-cmd --reload
Success

Next open the web browser and navigate to your machine' s IP Address http://192.168.7.182 and run it. The Dotproject installer steps opens. Click start installation option.

Enter your database configuration values and click install DB and write config cfg option.

The installation is now completed, click the login and configure the dotproject system environment option.

Enter the default credentials to login

Username : admin

Password : passwd

and click login option.

Add a new company to the database by entering the required fields and submit the changes.

Create a new project and enter the following details. Click Submit option to save the changes.

The user can also view the Monthly calender in dotproject.

There is also a User management portal in dotproject.

The System administration pane allows the admin to overview the administration process in dotproject.

There is a list of activated modules below, you can also install the resource module from the below list to your Dotproject tool.

That was a simple installation procedure, Wasn' t it ? Dotproject is maintained by several volunteer programmers.

FAQ
Q
What are the features in the usermanagement in Dotproject?
A
A simple feature, for tracking user activity, adding users, and managing users. User sessions showing date last logged in as well as other information is available.
Q
What is available in the project listings?
A
Lists of projects are broken down by what state they are in, such as all projects, proposed, planning, in progress, on hold, complete, template, archived, not defined. You can quickly move from tab to tab to view the state of the projects. The number of projects listed in each state is in parenthesis on each tab.
Q
What are the Core Features of dotProject?
A
These are the core features
User Management
Email-based Trouble Ticket System (dotProject incorporates voxel dot net's Ticketsmith system
Client/Company Management
Project Listings
Hierarchical Task List
Q
What is in the Layered project and task details?
A
The minimum amount you need to know is displayed. Text links allow the user to drill down into the project or task for more information if required. Tasks can also be organized by precedence, dependencies, and time.
Q
What is dotProject?
A
dotProject is project management featuring companies, projects, tasks (with Gantt charts), forums, files, calendar, contacts, tickets and ahelpdesk, language support, user/module permissions, and themes.