WebMail Lite PHP Installation Instructions

Install on Linux
Install on Windows

WebMail PHP Installation Instructions for Linux

  1. Uploading the application.

    Unzip and upload the contents of webmail folder (the scripts, folders and other files of the application) from the installation package onto your web server. Let's assume you created a folder webmail in the root of your web space (web root) and placed the contents of the web folder there. This way, you'll be able to access the application through the web at the http://your_domain/webmail URL.

    Examples (assuming you want to use webmail name for the target folder):

  2. Assigning owners/permissions on the filesystem.

    Skip "Assigning owners/permissions" step if all of the following is true:
    In all of the above is true (usually, shared hosting with preconfigured permissions), the permissions should be OK but if they are not and the hosting provider does not allow you to set them, you will need to contact their support to do this for you.

    Assigning permissions through SSH or direct access to the server.

    Change the current working directory to the folder with WebMail Lite PHP scripts:
    cd /var/www/html/webmail/

    Then, assign rights to folders and files in the WebMail Lite PHP scripts folder.

    Assign rights to folders:
    find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

    and to files:
    find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

    Now assign owner to folders and files in the WebMail Lite PHP scripts folder. You should assign the same owner other folders/files in /var/www/html/ have (assuming they have the correct owner set).

    Assign owner to folders:
    find . -type d -exec chown root.root {} \;

    and to files:
    find . -type f -exec chown root.root {} \;

    Then, change the current directory to the WebMail Lite PHP data folder (by default, it's a sub-folder of the folder which contains WebMail Lite PHP scripts):
    cd /var/www/html/webmail/data

    Now assign rights to folders and files in data folder.

    Assign rights to folders:
    find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

    and to files:
    find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

    Then, assign owner (usually, apache.apache) to folders and files in the WebMail Lite PHP data folder. Please note, Apache may be sometimes started under another user account (for example, under nobody.nogroup).

    Generally speaking, with setting the correct owner on data folder you will make sure Apache process (httpd) has read/write permissions to that folder. Thus, you should set the user account running Apache as the owner of data folder contents.

    Assign owner to folders:
    find . -type d -exec chown apache.apache {} \;

    and to files:
    find . -type f -exec chown apache.apache {} \;

    If the permission settings described above don't work for you, you may try to repeat "Assigning owners/permissions" step, but use 777 instead of 755 and 666 instead of 644 (although this is less secure).

    Assigning permissions through cPanel/Plesk or other hosting control panel.

    If your hosting control panel provides some kind of a file manager, i.e. a tool which shows you all files and folders and allows you to set set permissions for files and folders, you should set the following permissions:

    object numeric flagged user-friendly
    data folder and all its subfolders 755 -rwxr--r-- owner: read, write, navigate
    group: read
    others: read
    all files in the data folder and all its subfolders 644 -rw-r--r-- owner: read, write
    group: read
    others: read


    The table demonstrates the same permissions in three different notations. These are the same permissions, you should choose the notation most convenient and clear to you.

    If the above permissions don't work for you, please try the following ones:

    object numeric flagged user-friendly
    data folder and all its subfolders 777 -rwxrwxrwx owner: read, write, navigate
    group: read, write, navigate
    others: read, write, navigate
    all files in the data folder and all its subfolders 666 -rw-rw-rw- owner: read, write
    group: read, write
    others: read, write


    Assigning permissions through FTP.

    Sometimes it's possible to assign necessary permissions through FTP after uploading files. This works if all of the below is true:
    You should assign the same permissions as in case of control panel.

  3. Open http://your_server_name/webmail/adminpanel/install.htm page in your browser and follow the instructions.

  4. After completing the instructions of the installer, you'll be redirected into AdminPanel (http://your_server_name/webmail/adminpanel). There, you can then customize your login form, create/delete/edit domains and users, or otherwise configure WebMail Lite. Don't forget to delete install.htm file from the WebMail Lite PHP scripts folder.

  5. Now the installation is complete, WebMail Lite is ready to use. Start using it at http://your_server_name/webmail/index.php.


WebMail Lite PHP Installation Instructions for Windows

  1. Uploading the application.

    Unzip and upload the contents of webmail folder (the scripts, folders and other files of the application) from the installation package onto your web server. Let's assume you created a folder webmail in the root of your web space (web root) and placed the contents of the webmail folder there. This way, you'll be able to access the application through the web at the http://your_domain/webmail URL.

    Examples (assuming you want to use webmail name for the target folder):

  2. Protecting your private data from non-authorized access (for IIS only) This step is not necessary in case of Apache web server as the data folder is protected by its .htaccess file.

    Because WebMail data folder may contain your messages and temporary files with your private data, it needs to be protected from direct web access. But it's placed in WebMail data folder by default. So, to secure your data folder, move it (from your WebMail folder you created one the 1st step) to a place inaccessible from web. This should prevent non-authorized access to your private data.

    In case of Remote Desktop access to a dedicated server, it may be C:\Inetpub\webmail_data
    In case of uploading via FTP on a shared hosting, it's usually /webmail_data

    After that, you'd need to adjust the path to the data folder in inc_settings_path.php file. If you don't know correct absolute path (e.g. C:\Inetpub\webmail_data) or the new path doesn't work for you, please refer to this FAQ topic.

  3. Assigning owners/permissions on the filesystem.

    Skip "Assigning owners/permissions" step if all of the following is true: In all of the above is true (usually, shared hosting with preconfigured permissions), the permissions should be OK but if they are not and the hosting provider does not allow you to set them, you will need to contact their support to do this for you.

    Assigning permissions through Remote Desktop or direct access.

    The following steps allow you to assign necessary permissions:

    Try using your WebMail after that. If assigning the permissions doesn't seem to have any effect, repeat the same steps, but instead of granting "Full Control" to Internet Guest Account (usually IUSR_...) account, grant the same permission to Everyone user. This is quite secure as your data folder is already protected from direct access from web in step 2.

    Assigning permissions through WHM or other hosting control panel.

    If your hosting control panel provides some kind of a file manager, i.e. a tool which shows you all files and folders and allows you to set set permissions for files and folders, you should set the same permissions as in case of Remote Desktop or direct access.

  4. Open http://your_server_name/webmail/adminpanel/install.htm page in your browser and follow the instructions.

  5. After completing the instructions of the installer, you'll be redirected into AdminPanel (http://your_server_name/webmail/adminpanel). There, you can then customize your login form, create/delete/edit domains and users, or otherwise configure WebMail Lite. Don't forget to delete install.htm file from the WebMail Lite PHP scripts folder.

  6. Now the installation is complete, WebMail Lite is ready to use. Start using it at http://your_server_name/webmail/index.php.