cPanel Tutorial: Installing and Configuring Fantastico

As the name implies, Fantastico can be described as nothing less than fantastic. This third-party program is a major attraction of the cPanel control panel and one of the most powerful script installers available. Fantastico has the ability to install a variety of scripts from bulletin boards and blogs to guestbooks and content management systems.

Fantastico’s greatest attribute is the ease of installing scripts and programs. These programs can be incorporated into your site in a matter of minutes to provide instant functionality. The system is quite advanced, designed to frequently update these programs with the latest versions. This assures proper installations and stability.

Installation

After logging into cPanel, you will notice an icon for the Fantastico program. Clicking on the icon directs you to a new page where you’ll find an “Install” tab. After clicking the tab, follow the installation steps below:

Choose the version of Fantastico you want to incorporate into cPanel

Make adjustments to your theme area if you have a few ideas in mind

Check all the scripts you want to use as “active”

Leave “wget” as your binary path. You can change this although it tends to be suitable for most users

Choose the designated drive for storage space

Make configurations to your CRON notifications. This is only important if you want to be notified of successful jobs via email

Choose to receive daily updates of Fantastico.

Once these adjustments have been made, locate and click the “install” tab. The installation normally takes a few minutes to process all the files. When its complete, you can activate Fantastico in cPanel’s “Features Manager”. From there, simply check the box beside “Fantastico” and click “Save” to activate the program.

Getting Started

To access the program, simply click on the icon above the “Fantastico” text from the main interface of cPanel. Once it opens, you will be greeted with a separate interface offering a number of options. You can check out some of the additional tools by scrolling down the interface and accessing the “Extra” menu. Here is what you’ll find:

Language - this option allows you to change the default language originally assigned by the server administrator. The supported languages include, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Indonesian and Polish.

Side Menu Appearance - here you can change the look of your side menu with a few built-in themes.

Full List - this is a default option used to display all the supported programs Fantastico is able to install. Each one is categorized by a specific program type.

Drop-down menus - this allows you to view Fantastico’s three primary categories: Navigation, Scripts and Extras. By selecting a specific category, you will be presented its associated information.

Email Notification - here you can submit your email address into Fantastico. By doing so, you will receive a notification via email after a new script has been installed, updated or modified. If updates are available, the system will send notification so you can login and update the appropriate scripts with the latest versions.

Navigation - in this menu you will find two links - one is designated for the cPanel homepage for your hosting account while the other is for the Fantastico homepage of your account.

Installations Overview - this section displays the current scripts and programs you have installed. It shows you their version number and location.

All of your scripts can be installed from within the “Full List” section of Fantastico. Keep in mind that you must have one empty database per installation.

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