TIP: To unzip .ZIP files you need a program such as WinZip.  You probably have a program on your computer that will unzip this file.  Try double-clicking the ZIP file.  If you have a Zip program, your computer will know what to do with it.

TIP: Some FTP client software examples are FileZilla, CuteFtp and SmartFTP.

I use FileZilla.  My FileZilla FTP client application looks like this:

See the circles in red?  This is where I initially type the needed information so I can transfer or upload the files:

•           Host (your domain name)

•           Username (your FTP username given to you by your hosting provider)

•           Password (your FTP password given to you by your hosting provider)

•           Port (is normally 21 unless you are using a secure shell FTP such as SFTP)

Click the Quickconnect button and you will get connected to your hosting account (aka server).

Now, on the left side of your FileZilla application where it says Local Site, change to the directory where you unzipped your Associate-O-Matic download on your computer.

First, upload (FTP) the encrypted PHP files in BINARY mode which are:

• shop.php
• admin.php
• aom.php

To set to BINARY mode on FileZilla, go to the Menu Bar and click Transfer –> Transfer Mode –> Binary

Looking at the Local Site using FileZilla, select the 3 PHP files mentioned above (hold down the CTRL as you select each so they all remain highlighted).  You can right-click the highlighted files and select Upload -or- you can drag-and-drop them into your Remote Site folder.

Now, you can go back and change the transfer mode to AUTO by clicking Transfer –> Transfer Mode –> AUTO.  (By setting your FTP software to AUTO, it will decide the mode to use whether it be ASCII or BINARY for the remaining upload.)

Now, in your Local Site folder, select the AOM directory and copy the entire directory to your Remote Site by either using the Right-Click –> Upload method -or- drag-and-drop the AOM directory from Local Site into Remote Site.

By selecting the /AOM directory, you should be downloading all of the following files below. 

• /aom/[all the files]
• /aom/images/[all the image files]
• /aom/cache/

Ideally, you would FTP the files to your main public site root directory. Typically, most hosting providers have you log directly into the Site Root folder so you shouldn’t have to worry about changing directories on the Remote Site.  Just make sure you don’t overwrite any of your existing non-AOM files if they happen to be named the same.

Example Store URLs:

• http://www.yoursite.com/shop.php (best choice, shortest URL)
• http://www.yoursite.com/dir1/dir2/shop.php (also works, longer URL)

I used my Domain Name identifygreen.com.  So, my store URL is http://www.identifygreen.com/shop.php.  Check out the #7 section of this article for directions on how to change the URL so you don’t have to type in shop.php at the end.

The shop.php and related files can be placed anywhere on your website directories so long as the hierarchy of Associate-O-Matic files remains the same in relation to themselves.

Normally this can be done by right-clicking on the file or directory from your FTP client.

NOTE: Windows users should contact their web hosting provider to determine the best method for changing file/directory permissions. Most likely they will provide a mechanism to do this within their control panel.

The permissions for Linux/Unix users are as follows and can vary from web host to web host:

NOTE:  You may need to modify your permissions beyond the below recommended settings. You’ll know because Associate-O-Matic will give you cues that you still need to write and/or read enable a particular folder such as /aom. For example if 775 doesn’t work you may need to make it 777.

Okay, so using FileZilla, you would Right-Click each file or directory below and select File Permissions and make sure the Numeric Value is set to the numbers below.  (Don’t worry about the CHMOD part - that’s geek talk for linux folks!)  :)

• shop.php  [CHMOD 644]
• admin.php  [CHMOD 644]
• aom.php  [CHMOD 777]
• /aom directory  [CHMOD 755]
• /aom/images directory  [CHMOD 755]
• /aom/cache directory  [CHMOD 755]
• all other permissions should be fine by default

I checked all my files and the only one I had to change was AOM.PHP.  It was set to 644 and I changed the Numeric Value to 777 and clicked OK.

If you rename the files, be sure to keep the .php extension on the end.

Also be sure to open the file in a text editor (e.g. Note Pad) and edit the portion at the top where it says “shop.php” and change it to the new name you’re using. The same goes for the admin.php file if you rename it.

For example, instead of:
http://www.yourdomain.com/shop.php

You could name it:
http://www.yourdomain.com/best_store_ever.php

This would be the admin.php file or the new name if you renamed it.

For example, in a web browser open the address replacing “yourdomain” with your domain name:
http://www.yourdomain.com/admin.php

Another example of an admin URL is what I have for my site http://www.identifygreen.com/admin.php.

NOTE:  The first time you open the Control Panel, you’ll be asked to enter your login username and password. Once set, you’ll be asked for this login on all subsequent visits. If you ever decide to change your login, simply delete the file in the /aom directory called cfg.login.php. You’ll then have a chance to reset the password. You can also reset the login from within the control panel.

At this point you’ll want to make sure you enter your correct Amazon Associate ID (Amazon Section) and the other information for your site (Site Section).  It’s the first screen to come up so make sure to get it in there right away and click Save All Settings.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of customizations you have at your disposal. You can actually save your settings at this point just to make sure everything works. Or go ahead and enter some more of your site details and then save.

In the Control Panel Settings section of our online documentation, we describe in much more detail each of the various settings. You can login to your Control Panel at any time and update your settings.

http://www.associate-o-matic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52

One suggestion would be to use Domain Forwarding where your Domain Name is held.  For example, if you purchased your Domain name from WebMom Domains, you would:

•           Log into your WebMom Domain account

•           go to your Domain Manager

•           check the Box in front of the domain you want to forward

•           click the Forward button (green arrow icon)

•           check the Enable Forwarding box

•           type in the URL for your website (eg. http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/shop.php)

•           click 301 Moved Permanently

•           click OK. 

That’s it!  (Note: It may take a few minutes for this to take effect.)