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Setting up OPAS Online

OPAS Online can be deployed one of three basic ways:

• Standard Internet
• Standard Intranet
• Read-Write Internet

Please consult with your own IT department and Fine Arts Software to determine the best method - or combination of methods - for your organization.

Standard Internet

Use this method if you want orchestra members, staff and board/volunteers to have access to orchestra schedules, repertoire and basic contact information through any web browser.

In this method, OPAS Online is a web application that displays information from your OPAS database. You can search for, view, and print information but you don't add any new information to OPAS.

Procedure

Set up the necessary ftp and web folders

We will set up the web folders (that hold the OPAS Online pages) and folders to which your OPAS data will be sent. We will handle this for you if we are hosting OPAS Online for you, or assist your web master in setting everything up.

Install the necessary OPAS utilities and configure OPAS Online

You will install the required OPAS utilities that 'pull' information from your OPAS database and send it up to the web server. These utilities are configured so that you pull only the information you wish to have online (for example, "Concerts from last month through the next six months") and the specific fields within OPAS tables (so you can opt to not send sensitive personnel or financial data up to the web server). You will also dictate when the utility will run (once a day, twice a day at noon and midnight, etc.). These steps will be done in consultation with OPAS Technical Support.

When these steps are done, the core OPAS Online application will be in place. When the utility runs it will...

• Pull the desired information from your OPAS database
• Put that data into XML format
• Send that XML file up to the web server
• The web server periodically checks the data file - when it sees new XML files, it imports that information into the MySQL database that drives OPAS Online

Set up your pages

You will want OPAS Online to sit 'inside' your existing web pages, or a similar design so that your existing web site links are available in OPAS Online and the entire "look and feel" matches that of your existing corporate web site. You will need to provide those pages to us if we are hosting OPAS Online for you. If you are hosting OPAS Online yourself, your web master will wrap your existing web page design around the OPAS Online application

Set up User Names and Passwords

You will now need to set up the User Names and Passwords for your installation of OPAS Online. You will have an Administrator Account and can create as many other user accounts as you like (these are the names/passwords that you will use when you log in to OPAS Online). The User Names and Passwords for OPAS Online are completely different from OPAS. Keep your user names and passwords in a safe place - we cannot retrieve your passwords (including your administrator password).

OPAS Online in a standard read-only Internet configuration.
Note that the data flow is one-way from your OPAS database out to the Internet.

Standard Intranet

Use this method if your organization has a corporate Intranet and you wish to include up-to-the-minute schedule, repertoire and contact information from OPAS -- you can also use your web browser (instead of OPAS) to enter information.

In this method, OPAS Online is a web application that operates over your corporate network instead of over the Internet. It displays information from your OPAS database -- you can search for, view, and print information and can add information to OPAS. This configuration allows staff to use a web browser instead of OPAS itself.

Procedure

Set up the OPAS Server to act as a Web Server

You will need to configure your OPAS server to act as web server (even though you are accessing OPAS Online through an Intranet and not the Internet)

Install the necessary OPAS utilities and configure OPAS Online

You will install the required OPAS utilities and web pages on your OPAS Server. You will also set up the connection between the OPAS Online pages and the OPAS database. These steps will be done in consultation with OPAS Technical Support.

Set up your pages

You will want OPAS Online to sit 'inside' your existing web pages, or a similar design so that your existing web site links are available in OPAS Online. You will need to provide those pages to us if we are hosting OPAS Online for you. If you are hosting OPAS Online yourself, your web master will wrap your existing web page design around the OPAS Online application

Set up User Names and Passwords

You will now need to set up the User Names and Passwords for your installation of OPAS Online. You will have an Administrator Account and can create as many other user accounts as you like (these are the names/passwords that you will use when you log in to OPAS Online). The User Names and Passwords for OPAS Online are completely different from OPAS. Keep your user names and passwords in a safe place - we cannot retrieve your passwords (including your administrator password).

OPAS Online in a standard Intranet configuration.
Note that the data flow is two-way; information entered through your web browser
is treated just like information entered through OPAS.

Read-Write Internet

Use this method if you wish to add basic information (schedules, repertoire, address book entries) to OPAS via a web browser, while away from the office.

In this method, OPAS Online is a web application that displays information from your OPAS database. You can search for, view, print, and add new information to OPAS.

Procedure

Set up a Web Server

This deployment option cannot be hosted by us - you will need to set up your OPAS LAN server to operate as a true web server, or have a web server that can communicate with the main OPAS installation on your LAN via a standard ODBC Connection (although this configuration will not provide optimal performance).

Install the necessary OPAS utilities and configure OPAS Online

You will install the required OPAS utilities and web pages on your Web Server. If the Web Server is separate from the OPAS LAN server, you will also need to set up the ODBC connection between the Web Server and the main OPAS database. These steps will be done in consultation with OPAS Technical Support, but must be done by your IT department or web master.

Install the necessary OPAS utilities and configure OPAS Online

You will install the required OPAS utilities and web pages on your OPAS Server. You will also set up the connection between the OPAS Online pages and the OPAS database. These steps will be done in consultation with OPAS Technical Support.

Set up your pages

You will want OPAS Online to sit 'inside' your existing web pages, or a similar design so that your existing web site links are available in OPAS Online. You will need to provide those pages to us if we are hosting OPAS Online for you. If you are hosting OPAS Online yourself, your web master will wrap your existing web page design around the OPAS Online application

Set up User Names and Passwords

You will now need to set up the User Names and Passwords for your installation of OPAS Online. You will have an Administrator Account and can create as many other user accounts as you like (these are the names/passwords that you will use when you log in to OPAS Online). The User Names and Passwords for OPAS Online are completely different from OPAS. Keep your user names and passwords in a safe place - we cannot retrieve your passwords (including your administrator password).

OPAS Online in a standard Intranet configuration.
Note that the data flow is two-way; information entered through any web browser
is treated just like information entered through OPAS.