Getting started with OJS. Need guide

Software Support
1

Hello everyone. Can anyone assist me on how to get started with OJS. We want to start using OJS on our journal. I have a windows system.
Can I get a step guide to go about this.
I tried installing the software but could not.
Thanks

2

Hi @justine1000,

Which version of OJS are you trying to use? There are getting started guides I can recommend to you once you tell me the version.

Best,
Amanda Stevens
Public Knowledge Project Team

3

I have no version in mind.
All I want is anyone that i can be compatible with window 7 and how to
go about it. I saw Unix like, linux etc but no window. Does it mean I
cannot use it on a window platform?
Thanks

4

Hi @justine1000,

You can install OJS on Windows 7 but you have to have PHP, MySQL, and Apache as well. This installation README document outlines how to install OJS and is relevant to any version. These instructions are a bit more detailed and are written for OJS 2.3.1. Once you download and extract the files, you can do the entire installation through a web browser on a Windows operating system (see step 4 in the README document).

I do recommend that you take some time to decide whether you want to use OJS 2.4.8 or 3.1, as there are significant differences between them. You can try out each one on the OJS Demos page under OJS Testdrive.

I hope this is helpful.

Best,
Amanda Stevens
Public Knowledge Project Team

5

Dear Amanda,
Thanks for your guide. I must say that it is very helpful. I have made
some progress. I downloaded a Uniform server and in the process of
entering localhost/ojs hits the error 500 which I attach herein.
What could be the probable cause. I have tried other version, name and
renamed still receive this error.
Please I need the guide of the community.
Thanks
Best regards.

6

Hi @justine1000,

It’s great that you downloaded the Uniform server and attempted to install OJS. After downloading the OJS tar.gz file, did you extract all the files in the OJS folder using a zip tool like 7-zip? What you should have is the OJS folder in your web root (www) folder, then in the OJS folder you should have about 16 folders named API, cache, classes, controllers, dbscripts, etc. and some individual files. Then try visiting localhost/ojs to start the installation. Please let me know if this addresses the issue.

Thanks,
Amanda Stevens
Public Knowledge Project Team

7

Dear Amanda,
Thanks for your mail. Honestly the problem still persist. I just
doenload and used 7-zip, still problem not solved.
See attach files. HTTP Error 500 still persist.

8

Hi @justine1000,

Did you follow the instructions in the README document about making particular files in the OJS folder writeable? If you have and you’re certain that the OJS files were extracted into the correct folder, the only other thing I can suggest is checking your PHP error log for details about the error. The exact location will depend on your server configuration, but it will be something like /var/log/apache/error.log.

Best,
Amanda Stevens
Public Knowledge Project Team