Server2Go for Dummies

[Ponytail]

Hi Zoom people

I eventually want to invest in the $99 version of Zoom and put it on a small library Web site, but because I am a non-tecchie, I think it will take me a while to get a handle on the program. In order to learn Zoom, I thought it would be best for me to play with the free version locally, and test it on some of the content I'm developing first. (BTW I am very grateful for the detailed documentation that is part of Zoom.)

So I thought the Server2Go solution as recommended in the documentation sounded like a plan, and I downloaded Server2Go. I have a high speed Internet connection, and even with that, the download took about 10+ minutes ...

...but when I unzipped the file, the Server2Go folder was totally empty!!!! I searched all over for the files, but they are nowhere to be found...

Being a non-techie, I don't understand what is going on, can anyone clue me in? I am on Windows Home XP, does that have something to do with it?

Ponytail

[Ray]

Couple of points:

First, if you are creating a search page for a website that is to be made available on the Internet (so that people can access it from their home, or anywhere with Internet access), then you most likely do not need Server2Go. Server2Go is more suited for sites to be distributed on CD-ROMs, or DVDs, or cases where a web server is not available. You must have a web server available if you are to make a website accessible on the Internet.

If you are creating a search page that is to be made available only within the local network of your library (that is, people will only be able to access it from the computers within your library, and not at home, etc.), then you have several options:

1. Use the Javascript platform, which is the simplest (but least powerful) option. It will run in any supported browser, and has no additional technical requirements. But it does not offer exact phrase searching, nor context descriptions, and it is limited in the number of pages it can index.
2. Install a web server on your library network. You may need help from someone with a bit more technical experience to do this, but you will be able to run more stuff in the long term, and offer more services on your network. IIS (Microsoft's web server software) comes with most copies of Windows and is an optional installation. By doing this, you will be able to use either the PHP or ASP versions which offer more functionality as well.
3. While Server2Go is an option for this scenario, it is least suitable, and the effort required to set this up correctly is similar to setting up a proper web server, which would be more appropriate.

If you have more questions, let us know, and tell us a bit more about what you are trying to do.

Regarding your Server2Go download, I can only imagine that your download failed to complete for some reason (likely network connection issues with your Internet Service Provider). Which download link did you use? Server2Go is not our product but we've never had problems downloading the archive from their official site.