Chapter 8
Setting Server Preferences

[p]This chapter describes how to set server preferences for Lasso Professional Server. The Setup > Server section in Server Administration allows the Lasso server administrator to set server-wide preferences. These settings cannot be overridden by any site-specific or lower level security settings or via LassoScript. [/p]

• Summary provides an overview of Lasso Professional.
• Serial Numbers covers how to update Lasso’s serial number.
• Administrator Settings describes how to change the administrator password or adjust Server Administration preferences.
• Tag Settings describes how to enable and disable Lasso tags for Lasso Professional.
• Software Updates describes how to check for updates to Lasso Professional.
• Import/Export Settings describes how to import and export Lasso 8 settings files.
• Chart FX describes how to activate Chart FX for Lasso.

Summary

[p]The summary page provides an overview of Lasso Professional including the version, platform, and uptime. The panel on the left provides quick links to the settings and LassoApps for each defined site. [/p]

Figure 1: Summary Page

Serial Numbers

[p]The serial number section allows the initialized serial number to be updated and displays information about the current serial number and software version. [/p]

Figure 2: Serial Number

To update the Lasso Professional Server serial number:

1. Enter or edit the serial number in the [code]Serial Number[/code] field.

2. Select the [code]Update Serial Number[/code] button.

[note][b]Evaluation [/b][b]Note[/b]: If Lasso Professional Server is first initialized using an evaluation serial number and then you later purchase Lasso Professional Server, simply enter the purchased serial number into this form and select [code]Update Serial Number[/code]. The [code]Days Remaining[/code] message on the lower message bar will disappear after a valid purchased serial number is entered. [/note]

Administrator Settings

[p]The administrator username and password is established when Lasso Professional Server is installed and initialized. Only the server administrator has the privileges to change Lasso’s configuration or security settings, as described in the previous chapter. [/p]

[p]The [code]Admin Settings[/code] page is where the server administrator username and password can be changed, and other preferences can be established. The server administrator username and password are set during initialization as described in the configuration chapters in this guide. [/p]

[p]The following preferences can be set. [/p]

• [def]Error Reporting[/def] – A default Lasso Professional error page is shown whenever a [code].lasso[/code] or [code].lassoapp[/code] page is processed that contains an unhandled error. The [code]Error Reporting[/code] pull-down menu allows the level of detail shown by the default Lasso Professional error page to be configured. The following levels may be set:
• [code]None[/code] – Sets the error page to show no information about the error that occurred. Only a message stating “An error has occurred“ will be shown.
• [code]Minimal [/code][code](Default)[/code] – Sets the error page to show only the error message and code number of the error that occurred. This is the default setting.
• [code]Full[/code] – All available information about the error (including source code) will be shown. This setting is recommended for development and debugging.
• [def]Digest Authentication[/def] – Digest authentication is a more secure method of sending usernames and passwords from a Web browser to a Web server. If this setting is set to [code]Enabled[/code] then Lasso will attempt to use digest authentication when possible.
• Auto Refresh – Controls whether administration screens auto refresh. The setting can be established for administration queues or administration errors pages.
• Listing Size – Sets the maximum number of items to show per page on listings pages.

Figure 3: Admin Settings Page

Updating the Server Administrator Password

[p]The [code]Administrator Settings[/code] panel allows the administrator username and password to be updated. The password is not shown, but can be changed by entering the current password with a new password and confirmation. [/p]

[note][b]Lost [/b][b]Password Note[/b]: If the server administrator password is lost, please see the instructions at the beginning of the Using Server Administration chapter for resetting the password. [/note]

To change the server administrator username and password:

1. Enter an administrator username in the [code]Username[/code] field. The username is [code]ServerAdmin[/code] by default.

2. Enter the current administrator password in the [code]Current Password[/code] field.

3. Enter a new password in the [code]New Password[/code] field.

4. Enter the same password exactly as it was entered in the [code]New Password [/code]field in the [code]Confirm New Password[/code] field.

5. Select the [code]Update Settings [/code]button.

[p]After this change the browser will prompt to supply the new administrator username and password to continue using Server Administration. [/p]

Tag Settings

[p]Lasso Professional Server provides server administrators the ability to restrict individual Lasso tags or tag categories from functioning within any site on the server. If a tag has been disabled, then an error will be displayed when it is called from within a Lasso page. [/p]

[p]There are seven tag categories that may be restricted server-wide . For more information on these tags, see the Lasso 8.5 Language Guide. [/p]

• [def]Administration [/def]– This category includes tags which return information about the environment of Lasso and allow security settings to be examined and changed.
• [def]Database [/def]– Tags in this category allow the schema of MySQL databases to be altered.
• [def]File [/def]– Tags in this category allow files on the local hard drive to be manipulated. Disabling this category will prevent Lasso from modifying any files on the local hard drive. It is recommended that you disable the [code][File_…][/code] tags unless you are actively using them.
• [def]Include [/def]– Tags in this category allow Lasso pages to be included in the current processing Lasso pages and for data from remote Web servers to be included and processed.
• [def]Technical [/def]– The [code][Net] [/code]tags in this category can be disabled in order to disallow low-level connections with remote Web servers and other applications which are available over the Internet.
• [def]Utility [/def]– The [code][Email_Send] [/code]and[code] [Event_Schedule] [/code]tags can be disabled in order to prevent developers from sending email from Lasso or scheduling events for future execution.

Figure 4: Tags List Page

Tag Categories

[p]The[code] Tag Categories Listing[/code] panel shows a listing of the seven tag categories in LassoScript that contain tags that can be enabled or disabled. Tags defined in individual Lasso pages will not be listed here. A [code]Mixed[/code] status indicates that a selected tag category contains both [code]Enabled[/code] and [code]Disabled[/code] tags. Selecting [code]Enable All[/code] or [code]Disable All[/code] will enable or disable all tags in each category shown. [/p]

[note][b]Custom [/b][b]Tags Note[/b]: Third party tags cannot be enabled or disabled within Server Administration. Third party tags can only be disabled by removing the corresponding third party tag modules from the [code]Lasso Modules[/code] folder, or by removing corresponding custom tag libraries from the [code]Startup.LassoApp[/code] source and recompiling. A restart of Lasso Service is required for changes to take effect. [/note]

Updating Tags

[p]When a category is selected in the [code]Tag Categories Listing[/code] panel, it shows all tags in that category in the [code]Tags Listin[/code]g panel, which appears to the right. Each tag can be individually enabled or disabled by selecting [code]Enabled[/code] or [code]Disabled[/code] from the [code]Status[/code] pull-down menu, and then selecting [code]Update[/code]. All tags shown in the[code] Tags Listing [/code]panel can also be enabled or disabled by selecting [code]Enable All[/code] or [code]Disable All[/code]. [/p]

Tag Dependencies

[p]Some Lasso tags have dependencies on other tags to function properly. If a tag has been disabled that has dependencies with other tags, then those tags will not function correctly. To see whether on not a tag has any dependencies, consult the Lasso Reference and check to see if there are any tags listed in the [code]Required [/code]field in the [code]Detail[/code] view for any tag. [/p]

Software Updates

[p]The Updates section in Server Administration automatically checks for updates to Lasso Professional and its components. If no updates are available then “Lasso is up to date” will be displayed. Otherwise, the panel will contain a list of available updates including a brief description and download link. [/p]

Import and Export Settings

[p]The[code] Import/Export[/code] page in Server Administration provides the ability to export the complete state of Lasso’s server configuration and security settings. Importing and exporting setup files is useful for backing up a particular Lasso Professional Server configuration, or setting up a new installation with the same configuration as another copy of Lasso Professional Server. [/p]

[note][b]Important: [/b]This import/export section only handles server configuration settings. It does not import or export site-specific settings. [/note]

[p]A Lasso setup file is an XML file that contain all custom server settings entered in Server Administration. The information in a Lasso setup file corresponds to the options selected in Server Administration. [/p]

[p]Care should be taken with the setup files that are exported, as these files contains all of the security settings of Lasso Professional Server. Lasso stores passwords for users encrypted using MD5, but passwords for data sources may be stored in plain text. Export files which have been modified by an untrusted third-party should never be imported into Server Administration without careful review of the settings within the file. [/p]

Figure 5: Import/Export Page

Exporting Lasso Setup Files

[p]The [code]Export Setup[/code] panel allows the current Lasso Professional Server configuration to be exported as a text setup file to be preserved for future use. [/p]

To export a Lasso setup:

1. In the [code]Export Setup[/code] panel, select the [code]Export Setup[/code] button. This will automatically download a file that contains the contents your Lasso Professional Server setup file as [code]Export_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.txt[/code].

Importing Lasso Setups

[p]The [code]Import Setup[/code] panel allows Lasso setup files to be imported. Only setup files exported using Lasso Professional Server or the Lasso Settings Migrator may be imported. [/p]

[p]To import a Lasso setup: [/p]

1. In the [code]Import Setup[/code] panel, select the [code]Browse[/code] button, and choose the Lasso setup file on your hard drive you wish to import.

2. Select the [code]Import Setup[/code] button. A warning informs the administrator that importing a setup will overwrite all existing installation settings with the settings being imported.

3. Select the [code]OK[/code] button. This will overwrite all current settings with those stored in the imported setup file.

4. After the import has been performed Lasso Service must be restarted for the changes to take effect.

[note][b]Note: [/b]While all current settings will be overwritten in an import, the settings provided during initialization (server administrator username and password, serial number, and registration information) will not be overwritten. [/note]

Chart FX

[p]Software FX and LassoSoft have partnered to provide Chart FX for Lasso. This powerful charting package allows a diverse collection of charts to be created directly within Lasso. The Chart FX tags require a separate serial number from Lasso Professional. The Chart FX page in Lasso Server Administration allows the Chart FX tags to be activated. Without a serial number the Chart FX tags will run in developer mode which allows sample charts to be created so the functionality can be tried out before buying a serial number. More information about purchasing Chart FX for Lasso can be found at the LassoSoft store. [/p]

[pre]http://store.lassosoft.com/ [/pre]

Figure 6: Chart FX Page

To Activate Chart FX for Lasso:

[p]Chart FX for Lasso requires a separate serial number from Lasso Professional. Visit the Setup > Chart FX > Serial Number section of Lasso Server Administration and enter the Chart FX for Lasso serial number. Select [code]Activate Chart FX[/code] to automatically obtain an activation code. Once the activation is complete the Chart FX tags will be activated in all of Lasso’s sites on this machine. [/p]

[p]If the activation fails then a URL at Software FX will be displayed. Visit the URL and copy the provided activation code into the [code]Activation Code[/code] field. After selecting the [code]Activate Chart FX[/code] button the Chart FX tags will be activated in all of Lasso’s sites on this machine [/p]