Difference between revisions of "CiviCRM"

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<li>set the message template for mailings
 
<li>set the message template for mailings
 
<li>setup custom fieldsets and data fields
 
<li>setup custom fieldsets and data fields
<li>map import data to fields, groups, tags
+
<li>map import data to fields, groups, tags.  Also do a large amount of data wrangling (normalization; and ETL) to get source data in a format suitable for use with CiviCRM.  The data that I have is "composite" because it has individuals embedded inside organization records.  So I needed to extract and flatten out contact records from their organization records; plus create and maintain a simple "external ID" system to relate them after import.  This means parsing, slicing and dicing, string manipulation and making corrections or formatting data a particular way.  I almost installed Pentaho Data Integration (kettle) because that tool is (supposedly) built for this job.  <ref>But like since version 3, Pentaho still doesn't work even at 5.  The install docs are missing.  The thing failed to even load, with no error.</ref> 
 
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Revision as of 22:31, 6 May 2015

Installation[edit | edit source]

CiviCRM sits on top of a CMS: either Drupal, WordPress, or Joomla!.

The CiviCRM User and Administrator Book and also the wiki (see https://civicrm.org/go/books) are invaluable in getting setup.

When installing on top of Drupal, if you have the HTMLPurifier module enabled, you will run into a conflict that you can resolve by disabling the module in Drupal proper, or else modifying the bootstrap code in civicrm [1]

Also, the default theme (and most other themes?) don't work well for CiviCRM - especially the admin side. So, drush dl civi_bartik and enable it for the admin side.

After installation, there is a checklist that you should complete (e.g. http://example.org/civicrm/admin/configtask)

Some of the things needed for a first-time setup:

  1. enable the components
  2. check/enable permissions (Drupal)
  3. set the headers and footers for mailings
  4. set the message template for mailings
  5. setup custom fieldsets and data fields
  6. map import data to fields, groups, tags. Also do a large amount of data wrangling (normalization; and ETL) to get source data in a format suitable for use with CiviCRM. The data that I have is "composite" because it has individuals embedded inside organization records. So I needed to extract and flatten out contact records from their organization records; plus create and maintain a simple "external ID" system to relate them after import. This means parsing, slicing and dicing, string manipulation and making corrections or formatting data a particular way. I almost installed Pentaho Data Integration (kettle) because that tool is (supposedly) built for this job. [2]

Interestingly, CiviCRM optionally uses wkhtmltopdf to convert HTML to PDF

Todo[edit | edit source]

  • Gedit.svg todo Install, and use overrides for DEV/PROD and make sure you can use the installation on multiple hosts [3]


Notes[edit | edit source]

"Views" in Drupal (in core as of Drupal 8 [4]) is a good way to get reports from your data. If you want to use "Views" for your CiviCRM instance, you have to manually integrate it http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC/Views3+Integration Admin = civicrm/admin/setting/uf

References[edit source]

  1. http://forum.civicrm.org/index.php?topic=28429.0
  2. But like since version 3, Pentaho still doesn't work even at 5. The install docs are missing. The thing failed to even load, with no error.
  3. http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC/Moving+an+Existing+Installation+to+a+New+Server+or+Location
  4. https://www.drupal.org/project/views