R u n n i n g   C o l d F u s i o n   o n   Y o u r   P C

To run ColdFusion on your PC you need a webserver and Allaire's FREE, limited-functionality, "ColdFusion Express". OmniHTTPd is a FREE, time-limited webserver, which serves ColdFusion pages.

Installing OmniHTTPd & ColdFusion Express

It is recommended that OmniHTTPd is installed before installing ColdFusion Express. To install OmniHTTPd double-click the "ohttpd208.exe" file, choose 'Custom Installation' and ensure all options are check. Accept all the default installation settings offered during the install.

To install ColdFusion Express double-click the "coldfusion-451-win-express-us.exe" file and accept the default installation settings offered. When asked to 'Select Web Server', choose 'Other Server'. When asked to 'Select Web Server Document Directory' either type in c:\httpd\htdocs or click the browse button and browse to this folder. At the 'Select Install Options' ensure that all boxes are ticked. When asked to enter and confirm an 'Administrator Password' make sure that you record the password chosen.

When ColdFusion Express setup is complete you should select the 'Yes, I want to restart my computer now' option and click Finish.

When your computer reboots, it may automatically start your browser and try to load http://127.0.0.1/CFDOCS/index.htm. It will fail because the OmniHTTPd web server has not been started. Start OmniHTTPd from Start / Programs / OmniHTTPd Professional 2.0 / OmniHTTPd. When it is running an icon will appear in your system tray. Refresh or reload the browser page (CTRL-R) to view the ColdFusion Express documentation. Some of the links will not work because you haven't started the ColdFusion Express application server. Start ColdFusion Express from Start / Programs / ColdFusion Express 4.5 / ColdFusion. ColdFusion Express also adds an icon to the system tray.

Configuring OmniHTTPd

OmniHTTPd is a highly configurable web server. This document does not attempt to show how to configure the application. However, it is recommended that you change the default document from index.html to default.htm. To do this, right-click the OmniHTTPd icon and select 'properties'. Then select 'localhost (default)' and click 'edit'. Change the 'Default Index' setting from index.html to default.htm and click 'OK'. Click 'OK' at the configuration box to send it back to the system tray.

In your browser, change the web page from http://127.0.0.1/CFDOCS/index.htm to http://127.0.0.1 and the OmniHTTPd documentation index will display.

Tip: http://127.0.0.1 and http://localhost are the same.

Your First ColdFusion page

With OmniHTTPd and ColdFusion Express running, copy and paste the ColdFusion code from "Your First ColdFusion Web Page" into your text editor. Save the file as c:\httpd\htdocs\default.cfm and point your browser to http://localhost/default.cfm

If you see Hello World, it's Friday then you've successfully created your first self-updating web page. If not, sign into XSupport's Support WebBoard and paste any error messages, and we'll try to get you up and running.

<<< Your First ColdFusion Web Page Recommended Reading >>>  


copyright 2003 Xhost Ltd All rights reserved