WebCT 2.1 Documentation

• Introduction
• Admin Commands
  • add_design.pl
  • admin.pl
  • admin_course.pl
  • change_designer.pl
  • check_access.pl
  • get_user_globalid.pl
  • restore.pl
  • superuser.pl
• API Commands
  • webctdb
• WebCT Problems
• FAQ (kscott's webct faq)

These are some commands I have found in WebCT 2.1.

Admin Commands

They are perl scripts located in <install-dir>/webct/webct/generic/admin.

add_design.pl

The script add_design.pl allows an administrator to associate one or more courses with a designer's Global ID. This is useful when an administrator is setting up courses (either new, restored, or upgraded) and wishes to issue a designer a single Global ID that he or she can log on with and have all of the courses properly set up in my WebCT. The Global ID can already exist, the courses can be "linked", or a global ID can be created.

e.g. ./add_design.pl create johndoe ENGL100 ENGL205 HIST209b This example creates a global ID with the username and password "johndoe" and adds the three courses (ENGL100, ENGL205, and HIST209b) to my WebCT.

Notes: if the destination Global ID does not exist, it will be created in the Global Database with the same password as username, and without any other field data (such as first or last names). This can be edited later from the standard administrator interface.

admin.pl

admin_course.pl

change_designer.pl

The script change_designer.pl allows an administrator to change the Global ID associated with a course. This is handy if a designer mistakenly creates multiple Global IDs and wishes to consolidate them, or if a designer leaves the school and is replaced by another, already active designer. If the administrator specifies a Global ID that does not exist, it will be created in the global database.

where Course ID is the course in which to change the designer, and Global ID is WebCT ID of the new designer.

Notes: if the destination Global ID does not exist, it will be created in the Global Database with the same password as username, and without any other field data (such as first or last names).

If the course designer is an orphan, change_designer.pl will report an error. Adminstrators can either use the Add Designer to Global ID utility (add_design.pl) or add the designer through normal methods.

check_access.pl

Displays the latest access time for all courses to standard out. Also creates a file, access.txt,

get_user_globalid.pl

If the only option given is a course, it will return the Global ID of the primary designer.

If a course and a userID is given, it will return the Global ID for that userID in that course.

restore.pl

Restores a course from a backup file. Multiple files can be specified.

Note: only the filename(s) should be specified - not the pathname(s). The script will look for the file(s) in admin/backup.

superuser.pl

The script superuser.pl allows an administrator to create a shared access designer in every course installed on a server from the command line. This effectively creates a superuser who can access all courses as a designer. Since the superuser is a shared access designer, the only thing that he or she cannot do is to create other shared access designers.

1. As an administrator, create a Global ID. This ID will become the superuser.
2. Run the superuser.pl command.
3. Enter a valid Global ID when prompted.

Notes: courses which have orphan designers (those who do not have an associated Global ID) cannot have shared access designers added to them. The Superuser Utility will skip these courses.

Running the script multiple times does not cause any problems as it will skip any course which already has the Global ID registered in the course.

API Commands

They are perl scripts located in <install-dir>/webct/webct/generic/api.

webctdb

The command line interface of WebCT's API allows administrators to run programs with access to the WebCT course server's program files to modify either the WebCT user or student database. This interface may be useful if the institutional student record system that uses the API is located on the same web server as WebCT.

Note: <course> is just a placeholder when using the global database. You can use any placeholdeer you wish, but you must use one.