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Developer Guide

Help & Basics Published on 04.11.2025

This guide describes the process for creating and deploying new, standalone application setups.

1. Multi-App Setups: Branding & Initialization

The application can be configured to behave like a standalone solution (e.g., "INtex Inventory"). This is controlled via constants in config.php and a corresponding setup folder.

1.1. Creating Setups in config.php

Open the config.php file. Here you can define different setups. A setup consists of a block of constants. Activate a setup by removing the comment characters (//) in front of the corresponding block.

Example of a setup:

// Example: INtex Inventory
define('SETUP_NAME', 'INtex Inventory');
define('SETUP_FOLDER', 'setup_inventar');
define('SETUP_LEARN_MORE_URL', 'https://www.inventory-pc.com');
define('SETUP_SHOP_URL', 'https://www.intex-publishing.de/cms/shop/bestellformular.php?produkt=inventar');
  • SETUP_NAME: The name of the application, which is displayed in various places.
  • SETUP_FOLDER: The name of the folder in the root directory that contains the setup-specific files.
  • SETUP_LEARN_MORE_URL: The link for the "Learn More" button.
  • SETUP_SHOP_URL: The link to the shop.

1.2. Creating Setup Folders

In the application's root directory, create a folder with the same name as the value of SETUP_FOLDER (e.g., setup_inventar). This folder contains:

  • banner.jpg: An image (ideally 1200x800 pixels) that is displayed as the background on the login and registration pages. This is the primary branding element.
  • initialisierung.php: A PHP script that is executed once when a user of a new team logs in for the first time. This script is crucial for preparing the application for the team. A typical task is to copy template tables into the new team's namespace.
  • setup_style.css (optional): A CSS file that is automatically loaded on all pages. You can define application-specific styles here to customize the appearance. This is ideal for styling field values with a custom design (e.g., span[data-field-value-for="city"] { ... }).

2. Creating a New Application (Workflow)

The following workflow describes the steps for creating the content for a new setup.

  1. Create Template Tables: Use the administration panel (Table Definition) to create the necessary tables. Mark all tables that should be copied for each new customer (each team) with the "Mark as template" option.

  2. Create Standard Tables: Create tables that are not customer-specific (e.g., a postal code database) and ensure that the "Mark as template" option is disabled.

  3. Maintain Value Lists: Populate the value_lists with the default values needed for dropdown fields in the template tables.

  4. Create Analyses & Views: Create charts, saved views (lists), and, if necessary, complex SQL queries based on the template tables.

  5. Actions & Automation: Create custom buttons and events to implement workflows.

Links to Detailed Documentation

The programming and configuration of the individual modules are described in detail in their respective guides:

  • Field Types and Their Options
  • Programming Custom Buttons
  • Programming Custom Events
  • REST API Documentation
  • Custom Field Styling with CSS

3. Deploying a New Application

Once the development of the setup is complete, follow these steps for deployment.

Step 1: Backup SQL Data

Export the relevant configuration and template data from your development database. Use a tool like phpMyAdmin or Adminer for this. The exported data should be saved as INSERT statements.

Important tables to export:

  • custom_tables (contains all table definitions)
  • custom_fields (contains all field definitions)
  • custom_views, charts, custom_queries, custom_buttons, custom_events (as needed)
  • value_lists (contains the default value lists)
  • user_groups and user_rights (for the default rights configuration)

The data from the template tables themselves (e.g., from data_team_...) does not need to be exported, as it will be created for new teams by the initialisierung.php script.

Step 2: Copy PHP Files

Copy the entire PHP application folder to the target server.

Step 3: Post-Deployment Cleanup

  1. Clean up config.php: Remove all commented-out setup blocks so that only the final setup is active.
  2. Clean up Setup Folders: Delete all setup_* folders that do not belong to the final setup.
  3. Import Database: Import the SQL file created in Step 1 into the production database.
  4. Remove Test Data: Delete all test users, test teams, and their corresponding data_team_* tables from the production database that were created during development.
  5. Change Secret Key: Adjust the value of the INVITE_SECRET_KEY constant in config.php to ensure the security of invitation links.

After these steps, the new application is ready for use.