Installation + Activation

As of 24 April 2009, you must apply through the Ning Help Center for Webdav access. To do this go to help.ning.com and send through this Request.

"I would like to request WebDav access to the /instances directory on my site, to facilitate installation of Ning applications created with the Ning Web Widget Framework by NingMods at www.ningmods.com. "

I am in the process of creating a Premium Support package to make the response from Ning as fast as possible, so this step should not impinge on your installation - if there is too long a delay please let me know at ningmods@gmail.com and I'll assist with expedition.

Want to install the Mods Club App? Follow these detailed instructions to install. To activate, just go to "/mods/subscription/activate" on your site after installing and follow the prompts.

Video Tutes

Install the app.

Get started

To get started,connect to your network using Webdav (see bottom of this page for more info), then locate the directory named "instances" and open it.

Download the widget installation file.

Download this file by right clicking the icon on the left and clicking "Save target as" (in Internet Explorer) or "Save linkas" (in Firefox).

Create a new instance folder.

Create a new folder named "mods" in the "instances" directory. (You can do this by right clicking inside a blank area of the folder and going to New Folder.)

WARNING: Be extremely careful not to rename or delete the "main", "html", "feed", "activity", "admin", or "profiles" folders, as they are vital Network Instances.

Open the new "mods" folder you just created.

Copy the "widget-configuration.xml" file you downloaded earlier into the new "mods" folder you just created. (To do this, simply right click on the "widget-configuration.xml" file and click copy, then right click in an empty space inside the "mods" folder and click paste.)

Now it's time to refresh your Network's Cache!

Just go to http://YOURNETWORKNAME.ning.com/lib/scripts/invalidateCache.php
(Replace "YourNetworkName" with the subdomain you originally selected for your Ning Network.)

Once you do this, you will receive one of the following two messages:

(The message above indicates any new widgets on your social network have been installed, such as the one we just uploaded.)

(If you've received the error above instead of the other message, this indicates you are not signed in with the Network Creator account on your Network.

Now, let's check to see if everything went as planned..

Go to http://YOURNETWORKNAME.ning.com/mods and verify you don't get a page not found error. If it worked, you may want to add a tab that links to it. To do so, simply go to Manage -> Tab Manager and use " /mods " for the URL.

Congratulations! You've successfully installed the Mods Club Application on Your Social Network!

(You may now close any windows that are still open from the installation process.)

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Webdav Access

The preferred way to access the source code of your social network is via the WebDav protocol. This offers the best performance and greatest ease of use. Please follow the instructions below to access the file system of your social network via WebDav.

Be sure to follow the instructions that correspond to your operating system. Below, you'll find instructions for Mac OS X, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.

WebDAV on OS X (Tiger and Leopard)

Before you start using WebDav to access your social network on Ning, you should check out this Apple knowledge base article about suppressing .DS_Store files on network drives. These files are created by OS X when you view a folder with finder and due to the way Ning reads some directories, the creation of these files may lead to strange issues on your social network if they are not suppressed.
Select Finder
From the menu select Go -> Connect to Server...
Enter https://mynetworkname.dav.ning.com, where you’ve replaced mynetworknetwork with the subdomain of your network, as the Server Address. When you're done, click ‘Connect’
When prompted enter the Network Creator email address and your password.
Your source code is now mounted as a network drive visible on your desktop. (if the network disk does not appear ensure that Finder -> Preferences -> Connected servers is checked. )
You can also access it with the terminal at /Volumes/mynetworkname.dav.ning.com
Copy the files or directories that you would like to change to your local hard disk
Make the changes and upload the files by copying them to the WebDav volume

WebDAV on Windows XP

Open 'My Network Places'
From 'My Network Places' click on 'Add Network Place'
The 'Add Network Place Wizard' will open. Click 'Next'.
Click 'Choose another network location'
Enter your network address which should look something like https://mynetworkname.dav.ning.com, where you’ve replaced mynetworkname with the subdomain of your network. When you're done, click 'Next'.
When prompted enter the Network Creator's email address and password.
Choose a name for your WebDAV connection and click 'Finish'
Your source code is now available via ‘My Network Places’
Copy the files or directories that you would like to change to your local hard disk
Make the changes and upload the files by copying them to the WebDav volume

Note: Some instances of Windows XP and Vista may be configured to not send HTTP basic auth headers to Dav servers by default. If you're having trouble with the steps outlined above, please refer to this page on the Microsoft support site.

WebDAV on Windows Vista

Using the Windows Classic View, right click on 'Computer' and click on 'Map Network Drive'.
On the 'Map Network Drive' screen, click on 'Connect to a Web site that you can use to store your documents and pictures'.
Click 'Next'
Click 'Choose a custom network location'
Click 'Next'
In the field 'Internet or network address', enter your network address which should look something like https://mynetworkname.dav.ning.com, where you’ve replaced mynetworkname with the subdomain of your network.
When prompted, enter the Network Creator's email address and password.
Choose a name for your WebDAV connection and click 'Finish'
Your source code is now available via ‘Computer’
Copy the files or directories that you would like to change to your local hard disk
Make the changes and upload the files by copying them to the WebDav volume

Third Party WebDav Applications

In addition to all of this, other third party WebDav tools are available. Note that this is not a comprehensive list, and links listed here are provided for reference rather than recommendation.