path: root/docs/xml/faq.xml

<!-- <!DOCTYPE appendix PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.1//EN"> -->

<appendix id="faq">
  <title>The Bugzilla FAQ</title>

  <para>
    This FAQ includes questions not covered elsewhere in the Guide.
  </para>
  
  <qandaset>


    <qandadiv id="faq-general">
      <title>General Questions</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-license">
	  <para>
	    What license is Bugzilla distributed under?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Bugzilla is covered by the Mozilla Public License.
	    See details at <ulink url="http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/"/>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-support">
	  <para>
	    How do I get commercial support for Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
          <para>
            <ulink url="http://bugzilla.org/consulting.html"/>
            is a list of people and companies who have asked us to list them
            as consultants for Bugzilla.
          </para>
	  <para>
	    There are several experienced
	    Bugzilla hackers on the mailing list/newsgroup who are willing
	    to make themselves available for generous compensation.
	    Try sending a message to the mailing list asking for a volunteer.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-companies">
	  <para>
	    What major companies or projects are currently using Bugzilla
	    for bug-tracking?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    There are <emphasis>dozens</emphasis> of major companies with public
	    Bugzilla sites to track bugs in their products. We have a fairly
            complete list available on our website at
            <ulink url="http://bugzilla.org/installation-list/"/>. If you
            have an installation of Bugzilla and would like to be added to the
            list, whether it's a public install or not, simply e-mail
            Gerv <email>gerv@mozilla.org</email>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-maintainers">
	  <para>
	    Who maintains Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    A 
      <ulink url="http://www.bugzilla.org/who_we_are.html">core team</ulink>,
      led by Dave Miller (justdave@bugzilla.org).
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-compare">
	  <para>
	    How does Bugzilla stack up against other bug-tracking databases?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    We can't find any head-to-head comparisons of Bugzilla against
	    other defect-tracking software. If you know of one, please
      get in touch. However, from the author's personal
	    experience with other bug-trackers, Bugzilla offers
	    superior performance on commodity hardware, better price
	    (free!), more developer- friendly features (such as stored
	    queries, email integration, and platform independence),
	    improved scalability, open source code, greater
	    flexibility, and superior ease-of-use.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you happen to be a commercial bug-tracker vendor, please
	    step forward with a list of advantages your product has over
      Bugzilla. We'd be happy to include it in the "Competitors"
      section.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-bzmissing">
	  <para>
	    Why doesn't Bugzilla offer this or that feature or compatibility
	    with this other tracking software?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    It may be that the support has not been built yet, or that you
	    have not yet found it. Bugzilla is making tremendous strides in
	    usability, customizability, scalability, and user interface. It
	    is widely considered the most complete and popular open-source
	    bug-tracking software in existence.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    That doesn't mean it can't use improvement!
	    You can help the project along by either hacking a patch yourself
	    that supports the functionality you require, or else submitting a
	    "Request for Enhancement" (RFE) using the bug submission interface
	    at <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Bugzilla">bugzilla.mozilla.org</ulink>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-mysql">
	  <para>
	    Why MySQL?  I'm interested in seeing Bugzilla run on
	    Oracle/Sybase/Msql/PostgreSQL/MSSQL.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            MySQL was originally chosen because it is free, easy to install,
            and was available for the hardware Netscape intended to run it on.
	  </para>
          <para>
            There is currently work in progress to make Bugzilla work on
            PostgreSQL and Sybase in the default distribution. You can track
            the progress of these initiatives in <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=98304">bug 98304</ulink>
            and <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=173130">bug 173130</ulink>
            respectively.
          </para>
          <para>
            Once both of these are done, adding support for additional
            database servers should be trivial.
          </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-bonsaitools">
	  <para>
	    What is <filename>/usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl</filename>?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            Bugzilla used to have the path to perl on the shebang line set to
            <filename>/usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl</filename> because when
            Terry first started writing the code for mozilla.org he needed a
            version of Perl and other tools that were completely under his
            control. This location was abandoned for the 2.18 release in favor
            of the more sensible <filename>/usr/bin/perl</filename>. If you
            installed an older verion of Bugzilla and created the symlink we
            suggested, you can remove it now (provided that you don't have
            anything else, such as Bonsai, using it and you don't intend to
            reinstall an older version of Bugzilla).
          </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
        <question id="faq-general-perlpath">
          <para>
            My perl is not located at <filename>/usr/bin/perl</filename>, is
            there an easy way to change it everywhere it needs to be changed?
          </para>
        </question>
        <answer>
          <para>
            Yes, the following bit of perl magic will change all the shebang
            lines. Be sure to change <filename>/usr/local/bin/perl</filename>
            to your path to the perl binary.
          </para>
          <programlisting>
perl -pi -e 's@#\!/usr/bin/perl@#\!/usr/local/bin/perl@' *cgi *pl
          </programlisting>
        </answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-cookie">
	  <para>
	    Is there an easy way to change the Bugzilla cookie name?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    At present, no.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
      
      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-mod-perl">
	  <para>
	    Does bugzilla run under <filename>mod_perl</filename>?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    At present, no. This is being worked on.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
      
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-phb">
      <title>Managerial Questions</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-client">
	  <para>
	    Is Bugzilla web-based, or do you have to have specific software or
	    a specific operating system on your machine?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    It is web and e-mail based.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-priorities">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla allow us to define our own priorities and levels? Do we
	    have complete freedom to change the labels of fields and format of them, and
	    the choice of acceptable values?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes. However, modifying some fields, notably those related to bug
	    progression states, also require adjusting the program logic to
	    compensate for the change.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    There is no GUI for adding fields to Bugzilla at this
	    time. You can follow development of this feature in 
	    <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=91037">bug 91037</ulink>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-reporting">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla provide any reporting features, metrics, graphs, etc? You
	    know, the type of stuff that management likes to see. :)
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes. Look at <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/report.cgi"/>
            for samples of what Bugzilla can do in reporting and graphing.
	  </para>
	  <para>
            If you can not get the reports you want from the included reporting
            scripts, it is possible to hook up a professional reporting package
            such as Crystal Reports using ODBC. If you choose to do this,
            beware that giving direct access to the database does contain some
            security implications. Even if you give read-only access to the
            bugs database it will bypass the secure bugs features of Bugzilla.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-email">
	  <para>
	    Is there email notification and if so, what do you see when you get an
	    email?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Email notification is user-configurable. By default, the bug id and 
      summary of the bug report accompany each email notification, along with
	    a list of the changes made.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-emailapp">
	  <para>
	    Do users have to have any particular
	    type of email application?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Bugzilla email is sent in plain text, the most compatible mail format
	    on the planet.
	    <note>
	      <para>
		If you decide to use the bugzilla_email integration features
		to allow Bugzilla to record responses to mail with the associated bug,
		you may need to caution your users to set their mailer to "respond
		to messages in the format in which they were sent". For security reasons
		Bugzilla ignores HTML tags in comments, and if a user sends HTML-based
		email into Bugzilla the resulting comment looks downright awful.
	      </para>
	    </note>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-data">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla allow data to be imported and exported? If I had outsiders
	    write up a bug report using a MS Word bug template, could that template be
	    imported into "matching" fields? If I wanted to take the results of a query
	    and export that data to MS Excel, could I do that?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
          <para>
            Bugzilla can output buglists as HTML (the default), CSV or RDF.
            The link for CSV can be found at the bottom of the buglist in HTML
            format. This CSV format can easily be imported into MS Excel or
            other spreadsheet applications.
          </para>
          <para>
            To use the RDF format of the buglist it is necessary to append a
            <computeroutput>&amp;ctype=rdf</computeroutput> to the URL. RDF
            is meant to be machine readable and thus it is assumed that the
            URL would be generated programatically so there is no user visible
            link to this format.
          </para>
          <para>
            Currently the only script included with Bugzilla that can import
            data is <filename>importxml.pl</filename> which is intended to be
            used for importing the data generated by the XML ctype of
            <filename>show_bug.cgi</filename> in association with bug moving.
            Any other use is left as an exercise for the user.
          </para>
          <para>
            There are also scripts included in the <filename>contrib/</filename>
            directory for using e-mail to import information into Bugzilla,
            but these scripts are not currently supported and included for
            educational purposes.
          </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-l10n">
	  <para>
	    Has anyone converted Bugzilla to another language to be used in other
	    countries? Is it localizable?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            Yes. For more information including available translated templates,
            see <ulink
            url="http://www.bugzilla.org/download.html#localizations"/>.
            The admin interfaces are still not included in these translated
            templates and is therefore still English only. Also, there may be
            issues with the charset not being declared. See <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=126266">bug 126226</ulink>
            for more information.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-reports">
	  <para>
	    Can a user create and save reports? Can they do this in Word format?
	    Excel format?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes. No. Yes (using the CSV format).
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-midair">
	  <para>
	     Does Bugzilla provide record locking when there is simultaneous access
	    to the same bug? Does the second person get a notice that the bug is in use
	    or how are they notified?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Bugzilla does not lock records. It provides mid-air collision detection,
	    and offers the offending user a choice of options to deal with the conflict.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-backup">
	  <para>
	    Are there any backup features provided?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    MySQL, the database back-end for Bugzilla, allows hot-backup of data.
	    You can find strategies for dealing with backup considerations
	    at <ulink url="http://www.mysql.com/doc/B/a/Backup.html"/>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-livebackup">
	  <para>
	    Can users be on the system while a backup is in progress?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes. However, commits to the database must wait
	    until the tables are unlocked. Bugzilla databases are typically
	    very small, and backups routinely take less than a minute.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
        <question id="faq-phb-cvsupdate">
          <para>
            How can I update the code and the database using CVS?
          </para>
        </question>
        <answer>
          <para>
            <orderedlist>
              <listitem>
                <para>
                  Make a backup of both your Bugzilla directory and the
                  database. For the Bugzilla directory this is as easy as
                  doing <command>cp -rp bugzilla bugzilla.bak</command>.
                  For the database, there's a number of options - see the
                  MySQL docs and pick the one that fits you best (the easiest
                  is to just make a physical copy of the database on the disk,
                  but you have to have the database server shut down to do
                  that without risking dataloss).
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  Make the Bugzilla directory your current directory.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  Use <command>cvs -q update -AdP</command> if you want to
                  update to the tip or
                  <command>cvs -q update -dP -rTAGNAME</command>
                  if you want a specific version (in that case you'll have to
                  replace TAGNAME with a CVS tag name such as BUGZILLA-2_16_5).
                </para>

                <para>
                  If you've made no local changes, this should be very clean.
                  If you have made local changes, then watch the cvs output
                  for C results. If you get any lines that start with a C
                  it means there  were conflicts between your local changes
                  and what's in CVS. You'll need to fix those manually before
                  continuing.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  After resolving any conflicts that the cvs update operation
                  generated, running <command>./checksetup.pl</command> will
                  take care of updating the database for you as well as any
                  other changes required for the new version to operate.
                </para>

                <warning>
                  <para>
                    Once you run checksetup.pl, the only way to go back is
                    to restore the database backups. You can't "downgrade"
                    the system cleanly under most circumstances.
                  </para>
                </warning>
              </listitem>
            </orderedlist>
          </para>
        </answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-maintenance">
	  <para>
	    What type of human resources are needed to be on staff to install and
	    maintain Bugzilla? Specifically, what type of skills does the person need to
	    have? I need to find out if we were to go with Bugzilla, what types of
	    individuals would we need to hire and how much would that cost vs buying an
	    "out-of-the-box" solution?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    If Bugzilla is set up correctly from the start, continuing maintenance
      needs are minimal and can be done easily using the web interface.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    Commercial Bug-tracking software typically costs somewhere upwards
	    of $20,000 or more for 5-10 floating licenses. Bugzilla consultation
	    is available from skilled members of the newsgroup. Simple questions
      are answered there and then.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-installtime">
	  <para>
	    What time frame are we looking at if we decide to hire people to install
	    and maintain the Bugzilla? Is this something that takes hours or weeks to
	    install and a couple of hours per week to maintain and customize or is this
	    a multi-week install process, plus a full time job for 1 person, 2 people,
	    etc?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    It all depends on your level of commitment. Someone with much Bugzilla
	    experience can get you up and running in less than a day, and
	    your Bugzilla install can run untended for years. If your
	    Bugzilla strategy is critical to your business workflow, hire somebody
	    with reasonable UNIX or Perl skills to handle your process management and
	    bug-tracking maintenance &amp; customization.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-cost">
	  <para>
	    Is there any licensing fee or other fees for using Bugzilla? Any
	    out-of-pocket cost other than the bodies needed as identified above?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    No. MySQL asks, if you find their product valuable, that you purchase
	    a support contract from them that suits your needs.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-security">
      <title>Bugzilla Security</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-security-mysql">
	  <para>
	    How do I completely disable MySQL security if it's giving me problems
	    (I've followed the instructions in the installation section of this guide)?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<!-- Should we really even answer this question? -->
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Run MySQL like this: "mysqld --skip-grant-tables". Please remember <emphasis>this
	    makes MySQL as secure as taping a $100 to the floor of a football stadium
	    bathroom for safekeeping.</emphasis> 
	  </para>
	  <warning>
	    <para>This can't be stressed enough. Doing this is a bad idea.
	    Please consult <xref linkend="security-mysql"/> of this guide and
            the MySQL documentation for better solutions.
	    </para>
	  </warning>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-security-knownproblems">
	  <para>
	    Are there any security problems with Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The Bugzilla code has undergone a reasonably complete security audit,
      and user-facing CGIs run under Perl's taint mode. However, 
	    it is recommended that you closely examine permissions on your Bugzilla
	    installation, and follow the recommended security guidelines found
	    in The Bugzilla Guide.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-email">
      <title>Bugzilla Email</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-nomail">
	  <para>
	    I have a user who doesn't want to receive any more email from Bugzilla.
	    How do I stop it entirely for this user?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The user should be able to set
	    this in user email preferences (uncheck all boxes) or you can add
            their email address to the <filename>data/nomail</filename> file.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-testing">
	  <para>
	    I'm evaluating/testing Bugzilla, and don't want it to send email to
	    anyone but me. How do I do it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Edit the "newchangedmail" Param. Replace "To:" with "X-Real-To:",
	    replace "Cc:" with "X-Real-CC:", and add a "To: &lt;youremailaddress&gt;".
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-whine">
	  <para>
	    I want whineatnews.pl to whine at something other than new and
	    reopened bugs. How do I do it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Try Klaas Freitag's excellent patch for "whineatassigned"
            functionality. You can find it in <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6679">bug 6679</ulink>. This
	    patch is against an older version of Bugzilla, so you must apply
	    the diffs manually.
            <!-- TODO: Mention Joel's "Fine Whine" patch. -->
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-mailif">
	  <para>
	    How do I set up the email interface to submit/change bugs via email?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    You can find an updated README.mailif file in the contrib/ directory
	    of your Bugzilla distribution that walks you through the setup.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-sendmailnow">
	  <para>
	    Email takes FOREVER to reach me from Bugzilla -- it's extremely slow.
	    What gives?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    If you are using <application>sendmail</application>, try enabling
            <option>sendmailnow</option> in <filename>editparams.cgi</filename>.
            <!-- TODO provide more info about this, possibly a link to admin -->
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you are using an alternate <glossterm linkend="gloss-mta">MTA</glossterm>,
            make sure the options given in <filename>Bugzilla/BugMail.pm</filename>
            and any other place where <application>sendmail</application> is called from
	    are correct for your MTA. You should also ensure that the
            <option>sendmailnow</option> param is set to <literal>on</literal>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-nonreceived">
	  <para>
	     How come email from Bugzilla changes never reaches me?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Double-check that you have not turned off email in your user preferences.
	    Confirm that Bugzilla is able to send email by visiting the "Log In"
	    link of your Bugzilla installation and clicking the "Email me a password"
	    button after entering your email address.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you never receive mail from Bugzilla, chances are you do not have
	    sendmail in "/usr/lib/sendmail". Ensure sendmail lives in, or is symlinked
	    to, "/usr/lib/sendmail".
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-db">
      <title>Bugzilla Database</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-oracle">
	  <para>
	    I've heard Bugzilla can be used with Oracle?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            Red Hat's old version of Bugzilla (based on 2.8) worked on Oracle,
            but it is now so old as to be obsolete, and is totally unsupported.
            Red Hat's newer version (based on 2.17.1 and soon to be merged into
            the main distribution) runs on PostgreSQL. At this time we know of
            no recent ports of Bugzilla to Oracle; to be honest, Bugzilla
            doesn't need what Oracle offers.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-corrupted">
	  <para>
	    I think my database might be corrupted, or contain invalid entries. What
	    do I do?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Run the <quote>sanity check</quote> utility
	    (<filename>sanitycheck.cgi</filename>) from your web browser to see! 
      If it finishes without errors, you're
	    <emphasis>probably</emphasis> OK. If it doesn't come back
	    OK (i.e. any red letters), there are certain things
	    Bugzilla can recover from and certain things it can't. If
	    it can't auto-recover, I hope you're familiar with
	    mysqladmin commands or have installed another way to
	    manage your database. Sanity Check, although it is a good
	    basic check on your database integrity, by no means is a
	    substitute for competent database administration and
	    avoiding deletion of data. It is not exhaustive, and was
	    created to do a basic check for the most common problems
	    in Bugzilla databases.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-manualedit">
	  <para>
	    I want to manually edit some entries in my database. How?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	     There is no facility in Bugzilla itself to do this. It's also generally
	    not a smart thing to do if you don't know exactly what you're doing.
	    However, if you understand SQL you can use the <command>mysql</command>
            command line utility to manually insert, delete and modify table
            information. There are also more intuitive GUI clients available.
            Personal favorites of the Bugzilla team are <ulink
            url="http://www.phpmyadmin.net/">phpMyAdmin</ulink> and <ulink
            url="http://www.mysql.com/downloads/gui-mycc.html">MySQL Control
            Center</ulink>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-permissions">
	  <para>
	    I think I've set up MySQL permissions correctly, but Bugzilla still can't
	    connect.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Try running MySQL from its binary: "mysqld --skip-grant-tables". This
	    will allow you to completely rule out grant tables as the cause of your
            frustration. If this Bugzilla is able to connect at this point then
            you need to check that you have granted proper permission to the user
            password combo defined in <filename>localconfig</filename>.
          </para>
          <warning>
            <para>
              Running MySQL with this command line option is very insecure and
              should only be done when not connected to the external network
              as a troubleshooting step.
            </para>
          </warning>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-synchronize">
	  <para>
	    How do I synchronize bug information among multiple different Bugzilla
	    databases?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Well, you can synchronize or you can move bugs. Synchronization will
	    only work one way -- you can create a read-only copy of the database
	    at one site, and have it regularly updated at intervals from the main
	    database.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    MySQL has some synchronization features builtin to the latest releases.
	    It would be great if someone looked into the possibilities there
	    and provided a report to the newsgroup on how to effectively
	    synchronize two Bugzilla installations.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you simply need to transfer bugs from one Bugzilla to another,
	    checkout the "move.pl" script in the Bugzilla distribution.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-nt">
      <title>Bugzilla and Win32</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-easiest">
	  <para>
	    What is the easiest way to run Bugzilla on Win32 (Win98+/NT/2K)?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Remove Windows. Install Linux. Install Bugzilla.
	    The boss will never know the difference.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-bundle">
	  <para>
	    Is there a "Bundle::Bugzilla" equivalent for Win32?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Not currently. Bundle::Bugzilla enormously simplifies Bugzilla
	    installation on UNIX systems. If someone can volunteer to
	    create a suitable PPM bundle for Win32, it would be appreciated.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-mappings">
	  <para>
	    CGI's are failing with a "something.cgi is not a valid Windows NT
	    application" error. Why?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Depending on what Web server you are using, you will have to configure
	    the Web server to treat *.cgi files as CGI scripts. In IIS, you do this by
	    adding *.cgi to the App Mappings with the &lt;path&gt;\perl.exe %s %s as the
	    executable.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    Microsoft has some advice on this matter, as well:
	    <blockquote>
	      <para>
		"Set application mappings. In the ISM, map the extension for the script
		file(s) to the executable for the script interpreter. For example, you might
		map the extension .py to Python.exe, the executable for the Python script
		interpreter. Note For the ActiveState Perl script interpreter, the extension
		.pl is associated with PerlIS.dll by default. If you want to change the
		association of .pl to perl.exe, you need to change the application mapping.
		In the mapping, you must add two percent (%) characters to the end of the
		pathname for perl.exe, as shown in this example: c:\perl\bin\perl.exe %s %s"
	      </para>
	    </blockquote>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-dbi">
	  <para>
	    I'm having trouble with the perl modules for NT not being able to talk to
	    to the database.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Your modules may be outdated or inaccurate. Try:
	    <orderedlist>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Hitting http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Download ActivePerl
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Go to your prompt
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Type 'ppm'
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  <prompt>PPM></prompt> <command>install DBI DBD-mysql GD</command>
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	    </orderedlist>
	    I reckon TimeDate and Data::Dumper come with the activeperl. You can check
	    the ActiveState site for packages for installation through PPM.
	    <ulink url="http://www.activestate.com/Packages/"/>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-use">
      <title>Bugzilla Usage</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-changeaddress">
	  <para>
	    How do I change my user name (email address) in Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    New in 2.16 - go to the Account section of the Preferences. You will
      be emailed at both addresses for confirmation.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-query">
	  <para>
	    The query page is very confusing. Isn't there a simpler way to query?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The interface was simplified by a UI designer for 2.16. Further
      suggestions for improvement are welcome, but we won't sacrifice power for
      simplicity.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-accept">
	  <para>
	    I'm confused by the behavior of the "accept" button in the Show Bug form.
	    Why doesn't it assign the bug to me when I accept it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The current behavior is acceptable to bugzilla.mozilla.org and most
	    users. You have your choice of patches to change this behavior, however.
	    <simplelist>
	      <member><ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/showattachment.cgi?attach_id=8029">
		Add a "and accept bug" radio button</ulink></member>
	      <member><ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/showattachment.cgi?attach_id=8153">
		"Accept" button automatically assigns to you</ulink></member>
	    </simplelist>
	    Note that these patches are somewhat dated. You will need to apply
      them manually.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-attachment">
	  <para>
	    I can't upload anything into the database via the "Create Attachment"
	    link. What am I doing wrong?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The most likely cause is a very old browser or a browser that is
	    incompatible with file upload via POST. Download the latest Netscape,
	    Microsoft, or Mozilla browser to handle uploads correctly.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-keyword">
	  <para>
	    How do I change a keyword in Bugzilla, once some bugs are using it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    In the Bugzilla administrator UI, edit the keyword and it will let you
	    replace the old keyword name with a new one. This will cause a problem
	    with the keyword cache. Run sanitycheck.cgi to fix it.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
    <question id="faq-use-close">
      <para>
        Why can't I close bugs from the "Change Several Bugs at Once" page?
      </para>
    </question>
    <answer>
      <para>
        The logic flow currently used is RESOLVED, then VERIFIED, then CLOSED.
        You <emphasis>can</emphasis> mass-CLOSE bugs from the change several
        bugs at once page. <emphasis>but</emphasis>, every bug listed on the
        page has to be in VERIFIED state before the control to do it will show
        up on the form. You can also mass-VERIFY, but every bug listed has to be
        RESOLVED in order for the control to show up on the form. The logic
        behind this is that if you pick one of the bugs that's not VERIFIED and
        try to CLOSE it, the bug change will fail miserably (thus killing any
        changes in the list after it while doing the bulk change) so it doesn't
        even give you the choice.
      </para>
    </answer>
      </qandaentry>


    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-hacking">
      <title>Bugzilla Hacking</title>

      <qandaentry>
        <question id="faq-hacking-templatestyle">
	  <para>
	    What kind of style should I use for templatization?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Gerv and Myk suggest a 2-space indent, with embedded code sections on
	    their own line, in line with outer tags. Like this:</para>
	    <programlisting><![CDATA[
<fred>
[% IF foo %]
  <bar>
  [% FOREACH x = barney %]
    <tr>
      <td>
        [% x %]
      </td>
    <tr>
  [% END %]
[% END %]
</fred>
]]></programlisting>

	<para> Myk also recommends you turn on PRE_CHOMP in the template
	initialization to prevent bloating of HTML with unnecessary whitespace.
	</para>

	<para>Please note that many have differing opinions on this subject,
	and the existing templates in Bugzilla espouse both this and a 4-space
	style. Either is acceptable; the above is preferred.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-hacking-bugzillabugs">
	  <para>
	    What bugs are in Bugzilla right now?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Try <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&amp;bug_status=ASSIGNED&amp;bug_status=REOPENED&amp;product=Bugzilla">
	    this link</ulink> to view current bugs or requests for
	    enhancement for Bugzilla.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    You can view bugs marked for &bz-nextver; release
	    <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?product=Bugzilla&amp;target_milestone=Bugzilla+&bz-nextver;">here</ulink>.
	    This list includes bugs for the &bz-nextver; release that have already
	    been fixed and checked into CVS. Please consult the
	    <ulink url="http://www.bugzilla.org/">
	      Bugzilla Project Page</ulink> for details on how to
	    check current sources out of CVS so you can have these
	    bug fixes early!
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-hacking-priority">
	  <para>
	    How can I change the default priority to a null value?  For instance, have the default
	    priority be "---" instead of "P2"?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    This is well-documented in <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49862">
	    bug 49862</ulink>. Ultimately, it's as easy as adding the "---" priority field to your
            localconfig file in the appropriate area, re-running checksetup.pl, and then changing the
            default priority in your browser using "editparams.cgi". 
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-hacking-patches">
	  <para>
	    What's the best way to submit patches?  What guidelines should I follow?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <blockquote>
	    <orderedlist>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Enter a bug into bugzilla.mozilla.org for the <quote><ulink
                  url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Bugzilla">Bugzilla</ulink></quote>
                  product.
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Upload your patch as a unified diff (having used "diff -u" against
		  the <emphasis>current sources</emphasis> checked out of CVS),
		  or new source file by clicking
		  "Create a new attachment" link on the bug page you've just created, and
		  include any descriptions of database changes you may make, into the bug
		  ID you submitted in step #1. Be sure and click the "Patch" checkbox
		  to indicate the text you are sending is a patch!
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Announce your patch and the associated URL
		  (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=XXXXXX) for discussion in
		  the newsgroup (netscape.public.mozilla.webtools). You'll get a really
		  good, fairly immediate reaction to the implications of your patch,
		  which will also give us an idea how well-received the change would
		  be.
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  If it passes muster with minimal modification, the person to whom
		  the bug is assigned in Bugzilla is responsible for seeing the patch
		  is checked into CVS.
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Bask in the glory of the fact that you helped write the most successful
		  open-source bug-tracking software on the planet :)
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	    </orderedlist>
	  </blockquote>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>


    </qandadiv>

  </qandaset>

</appendix>


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