Installing Apps
Plesk Control Panel

Installing Apps

Depending on your needs and expertise level, you can choose one of the following ways to install an app:

• Quick. This is the easiest way to install an app. If you choose this way, Plesk will perform a typical installation of the latest app version of the selected app, Plesk will use the default values for the app settings. For example, your Plesk access credentials will be used as the app administrator's credentials. Some apps require you to fill in certain settings even if you select the quick installation.
• Custom. This way allows you to customize app installation settings such as administrator credentials and location, installation path, and other. Particularly, you should use custom installation if you want to switch off automatic upgrades of the app.

  Note: Many applications are unable to function if the safe_mode PHP directive is in effect. To check if safe_mode is switched on for your account, go to Websites & Domains, click PHP settings, and search for safe_mode in the Common settings section. If safe_mode is on, switch it off. If you are unable to make changes to the PHP settings, contact your provider.

To install an app:

1. Go to Applications and find the app you need.
2. Click either the Install button for the quick installation or the Install (Custom) for the custom installation.
3. (Optional) Turn off automatic upgrades of the app.

   If you do not want the app to be updated automatically, deselect the option Automatically update this app when updates are available on the installation settings page.

4. (Optional) Select the app version.

   Sometimes, you may need to install a specific version of an app. For example, if you plan to use app extensions that are incompatible with the latest app version. In this case, click the app name > Install version to select the version you need. Then install the app.

   

Managing Apps

Generally, all apps allow the configuration of their main parameters directly in the Customer Panel. You can access app settings by selecting the app from the list in Applications > Manage My Applications. After you select an app, you can configure the following:

• General settings.
  These are basic settings (for example, the app administrator password) that can be changed with Change Settings.
• Service settings.
  If an app provides a part of its functionality to Plesk by means of services, you have the option to configure them. For example, the SugarCRM app allows the creation of user accounts and provides this ability as a service in the Customer Panel. After you select this service in Provided services, you can view all app user accounts and create new ones.
  For some apps, you can associate the app accounts with additional user accounts. Learn more about account association in the section Linking App and Additional User Accounts.

Note: If WordPress Toolkit is installed on the server, users are advised to use it for centralized management of WordPress installations on the server. Learn more in the section WordPress Toolkit.

Granting Additional Users Access to Apps

By default, after you install an app, only users with the Owner role can access it. To allow other subscription users to access the app:

• Grant permission to access the app to a certain user group in Users > User Roles.
• Be sure to add users of your choice to the group.

  

Once you allow users to access the app, a link to the app appears on their Websites & Domains page under the name of the corresponding website. Note that you can control app access only for user groups, so you should either modify the permissions of an existing group or create a new one, and then assign users to it.

By default, the app administrator is a subscription user with the Owner role. As well as accessing the apps from the Websites & Domains page, this user can also install and manage apps within a subscription. For these purposes, their interface has the additional Applications page. You can provide the same administrative privileges to other subscription users by granting the Install and manage applications permission to their role in Users > User Roles. This gives users full administrative access to all apps within a subscription. As well as the administrator, the users with this permission can install, configure, update, and remove apps through the Applications section in their Customer Panel.

Linking Apps and Additional User Accounts

Some apps let you create and manage user accounts without logging in to the app. If an app provides such an account service, you can link users of a Plesk subscription with accounts in the app. To perform such an association:

1. Organize the users into a certain group (Users > User Roles).
2. Grant one of these group permissions:
   • Public access.
     If granted, all users in the group will have access to the app through the link on the Websites & Domains page.
   • Personal access.
     If granted, the app will automatically create accounts for all users in the group. After that, the users' Websites & Domains page will contain an additional link that allows logging in to a personal account in the app. Note that if you deny the Personal access permission, the app will automatically remove all accounts associated with this group.

Updating Apps

Automatic Updates

By default, Plesk installs the latest available app versions and updates apps immediately once the newer versions are available. However, updating an app can significantly change its functionality: For example, plug-ins or extensions developed for a particular app version may be incompatible with newer versions. Therefore, you might want to turn off automatic updates for a certain app.

To turn automatic updates on or off:

1. Go to Applications > Manage My Applications and click the app's name.
2. Click Change Settings.
3. Select or deselect the Automatically update this app when updates are available option .

Manual Updates

If you prohibit automatic updates for an app, Plesk will inform you about the availability of newer versions by adding the link Update available under the app name in Applications > Manage My Applications. Click this link to review the changes available in the new version and decide whether to update the app or continue with the current version.