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phpMyAdmin 2.8.2.4 Documentation

  * SourceForge phpMyAdmin project page   [ http://www.phpmyadmin.net/ ]
  * Local documents:
      + Version history: ChangeLog
      + General notes: README
      + License: LICENSE
  * Documentation version: $Id: Documentation.html,v 2.205.2.21.2.5 2006/08/22
    17:00:29 lem9 Exp $


Requirements

  * PHP
      + You need PHP 4.1.0 or newer, with session support (*)
      + You need GD2 support in PHP to display inline thumbnails of JPEGs
        ("image/jpeg: inline") with their original aspect ratio
      + You need PHP 4.3.0 or newer to use the "text/plain: external"
        MIME-based transformation
  * MySQL 3.23.32 or newer (details);
  * Not really a requirement but a strong suggestion: if you are using the
    "cookie" authentication method, having the mcrypt PHP extension on your web
    server accelerates not only the login phase but every other action that you
    do in phpMyAdmin.
  * Web browser with cookies enabled.


Introduction

phpMyAdmin can manage a whole MySQL server (needs a super-user) as well as a
single database. To accomplish the latter you'll need a properly set up MySQL
user who can read/write only the desired database. It's up to you to look up
the appropriate part in the MySQL manual.
Currently phpMyAdmin can:

  * easily browse through databases and tables
  * create, copy, rename, alter and drop databases
  * create, copy, rename, alter and drop tables
  * do table maintenance
  * add, edit and drop fields
  * execute any SQL-statement, even multiple queries
  * create, alter and drop indexes
  * load text files into tables
  * create (*) and read dumps of tables or databases
  * export (*) data to SQL, CSV, XML, Word, Excel, PDF and Latex formats
  * administer multiple servers
  * manage MySQL users and privileges
  * check server settings and runtime information with configuration hints
  * check referential integrity in MyISAM tables
  * using Query-by-example (QBE), create complex queries automatically
    connecting required tables
  * create PDF graphics of your Database layout
  * search globally in a database or a subset of it
  * transform stored data into any format using a set of predefined functions,
    like displaying BLOB-data as image or download-link
  * support InnoDB tables and foreign keys (see FAQ 3.6)
  * support mysqli, the improved MySQL extension (see FAQ 1.17)
  * communicate in 50 different languages

A word about users:

Many people have difficulty understanding the concept of user management with
regards to phpMyAdmin. When a user logs in to phpMyAdmin, that username and
password are passed directly to MySQL. phpMyAdmin does no account management on
its own (other than allowing one to manipulate the MySQL user account
information); all users must be valid MySQL users.

^1) phpMyAdmin can compress (Zip, GZip -RFC 1952- or Bzip2 formats) dumps and
CSV exports if you use PHP with Zlib support (--with-zlib) and/or Bzip2 support
(--with-bz2). Proper support may also need changes in php.ini.


Installation

NOTE: phpMyAdmin does not apply any special security methods to the MySQL
database server. It is still the system administrator's job to grant
permissions on the MySQL databases properly. phpMyAdmin's "Privileges" page can
be used for this.

Warning for Mac users:if you are on a MacOS version before OS X, StuffIt
unstuffs with Mac formats.
So you'll have to resave as in BBEdit to Unix style ALL phpMyAdmin scripts
before uploading them to your server, as PHP seems not to like Mac-style end of
lines character ("\r").

Quick Install

 1. Untar or unzip the distribution (be sure to unzip the subdirectories): tar
    -xzvf phpMyAdmin_x.x.x.tar.gz in your webserver's document root. If you
    don't have direct access to your document root, put the files in a
    directory on your local machine, and, after step 3, transfer the directory
    on your web server using, for example, ftp.
 2. Ensure that all the scripts have the appropriate owner (if PHP is running
    in safe mode, having some scripts with an owner different from the owner of
    other scripts will be a problem). See FAQ 4.2 and FAQ 1.26 for suggestions.
 3. Now you must configure your installation. There are two methods that can be
    used. Traditionally, users have hand-edited a copy of config.inc.php, but
    now a wizard-style setup script is provided for those who prefer a
    graphical installation. Creating a config.inc.php is still a quick way to
    get started and needed for some advanced features.
      + To manually create the file, simply use your text editor to create the
        file config.inc.php in the main (top-level) phpMyAdmin directory (the
        one that contains index.php). phpMyAdmin first loads libraries/
        config.default.php and then overrides those values with anything found
        in config.inc.php. If the default value is okay for a particular
        setting, there is no need to include it in config.inc.php. You'll need
        a few directives to get going, a simple configuration may look like
        this:

        <?php
        $cfg['blowfish_secret'] = 'ba17c1ec07d65003';  // use here a value of your choice

        $i=0;
        $i++;
        $cfg['Servers'][$i]['auth_type']     = 'cookie';
        ?>

        Or, if you prefer to not be prompted every time you log in:

        <?php

        $i=0;
        $i++;
        $cfg['Servers'][$i]['user']          = 'root';
        $cfg['Servers'][$i]['password']      = 'cbb74bc'; // use here your password
        ?>

        For a full explanation of possible configuration values, see the
        Configuration Section of this document.
      + Instead of manually editing config.inc.php, you can use the Setup
        Script. First you must manually create a folder config in the
        phpMyAdmin directory. This is a security measure. On a Linux/Unix
        system you can use the following commands:

        cd phpMyAdmin
        mkdir config                        # create directory for saving
        chmod o+rw config                   # give it world writable permissions

        And to edit an existing configuration, copy it over first:

        cp config.inc.php config/           # copy current configuration for editing
        chmod o+w config/config.inc.php     # give it world writable permissions

        On other platforms, simply create the folder and ensure that your web
        server has read and write access to it. FAQ 1.26 can help with this.

        Next, open scripts/setup.php in your browser. Note that changes are not
        saved to disk until explicitly choose Save from the Configuration area
        of the screen. Normally the script saves the new config.inc.php to the
        config/ directory, but if the webserver does not have the proper
        permissions you may see the error "Cannot load or save configuration."
        Ensure that the config/ directory exists and has the proper permissions
        - or use the Download link to save the config file locally and upload
        (via FTP or some similar means) to the proper location.

        Once the file has been saved, it must be moved out of the config/
        directory and the permissions must be reset, again as a security
        measure:

        mv config/config.inc.php .         # move file to current directory
        chmod o-rw config.inc.php          # remove world read and write permissions

        Now the file is ready to be used. You can choose to review or edit the
        file with your favorite editor, if you prefer to set some advanced
        options which the setup script does not provide.
 4. If you are using the auth_type configuration directive, it is suggested
    that you protect the phpMyAdmin installation directory, for example with
    HTTP?AUTH in a .htaccess file. See the multi?user sub?section of this FAQ
    for additional information, especially FAQ 4.4.
 5. Open the main phpMyAdmin directory in your browser. phpMyAdmin should now
    display a welcome screen and your databases, or a login dialog if using
    HTTP or cookie authentication mode.
 6. You should deny access to the libraries subfolder in your webserver
    configuration. For Apache you can use supplied .htaccess file in that
    folder, for other webservers, you should configure this yourself. Such
    configuration prevents from possible path exposure and cross side scripting
    vulnerabilities that might happen to be found in that code.

Linked-tables infrastructure

For a whole set of new features (bookmarks, comments, SQL-history,
PDF-generation, field contents transformation, etc.) you need to create a set
of special tables. Those tables can be located in your own database, or in a
central database for a multi-user installation (this database would then be
accessed by the controluser, so no other user should have rights to it).

Please look at your scripts/ directory, where you should find a file called
create_tables.sql. (If you are using a Windows server, pay special attention to
FAQ 1.23).

If your MySQL server's version is 4.1.2 or later, please use
create_tables_mysql_4_1_2+.sql instead, for a new installation.

If you already had this infrastructure and upgraded to MySQL 4.1.2 or later,
please use upgrade_tables_mysql_4_1_2+.sql.

You can use your phpMyAdmin to create the tables for you. Please be aware that
you may need special (administrator) privileges to create the database and
tables, and that the script may need some tuning, depending on the database
name.

After having imported the create_tables.sql file, you should specify the table
names in your config.inc.php file. The directives used for that can be found in
the Configuration section. You will also need to have a controluser with the
proper rights to those tables (see section Using authentication modes below).

Upgrading from an older version

Simply copy ./config.inc.php from your previous installation into the newly
unpacked one. Configuration files from very old versions (2.3.0 or older) may
require some tweaking as some options have been changed or removed.

You should not copy libraries/config.default.php over config.inc.php because
the default configuration file is version-specific.

If you have upgraded your MySQL server from a version older than 4.1.2 to
version 4.1.2 or newer and if you use the pmadb/linked table infrastructure,
you should run the SQL script found in scripts/upgrade_tables_mysql_4_1_2+.sql.

Using authentication modes

  * HTTP and cookie authentication modes are recommended in a multi-user
    environment where you want to give users access to their own database and
    don't want them to play around with others.
    Nevertheless be aware that MS Internet Explorer seems to be really buggy
    about cookies, at least till version 6. And PHP 4.1.1 is also a bit buggy
    in this area!
    Even in a single-user environment, you might prefer to use HTTP or cookie
    mode so that your user/password pair are not in clear in the configuration
    file.

  * HTTP and cookie authentication modes are more secure: the MySQL login
    information does not need to be set in the phpMyAdmin configuration file
    (except possibly for the controluser).
    However, keep in mind that the password travels in plain text, unless you
    are using the HTTPS protocol.
    In cookie mode, the password is stored, encrypted with the blowfish
    algorithm, in a temporary cookie.

  * Note: starting with phpMyAdmin 2.6.1, this section is only applicable if
    your MySQL server is older than 4.1.2, or is running with
    --skip-show-database.

    For 'HTTP' and 'cookie' modes, phpMyAdmin needs a controluser that has only
    the SELECT privilege on the mysql.user (all columns except "Password"),
    mysql.db (all columns), mysql.host (all columns) and mysql.tables_priv (all
    columns except "Grantor" & "Timestamp") tables.
    You must specify the details for the controluser in the config.inc.php file
    under the $cfg['Servers'][$i]['controluser']& $cfg['Servers'][$i]
    ['controlpass'] settings.
    The following example assumes you want to use pma as the controluser and
    pmapass as the controlpass, but this is only an example: use something else
    in your file!
    Of course you have to replace localhost by the webserver's host if it's not
    the same as the MySQL server's one.


    GRANT USAGE ON mysql.* TO 'pma'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'pmapass';
    GRANT SELECT (
        Host, User, Select_priv, Insert_priv, Update_priv, Delete_priv,
        Create_priv, Drop_priv, Reload_priv, Shutdown_priv, Process_priv,
        File_priv, Grant_priv, References_priv, Index_priv, Alter_priv,
        Show_db_priv, Super_priv, Create_tmp_table_priv, Lock_tables_priv,
        Execute_priv, Repl_slave_priv, Repl_client_priv
        ) ON mysql.user TO 'pma'@'localhost';
    GRANT SELECT ON mysql.db TO 'pma'@'localhost';
    GRANT SELECT ON mysql.host TO 'pma'@'localhost';
    GRANT SELECT (Host, Db, User, Table_name, Table_priv, Column_priv)
        ON mysql.tables_priv TO 'pma'@'localhost';


    If you are using an old MySQL version (below 4.0.2), please replace the
    first GRANT SELECT query by this one:


    GRANT SELECT (
        Host, User, Select_priv, Insert_priv, Update_priv, Delete_priv,
        Create_priv, Drop_priv, Reload_priv, Shutdown_priv, Process_priv,
        File_priv, Grant_priv, References_priv, Index_priv, Alter_priv
        ) ON mysql.user TO 'pma'@'localhost';


    ... and if you want to use the many new relation and bookmark features:


    GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON <pma_db>.* TO 'pma'@'localhost';


    (this of course requires that your linked-tables infrastructure be set up).
    Of course, the above queries only work if your MySQL version supports the
    GRANT command. This is the case since 3.22.11.
  * Then each of the true users should be granted a set of privileges on a set
    of particular databases. Normally you shouldn't give global privileges to
    an ordinary user, unless you understand the impact of those privileges (for
    example, you are creating a superuser).
    For example, to grant the user real_user with all privileges on the
    database user_base:
       GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON user_base.* TO 'real_user'@localhost IDENTIFIED
    BY 'real_password';
    What the user may now do is controlled entirely by the MySQL user
    management system.
    With HTTP or cookie authentication mode, you don't need to fill the user/
    password fields inside the $cfg['Servers'] array.

'http' authentication mode

  * Was called 'advanced' in versions before 2.2.3.
  * Introduced in 1.3.0, it uses Basic HTTP authentication method and allows
    you to login as any valid MySQL user.
  * Is supported with most PHP configurations. For IIS (ISAPI) support using
    CGI PHP see FAQ 1.32, for using with Apache CGI see FAQ 1.35.
  * See also FAQ 4.4 about not using the .htaccess mechanism along with 'http'
    authentication mode.

'cookie' authentication mode

  * You can use this method as a replacement for the HTTP authentication (for
    example, if you're running IIS).
  * Obviously, the user must enable cookies in the browser.
  * With this mode, the user can truly logout of phpMyAdmin and login back with
    the same username.
  * If you want to login to arbitrary server see $cfg['AllowArbitraryServer']
    directive.
  * As mentioned in the requirements section, having the mcrypt extension will
    speed up access considerably, but is not required.

'config' authentication mode

  * This mode is the less secure one because it requires you to fill the $cfg
    ['Servers'][$i]['user'] and $cfg['Servers'][$i]['password'] fields (and as
    a result, anyone who can read your config.inc.php can discover your
    username and password).
    But you don't need to setup a "controluser" here: using the $cfg['Servers']
    [$i]['only_db'] might be enough.
  * In the ISP FAQ section, there is an entry explaining how to protect your
    configuration file.
  * For additional security in this mode, you may wish to consider the Host
    authentication $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['order'] and $cfg
    ['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['rules'] configuration directives.


Configuration

Warning for Mac users: PHP does not seem to like Mac end of lines character ("\
r"). So ensure you choose the option that allows to use the *nix end of line
character ("\n") in your text editor before saving a script you have modified.

Configuration note: Almost all configurable data is placed in config.inc.php.
If this file does not exist, please refer to the Quick install section to
create one. This file only needs to contain the parameters you want to change
from their corresponding default value in libraries/config.default.php.

The parameters which relate to design (like colors) are placed in themes/
themename/layout.inc.php. You might also want to create config.footer.inc.php
and config.header.inc.php files to add your site specific code to be included
on start and end of each page.

$cfg[PmaAbsoluteUri] string
    Sets here the complete URL (with full path) to your phpMyAdmin
    installation's directory. E.g. http://www.your_web.net/
    path_to_your_phpMyAdmin_directory/. Note also that the URL on some web
    servers are case?sensitive. Don?t forget the trailing slash at the end.

    Starting with version 2.3.0, it is advisable to try leaving this blank. In
    most cases phpMyAdmin automatically detects the proper setting. Users of
    port forwarding will need to set PmaAbsoluteUri (more info). A good test is
    to browse a table, edit a row and save it. There should be an error message
    if phpMyAdmin is having trouble auto?detecting the correct value. If you
    get an error that this must be set or if the autodetect code fails to
    detect your path, please post a bug report on our bug tracker so we can
    improve the code.
$cfg[PmaNoRelation_DisableWarning] boolean
    Starting with version 2.3.0 phpMyAdmin offers a lot of features to work
    with master / foreign - tables (see $cfg['Servers'][$i]['pmadb']).
    If you tried to set this up and it does not work for you, have a look on
    the "Structure" page of one database where you would like to use it. You
    will find a link that will analyze why those features have been disabled.
    If you do not want to use those features set this variable to TRUE to stop
    this message from appearing.
$cfg[blowfish_secret] string
    Starting with version 2.5.2, the 'cookie' auth_type uses blowfish algorithm
    to encrypt the password.
    If you are using the 'cookie' auth_type, enter here a random passphrase of
    your choice. It will be used internally by the blowfish algorithm: you
    won't be prompted for this passphrase. The maximum number of characters for
    this parameter seems to be 46.
$cfg[Servers] array
    Since version 1.4.2, phpMyAdmin supports the administration of multiple
    MySQL servers. Therefore, a $cfg['Servers']-array has been added which
    contains the login information for the different servers. The first $cfg
    ['Servers'][$i]['host'] contains the hostname of the first server, the
    second $cfg['Servers'][$i]['host'] the hostname of the second server, etc.
    In libraries/config.default.php, there is only one section for server
    definition, however you can put as many as you need in config.inc.php, copy
    that block or needed parts (you don't have to define all settings, just
    those you need to change).
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['host'] string
    The hostname or IP address of your $i-th MySQL-server. E.g. localhost.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['port'] string
    The port-number of your $i-th MySQL-server. Default is 3306 (leave blank).
    If you use "localhost" as the hostname, MySQL ignores this port number and
    connects with the socket, so if you want to connect to a port different
    from the default port, use "127.0.0.1" or the real hostname in $cfg
    ['Servers'][$i]['host'].
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['socket'] string
    The path to the socket to use. Leave blank for default.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['connect_type'] string
    What type connection to use with the MySQL server. Your options are
    'socket' & 'tcp'. It defaults to 'tcp' as that is nearly guaranteed to be
    available on all MySQL servers, while sockets are not supported on some
    platforms.

    To use the socket mode, your MySQL server must be on the same machine as
    the Web server.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['extension'] string
    What php MySQL extension to use for the connection. Valid options are:

    mysql :  The classic MySQL extension. This is the recommended and default
    method at this time.

    mysqli :  The improved MySQL extension. This extension became available
    with php 5.0.0 and is the recommended way to connect to a server running
    MySQL 4.1.x.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['compress'] boolean
    Whether to use a compressed protocol for the MySQL server connection or not
    (experimental).
    This feature requires PHP >= 4.3.0.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['controluser'] string
    $cfg['Servers'][$i]['controlpass'] string
    This special account is used for 2 distinct purposes: to make possible all
    relational features (see $cfg['Servers'][$i]['pmadb']) and, for a MySQL
    server older than 4.1.2 or running with --skip-show-database, to enable a
    multi-user installation (http or cookie authentication mode).

    When using HTTP or cookie authentication modes (or 'config' authentication
    mode since phpMyAdmin 2.2.1), you need to supply the details of a MySQL
    account that has SELECT privilege on the mysql.user (all columns except
    "Password"), mysql.db (all columns) & mysql.tables_priv (all columns except
    "Grantor" & "Timestamp") tables. This account is used to check what
    databases the user will see at login.
    Please see the install section on "Using authentication modes" for more
    information.

    In phpMyAdmin versions before 2.2.5, those were called "stduser/stdpass".
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['auth_type'] string ['http'|'cookie'|'config']
    Whether config or cookie or http authentication should be used for this
    server.
      + 'config' authentication ($auth_type = 'config') is the plain old way:
        username and password are stored in config.inc.php.
      + 'cookie' authentication mode ($auth_type = 'cookie') as introduced in
        2.2.3 allows you to log in as any valid MySQL user with the help of
        cookies. Username and password are stored in cookies during the session
        and password is deleted when it ends. This can also allow you to login
        in arbitrary server if $cfg['AllowArbitraryServer'] enabled.
      + 'http' authentication (was called 'advanced' in older versions)
        ($auth_type = 'http') as introduced in 1.3.0 allows you to log in as
        any valid MySQL user via HTTP-Auth.

    Please see the install section on "Using authentication modes" for more
    information.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['user'] string
    $cfg['Servers'][$i]['password'] string
    When using auth_type = 'config', this is the user/password-pair which
    phpMyAdmin will use to connect to the MySQL server. This user/password pair
    is not needed when HTTP or cookie authentication is used and should be
    empty.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['only_db'] string or array
    If set to a (an array of) database name(s), only this (these) database(s)
    will be shown to the user. Since phpMyAdmin 2.2.1, this/these database(s)
    name(s) may contain MySQL wildcards characters ("_" and "%"): if you want
    to use literal instances of these characters, escape them (I.E. use 'my\
    _db' and not 'my_db').
    This setting is an efficient way to lower the server load since the latter
    does not need to send MySQL requests to build the available database list.
    But it does not replace the privileges rules of the MySQL database server.
    If set, it just means only these databases will be displayed but not that
    all other databases can't be used.

    An example of using more that one database: $cfg['Servers'][$i]['only_db']
    = array('db1', 'db2');

    As of phpMyAdmin 2.5.5 the order inside the array is used for sorting the
    databases in the left frame, so that you can individually arrange your
    databases.
    If you want to have certain databases at the top, but don't care about the
    others, you do not need to specify all other databases. Use: $cfg
    ['Servers'][$i]['only_db'] = array('db3', 'db4', '*'); instead to tell
    phpMyAdmin that it should display db3 and db4 on top, and the rest in
    alphabetic order.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['hide_db'] string
    Regular expression for hiding some databases. This only hides them from
    listing, but user is still able to access them.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['verbose'] string
    Only useful when using phpMyAdmin with multiple server entries. If set,
    this string will be displayed instead of the hostname in the pull-down menu
    on the main page. This can be useful if you want to show only certain
    databases on your system, for example.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['pmadb'] string
    The name of the database containing the linked-tables infrastructure.

    See the Linked-tables infrastructure section in this document to see the
    benefits of this infrastructure, and for a quick way of creating this
    database and the needed tables.

    If you are the only user of this phpMyAdmin installation, you can use your
    current database to store those special tables; in this case, just put your
    current database name in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['pmadb']. For a multi-user
    installation, set this parameter to the name of your central database
    containing the linked-tables infrastructure.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['bookmarktable'] string
    Since release 2.2.0 phpMyAdmin allows to bookmark queries. This can be
    useful for queries you often run.

    To allow the usage of this functionality:
      + set up pmadb and the linked-tables infrastructure
      + enter the table name in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['bookmarktable']
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['relation'] string
    Since release 2.2.4 you can describe, in a special 'relation' table, which
    field is a key in another table (a foreign key). phpMyAdmin currently uses
    this to
      + make clickable, when you browse the master table, the data values that
        point to the foreign table;
      + display in an optional tool-tip the "display field" when browsing the
        master table, if you move the mouse to a column containing a foreign
        key (use also the 'table_info' table);
        (see FAQ 6.7)
      + in edit/insert mode, display a drop-down list of possible foreign keys
        (key value and "display field" are shown)
        (see FAQ 6.21)
      + display links on the table properties page, to check referential
        integrity (display missing foreign keys) for each described key;
      + in query-by-example, create automatic joins (see FAQ 6.6)
      + enable you to get a PDF schema of your database (also uses the
        table_coords table).
    The keys can be numeric or character.

    To allow the usage of this functionality:
      + set up pmadb and the linked-tables infrastructure
      + put the relation table name in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['relation']
      + now as normal user open phpMyAdmin and for each one of your tables
        where you want to use this feature, click "Structure/Relation view/"
        and choose foreign fields.
    Please note that in the current version, master_db must be the same as
    foreign_db. Those fields have been put in future development of the
    cross-db relations.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['table_info'] string
    Since release 2.3.0 you can describe, in a special 'table_info' table,
    which field is to be displayed as a tool-tip when moving the cursor over
    the corresponding key.
    This configuration variable will hold the name of this special table. To
    allow the usage of this functionality:
      + set up pmadb and the linked-tables infrastructure
      + put the table name in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['table_info']
      + then for each table where you want to use this feature, click
        "Structure/Relation view/Choose field to display" to choose the field.
    Usage tip: Display field.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['table_coords'] string
    $cfg['Servers'][$i]['pdf_pages'] string
    Since release 2.3.0 you can have phpMyAdmin create PDF pages showing the
    relations between your tables. To do this it needs two tables "pdf_pages"
    (storing information about the available PDF pages) and "table_coords"
    (storing coordinates where each table will be placed on a PDF schema
    output).

    You must be using the "relation" feature.

    To allow the usage of this functionality:
      + set up pmadb and the linked-tables infrastructure
      + put the correct table names in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['table_coords'] and
        $cfg['Servers'][$i]['pdf_pages']
    Usage tips: PDF output.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['column_info'] string
    Since release 2.3.0 you can store comments to describe each column for each
    table. These will then be shown on the "printview".

    Starting with release 2.5.0, comments are consequently used on the table
    property pages and table browse view, showing up as tool-tips above the
    column name (properties page) or embedded within the header of table in
    browse view. They can also be shown in a table dump. Please see the
    relevant configuration directives later on.

    Also new in release 2.5.0 is a MIME-transformation system which is also
    based on the following table structure. See Transformations for further
    information. To use the MIME-transformation system, your column_info table
    has to have the three new fields 'mimetype', 'transformation',
    'transformation_options'.

    To allow the usage of this functionality:
      + set up pmadb and the linked-tables infrastructure
      + put the table name in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['column_info']
      + to update your PRE-2.5.0 Column_comments Table use this:
             ALTER TABLE `pma_column_comments`
               ADD `mimetype` VARCHAR( 255 ) NOT NULL ,
               ADD `transformation` VARCHAR( 255 ) NOT NULL ,
               ADD `transformation_options` VARCHAR( 255 ) NOT NULL ;
        and remember that the Variable in config.inc.php has been renamed from
        $cfg['Servers'][$i]['column_comments'] to $cfg['Servers'][$i]
        ['column_info']
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['history'] string
    Since release 2.5.0 you can store your SQL history, which means all queries
    you entered manually into the phpMyAdmin interface. If you don't want to
    use a table- based history, you can use the JavaScript-based history. Using
    that, all your history items are deleted when closing the window.

    Using $cfg[QueryHistoryMax] you can specify an amount of history items you
    want to have on hold. On every login, this list gets cut to the maximum
    amount.

    The query history is only available if JavaScript is enabled in your
    browser.

    To allow the usage of this functionality:
      + set up pmadb and the linked-tables infrastructure
      + put the table name in $cfg['Servers'][$i]['history']
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['verbose_check'] boolean
    Because release 2.5.0 introduced the new MIME-transformation support, the
    column_info table got enhanced with three new fields. If the above variable
    is set to TRUE (default) phpMyAdmin will check if you have the latest table
    structure available. If not, it will emit a warning to the superuser.

    You can disable this checking behavior by setting the variable to false,
    which should offer a performance increase.

    Recommended to set to FALSE, when you are sure, your table structure is up
    to date.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowRoot'] boolean
    Whether to allow root access, This is just simplification of rules below.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['order'] string
    If your rule order is empty, then IP authentication is disabled.

    If your rule order is set to 'deny,allow' then the system applies all deny
    rules followed by allow rules. Access is allowed by default. Any client
    which does not match a Deny command or does match an Allow command will be
    allowed access to the server.

    If your rule order is set to 'allow,deny' then the system applies all allow
    rules followed by deny rules. Access is denied by default. Any client which
    does not match an Allow directive or does match a Deny directive will be
    denied access to the server.

    If your rule order is set to 'explicit', the authentication is performed in
    a similar fashion to rule order 'deny,allow', with the added restriction
    that your host/username combination must be listed in the allow rules, and
    not listed in the deny rules. This is the most secure means of using Allow/
    Deny rules, and was available in Apache by specifying allow and deny rules
    without setting any order.
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['rules'] array of strings
    The general format for the rules is as such:
          <'allow' | 'deny'> <username> [from] <ipmask>

    If you wish to match all users, it is possible to use a '%' as a wildcard
    in the username field.
    There are a few shortcuts you can use in the ipmask field as well (please
    note that those containing SERVER_ADDRESS might not be available on all
    webservers):

         'all' -> 0.0.0.0/0
         'localhost' -> 127.0.0.1/8
         'localnetA' -> SERVER_ADDRESS/8
         'localnetB' -> SERVER_ADDRESS/16
         'localnetC' -> SERVER_ADDRESS/24

    Having an empty rule list is equivalent to either using 'allow % from all'
    if your rule order is set to 'deny,allow' or 'deny % from all' if your rule
    order is set to 'allow,deny' or 'explicit'.

    For the IP matching system, the following work:
    xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (an exact IP address)
    xxx.xxx.xxx.[yyy-zzz] (an IP address range)
    xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/nn (CIDR, Classless Inter-Domain Routing type IP addresses)
    But the following does not work:
    xxx.xxx.xxx.xx[yyy-zzz] (partial IP address range)
$cfg[ServerDefault] integer
    If you have more than one server configured, you can set $cfg
    ['ServerDefault'] to any one of them to autoconnect to that server when
    phpMyAdmin is started, or set it to 0 to be given a list of servers without
    logging in.
    If you have only one server configured, $cfg['ServerDefault'] MUST be set
    to that server.
$cfg[OBGzip] string/boolean
    Defines whether to use GZip output buffering for increased speed in HTTP
    transfers.
    Set to true/false for enabling/disabling. When set to 'auto' (string),
    phpMyAdmin tries to enable output buffering and will automatically disable
    it, if your browser has some problems with buffering. IE6 with a certain
    patch is known to cause data corruption having enabled buffering.
$cfg[PersistentConnections] boolean
    Whether persistent connections should be used or not (mysql_connect or
    mysql_pconnect).
$cfg[ForceSSL] boolean
    Whether to force using https while accessing phpMyAdmin.
$cfg[ExecTimeLimit] integer [number of seconds]
    Set the number of seconds a script is allowed to run. If seconds is set to
    zero, no time limit is imposed.
    This setting is used while importing/exporting dump files but has no effect
    when PHP is running in safe mode.
$cfg[MemoryLimit] integer [number of bytes]
    Set the number of bytes a script is allowed to allocate. If number set to
    zero, no limit is imposed.
    This setting is used while importing/exporting dump files but has no effect
    when PHP is running in safe mode.
    You can also use any string as in php.ini, eg. '16M'.
$cfg[SkipLockedTables] boolean
    Mark used tables and make it possible to show databases with locked tables
    (since 3.23.30).
$cfg[ShowSQL] boolean
    Defines whether SQL-queries generated by phpMyAdmin should be displayed or
    not.
$cfg[AllowUserDropDatabase] boolean
    Defines whether normal users (non-administrator) are allowed to delete
    their own database or not. If set as FALSE, the link "Drop Database" will
    not be shown, and even a "DROP DATABASE mydatabase" will be rejected. Quite
    practical for ISP's with many customers.
$cfg[Confirm] boolean
    Whether a warning ("Are your really sure...") should be displayed when
    you're about to lose data.
$cfg[LoginCookieRecall] boolean
    Define whether the previous login should be recalled or not in cookie
    authentication mode.
$cfg[UseDbSearch] boolean
    Define whether the "search string inside database" is enabled or not.
$cfg[IgnoreMultiSubmitErrors] boolean
    Define whether phpMyAdmin will continue executing a multi-query statement
    if one of the queries fails. Default is to abort execution.
$cfg[VerboseMultiSubmit] boolean
    Define whether phpMyAdmin will output the results of each query of a
    multi-query statement embedded into the SQL output as inline comments.
    Defaults to TRUE.
$cfg[AllowArbitraryServer] boolean
    If enabled allows you to login to arbitrary server using cookie auth.

    NOTE: Please use this carefully, as this may allow to access MySQL servers
    behind firewall where your http server is placed.

$cfg[LeftFrameLight] boolean
    Defines whether to use select-based menu and display only the current
    tables in the left frame (smaller page). Only in Non-Lightmode you can use
    the feature to display nested folders using $cfg['LeftFrameTableSeparator']
$cfg[LeftFrameDBTree] boolean
    In light mode, defines whether to display the names of databases (in the
    selector) using a tree, see also $cfg['LeftFrameDBSeparator'].
$cfg[LeftFrameDBSeparator] string
    The string used to separate the parts of the database name when showing
    them in a tree.
$cfg[LeftFrameTableSeparator] string
    Defines a string to be used to nest table spaces. Defaults to '__'. This
    means if you have tables like 'first__second__third' this will be shown as
    a three-level hierarchy like: first > second > third. If set to FALSE or
    empty, the feature is disabled. NOTE: You shall not use this Separator in a
    table name at the beginning or end of a table name, or multiple times after
    another without any other characters in between.
$cfg[LeftFrameTableLevel] string
    Defines how many sublevels should be displayed when splitting up tables by
    the above Separator.
$cfg[ShowTooltip] boolean
    Defines whether to display table comment as tool-tip in left frame or not.
$cfg[ShowTooltipAliasDB] boolean
    If tool-tips are enabled and a DB comment is set, this will flip the
    comment and the real name. That means, if you have a table called
    'user0001' and add the comment 'MyName' on it, you will see the name
    'MyName' used consequently in the left frame and the tool-tip shows the
    real name of the DB.
$cfg[ShowTooltipAliasTB] boolean/string
    Same as $cfg['ShowTooltipAliasDB'], except this works for table names. When
    setting this to 'nested', the Alias of the Tablename is only used to split/
    nest the tables according to the $cfg['LeftFrameTableSeparator'] directive.
    So only the folder is called like the Alias, the tablename itself stays the
    real tablename.

$cfg[LeftDisplayLogo] boolean
    Defines whether to display the phpMyAdmin logo at the top of the left frame
    or not. Defaults to TRUE.
$cfg[LeftDisplayServers] boolean
    Defines whether to display a server choice at the top of the left frame or
    not. Defaults to FALSE.
$cfg[DisplayServersList] boolean
    Defines whether to display this server choice as links instead of in a
    drop-down. Defaults to FALSE (drop-down).
$cfg[ShowStats] boolean
    Defines whether to display space usage and statistics about databases and
    tables or not.
    Note that statistics requires at least MySQL 3.23.3 and that, at this date,
    MySQL doesn't return such information for Berkeley DB tables.
$cfg[ShowPhpInfo] boolean
    $cfg[ShowChgPassword] boolean
    Defines whether to display the "PHP information" and "Change password "
    links or not for simple users at the starting main (right) frame. This
    setting does not check MySQL commands entered directly.

    Please note that to block the usage of phpinfo() in scripts, you have to
    put this in your php.ini:
        disable_functions = phpinfo()

    Also note that enabling the "Change password " link has no effect with
    "config" authentication mode: because of the hard coded password value in
    the configuration file, end users can't be allowed to change their
    passwords.
$cfg[SuggestDBName] boolean
    Defines whether to suggest a database name on the "Create Database" form or
    to keep the textfield empty.
$cfg[ShowBlob] boolean
    Defines whether BLOB fields are shown when browsing a table's content or
    not.
$cfg[NavigationBarIconic] string
    Defines whether navigation bar buttons and the right panel top menu contain
    text or symbols only. A value of TRUE displays icons, FALSE displays text
    and 'both' displays both icons and text.
$cfg[ShowAll] boolean
    Defines whether an user should be displayed a "show all (records)" button
    in browse mode or not.
$cfg[MaxRows] integer
    Number of rows displayed when browsing a result set. If the result set
    contains more rows, Previous/Next links will be shown.
$cfg[Order] string [DESC|ASC|SMART]
    Defines whether fields are displayed in ascending (ASC) order, in
    descending (DESC) order or in a "smart" (SMART) order - I.E. descending
    order for fields of type TIME, DATE, DATETIME & TIMESTAMP, ascending order
    else- by default.
$cfg[ProtectBinary] boolean or string
    Defines whether BLOB or BINARY fields are protected from editing when
    browsing a table's content or not. Valid values are:
      + FALSE to allow editing of all fields;
      + 'blob' to allow editing of all fields except BLOBS;
      + 'all' to disallow editing of all BINARY or BLOB fields.
$cfg[ShowFunctionFields] boolean
    Defines whether MySQL functions fields should be displayed or not in edit/
    insert mode.
$cfg[CharEditing] string
    Defines which type of editing controls should be used for CHAR and VARCHAR
    fields. Possible values are:
      + input - this allows to limit size of text to size of field in MySQL,
        but has problems with newlines in fields
      + textarea - no problems with newlines in fields, but also no length
        limitations
    Default is old behavior so input.
$cfg[InsertRows] integer
    Defines the maximum number of concurrent entries for the Insert page.
$cfg[ForeignKeyMaxLimit] integer
    If there are fewer items than this in the set of foreign keys, then a
    drop-down box of foreign keys is presented, in the style described by the
    $cfg[ForeignKeyDropdownOrder] setting.
$cfg[ForeignKeyDropdownOrder] array
    For the foreign key drop-down fields, there are several methods of display,
    offering both the key and value data. The contents of the array should be
    one or both of the following strings: 'content-id', 'id-content'.
$cfg[ZipDump] boolean
    $cfg[GZipDump] boolean
    $cfg[BZipDump] boolean
    Defines whether to allow the use of zip/GZip/BZip2 compression when
    creating a dump file or not.
$cfg[CompressOnFly] boolean
    Defines whether to allow on the fly compression for GZip/BZip2 compressed
    exports. This doesn't affect smaller dumps and allows to create larger
    dumps, that won't fit otherwise in memory due to php memory limit. Produced
    files contain more GZip/BZip2 headers, but all normal programs handle this
    correctly.
$cfg[LightTabs] string
    If set to True, use less graphically intense tabs on the top of the
    mainframe.
$cfg[PropertiesIconic] string
    If set to TRUE, will display icons instead of text for db and table
    properties links (like 'Browse', 'Select', 'Insert', ...).
    Can be set to 'both' if you want icons AND text.
    When set to FALSE, will only show text.
$cfg[PropertiesNumColumns] integer
    How many columns will be utilized to display the tables on the database
    property view? Default is 1 column. When setting this to a value larger
    than 1, the type of the database will be omitted for more display space.
$cfg[DefaultTabServer] string
    Defines the tab displayed by default on server view. Possible values:
    "main.php" (recommended for multi-user setups), "server_databases.php",
    "server_status.php", "server_variables.php", "server_privileges.php" or
    "server_processlist.php".
$cfg[DefaultTabDatabase] string
    Defines the tab displayed by default on database view. Possible values:
    "db_details_structure.php", "db_details.php" or "db_search.php".
$cfg[DefaultTabTable] string
    Defines the tab displayed by default on table view. Possible values:
    "tbl_properties_structure.php", "tbl_properties.php", "tbl_select.php",
    "tbl_change.php" or "sql.php".
$cfg[MySQLManualBase] string
    If set to an URL which points to the MySQL documentation (type depends on
    $cfg['MySQLManualType']), appropriate help links are generated.
    See MySQL Documentation page for more information about MySQL manuals and
    their types.
$cfg[MySQLManualType] string
    Type of MySQL documentation:
      + viewable - "viewable online", current one used on MySQL website
      + searchable - "Searchable, with user comments"
      + chapters - "HTML, one page per chapter"
      + big - "HTML, all on one page"
      + none - do not show documentation links
$cfg[DefaultLang] string
    Defines the default language to use, if not browser-defined or
    user-defined.
    See the select_lang.lib.php script to know the valid values for this
    setting.
$cfg[DefaultConnectionCollation] string
    Defines the default connection collation to use, if not user-defined.
    See the MySQL documentation for list of possible values.
$cfg[Lang] string
    Force: always use this language (must be defined in the select_lang.lib.php
    script).
$cfg[FilterLanguages] string
    Limit list of available languages to those matching the given regular
    expression. For example if you want only Czech and English, you should set
    filter to '^(cs|en)'.
$cfg[DefaultCharset] string
    Default character set to use for recoding of MySQL queries. This must be
    enabled and it's described by $cfg['AllowAnywhereRecoding'] option.
    You can give here any character set which is in $cfg['AvailableCharsets']
    array and this is just default choice, user can select any of them.
$cfg[AllowAnywhereRecoding] boolean
    Allow character set recoding of MySQL queries. You need recode or iconv
    support (compiled in or module) in PHP to allow MySQL queries recoding and
    used language file must have it enabled (by default only these which are in
    Unicode, just to avoid losing some characters).

    Setting this to TRUE also activates a pull-down menu in the Export page, to
    choose the character set when exporting a file.
$cfg[RecodingEngine] string
    You can select here which functions will be used for character set
    conversion. Possible values are:
      + auto - automatically use available one (first is tested iconv, then
        recode)
      + iconv - use iconv or libiconv functions
      + recode - use recode_string function
    Default is auto.
$cfg[IconvExtraParams] string
    Specify some parameters for iconv used in charset conversion. See iconv
    documentation for details. By default //TRANSLIT is used, so that invalid
    characters will be transliterated.
$cfg[AvailableCharsets] array
    Available character sets for MySQL conversion. You can add your own (any of
    supported by recode/iconv) or remove these which you don't use. Character
    sets will be shown in same order as here listed, so if you frequently use
    some of these move them to the top.
$cfg[GD2Available] string
    Specifies whether GD >= 2 is available. If yes it can be used for MIME
    transformations.
    Possible values are:
      + auto - automatically detect, this is a bit expensive operation for php
        < 4.3.0 so it is preferred to change this according to your server real
        possibilities
      + yes - GD 2 functions can be used
      + no - GD 2 function cannot be used
    Default is auto.
$cfg[LeftWidth] integer
    Left frame width in pixel. See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[LeftBgColor] string [HTML color]
    $cfg[RightBgColor] string [HTML color]
    The background colors (HTML) used for both the frames. See themes/themename
    /layout.inc.php.
$cfg[RightBgImage] string
    The URI of the background image used for the right frame. It must be an
    absolute URI. See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[LeftPointerColor] string [HTML color]
    The color (HTML) used for the pointer in the left frame (does not work with
    Netscape 4). See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[LeftPointerEnable] boolean
    A value of TRUE activates the left pointer (when LeftFrameLight is FALSE).
$cfg[Border] integer
    The size of a table's border. See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[ThBgcolor] string [HTML color]
    The color (HTML) used for table headers. See themes/themename/
    layout.inc.php.
$cfg[BgcolorOne] string [HTML color]
    The color (HTML) #1 for table rows. See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[BgcolorTwo] string [HTML color]
    The color (HTML) #2 for table rows. See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[BrowsePointerColor] string [HTML color]
    $cfg[BrowseMarkerColor] string [HTML color]
    The colors (HTML) uses for the pointer and the marker in browse mode (does
    not work with Netscape 4).
    The former feature highlights the row over which your mouse is passing and
    the latter lets you visually mark/unmark rows by clicking on them.
    See themes/themename/layout.inc.php.
$cfg[BrowsePointerEnable] boolean
    Whether to activate the browse pointer or not.
$cfg[BrowseMarkerEnable] boolean
    Whether to activate the browse marker or not.
$cfg[TextareaCols] integer
    $cfg[TextareaRows] integer
    $cfg[CharTextareaCols] integer
    $cfg[CharTextareaRows] integer
    Number of columns and rows for the textareas.
    This value will be emphasized (*2) for SQL query textareas and (*1.25) for
    SQL textareas inside the query window.
    The Char* values are used for CHAR and VARCHAR editing (if configured via
    $cfg['CharEditing']).
$cfg[LongtextDoubleTextarea] boolean
    Defines whether textarea for LONGTEXT fields should have double size.
$cfg[TextareaAutoSelect] boolean
    Defines if the whole textarea of the query box will be selected on click.
$cfg[CtrlArrowsMoving] boolean
    Enable Ctrl+Arrows (Option+Arrows in Safari) moving between fields when
    editing.
$cfg[LimitChars] integer
    Maximal number of Chars showed in any non-numeric field on browse view. Can
    be turned off by a toggle button on the browse page.
$cfg[ModifyDeleteAtLeft] boolean $cfg[ModifyDeleteAtRight] boolean
    Defines the place where modify and delete links would be put when tables
    contents are displayed (you may have them displayed both at the left and at
    the right). "Left" and "right" are parsed as "top" and "bottom" with
    vertical display mode.
$cfg[DefaultDisplay] string $cfg[HeaderFlipType] string
    There are 3 display modes: horizontal, horizontalflipped and vertical.
    Define which one is displayed by default. The first mode displays each row
    on a horizontal line, the second rotates the headers by 90 degrees, so you
    can use descriptive headers even though fields only contain small values
    and still print them out. The vertical mode sorts each row on a vertical
    lineup.

    The HeaderFlipType can be set to 'css' or 'faked'. When using 'css' the
    rotation of the header for horizontalflipped is done via CSS. If set to
    'faked' PHP does the transformation for you, but of course this does not
    look as good as CSS.
$cfg[DefaultPropDisplay] string
    When editing/creating new columns in a table all fields normally get lined
    up one field a line. (default: 'horizontal'). If you set this to 'vertical'
    you can have each field lined up vertically beneath each other. You can
    save up a lot of place on the horizontal direction and no longer have to
    scroll.
$cfg[ShowBrowseComments] boolean
    $cfg[ShowPropertyComments] boolean
    By setting the corresponding variable to TRUE you can enable the display of
    column comments in Browse or Property display. In browse mode, the comments
    are show inside the header. In property mode, comments are displayed using
    a CSS-formatted dashed-line below the name of the field. The comment is
    shown as a tool-tip for that field.
$cfg[UploadDir] string
    The name of the directory where SQL files have been uploaded by other means
    than phpMyAdmin (for example, ftp). Those files are available under a
    drop-down box when you click the database name, then the SQL tab.

    If you want different directory for each user, %u will be replaced with
    username.

    Please note that the file names must have the suffix ".sql" (or ".sql.bz2"
    or ".sql.gz" if support for compressed formats is enabled).

    This feature is useful when your file is too big to be uploaded via HTTP,
    or when file uploads are disabled in PHP.

    Please note that if PHP is running in safe mode, this directory must be
    owned by the same user as the owner of the phpMyAdmin scripts.

    See also FAQ 1.16 for alternatives.
$cfg[docSQLDir] string
    The name of the directory where docSQL files can be uploaded for import
    into phpMyAdmin.

    Please note that if PHP is running in safe mode, this directory must be
    owned by the same user as the owner of the phpMyAdmin scripts.
$cfg[SaveDir] string
    The name of the directory where dumps can be saved.

    If you want different directory for each user, %u will be replaced with
    username.

    Please note that the directory has to be writable for user running
    webserver.

    Please note that if PHP is running in safe mode, this directory must be
    owned by the same user as the owner of the phpMyAdmin scripts.
$cfg[TempDir] string
    The name of the directory, where temporary files can be stored.

    This is needed for native MS Excel export, see FAQ 6.23
$cfg[Export] array
    In this array are defined default parameters for export, names of items are
    similar to texts seen on export page, so you can easily identify what they
    mean.
$cfg[Import] array
    In this array are defined default parameters for import, names of items are
    similar to texts seen on import page, so you can easily identify what they
    mean.
$cfg[RepeatCells] integer
    Repeat the headers every X cells, or 0 to deactivate.
$cfg[EditInWindow] boolean
    $cfg[QueryWindowWidth] integer
    $cfg[QueryWindowHeight] integer
    $cfg[QueryHistoryDB] boolean
    $cfg[QueryWindowDefTab] string
    $cfg[QueryHistoryMax] integer
    All those variables affect the query window feature. A SQL link or icon is
    always displayed on the left panel. If JavaScript is enabled in your
    browser, a click on this opens a distinct query window, which is a direct
    interface to enter SQL queries. Otherwise, the right panel changes to
    display a query box.

    The size of this query window can be customized with $cfg
    ['QueryWindowWidth'] and $cfg['QueryWindowWidth'] - both integers for the
    size in pixels. Note that normally, those parameters will be modified in
    layout.inc.php for the theme you are using.

    If $cfg['EditInWindow'] is set to true, a click on [Edit] from the results
    page (in the "Showing Rows" section) opens the query window and puts the
    current query inside it. If set to false, clicking on the link puts the SQL
    query in the right panel's query box.

    The usage of the JavaScript query window is recommended if you have a
    JavaScript enabled browser. Basic functions are used to exchange quite a
    few variables, so most 4th generation browsers should be capable to use
    that feature. It currently is only tested with Internet Explorer 6 and
    Mozilla 1.x.

    If $cfg['QueryHistoryDB'] is set to TRUE, all your Queries are logged to a
    table, which has to be created by you (see $cfg['Servers'][$i]['history']).
    If set to FALSE, all your queries will be appended to the form, but only as
    long as your window is opened they remain saved.

    When using the JavaScript based query window, it will always get updated
    when you click on a new table/db to browse and will focus if you click on
    "Edit SQL" after using a query. You can suppress updating the query window
    by checking the box "Do not overwrite this query from outside the window"
    below the query textarea. Then you can browse tables/databases in the
    background without losing the contents of the textarea, so this is
    especially useful when composing a query with tables you first have to look
    in. The checkbox will get automatically checked whenever you change the
    contents of the textarea. Please uncheck the button whenever you definitely
    want the query window to get updated even though you have made alterations.

    If $cfg['QueryHistoryDB'] is set to TRUE you can specify the amount of
    saved history items using $cfg['QueryHistoryMax'].

    The query window also has a custom tabbed look to group the features. Using
    the variable $cfg['QueryWindowDefTab'] you can specify the default tab to
    be used when opening the query window. It can be set to either 'sql',
    'files', 'history' or 'full'.
$cfg[BrowseMIME] boolean
    Enable MIME-transformations.
$cfg[MaxExactCount] integer
      + For InnoDB tables, determines for how large tables phpMyAdmin should
        get the exact row count using SELECT COUNT. If the approximate row
        count as returned by SHOW TABLE STATUS is smaller than this value,
        SELECT COUNT will be used, otherwise the approximate count will be
        used.
      + For VIEWs, since obtaining the exact count could have an impact on
        performance, this value is the maximum to be displayed.
$cfg[WYSIWYG-PDF] boolean
    Utilizes a WYSIWYG editing control to easily place elements of a PDF page.
    By clicking on the button 'toggle scratchboard' on the page where you edit
    x/y coordinates of those elements you can activate a scratchboard where all
    your elements are placed. By clicking on an element, you can move them
    around in the pre-defined area and the x/y coordinates will get updated
    dynamically. Likewise, when entering a new position directly into the input
    field, the new position in the scratchboard changes after your cursor
    leaves the input field.
    You have to click on the 'OK'-button below the tables to save the new
    positions. If you want to place a new element, first add it to the table of
    elements and then you can drag the new element around.
    By changing the paper size and the orientation you can change the size of
    the scratchboard as well. You can do so by just changing the dropdown field
    below, and the scratchboard will resize automatically, without interfering
    with the current placement of the elements.
    If ever an element gets out of range you can either enlarge the paper size
    or click on the 'reset' button to place all elements below each other.
    NOTE: You have to use a recent browser like IE6 or Mozilla to get this
    control to work. The basic Drag&Drop script functionality was kindly
    borrowed from www.youngpup.net and is underlying so specific license.
$cfg[NaturalOrder] boolean
    Sorts database and table names according to natural order (for example, t1,
    t2, t10). Currently implemented in the left panel (Light mode) and in
    Database view, for the table list.
$cfg[ShowHttpHostTitle] boolean
    Shows the HTTP host name in window's title bar.
$cfg[SetHttpHostTitle] string
    If $cfg['ShowHttpHostTitle'] is TRUE, it shows the real HTTP host name,
    unless an alternate name is set here.
$cfg[ErrorIconic] boolean
    Uses icons for warnings, errors and informations.
$cfg[MainPageIconic] boolean
    Uses icons on main page in lists and menu tabs.
$cfg[ReplaceHelpImg] boolean
    Shows a help button instead of the "Documentation" message.
$cfg[ThemePath] string
    If theme manager is active, use this as the path of the subdirectory
    containing all the themes.
$cfg[ThemeManager] boolean
    Enables user-selectable themes. See FAQ 2.7.
$cfg[ThemeDefault] string
    The default theme (a subdirectory under cfg['ThemePath']).
$cfg[ThemePerServer] boolean
    Whether to allow different theme for each server.
$cfg[DefaultQueryTable] string
    $cfg[DefaultQueryDatabase] string
    Default queries that will be displayed in query boxes when user didn't
    specify any. Use %d for database name, %t for table name and %f for a comma
    separated list of field names. Note that %t and %f are only applicable to
    $cfg['DefaultQueryTable'].
$cfg[SQP]['fmtType'] string [html|none]
    The main use of the new SQL Parser is to pretty-print SQL queries. By
    default we use HTML to format the query, but you can disable this by
    setting this variable to 'none'.
$cfg[SQP]['fmtInd'] float
    $cfg[SQP]['fmtIndUnit'] string [em|px|pt|ex]
    For the pretty-printing of SQL queries, under some cases the part of a
    query inside a bracket is indented. By changing $cfg['SQP']['fmtInd'] you
    can change the amount of this indent.
    Related in purpose is $cfg['SQP']['fmtIndUnit'] which specifies the units
    of the indent amount that you specified. This is used via stylesheets.
$cfg[SQP]['fmtColor'] array of string tuples
    This array is used to define the colours for each type of element of the
    pretty-printed SQL queries. The tuple format is
    class => [HTML colour code | empty string]
    If you specify an empty string for the color of a class, it is ignored in
    creating the stylesheet. You should not alter the class names, only the
    colour strings.
    Class name key:
      + comment Applies to all comment sub-classes
      + comment_mysql Comments as "#...\n"
      + comment_ansi Comments as "-- ...\n"
      + comment_c Comments as "/*...*/"
      + digit Applies to all digit sub-classes
      + digit_hex Hexadecimal numbers
      + digit_integer Integer numbers
      + digit_float Floating point numbers
      + punct Applies to all punctuation sub-classes
      + punct_bracket_open_round Opening brackets"("
      + punct_bracket_close_round Closing brackets ")"
      + punct_listsep List item Separator ","
      + punct_qualifier Table/Column Qualifier "."
      + punct_queryend End of query marker ";"
      + alpha Applies to all alphabetic classes
      + alpha_columnType Identifiers matching a column type
      + alpha_columnAttrib Identifiers matching a database/table/column
        attribute
      + alpha_functionName Identifiers matching a MySQL function name
      + alpha_reservedWord Identifiers matching any other reserved word
      + alpha_variable Identifiers matching a SQL variable "@foo"
      + alpha_identifier All other identifiers
      + quote Applies to all quotation mark classes
      + quote_double Double quotes "
      + quote_single Single quotes '
      + quote_backtick Backtick quotes `
$cfg[SQLValidator]['use'] boolean
    phpMyAdmin now supports use of the Mimer SQL Validator service, as
    originally published on Slashdot.
    For help in setting up your system to use the service, see the FAQ #6.14.
$cfg[SQLValidator]['username'] string
    $cfg[SQLValidator]['password'] string
    The SOAP service allows you to login with anonymous and any password, so we
    use those by default. Instead, if you have an account with them, you can
    put your login details here, and it will be used in place of the anonymous
    login.
$cfg[DBG]['enable'] boolean
    DEVELOPERS ONLY!
    Enable the DBG extension for debugging phpMyAdmin. Required for profiling
    the code.
    For help in setting up your system to this, see the Developers section.
$cfg[DBG]['profile']['enable'] boolean
    DEVELOPERS ONLY!
    Enable profiling support for phpMyAdmin. This will append a chunk of data
    to the end of every page displayed in the main window with profiling
    statistics for that page.
    You may need to increase the maximum execution time for this to complete
    successfully.
$cfg[DBG]['profile']['threshold'] float (units in milliseconds)
    DEVELOPERS ONLY!
    When profiling data is displayed, this variable controls the threshold of
    display for any profiling data, based on the average time each time has
    taken. If it is over the threshold it is displayed, otherwise it is not
    displayed. This takes a value in milliseconds. In most cases you don't need
    to edit this.
$cfg[ColumnTypes] array
    All possible types of a MySQL column. In most cases you don't need to edit
    this.
$cfg[AttributeTypes] array
    Possible attributes for fields. In most cases you don't need to edit this.
$cfg[Functions] array
    A list of functions MySQL supports. In most cases you don't need to edit
    this.
$cfg[RestrictColumnTypes] array
    Mapping of column types to meta types used for preferring displayed
    functions. In most cases you don't need to edit this.
$cfg[RestrictFunctions] array
    Functions preferred for column meta types as defined in $cfg
    ['RestrictColumnTypes']. In most cases you don't need to edit this.
$cfg[DefaultFunctions] array
    Functions selected by default when inserting/changing row, Functions are
    defined for meta types from $cfg['RestrictColumnTypes'] and for
    first_timestamp, which is used for first timestamp column in table.
$cfg[NumOperators] array
    Operators available for search operations on numeric and date fields.
$cfg[TextOperators] array
    Operators available for search operations on character fields. Note that we
    put LIKE by default instead of LIKE %...%, to avoid unintended performance
    problems in case of huge tables.
$cfg[EnumOperators] array
    Operators available for search operations on enum fields.
$cfg[NullOperators] array
    Additional operators available for search operations when the field can be
    null.


Transformations

Introduction  -  Usage  -  File structure


[1. Introduction]

To enable transformations, you have to setup the column_info table and the
proper directives. Please see the Configuration section on how to do so.


You can apply different transformations to the contents of each field. The
transformation will take the content of each field and transform it with
certain rules defined in the selected transformation.


Say you have a field 'filename' which contains a filename. Normally you would
see in phpMyAdmin only this filename. Using transformations you can transform
that filename into a HTML link, so you can click inside of the phpMyAdmin
structure on the field's link and will see the file displayed in a new browser
window. Using transformation options you can also specify strings to append/
prepend to a string or the format you want the output stored in.


For a general overview of all available transformations and their options, you
can consult your <www.your-host.com>/<your-install-dir>/
transformation_overview.php installation.


For a tutorial on how to effectively use transformations, see our Link section
on the official phpMyAdmin homepage.


[2. Usage]

Go to your tbl_properties_structure.php page (i.e. reached through clicking on
the 'Structure' link for a table). There click on "Change" (or change icon) and
there you will see three new fields at the end of the line. They are called
'MIME-type', 'Browser transformation' and 'Transformation options'.

  * The field 'MIME-type' is a dropdown field. You have the options to leave
    that field empty or to use 'auto' [this feature is not yet available].
    Please note that transformations are inactive as long as no MIME-type is
    selected.
  * The field 'Browser transformation' is a drop-down field. You can choose
    from a hopefully growing amount of pre-defined transformations. See below
    for information on how to build your own transformation.
    There are global transformations and mimetype-bound transformations. Global
    transformations can be used for any mimetype. They will take the mimetype,
    if necessary, into regard. Mimetype-bound transformations usually only
    operate on a certain mimetype. There are transformations which operate on
    the main mimetype (like 'image'), which will most likely take the subtype
    into regard, and those who only operate on a specific subtype (like 'image/
    jpeg').
    You can use transformations on mimetypes for which the function was not
    defined for. There is no security check for you selected the right
    transformation, so take care of what the output will be like.
  * The field 'Transformation options' is a free-type textfield. You have to
    enter transform-function specific options here. Usually the transforms can
    operate with default options, but it is generally a good idea to look up
    the overview to see which options are necessary.
    Much like the ENUM/SET-Fields, you have to split up several options using
    the format 'a','b','c',...(NOTE THE MISSING BLANKS). This is because
    internally the options will be parsed as an array, leaving the first value
    the first element in the array, and so forth.
    If you want to specify a MIME character set you can define it in the
    transformation_options. You have to put that outside of the pre-defined
    options of the specific mime-transform, as the last value of the set. Use
    the format "'; charset=XXX'". If you use a transform, for which you can
    specify 2 options and you want to append a character set, enter "'first
    parameter','second parameter','charset=us-ascii'". You can, however use the
    defaults for the parameters: "'','','charset=us-ascii'".


[3. File structure]

All mimetypes and their transformations are defined through single files in the
directory 'libraries/transformations/'.


They are stored in files to ease up customization and easy adding of new
transformations.


Because the user cannot enter own mimetypes, it is kept sure that
transformations always work. It makes no sense to apply a transformation to a
mimetype, the transform-function doesn't know to handle.


One can, however, use empty mime-types and global transformations which should
work for many mimetypes. You can also use transforms on a different mimetype
they where built for, but pay attention to option usage as well as what the
transformation does to your field.


There is a basic file called 'global.inc.php'. This function can be included by
any other transform function and provides some basic functions.


There are 5 possible file names:

 1. A mimetype+subtype transform:

    [mimetype]_[subtype]__[transform].inc.php

    Please not that mimetype and subtype are separated via '_', which shall not
    be contained in their names. The transform function/filename may contain
    only characters which cause no problems in the file system as well as the
    PHP function naming convention.

    The transform function will the be called 'PMA_transform_[mimetype]_
    [subtype]__[transform]()'.

    Example:

    text_html__formatted.inc.php
    PMA_transform_text_html__formatted()
 2. A mimetype (w/o subtype) transform:

    [mimetype]__[transform].inc.php

    Please note that there are no single '_' characters. The transform function
    /filename may contain only characters which cause no problems in the file
    system as well as the PHP function naming convention.

    The transform function will the be called 'PMA_transform_[mimetype]__
    [transform]()'.

    Example:

    text__formatted.inc.php
    PMA_transform_text__formatted()
 3. A mimetype+subtype without specific transform function

    [mimetype]_[subtype].inc.php

    Please note that there are no '__' characters in the filename. Do not use
    special characters in the filename causing problems with the file system.

    No transformation function is defined in the file itself.

    Example:

    text_plain.inc.php
    (No function)
 4. A mimetype (w/o subtype) without specific transform function

    [mimetype].inc.php

    Please note that there are no '_' characters in the filename. Do not use
    special characters in the filename causing problems with the file system.

    No transformation function is defined in the file itself.

    Example:

    text.inc.php
    (No function)
 5. A global transform function with no specific mimetype

    global__[transform].inc.php

    The transform function will the be called 'PMA_transform_global__
    [transform]()'.

    Example:

    global__formatted
    PMA_transform_global__formatted()


So generally use '_' to split up mimetype and subtype, and '__' to provide a
transform function.


All filenames containing no '__' in themselves are not shown as valid transform
functions in the dropdown.


Please see the libraries/transformations/TEMPLATE file for adding your own
transform function. See the libraries/transformations/TEMPLATE_MIMETYPE for
adding a mimetype without a transform function. Also note the introduction of a
function description in the language files. For each function a
$strTransformation_[filename without .inc.php] has to exist.


You can use the template generator to generate new functions and entries in the
language file.


To create a new transform function please see libraries/transformations/
template_generator.sh. To create a new, empty mimetype please see libraries/
transformations/template_generator_mimetype.sh.


A transform function always gets passed three variables:

 1. $buffer - Contains the text inside of the column. This is the text, you
    want to transform.
 2. $options - Contains any user-passed options to a transform function as an
    array.
 3. $meta - Contains an object with field information to your column. The data
    is drawn from the output of the mysql_fetch_field() function. This means,
    all object properties described on the manual page are available in this
    variable and can be used to transform a field accordingly to unsigned/
    zerofill/not_null/... properties.
    The $meta->mimetype variable contains the original MIME-type of the field
    (i.e. 'text/plain', 'image/jpeg' etc.)


FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Server  -  Configuration  -  Limitations  -  Multi-user  -  Browsers  -  Usage
tips  -  Project  -  Security


Please have a look at our Link section on the official phpMyAdmin homepage for
in-depth coverage of phpMyAdmin's features and/or interface.


[1. Server]

[1.1] I'm running PHP 4+ and my server is crashing each time a specific action
is required or phpMyAdmin sends a blank page or a page full of cryptic
characters to my browser, what can I do?

There are some known PHP bugs with output buffering and compression.
Try to set the $cfg['OBGzip'] directive to FALSE in your config.inc.php file
and the zlib.output_compression directive to Off in your php configuration
file.
Furthermore, we know about such problems connected to the release candidates of
PHP 4.2.0 (tested with PHP 4.2.0 RC1 to RC4) together with MS Internet
Explorer. Please upgrade to the release version PHP 4.2.0.

[1.2] My Apache server crashes when using phpMyAdmin.

You should first try the latest versions of Apache (and possibly MySQL).
See also the FAQ 1.1 entry about PHP bugs with output buffering.
If your server keeps crashing, please ask for help in the various Apache
support groups.

[1.3] I'm running phpMyAdmin with "cookie" authentication mode under PHP 4.2.0
or 4.2.1 loaded as an Apache 2+ module but can't enter the script: I'm always
displayed the login screen.

This is a known PHP bug (see this bug report) from the official PHP bug
database. It means there is and won't be any phpMyAdmin fix against it because
there is no way to code a fix.

[1.4] Using phpMyAdmin on IIS, I'm displayed the error message: "The specified
CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers...".

You just forgot to read the install.txt file from the php distribution. Have a
look at the last message in this bug report from the official PHP bug database.

[1.5] Using phpMyAdmin on IIS, I'm facing crashes and/or many error messages
with the HTTP or advanced authentication mode.

This is a known problem with the PHP ISAPI filter: it's not so stable. Please
use instead the cookie authentication mode.

[1.6] I can't use phpMyAdmin on PWS: nothing is displayed!

This seems to be a PWS bug. Filippo Simoncini found a workaround (at this time
there is no better fix): remove or comment the DOCTYPE declarations (2 lines)
from the scripts libraries/header.inc.php, libraries/header_printview.inc.php,
index.php, left.php and libraries/common.lib.php.

[1.7] How can I GZip or Bzip a dump or a CSV export? It does not seem to work.

These features are based on the gzencode() and bzcompress() PHP functions to be
more independent of the platform (Unix/Windows, Safe Mode or not, and so on).
So, you must have PHP4 >= 4.0.4 and Zlib/Bzip2 support (--with-zlib and
--with-bz2).
We faced PHP crashes when trying to download a dump with MS Internet Explorer
when phpMyAdmin is run with a release candidate of PHP 4.2.0. In this case you
should switch to the release version of PHP 4.2.0.

[1.8] I cannot insert a text file in a table, and I get an error about safe
mode being in effect.

Your uploaded file is saved by PHP in the "upload dir", as defined in php.ini
by the variable upload_tmp_dir (usually the system default is /tmp).
We recommend the following setup for Apache servers running in safe mode, to
enable uploads of files while being reasonably secure:

  * create a separate directory for uploads: mkdir /tmp/php
  * give ownership to the Apache server's user.group: chown apache.apache /tmp/
    php
  * give proper permission: chmod 600 /tmp/php
  * put upload_tmp_dir = /tmp/php in php.ini
  * restart Apache

[1.9] I'm having troubles when uploading files. In general file uploads don't
work on my system and uploaded files have a Content-Type: header in the first
line.

It's not really phpMyAdmin related but RedHat 7.0. You have a RedHat 7.0 and
you updated your PHP RPM to php-4.0.4pl1-3.i386.rpm, didn't you?
So the problem is that this package has a serious bug that was corrected ages
ago in PHP (2001-01-28: see PHP's bug tracking system for more details). The
problem is that the bugged package is still available though it was corrected
(see RedHat's BugZilla for more details).
So please download the fixed package (4.0.4pl1-9) and the problem should go
away.
And that fixes the \r\n problem with file uploads!

[1.10] I'm having troubles when uploading files with phpMyAdmin running on a
secure server. My browser is Internet Explorer and I'm using the Apache server.

As suggested by "Rob M" in the phpWizard forum, add this line to your
httpd.conf:
    SetEnvIf User-Agent ".*MSIE.*" nokeepalive ssl-unclean-shutdown
It seems to clear up many problems between Internet Explorer and SSL.

[1.11] I get an 'open_basedir restriction' while uploading a file from the
query box.

Since version 2.2.4, phpMyAdmin supports servers with open_basedir
restrictions. Assuming that the restriction allows you to open files in the
current directory ('.'), all you have to do is create a 'tmp' directory under
the phpMyAdmin install directory, with permissions 777 and the same owner as
the owner of your phpMyAdmin directory. The uploaded files will be moved there,
and after execution of your SQL commands, removed.

[1.12] I have lost my MySQL root password, what can I do?

The MySQL manual explains how to reset the permissions.

[1.13] I get an error 'No SQL query' when trying to execute a bookmark.

If PHP does not have read/write access to its upload_tmp_dir, it cannot access
the uploaded query.

[1.14] I get an error 'No SQL query' when trying to submit a query from the
convenient text area.

Check the post_max_size directive from your PHP configuration file and try to
increase it.

[1.15] I have problems with mysql.user field names.

In older MySQL versions, the User and Password fields were named user and
password. Please modify your field names to align with current standards.

[1.16] I cannot upload big dump files (memory, http or timeout problems).

Starting with version 2.7.0, the import engine has been re?written and these
problems should not occur. If possible, upgrade your phpMyAdmin to the latest
version to take advantage of the new import features.

The first things to check (or ask your host provider to check) are the values
of upload_max_filesize, memory_limit and post_max_size in the php.ini
configuration file. All of these three settings limit the maximum size of data
that can be submitted and handled by PHP. One user also said that post_max_size
and memory_limit need to be larger than upload_max_filesize.

There exist several workarounds if your upload is too big or your hosting
provider is unwilling to change the settings:

  * Look at the $cfg['UploadDir'] feature. This allows one to upload a file to
    the server via scp, ftp, or your favorite file transfer method. PhpMyAdmin
    is then able to import the files from the temporary directory. More
    information is available in the Configuration section of this document.
  * Using a utility (such as BigDump) to split the files before uploading. We
    cannot support this or any third party applications, but are aware of users
    having success with it.
  * If you have shell (command line) access, use MySQL to import the files
    directly. You can do this by issuing the "source" command from within
    MySQL: source filename.sql.

[1.17] Which MySQL versions does phpMyAdmin support?

All MySQL versions from 3.23.32 till 5.0 (except for 4.1.0 and 4.1.1) are fully
supported. Please note that the older your MySQL version is, the more
limitations you will have to face.
phpMyAdmin may connect to your MySQL server using php's classic MySQL extension
as well as the improved MySQL extension (MySQLi) that is available in php 5.0.
Either way, the developers of both extensions recommend to use the classic
extension for MySQL 4.0 and below and MySQLi for MySQL 4.1 and newer.
When compiling php, we strongly recommend that you manually link the MySQL
extension of your choice to a MySQL client library of at least the same minor
version since the one that is bundled with some php distributions is rather old
and might cause problems (see also FAQ 1.17a). If your webserver is running on
a windows system, you might want to try MySQL's Connector/PHP instead of the
MySQL / MySQLi extensions that are bundled with the official php Win32 builds.
MySQL 5.1 is not yet supported.

[1.17a] I cannot connect to the MySQL server. It always returns the error
message, "Client does not support authentication protocol requested by server;
consider upgrading MySQL client"

You tried to access MySQL with an old MySQL client library. The version of your
MySQL client library can be checked in your phpinfo() output. In general, it
should have at least the same minor version as your server - as mentioned in
FAQ 1.17.

This problem is generally caused by using MySQL version 4.1 or newer. MySQL
changed the authentication hash and your PHP is trying to use the old method.
The proper solution is to use the mysqli extension with the proper client
library to match your MySQL installation. Your chosen extension is specified in
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['extension']. More information (and several workarounds)
are located in the MySQL Documentation.

[1.18] I'm running MySQL <= 4.0.1 having lower_case_table_names set to 1. If I
create a new table with a capital letter in its name it is changed to lowercase
as it should. But if I try to DROP this table MySQL is unable to find the
corresponding file.

This is a bug of MySQL <= 4.0.1. Please upgrade to at least MySQL 4.0.2 or turn
off your lower_case_table_names directive.

[1.19] I can't run the "display relations" feature because the script seems not
to know the font face I'm using!

The "FPDF" library we're using for this feature requires some special files to
use font faces.
Please refers to the FPDF manual to build these files.

[1.20] I receive the error "cannot load MySQL extension, please check PHP
Configuration".

To connect to a MySQL server, PHP needs a set of MySQL functions called "MySQL
extension". This extension may be part of the PHP distribution (compiled-in),
otherwise it needs to be loaded dynamically. Its name is probably mysql.so or
php_mysql.dll. phpMyAdmin tried to load the extension but failed.

Usually, the problem is solved by installing a software package called
"PHP-MySQL" or something similar.

[1.21] I am running the CGI version of PHP under Unix, and I cannot login using
cookie auth.

In php.ini, set mysql.max_links higher than 1.

[1.22] I don't see the "Location of text file" field, so I cannot upload.

This is most likely because in php.ini, your file_uploads parameter is not set
to "on".

[1.23] I'm running MySQL on a Win32 machine. Each time I create a new table the
table and field names are changed to lowercase!

This happens because the MySQL directive lower_case_table_names defaults to 1
(ON) in the Win32 version of MySQL. You can change this behavior by simply
changing the directive to 0 (OFF):
Just edit your my.ini file that should be located in your Windows directory and
add the following line to the group [mysqld]:
set-variable = lower_case_table_names=0
Next, save the file and restart the MySQL service. You can always check the
value of this directive using the query
SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'lower_case_table_names';

[1.24] Some characters are being truncated in my queries, or I get characters
randomly added. I am running PHP 4.2.3.

This is a PHP 4.2.3 bug.

[1.25] I am running Apache with mod_gzip-1.3.26.1a on Windows XP, and I get
problems, such as undefined variables when I run a SQL query.

A tip from Jose Fandos: put a comment on the following two lines in httpd.conf,
like this:
# mod_gzip_item_include file \.php$
# mod_gzip_item_include mime "application/x-httpd-php.*"
as this version of mod_gzip on Apache (Windows) has problems handling PHP
scripts. Of course you have to restart Apache.

[1.26] I just installed phpMyAdmin in my document root of IIS but I get the
error "No input file specified" when trying to run phpMyAdmin.

This is a permission problem. Right-click on the phpmyadmin folder and choose
properties. Under the tab Security, click on "Add" and select the user
"IUSR_machine" from the list. Now set his permissions and it should work.

[1.27] I get empty page when I want to view huge page (eg.
db_details_structure.php with plenty of tables).

This is a PHP bug that occur when GZIP output buffering is enabled. If you turn
off it (by $cfg['OBGzip'] = FALSE in config.inc.php), it should work. This bug
will be fixed in PHP 5.0.0.

[1.28] My MySQL server sometimes refuses queries and returns the message
'Errorcode: 13'. What does this mean?

This can happen due to a MySQL bug when having database / table names with
upper case characters although lower_case_table_names is set to 1. To fix this,
turn off this directive, convert all database and table names to lower case and
turn it on again. Alternatively, there's a bug-fix available starting with
MySQL 3.23.56 / 4.0.11-gamma.

[1.29] When I create a table or modify a field, I get an error and the fields
are duplicated.

It is possible to configure Apache in such a way that PHP has problems
interpreting .php files.

The problems occur when two different (and conflicting) set of directives are
used:

SetOutputFilter PHP
SetInputFilter PHP
&
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

In the case we saw, one set of directives was in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf,
while the other set was in /etc/httpd/conf/addon-modules/php.conf.
The recommended way is with AddType, so just comment out the first set of lines
and restart Apache:

#SetOutputFilter PHP
#SetInputFilter PHP

[1.30] I get the error "left.php: Missing hash".

This problem is known to happen when the server is running Turck MMCache but
upgrading MMCache to version 2.3.21 solves the problem.

[1.31] Does phpMyAdmin support php5?

Yes.
However, phpMyAdmin needs to be backwards compatible to php4. This is why
phpMyAdmin disables the E_STRICT error_level in error_reporting settings.

[1.32] Can I use HTTP authentication with IIS?

Yes. This procedure was tested with phpMyAdmin 2.6.1, PHP 4.3.9 in ISAPI mode
under IIS 5.1.

 1. In your php.ini file, set cgi.rfc2616_headers = 0
 2. In Web Site Properties -> File/Directory Security -> Anonymous Access
    dialog box, check the Anonymous access checkbox and uncheck any other
    checkboxes (i.e. uncheck Basic authentication, Integrated Windows
    authentication, and Digest if it's enabled.) Click OK.
 3. In Custom Errors, select the range of 401;1 through 401;5 and click the Set
    to Default button.

[1.33] Is there a problem with the mysqli extension when running PHP 5.0.4 on
64-bit systems?

Yes. This problem affects phpMyAdmin ("Call to undefined function
pma_reloadnavigation"), so upgrade your PHP to the next version.

[1.34] Can I access directly to database or table pages?

Yes. Out of the box, you can use URLs like http://server/phpMyAdmin/index.php?
db=database&table=table&target=script. Table and script parts are optional. If
you want http://server/phpMyAdmin/database[/table][/script] URLs, you need to
do some configuration. Following lines apply only for Apache web server. First
make sure, that you have enabled some features within global configuration. You
need Options FollowSymLinks and AllowOverride FileInfo enabled for directory
where phpMyAdmin is installed and you need mod_rewrite to be enabled. Then you
just need to create following .htaccess file in root folder of phpMyAdmin
installation (don't forget to change directory name inside of it):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /path_to_phpMyAdmin
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9_]+)/([a-zA-Z0-9_]+)/([a-z_]+\.php)$ index.php?db=$1&table=$2&target=$3 [R]
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9_]+)/([a-z_]+\.php)$ index.php?db=$1&target=$2 [R]
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9_]+)/([a-zA-Z0-9_]+)$ index.php?db=$1&table=$2 [R]
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z0-9_]+)$ index.php?db=$1 [R]

[1.35] Can I use HTTP authentication with Apache CGI?

Yes. However you need to pass authentication variable to CGI using following
rewrite rule:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=REMOTE_USER:%{HTTP:Authorization},L]

[1.36] I get an error "500 Internal Server Error".

There can be many explanations to this and a look at your server's error log
file might give a clue.


[2. Configuration]

[2.1] The error message "Warning: Cannot add header information - headers
already sent by ..." is displayed, what's the problem?

Edit your config.inc.php file and ensure there is nothing (I.E. no blank lines,
no spaces, no characters...) neither before the <?php tag at the beginning,
neither after the ?> tag at the end.

[2.2] phpMyAdmin can't connect to MySQL. What's wrong?

Either there is an error with your PHP setup or your username/password is
wrong. Try to make a small script which uses mysql_connect and see if it works.
If it doesn't, it may be you haven't even compiled MySQL support into PHP.

[2.3] The error message "Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Can't connect to
local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (111)..." is displayed.
What can I do?


For RedHat users, Harald Legner suggests this on the mailing list:

On my RedHat-Box the socket of MySQL is /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock. In your
php.ini you will find a line
    mysql.default_socket = /tmp/mysql.sock
change it to
    mysql.default_socket = /var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock
Then restart apache and it will work.

Here is a fix suggested by Brad Ummer:

  * First, you need to determine what socket is being used by MySQL.
    To do this, telnet to your server and go to the MySQL bin directory. In
    this directory there should be a file named mysqladmin. Type ./mysqladmin
    variables, and this should give you a bunch of info about your MySQL
    server, including the socket (/tmp/mysql.sock, for example).
  * Then, you need to tell PHP to use this socket.
    To do this in phpMyAdmin, you need to complete the socket information in
    the config.inc.php.
    For example: $cfg['Servers'][$i]['socket'] = '/tmp/mysql.sock';

    Please also make sure that the permissions of this file allow to be
    readable by your webserver (i.e. '0755').

Have also a look at the corresponding section of the MySQL documentation.

[2.4] Nothing is displayed by my browser when I try to run phpMyAdmin, what can
I do?

Try to set the $cfg['OBGZip'] directive to FALSE in the phpMyAdmin
configuration file. It helps sometime.
Also have a look at your PHP version number: if it contains "4.0b..." it means
you're running a beta version of PHP. That's not a so good idea, please upgrade
to a plain revision.

[2.5] Each time I want to insert or change a record or drop a database or a
table, an error 404 (page not found) is displayed or, with HTTP or cookie
authentication, I'm asked to login again. What's wrong?

Check the value you set for the $cfg['PmaAbsoluteUri'] directive in the
phpMyAdmin configuration file.

[2.6] I get an "Access denied for user: 'root@localhost' (Using password: YES)
"-error when trying to access a MySQL-Server on a host which is port-forwarded
for my localhost.

When you are using a port on your localhost, which you redirect via
port-forwarding to another host, MySQL is not resolving the localhost as
expected.
Erik Wasser explains: The solution is: if your host is "localhost" MySQL (the
commandline tool 'mysql' as well) always tries to use the socket connection for
speeding up things. And that doesn't work in this configuration with port
forwarding.
If you enter "127.0.0.1" as hostname, everything is right and MySQL uses the
TCP connection.

[2.7] Using and creating themes

Themes are configured with $cfg['ThemePath'], $cfg['ThemeManager'] and $cfg
['ThemeDefault'].

Under $cfg['ThemePath'], you should not delete the directory "original" or its
underlying structure, because this is the system theme used by phpMyAdmin.
"original" contains all images and styles, for backwards compatibility and for
all themes that would not include images or css-files.

If $cfg['ThemeManager'] is enabled, you can select your favorite theme on the
main page. Your selected theme will be stored in a cookie.


To create a theme:

  * make a new subdirectory (for example "your_theme_name") under $cfg
    ['ThemePath'] (by default themes)
  * copy the files and directories from "original" to "your_theme_name"
  * edit the css-files in "your_theme_name/css"
  * put your new images in "your_theme_name/img"
  * edit layout.inc.php in "your_theme_name"
  * edit info.inc.php in "your_theme_name" to contain your chosen theme name,
    that will be visible in user interface
  * make a new screenshot of your theme and save it under "your_theme_name/
    screen.png"

In theme directory there is file info.inc.php which contains theme verbose
name, theme generation and theme version. These versions and generations are
enumerated from 1 and do not have any direct dependence on phpMyAdmin version.
Themes within same generation should be backwards compatible - theme with
version 2 should work in phpMyAdmin requiring version 1. Themes with different
generation are incompatible.

If you do not want to use your own symbols and buttons, remove the directory
"img" in "your_theme_name". phpMyAdmin will use the default icons and buttons
(from the system-theme "original").

[2.8] I get "Missing parameters" errors, what can I do?

Here are a few points to check:

  * In config.inc.php, try to leave the $cfg['PmaAbsoluteUri']directive empty.
    See also FAQ 4.7.
  * Maybe you have a broken PHP installation or you need to upgrade your Zend
    Optimizer. See http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=31134.
  * If you are using Hardened PHP with the ini directive
    varfilter.max_request_variables set to the default (200) or another low
    value, you could get this error if your table has a high number of columns.
    Adjust this setting accordingly. (Thanks to Klaus Dorninger for the hint).
  * In the php.ini directive arg_separator.input, a value of ";" will cause
    this error. Replace it with "&;".


[3. Known limitations]

[3.1] When using HTTP authentication, an user who logged out can not relogin in
with the same nick.

This is related to the authentication mechanism (protocol) used by phpMyAdmin.
To bypass this problem: just close all the opened browser windows and then go
back to phpMyAdmin. You should be able to log in again.

[3.2] When dumping a large table in compressed mode, I get a memory limit error
or a time limit error.

Compressed dumps are built in memory and because of this are limited to php's
memory limit. For GZip/BZip2 exports this can be overcome since 2.5.4 using
$cfg['CompressOnFly'] (enabled by default). Zip exports can not be handled this
way, so if you need Zip files for larger dump, you have to use another way.

[3.3] With InnoDB tables, I lose foreign key relationships when I rename or
alter a table.

This seems to be a InnoDB bug (fixed in MySQL 3.23.50?).

[3.4] I am unable to import dumps I created with the mysqldump tool bundled
with the MySQL server distribution.

The problem is that mysqldump creates invalid comments like this:

-- MySQL dump 8.22
--
-- Host: localhost Database: database
---------------------------------------------------------
-- Server version 3.23.54

The invalid part of the code is the horizontal line made of dashes that appears
once in every dump created with mysqldump. If you want to run your dump you
have to turn it into valid MySQL. This means, you have to add a whitespace
after the first two dashes of the line or add a # before it:
-- -------------------------------------------------------
or
#---------------------------------------------------------

[3.5] When using nested folders ($cfg['LeftFrameTableSeparator']) there are
some multiple hierarchies displayed in a wrong manner?!

Please note that you should not use the separating string multiple times
without any characters between them, or at the beginning/end of your table
name. If you have to, think about using another TableSeparator or disabling
that feature

[3.6] What is currently not supported in phpMyAdmin about InnoDB?

In Relation view, being able to choose a table in another database, or having
more than one index field in the foreign key.

In Query-by-example (Query), automatic generation of the query LEFT JOIN from
the foreign table.

In PDF schema editing, automatic layout.

[3.7] I have table with many (100+) fields and when I try to browse table I get
series of errors like "Warning: unable to parse url". How can this be fixed?

Your table neither have a primary key nor an unique one, so we must use a long
expression to identify this row. This causes problems to parse_url function.
The workaround is to create a primary or unique key.

[3.8] I cannot use (clickable) HTML-forms in fields where I put a 
MIME-Transformation onto!

Due to a surrounding form-container (for multi-row delete checkboxes), no
nested forms can be put inside the table where phpMyAdmin displays the results.
You can, however, use any form inside of a table if keep the parent
form-container with the target to tbl_row_delete.php and just put your own
input-elements inside. If you use a custom submit input field, the form will
submit itself to the displaying page again, where you can validate the
$HTTP_POST_VARS in a transformation. For a tutorial on how to effectively use
transformations, see our Link section on the official phpMyAdmin-homepage.

[3.9] I get error messages when using "--sql_mode=ANSI" for the MySQL server

When MySQL is running in ANSI-compatibility mode, there are some major
differences in how SQL is structured (see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/
ANSI_mode.html). Most important of all, the quote-character (") is interpreted
as an identifier quote character and not as a string quote character, which
makes many internal phpMyAdmin operations into invalid SQL statements. There is
no workaround to this behaviour. News to this item will be posted in Bug report
#816858

[3.10] Homonyms and no primary key: When the results of a SELECT display more
that one column with the same value (for example SELECT lastname from employees
where firstname like 'A%' and two "Smith" values are displayed), if I click
Edit I cannot be sure that I am editing the intended row.

Please make sure that your table has a primary key, so that phpMyAdmin can use
it for the Edit and Delete links.

[3.11] The number of records for InnoDB tables is not correct.

phpMyAdmin uses a quick method to get the row count, and this method only
returns an approximate count in the case of InnoDB tables. See $cfg
['MaxExactCount'] for a way to modify those results, but this could have a
serious impact on performance.

[3.12] What are the phpMyAdmin limitations for MySQL 3?

The number of records in queries containing COUNT and GROUP BY is not correctly
calculated. Also, sorting results of a query like "SELECT * from table GROUP
BY" ... is problematic.

[3.13] I get an error when entering USE followed by a db name containing an
hyphen.

The tests I have made with current MySQL 4.1.11 API shows that the API does not
accept this syntax for the USE command. Enclosing the db name with backquotes
works. For further confusion, no backquotes are needed with command-line mysql.


[4. ISPs, multi-user installations ]

[4.1] I'm an ISP. Can I setup one central copy of phpMyAdmin or do I need to
install it for each customer.

Since version 2.0.3, you can setup a central copy of phpMyAdmin for all your
users. The development of this feature was kindly sponsored by NetCologne GmbH.
This requires a properly setup MySQL user management and phpMyAdmin HTTP or
cookie authentication. See the install section on "Using HTTP authentication".

[4.2] What's the preferred way of making phpMyAdmin secure against evil access.

This depends on your system.
If you're running a server which cannot be accessed by other people, it's
sufficient to use the directory protection bundled with your webserver (with
Apache you can use .htaccess files, for example).
If other people have telnet access to your server, you should use phpMyAdmin's
HTTP or cookie authentication features.

Suggestions:

  * Your config.inc.php file should be chmod 660.
  * All your phpMyAdmin files should be chown -R phpmy.apache, where phpmy is a
    user whose password is only known to you, and apache is the group under
    which Apache runs.
  * You should use PHP safe mode, to protect from other users that try to
    include your config.inc.php in their scripts.

[4.3] I get errors about not being able to include a file in /lang or in /
libraries.

Check php.ini, or ask your sysadmin to check it. The include_path must contain
"." somewhere in it, and open_basedir, if used, must contain "." and "./lang"
to allow normal operation of phpMyAdmin.

[4.4] phpMyAdmin always gives "Access denied" when using HTTP authentication.

This could happen for several reasons:

  * $cfg['Servers'][$i]['controluser'] and/or $cfg['Servers'][$i]
    ['controlpass'] are wrong.
  * The username/password you specify in the login-dialog are invalid.
  * You have already setup a security mechanism for the phpMyAdmin-directory,
    eg. a .htaccess file. This would interfere with phpMyAdmin's
    authentication, so remove it.

[4.5] Is it possible to let users create their own databases?

Starting with 2.2.5, in the user management page, you can enter a wildcard
database name for a user (for example "joe%"), and put the privileges you want.
For example, adding SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, DROP, INDEX, ALTER
would let a user create/manage his/her database(s).

[4.6] How can I use the Host-based authentication additions?

If you have existing rules from an old .htaccess file, you can take them and
add a username between the 'deny'/'allow' and 'from' strings. Using the
username wildcard of '%' would be a major benefit here if your installation is
suited to using it. Then you can just add those updated lines into the $cfg
['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['rules'] array.

If you want a pre-made sample, you can try this fragment. It stops the 'root'
user from logging in from any networks other than the private network IP
blocks.
    //block root from logging in except from the private networks
    $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['order'] = 'deny,allow';
    $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowDeny']['rules'] = array(
        'deny root from all',
        'allow root from localhost',
        'allow root from 10.0.0.0/8',
        'allow root from 192.168.0.0/16',
        'allow root from 172.16.0.0/12',
        );

[4.7] Authentication window is displayed more than once, why?

This happens if you are using a URL to start phpMyAdmin which is different than
the one set in your $cfg['PmaAbsoluteUri']. For example, a missing "www", or
entering with an IP address while a domain name is defined in the config file.


[5. Browsers or client OS]

[5.1] I get an out of memory error, and my controls are non-functional, when
trying to create a table with more than 14 fields.

We could reproduce this problem only under Win98/98SE. Testing under WinNT4 or
Win2K, we could easily create more than 60 fields.
A workaround is to create a smaller number of fields, then come back to your
table properties and add the other fields.

[5.2] With Xitami 2.5b4, phpMyAdmin won't process form fields.

This is not a phpMyAdmin problem but a Xitami known bug: you'll face it with
each script/website that use forms.
Upgrade or downgrade your Xitami server.

[5.3] I have problems dumping tables with Konqueror (phpMyAdmin 2.2.2).

With Konqueror 2.1.1: plain dumps, zip and GZip dumps work ok, except that the
proposed file name for the dump is always 'tbl_dump.php'. Bzip2 dumps don't
seem to work.
With Konqueror 2.2.1: plain dumps work; zip dumps are placed into the user's
temporary directory, so they must be moved before closing Konqueror, or else
they disappear. GZip dumps give an error message.
Testing needs to be done for Konqueror 2.2.2.

[5.4] I can't use the cookie authentication mode because Internet Explorer
never stores the cookies.

MS Internet Explorer seems to be really buggy about cookies, at least till
version 6. And thanks to Andrew Zivolup we've traced also a PHP 4.1.1 bug in
this area!
Then, if you're running PHP 4.1.1, try to upgrade or downgrade... it may work!

[5.5] In Internet Explorer 5.0, I get JavaScript errors when browsing my rows.

Upgrade to at least Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2.

[5.6] In Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 or 6.0, I get an error (like "Page not
found") when trying to modify a row in a table with many fields, or with a text
field

Your table neither have a primary key nor an unique one, so we must use a long
URL to identify this row. There is a limit on the length of the URL in those
browsers, and this not happen in Netscape, for example. The workaround is to
create a primary or unique key, or use another browser.

[5.7] I refresh (reload) my browser, and come back to the welcome page.

Some browsers support right-clicking into the frame you want to refresh, just
do this in the right frame.

[5.8] With Mozilla 0.9.7 I have problems sending a query modified in the query
box.

Looks like a Mozilla bug: 0.9.6 was OK. We will keep an eye on future Mozilla
versions.

[5.9] With Mozilla 0.9.? to 1.0 and Netscape 7.0-PR1 I can't type a whitespace
in the SQL-Query edit area: the page scrolls down.

This is a Mozilla bug (see bug #26882 at BugZilla).

[5.10] With Netscape 4.75 I get empty rows between each row of data in a CSV
exported file.

This is a known Netscape 4.75 bug: it adds some line feeds when exporting data
in octet-stream mode. Since we can't detect the specific Netscape version, we
cannot workaround this bug.

[5.11] Extended-ASCII characters like German umlauts are displayed wrong.

Please ensure that you have set your browser's character set to the one of the
language file you have selected on phpMyAdmin's start page. Alternatively, you
can try the auto detection mode that is supported by the recent versions of the
most browsers.

[5.12] Apple OS X: Safari browser changes special characters to "?".

This issue has been reported by a OS X user, who adds that Chimera, Netscape
and Mozilla do not have this problem.

[5.13] With Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6, and HTTP authentication type, I cannot
manage two servers: I login to the first one, then the other one, but if I
switch back to the first, I have to login on each operation.

This is a bug in Internet Explorer, other browsers do not behave this way.

[5.14] Using Opera6, I can manage to get to the authentication, but nothing
happens after that, only a blank screen.

Having $cfg['QueryFrameJS'] set to TRUE, this leads to a bug in Opera6, because
it is not able to interpret frameset definitions written by JavaScript. Please
upgrade to Opera7 at least.

[5.15] I have display problems with Safari.

Please upgrade to at least version 1.2.3.

[5.16] With Internet Explorer, I get "Access is denied" Javascript errors. Or I
cannot make phpMyAdmin work under Windows.

Please check the following points:

  * Maybe you have defined your PmaAbsoluteUri setting in config.inc.php to an
    IP address and you are starting phpMyAdmin with a URL containing a domain
    name, or the reverse situation.
  * Security settings in IE and/or Microsoft Security Center are too high, thus
    blocking scripts execution.
  * The Windows Firewall is blocking Apache and MySQL. You must allow http
    ports (80 or 443) and MySQL port (usually 3306) in the "in" and "out"
    directions.

[5.17] With Firefox, I cannot delete rows of data or drop a database.

Many users have confirmed that the Tabbrowser Extensions plugin they installed
in their Firefox is causing the problem.


[6. Using phpMyAdmin]

[6.1] I can't insert new rows into a table / I can't create a table - MySQL
brings up a SQL-error.

Examine the SQL error with care. Often the problem is caused by specifying a
wrong field-type.
Common errors include:

  * Using VARCHAR without a size argument
  * Using TEXT or BLOB with a size argument

Also, look at the syntax chapter in the MySQL manual to confirm that your
syntax is correct.

[6.2] When I create a table, I click the Index checkbox for 2 fields and
phpMyAdmin generates only one index with those 2 fields.

In phpMyAdmin 2.2.0 and 2.2.1, this is the way to create a multi-fields index.
If you want two indexes, create the first one when creating the table, save,
then display the table properties and click the Index link to create the other
index.

[6.3] How can I insert a null value into my table?

Since version 2.2.3, you have a checkbox for each field that can be null.
Before 2.2.3, you had to enter "null", without the quotes, as the field's
value. Since version 2.5.5, you have to use the checkbox to get a real NULL
value, so if you enter "NULL" this means you want a literal NULL in the field,
and not a NULL value (this works in PHP4).

[6.4] How can I backup my database or table?

Click on a database or table name in the left frame, the properties will be
displayed. Then on the menu, click "Export", you can dump the structure, the
data, or both. This will generate standard SQL statements that can be used to
recreate your database/table.

You will need to choose "Save as file", so that phpMyAdmin can transmit the
resulting dump to your station. Depending on your PHP configuration, you will
see options to compress the dump. See also the $cfg['ExecTimeLimit']
configuration variable.

For additional help on this subject, look for the word "dump" in this document.

[6.5] How can I restore (upload) my database or table using a dump? How can I
run a ".sql" file?

Click on a database name in the left frame, the properties will be displayed.
Select "Import" from the list of tabs in the right?hand frame (or "SQL" if your
phpMyAdmin version is older than 2.7.0). In the "Location of the text file"
section, type in the path to your dump filename, or use the Browse button. Then
click Go.

With version 2.7.0, the import engine has been re?written, if possible it is
suggested that you upgrade to take advantage of the new features.

For additional help on this subject, look for the word "upload" in this
document.

[6.6] How can I use the relation table in Query-by-example?

Here is an example with the tables persons, towns and countries, all located in
the database mydb. If you don't have a pma_relation table, create it as
explained in the configuration section. Then create the example tables:

     CREATE TABLE REL_countries (
       country_code char(1) NOT NULL default '',
       description varchar(10) NOT NULL default '',
       PRIMARY KEY (country_code)
     ) TYPE=MyISAM;

     INSERT INTO REL_countries VALUES ('C', 'Canada');

     CREATE TABLE REL_persons (
       id tinyint(4) NOT NULL auto_increment,
       person_name varchar(32) NOT NULL default '',
       town_code varchar(5) default '0',
       country_code char(1) NOT NULL default '',
       PRIMARY KEY (id)
     ) TYPE=MyISAM;

     INSERT INTO REL_persons VALUES (11, 'Marc', 'S', '');
     INSERT INTO REL_persons VALUES (15, 'Paul', 'S', 'C');

     CREATE TABLE REL_towns (
       town_code varchar(5) NOT NULL default '0',
       description varchar(30) NOT NULL default '',
       PRIMARY KEY (town_code)
     ) TYPE=MyISAM;

     INSERT INTO REL_towns VALUES ('S', 'Sherbrooke');
     INSERT INTO REL_towns VALUES ('M', 'Montre'al');

To setup appropriate links and display information:

  * on table "REL_persons" click Structure, then Relation view
  * in Links, for "town_code" choose "REL_towns->code"
  * in Links, for "country_code" choose "REL_countries->country_code"
  * on table "REL_towns" click Structure, then Relation view
  * in "Choose field to display", choose "description"
  * repeat the two previous steps for table "REL_countries"

Then test like this:

  * Click on your db name in the left frame
  * Choose "Query"
  * Use tables: persons, towns, countries
  * Click "Update query"
  * In the fields row, choose persons.person_name and click the "Show" tickbox
  * Do the same for towns.description and countries.descriptions in the other 2
    columns
  * Click "Update query" and you will see in the query box that the correct
    joins have been generated
  * Click "Submit query"

[6.7] How can I use the "display field" feature?

Starting from the previous example, create the pma_table_info as explained in
the configuration section, then browse your persons table, and move the mouse
over a town code or country code.

See also FAQ 6.21 for an additional feature that "display field" enables:
drop-down list of possible values.

[6.8] How can I produce a PDF schema of my database?

First the configuration variables "relation", "table_coords" and "pdf_pages"
have to be filled in.

Then you need to think about your schema layout. Which tables will go on which
pages?

  * Select your database in the left frame.
  * Choose "Operations" in the navigation bar at the top.
  * Choose "Edit PDF Pages" near the bottom of the page.
  * Enter a name for the first PDF page and click Go. If you like, you can use
    the "automatic layout," which will put all your linked tables onto the new
    page.
  * Select the name of the new page (making sure the Edit radio button is
    selected) and click Go.
  * Select a table from the list, enter its coordinates and click Save.
    Coordinates are relative; your diagram will be automatically scaled to fit
    the page. When initially placing tables on the page, just pick any
    coordinates -- say, 50x50. After clicking Save, you can then use the
    graphical editor to position the element correctly.
  * When you'd like to look at your PDF, first be sure to click the Save button
    beneath the list of tables and coordinates, to save any changes you made
    there. Then scroll all the way down, select the PDF options you want, and
    click Go.
  * Internet Explorer for Windows may suggest an incorrect filename when you
    try to save a generated PDF. When saving a generated PDF, be sure that the
    filename ends in ".pdf", for example "schema.pdf". Browsers on other
    operating systems, and other browsers on Windows, do not have this problem.

[6.9] phpMyAdmin is changing the type of one of my columns!

No, it's MySQL that is doing silent column type changing.

[6.10] When creating a privilege, what happens with underscores in the database
name?

If you do not put a backslash before the underscore, this is a wildcard grant,
and the underscore means "any character". So, if the database name is
"john_db", the user would get rights to john1db, john2db...

If you put a backslash before the underscore, it means that the database name
will have a real underscore.

[6.11] What is the curious symbol o/ in the statistics pages?

It means "average".

[6.12] I want to understand some Export options.

Structure:

  * "Add DROP TABLE" will add a line telling MySQL to drop the table, if it
    already exists during the import. It does NOT drop the table after your
    export, it only affects the import file.
  * "If Not Exists" will only create the table if it doesn't exist. Otherwise,
    you may get an error if the table name exists but has a different
    structure.
  * "Add AUTO_INCREMENT value" ensures that AUTO_INCREMENT value (if any) will
    be included in backup.
  * "Enclose table and field names with backquotes" ensures that field and
    table names formed with special characters are protected.
  * "Add into comments" includes column comments, relations, and MIME types set
    in the pmadb in the dump as SQL comments (/* xxx */).

Data:

  * "Complete inserts" adds the column names on every INSERT command, for
    better documentation (but resulting file is bigger).
  * "Extended inserts" provides a shorter dump file by using only once the
    INSERT verb and the table name.
  * "Delayed inserts" are best explained in the MySQL manual.
  * "Ignore inserts" treats errors as a warning instead. Again, more info is
    provided in the MySQL manual, but basically with this selected, invalid
    values are adjusted and inserted rather than causing the entire statement
    to fail.

[6.13] I would like to create a database with a dot in its name.

This is a bad idea, because in MySQL the syntax "database.table" is the normal
way to reference a database and table name. Worse, MySQL will usually let you
create a database with a dot, but then you cannot work with it, nor delete it.

[6.14] How do I set up the SQL Validator?

To use it, you need a very recent version of PHP, 4.3.0 recommended, with XML,
PCRE and PEAR support. On your system command line, run "pear install
Net_Socket Net_URL HTTP_Request Mail_Mime Net_DIME SOAP" to get the necessary
PEAR modules for usage.
On a more recent pear version, I had problems with the state of Net_DIME being
beta, so this single command "pear -d preferred_state=beta install -a SOAP"
installed all the needed modules.
If you use the Validator, you should be aware that any SQL statement you submit
will be stored anonymously (database/table/column names, strings, numbers
replaced with generic values). The Mimer SQL Validator itself, is (C) 2001
Upright Database Technology. We utilize it as free SOAP service.

[6.15] I want to add a BLOB field and put an index on it, but MySQL says "BLOB
column '...' used in key specification without a key length".

The right way to do this, is to create the field without any indexes, then
display the table structure and use the "Create an index" dialog. On this page,
you will be able to choose your BLOB field, and set a size to the index, which
is the condition to create an index on a BLOB field.

[6.16] How can I simply move in page with plenty editing fields?

You can use Ctrl+arrows (Option+Arrows in Safari) for moving on most pages with
many editing fields (table structure changes, row editing, etc.) (must be
enabled in configuration - see. $cfg['CtrlArrowsMoving']). You can also have a
look at the directive $cfg['DefaultPropDisplay'] ('vertical') and see if this
eases up editing for you.

[6.17] Transformations: I can't enter my own mimetype! WTF is this feature then
useful for?

Slow down :). Defining mimetypes is of no use, if you can't put transformations
on them. Otherwise you could just put a comment on the field. Because entering
your own mimetype will cause serious syntax checking issues and validation,
this introduces a high-risk false-user-input situation. Instead you have to
initialize mimetypes using functions or empty mimetype definitions.
Plus, you have a whole overview of available mimetypes. Who knows all those
mimetypes by heart so he/she can enter it at will?

[6.18] Bookmarks: Where can I store bookmarks? Why can't I see any bookmarks
below the query box? What is this variable for?

Any query you have executed can be stored as a bookmark on the page where the
results are displayed. You will find a button labeled 'Bookmark this query'
just at the end of the page.
As soon as you have stored a bookmark, it is related to the database you run
the query on. You can now access a bookmark dropdown on each page, the query
box appears on for that database.

Since phpMyAdmin 2.5.0 you are also able to store variables for the bookmarks.
Just use the string /*[VARIABLE]*/ anywhere in your query. Everything which is
put into the value input box on the query box page will replace the string "/*
[VARIABLE]*/" in your stored query. Just be aware of that you HAVE to create a
valid query, otherwise your query won't be even able to be stored in the
database.
Also remember, that everything else inside the /*[VARIABLE]*/ string for your
query will remain the way it is, but will be stripped of the /**/ chars. So you
can use:

/*, [VARIABLE] AS myname */

which will be expanded to

, VARIABLE as myname

in your query, where VARIABLE is the string you entered in the input box. If an
empty string is provided, no replacements are made.

A more complex example. Say you have stored this query:

SELECT Name, Address FROM addresses WHERE 1 /* AND Name LIKE '%[VARIABLE]%' */

Say, you now enter "phpMyAdmin" as the variable for the stored query, the full
query will be:

SELECT Name, Address FROM addresses WHERE 1 AND Name LIKE '%phpMyAdmin%'

You can use multiple occurrences of /*[VARIABLE]*/ in a single query.
NOTE THE ABSENCE OF SPACES inside the "/**/" construct. Any spaces inserted
there will be later also inserted as spaces in your query and may lead to
unexpected results especially when using the variable expansion inside of a
"LIKE ''" expression.
Your initial query which is going to be stored as a bookmark has to yield at
least one result row so you can store the bookmark. You may have that to work
around using well positioned "/**/" comments.

[6.19] How can I create simple LaTeX document to include exported table?

You can simply include table in your LaTeX documents, minimal sample document
should look like following one (assuming you have table exported in file
table.tex):

\documentclass{article} % or any class you want
\usepackage{longtable}  % for displaying table
\begin{document}        % start of document
\include{table}         % including exported table
\end{document}          % end of document

[6.20] In MySQL 4, I see a lot of databases which are not mine, and cannot
access them.

Upgrading to MySQL 4 usually gives users those global privileges: CREATE
TEMPORARY TABLES, SHOW DATABASES, LOCK TABLES. Those privileges also enable
users to see all the database names. See this bug report.

So if your users do not need those privileges, you can remove them and their
databases list will shorten.

[6.21] In edit/insert mode, how can I see a list of possible values for a
field, based on some foreign table?

You have to setup appropriate links between the tables, and also setup the
"display field" in the foreign table. See FAQ 6.6 for an example. Then, if
there are 200 values or less in the foreign table, a drop-down list of values
will be available. You will see two lists of values, the first list containing
the key and the display field, the second list containing the display field and
the key. The reason for this is to be able to type the first letter of either
the key or the display field.

For 200 values or more, a distinct window will appear, to browse foreign key
values and choose one.

[6.22] Bookmarks: Can I execute a default bookmark automatically when entering
Browse mode for a table?

Yes. If a bookmark has the same label as a table name, it will be executed.

[6.23] Export: I heard phpMyAdmin can export Microsoft Excel files, how can I
enable that?

Current version does support direct export to Microsoft Excel and Word versions
2000 and newer. If you need export older versions, you can use CSV suitable for
Microsoft Excel, which works out of the box or you can try native experimental
MS Excel exporter. This export has several problems, most important are
limitation of cell content to 255 chars and no support for charsets, so think
carefully whether you want to enable this.. For enabling this you need to set
$cfg['TempDir'] to place where web server user can write (for example './tmp')
and install PEAR module Spreadsheet_Excel_Writer into php include path. The
installation can be done by following command:

    pear -d preferred_state=beta install -a Spreadsheet_Excel_Writer

First part of switches set we want to install beta version of that module (no
stable version available yet) and then we tell pear we want to satisfy
dependencies.

If you are running in PHP safe mode, you will have to set in php.ini the
safe_mode_include_dir to the directory where your PEAR modules are located, for
example:

    safe_mode_include_dir = /usr/local/lib/php

To create the temporary directory on a UNIX-based system, you can do:

    cd phpMyAdmin
    mkdir tmp
    chmod o+rwx tmp

[6.24] Now that phpMyAdmin supports native MySQL 4.1.x column comments, what
happens to my column comments stored in pmadb?

Automatic migration of a table's pmadb-style column comments to the native ones
is done whenever you enter Structure page for this table.


[7. phpMyAdmin project]

[7.1] I have found a bug. How do I inform developers?

Our Bug Tracker is located at http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpmyadmin/ under
the Bugs section.

But please first discuss your bug with other users:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpmyadmin/ (and choose Forums)

[7.2] I want to translate the messages to a new language or upgrade an existing
language, where do I start?

Always use the current CVS version of your language file. For a new language,
start from english-iso-8859-1.inc.php. If you don't know how to get the CVS
version, please ask one of the developers.
Please note that we try not to use HTML entities like &eacute; in the
translations, since we define the right character set in the file. With HTML
entities, the text on JavaScript messages would not display correctly. However
there are some entities that need to be there, for quotes ,non-breakable
spaces, ampersands, less than, greater than.
You can then put your translations, as a zip file to avoid losing special
characters, on the sourceforge.net translation tracker.
It would be a good idea to subscribe to the phpmyadmin-translators mailing
list, because this is where we ask for translations of new messages.

[7.3] I would like to help out with the development of phpMyAdmin. How should I
proceed?

The following method is preferred for new developers:

 1. fetch the current CVS tree over anonymous CVS:
    cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@phpmyadmin.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/phpmyadmin
    login
    [Password: simply press the Enter key]
    cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@phpmyadmin.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/
    phpmyadmin checkout phpMyAdmin
    [This will create a new sub-directory named phpMyAdmin]
 2. add your stuff
 3. put the modified files (tar'ed and gzip'ed) inside the patch tracker of the
    phpMyAdmin SourceForge account.

Write access to the CVS tree is granted only to experienced developers who have
already contributed something useful to phpMyAdmin.
Also, have a look at the Developers section.


[8. Security ]

[8.1] Security alert, dated 2003-06-18.

Last update of this FAQ: 2003-07-22.

The phpMyAdmin development team received notice of this security alert: http://
www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/325641.

The team regrets that the author did not communicate with us before sending
this alert. However, here is our current reply to the points mentioned:

  * "Directory transversal attack"

    This problem had been fixed in version 2.5.0, even if the author reports
    the 2.5.2 development version as vulnerable, which we could not reproduce.

  * "Remote local file retrieving"

    This is a misleading title, as the author tells in his text: "Note that you
    can't request files ( only dirs )".

  * "Remote internal directory listing"

    It was possible to retrieve the list of phpMyAdmin's directory (which we
    doubt can cause any damage), but we fixed this in the 2.5.2 version.

  * "XSS and Path disclosures"

    Most of the XSS problems have been fixed in version 2.5.0. The rest have
    been fixed in the 2.5.2 version.

    We believe that the Path disclosures problems have also been fixed in
    version 2.5.2.

  * "Information encoding weakness"

    We believe that an exploit for this weakness would be difficult to achieve.
    However version 2.5.2 now encrypts the password with the well-known
    blowfish algorithm.


[8.2] Security alert, dated 2004-06-29.

Last update of this FAQ: 2004-06-30.

The phpMyAdmin development team received notice of this security alert: http://
securityfocus.com/archive/1/367486/2004-06-26/2004-07-02/0

We would like to put emphasis on the disappointment we feel when a bugreporter
does not contact the authors of a software first, before posting any exploits.
The common way to report this, is to give the developers a reasonable amount of
time to respond to an exploit before it is made public.

We acknowledge that phpMyAdmin versions 2.5.1 to 2.5.7 are vulnerable to this
problem, if each of the following conditions are met:

  * The Web server hosting phpMyAdmin is not running in safe mode.
  * In config.inc.php, $cfg['LeftFrameLight'] is set to FALSE (the default
    value of this parameter is TRUE).
  * There is no firewall blocking requests from the Web server to the attacking
    host.


Version 2.5.7-pl1 was released with a fix for this vulnerability.

[8.3] About new security alerts

Please refer to http://www.phpmyadmin.net for the complete list of security
alerts.


Developers Information

phpMyAdmin is Open Source, so you're invited to contribute to it. Many great
features have been written by other people and you too can help to make
phpMyAdmin a useful tool.

If you're planning to contribute source, please read the following information:

  * All files include libraries/header.inc.php (layout),. libraries/
    common.lib.php (common functions) and config.inc.php.
    Only configuration data should go in config.inc.php. Please keep it free
    from other code.
    Commonly used functions should be added to libraries/common.lib.php and
    more specific ones may be added within a library stored into the libraries
    sub-directory.
  * Obviously, you're free to use whatever coding style you want. But please
    try to keep your code as simple as possible: beginners are using phpMyAdmin
    as an example application.
    As far as possible, we want the scripts to be XHTML1.0 and CSS2 compliant
    on one hand, they fit the PEAR coding standards on the other hand. Please
    pay attention to this.
  * Please try to keep up the file-naming conventions. Table-related stuff goes
    to tbl_*.php, db-related code to db_*.php, server-related tools to
    server_*.php and so on.
  * Please don't use verbose strings in your code, instead add the string (at
    least) to english-iso-8859-1.inc.php and print() it out.
  * If you want to be really helpful, write an entry for the ChangeLog.
  * The DBG extension (PHP Debugger DBG) is now supported by phpMyAdmin for
    developers to better debug and profile their code.
    Please see the $cfg['DBG']* configuration options for more information.
    This is in memoriam of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) which was lost
    during its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and in memory of the brave men
    and women who gave their lives for the people of Earth.


Credits


phpMyAdmin - Credits
====================

CREDITS, in chronological order
-------------------------------

- Tobias Ratschiller <tobias_at_ratschiller.com>
    * creator of the phpmyadmin project
    * maintainer from 1998 to summer 2000

- Marc Delisle <Marc.Delisle_at_cegepsherbrooke.qc.ca>
    * multi-language version
    * various fixes and improvements
    * SQL analyser (most of it)
    * current project maintainer

- Olivier Mu:ller <om_at_omnis.ch>
    * started SourceForge phpMyAdmin project in March 2001
    * sync'ed different existing CVS trees with new features and bugfixes
    * multi-language improvements, dynamic language selection
    * current project maintainer
    * many bugfixes and improvements

- Loi:c Chapeaux <lolo_at_phpheaven.net>
    * rewrote and optimized javascript, DHTML and DOM stuff
    * rewrote the scripts so they fit the PEAR coding standards and
      generate XHTML1.0 and CSS2 compliant codes
    * improved the language detection system
    * many bugfixes and improvements

- Robin Johnson <robbat2_at_users.sourceforge.net>
    * database maintenance controls
    * table type code
    * Host authentication IP Allow/Deny
    * DB-based configuration (Not completed)
    * SQL parser and pretty-printer
    * SQL validator
    * many bugfixes and improvements

- Armel Fauveau <armel.fauveau_at_globalis-ms.com>
    * bookmarks feature
    * multiple dump feature
    * gzip dump feature
    * zip dump feature

- Geert Lund <glund_at_silversoft.dk>
    * various fixes
    * moderator of the phpMyAdmin former users forum at phpwizard.net

- Korakot Chaovavanich <korakot_at_iname.com>
    * "insert as new row" feature

- Pete Kelly <webmaster_at_trafficg.com>
    * rewrote and fix dump code
    * bugfixes

- Steve Alberty <alberty_at_neptunlabs.de>
    * rewrote dump code for PHP4
    * mySQL table statistics
    * bugfixes

- Benjamin Gandon <gandon_at_isia.cma.fr>
    * main author of the version 2.1.0.1
    * bugfixes

- Alexander M. Turek <me_at_derrabus.de>
    * MySQL 4.0 / 4.1 / 5.0 compatibility
    * abstract database interface (PMA_DBI) with MySQLi support
    * privileges administration
    * XML exports
    * various features and fixes
    * German language file updates

- Mike Beck <mike.beck_at_web.de>
    * automatic joins in QBE
    * links column in printview
    * Relation view

- Michal ?iha? <michal_at_cihar.com>
    * enhanced index creation/display feature
    * feature to use a different charset for HTML than for MySQL
    * improvements of export feature
    * various features and fixes
    * Czech language file updates

- Christophe Gesche' from the "MySQL Form Generator for PHPMyAdmin"
  (http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpmysqlformgen/)
    * suggested the patch for multiple table printviews

- Garvin Hicking <me_at_supergarv.de>
    * built the patch for vertical display of table rows
    * built the Javascript based Query window + SQL history
    * Improvement of column/db comments
    * (MIME)-Transformations for columns
    * Use custom alias names for Databases in left frame
    * hierarchical/nested table display
    * PDF-scratchboard for WYSIWYG-distribution of PDF relations
    * new icon sets
    * vertical display of column properties page
    * some bugfixes, features, support, German language additions

- Yukihiro Kawada <kawada_at_den.fujifilm.co.jp>
    * japanese kanji encoding conversion feature

- Piotr Roszatycki <d3xter_at_users.sourceforge.net> and Dan Wilson
    * the Cookie authentication mode

- Axel Sander <n8falke_at_users.sourceforge.net>
    * table relation-links feature

- Maxime Delorme <delorme.maxime_at_free.fr>
    * PDF schema output, thanks also to Olivier Plathey for the
      "FPDF" library (see http://www.fpdf.org/) and Steven Wittens
      for the "UFPDF" library (see http://www.acko.net/node/56).

- Olof Edlund <olof.edlund_at_upright.se>
    * SQL validator server

- Ivan R. Lanin <ivanlanin_at_users.sourceforge.net>
    * phpMyAdmin logo (until June 2004)

- Mike Cochrane <mike_at_graftonhall.co.nz>
    * blowfish library from the Horde project

- Marcel Tschopp <ne0x_at_users.sourceforge.net>
    * mysqli support
    * many bugfixes and improvements

- Michael Keck <mkkeck_at_users.sourceforge.net>
    * redesign for 2.6.0
    * phpMyAdmin sailboat logo (June 2004)

- Mathias Landha:usser
    * Representation at conferences

- Sebastian Mendel <cybot_tm_at_users.sourceforge.net>
    * interface improvements
    * various bugfixes

And also to the following people who have contributed minor changes,
enhancements, bugfixes or support for a new language since version 2.1.0:

Bora Alioglu, Ricardo ?, Sven-Erik Andersen, Alessandro Astarita,
Pe'ter Bakondy, Borges Botelho, Olivier Bussier, Neil Darlow,
Mats Engstrom, Ian Davidson, Laurent Dhima, Kristof Hamann, Thomas Kla:ger,
Lubos Klokner, Martin Marconcini, Girish Nair, David Nordenberg, Andreas Pauley,
Bernard M. Piller, Laurent Haas, "Sakamoto", Yuval Sarna,
www.securereality.com.au, Alexis Soulard, Alvar Soome, Siu Sun, Peter Svec,
Michael Tacelosky, Rachim Tamsjadi, Kositer Uros,
Lui's V., Martijn W. van der Lee,
Algis Vainauskas, Daniel Villanueva, Vinay, Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams, Chee Wai,
Jakub Wilk, Thomas Michael Winningham, Vilius Zigmantas, "Manuzhai".


Original Credits of Version 2.1.0
---------------------------------

    This work is based on Peter Kuppelwieser's MySQL-Webadmin. It was his idea
    to create a web-based interface to MySQL using PHP3. Although I have not
    used any of his source-code, there are some concepts I've borrowed from
    him. phpMyAdmin was created because Peter told me he wasn't going to
    further develop his (great) tool.
    Thanks go to
    - Amalesh Kempf <ak-lsml_at_living-source.com> who contributed the
      code for the check when dropping a table or database. He also suggested
      that you should be able to specify the primary key on tbl_create.php3. To
      version 1.1.1 he contributed the ldi_*.php3-set (Import text-files) as
      well as a bug-report. Plus many smaller improvements.
    - Jan Legenhausen <jan_at_nrw.net>: He made many of the changes that
      were introduced in 1.3.0 (including quite significant ones like the
      authentication). For 1.4.1 he enhanced the table-dump feature. Plus
      bug-fixes and help.
    - Marc Delisle <DelislMa_at_CollegeSherbrooke.qc.ca> made phpMyAdmin
      language-independent by outsourcing the strings to a separate file. He
      also contributed the French translation.
    - Alexandr Bravo <abravo_at_hq.admiral.ru> who contributed
      tbl_select.php3, a feature to display only some fields from a table.
    - Chris Jackson <chrisj_at_ctel.net> added support for MySQL
      functions in tbl_change.php3. He also added the
      "Query by Example" feature in 2.0.
    - Dave Walton <walton_at_nordicdms.com> added support for multiple
      servers and is a regular contributor for bug-fixes.
    - Gabriel Ash <ga244_at_is8.nyu.edu> contributed the random access
      features for 2.0.6.
    The following people have contributed minor changes, enhancements, bugfixes
    or support for a new language:
    Jim Kraai, Jordi Bruguera, Miquel Obrador, Geert Lund, Thomas Kleemann,
    Alexander Leidinger, Kiko Albiol, Daniel C. Chao, Pavel Piankov,
    Sascha Kettler, Joe Pruett, Renato Lins, Mark Kronsbein, Jannis Hermanns,
    G. Wieggers.

    And thanks to everyone else who sent me email with suggestions, bug-reports
    and or just some feedback.


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