2008 has been "The Year of Linux" for me.
I have spent more time on a command line in 2008 than in all years prior. I have had to rely on some excellent online resources such as http://www.ss64.com/bash/
If you are not in the habit of installing modules from command line then I encourage you to start. Here's an excellent resource that utilizes <a href = "http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/" target="_blank">CVS</a>. http://support.bryght.com/vps/installing-modules
If CVS isn't your style then here's a simple non-CVS method.
1] goto drupal.org and find the theme or module you wish to install. Right click or CTRL-click the link to the tar file and copy the link address
2] open an SSH terminal [in windows <a href ="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/" target = "_blank">puTTY</a>] In apple just use TERMINAL.
3] navigate to your Drupal install and change directories to the appropriate place.
a] for modules it might be the following command
cd www/sites/all/modules
in my case I prefer
cd www/sites/all/modules/contrib/
if you need a new folder at ant level then go to that level and do the following
mkdir contrib
4] once you're sure that you're where you want the file to be, do the following
wget [paste the module or theme link here]
5] If you placed the proper file reference after the wget then you should have watched linux download a copy to the server. Now it's time to unpack the file with the following line
tar -xvzf [whatever the file name is that you just downloaded with wget]
some servers require the z option others are happy with tar -xvf
A tip is that you can start the 1st few letters of the file name and hit the TAB key to auto complete the file name for you.
Now that you have unpacked the file you have the whole directory structure that you need. So go to your admin for Modules or Themes [which ever you just downloaded] and activate it.
You're done...
If any one knows a smoother way to do this than what I have prescribed, feel free to comment and I'll make a note of it.
- Doug