Thinking it would simplify things, I decided to try to set up CiviCRM on my personal Mac (running 10.6.7, or Snow Leopard) so I could do some learning and testing before messing up the server. I did three searches: "OS X", "Mac", and "standalone".
Trying to search for "OS X" I learned that the search engine in the forums wants a minimum of three characters, but the search at the CiviCRM home doesn't mind. So on the home page I saw the following results (which includes items from the forum I couldn't find directly via the forum search):
CiviCRM Dev Environment on Mac OS X using MacPorts, NetBeans ...
May 25, 2010 ... This is an "Optional Install" on the Mac OS X installation DVD, or you can download them from the Apple Developer Connection website. ...
wiki.civicrm.org
Cron Setup in OS X Snow Leopard Server
Cron Setup in OS X Snow Leopard Server. ... Author Topic: Cron Setup in OS X Snow Leopard Server (Read 328 times) ...
forum.civicrm.org
[#CRM-2768] Installer misdetecting PHP version in OSX - CiviCRM ...
Drupal 5.7 (installed today) PHP 5.2.4, installed using directions from: http:// www.veola.net/macintosh/adding-gd-library-for-mac-os-x-leopard to add GD ...
issues.civicrm.org
How to Install/Configure CiviMail locally under Mac OS X
1) Mac OS X Tiger/Leopard comes with an Apache web server, Postfix, php, and I think MySQL. I found it easier to install MAMP & MAMP Pro, ...
forum.civicrm.org
Frustrations with Eclipse 3.3 / BIRT 2.2 and open source support ...
Apr 19, 2011 ... I've been able to get ecliple/birt to work just fine on OS X. I've ... We have BIRT on OSX working fine .. and can create and run reports ...
civicrm.org
Table 'civicrm.civicrm_domain' doesn't exist installing CiviCRM on ...
... doesn't exist installing CiviCRM on Mac OS X. ... I followed the instructions given in CiviCRM installation guide for Mac OS X at ...
forum.civicrm.org
DEVELOPER TIPS - FLOSS Manuals (en)
If your computer runs Linux or Mac OS X, running CiviCRM on your local machine is pretty easy. If your computer runs Windows, you have a little more work to ...
en.flossmanuals.net
Standalone Installation Guide - CiviCRM 3.0 Documentation ...
MAMP is a combination of open-source software that quickly installs a local server environment on your OS X Mac. ...
Current version of documentation. Mysteriously, there is no mention of standalone installation in the current documentation. Searching further I found Standalone insallation on MAC OS which sounded like just what I was looking for and contained the link to http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC/Standalone+Installation+Guide I was feeling like I was back on track until i followed the link to find: Page Not Found.
So do I want - and can I have - a "standalone" installation? What is the difference between the standalone package and installing all of the necessary components on a local machine? Here's the link to the forum topic I started if you want to follow along: http://forum.civicrm.org/index.php/topic,19589.0.html
I also thought that the first link about setting up a dev environment looked promising, but seemed to be more about doing development work on the CiviCRM code rather than setting up local sandbox (area to play in) install.
I am going to follow at least part of that bunny trail while searching for an answer to the "standalone" question.
Comments
Installing CiviCRM isn't very different between any of the 3.x versions:
http://www.rayogram.com/blog/2011/02/set-drupal-6-civicrm-30-os-x-using-xampp
That was dropped after 3.1. You should probably do a basic Drupal7 install on your sandbox, then install civicrm the normal way.
Also, I'm questioning whether you should just stick to the forums for this stuff rather than posting a new blog entry for every little question. Blogs are supposed to be at least a little newsworthy.
http://www.google.com/m?hl=en&gl=us&client=ms-android-google&source=android-browser-type&q=standalone+civicrm
Might be different but I have as the first result lobo's post announcing no more standalone.
Install drupal and only enable civi
I appreciate you all taking the time to post useful comments. I have received very prompt replies to my posting in the forum as well, which is very encouraging and illustrates vibrant and helpful community around CiviCRM.
As a new member of the community it is not my wish to do anything other than help and I defer to others as to the appropriateness of my postings where they are. The intention is to illuminate my process rather than just get to answers. My postings are specifically intended to look at the experience of someone like me, a volunteer for a non-profit who has enthusiasm and motivation, as they try to install and use CiviCRM to further the goals of their organization. Many members in my training class in Chicago in March were in a similar situation. I had a conversation with Dave Greenberg after the training about the idea of bringing fresh eyes to the process to hopefully uncover opportunities to help the novices like myself and this is the result. Whether or not my attempt turns out to be useful, I appreciate your participation in the conversation.
Great to see - a 'mystery shopper' approach. Extremely useful, and thanks for your efforts. I've long thought that this website is in need of some TLC to make it more useful and effective for newcomers and seasoned pros alike.
Hi Tim
You will want to install the same CMS (Drupal or Joomla!) on your local machine as you will be using on the server. The Standalone version of CiviCRM used to enable you to use CiviCRM without a CMS, but apparently there wasn't enough demand for such a beast.
Homebrew is an option you may want to consider if you are setting up a local development environment, or setting up a local VirtualBox running the same OS as your server, but MAMP will probably get you up and running quicker for just testing CiviCRM in one or more CMS (and avoiding the arcane joys of OS development on Mac).
Regards
Andrew
From blogging more. It is a great concept to see your (hopefully) success story unfold.