RosemaryLong.com

A friend was asking for some help doing this, so I decided to dedicate a blog post to it instead. (Screenshots make everyone happy.)

I personally keep all of my project files in a “Projects” folder right under my home directory. Subsequently, each project (and subversion checkout) get their own folders. I also have Flash output being symbolically linked to the HTML site, but that could be another article.

Download, install, and pay for MAMP Pro. It’s great. It will do a bunch of setup stuff that I can’t remember since it’s been months since doing it, but it’s a relatively straightforward process.

If it didn’t do so automatically, start up your MAMP server. Switch to the Hosts view and then on the + sign at the bottom left to start a new project.

I always choose a Server Name to be something short and without spaces. When I run my localhost I will run it as mynewproject:8888 so I try to keep it short and self-explanatory.

Now under Disk Location, click on “Choose” and select the directory containing your project files. Click on “Apply” and you will be asked to restart the server.

Once everything is done restarting, you can either go to mynewproject:8888 (port 8888 is the MAMP default — I haven’t had a need to change this) or go to the Hosts view in MAMP again and click on the house icon next to your project’s name.

You’re done! If you need to create a local database, click on the WebStart button in the top right and you’ll see a link to your locally running phpMyAdmin. There’s a lot of help available online, and at least one friend here willing to lend a hand if needed.

If you want to want to see your site in a simulated Windows environment, you may want to read on how to configure your VMWare Fusion to view your MAMP server.