This was written in 2002 and may no longer be accurate.

The easiest thing to do is just get the RPMs and install them. You can get the latest RPMs at http://starship.python.net/crew/jrush/Zope/ (this might have changed to http://www.taupro.com/Downloads/Zope, so try that if the other URL doesn't work). The latest version of Zope that is available in RPM format as of this writing is 2.3.2.

You'll need these RPM's:

Zope-2.3.2-1.i386.rpm (the Complete Zope Development Environment)
Zope-zserver-2.3.2-1.i386.rpm (Simple Python-Based HTTP Server)

Once you've downloaded the RPMs, install them as root:

# rpm -Uhv Zope*2.3.2*.rpm

After you've installed the RPMs, you need to change the superuser's login name & password so that you can start using Zope. To do this, run the following command as root:

# /usr/share/zope/utilities/zpasswd.py --username=<new_username> --password=<new_superuser_password> /var/zope/access

Now you need to start Zope. Note that Zope should start automatically next time you reboot & login to your computer. However, we need to get it running right now to make sure your install worked & to test your new username & password. To start Zope, run the following as root:

# /etc/rc.d/init.d/zope start

Now let's test everything to make sure it works. Open your Web browser and go to the following address. Login using the username & password you just changed.

http://localhost:8080/manage

If all is well, you should now be looking at the management interface for Zope. You are currently logged in as the "Emergency User", so you really can't do anything except create another user. That is exactly what you want to do. On the left pane, click on acl_users. In the right pane, you should now click on the Add ... button. Add a new username, the one you plan to use most of the time, enter the password, and then select Manager as the Role. Click the Add button to complete the process.

In the top right of your browser window you'll see a popup menu next to a Go button. Click the popup menu & choose Logout. After logging out, close your Web browser, reopen the Web browser, go to http://localhost:8080/manage and login using your new Manager username & password. You're now ready to begin using Zope!