UBB.threads PHP Forum Software Community Forums UBB.threads 7 Installation and Upgrade Support Converting links from Classic to Threads

In my classic board, there are hundreds of messages where the writer has posted a link to another thread. Each of these links contains .../cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi...

I assume I would be hoping too much that in importing the old board, the links will not be changed. Right?

So might there be a way to search all messages, and convert the cgi_bin string into a ...ubbthreads.php/ubb... link that would work? Will each thread come across with the same thread number?

The links will be changed, it's a new product.

There are however redirectors, which will allow old links to forward to new locations.

I take that to mean the old link contained within the text will NOT be changed, and the actual URL of the imported message will be different ...right?

So that means clicking on the old link in the imported message will do a two-step hop and actually find the imported message in the new message board?

I hope that the cgi-bin area will be left untouched, because I am hoping to do a Trial, then Final conversion. I need to be sure the old board will not be affected by installing and importing it to Threads.

If the redirect is going to work, does that mean the actual message numbers will not be changed during the import?

"link contgained in the text"? I'm not sure that I understand... The new forum software has completely new urls, I don't believe they mirror that used of either Classic or the previous Threads. The URL's will be differant, id's will be differant, etc.

however, the redirectors that come with the importer will read the data inserted in the import_map table and forward users to the new location based on what the old id's where.

The new software simply copies your old data, it doesn't delete it for you, so your old "stuff" will remain where it is; there is both a cgi and php redirector with the import file which you can send users to the new location based on if they come in from either script.

Just to re-itterate, the message numbers, user numbers, forum numbers, category numbers, etc WILL change, there isa 99% chance that they WILL be differant for everything; as they'll be re-indexed as they're inserted into the MySQL database; the redirectors however can read the values inserted into the import_map table and can forward users linking to the OLD location to the NEW but ONLY if you're using the redirector files.

Let me explain... My Classic user creates a new message, and refers to an old message on the board, so he posts a link to the old Classic thread and message, with the http://www.xyz.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=... link. So when I read his new message, I can click on the link and read the other thread. Now... when I import his message to the new board, as well as the other thread, will someone reading the imported message be able to click on the link and get to the other imported message? ...or will all those links be dead. My board is full of that sort of thing.

Here is an example in this board: I refer you to my other active thread in this board: Trial, then Final install??. Now, if this message were imported from Classic to Threads, would that link still work???

I am looking for some way to ensure that they will work, or some way that I can do a mass change and fix them so they will work (the reason I was hoping thread numbers would not change.)

...I know nothing about redirectors. Where can I learn more?

The old links will still work if you use the redirector scripts that come with the importer. As this is a new product, all of the old links will cease to function (with the exception of if you choose to use the redirector files to keep old links alive).

The redirectors are the files ultimatebb.cgi and ultimatebb.php that are in the file with the importer file for classic to threads; it's a dead simple install, simply update the forumurl in the scripts, then overright your old files on yoru old forum install and the old links will forward to the new locations.

I've been trying to get this to work, and am getting nowhere, atleast with the ultimatebb.cgi script located in the classic_import zip file. I changed the $URL variable to point to my website in both the ultimatebb.php and ultimatebb.cgi files, but all I see is a blank page when cgi extension. If I set $redirect equal to 0, then I get redirected to the board landing page, but not redirected to the actual post. Has anyone solved this issue? I'm using ubb7threads, upgraded from classic 6.7.2.

Okay, I delved into the ultimatebb.cgi perl script file, and after further analysis, this seems to be maybe 15% complete. First off, the script assumes to be search engine friendly all the way through. Also, the redirects only work for posts, where the query string ubb=get_topic, link redirects do not work for forums or profiles as is. I'll post back to what I changed to get this working once it's complete.

Okay, now I know why a lot of those redirect links were left not complete. It's impossible to get redirects for users and forums due to the import list. If anybody out there MUST have this working properly, I recommend editing the ultimatebb.cgi file, and adding if statements near the end. For example, for redirecting to profiles, use: if ($in{'ubb'} eq "get_profile"

Also, before doing the actual import, I'd suggest editing classic_import.php, and around line 516 it retrieves the insertid as the userid, I'd recommend possibly inserting this id, as well as the old user id into some sort of mapping table, and using that table to determine what the userid got changed to when doing the redirect. I'm too lazy to go through and modify this, happy boarding.

question, why would you need to forward userid's? do search engines or bookmarks link to profiles or something on your site?