infopop’s ubb.classic™ and ubb.threads™ software
Tips for Moving from UBB.classic™ to UBB.threads™
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Phone 206.283.5999 • Fax 206.283.6166
Instructions for Performing the Actual Import
UBB.threads Has (UBB.classic does not)
UBB.classic Has (UBB.threads does not)
Read this Before Using the Import Utility
Pre-Import checklist (UBB.classic):
This document will tell you what to expect when importing a UBB.classic™ community into the UBB.threads™ software. The import script will not alter or delete any information from your existing UBB.classic™ community. It is strictly a read-only operation, and will leave your UBB.classic™ intact. If you experience a malfunction during the import operation, don’t worry---your UBB.classic™ will not be harmed.
UBB.threads™ is different from UBB.classic™ – it has a slightly different look and feel, and different functionality, in addition to using a MySQL database on the backend. If you’re considering moving, but are unsure, here are some things you can do to help make your decision:
q Install the UBB.threads Trial version (check out the control panel)
q Make some posts in our UBBCentral UBB.threads community (try out the user interface)
q Take a look at some live UBB.threads communities (see it in action)
1. Install the UBB.threads™ software per normal instructions, right up to, and including, the “createtable.php” script.
2. After createtable.php has run, you will be prompted to create a new Admin username. Go ahead and do so, but be sure to use a different username for this Admin account than you previously used for your UBB.classic™ Admin account. After the import is complete, you can either continue using the new Admin username or you can use the imported UBB.classic™ Admin. Caution: if you do not create your UBB.threads™ Admin account at the end of the installation process, and you then import your UBB.classic™ community, the first user imported will be automatically designated as the primary Admin.
3. Do not start setting up forums or categories yet!
4. Using your FTP program, connect to your web server and upload the two import scripts (ubbimport.cnf.php and ubbimport.php) that are contained in the UBB.threads import zip file. Place them inside your ubbthreads installation directory (the same directory that ubbthreads.php is in).
5. Set permissions on ubbimport.cnf.php to 666.
6. Open your browser, and open ubbimport.php. It will ask you for the paths and URLs for your UBB.classic™ software. You can find them in the UBB.classic™ control panel, in the Primary Settings pulldown, under Configuration Settings.
7. Once you click submit, ubbimport.php will start to import users, categories, forums, moderators, private messages, buddy lists, and messages (not necessarily in that order). After each section is finished, it will prompt you to start the next section. When it imports the threads, it could take several minutes. The script will show you how many threads are complete.
8. When the script is complete, you will be prompted to log into your new UBB.threads™ message board. Use your old UBB.classic™ username and password to log into the UBB.threads™ board and click the “Admin” link to enter the control panel.
9. Click “Edit Config Settings” and select the config options you wish to use for your new UBB.threads™ community. Make sure you enable the “ICQ Numbers” option, because the importer will have brought over your ICQ numbers from the UBB.classic community. If you wish to also display AIM numbers, simply type the word “AIM” without quotes in the Extra Fields text box. (The importer does import AIM numbers from your UBB.classic.)
10. Click “Edit Theme Settings” and select the display options you wish to use.
11. The importer brings private forums over with a default of Admin-only access. To re-establish your correct private forum settings, you’ll need to create a security group and assign it the permissions you wish for each private forum. You then need to add users to the groups, according to which members you want to grant access.
12. You will need to set your forum colors/styles by either modifying a default stylesheet or creating a new one of your own. You may need to reorder your forums and categories, because they are imported by date of creation, not the order in which they appeared in your UBB.classic™ community.
UBB.threads Has (UBB.classic does not) |
UBB.classic Has (UBB.threads does not) |
· Users can switch back and forth between threaded and non-threaded (linear) format · Users can choose display “skins” · Admins can use multiple front-end servers for load sharing · Users can choose a language on the fly · Hidden forums · Message pre-screening · Option to allow attachments · User “reminder” feature – mark posts/topics for later reply · Topic auto-expire (and ability to override) · Fast, powerful search engine |
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The import utility will bring across your messages, member profiles, categories, forums, moderators, buddy lists, and private messages. However, because of differences between the two software programs, there are a few extra precautions you need to take when importing from UBB.classic™ to UBB.threads™ software.
After you have installed your UBB.threads™ message board on your server, run through the checklist below before importing your UBB.classic™ data.
q Ensure that your UBB.classic files are in ASCII
q Your UBB.classic files must have at least read permissions.
q Rebuild your Forum stat files and Members files if you think there may be a discrepancy with your current post and member count.
q These instructions assume that your new UBB.threads installation will be on the same server as your old UBB.classic installation. If your old UBB.classic is on a different server than the new UBB.threads you are installing, you will need to copy your UBB.classic directories over to the new server before performing the migration (or, advanced users who are able to open remote connections to the MySQL database can run the import script from the source server).
q Ensure that your UBB.threads installation does not have any user accounts or post data. (If you do have existing data on your board the import won’t work). If you do have data on your new installation you will have to empty your database tables.
q Upload both of the UBB.threads import scripts (ubbimport.php, ubbimport.cnf.php) to your main UBB.threads install directory.
q Set the permissions on the ubbimport.cnf.php file to 666 (Read, Write, and Delete).
1. You must install UBB.threads™ software before running the import utility – At the end of the UBB.threads™ installation instructions, you are told to create your Admin account. Go ahead and do so, but be sure to use a different username for this Admin account than you previously used for your UBB.classic™ Admin account. After the import is complete, you can either continue using the new Admin username or you can use the imported UBB.classic™ Admin. Caution: if you do not create your UBB.threads™ Admin account at the end of the installation process, and you then import your UBB.classic™ community, the first user imported will be automatically designated as the primary Admin.
2. Database – Do not do anything to your MySQL database before importing (do not create special tables or edit any users). If you do alter the database structure, your UBB.classic™ users may be overwritten during the import process.
3. Categories - If your existing UBB.classic™ community has no categories, or has some forums in categories and some not, the forums without a category won’t show up in UBB.threads™ until you assign them to a category. Note that UBB.threads™ must display at least one category---there is no way to remove the category name from the public display.
4. Optional Registration Fields - UBB.threads™ importer script does not bring over the optional registration fields from UBB.classic™. That’s because UBB.threads™ does not currently have a mechanism to hide custom registration fields. (This is something that may be added in a future version of the script.)
5. User titles don’t come across – After you have imported into UBB.threads™, you’ll need to set up a new user title schema. Click the Admin link at the top of your UBB.threads™ page.Click on “edit titles” under Filters. Using the boxes provided, you can set up a series of special titles that will be applied to users as they reach specified numbers of posts. The first title is usually for new users (those with zero posts). NOTE: If you are creating a new title scheme, and would like to retroactively change all user titles, you can click the check-box at the bottom of the page. Beware that this will overwrite any custom titles you have created.
6. Colors, styles, and custom headers/footers are not imported – You may wish to make a note of these things from your UBB.classic™ before you conduct the import, so that you can re-set them in your UBB.threads™ after the import.
7. Private messages--The UBB.classic™ software keeps one common file for each private message (less space taken than retaining separate copies for each participant). It does not delete the file until both the sender and the recipient click delete. If only one person clicks delete, the message is simply hidden from his/her box until both click delete. Therefore, after the import process, you may have some messages re-appearing in the in-boxes of your users. Users can simply re-delete those messages and they will be gone permanently.