Set Up 7.6 Forums

Involved Joined: Aug 06, 2005 Posts: 301

OK...So this fast learning Rookie has just checked the Forums but has been unable to find a topic answering the following...

I am running Version 7.6 with Patch 3.0

I have already run the upgrade.php file, hence the oritigal error I was receiving on the chat forum page has now dissapeared and all LOOKS fine.

Now I need to configue the forums section of my website, hence from the Administration panel, I clicked on 'Forums'.

The first thing I notice is how the page you reach appears to 'completely out of the PHP-Nuke Environment' and domain, because it does not contain the PHP-Nuke theme around the edge, like say for example, the Administration panel does etc....I know it is not outside the domain because the URL is: [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ]

I am sure this 'look' is normal, but can someone confirm this point when replying.

Next, (for your information, so you know exactly 'where we are'), this page I reach has the following text at the top:

'Welcome to phpBB
Thank you for choosing phpBB as your forum solution. This screen will give you a quick overview of all the various statistics of your board. You can get back to this page by clicking on the Admin Index link in the left pane. To return to the index of your board, click the phpBB logo also in the left pane. The other links on the left hand side of this screen will allow you to control every aspect of your forum experience. Each screen will have instructions on how to use the tools.'

Now the fundamental question is, where do I go from here and how do I configure the forums section so it is fully operational? Is this a 'major' job or not?

Finally, one imoprtant observation is that the bottom of the aformentioned page says:

Version Information
Your installation does not seem to be up to date. Updates are available for your version of phpBB, please visit [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ] to obtain the latest version.
The latest available version is phpBB 2.0.17.You are running phpBB 2.0.15.

Do I need to upgrade something? Is this essential? I need to have my website up and running in 48 hours, so should I not worry about any updates for now?

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 6:09 am

The "look" is normal. This is the user interface for phpBB Admin Section.

As for the upgrading of 2.0.15, yes I would recommend it. You will need to do it in increments. Meaning you will need to upgrade 2.0.15 to 2.0.16 and then 2.0.16 to to 2.0.17

Manual upgrade instructions can be found here:

2.0.15 to 2.0.16 manual changes

2.0.16 to 2.0.17 manual changes

Be sure to make back ups of each file you make changes to in the event that you make an error somewhere. That way you will have a file you can revert to for re-editting. Also, before moving on to the next upgrade take the time to test for problem issues. Once you are comfortable that you have not made any errors in your editing you can then move on to the next upgrade.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 6:43 am

Thanks Curtis.

I am just begining to 'play around' with the forums admin etc for now.

I will upgrade subsequent to sorting out a little customization etc. What would 'happen' if I do not upgare? What are the advantages? Does the upgrade offer more security, (which is always the number one concern to me)? Am I more 'vunerable' to attacks on the site without upgrading?

I have just created a forum, but still I receive the message 'This board has no forums in the Forums section of my PHPNuke site. What do I need to do?

Anyone know?

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 6:50 am

The upgrades offer fixes to exploits that have been found as well as corrections.

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 6:57 am

Thanks Curtis...And how do I make the forum I just created, become visible and stop the error message 'This board has no forums' being displayed?

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:01 am

Hmmm. Are you sure that you have created a category AND and a forum and not just the category?

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:07 am

I am on the 'Forums Administration' page.

I created 'something' which has a title and to the right it says 'EDIT', 'DELETE', 'MOVE UP MOVE DOWN'.

Thats where we are at now.

So what else should I do and how?

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:29 am

If you look there are two distinct form fields. One that says create new Forum and one that says create new category.

Once you have created a category, under that category there should now be the option to create a new forum. You must create the forum.

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:34 am

Hmmm...I'll blame my hangover for that stupid 'mistake'. I see that all now and all is working well.

Much Thanks.

I'll be posting a new thread soon as I continue this fast learning curve.

Just one final thought here though. I note that by default the PHPBB allows HTML to be posted. I though this opens a site up to attack, hence PHPNuke does not allow HTML or Java ETC. Am I correct in thinking that the reason setting the default to 'HTML Allowed' is that subsequently (in the next admin field) the allowed tags are defined and limited'?

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:40 am

Yes, they are limited to tags that are thought to be safest. Personally I prefer to deactivate html though and just use bbcode as it is sufficient.

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:42 am

I'll do that then.

Thanks for everything for now.