New to smf (need help badly)

[machawk]

Good day great guys! I am new to online forum creation. I am an I.T enthusiast and wish to build my own forum for a community, from researches i have done, i've decided to choose smf. but here lies the problem. I want to know if there is a way i can create my forum offline before putting it online as i am still taking time to choose a web host. While i ponder about which webhost to use, is it possible for me to test run my forum locally on my laptop and when i am done  test running, can i upload my desired "test runed" forum online? how can i do that?
thanks in advance for a reply. VIVA SMF!

[Deaks]

yeh you could use a programme like XAMPP this creates a local server so you can work off without needing internet.

[machawk]

yeh you could use a programme like XAMPP this creates a local server so you can work off without needing internet.

thanks! nice to know that. now it is getting interesting ! can i upload everything i have done on xampp to an online webhost hitch free? if i can, what are the pros and cons. i just want to know what i am dealing with here since i haven't decided to go though the normal convention of extracting it straight online.

[machawk]

combing through the forum, i find this useful for myself and also for others like me. http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=387205.0.  i want to ask. is it better that i install on xampp than the normal c-panel online stuffs?

[Deaks]

thanks! nice to know that. now it is getting interesting ! can i upload everything i have done on xampp to an online webhost hitch free? if i can, what are the pros and cons. i just want to know what i am dealing with here since i haven't decided to go though the normal convention of extracting it straight online.

yes in theory

for the files you could just zip them all up and upload to your site then extract
for the database you would need to use phpmyadmin (this comes with XAMPP) to export your db, then use the phpmyadmin that comes with your hosting to upload the database

When all this is done you would then need to run repair_settings.php to sort the paths.

The below wiki documents may help:

What is repair_settings.php?
How do I restore a database backup?
How do I move my SMF forum to a different host?
How do I backup my SMF forum?
How do I backup my database?

[machawk]

thanks! nice to know that. now it is getting interesting ! can i upload everything i have done on xampp to an online webhost hitch free? if i can, what are the pros and cons. i just want to know what i am dealing with here since i haven't decided to go though the normal convention of extracting it straight online.

yes in theory

for the files you could just zip them all up and upload to your site then extract
for the database you would need to use phpmyadmin (this comes with XAMPP) to export your db, then use the phpmyadmin that comes with your hosting to upload the database

When all this is done you would then need to run repair_settings.php to sort the paths.

The below wiki documents may help:

What is repair_settings.php?
How do I restore a database backup?
How do I move my SMF forum to a different host?
How do I backup my SMF forum?
How do I backup my database?

wow! really liking this forum. i am getting questions to my answers. yipee! thanks  Μπράιαν. i need your professional advice of this please. i have been asked to make a forum for a community on a topic which i think will later grow with heavy traffic later. i am new to online forum creation and also to smf. how will you advice me to go about this knowing that i am a novice in this field. will my usage of xammp be a good idea for me?

[Deaks]

XAMPP is a good stage to get it finalised etc before you upload to your main site, also its good as you can build the site even with your internet is down, also gives a good test forum for when you make the site live.

[machawk]

XAMPP is a good stage to get it finalised etc before you upload to your main site, also its good as you can build the site even with your internet is down, also gives a good test forum for when you make the site live.

Alright.so you will advise i start with xampp now then i do the online thing when i am done and satisfied with how my forum looks right?

[Deaks]

yeh, but its your choice dude

[radu81]

I also suggest building your forum on xampp or wamp and when you're ready you can uploaded to your host.. I suggest you to not start with a free Web hosting. Nowadays you can get a domain and some Web space for 20-30€/year. Once you forum will grow up you can switch to better Web hosting

[Deaks]

Also look here for hosting, each of these hosts meet the strict criteria to be able to post their as SMF want best for the users:

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=155.0

[machawk]

Thanks.  I will start with a test run on xampp and move on to an online host when i need to. Thanks for the support. I may be back with more questions. Sorry if i become a pain in the butt.

[Deaks]

dont worry im used to helping, and if you want help finding a host ill be happy to suggest a few but send me a pm:)

I will mark this as solved for now

[machawk]

sorry i am back again. damn! i am stuck here. i have decided to test run smf on xampp like i had chosen and i went through this installation:
i extracted smf.zip into htdocs ( i have already installed xampp and started apache and mysql)
i went into my browser and typed in "http://localhost/install.php"
it brought me to the smf installer page clicked on continue and i got to the 10% stage of creating a database
i went to my xampp control panel and created a mysql database and named it "smfdatabase"
i then went back to my smf installation and put in the database name and clicked on continue and i get the error code:
!!
Critical Error!
The installer was unable to access the "smfdatabase" database. With some hosts, you have to create the database in your administration panel before SMF can use it. Some also add prefixes - like your username - to your database names.


please where did i go wrong? wish i can add my screenshots here. Sorry i suck acting like a dummy just help me out pleasee.

[machawk]

i get these errors beneath my phpadmin page:
The phpMyAdmin configuration storage is not completely configured, some extended features have been deactivated. To find out why click here.
Your configuration file contains settings (root with no password) that correspond to the default MySQL privileged account. Your MySQL server is running with this default, is open to intrusion, and you really should fix this security hole by setting a password for user 'root'.


could that be the problem and how do i solve it?

[Illori]

try using the username root without a password and since you are local and not on the web you can ignore that error from phpmyadmin.

[Arantor]

Just for reference:
"The phpMyAdmin configuration storage is not completely configured, some extended features have been deactivated. To find out why click here."

You don't need to worry about this. You're not going to be using these features for anything you do in phpMyAdmin.

"Your configuration file contains settings (root with no password) that correspond to the default MySQL privileged account. Your MySQL server is running with this default, is open to intrusion, and you really should fix this security hole by setting a password for user 'root'."

This means your MySQL setup is currently set to use 'root' as the username and blank password for when you do anything like your local SMF install. It's a general warning and won't apply to this situation but you will need to change the password in the settings when you migrate that SMF install to a real webserver.

[machawk]

sorry i am back again. damn! i am stuck here. i have decided to test run smf on xampp like i had chosen and i went through this installation:
i extracted smf.zip into htdocs ( i have already installed xampp and started apache and mysql)
i went into my browser and typed in "http://localhost/install.php"
it brought me to the smf installer page clicked on continue and i got to the 10% stage of creating a database
i went to my xampp control panel and created a mysql database and named it "smfdatabase"
i then went back to my smf installation and put in the database name and clicked on continue and i get the error code:
!!
Critical Error!
The installer was unable to access the "smfdatabase" database. With some hosts, you have to create the database in your administration panel before SMF can use it. Some also add prefixes - like your username - to your database names.


please where did i go wrong? wish i can add my screenshots here. Sorry i suck acting like a dummy just help me out pleasee.

[Arantor]

So when you tried to use the SMF installation, what details did you put in to the installer? It asks you for a database name, database user and password. What did you tell it?

[machawk]

i have decided to attach a screenshot

[machawk]

So when you tried to use the SMF installation, what details did you put in to the installer? It asks you for a database name, database user and password. What did you tell it?

the database user and password? i put a name there like "smf" etc and left the password blank it didmt work, then i left both blank and still didnt work

[Arantor]

Well, no, of course it won't since this is not a database user set up with the database. As I said before, use 'root' as the database user and blank for the password (leave it empty)

[machawk]

Well, no, of course it won't since this is not a database user set up with the database. As I said before, use 'root' as the database user and blank for the password (leave it empty)

okay. i will do that and get back to you shortly.

[machawk]

viola! it worked. just made "root" the username and it work. thanks mehn. really greaful. next step is customizing d smf forum to my design. eg changing appearances, adding more boards,adding forum logo etc. any help with that?

hope. i'm not asking for too much?

[Justyne]

Don't worry we are happy to answer questions and when you get stuck with anything. Don't hesitate to be in touch.

[machawk]

thanks pal. I'm stuck at creating a new category. I want more categories under my "general discussion" but whenever i create one it doesnt show beneath the "general discussion" what could be the problem?
ps: i created the category via my admin sections

[Justyne]

When you are on the create category screen hit the "order" dropdown. Be sure to put After General Discussion there and not In the first place.

[Arantor]

Also note that categories won't show up on the front page with all the boards on it until you put a board in it.

[machawk]

how do i put a board on it?

[Arantor]

Admin > Forum > Boards, find the category you want, and select Add Board just under it.

[machawk]

thanks. that solve it. great mehn! you guys are just so great! you are solving problems here and there. i'm also taking my time to learn all i could as i wana provid answers to people to.

since i'm test runing my forum. i decided to attach a picture on a post a created but i cant view as guest. why? how can i solve that?

[Arantor]

Because by default, attachments are not shown to guests.

It's not generally recommended (since search engines are also listed as guests, which means a non-trivial addition of workload gets added), but it can be changed by changing the permission for guests in the permissions area.

[machawk]

yeah! that solved it! now i want to change the colour with a background image. i also want to add my logo at the top

[machawk]

i also want to remove this  from my home screen:


Simple Machines Community Forum
Shrink or expand the header.

    Home
    Community
    Download
    Customize
    Support
    Online Manual
    About
    Contribute
    Development

[Justyne]

Admin > Configuration > Themes and Layout Settings > Manage and Install

Scroll down and create new copy of the default theme.

Make this copy your forum default.

When you have that:

Current theme > Modify the stylesheets. (colors, fonts, etc.)

When you have that find

body
{

And put in your background image there after the open bracket.

background: url(../image path);


The logo:

Admin > Configuration > Current theme >  Theme Options and Preferences

Just put the logo URL in there.

[Kindred]

And that menu would not be on your own home screen, since that is specific to this site...

[machawk]

Scroll down and create new copy of the default theme.

i cant find that option of create new copy of default theme here

[machawk]

I'VE done that. I just patiently looked around and found it lying at the scrow down menu at the bottom of the "modify theme" section . I'm happy at my progress mehnnn. thnks buds. i can do some basic modifications. Now i see myself editing some css,html and scripts. damn it! my programing skills are rustier than i had thought!   

[Justyne]

Glad you found it. Sorry, for not responding sooner. I didn't see you'd updated.

[machawk]

yeah. now i'm trying to add a logo. i followed ur steps but my logo didnt show up there but i notice a change. "my community" became smaller. what can i do?

[kat]

Did you figure-out how to get rid of "My community"?