Simple Machines Community Forum

SMF Support => Converting to SMF => phpBB => Topic started by: eclipsenow on January 31, 2009, 05:17:44 PM

Title: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on January 31, 2009, 05:17:44 PM
Hi all,
I know it's not out yet for us "general public" consumers, but is there any word or whiff of a rumour of someone working on a phpbb3 to RC1 converter?

Imagine the phpbb'ers rushing across on the announcement that SMF2 RC1 was finally here, and finding a converter ready to go!

That would be so sweet!  8)
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on January 31, 2009, 05:41:54 PM
I know of one board that would use it.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: SleePy on January 31, 2009, 06:31:04 PM
I do have SMF 2.0 converters mostly ready. I am willing to hand them out for those who want to test the 2.0 converters.
Though note you would only be able to convert to SMF 2.0 Beta 4 as RC1 is currently only available to charter members.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 05:58:10 AM
Sounds great. Does it do the passwords, or do have to copy and paste some scary php code into some php sheet I don't know that well? (One day I hope php will be my best friend, but right now I'm a newb struggling to understand CSS.)
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: ThorstenE on February 01, 2009, 02:11:10 PM
SMF 2.0 can read the old phpBB3 passwords :)
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 04:53:30 PM
Now them's the magic words!  :D
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 06:06:49 PM
Is there a "stable release" for RC1? I might consider becoming a Charter member for that. Looks like my forum duties just doubled.... another activist group I'm interested in want me to take on being their board admin. But I'm a neeewwbie.  :-[ :o
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 01, 2009, 06:47:42 PM
Well technically RC1 isn't stable, because it is still a work in progress that will be followed by RC2, etc.

On the other hand it is, in my opinion, certainly stable enough for use on a public forum.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 06:49:53 PM
Good to hear, but I'm afraid I worded it badly!  :o

I meant, is the converter for RC1 stable?  ;)
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 01, 2009, 06:56:54 PM
Ah. Well it needs to be tested. Sleepy is currently looking for valiant guinea pigs (if the concept of guinea pigs being valiant is one your brain can process :D )

If you would like to be one of the first to boldly go where no converter has gone before I'm sure that could be arranged.
Naturally it would be prudent to do the initial testing on a duplicate of the real forum. That could be done online or on a local host, whichever you find more convenient.

I'm thinking of testing it myself for the benefit of some friends who might need it.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 07:04:20 PM
Oh, OK, I see. I'm a coward. Guinea pigs are brave (see "Bugsy" from Bedtime stories, "Rhino" from Bolt, and some new "Super-spy Guinea-pig" movie coming out soon. Yes, I have kids and had them on holidays recently.  ;D)

(edited because I was being unclear)

I have to sleep on it all. :-\

Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 01, 2009, 07:14:39 PM
I think you can sign up PDQ. Never tried it myself. Give it a go and see. ;D
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 07:15:57 PM
Ha! No there's just too much going on... I have to sleep on it.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 08:13:46 PM
Had a powernap.  ;D Well, a cup of coffee anyway.

Then I decided: I NEED TO DO THIS NOW!

I need to eat, breathe, live SMF for a while and get my 2 communities up and running, and then I can concentrate on learning more about Dreamweaver, CSS, Wordpress, etc. (All other projects, but that' another story). Right now, I need SMF, and fast!

So, I've downloaded RC1 and am now a "Charter Member" so would love to be walked through converting my phpbb3 site to RC1. Off to install RC1. Eager to hear from phpbb3 converters.  :D
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 01, 2009, 08:19:05 PM
Cool. I might download phpBB 3 and set up a test site. It's about the only reason I would ever download phpBB 3.
Not that I'm biased or anything.  :D
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 08:22:40 PM
Ooooh, look at my shiny new Charter member badge!
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 01, 2009, 08:26:34 PM
Good. Now set up a duplicate test site so you can check out the converter. It needs to be easy to use for people who aren't overly technical, so you're ideal for a test pilot.

I'll ask Sleepy for a copy of the converter so I can give it a go.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 08:31:07 PM
I'm copying the files across now. I'm in Australia, and my Flexihost server must be somewhere in the USA or else behind some very busy relays. (It's taken 10 minutes to upload half a megabyte!)

One of the reasons I side with SMF is because of Fantastico support. Anything THAT easy to install just has to be popular for that reason alone! Also, thinking of my newbieness, statistically our group is more likely to meet future SMF geeks than they are some more "niche" forum software.  Then I'd get some more help with all of this. 8)
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 01, 2009, 08:38:08 PM
I prefer to not use Fantastico as I can get a cleaner installation by doing it myself. Fantastico is a useful option for complete beginners though,
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 01, 2009, 10:09:35 PM
I wish I knew what you meant by "cleaner installation". Anyway, I fumbled my way through Cpanel making databases, hoping I'd get the right username, etc... and eventually set up SMF RC1!

Yahooo! And I'm liking what I see so far in the new Admin area. (So much to play with... I might even be confident enough to START styling. Then I'll make some REAL mistakes!  >:()

Anyway, do I post my questions about the RC1 converter here or in the Charter Members area? I've got it, and am all ready to rip... just wondering what instructions I take?
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 02, 2009, 12:02:23 AM
I have downloaded the phpbb3 archive file from my original host.

admin seems to say it is virtually impossible for me to restore a backup on my "sandbox" because it is not the same database setup as the original! From the Admin panel....

"Restore
This will perform a full restore of all phpBB tables from a saved file. If your server supports it you may use a gzip or bzip2 compressed text file and it will automatically be decompressed. WARNING This will overwrite any existing data. The restore may take a long time to process please do not move from this page till it is complete. Backups are stored in the store/ folder and are assumed to be generated by phpBB's backup functionality. Restoring backups that were not created by the built in system may or may not work."

I wonder why phpbb3 is giving me so much trouble? It's not like I've got a huge amount of data to bring across... our last forum only just got started. There's only about 30 something members and 75 posts....

Do I need to have phpbb3 setup properly for the RC1 converter to work, or can I somehow load the phpbb3 archive file into the RC1 converter?
Phpbb3 will not let me load the archive from the Brinkster site to my own Flexihost sandbox site.

PS: I'm seeking password permission from a mate to get into the Brinkster site where I might be able to set up an SMF sandbox and convert it straight from the original phpbb3 forum.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 02, 2009, 12:56:08 AM
At this stage make it the Charter Members board. Since RC1 isn't quite available to the public yet it'd be naughty to tease them here.
I'll get copies of the converter so we can try it out.

By "cleaner installation" I mean that Fantastico installs every possible language file and most people never use the vast majority of them. I think it'd be true to say that most forums only use one or two languages, so having all the other language files is a waste of storage.

Fantastico can also throw a few minor bugs into the database. Nothing serious but it can be annoying at times, depending on what you want to do.

It's still generally a good method of installation if you have no technical nouse whatsoever but I'd rather do the job myself.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 02, 2009, 01:48:45 AM
RC1 will be out for the "commoners" soon enough, but I'll take this off to the elite CM board.  8) :P
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: zeroandone on February 09, 2009, 05:50:34 PM
Now SMF 2.0 RC1 is publicly available, so when will the converter for phpBB3 to SMF 2 RC1 be available? I am ready to get rid of my phpBB!

Thanks for the hard work.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: zeroandone on February 09, 2009, 05:53:47 PM
By the way, do I have to have phpBB and SMF installed on the same server? I have one phpBB installed on a server, and I want to convert it to my SMF forum which is installed on a different server.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 09, 2009, 09:25:00 PM
Quote from: zeroandone on February 09, 2009, 05:53:47 PM
By the way, do I have to have phpBB and SMF installed on the same server? I have one phpBB installed on a server, and I want to convert it to my SMF forum which is installed on a different server.

From what I understand I think you do, but here's another thing. It does not seem to be easy to install the phpBB backup/restore file on a new server. I've heard that one has to dump the database manually from the old server to the new one... and I'm no mysql man! :-[
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 09, 2009, 09:29:09 PM
Exporting and importing a db isn't difficult. You can pretty much wing it and get away with it. :D
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: eclipsenow on February 09, 2009, 09:34:03 PM
Not without the new password I can't!  ;D  I'll give my mate a call tonight and see if he's in.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on February 09, 2009, 09:59:23 PM
Yeah I saw that the other night when you were asking about the user info. Looks good. Should have kangas that start bouncing when there are new posts. ;D

ETA: Personally I think the outer glow on the map of Oz could be turned down a little bit.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Toadicus on March 04, 2009, 12:51:42 PM
Quote from: Antechinus on February 02, 2009, 12:56:08 AMSince RC1 isn't quite available to the public yet it'd be naughty to tease them here.

RC1 has been public for a while now; can we ask for the converter privately, and/or is it going to be made public?  I have a phpBB3 forum and I'd love to help test both the converter and the RC.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: Antechinus on March 04, 2009, 08:12:11 PM
Good point. I was going to help test this but had too many other things to do, so I'm not sure where it's at right now. I also know people who would love to use the thing if it is available. Will try to find out.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: chelseaphil on March 20, 2009, 01:02:56 PM
Is there any news on the phpbb3 to smf 2.0 converter please?  Desperate to get away from phpbb.
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: ThorstenE on March 23, 2009, 04:02:02 PM
chelseaphil, convert your phpBB to SMF 1.1.8, then Upgrade to SMF 2.0 RC1:Upgrade SMF (http://docs.simplemachines.org/index.php?board=3.0;sort=subject)
Title: Re: Any word on converter straight to SMF2 RC1?
Post by: wolke on March 24, 2009, 07:13:28 PM
I want to convert a larger forum (>60k posts since 2005) from phpBB3 to SMF 2.0RC1 and I'm prepared to go the route through SMF 1.18 and the available converter, but I am also willing to try the new conversion script and give feedback.