possible to convert from vb4?

[gerlandog]

i have a vb foum and would like to convert it to smf 2, is it possible?
thanks

GG

[Norv]

Hello there!
vb4? I didn't know there is a vb4 version.
Please feel free to try the converters available at Downloads > Converters. vbulletin3.7 is the latest, and it was tested with vbulletin 3.8 in fact.
They won't do anything to your vbulletin database, only try to read it and send the data to the SMF database.
Please see the guide: Converting to SMF

[JamieinNH]

I am running vb 4.0 and although in the future I will probably be looking for an alternative to it.   For now I installed SMF 2.0 RC2 in a test bed to play around with it and the 3.7 converter worked with the exception of the attachments. 

In vb 4.0 they changed to the new asset manager, so for this converter to 100% completely work, it will need to be updated for that.

Otherwise, it converted my users, data forums etc all perfectly.   Just thought I would share this with others in case you're looking to make the move to SMF.

Jamie

[Norv]

What exactly did happen to attachments? Did you have any errors during conversion? Are the attachments still saved in the database, or is the only option on disk?

Thanks for sharing the results of your test, anyway, JamieinNH!

[JamieinNH]

What exactly did happen to attachments? Did you have any errors during conversion? Are the attachments still saved in the database, or is the only option on disk?

Thanks for sharing the results of your test, anyway, JamieinNH!

Currently the attachments in the threads show as this: [ATTACH=CONFIG]154[/ATTACH]

Here is a post in the converted test SMF site that shows what it's looking like.
http://www.awalkinfaith.org/AAJamie/smf/index.php?topic=2438.msg16114#msg16114 [nofollow]

Here is the same thread in my current site running vbulletin:
http://www.awalkinfaith.org/showthread.php/2438-The-Fellowship-Hall-2?p=16114&viewfull=1#post16114 [nofollow]

If you're logged in you can see a small thumbnail of the pic within the post, if you're a guest you only see a link to each pic.

I am not sure where the attachments are in the SMF and if they were converted or not, I haven't had a chance to go looking for them.  I do kno that vb 4.0 introduced the new Asset Manager where you can upload attachments from your computer or a URL and then after it's in the asset manager you can reuse that picture if needed in a different post/article etc.

This weekend I will try to find out if they did get moved in the database when I converted the forums and will also redo my test and write down the errors.  I did remember getting some for the attachments, but didn't write them down, so I don't remember what they were..

Jamie

[Norv]

As far as I know, there was an option in vbulletin, allowing you to specify whether attachments should be stored in the database, or on the file system. The converter is written to expect them in the database. So I was wondering: if by any chance you have the option switched to store attachments on disk, then perhaps you can (still) select to put them in the database, and retry converting.

The converter should normally write the files in the ./attachments folder of SMF. SMF does not store the attachments in the database, only on disk, by default in this folder.

[JamieinNH]

I just checked, as I couldn't remember which way mine was set up, but it's set to store the attachments in the database.

Later tonight or tomorrow I will delete my SMF test site and rerun the converter and note any error messages I get along the way..

Jamie

[Norv]

Thanks, that would be useful.

You don't really need to delete SMF, just re-run the conversion. It should wipe the tables in SMF that it needs to replace, and import the data anew.

[JamieinNH]

OK, so I deleted the SMF install and reuploaded it and ran the converter again just for a nice clean run...

Here is what I found:

During the converting process I ran into an error with it not converting the attachments.  Here is a screen shot of the error.



Then clicking Try Again gave me this same error:




I couldn't get beyond this error, so I ended up changing the url and  increase the step number from 27 to 28 to get to the next step of the process and it did import the avatars.

So, everything converted but the attachments.   Of course, there is the issue with the content in the CMS part of the vbulletin, but that's a different thread depending on what you would end up going with. 

Jamie

[Norv]

Clearly, then, as far as attachments are concerned, the schema changed in vbulletin 4.0.

It could help if: you could login in phpMyAdmin, select vbulletin database, and the 'attachment' table, and in the Export tab, export it to a file. Please make sure to uncheck "data", and only check "structure", in order to make sure that only the structure of the table is saved. Then, if you want, PM the result to me, or post it here. Being structure-only means that it will not contain anything confidential.
Ideally, the change might not be so big so I could adapt the converter on the basis on your answer. It could also be a little more work than that.

[JamieinNH]

Hello Norv,

I tried the changed you sent in the last PM but it still didn't work.   I did get a different error this time.   Here is a screen shot of it.

[Norv]

Attempted correction:

Code (find) Select Expand


SELECT
postid AS id_msg, counter AS downloads, filename, filedata, userid,
attachmentid
FROM {$from_prefix}attachment;


Code (replace) Select Expand


SELECT
IFNULL(c.postid, 0) AS id_msg, a.counter AS downloads, a.filename, f.filedata, a.userid,
a.attachmentid
FROM {$from_prefix}attachment AS a, {$from_prefix}cms_article AS c, {$from_prefix}filedata AS f
WHERE a.contentid = c.contentid AND a.filedataid = f.filedataid;


[JamieinNH]

Hello my friend,

Ok, using that last changes you made the attachments did convert successfully...  well almost.     

Some of the attachments converted..  of the 174 I had in the vb 4.0 install, 111 of them converted.   From the quick look of it, it looks like anything that was old vb 3.8 attachments converted and are showing up in the SMF forums..   The others showup as [ATTACH=CONFIG]128[/ATTACH]  still.

I have to get ready for work, but when I get home tonight I will look over it closer and try to nail down what it's done for ya..

Looks like we're making progress though!     Which is a good thing as the number of vb 4.0 users that are not happy is growing it would seem from the vb License Customer Feedback forum.

I will post what I find out later tonight..  Thanks for your help so far!!

Jamie

[Norv]

Good to know, thanks.

So the old attachments, those that were still stored similarly enough to 3.8, were converted over? Sounds like more changes were made in 4.0 - a different schema altogether, perhaps because they are now "assets" if I understand correctly, rather than related to posts (well, they are still related to posts in a way, but perhaps identified differently). I will try to take a look, to understand how they are now.

[JamieinNH]

OK, I have done some research and found I was originally wrong about the attachments converting.

The process went through when I ran the converter script and it stated it was successful.

However when I was looking over my converted forums, I found that none of the attachments converted, but what I originally saw and thought were attachments that had converted were hard coded links to some images.

So, although the converter script now states it was successful it is not.

The adventure continues...   

Jamie