System Requirements

The minimum system requirements are now available in our Pre-sales Support Forum.

Introduction to vBulletin 5 Connect

Welcome to the vBulletin 5 Connect Manual. This manual will explain the functionality of the software from the perspective of the Administrator and Moderator. Throughout the manual we will provide screenshots and in-depth tutorials so that you spend more running your community than you do building it.

What's New in vBulletin 5.

vBulletin 5 has been designed to bring you modern community building and ease of use.

Site Builder
One of the best new features of vBulletin 5 Connect is Site Builder. Site Builder is a new way to build and manage your sites. It features drag and drop technology to enable you to build custom pages that fit your needs quickly and easily. Site Builder also includes a Style Generator so you can quickly and easily create a new styles with custom color combinations.

Everything is Content
In vBulletin 5, we’ve developed an idea that everything is content. This is built around a new content model involving channels, nodes and the actual content. In this model everything works the same, everything is searchable and everything provides a modern input system. Adding new content should be more intuitive for your users.

New Search
The Search Engine architecture has also been reconfigured so that all content is easily searched. Rewritten from the ground up, the new search engine should provide more relevant details and accurate results.

MVC Architecture
vBulletin 5 Connect introduces a new MVC Architecture designed to separate the business logic from the presentation logic more than ever before. This will allow vBulletin 5 to be quickly and easily extended as we bring new features to the software.

Responsive Design
People are using devices of many different sizes these days. These include phones, tablets and ultra-high density monitors. We’ve included a responsive design in vBulletin 5 that scales to the device being used. No more worrying about mobile styles and trying to configure things for multiple devices. vBulletin adjusts to the screen-size of the user’s device automatically.

Expanded API
The API of vBulletin has been expanded. Not only can mobile apps take advantage of the API, the web interface of vBulletin uses it for its own purposes as well. This provides a more structured design and the ability to code everything once regardless of how it is accessed.

Supported Browsers

vBulletin 5 Connect is designed for the following browsers:

Desktop Browsers
The browsers based on the Chromium (Blink), Firefox, and Webkit engines are supported.

Google Chrome 70+
Microsoft Edge 80+
Mozilla Firefox 70+
Opera Browser 27+
Apple Safari - Users should be on the latest version. Safari is not supported on Windows or Linux.

Javascript and Cookies are required for proper use of the software.

Mobile Browsers

Android Browser
Chrome for Android
Safari for iOS
Chrome for iOS

Private mode on mobile browsers may interfere with some operations. Javascript and Cookies support is required.

Note:

Adblockers may interfere with the normal operation of vBulletin due to false positives. If issues occur in a supported browser, then adblockers should be disabled and the issue retried.

Recommended Software

Recommended Software
The manual makes reference to and shows screenshots of various programs that we use outside of the vBulletin software. This section covers software we recommend for use that is tried and tested in working with vBulletin.

Text Editors
There may be times in vBulletin where you’ll be required to edit or make changes to PHP, html or JS files. These editors may be helpful for accomplishing those tasks.

Cross Platform Editor

Sublime Text 2
Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, markup and prose.

Visual Studio Code
Cross-platform and open source text editor designed for developers.

Atom by Github
Free and open source text editor, brought to you by GitHub

Editors for Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Wordpad
This is the default software included with Microsoft Windows, if you have no other choices, use this. Wordpad can be found in the Accessories folder of your Start Menu.

Notepad++
Notepad++ is a free (as in "free speech" and also as in "free beer") source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.

Editpad Lite
EditPad Lite is a compact general-purpose text editor. There is also a Pro version

Editors for Apple OS X

TextEdit
This is the default text editor for Apple OS X.

TextWrangler
Is a code editor that is free for use in Apple OS X. It also has a big brother BBEdit

FTP Client
While using vBulletin you’re going to need a way to get files onto your server, for this you will need an FTP Client.

Cross Platform FTP

Filezilla
Filezilla is a full featured FTP client that is capable of running on all modern OS’s. If you do not have a specific FTP client you like already, Filezilla ends up being the best choice for features, functionality, and cost.

How to get help

As a vBulletin user there are going to be times where you run into problems that you don’t know how to fix. Knowing where to locate helpful guides, get support from the community and support staff is vital to the operation of your forum.

Depending on your license type or extra support contracts will enable you to get help in different ways. There are a few ways to receive support and they are as follows:

The vBulletin.com Support Forums: https://www.vbulletin.com/forum
The support forums found on vBulletin.com provide peer to peer support. Support staff members are also available and respond to issues as soon as they’re available.
The vBulletin.com Ticket system: https://members.vbulletin.com
The support ticket system can be used for urgent and private issues. Your usage of the members area for support issues depends on your license type. If you have questions please feel free to ask
Phone support, is available from 9AM to 5PM (Pacific Standard Time) with a active phone support contract.
You receive one on one support from a member of the Technical Support Staff.

If you’re having an issue with the software and are contacting support you should include as much information as possible in order to help resolve the issue as quickly as possible. You should provide the error message you’re getting, and any other information such as the steps you took to produce the error if any. Providing these items should help you to get your issue resolved as quickly as possible.

If you're having an issue with a third party modification or customization to the software, you will not be able to receive support from the Official vBulletin support systems. You will need to contact the author of the modification or visit vBulletin.org for peer based assistance.

Getting Started with vBulletin

Now that you've purchased vBulletin and downloaded the software, it is time to get started building your new website.
System Requirements
Managing Your License
Installing vBulletin
Create a Development Install

Managing your License

Before you can download vBulletin for installation on your server, you need to add the URL where it is going to be installed to the license. You do this in the Member's Area access from your account.

1	In order to edit your license for the first time, access your account here on our web site.
2	You will need to log in using the email address that you purchased vBulletin with and the password we sent you via email.
3	Once logged in, please click on the Member's Area link in the top left box. In the next screen it will show information about your license(s). Click on "Edit License" to edit the license you just purchased.
4	On the next screen you can enter the URL, name of your site and a short description of your site. When finished, submit the form.
5	To get back to your license and download, click Members in the header of the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change my username?
To change your username, login to the AdminCP and click on the Users header. In the menu, click on Search for Users. In the new form in the frame to the right, enter your current username in to the User Name field and click the Exact Match button. In the User Form, change the username in the User Name field and click Save.

How do I change my password?
On your Site Home Page, click on the Profile tab. Find the Edit Settings button beneath your user picture and click on it. This will reload the page with the Profile Settings page. Click on the Account tab and scroll down to the Password fields. Enter your current password in the field with the words ‘Enter current password’ and your new password in both the fields below that. Click Save Changes and your password will be set to the new password.

How do I change my logo?
To change the logo of your site, make sure your Site Builder is turned on and click the Header button in the menu. Find the vBulletin logo and click the Edit button in the upper left hand corner. This will open an upload form which you can use to replace the current logo with another of your liking. Once you’ve uploaded the new logo, click on the Save Changes button. The site will reload with the new logo.

How do I change the default style?
To change the default style for a site, login to the AdminCP and click on the Settings header. Then click on Options then select the Styles & Language Settings option from the new form. This will take you to the selected form. From here, find the Default Styles section and select a new default style from the dropdown list. Click the Save button at the bottom of the form and your changes will be saved.

How do I add my own ads?
To add your own ads, turn on the Site Builder option and add the Ad Module to the page you want the ads to appear on. Click on the Edit button for the module and fill out the form before clicking Attach. This will take you to a new form where you can arrange the order in which the ads appear or add new ads.

Once you’re done, click the Save button on the Ad form and confirm the changes on the page by clicking the Save Page button. The ads should now appear where you placed them.

Basic Terminology

vBulletin 5 Connect introduces some new concepts on how content is contained in the system. In previous versions, each content type was separate with its own programming, database tables and functionality. In vBulletin 5 Connect, we've eliminated the redundancy this caused and that has required some new terms to be introduced.

vBulletin Site
This refers to your vBulletin 5 Connect installation including all of its content, pages and users.

Forum Root
This is the directory that you installed vBulletin 5 Connect in. In most cases this with by public_html.

Presentation Layer
A layer of vBulletin 5 Connect that draws the pages for the web interface or what users see when they visit using a Web Browser.

Mobile Layer
Interface that allows the Mobile Apps to retrieve information from the vBulletin installation. This layer is built into the Mobile App and communicates to the Core Layer via APIs.

Core Layer
The core layer of vBulletin 5 Connect. This interface layer talks with the database and API to provide all the data. It is called from the Presentation and Mobile Layers.

What are Channels?
Channels are Nodes that can contain other Nodes. In vBulletin 5, Channels include: Forums, Blogs, Social Groups, Private Messages, Visitor Messages, User Albums, and Flagged (reported) Content. Additional Channels may be added in the future. Some channels can be maintained with the Channel Management (formerly Forum Management) tools in the Admin CP. Others are hidden from view and maintained by the individual users.

What are Nodes?
Nodes are any content within vBulletin 5. They can be discussions, photos, links or channels among other content types. Generally speaking you will refer to nodes by their content type.

What is a Channel Owner?
The user that has ownership of a channel. They control what happens in the channel itself. Blogs and Social Groups are examples of channels that can have owners.

What is a Channel Moderator?
A user appointed by the Channel Owner to moderate that channel. Blogs and Social Groups are examples of channels that can have moderators.

What is a Channel User?
Some channels can be made private. A Channel User is an individual that has permission to access a specific channel. Social Groups are an example of channels that have users.

What are Subscribers?
Subscribers are people who want to follow a user, blog or thread.

Installing vBulletin

The first step towards running vBulletin after you have purchased a license is to download the latest vBulletin package, upload it to your web server and run the installer script.

The following documents will take you through this process step-by-step.

Note:

Before installing vBulletin you will need to ensure that your webhost or webserver meet the Minimum System Requirements for the software.

Downloading the vBulletin Package

The first thing you will need to do when installing vBulletin is to download the latest version from the Members' Area.

You will need to log-in to the Members' Area using the Customer Number and Customer Password that was emailed to you when you purchased your license.

Once logged in, you will see a list of Current Licenses. For each active license that you own, there will be a Download vBulletin 5 Connect link that you can click.

Click the link for the license you want to use and you will be taken to the download page, where you will be given options for how to download the latest vBulletin package.

By default compression is performed on the JavaScript files included within the clientscript directory in order to reduce the size of the files. YUI Compressor is used to do this but you can choose uncompressed JavaScript files using the option described below.

You can choose from the following options:

PHP File Extension
As a general rule, web servers will use .php as the extension for PHP scripts, but some servers may use a different extension, or you may simply wish to use a different extension out of your own preference. Various extensions are available here for you to choose.
Download File Format
This option allows you to choose the compression format of the package you are about to download. Most people will want to download the .zip package as Windows® has in-built support for zip files. However, if you are downloading the package directly to a Linux server you may prefer to use the tarball (.tar.gz) format.
CGI Shebang
This option will only be of use to you if your server runs PHP as a CGI rather than as a web server module. If your server runs PHP as a CGI and requires a shebang (such as #!/usr/bin/php) then you can enter the required text here and it will automatically be inserted into whichever PHP files in vBulletin require its use.
Download File
Use this option to control the contents of the package you are about to download. For example, if you have previously installed vBulletin you will probably not need to download the images again, so you can use this control to specify that the package you download does not contain the images directory. You can also download the uncompressed JavaScript package with this option.

When you have set the download options you can click the Download button to start the download. When the download prompt window appears, you should choose the Save option and choose a directory on your computer in which to save the package.

The package will then be downloaded and saved to the location you specified.

Preparing the vBulletin Files for Upload

Before uploading the vBulletin files to your server, there is a few short steps you need to take. The following articles cover these steps for both Windows and Apple OS users.

Preparing the vBulletin Files for Upload (Apple OS X)

To extract the files from the package, open the folder on your computer where you saved the vBulletin package and double click the vBulletin package. The system should automatically extract the package for you into its own folder.

When the extraction complete, you will find that inside of the new folder there are two other folders called upload and another called do_not_upload.

upload - This folder contains the vBulletin files that need to be uploaded to your web server.

However, before you upload the files you must make some changes to the vBulletin configuration files. The first file is located in the upload folder itself and is called config.php.bkp. The second file is located in the core/includes folder (within the upload folder) and is called config.php.new.

You will need to rename both files, so vBulletin will be able to use them.

First you must do is to rename this file from /config.php.bkp to /config.php (removing the temporary .bkp extension).

Second you must do is to rename this file from /core/includes/config.php.new to /core/includes/config.php (removing the temporary .new extension).

Note:

vBulletin 5 Connect uses URL rewrites throughout the software. This is done using URL Rewrites in an .htaccess file in the root of the vBulletin installation. However, to prevent custom htaccess rules from being overwritten on a server, we don't provide this file directly. Instead, we provide a 'dummy' file called htaccess.txt. If you don't have an existing .htaccess file in the directory that you're installing vBulletin into, rename this file from htaccess.txt to .htaccess (NOTE: The period before htaccess is important - you must name the file as shown)

If you do have an existing .htaccess file in the directory, you will need to copy the contents of the htaccess.txt file into your existing .htaccess file.

The second folder is do_not_upload - This folder contains tools to perform various tasks on your board

searchindex.php - This file will allow you to rebuild the default vBulletin search index.
vb_backup.sh - This file will allow you to run a database backup via SSH/Telnet or a scheduled backup through cron.
tools.php - This file must be uploaded to the admincp folder and allows you to perform certain tasks should your board go down or you accidentally lock yourself out of the Admin Control Panel. This file must be deleted immediately after use or it will cause a SEVERE security problem.

Preparing the vBulletin Files for Upload (Windows)

To extract the files from the package, open the folder on your computer where you saved the vBulletin package and right-click on its icon, then choose Extract All from the pop-up menu.

This will open a wizard to guide you through the unzipping progress. Accept the default options suggested and the system will decompress the files from the zip package.

When the unzipping progress is complete, you will find that the process has created a new folder called upload and another called do_not_upload.

upload - This folder contains the vBulletin files that need to be uploaded to your web server.

However, before you upload the files you must make some changes to the vBulletin configuration files. The first file is located in the upload folder itself and is called config.php.bkp. The second file is located in the core/includes folder (within the upload folder) and is called config.php.new.

You will need to rename both files, so vBulletin will be able to use them.

First you must do is to rename this file from config.php.bkp to config.php (removing the temporary .bkp extension).

Second you must do is to rename this file from config.php.new to config.php (removing the temporary .new extension).

Note:

The second folder is do_not_upload - This folder contains tools to perform various tasks on your board

searchindex.php - This file will allow you to rebuild the default vBulletin search index.
vb_backup.sh - This file will allow you to run a database backup via SSH/Telnet or a scheduled backup through cron.
tools.php - This file must be uploaded to the admincp folder and allows you to perform certain tasks should your board go down or you accidentally lock yourself out of the Admin Control Panel. This file must be deleted immediately after use or it will cause a SEVERE security problem.

Using vBulletin with NGINX

As of vBulletin 5.0.4, we support the popular NGINX Webserver. This is frequently used on Virtual Private Servers and Dedicated servers. If you are using NGINX, you need additional configuration for vBulletin. We provide this in a nginx.vhost file. This file is located in the do_not_upload folder of your vBulletin package and must be added to your NGINX configuration.

server {
        # address and port accepted by the server
        listen   80; ## listen for ipv4
        #listen   [::]:80 default ipv6only=on; ## listen for ipv6

        # server IP to compare against http requests, uncomment and set proper value.
        # Enter the hostname or IP address you use to reach this server. If you run on your dev environment it might be localhost.
        # Note: If your vb install is in a folder inside your domain <mysite>/forum/install/path please change location directives defined below to include the path first. e.G:
        # vbulletin.com/forum
        #
        # css directive would be:
        # location = /forum/css\.php {
        #        rewrite ^ /forum/core/css.php break;
        #}
        #server_name      127.0.0.1;

        # document root for request,  uncomment and set proper value
    # this should reflect the path that your vBulletin is installed in. 
    # This is usually /var/www/public_html/forumpath
        #root   /var/www/public_html/forumpath;
        index   index.php index.html index.htm;

    # log files, uncomment and set proper values
        #access_log      /usr/share/nginx/www/vb/logs/access.log;
        #error_log       /usr/share/nginx/www/vb/logs/nginx_error.log;

    # configuration rules
        # legacy css being handled separate for performance
        location = /css\.php {
                rewrite ^ /core/css.php break;
        }

        # make install available from presentation
        location ^~ /install {
                rewrite ^/install/ /core/install/ break;
        }

        # any request to not existing item gets redirected through routestring
        location / {
                if (!-f $request_filename) {
                        rewrite ^/(.*)$ /index.php?routestring=$1 last;
                }
        }

        # make admincp available from presentation
        location ^~ /admincp {
                if (!-f $request_filename) {
                        rewrite ^/admincp/(.*)$ /index.php?routestring=admincp/$1 last;
                }
        }

        # process any php scripts, not found gets redirected through routestring
        location ~ \.php$ {
                # handles legacy scripts
                if (!-f $request_filename) {
                        rewrite ^/(.*)$ /index.php?routestring=$1 break;
                }

                fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(.*)$;
                fastcgi_pass php5;
                fastcgi_index index.php;
                fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
                include fastcgi_params;
                fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING $query_string;
                fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD $request_method;
                fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE $content_type;
                fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH $content_length;
                fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
                fastcgi_ignore_client_abort off;
                fastcgi_connect_timeout 60;
                fastcgi_send_timeout 180;
                fastcgi_read_timeout 180;
                fastcgi_buffers 256 16k;
                fastcgi_buffer_size 32k;
                fastcgi_temp_file_write_size 256k;
        }
}

upstream php5 {
    # address to accept FastCGI requests. Make sure you set the right value under your fast cgi conf.
        # e.g.- Ubuntu 12.10 using php5-fpm Ubuntu /etc/php5/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
    server    unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock;
}

Creating your Database

When you install vBulletin, you are asked what database to connect to. This is where all your information is actually stored. There are many different ways to create a database and which method you use depends on how your server is set up. We've provided some links to common methods.

cPanel
cPanel provides a MySQL Database Wizard and this is the easiest way to create a database. You can find the instructions for this in the cPanel Documentation here:
https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/76Docs/MySQL+Database+Wizard

cPanel also has functionality for general care and maintanence of your database. You can find that documentation here:
https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/76Docs/cPanel+Features+List#DatabasesTab

Plesk
Another popular web hosting control panel, Plesk aims to provide all database management within a GUI style interface. To create a new database you would follow the instructions here:
http://download1.parallels.com/Plesk/PP11/11.0/Doc/en-US/online/plesk-customer-guide/65157.htm

Webmin
A third popular hosting control panel is Webmin. You can find basic instructions here:
http://linuxconsultant.info/tutorials/webmin-tutorial/webmin.html#mysql

GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a popular hosting service and they have their own unique control panel system. The current instructions on how to create a database on your website is located here:
http://support.godaddy.com/help/article/36/creating-mysql-or-sql-server-databases-for-your-hosting-account

Warning:

GoDaddy servers do not meet the minimum requirements for vBulletin 5 at this time. Also we recommend not using GoDaddy's Windows servers with vBulletin 5.

Editing the vBulletin Configuration Files

As of vBulletin 5 there are two configuration files. There is the new vBulletin 5 presentation config.php file, and the core configuration file. We will first go over the legacy configuration file as it contains your database information. The legacy configuration file is always located in the upload/core/includes/ folder of your vBulletin package.

Warning:

Before uploading the vBulletin files to your web server, you must edit both vBulletin configuration files to tell vBulletin how to communicate with your database and server.

To edit the configuration files, you will need to open the file in a text editor such as Windows® WordPad or another recommended editor.

Note:

Please use a recommended editor to avoid issues with the formatting and display of the file. PHP files are standard ASCII/ANSI plain text files and should not be saved as UTF-8 with BOM.

Format of the config.php Files
The vBulletin configuration files are in PHP. However if you follow these instructions, knowledge of PHP is not required to edit these files. The files are a series of variables. When setting a variable, you enter the value to the right of the equal sign. If the value is text rather than numbers it needs to be in single quotation marks.

When making changes to the file, the edit should always be to the right of the = sign between the single quotes. For example:

Default: $config['admincpdir'] = 'admincp';
Correct: $config['admincpdir'] = 'myadmin';
Incorrect: $config['myadmin'] = 'admincp';

Make sure that you edit the info to the right of the equal sign. Do not edit the names in the brackets to the left of the equal sign.

Editing the Presentation config.php File

New in vBulletin 5 is the Presentation configuration file. It is always located in the forum root or / directory of your vBulletin package. In a newly unzipped package, this would be the upload folder.

It is named config.php.bkp. Rename this file to config.php by removing the .bkp extension.

This file no longer needs to be edited to perform an installation. It is there for support purposes only.

Editing the Core config.php File

The core configuration file is always located in the upload/core/includes/ folder of your vBulletin package.

Note:

When editing a config.php file, make sure there is no whitespace or extra lines either before the <?php. If there are any extra lines or space, you will see an 'Unable to add headers' error when accessing your forums.

Editing the core config.php file is one of the few times in vBulletin where you will be required to edit raw PHP code. The file is heavily commented in order to help you fill in the necessary information.

You are only required to edit a few of the the settings in this file to create a working vBulletin configuration file. These settings are:

Variable Name	Description
$config['Database']['dbtype']	This tells vBulletin how to access your database. The default is satisfactory for most purposes. However if your server supports MySQLI, you would want to set this to 'mysqli' in order to have improved performance.
$config['Database']['dbname']	This value should be altered to state the name of the database that will contain your vBulletin installation on the database server.
$config['Database']['technicalemail']	An email address should be entered here. All database error messages will be forwarded to the email address provided. It is important to fill in this variable for support purposes. It should be a valid email that you receive emails at regularly. It should not be your personal email address.
$config['MasterServer']['servername']	This sets the address of your database server. On most installations the database server is located on the same computer as the web server, in which case the address should be set to 'localhost', otherwise use the address of the database server as supplied by your web host.
$config['MasterServer']['username']	This variable contains the username provided to you by your host for connecting to your database server.
$config['MasterServer']['password']	The password that accompanies the database username should be entered here.

Note:

Please note that the vBulletin Support Team can not provide the values you require for $config['Database']['dbname'], $config['MasterServer']['servername'], $config['MasterServer']['username'], and $config['MasterServer']['password']. These variables are only available from the web host providing your web/database server.

The remaining variables in this config.php are only needed for advanced vBulletin configurations. For most installations, it is recommended that you do not alter them until after the installation process is complete, unless you are confident that you know what you are doing beforehand. A description of these remaining variables follows.

Note:

Please note, these are organized by function, not their actual location in the file. They are included here for completeness

Additional Database Options

Variable Name	Description
$config['Database']['tableprefix']	In order to easily identify the tables related to vBulletin in your database, you may prefix the names of all tables with a few letters or a word. For example, if you specify the $config['Database']['tableprefix'] as 'vb_' then all tables will be prefixed with vb_, making vb_forum, vb_user etc. If you choose to change your $config['Database']['tableprefix'] at some point after you have installed your vBulletin, tools are provided to do this.
$config['MasterServer']['usepconnect']	Setting this variable to 1 will cause PHP to use persistent connections to the MySQL server. For very large vBulletin installations, using persistent connections may result in a slight performance boost but in most cases leaving it set to 0 (off) is the best option. If you are unsure, leave it set to 0
$config['Mysqli']['charset']	If you need to set the default connection charset because your database is using a charset other than latin1, you can set the charset here. If you don't set the charset to be the same as your database, you may receive collation errors. Ignore this setting unless you are sure you need to use it.
$config['Mysqli']['ini_file']	PHP can be instructed to set connection parameters by reading from the file named in 'ini_file'. Please use a full path to the file. This is generally used to set the connection's default character set. This setting should also be ignored unless you are sure you need to use it.

Slave Database Configuration
These variables only apply if you have a Slave Database configured. If you are not sure, you should leave these variables alone. This is an advanced setting!

Security Related Options

Variable Name	Description
$config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog']	All actions performed in the vBulletin Administrators' Control Panel are logged in the database. This variable controls the permissions for which users are allowed to view this log. The variable takes the form of a list of user IDs separated by commas. For example, if you would like the users with user IDs 1, 15 and 16 to be able to view the Admin Log, this variable would be set like this: $config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'] = '1,15,16';
$config['SpecialUsers']['canpruneadminlog']	In the same way as $config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'] controls which users can view the Admin Log, $config['SpecialUsers']['canpruneadminlog'] controls which users are permitted to prune (delete items from) the Admin Log. Use the same user IDs separated with commas system as with the $config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'] setting.
$config['SpecialUsers']['canrunqueries']	The vBulletin Administrators' Control Panel contains a simple interface for running queries directly on the database. This variable contains the IDs of the users with permission to do this. For security reasons you may wish to leave this list totally empty.
$config['SpecialUsers']['undeletableusers']	If your vBulletin installation is going to have multiple users with administrative privileges, you may wish to protect certain users from accidental (or even malicious) deletion or editing. Any user IDs entered into this list will not be editable or deletable from the Administrators' Control Panel by anybody.
$config['SpecialUsers']['superadministrators']	Any users whose user IDs are specified within the $config['SpecialUsers']['superadministrators'] setting will be automatically granted full access to all vBulletin features, including the ability to set the permission levels of other administrators.

Note:

The variables $config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'], $config['SpecialUsers']['canpruneadminlog'], $config['SpecialUsers']['canrunqueries'], $config['SpecialUsers']['undeletableusers'] and $config['SpecialUsers']['superadministrators'] should all contain a single userid number, a comma-separated list of user id numbers, or nothing at all. For example:
$config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'] = '1,15,16';
$config['SpecialUsers']['canpruneadminlog'] = '1';
$config['SpecialUsers']['canrunqueries'] = '';
$config['SpecialUsers']['undeletableusers'] = '1,15';
$config['SpecialUsers']['superadministrators'] = '1';

Miscellaneous Options

Variable Name	Description
$config['Misc']['admincpdir']	By default, vBulletin will install the files for the Administrators' Control Panel into a folder called admincp, but you may wish to rename this folder this for security purposes. If you rename the folder, enter the new name here. Note that you can only rename the folder, if you move the folder to a new location the system will be unable to function.
$config['Misc']['modcpdir']	This variable is similar to the $admincpdir setting, with the exception that $modcpdir refers to the Moderators' Control Panel rather than the Administrators' Control Panel.
$config['Misc']['cookieprefix']	When vBulletin sets cookies on users' computers they will all be prefixed with a few characters in order to be easily identified as cookies set by vBulletin. By default this prefix is bb but you can change it to be whatever you like. This option is particularly useful if you have many vBulletin installations running on the same domain. This must match the value set in the presentation config.php file.
$config['Misc']['forumpath']	Some systems may require a full path to the forum files. If vBulletin does not tell you that you need this, leave this blank.

Once you have finished editing your config.php file you should save it again and prepare to upload the file to your web server.

Example Core Config.php

Below is a copy of the Legacy config.php in your download package. It controls access to the database and core functionality. This file is located at /upload/core/includes/config.php. Within a new download package the file will have a .new extension. This is prevent it from being over written by new versions of the software.


<?php

/*======================================================================*\

|| #################################################################### ||

|| # vBulletin 5.0.0 

|| # ---------------------------------------------------------------- # ||

|| # All PHP code in this file is ?2000-2012 vBulletin Solutions Inc.# ||

|| # This file may not be redistributed in whole or significant part. # ||

|| # ---------------- VBULLETIN IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE ---------------- # ||

|| # http://www.vbulletin.com | http://www.vbulletin.com/license.html # ||

|| #################################################################### ||

\*======================================================================*/



/*----------------------------------------------------------------------*\

|        ****** NOTE REGARDING THE VARIABLES IN THIS FILE ******         |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| If you get any errors while attempting to connect to MySQL, you will   |

| need to email your webhost because we cannot tell you the correct      | 

| values for the variables in this file.                                 |                                 

|                                                                        |

| When making changes to the file, the edit should always be to the      |

| right of the = sign between the single quotes                          |

| Default: $config['admincpdir'] = 'admincp';                            |

| Example: $config['admincpdir'] = 'myadmin';  GOOD!                     |

| Example: $config['myadmin'] = 'admincp'; BAD!                          |

\*----------------------------------------------------------------------*/





    //    ****** DATABASE TYPE ******

    //    This is the type of the database server on which your vBulletin database

    //    will be located. Valid options are mysql and mysqli, for slave support add

    //     _slave to the end of the database class.  

    //    Try to use mysqli if you are using PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1+

$config['Database']['dbtype'] = 'mysql';



    //    ****** DATABASE NAME ******

    //    This is the name of the database where your vBulletin will be located.

    //    This must be created by your webhost.

$config['Database']['dbname'] = 'forum';



    //    ****** TABLE PREFIX ******

    //    Prefix that your vBulletin tables have in the database.

$config['Database']['tableprefix'] = '';



    //    ****** TECHNICAL EMAIL ADDRESS ******

    //    If any database errors occur, they will be emailed to the address specified here.

    //    Leave this blank to not send any emails when there is a database error.

$config['Database']['technicalemail'] = '[email protected]';





    //    ****** MASTER DATABASE SERVER NAME AND PORT ******

    //    This is the hostname or IP address and port of the database server.

    //    If you are unsure of what to put here, leave the default values.

    //

    //    Note: If you are using IIS 7+ and MySQL is on the same machine, you

    //    need to use 127.0.0.1 instead of localhost

$config['MasterServer']['servername'] = 'localhost';

$config['MasterServer']['port'] = 3306;



    //    ****** MASTER DATABASE USERNAME & PASSWORD ******

    //    This is the username and password you use to access MySQL.

    //    These must be obtained through your webhost.

$config['MasterServer']['username'] = 'root';

$config['MasterServer']['password'] = '';



    //    ****** MASTER DATABASE PERSISTENT CONNECTIONS ******

    //    This option allows you to turn persistent connections to MySQL on or off.

    //    The difference in performance is negligible for all but the largest boards.

    //    If you are unsure what this should be, leave it off. (0 = off; 1 = on)

$config['MasterServer']['usepconnect'] = 0;







    //    ****** SLAVE DATABASE CONFIGURATION ******

    //    If you have multiple database backends, this is the information for your slave

    //    server. If you are not 100% sure you need to fill in this information,

    //    do not change any of the values here.

$config['SlaveServer']['servername'] = '';

$config['SlaveServer']['port'] = 3306;

$config['SlaveServer']['username'] = '';

$config['SlaveServer']['password'] = '';

$config['SlaveServer']['usepconnect'] = 0;







    //    ****** PATH TO ADMIN & MODERATOR CONTROL PANELS ******

    //    This setting allows you to change the name of the folders that the admin and

    //    moderator control panels reside in. You may wish to do this for security purposes.

    //    Please note that if you change the name of the directory here, you will still need

    //    to manually change the name of the directory on the server.

$config['Misc']['admincpdir'] = 'admincp';

$config['Misc']['modcpdir'] = 'modcp';



    //    Prefix that all vBulletin cookies will have

    //    Keep this short and only use numbers and letters, i.e. 1-9 and a-Z

$config['Misc']['cookieprefix'] = 'bb';



    //    ******** FULL PATH TO FORUMS DIRECTORY ******

    //    On a few systems it may be necessary to input the full path to your forums directory

    //    for vBulletin to function normally. You can ignore this setting unless vBulletin

    //    tells you to fill this in. Do not include a trailing slash!

    //    Example Unix:

    //      $config['Misc']['forumpath'] = '/home/users/public_html/forums';

    //    Example Win32:

    //      $config['Misc']['forumpath'] = 'c:\program files\apache group\apache\htdocs\vb3';

$config['Misc']['forumpath'] = '';



    //    ****** USERS WITH ADMIN LOG VIEWING PERMISSIONS ******

    //    The users specified here will be allowed to view the admin log in the control panel.

    //    Users must be specified by *ID number* here. To obtain a user's ID number,

    //    view their profile via the control panel. If this is a new installation, leave

    //    the first user created will have a user ID of 1. Seperate each userid with a comma.

$config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'] = '1';



    //    ****** USERS WITH ADMIN LOG PRUNING PERMISSIONS ******

    //    The users specified here will be allowed to remove ("prune") entries from the admin

    //    log. See the above entry for more information on the format.

$config['SpecialUsers']['canpruneadminlog'] = '1';



    //    ****** USERS WITH QUERY RUNNING PERMISSIONS ******

    //    The users specified here will be allowed to run queries from the control panel.

    //    See the above entries for more information on the format.

    //    Please note that the ability to run queries is quite powerful. You may wish

    //    to remove all user IDs from this list for security reasons.

$config['SpecialUsers']['canrunqueries'] = '';



    //    ****** UNDELETABLE / UNALTERABLE USERS ******

    //    The users specified here will not be deletable or alterable from the control panel by any users.

    //    To specify more than one user, separate userids with commas.

$config['SpecialUsers']['undeletableusers'] = '';



    //    ****** SUPER ADMINISTRATORS ******

    //    The users specified below will have permission to access the administrator permissions

    //    page, which controls the permissions of other administrators

$config['SpecialUsers']['superadministrators'] = '1';



    // ****** CACHE CONFIGURATION *****

    // Here you can configure different methods for caching items.

    // The following are the cacheing classes that can be used.

    // vB_Cache_Db - This setting stores the data in the database

    // vB_Cache_Memcache - This stores the data in memcache

    // vB_Cache_Memory - This setting uses php's memory while a page is being generated.

    // Each cache area can use its own cache type.

$config['Cache']['class'][0] = 'vB_Cache_Db'; //regular cache

$config['Cache']['class'][1] = 'vB_Cache_Memory'; //fastest cache

$config['Cache']['class'][2] = 'vB_Cache_Db'; //largest cache and longest life.





    // ****** DATASTORE CACHE CONFIGURATION *****

    // Here you can configure different methods for caching datastore items.

    // vB_Datastore_Filecache  - to use includes/datastore/datastore_cache.php

    // vB_Datastore_APC - to use APC

    // vB_Datastore_XCache - to use XCache

    // vB_Datastore_Memcached - to use a Memcache server, more configuration below

// $config['Datastore']['class'] = 'vB_Datastore_Filecache';



    // ******** DATASTORE PREFIX ******

    // If you are using a PHP Caching system (APC, XCache, eAccelerator) with more

    // than one set of forums installed on your host, you *may* need to use a prefix

    // so that they do not try to use the same variable within the cache.

    // This works in a similar manner to the database table prefix.

// $config['Datastore']['prefix'] = '';



    // It is also necessary to specify the hostname or IP address and the port the server is listening on

/*

$config['Datastore']['class'] = 'vB_Datastore_Memcached';

$i = 0;

// First Server

$i++;

$config['Misc']['memcacheserver'][$i]        = '127.0.0.1';

$config['Misc']['memcacheport'][$i]            = 11211;

$config['Misc']['memcachepersistent'][$i]    = true;

$config['Misc']['memcacheweight'][$i]        = 1;

$config['Misc']['memcachetimeout'][$i]        = 1;

$config['Misc']['memcacheretry_interval'][$i] = 15;

*/



// ****** The following options are only needed in special cases ******



    //    ****** MySQLI OPTIONS *****

    // When using MySQL 4.1+, MySQLi should be used to connect to the database.

    // If you need to set the default connection charset because your database

    // is using a charset other than latin1, you can set the charset here.

    // If you don't set the charset to be the same as your database, you

    // may receive collation errors.  Ignore this setting unless you

    // are sure you need to use it.

// $config['Mysqli']['charset'] = 'utf8';



    //    Optionally, PHP can be instructed to set connection parameters by 

    //  reading from the file named in 'ini_file'. Please use a full path to 

    //    the file.

    //    Example:

    //    $config['Mysqli']['ini_file'] = 'c:\program files\MySQL\MySQL Server 4.1\my.ini';

$config['Mysqli']['ini_file'] = '';



    // ******** IMAGE PROCESSING OPTIONS ********

    // Images that exceed either dimension below will not be resized by vBulletin. 

    // If you need to resize larger images, alter these settings.

$config['Misc']['maxwidth'] = 2592;

$config['Misc']['maxheight'] = 1944;



    //  ******** SPECIAL SETTINGS ********

    //    The following are settings/permissions that are not normally used but 

    //    are here for reference. Please be careful using them. Do not enable or 

    //    uncomment without understanding what they do first. 



    //    This allows you to disable modifications and extensions to the software. 

    //    If your site is not functioning well after installing or using a third 

    //    party modification, please enable this.

// define(“DISABLE_HOOKS”, true);



    //    This allows you to shut down all mail that is being sent by vBulletin. 

    //    This is useful for test environments

// define(“DISABLE_MAIL”, true);



    //  This allows you to enter debug mode, which is for support or development

    //    to help understand how pages are built. This should NEVER be enabled in

    //    a live environment.

//$config['Misc']['debug'] = true;





/*======================================================================*\

|| ####################################################################

|| # Downloaded: 00:00, Thur Oct 15th 2015

|| # CVS: $RCSfile$ - $Revision: 88 $

|| ####################################################################

\*======================================================================*/

MySQLi

MySQLi is an improved database layer for PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1+. It is strongly recommended that MySQLi be used for increase performance.

To enable MySQLi, view Editing the Core config.php File.

The Core config.php contains two advanced settings that you may need when MySQLi is in use. These settings are to be ignored as long as you are not having issues of the following type:

MySQL Error  : Illegal mix of collations (latin1_swedish_ci,COERCIBLE) and (utf8_general_ci,IMPLICIT) for operation

Generally, this error only happens when your database's character set has been changed from the default of latin1. To begin to resolve this problem, you must first determine what character set is being used for your database.

From the Administrator Control Panel, go to Admin CP->Maintenance->Execute SQL Query. If you receive a no permissions message, please refer back to Editing the vBulletin Configuration File on how to grant the appropriate permissions so that you may execute queries.

Enter the following query in the Manual Query input box and press [Continue]

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'char%'

The results screen will show your current character set settings:

If the values character_set_database and character_set_connection are different then this can be resolved by continuing this solution.

Note:

If the values are the same, then your problem will not be solved by this solution. Please contact vBulletin Support in this case. You may have tables in your database that are configured to use a different character set than your database is. All of your tables will need to be updated to use the same character set. This condition can be caused by changing the character set of your database after vBulletin has been installed. Upgrades may create tables that are in your new character set, which will cause problems.

Your character_set_connection needs to be updated to be the same as your character_set_database.

Create a new file in your forums include directory named mysqli.ini. Inside of this file place:

[client]
default-character-set=utf8

The value utf8 will need to be the same value that appeared as your character_set_database in the previous step. Generally, this will be utf8 but you may have a special case that requires a different setting.

Edit the vBulletin Configuration File file by following the instructions in the previous section.

Uncomment the following line by removing the two slashes from the beginning

//    $config['Mysqli']['ini_file'] = 'c:\program files\MySQL\MySQL Server 4.1\my.ini';

Change the line to point to the location of the mysqli.ini file that you created in the previous step. Example:

$config['Mysqli']['ini_file'] = 'c:\program files\apache group\apache\htdocs\forums\includes\mysqli.ini';

If you have enabled MySQLi and entered the correct path to your new mysqli.ini file, then this problem should be resolved.

Uploading vBulletin Scripts to Your Web Server

After your config.php files have been edited and saved it is time to upload the vBulletin scripts to your web server. You are now ready for installation.

The uploading process should be familiar to anyone who has published pages to a web site before, but a brief description of the process is given here.

Although there are several methods available to transfer the vBulletin files from your computer to your web server, by far the most common method in use is transfer via FTP. Most operating systems have built-in tools for opening FTP connections although they are often limited in their usefulness and many people opt to use a third party FTP client application. For this example we will use FileZilla.

Note:

We do not recommend using the built-in file transfer features in WYSIWYG editors such as Adobe Dreamweaver® or Microsoft Expression Studio®. These programs often add information to vBulletin's files or do not maintain their structure properly which will cause problems while installing or upgrading the software. We also do not recommend using any web-based file managers that your hosting service may provide as a solution. For best performance and reliability you are recommended to use a stand alone FTP client like Smart FTP or Filezilla.

Installing in a Sub-Directory

The easiest way to transfer the files is to upload the entire upload folder to the server. Using FileZilla we do this by dragging the upload folder from its location on your computer's hard disk to the web publishing folder on the server.

Most FTP client applications will handle the file transfers automatically, but if for some reason your application does not, you should make a note of the following:

All text files to be transferred in ASCII mode
All files containing plain text from the vBulletin package should be transferred in ASCII mode.
Text file types you will find in vBulletin are: .html, .php, .js, .xml, .css.
All non-text files to be transferred in Binary mode
The remaining files, which are mostly images, should be transferred to your web server in binary mode.
Binary file types used in vBulletin are: .gif, .png, .jpg, .ico.

Note:

The web publishing folder is usually called public_html, www or htdocs and is located within your home directory. If you are unsure of where to find your own web publishing folder, your host will be able to help you.

Depending upon the speed of your internet connection, uploading all the files could take several minutes to complete. After completion, you should see that the web server now contains a folder called upload containing a perfect copy of the files in the upload folder on your computer's hard disk.

When all the files have been uploaded successfully you should rename the upload folder on the web server to the name you want to use for your forums directory. We will be calling it forums for the purposes of this manual.

Installing at the Domain Root

Alternately, if you’d rather have the installation at the root level of your site, you can upload all the files contained in the upload folder directly into the web publishing folder on the server. This will bring your visitors directly to the vBulletin site when they visit your website.

Using FileZilla we do this by dragging the contents of the upload folder from its location on your computer's hard disk to the web publishing folder on the server.

Most FTP client applications will handle the file transfers automatically, but if for some reason your application does not, you should make a note of the following:

All text files to be transferred in ASCII mode
All files containing plain text from the vBulletin package should be transferred in ASCII mode.
Text file types you will find in vBulletin are: .html, .php, .js, .xml, .css.
All non-text files to be transferred in Binary mode
The remaining files, which are mostly images, should be transferred to your web server in binary mode.
Binary file types used in vBulletin are: .gif, .png, .jpg, .ico.

Note:

Depending upon the speed of your internet connection, uploading all the files could take several minutes to complete. After completion, you should see that the web server now contains a perfect copy of the files contained in the upload folder on your computer's hard disk.

If all has gone well, you are now ready to run the installation script to prepare your database to run vBulletin.

Running the vBulletin Install Script

The installation wizard provides as seamless an experience as possible with as little intervention from the operator as is possible.

Once all the vBulletin files have been successfully uploaded to your web server, you will need to run the vBulletin Installation Script in order to populate your database.

The Installer runs as a PHP script using your web browser. To start the installation process, open your browser and type the HTTP address of your forums directory, followed by /install/install.php, then hit the <Enter> key or press the [Go] button to open the script. For example, if you will have your forums in the root of your domain, the URL will be:

http://www.your-domain.com/install/install.php

If you will be running vBulletin in a sub-directory, for example ‘forums’, the path to the installation script will be:

http://www.your-domain.com/forums/install/install.php

The first thing you will see from the install script is a login prompt, asking you to enter your Customer Number. This is done to prevent other users from accidentally stumbling across your install script and running it. Only you should know your Customer Number.

Note:

Your Customer Number is the string of numbers and letters used as the login user name for the vBulletin Members' Area and is supplied via email following your purchase. If you have deleted this email and need to recover your Customer Number, please visit this link:

https://members.vbulletin.com/lostpw.php?do=lostcustomerid

You should type your customer number carefully to avoid errors. Note that your customer number is not the same as your vBulletin license number.

When you have entered your Customer Number, hit the [Enter Install System] button and you should be taken to the first step of the install script. If after hitting the [Enter Install System] button you are brought back to the Customer Number entry dialog, there was an error verifying your Customer Number. The only reasons the customer number won't work are:

You are not using the correct number (Make sure that you are not using your license number.)
You are not using the correct files for the license under that account.
You are blocking cookies.

After entering the correct Customer Number, the install wizard will begin. Press [Begin Install] to begin.

The installer from this point is mostly automatic. You will see the progress bar progress as it goes through the steps.

During the install process, the install script will require some user input. When this information is required, the installer will pause and present you with a dialog box for you to input the required information. It will ask for information up to four times. The first dialog box looks like the image below:

The first dialog box will ask you information about your forums. This includes the name of the forums, the name of your homepage and the URLs that you would like to use. It will also ask for the webmaster email address. The system will try to pre-fill some of this information for you based on the location of the script and the domain name it is accessed from.

The second dialog box will ask for your cookie path and cookie domain. These are advanced installation parameters. If you do not know what to enter here, leave them as the default suggestions and continue.

The third dialog box will ask for your administrator username, password, and email address. It’s important that you pick information that you will:

- easily remember but
- not be guessable by others

Administrator access in the wrong hands can have serious consequences for your forums so it’s vital that you pick a good, strong password that only you will know and remember.

During the installation process, you may opt to have a more detailed output view. You can view each step as it processes by clicking the "Show Details" button while the install wizard is running. It will present you with a view like this:

Cleaning up after the Install

After a few pages the installation process will complete, and you will be presented with a link to your Admin Control Panel. Before clicking this link, you should open up your FTP client application again and browse to the /core/install folder inside your forums directory.

You should delete all files and subdirectories here as a security precaution. Doing so will not impact vBulletin's operation on your site. Once you have deleted these files you can return to the installer script and click the link to enter the Administrator Control Panel of your freshly installed vBulletin!

Common Installation Issues

After installing, there are no images or CSS in the AdminCP?
A. Make sure that you're accessing the AdminCP from site/admincp and not site/core/admincp. Also make sure that the Site URL setting under Settings -> Options -> Site Name / URL / Contact Details has /core at the end of it.

None of the links work when I click on them on the front end.
Make sure that you have mod_rewrite (Apache) or URL Rewrite (IIS) enabled on your site. Upload the corresponding .htaccess or web.config file found in your upload directory.

If that do not resolve the problem, make sure there are no spaces or hidden characters in your /config.php. These can cause PHP errors that confuse the vBulletin Routers and prevent redirects from happening correctly.

My vBulletin is installed in a sub-directory and the .htaccess doesn't work properly. However it does work in the parent directory.
You will need to add a RewriteBase Directive to your .htaccess file. In the .htaccess file find the line that says RewriteEngine On. After it place the following line:
RewriteBase /pathtovbulletin/

pathtovbulletin should be the path from your website root or /.

My hosting provider will not allow mod_rewrite or URL Rewrite to be installed.
Unfortunately, you will need to find a new hosting provider to continue to use vBulletin.

What do I do with the old vBulletin 4.X files?
They should be deleted so they do not provide conflicts with the new system. You will want to maintain the directories for your attachments or custom user uploads.

What if I use a web server other than Apache or IIS?
We do not currently support other webservers. Please view the community forums as there may be community supplied solutions to other web server configurations.

When I click the Site Home Page in the Admincp, it leads me to a blank page
You need to access your vBulletin 5 forums from forumroot and forumroot/admincp. It should not be accessed via the forumroot/core directory except for the installation and upgrade wizards.

My host requires using mod_fcgid or phpSUExec on my server and vBulletin 5 does not work.
You can try updating your .htaccess file with the following change:

Find -
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php/$1 [L]

Change To -
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?/$1 [L]

I have Javascript turned off and vBulletin 5 does not work.
Javascript is required to use vBulletin 5.

I can't access Site Builder on my phone.
This is by design.

Upgrading vBulletin

From time to time it will be necessary to upgrade your vBulletin installation to the latest version, either to gain new features or to fix newly discovered bugs in PHP, MySQL or vBulletin itself.

You can upgrade to the latest version of vBulletin 5 Connect from the following vBulletin versions:

Any version of vBulletin 5
Any version of vBulletin 4, from version 4.0.0 Beta 1 to the latest version.
Any version of vBulletin 3 from version 3.6.0 and newer. If your vBulletin version is older than 3.8.0, it is recommended that you upgrade to at least vBulletin 3.8.0 before you can upgrade to vBulletin 5.

The upgrade process differs depending upon the version of vBulletin currently installed on your web server.

When upgrading, the first step is always the same, in that you must log in to the vBulletin Members' Area and download the latest vBulletin package available, as described in the installation instructions.

Warning:

We strongly recommend that you back up your database prior to any upgrade. This will allow you to restore your data should anything happen during the upgrade. The chance of a catastrophic failure is very remote but it can happen.

A document detailing how to back up your database is available in the Technical Documents section of the vBulletin Manual's Appendices, here.

What to know before you upgrade to vBulletin 5

What to know before you upgrade from vB3 or vB4

Upgrading any major software platform should be carefully thought through beforehand; for many of you, vBulletin is the heart of your site. Here are some things to consider when upgrading:

1. Do you rely heavily on the Calendar feature? If so, these will not be included in vBulletin 5 at initial launch but are planned to be added soon after. If you rely on these areas of functionality then don’t upgrade at this time - unless you’re happy that these will not be available to you and your users in the short term.

2. Have you installed any plugins or products? If so, the first thing you’ll need to decide is - “Is this critical to my site?” If the answer is yes, you will first need to check that a vB5 compatible version of the modification is available, either at www.vbulletin.org or via the author’s own site.

If the answer is no, then you need take no action as vBulletin 5’s new API system means that any existing plugins and products won’t work - however after you upgrade, it would be good practice to make sure you remove any files required by these.

3. vBulletin 5’s template code has been rewritten from scratch so existing themes/styles from vB4 will not work with it. As with plugins and products, if you’re looking to retain a similar look and feel to your site or simply don’t wish to use the default style after upgrading, you will need to do one of three things:

Contact the style designer to see if they’ve already created a vB5 compatible version of the style
Download and install a new vB5 compatible style from www.vbulletin.org or another supplier or
Create a test installation of vB5 and create your own unique style from scratch

6. Are you running a big board? We know that upgrading a big board can be complicated and has its own set of issues. Please refer to our installation best practice guides in the vBulletin Blogs which will be updated with the latest information to help you upgrade your site smoothly.

7. Do you use a custom .htaccess file on your site? As vBulletin 5 comes with URL Rewrites as standard, it includes an .htaccess by default. Uploading the files for the upgrade will see your custom .htaccess file overwritten losing any custom code that you had within the file (URL Rewrites, specific filetype caching). Make sure you have a backup of your .htaccess file before proceeding with the upgrade then you can look to merge the contents of your custom file and the vBulletin 5 default file after upgrading.

Creating a Test/Development Installation

When a new version of vBulletin comes out, there's always a clamour for people to be one of the first up and running with the latest version. While in the case of bug fixes, the need to upgrade quickly is understandable, too often people don’t consider what effect an upgrade will have on their site. The following is aimed at providing enough knowledge to be able to create a test 'mirror' of a site so that a test of an upgrade (or any change for that matter!) can be made.

Step 1 - Update URLs and Backup your database!

An all important step in any upgrade but without it, you'll never be able to test an upgrade - period! As you're going to be moving your database to be read by software on a different URL, you need to make sure you update the database to reflect this. There are two ways to do this:

1. Update the URLs before backing up the database or
2. Update manually in the database after backing up (NOT RECOMMENDED)

To update the URLs before backing up, follow these simple steps:

Close your site via AdminCP > Settings > Options > Turn Your vBulletin On and Off
Update the URLs at AdminCP > Settings > Options > Site Name / URL / Contact Details
Warning:
***DO NOT CLOSE YOUR BROWSER AFTER THE ABOVE STEP***
Backup your database (see below)
Update the URLs at AdminCP > Settings > Options > Site Name / URL / Contact Details back to your live URLs
Reopen your site via AdminCP > Settings > Options > Turn Your vBulletin On and Off

This will give you a ready made backup that will require no manual intervention to ensure that it's ready for testing against.

There are a number of ways to backup your database. The most reliable method of backing up and restoring a database is with shell access via ssh. This is because backing up with a PHP script like phpMyAdmin can result in PHP timeouts errors and an incomplete backup file. For more information on how to do this, please see the instructions here:

Backup:
http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/maintenance_ssh_backup

If you don't have shell access, some people have also reported success with these scripts:

MySQLDumper:
http://www.mysqldumper.de/en/index.php

MySQLHotcopy:
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134821&highlight=mysqlhotcopy

Bigdump:
http://www.ozerov.de/bigdump.php

Once you have your backup, you need to actually restore it to be able to test against it.

Step 2 - Restore your database

There's two options here depending on the hosting package you have:

Create a new database and restore to it or
Restore into your live database

Option 1, if you have more than 1 database available to you, is the option we'd recommend in every case because quite simply, it's the safest! That said, some hosting plans, particularly lower costed shared plans, may only allow a user 1 database so you may have no choice but to go with option 2!

Option 1 - Create a new database and restore to it

This is the safest way to go. From your server's control panel, create a new database then restore your freshly backed up database into this new database. As this is a completely separate database to your live one (different database name and hopefully different login details), there will be no need to manipulate the database prior to using it.

Option 2 - Restore into your live database

While this is NOT recommended, there are a number of users who will simply have to go down this route due to the lack of features with the hosting package they have (or can afford). Before doing this, make sure you read these steps BEFORE attempting to do the restore.

To do these, you will need to have a text editor installed. Windows users will have Notepad and Wordpad, Mac users may have TextEdit. I've used Wordpad without issue - and it's Find and Replace tool will be needed for the following steps as you will need these to manipulate the database backup before restoring it but don't worry - it's not complicated as you'll see...

a. Table prefixes

Whether you have prefixes or not, you are going to need to create a prefix to distinguish your test database from your live one. The following shows a table with no prefix then one with a prefix of 'vb_' - the rest of this entry will assume that prefix is currently used:

No Prefix:

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `access`;
CREATE TABLE `access` (
`userid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`forumid` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`accessmask` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
PRIMARY KEY (`userid`,`forumid`)
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

With Prefix:

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `vb_access`;
CREATE TABLE `vb_access` (
`userid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`forumid` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`accessmask` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
PRIMARY KEY (`userid`,`forumid`)
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

To ensure your test database is unique, you're going to need to add/change the prefix depending on what you currently have in place. Using the 'Find and Replace' option in your editor, you can add/change the prefix very easily (note if you have no prefix you will need to do this twice - once to edit the 'Drop' command, once for the 'Create' one):

Once, you hit OK/Replace All or whatever command your editor has, this will go through and add/replace prefixes on all tables. Now save this file under a different name on your local machine.

Now that you have your edited database, upload this to your server then restore it. For more instructions on using ssh, see this section of the manual:

http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/maintenance_ssh_restore

This will create a new set of duplicate database tables within their own 'group' thanks to the amended prefix.

Step 3 - Files

So, you've got your database in place so all we need is to upload the files - right? Nearly! Yes, you will need to have an actual installation of vBulletin on your server to use these but it's not just a case of uploading the files and away you go - so read on and follow...

First thing's first, create a new empty directory on your server called 'testvb'. You will need to protect this directory from the general public. The most common way to do this is by a combination of .htaccess and .htpasswd files. For more on these and assistance in setting these up, go to:

http://www.htaccesstools.com/htpasswd-generator/

Some Windows Server users may find that this doesn't work for them in which case you should use the permissions tools available on the server

Next, you need to decide what you're doing. Are you testing some changes to the templates etc. without upgrading or are you testing an upgrade?

1. Testing changes

If you're only testing some changes you want to make to the site (new styles, template changes) then either copy your live site's files to the 'testvb' directory or download a copy of your live site and then upload them into the 'testvb' directory.

2. Testing an upgrade

If you're testing an upgrade, then there's no need to copy your live site's files as you're only going to be overwriting them with the newer ones anyway! In this instance, simply download the new files from the Members Area and upload these to your 'testvb' directory.

3. config.php

VERY IMPORTANT STEP! I highlight this as without this step, you'll be doing whatever you do to your live database!

Open config.php in your normal web editor. Again, this will vary slightly depending on whether you're using a different database or whether you're having to use different prefixed tables in the same one.

a. Imported Database to a new database

If you've got the luxury of using a completely separate database, then you will need to edit the following details to ensure you're pointing to the correct one:

Database Name
Database Username
Database Password
Cookie Prefix

b. Imported Database to different prefixed tables in live database

This is even more important in this scenario. You need to edit the following areas:

Database Table Prefix
Cookie Prefix

Why edit the cookie prefix? If you're using the same Cookie prefix on your test site as you do on your live site, your browser won't distinguish which site you're actually viewing as they're both on the same domain. This will cause problems when logging in and doing anything where your personal settings are saved in a Cookie. The easiest way to distinguish these is to change the test site's value to 'vbtest'.

Regardless of which method of database import you've had to do, you should add the following to the top of the config.php file, right under <?php:

define('DISABLE_MAIL', 1);

This will stop the vBulletin email system from sending mails to users on their birthdays, if you add a test post to a subscribed thread etc. The last thing you want is users emailing you to say they've had a notification from a strange URL that looks like it could be your site...

Step 4 - AdminCP

Almost there! There are a couple of small changes that you will need to make to ensure that things run smoothly! Firstly, we need to make sure all links point to the right directory. So, login to the AdminCP in your testing directory and go to:

Settings > Options > Site Name / URL / Contact Details

and make sure the Forum URL is pointing to your 'testvb' directory. Also, under the following section, ensure that the 'Path to Save Cookies' setting is set to /testvb/:

Settings > Options > Cookies and HTTP Header Options

And finally, you can also (optionally!) turn off Scheduled Tasks but given that you've disabled the mail system via the config.php file, it would provide benefit to leave this enabled.

Preparing the vBulletin Files for Upload

After you have successfully downloaded the vBulletin package to your computer you will need to prepare the scripts to be uploaded to your web server. We’ve included the instructions for both Windows 7® and Mac OS X® below.

Windows 7®

The first thing to do is to decompress the package into its constituent files. If you’ve downloaded the .zip package and your computer is running a recent operating system, you should have all the tools you need to do this.

To extract the files from the package, open the folder on your computer where you saved the vBulletin package and right-click on its icon. Choose Extract All... from the pop-up menu.

This will open a wizard to guide you through the unzipping progress. Accept the default options and the system will decompress the files from the zip package.

Mac OS X®

The first thing to do is to decompress the package into its constituent files. If you’ve downloaded the .zip package and your computer is running a recent operating system, you should have all the tools you need to do this.

To extract the files from the package, open the folder on your computer where you saved the vBulletin package and right-click (or control-click) on its icon. Choose Open from the pop-up menu.

This will extract all of the files from the package to the current folder.

After Decompressing the Files

When the unzipping progress is complete, you will find that the process has created a new folder called upload and another called do_not_upload.

The upload folder contains the vBulletin files that need to be uploaded to your web server.

Rename the upload folder to match the name you gave to the directory containing your vBulletin files on your web server. In this example, the folder containing the vBulletin files is called forums.
Note:
If you installed vB5 directly in the root directory of your web publishing folder (not in a subfolder), you do not need to rename the upload folder.
Note:
If you have changed the names of the admincp and modcp directories in your config.php file, be sure to make the same change to these subdirectories prior to uploading.
The do_not_upload folder contains tools to perform various updating tasks on your board.
- searchindex.php - This file rebuilds the default vBulletin search index.
- vb_backup.sh - This file allows you to run a database backup via SSH/Telnet or a scheduled backup through cron.
- tools.php - This file must be uploaded to the admincp folder and allows you to perform certain tasks should your board go down or you accidentally lock yourself out of the Admin Control Panel.
  Warning:
  Because this file presents a SEVERE security risk, it should be deleted immediately after use.

Note:

As you already have a vBulletin installation running on your web server, you should delete the install.php file in the /core/install directory before you proceed to upload the files.

Updating the vBulletin Scripts on Your Web Server

After downloading the latest version of vBulletin, you will need to decompress the package into a directory on your local workstation. Once this is completed you can start the upgrade process.

1	To begin, you will want to turn off your forums. This will help eliminate any potential db errors as people attempt to access your forums before the upgrade is complete. For more information on how to do this, see the Turn Your vBulletin On and Off article.
2	Once your vBulletin site is turned off, you can upload the files. We're using Filezille in the following steps.
3	Connect to your SFTP server.
4	Navigate to the new vBulletin files (on your local machine) in the local pane and the existing old files in the remote pane.
5	Upload the local files into over the files of your remote vBulletin installation as shown here, overwriting the files currently in place: At this point, you will be prompted by the FTP client to confirm that you want to overwrite the existing files. You should confirm this prompt, telling the FTP client that yes, you do want to overwrite the existing files. If the prompt gives you the option to overwrite all existing files without prompting again, use this option. Warning: Upgrading from vBulletin 3.8.11 or vBulletin 4.2.5 If you are upgrading from a legacy version of vBulletin, it is required that you put the vBulletin 5 files in a new directory. to delete all previous vBulletin files from the server before uploading the vBulletin 5 Connect files. Special care should be used to maintain the directories with user uploaded content like avatars and attachments. The directory structure and file layout in vBulletin 5 has changed dramatically and this will make sure there are no conflicts between files.

Most FTP client applications will handle the file transfers automatically, but if for some reason your application does not, you should make a note of the following:

All text files to be transferred in ASCII mode
All files containing plain text from the vBulletin package should be transferred in ASCII mode.
Text file types you will find in vBulletin are: .html, .php, .js, .xml, .css.
All non-text files to be transferred in Binary mode
The remaining files, which are mostly images, should be transferred to your web server in binary mode.
Binary file types used in vBulletin are: .gif, .png, .jpg, .ico.

Note:

If you installed vB5 directly in the root directory of your web publishing folder (not in a subfolder), you should upload all the files contained in the upload folder directly into the web publishing folder on the server, overwriting the files directly.

Warning:

It is extremely important that you upload all the files from the latest vBulletin package, including the entire contents of the install directory (except the install.php file).

Failure to upload all the files may result in the upgrade script being unable to successfully complete the upgrade process.

Running the vBulletin Upgrade Script

Once you have uploaded the files to upgrade your vBulletin installation, point your browser to http://www.yourdomain.com/pathtoforums/install/upgrade.php. The first thing you will see from the upgrade script is a login prompt, asking you to enter your Customer Number. This is done to prevent other users from accidentally stumbling across your upgrade script and running it. Only you should know your Customer Number. The screen will look like this:

When you have entered your customer number, hit the [Enter Upgrade System] button and you should be taken to the first step of the install script. If after hitting the [Enter Upgrade System] button you are brought back to the customer number entry dialog, there was an error verifying your customer number. Please check for mistakes and try again.

Note:

Your Customer Number is the string of numbers and letters used as the login user name for the vBulletin Members' Area and is supplied via email following your purchase. If you have deleted this email and need to recover your Customer Number, please visit this link:

https://members.vbulletin.com/lostpw.php?do=lostcustomerid

You should type your customer number carefully to avoid errors. Note that your customer number is not the same as your vBulletin license number.

The only reasons the customer number won't work are:

You are not using the correct number (don't use the license number.)
You are not using the correct files for the license under that account.
You are blocking cookies.

After entering the correct Customer Number, the upgrade wizard will begin. Press [Begin Upgrade] to begin.

The upgrader from this point is automatic. You will see the progress bar progress as it goes through the steps.

If the upgrade script needs to retrieve any information from you, it will stop and show a dialog box requesting the information. To proceed, simply follow the instructions on the screen.

During the upgrade process, you may opt to have a more detailed output view. You can view each step as it processes by clicking the "Show Details" button while the upgrade wizard is running. It will present you with a view like this:

Once the upgrade process is complete, you will be presented with a link to your Admin Control Panel.

Enter the Admin Control Panel to verify that your settings, content and other details are still correct.

Using the Command Line Upgrade

With vBulletin 5, you can run the upgrade script from the command line and remove the overhead of your browser and HTTP calls. The command line interface is designed to specifically help big boards with the upgrade process and to eliminate the time caused by HTTP interaction.

To run this interface, go to your install directory (http://www.yourdomain.com/pathtoforums/core/install/upgrade.php) using the ‘cd’ command and execute:

php -f upgrade.php

If you are logged in as the root user, you will need to run the upgrade as the user that the webserver runs under. This will prevent permission problems from occurring later if you store CSS as files. Use this command:

sudo -u <user> php -f upgrade.php

Where <user> is the user that the webserver is run with. On most systems, this is the user nobody.

Your CLI version of PHP may not have been compiled with or configured to use the same modules as your web version. If you encounter problems in command line mode, switching to the web mode should be able to process through them. You can see your command line configuration by typing:

php -i > phpinfo.txt

You can then review the output in any text editor. You should inspect this configuration to make sure that it has mysql and/or mysqli available so you can connect to the database. You would also need to make sure that the command line version of PHP has XML support. If it does not, then you would need to run the XML imports from the Browser.

Common Issues While Upgrading.

Q. I tried to run the upgrade wizard from the command line and got an error that MySQLi is not installed.

A. Your CLI version of PHP may not have been compiled with the same modules as your web version. If you are missing mysqli and have set your config.php to use mysqli, you will receive an immediate error. Either add mysqli support to your CLI php or switch to mysql in config.php. You can switch back to mysqli after the upgrade process.

Q. When running the upgrade wizard from the command line, it will not import the standard XML files for the style and languages. What do I do?

A. Your version of PHP may have the default XML support disabled for some reason. Run the upgrade wizard in your browser. It will skip to the XML import steps and import your files for you and complete the upgrade.

Q. I have a lot of posts and rebuilding the search index takes forever. Is there a faster way?

A. You can rebuild your search index from the command line using the searchindex.php in your Do Not Upload folder. You would run the searchindex.php file from the command line using this command:

php searchindex.php

Follow the steps on the screen.

Q. What is the Query Status button that appears in Browser Mode?

A. The "Query Status" button is something that appears after a step has taken more than 20 seconds. Its purpose it to send a query back to the server and retrieve the status of the executing query. It provides a method for the admin to see what is going on with big queries.

Q. I receive an error similar to the following how do I fix it?

Warning: chdir(): SAFE MODE Restriction in effect. The script whose uid is 0 is not allowed to access ./../ owned by uid 10001 in /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs/vb/50/core/install/upgrade.php on line 16

A. This can appear if the command line configuration of PHP is using safemode. Either disable safemode or run the upgrade wizard in browser mode.

Q. I previously used the Command Line Upgrade and now I receive an error when I try to save my CSS as files. What is wrong?

The permissions on your clientscript/vbulletin_css folder are incorrect. They may be set to 0755 and should be set to 0777. Recursively update the permissions to 0777 using your FTP client or chmod:

chmod -R 777 core/clientscript/vbulletin_css

Cleaning up after your Upgrade

After the upgrade process is complete, you will be presented with a link to your Admin Control Panel. Before clicking this link, you should open up your FTP client application again and browse to the /core folder inside your forums directory.

You should delete the entire core/install directory. Doing so will not impact vBulletin's operation on your site. Once you have deleted this directory, you can return to the installer script and click the link to enter the Administrator Control Panel of your freshly installed vBulletin!

Checking for Updated Templates

If you have closed your forums for the upgrade you can now open them, or you can wait until you have gone through the next two steps checking for updated templates and phrases.

When a new version of vBulletin is released, it is common for some of the default templates to have been updated to accommodate new features or fix bugs.

If you have not customized any of your templates, this need not concern you, but if you have customized some of the default templates there are a few steps you will need to follow after you have finished running all the appropriate upgrade scripts.

Note:

When running vBulletin upgrade scripts, one of the final steps imports the newest version of the default style.

Any templates that you have not customized will automatically be updated to use the newest versions.

However, any templates that you have customized will not be altered or overwritten by importing the latest style, hence the need for the following steps.

Firstly, you should visit the Styles & Templates > Find Updated Templates page to find out which (if any) of your customized templates may have updated default versions.

If you find that some of your customized templates do have updated default versions, you have three choices. You can either

Do nothing and hope that your customized templates will still work properly with the new vBulletin version. This is often not a problem, but sometimes a variable may have been renamed or else some other change may have been made that will render your customized template dysfunctional.
Click the [Revert] link for each template, removing your customizations to ensure that your templates are fully compatible with the new vBulletin version.
Click on the [Edit Template] link for each template, and compare the contents of your customized template with the version available by clicking the [View Original] in order to manually update your customized templates to reflect the changes made in the default templates.

On the release of a new vBulletin version, the release announcement posted in the Announcements Forum at vBulletin.com will usually contain a list of updated templates.

This list will often tell you whether or not the changes made to each template were purely cosmetic, in which case you will have no need to perform the steps above for that template, or if the changes require you to revert or manually edit your customized templates to maintain full working order.

vBulletin Template Diff/Merge System

One of the most common complaints about vBulletin's upgrade process is applying the template changes. While the template history feature helped a little bit, it didn't go far enough. vBulletin 4.0 will introduce a feature to make applying template changes much easier: automatic merging and 3-way comparison.

Whenever you upgrade, we will automatically look for templates that have changed and see if you customized those templates. If you have, we will automatically try to merge the changes in. If this succeeds, you won't have anything else to do (in most cases). If it fails, your customized template won't be updated--like in vBulletin 3--and you'll have to apply the changes yourself. However, that process is improved as well. More on that later.

Roughly, the merging process goes like this:
[*]Find the differences between the old default and the new default. ("old-new")
[*]Find the differences between the old default and your customized version. ("old-custom")
[*]Start walking through the template. If we find a changed spot in old-new but it's not changed in old-custom, use the old-new version. If we find a change in old-custom but not old-new, use the old-custom version. If neither changed, use either. If both changed, that's a conflict and we can't do the merge.
Most of this happens behind the scenes. However, you'll see some changes to the "Find Update Templates" screen:

The "View Highlighted Changes" link will take you to this page:

This lets you view the 3-way merge results visually. The yellow lines indicate areas changed by merging, while the red blocks indicate conflicts. The conflicting areas show you the values in all 3 versions of the template (old, new, customized) to let you choose how to resolve it.

Of course, trying to do the edit from this page would be a challenge, so if you click the "Edit Merged Text" link, you'll be taken to a normal looking template editor:

However, the text that you're editing is slightly different from the norm. Any unchanged or merged areas are as you'd expect, but the output from a conflict is very different. All 3 possible values for a conflict will be shown, so you can resolve it correct. And don't worry, if you try to save it while there's still a conflict, it will warn you.

It should be noted that the automatic merging is pretty conservative. "Adjacent updates" (when a customized version adds a line immediately after a line that was changed) will trigger a conflict. In some cases, it'd be ok for this merge to go through, but there are other situations where things would break if the change were applied. Regardless, the new conflict management system should allow you to resolve the problem more quickly.

Checking for Updated Phrases

When a new version of vBulletin is released, it is common for some of the default phrases to have been updated to accommodate new features or fix bugs.

If you have not customized any of your phrases, this need not concern you, but if you have customized some of the default phrases, there are a few steps you will need to follow after you have finished running all the appropriate upgrade scripts.

Note:

When running vBulletin upgrade scripts, one of the final steps imports the newest version of the default phrases.

Any phrases that you have not customized will automatically be updated to use the newest versions.

However, any phrases that you have customized will not be altered or overwritten by importing the latest phrases, hence the need for the following steps.

Firstly, you should visit the Languages & Phrases > Find Updated Phrases page to find out which (if any) of your customized phrases may have updated default versions.

If you find that some of your customized phrases do have updated default versions, you can either:

Do nothing and hope that your customized phrases will still work properly with the new vBulletin version. This is often not a problem, but sometimes the phrase may have added text to describe new functionality or have made changes that break the values in the old version.
Click on the [Edit] link for each phrases, and compare the contents of your customized phrase with the version available. From this page, you may either update your customized version or revert to the default version by emptying the translation field.

How to Patch Your Site

From time to time, it's necessary to issue a Security Patch (or Patch Level) release for vBulletin software. This differs from the normal upgrade routine so this short article will clarify exactly what needs to be done when we announce a Patch Level (PL) release.

A patch level release contains fixes for only the most critical issues in the previous release. In most cases, these are released to address a security issue. However they can be released for data integrity issues as well.

A patch level is designed to be installed directly over top of your existing installation, with no other action. You do not need to run any upgrade scripts.

Download The Patch

A Patch Level release doesn't come as a full set of files. As such, it doesn't appear in the normal download location. To access the Patch Release, first login to the vBulletin Members Area. In the left hand navigation within the 'Support Services' section, click on the Patches/Security Patches link and you will see a screen showing all Patch Level releases for your Licenses.

Patch Packages are cumulative so you only need the latest one available for your version. You cannot use a Patch to upgrade your site.

Simply click on the Patch for the version you're currently running and you will be taken to the download page, where you will be given options for how to download the Patch. The following options are available via the 'More Download Options' radio button should you need to change these before downloading the ZIP file (in the majority of cases, these will not need to be altered):

PHP File Extension - As a general rule, web servers will use .php as the extension for PHP scripts, but some servers may use a different extension, or you may simply wish to use a different extension out of your own preference. Various extensions are available here for you to choose.
Download File Format - This option allows you to choose the compression format of the package you are about to download. Most people will want to download the .zip package as Windows® has built-in support for zip files. However, if you are downloading the package directly to a Linux server you may prefer to use the tarball (.tar.gz) format.
CGI Shebang - This option will only be of use to you if your server runs PHP as a CGI rather than as a web server module. If your server runs PHP as a CGI and requires a shebang (such as #!/usr/bin/php) then you can enter the required text here and it will automatically be inserted into whichever PHP files in vBulletin require its use.

When you have set the download options you can click the Download button to start the download. When the download prompt window appears, you should choose the Save option and choose a directory on your computer in which to save the package.

Updating Files On Your Server

With Patch Level releases, the preparation work is very small - simply extract the ZIP package to your local machine! Once you've done this, you will notice that there is no upload folder. A Patch Level release only contains the files that are being fixed so will not see a complete installation package

Before you do this you should close your forums. This will help eliminate any potential db errors as people attempt to access your forums before the upgrade is complete.

It will also be a good idea at this point to take a backup of your site and database. While the database won't be updated with a Patch Level release, it's useful to have an up-to-date backup in any case. For more information on backing up your database, please see this section of the Online Manual.

Connect to your FTP server using your FTP client of choice. Select the Patch Level files in the local pane and open the existing old files in the remote pane, then drag the new folders/files to the remote window.

You will most likely be prompted by the FTP client at this point to ask if you want to overwrite the existing files. You should confirm this prompt, telling the FTP client that yes, you do want to overwrite the existing files. If the prompt gives you the option to overwrite all existing files without prompting again, use this option.

Once the files are uploaded, that's your installation patched! There are no scripts to run and you can re-open your forums to users again.

This is not a full upgrade. You do not need to run any upgrade scripts to complete the upgrade.

Note:

Patch Level Releases are only supported for their targeted version. If you are using a previous version, you will need to perform a complete upgrade for full functionality and support. Patch Levels will only be released for the latest version in an active vBulletin series.

Administrators

An administrator is often (but not always) the owner of the vBulletin product. There can be more than one administrator in a system, though they must be given the proper permissions. administrators handle everything from announcements, to site settings, to usergroups, to user permissions and even Stylevars. In addition to this, they have all the rights of a moderator as well as those of a regular user.

This section only deals with the administrator’s administrative capabilities and options. It does not deal with moderator or user options.

Site Builder

The vBulletin Site Builder is a new tool that allows you to create custom pages for your site without worrying about HTML or CSS. The Site Builder provides a series of layouts and modules that you can drag and drop to build Pages to build your site.

What is the Difference Between AdminCP and Site Builder?

Site Builder is the newest innovation in vBulletin’s line of site management products. It allows an admin user, with the correct permissions, to change and edit the content and look of their site without logging in to the AdminCP. Where Site Builder deals with the outward facing portion of a site, the AdminCP controls the nuts and bolts of the system.

The Site Builder allows an admin to add various functionalities, dictate what they do, and where they’re placed on the site. It can control how your navigation bar is organized as well as which HTML ads appear in your header, and what the site logo is.

For a more detailed information on what Site Builder does do, go here.

To see a list of available modules that you can use see the Module List.

Everything else is controlled and administered using the AdminCP.

What is Site Builder

If you’re an Administrator in vBulletin 5, you might have noticed a new button to the right of your login. This button lets you access the Site Builder. The Site Builder lets you create new pages, and add and remove modules to existing pages. It also allows you to edit both the header, the footer and the navigation bar. Site Builder makes vB5 even more customizable than earlier versions and gives you unparalleled control over the content of your site in an easy to use interface.

We’ll show you how.

The first step in customizing pages on your site is to turn Site Builder on. To do that, just click the Off button in the top-right corner of your forum. This reveals a new menu bar at the top of the page, like this:

There are five buttons in the new menu bar, New Page, Edit Page, Header, Navigation Bar, and Footer. Each option controls and edits a different part of your site. Clicking on a button will open and reveal the related forms.

Why don’t we start with the New Page?

Go ahead and click the [New Page] button. You’ll notice three tabs in the form. Each tab controls a different aspect of Page Creation. <Add Modules> lets you drag and drop new modules onto a page. Once you’ve added a module to a page, you can change the placement of the module by dragging and dropping it where you want, edit the functionality, and even remove the module.

Click here for a list of modules and what they do.

The <Change Layout> tab, on the other hand, controls how many columns your page has and the width of each column.

The <Select Template> tab allows you to create a page quickly from a saved template. A template is an existing page that has all the modules, with the options you selected for them, and the layout you made for them that you can use to make your new page. This is especially handy when you’re creating a number of similar pages with only small differences.

Finally, the <Color Style> tab allows you to control the colors for the page you're creating. You can use the color wheel as well as the My Color Palette tool to adjust and change the color scheme.

Now that you’re familiar with the overall function of each tab in the New Page form, you can either try to make a page yourself or continue with the tour.

Check out the Page Creation Tutorial

We’re going to skip the Edit Page Button and move straight to the Header button. The Edit page has the same functionality as the New Page form except that it’s for editing the page that you are currently viewing rather than creating a new one.

The [Header] button controls the header of every page and is divided into two parts. The Site Logo allows you to edit the header image for your site. You can upload any image into the space as long as it’s either a .png, .jpg, or .bmp. The Header Ad HTML module allows you to add HTML to the header of your site. You’ll usually be using this to place ads at the top of your page. For a more complete tutorial on how to do this, click here.

The next button we’re going to look at is the [Navigation] button. Once clicked, you will see a tool that has two columns, the first controls the main navigation bar. Anything created in this column will show up as tabs on your site. You can change the positions of the tabs by dragging and dropping the items to the order you desire.

The second column is for sub-navigation items. This means that these navigation items will only show up when you have selected the tab that contains them. Like the main navigation items, you can change the position of the sub-navigation item in the tab by dragging and dropping it. However, you can’t move a sub-navigation item from one tab to another. If you need to have the same sub-navigation on a new tab, you will need to recreate it for each tab you want to view it on.

For more details on how to use this form, click here.

The final button we’ll cover is the [Footer] button. It’s very similar to the Navigation Bar tool except that all the links will appear at the bottom of your page. Unlike the Navigation Bar tool you are not allowed to create sub-navigation items.

For more specifics about how to create footer items, click here.

Channel Manager

Channel Manager

The Channel Manager controls the creation and organization of forums, blogs, groups and other special items as well as allowing you to set a specific page as the home page of your site. The following functionality is not currently available: blogs, groups, special items and assign home page.

You can reach the Channel Manager by clicking turning on the Site Builder function and clicking on the Channel Manager button.

Note:

Prior to vBulletin Connect 5.1.4, this was called Page Manager

Add Forum

Adding a Forum

From the Page Manager, enter the name of the of forum you want to create in the New Forum text box and click Add. It will appear beneath the pre-generated Main Forum. You can change it’s position by clicking on the dotted strip to the left of the forum name and dragging it to its new location.

Creating a Category

Creating a Category

A category is a container for forums and largely used to organize the forums into, well, different categories. To make a category, click on the Make Category link to the right of the forum you wish to be a category. It will be instantly changed to a category. If you want to change it back, just click the [/b]Make Forum[/b] link that has taken it’s place. It’s that simple.

Removing a Forum

Removing a Forum or Sub-Forum

If you want to delete a forum or subforum, login to the Site Builder and click on the Page Manager button. Find the forum or subforum you want to remove and click the red x icon to the right of the plus symbol. A confirmation popup will appear. Clicking Yes will complete the deletion.

Be careful of which forums you delete, since any threads, posts, and replies in that forum will be removed along with its parent

Organizing Forums

Organizing Forums

Using the Page Manager, you can re-organize your forums simply by dragging them and dropping them where you wish them to appear. To do this, grab the forum's handle on the far left (the dotted texture) and then drag the forum where you want it to appear. When you have it arranged how you want it, simply let go of the mouse to drop the forum in position.

How to set up your Header

The Header appears on every page just above the Navigation Bar. This displays your Site Logo and optional advertisements or ads.

How to Change the Site Logo
Alright, so now that you have your first page set up, you might want to change the site logo. You no longer have to login to the AdminCP in order to do that. You can change the site logo directly through the Site Builder. When you have it turned on, click on the “Header” button. You’ll see a form similar to the one below pop up:

The next thing you want to do is click on the “Edit” button beside the site logo. It will open an upload page. Use this form to upload your new site logo to the site. A preview of the image will appear like so:

Please note that this is just a preview and the changes have not been saved. If you navigate away from the page or click the “Exit without Saving” button, the site logo you uploaded will not replace the default logo. Only after you click “Save Changes” and confirm the change will the new logo display on your main site.

Note:

The maximum width of your site logo is set at 320 pixels.

How to Add HTML Ads
You can add any HTML Ad directly into the header of your site. All you need is the HTML for the ad and to turn on the Site Builder function for your vBulletin. Click on the “Header” button in the Site Builder menu. This will open a form like this:

In the Header Form, click on the “Edit” button to the right of the “Header Add HTML Module” title. Once the Custom HTML Module appears, enter a title and then copy and paste your Ad's HTML into the text box provided. You can use the conditions provided to choose when the Ad will show and to whom. When you are finished configuring your Ad, click “Attach”.

The Header form will return you to a preview of the page so you can see how the Ad looks. When you’re satisfied with how it looks, click on the “Save Changes” button to complete the addition of your ad. The Header form allows you to choose between having one or two ads show in the header.

How to set up your Navigation Bar

What are Navigation Items?
Navigation items are the tabs and links found beneath the site logo of your vBulletin. A navigation item can act as either a tab or a link. Sub-navigation items appear beneath a tab and along the top of the page. Sub-navigation items are always links.

How to Add Navigation Items
To add a navigation item to your site, make sure the “Edit Site” function is turned on by clicking on the “Off” portion of the button to the left of your username. Once the Edit Site menu appears, click on the “Navigation Bar” button.

A form will open beneath the Edit Site. In the form, click the “New Navigation Item” link. A popup will appear where you can enter the name of the Navigation Item and the location you want it to point to.

How to Remove Navigation Items
To remove a navigation item from your site, make sure the ‘Edit Site’ function is turned on by clicking on the “Off” portion of the button to the left of your username. A menu bar will appear along the top of your page.

Click on the ‘Navigation Bar’ button. This will open form beneath the menu bar. From here, click on the x beside the navigation item you want to remove. Once you’re done, click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

How to Edit Navigation Items
The ‘Edit Site’ function allows you to edit and change navigation items whenever you want. If you ever need to change the name of the navigation item, where it points, or even in what order it’s displayed, turn on the ‘Edit Site’ function and click on the ‘Navigation Bar’ button that appears in the menu bar.

Find the navigation item you want to edit and click the ‘Edit’ link to the right of its name. This opens a popup that allows you to change the name and URL of a navigation item. When you’re done making your changes, click the ‘Save’ button.

If you want to change the order of the navigation item, simply click and drag the items into their new positions. Once the Navigation Bar has been changed to your liking, click the ‘Save Changes’ button. The page will reload with the changes you’ve made.

How to Add Sub Navigation Items
Navigation items are tabs, while sub navigation items are links beneath their parent item. In order to add a sub-navigation item to a menu, you start by turning on the ‘Edit Site’ function. When the menu bar appears, click on the ‘Navigation Bar’ button.

In the form that opens, click the right parenthesis to the far right of the navigation item you want to add the sub navigation item to. When you have the navigation item selected, click on the ‘+ New Sub Navigation Item’ link.

Once the navigation item form is open, create your sub navigation item as usual and click ‘Save’. This returns you to the previous form. Add as many sub navigation items as you want and click ‘Save Changes’ when you’re finished.

How to set up your Footer

What is a Footer Item?
The footer is the navigation strip that appears at the bottom of the site. With the Site Builder, you’re able to add links to this strip that can take your users anywhere you want them to go. Like the Navigation Bar, these items are called navigation items.

How to Add a Footer Item
As always, we begin by logging in to the site and turning on Site Builder. From here, click on the Footer button.

This opens a form beneath the Site Builder bar. In the form, click the “New Navigation Item” link. A popup will appear where you can enter the name of the Navigation Item and the location you want it to point to. Once you’re done adding items, click the “Save Changes” link and your page will reload with the changes.

How to Remove a Footer Item
To remove a navigation item from your site, make sure the ‘Edit Site’ function is turned on by clicking on the “Off” portion of the button to the left of your username. A menu bar will appear along the top of your page.

Click on the ‘Footer’ button. This will open form beneath the menu bar. From here, click on the x beside the navigation item you want to remove. Once you’re done, click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

How to Edit a Footer Item
You can change the name of your footer items at any time as well as changing the location they point to. To do this, login to your account and turn on ‘Site Builder’. When the Site Builder bar appears at the top of your site, click on the ‘Footer’ button.

Find the navigation item you want to edit and click the ‘Edit’ link to the right of its name. This opens a popup that allows you to change the name and URL of a navigation item. When you’re done making your changes, click the ‘Save’ button.

Introduction to Pages

What is a Page?

As you’ve looked through vBulletin 5, you’ve probably noticed several mentions of Pages and wondered what we were talking about. In this article, we’ll try to shed some light on what Pages are in vBulletin and how you can use them.

It’s pretty easy. In fact, you already know the basics of what a Page is. You’re on one right now. At its simplest, a Page is just like the pages you find in any other webpage. The only difference with vBulletin is that you can add and edit the content of the page directly without having to upload HTML or CSS files to your webhost. (That is, you can if you have admin permissions.)

The new vBulletin interface allows you to add new pages in addition to changing the content on each individual page.

So, now that you know what a Page is, why don’t we show you how to make and then edit one?

How to Create a Page

How to Create a Page

In order to create a page, you need to turn on the [Edit Site] function. You do that by clicking the “Off” button to the right of the Edit Site button. This will reveal a menu along the top of your webpage. From here, you want to click on the [New Page] button.

This opens a form with three tabs. For the moment, let’s stick to the <Add Module> tab in the form. vBulletin comes with a variety of basic pages created when you first install or upgrade to it. However you may wish to add custom pages for a variety of reasons. We will walk through an example of making a front page for your site. You can make this the first page that your users see when they arrive on your site. We’ll start with an Announcement module, an Activity Stream module, and an Online Users module

Note:

You don’t have to build your front page with these modules if you don’t want to. In fact, you can build it with a totally different set of modules depending on what you want to use your vBulletin for. Remember, this is just a tutorial to show you how to do things and not a hard guide. Have fun!

To find the modules, you can either use the Search field to the left of the module list or the slide bar beneath the menu. Once you’ve found these four modules, drag and drop them to the page. From here, you can move them around in whatever order you want. If you’re following along, we’ve set them up like this:

Ok, so, now that we have the page organized like we want, we’re going to play with the options for each one. Although each module has different options, the options can be accessed in the same way. Just click on the “Edit” button and a form will pop up with a choice of options.

In this tutorial, we’ll work with the Activity Stream module and just let the others go as their defaults. So, to continue, click on the “Edit” button. In the new form, change the “Show Filter” to “All” and then click the [Save] button.

Go ahead and change the options for your other modules. Once you’re done, click the [Save Page] button.

This opens a new form like the one above. On this form, enter a name for the page into the Page Name field. The URL for your page will automatically fill out with the name you entered for the page. If you want to change it, feel free to right now. The last thing you want to do before saving is to name the new template that the save will generate along with your page. This saves the layout, order, and settings of the page so you can reuse it at a later time if you need to make another page likes this one.

Finally, click on the [Ok] button and that’s it.

Note:

Color Styles
The Color Styles tab is used to change the color layout of the page you are creating. For the tutorial, click here.

How to Edit a Page

There are times that you’ll want to either change the settings for the modules, or move them around, or even remove them totally. Doing this is simple. First (as always) make sure that the Edit Site function is turned on.

When the menu bar appears along the top of your webpage, click on the [Edit Page] button. A form, very similar to the New Page form, will open. At this point, you can change the settings, move things around, or even remove modules. Once you’re done making the changes you want to make, click on the [Save Page] button. It will take you to a confirmation screen.

From here, you can choose to save the changes as a new template or save over the existing template. If you chose to save over the existing template, it will also change any other page that was using the template as well.

The form, will by default, overwrite the existing template with the changes you made. In order to keep this from happening, you need to select the “No” radio button to the right of the Overwrite Template? question. When you do that, a field asking for a template name will appear. Now, name your template!

Regardless of which choice you make, click [Ok] to confirm the changes.

How to Change the Layout

How to Change the Layout

VB5 provides three different layouts for you to use in organizing your modules. The first two provide a two column layout, with the last one providing a one column layout. You will notice that when you click on the “Change Layout” tab in either the Edit or New Page form, that there’s a number beneath each column. This indicates how much, in percentiles, of the screen width that each column will take.

To change the overall layout of our page, make sure to turn on the edit site function. If you are creating a new page, click on the “New Page” button. If you are editing an existing page, click on the “Edit Page” button. Regardless of which you choose, click on the “Change Layout” tab in the form that opens. Choose which layout you want to use and then click on the “Save Page” button.

This will take you to the confirmation page and you can finish up the process through either the page creation instructions or the page edit instructions.

How to Create a Template

Templates are containers for your completed pages. They contain information on how the page should look to the end-user including the modules placed and the layout chosen.

How to Create a Template
You can create a template in one of two places: the New Page form or the edit page form. The steps to create a template is integrated into the process of creating and editing a page. There is nothing special you need to do because vBulletin automatically does it for you. Let’s go over the steps again for each form. Please note that we will be going into less detail about how to create and edit a page. If you need a refresher on how that works, you can go here for new pages and here for editing existing pages.

New Page Form
Turn on the “Edit Site” button. Click on the New Page button. After adding, moving, and editing the settings of the modules you want, click on the “Save Page” button. Enter the information in for the new page, including (most importantly) a name for the template. When you have the confirmation form filled out, click the “Ok” button at the bottom of the form.

Edit Page Form.
Turn on the “Edit Site” button. Click on the Edit Page button. After making the changes you want to the page, click on the “Save Page” button. This will open a confirmation page. To create a new template (rather than saving over the old template), select the “No” radio button to the right of the Overwrite Template? question. When you do that, a field asking for a template name will appear. Name your new template and click “Ok” at the bottom of the form. This will save your template with the name you gave it.

How to Use a Template
You can use the template in two forms, the New Page Form and the Edit Page Form. Unlike creating the template, there is no difference in how to access and use the template. As always, make sure the “Edit Site” function is turned on. Click on the “New Page” button if you want to use an existing template to create a new page. If you want to modify an existing page using an existing template, navigate to the page you want to change and click the “Edit Page” button.

When your chosen form has opened, click on the “Select Template” tab. The tab will load with all existing templates in the system. Now, find the one you want to use by either searching for its name or by using the scroll bar at the bottom of the form. Clicking on the template will select it and create a preview of the layout beneath the form you’re using.

From here, you can make more changes. If you do not intend to make further changes or are done making changes, just click the “Save Page” button and follow the instructions to save the template.

How to use the Color Style Form

Using the Color Style Form

In vBulletin you can change the look of a page (the colors of the font, background and links) with the use of Styles. The Color Style Form makes it simple to create a Style for a page at the same time that you’re creating the page itself. To get to the Color Style Form in the Site Builder, make sure the option has been turned on.

Depending on whether you’re editing or creating a new page, click on either the New Page or Edit Page button.

Once the form drops down from the menu, click on the Color Style tab. This will open a form with a color wheel and a preview of the page with your chosen colors beneath the form. There are several different ways to use the form. Rather than walking you through an example of how to Style your page, we’ll go through the options and give you a detailed outline of what each does.

<<Image here of form w/ color wheel and numbered options. Numbers must be added to the corresponding options>>

The color wheel is a quick way to change the colors of the page. The color palette is a preview of the colored elements on the page.

Color Wheel
There are two dots (1a and 1ab) on the Color Wheel. They control the color palette. 1a controls the primary color of your palette while 1b controls the secondary colors of your palette. The further apart they are, the more contrast your palette will have. The closer together they are, the more complementary the colors. To change the color palette, click and drag either dot around the color wheel.

Hue
Clicking on Hue opens a pop up form with a text field. Entering a number between 0 and 360 selects the primary color (dot 1a) for your color palette.

Angle
Clicking on Angle opens a pop up form with a text field. Entering a number between 0 and 360 selects the secondary color (dot 1b) and changes the palette.

Hex
Clicking on Hex opens a pop up form with a text field. Entering a hexadecimal code changes the primary color (dot 1a) for your color palette.

<<Image here of form w/ My Color Palette and numbered options. Numbers must be added to the corresponding options>>

Undo
The Undo button undoes the last action taken.
Redo
The Redo button redoes the last action that was undone.

My Color Palette
My Color Palette previews the colors for specific elements of the page. The preview of the color is followed by a list of elements it affects. Clicking on the preview opens the ‘Fine Tune Colors’ menu to the right for the selected element.

<<Image here of form w/ Fine Tune Colors and numbered options. Numbers must be added to the corresponding options>>

Fine Tune Colors
This controls the shade of the individual element. Use the selector to the right of the preview square to choose the desired color. To change the selected element, click on the name of the element to be changed.

Fine Tune Colors also has four different templates to select from. These templates change the defaults for the overall look of the page and eliminate the possibility of customizing certain elements. Here’s a complete list of those options:

Color - template that uses the selected colors
White - template that makes everything white except for the following elements: Background, Font Color, Navigation Background, and Navlink Text
Grey - template that makes everything grey except for the following elements: Background,Category Description
Dark - template that makes everything black except for the following elements: Background,Category Description

<<Image here of form w/ Save Style and numbered options. Numbers must be added to the corresponding options>>

Save Style
This part of the form saves the Style created in the Color Style tab.

Title for generated style
This controls the name of the style.

Display Order
This controls the display order in the AdminCP.

Parent Style
The selected option becomes the parent style of the style being created.

Allow User Selection (Yes / No)
This determines whether or not another user can use the style.

Save
This saves the style, but does not apply it to the page. To apply the style to the page, click on the Save Page option at the top.

Introduction to Modules

A module is a piece of functionality that you, the administrator, can add, edit, and delete from your page. Modules are widgets that you use to build Pages within Site Builder. They allow you to change how your pages look and work, giving you design control over your site and what it does.

How to add a module to a page

In the course of running a website, there are times that users will ask for features that you didn’t originally consider. VB5 has made it easy for you to add and remove modules depending on your needs and the needs of your users. To add a module to a page, make sure the Site Builder is turned on and click on the [Edit Page] button. From here you can drag and drop whatever module you want in to the existing page.

After adjusting the settings for the module and placing it where you want, click on the [Save Page] button to save your changes. That’s it; it’s that simple.

How to remove a module from a page

It’s not easy predicting what your users want. Sometimes what we (and they) think will be really useful, turns out to be the opposite of that. Luckily, Site Builder makes removing the modules easy. When you have Site Builder turned on, click on the [Edit Page] button along the top. The modules on the page will revert to a more compact look like so:

To remove the module from the page, click on the little garbage can icon to the right of the edit icon.

The module will be removed from the page, however the changes will not be saved until you click [Save Page] and complete the process.

How to edit a module

Modifying a module’s settings is just as easy as adding it or removing it from your page. Again, make sure that Site Builder is turned on before clicking on the [Edit Page] button. From here, click on the pencil icon to the left of the delete icon. Each module has its own individual settings form that will pop up.

After making the adjustments you want to the module, click the [Save Changes] button at the bottom of the form that appears. Different modules will show different forms. Please note that the changes you’ve made will not be permanent until you’ve clicked the [Save Changes] again at the top of the page.

How to change the positioning of modules

Changing the position of your modules is a very simple process. First, make sure the Edit Site function is turned on before clicking on the [Edit Page] button.

Once the Edit Page Form has opened, use the directional icons to move the modules to its new location. When you’re finished adjusting the positioning of the modules, click on the [Save Page] button. This will save any change you’ve made return you to the page you edited.

Module List - Documentation and Customization

There are two types of modules, System Modules and Regular Modules. The System Modules are modules that you can move around a page, but not remove from a page. Some of them are customizable, while others are not. Regular Modules are modules that you can add to and remove a page. You can also change their location on the page and customize most of them.

The following is a list of modules available in vBulletin 5. Each article includes information of what you can customize.

Modules

Modules are a series of modules that the Admininstrator of a website can place on Pages via Site Builder. For the most part, each page can hold multiple copies of these modules. They allow the Administrator to customize the website to fit their needs.

Display

About Author: Used on Article display pages to show the content of the author's biography profile field.
Ad: Used to display advertising on your site.
Annoucement: Displays Announcements created in the AdminCP. Announcements have been deprecated in favor of the Notices feature.
Calendar: Shows a calendar view of event topics provided via search.
Channel Description: Shows the current channel's description on the page. You can set descriptions in the AdminCP under Channel Management -> Channel Manager.
Page Title: Shows the current page's title. If you're in a channel, this is the channel title.
Video: Allows you to embed a video into a page. Supports both third-party sites and videos uploaded to your site as attachments.

Generic

Channel Navigation: Allows you to build a list/menu of channels on your site. You can choose any channel as the starting point.
Display Template: Allows you to display custom templates within the module system. This is used for the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service pages.
Forum Home: The forum activity stream module. Displays a list of forum channels and has tabs for activity stream and subscriptions.
Static HTML: Similar to the Ad Module and allows you to display custom HTML on your pages.
Tabbed Container: Allows you to build tabbed pages on your site. An example is the default Calendar page.
Tag Navigation: Allows you to build menus based on your tags. Tags can also be shown as a tag cloud so this supersedes that module. Used on the Articles page.

Content

Content Slider: A customized search module to show featured articles in a carousel. The first attached image would be used as the backgound image.
Friends: Shows your current friends. Used on the provided Community Home Page.
Search: Generic Search module. Allows you to build custom searches to highlight what is important to your site.
Trending: A specialized search to show trending topics. THis is new than a standard new posts search as it is based on how many people interact with a topic in the last 24 hours.
Upcoming Events: A specialized search to show a list of Event topics that are pending.

Statistics

Statistics: Shows your site statistics. Topics, Posts, Total Members.
Tag Cloud: Shows your tags for the channel.
Today's Birthday: Shows users with birthdays today.
Top Active Users: A list of most active users currently online.
What's Going On: Shows the users currently browsing the site or specific channel.

Activity Stream

Activity Stream

The Activity Stream module controls both the display for the Activity Stream and the channel list. The Activity Stream module has twelve different options:

Show Filter
This controls the type of items filtered into the Activity Stream. The options include: all, discussions only, photos only, videos only, links only, or polls only.

Show New Topics?
Selecting ‘Yes’ will display new topics in the Activity Stream. Selecting ‘No’ will disable the display of new topics in the Activity Stream.

My Subscriptions Show Filter
This controls the type of items filtered in to the Subscription tab of the Activity Stream. The options include: all, discussions only, photos only, videos only, links only, or polls only.

My Subscriptions Show Filter
This controls the type of items filtered in to the Subscription tab of the Activity Stream. The options include: all, discussions only, photos only, videos only, links only, or polls only.

My Subscriptions Subscribed Filter

Tabs to Display
This controls which tabs to display in the activity stream. The options include: Forum Directory, Latest Activity, and My Subscriptions.

Tabs Order
This controls the order in which the selected tabs will display. The tabs closest to the top will display first to the left on the page. To change the order, click and drag a tab to the desired location.

Default Tab
This controls which tab is displayed when a user loads the page containing the Activity Stream. The admin can choose between:

Latest Activities - tab displaying the latest activities on your site
What’s Hot - tab displaying the most popular activities on your site
My Subscriptions -tab displaying activities a user has subscribed to
Forum Directory - tab containing a directory of created forums

Latest Activity Results per Page
This controls how many results per page appear in the Latest Activity tab.

Latest Activity Max Pages
This controls the maximum number of pages the Latest Activity tab will display for its results.

Latest Activity Date Range
This option controls how far back the Activity Stream will go to get items to display.

My Subscriptions Results per Page
This controls how many results appear per page in the ‘My Subscriptions’ tab.

My Subscriptions Max Pages
This controls the maximum number of pages the ‘My Subscriptions’ tab will display for its results.

My Subscriptions Date Range
This option controls how far back the Activity Stream will go to get items to display for the My Subscriptions tab.

Ad	Back to Top

The Ad module is used to add, display, and manage ads. Clicking the Edit icon for an Ad module opens an edit form.

Search
This searches the existing ads for an ad that matches the term entered.

Title
Displays the title of the ad created.

Active?
An ad with the Active? checkbox checked is active. If the checkbox is not checked, the ad is not a part of the ad rotation.

Display Order
This controls which ads are displayed first. Every ad receives a number. The number entered in the textbox determines the order in which the ad appears.

Action

Edit - clicking on this opens the Edit Form for the selected ad.
Delete - clicking on this will delete the selected ad.

Add/Edit Form for the Ad Module

Ad title
This is the text field provided for the name of ad.

Ad HTML Code
This is the text field provided for the HTML code that goes with each individual ad.

Active
This checkbox puts the ad into rotation.

Display Options
Display options control who sees the ad, where they see it, when they see it, and for how long.

User belongs to group
User does not belong to usergroup
User is browsing forum
User is browsing forum or one of its child forums
User has not visited for x days
User has not posted in x days
Users post is between
User has never posted
User has between x and y reputation points
User’s private message storage is between x and y
User landed on this page via search engine
The date is
The time is between

Announcement

Announcement

The Announcement module is used to display any announcements the admin has created in the Announcements area of the AdminCP. It is in the module category Display.

There are no options for this module, it simply is used if you want to display announcements on the current page.

Online Users

Online Users Module

The Online Users module is used to display a list of users that are either on the site or on that particular page. It is in the module category Statistics.

The Online Users module has three different options:
Display Avatars?
This decides whether the users avatar is displayed in the list (Yes) or whether the username is displayed in the list (No).

Max online users to show
This is the maximum number of users that should be listed in the list. If there are more users, then they will just not be shown.

Show Users For This Page Only?
You may set this to only show the users viewing this page (Yes) or to show all the users on the site (No).

PHP	Back to Top

The PHP module is used to display dynamic content on your page - content that would change over time or that needs information from the database. It is in the module category Generic.

The PHP module has two different options:

Title
This is the title that will show above the PHP module on the page.

PHP Code
This is where you would input your valid PHP for the module. Please make sure you use valid PHP or you could possibly break your page.

Some examples of valid PHP to use in this module:

echo “Hello World!”;

The output in the PHP module would then be:

Hello World

echo "Hello ". vB5_User::get('username') .", how are you doing today?";

The output in the PHP module would then be:

Hello <username>, how are you doing today?

<<image goes here of actual module on the page>>

Search

Search

The Search Widget is a module that displays the search results for a pre-configured search created by the administrator. You can use it to highlight particular discussions, images, videos and attachments.

Widget Title
This is the title of the search results widget that appears at the top of the search on the page.

Number of Results
This is the number of results the search widget will display on the page.

Keywords
These are the search terms used to find the results for the search widget. You can enter more than one keyword, separated by a space.

Title Only
Checking this box restricts the search to the titles of the available items.

Members
This limits the search results to the listed members in the text field. If you create the search using User A, only posts that User A will show up in the Search Widget. You can enter more than one username, separated by a comma.

Tags
This narrows the search to posts that contain the tags you’ve selected. You can either enter tags in the text box provided or select them from the list of available.

Date Range
This limits the number of days the search will go back in order to find results. The count starts from the current day back.

Last Visit
This sets the start date back to the last time the user visited.

Sort By
This controls how the search results are sorted. The results can be sorted by the following categories:

Relevance - sorts the results by the relevance of the results to the search you’ve entered
Title - sorts of the results alphabetically by the title of the item
Members - sorts the results alphabetically by the member that created it
Date - started post - sorts the results by the date of the item was created and not by the latest post mase
Date - last update - sorts the results by the last reply made to the item
Replies - sorts the results by the most replies made to the original item
Order - the order in which the results appear (descending and ascending)

Types
This restricts the type of items the search result will display.

Search Options
This restricts the search to the following options:

Search in featured content only - search results will only come from the featured content section
Search in my following only - search results will only come from the members, topics and forums the user is following

Sources
This dictates which forums the search will use to find keyword matches.

Advanced Search Editor
This text box allows you to enter the search terms using JSON.

Static HTML

The Static HTML module is used to display some static content on your page. This module will only take proper HTML for its input, not BBCode. It is in the module category Generic.

The Static HTML module has two different required text fields:

Title
This is the title that will show above the HTML module on the page.

HTML
This is where you would input your valid HTML for the module. Please make sure all tags are closed properly or you could possibly break your page. There are several great sites on the web to either get help with writing proper HTML, such as w3schools.com, or to help you validate your HTML, such as The W3C Markup Validation Service.

An example of proper HTML would be:

<p>Hello World!</p>

Today's Birthdays

Today's Birthdays

The Today's Birthdays module is used to display any users who have birthdays on the current day. It is in the module category Statistics.

There are no options for this module, it simply is used if you want to display a list of users whose birthday occurs today on the current page.

Top Active Users

Top Active Users

The Top Active Users module is used to display the most active users on the site. It is in the module category Statistics.

There is one option for this module:

Max top online users to show:
This is the maximum number of users you wish to show in this list.

Video

Video

The Video module is used to display a video on a page. This module currently supports from YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, MetaCafe videos. It is in the module category Generic.

The Video module has two different options:

Video Title
This is the title that will show above the video on the page.

Video Link
This is the full link to the youtube video you wish to have embedded on the page.

Administrator Control Panel

The AdminCP (Admin Control Panel), like the Site Builder is used to manage your site. While the Site Builder manages the outward facing appearance of your vBulletin product, the AdminCP controls all other aspects of your site. From usergroup permission settings to human verification options, the ability to modify and control these options can be found in the AdminCP

Logging in to the Control Panel

The vBulletin Admin Control Panel can be accessed by pointing your browser at http://www.example.com/forums/admincp/.

The first thing you will see when you access the Control Panel is a prompt to log in. You will be presented with this login prompt even if you are already logged into the public area of the board. This is an additional level of security.

To log in, simply enter the username and password of a user account with administrator privileges, such as the one you created towards the end of the installation script process.

There are a couple of extra options that can be set on the login form. To see them, click the [Options] button to expand the form to its full size.

The two options you can set from the login form are:

Style Choice
vBulletin comes with a selection of styles in which you can view the control panel. Try them out and see which one you like best, or if you are feeling adventurous, create your own!
Save Open Groups Automatically
This option allows you to have the system automatically save your preferences for which options in the Admin CP navigation panel are opened and which are collapsed by default, without you having to manually save the preferences.

Clicking the [Log in] button will submit the login details and options you have set, and log you in to the board.

Note:

If you changed the value of $admincpdir in the config.php file and have renamed the admincp directory, the location at which you access the control panel will have changed accordingly.

Getting around the Admin Control Panel

The first thing you will see when you log into the Admin Control Panel is the welcome page. This page contains a quick method to search for users, phrases, PHP functions or MySQL language as well as some useful links, information about your server and the vBulletin credits.

You will notice that the Admin Control Panel is divided into three distinct areas. The first and most obvious of these is the main panel, which currently shows the home page. This area (the main panel) is where the majority of your attention will be focused when administering your board.

At the top of the page is a tab bar with a link to the Site Home Page (the starting point of the public area of the board). To the right of the tab bar is a link to the messages page for your admin user and a link allowing you to log out of the control panel. Directly below the open Admin CP tab is a narrow strip that contains information about the vBulletin version you are currently running and the latest version available to download. To the right of the strip is a search box allowing you to search the forums.

To the left of the page is the navigation panel. This long, thin area is the key to getting around the Admin CP.

When you first visit the Admin CP, you will notice that all the sections of this panel are in a collapsed state.

You can click the gadget on each section to expand it and show its contents, and click the gadget again to collapse that section again. Double-clicking a section's title will also toggle its state and either expand or contract it.

You can expand and collapse any sections at any time. You are not limited to having just a single group expanded at any one time.

When you have a section or sections expanded, hovering your mouse over the included links will highlight that link. You can then click to open the corresponding page in the main panel.

You can use the expanding and contracting sections to build a customized control panel layout for yourself. For example, you may find that you regularly use the 'Styles & Templates' tools, but very infrequently use the FAQ manager.

When you have established a set of expanded and collapsed sections that suits your way of working, you can save the state of the sections by clicking the [Save Prefs] button.

When you reload the Admin CP, you will find that the sections in the left navigation panel will have automatically expanded and collapsed in the manner that they were when you clicked the [Save Prefs] button.

You can expand and collapse any section in your administration session, and at any time you can click the [Revert Prefs] button, which will revert the expanded/collapsed state of all the sections to how they were when you saved your preferences.

If at any time you want to return to the home page of the Admin CP, clicking the [Control Panel Home] button at the top of the navigation panel will do this.

Settings

This part of the documentation will go over the individual options and settings in vBulletin section by section.

Options

vBulletin 5 Connect has a number of administrator options the controls the overall operations of your site. These options apply constraints to user input, turn features on and off and in general allow you to create a unique website and community experience.

Turn Your vBulletin On and Off

Path to Turn Your vBulletin On and Off: Settings > Options > Turn Your vBulletin On and Off.

The most common reason for inactivating a forum is to do forum or database maintenance.

While your site is inactive, only users in the Administrator usergroup can access the site. Other site visitors are shown an informational message that you provide.

Remember to reactivate the forum after you have finished your maintenance tasks.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Forum Active (Yes/No)
Select Yes to set the forum to Active for the general public.

Select No to set the forum to Inactive for the general public but leave it set to Active for administrators.

Administrators accessing the forum when it is set to Inactive see a notice displayed in the header and footer of each page stating that the forum is inactive.

Reason for Turning Forum Off
Enter the message you want to display to users trying to access the forum while it is set to Inactive. Your text message can contain HTML code but not BBCode.

Example: The forum_name forum has temporarily been inactivated for site maintenance. We expect to be back online by 3:00am GMT. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Site Name / URL / Contact Details

Path to Site Name / URL / Contact Details: Settings > Options Settings > Site Name / URL / Contact Details.

After a fresh installation or upgrade, or a server or site move, be sure to check the following options and reset them if necessary.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Forum Name
Name of your forum site, which appears in the title of every page.

Forum URL
URL of your forum site. Do not add a trailing slash (/) in the name.

Homepage Name
Name of your home page, which appears at the bottom of every page.

Homepage URL
URL of your home page.

Contact Us Link
Link for contacting the site administrator, which appears at the bottom of every page. To use the built-in email form, specify sendmessage.php; otherwise use something like mailto:[email protected] or your own custom form.

Allow Unregistered Users to use 'Contact Us' (Yes/No)
This option applies only if you specify sendmessage.php in the Contact Us Link option. To require guests to pass Human Verification in order to use this form, enable the option found in the Human Verification Options.

Contact Us Options
You can predefine subjects (and corresponding recipients) for users to pick from when using the default Contact Us form. Include one subject per line. An Other option is automatically added to the end when the form is viewed.

Each subject must be placed one per line, meaning that you need to enter a carriage return between subject (press <Enter>). If you wish to direct the email from a subject to a particular user, you can either specify the user's userid on the forum or their email address. You do this by placing the item in brackets at the start of the subject.

Example:
{1} Site Feedback
{[email protected]} Help
Registration

Feedback sent to the first option "Site Feedback" would be directed to the email address of Userid #1. Feedback sent to the second option "Help" would be directed to the email address "[email protected]". Feedback sent to the third option "Registration" would be directed to the Webmaster's email address.

Webmaster's Email
Email address of the webmaster. This can be different than the technical contact listed in the includes/config.php. The webmaster receives all emails from vBulletin itself except for database errors.

Contact Us Email
Default email address for emails sent from the Contact Us page. If you leave this option empty, the webmaster's email is used.

Copyright Text
Copyright text to insert in the footer of the page.

Company Name
The name of your company. This is required for COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) compliance.

Company Fax
The fax number for your company. COPPA forms are faxed to this number.

Company Address
The address of your company. COPPA forms are posted to this address.

General Settings

Path to General Settings: Settings > Options > General Settings

These options allow you to set meta tags and descriptions, set options for Quick Navigation, enable access masks, and other similar functions.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Meta Keywords
Enter the meta keywords for all pages. These keywords are used by some search engines to index your pages with more relevance. Other search engines such as Google do not take keywords into account.

All keywords you enter here will be put in the keywords meta tag in the header of every page. Separate keywords or phrases with a single comma and no space.

Example: vbulletin,forum,bbs,discussion,jelsoft,bulletin board

Meta Description
Enter the meta description for all pages. These keywords are used by some search engines to index your pages more with more relevance. Other search engines such as Google do not take descriptions into account.

The short description of your site that you enter here is placed in the meta description tag in the header of every page. Most search engines accept a maximum of 255 characters for the description.

Example: This is a discussion forum powered by vBulletin. To find out about vBulletin, go to http://www.vbulletin.com/.

Use Quick Navigation Menu
The Quick Navigation menu appears by default on most pages and provides a quick jump to any of the forums on your site as well as to several other places on your site (for example, search and private messaging). While it can have a marginal impact on performance, typically you will only want to disable this if you have an extremely large number of forums, in which case a large amount of HTML will be generated that will increase the size of pages and bandwidth usage.

Number of Pages Visible in Page Navigator
On thread and forum pages, as well as private messaging lists and some other places, if there are multiple page number links to be displayed, this setting determines how many are shown on either side of the page currently being viewed.
Setting this to 0 causes all page links to be displayed.

Example: 3

Relative Jumps for Page Navigator
If a thread or forum requires multiple pages to be displayed, this option selects what pages can be jumped to relative to the current one. For example, by adding 10 to the list, links will appear for current page -10 and current page +10.

Example: 10 50 100 500 1000

Enable Access Masks
Access masks allow you to enable or disable access to a particular forum for individual user(s). To use access masks, enable this option. This option also affects whether or not users will be able to see forums they do not have access to on forumhome and forumdisplay.

If this functionality is off, users see users they are prevented from accessing forum listings but not be able to enter them. If this functionality is on, users will not see those forums at all.)

Add Template Name in HTML Comments
Setting this to Yes adds the template name at the beginning and end of every template rendered on any page. This is useful for debugging and analyzing the HTML code, but it should be turned it off to save bandwidth when running in a production environment.

When you are modifying templates, it is often helpful to have this setting enabled so you can view the source of a page to determine which template(s) control it. In the course of normal usage, however, you will usually want this disabled because it increases your page sizes and therefore bandwidth usage.

Use Login "Strikes" System
Setting this to No disables the system that prevents a user (with a specific IP address) from logging in to an account after entering an incorrect password 5 times.

After the first failed login attempt, the user receives the following message:

You have used 1 out of 5 login attempts. After all 5 have been used, you will be unable to log in for 15 minutes.

After the fifth failed login attempt, the user receives the following message:

Wrong username or password. You have used up your failed login quota! Please wait 15 minutes before trying again. Don't forget that the password is case sensitive.

After the fifth failed attempt, the user is locked out for fifteen minutes and and email will be sent to the email address associated with the account alerting them about the login failure.

Enable Forum Leaders
Forum Leaders is a listing of your important user groups. The display of forum Moderators on this page is controlled with this option; the display of other groups is controlled via the usergroup manager.

Post Referrer Whitelist
For security purposes, vBulletin allows data to be submitted via post only from within the site’s domain. If you are submitting post requests from a different domain or subdomain, you must add them here.

For example, if you have multiple sites that tie into this site or if you have vB-integrated hacks that POST data externally, then you may want to put those referrers on the whitelist.

Enter domains in the form of ‘.domain.com’ (including the leading dot). Separate multiple domains with line breaks.

Thread/Forum Read Marking Type
This option controls how threads and forums are marked as read.

Inactivity/Cookie Based.
Once a user has been inactive for a certain amount of time (the value of the Session Timeout option) all threads and forums are considered read. Individual threads are marked as read within a session using cookies.
Database (no automatic forum marking).
This option uses the database to store thread and forum read times. This allows accurate read markers to be kept indefinitely. However, in order for a forum to be marked read when all threads are read, the user must view the list of threads for that forum.

This option is more space- and processor-intensive than inactivity-based marking.
Database (automatic forum marking).
This option is the same as a previous one, but forums are automatically marked as read when the last new thread is read.

This is the most usable option for end users, but the most processor intensive.

Database Read Marking Limit
The amount of time in days to store the thread and forum read times. All threads or forums without posts in this many days are considered read.

With Database Read Marking, the unread markers on threads and forums are persistent across forum sessions. If a user does not read a thread that is marked as unread, then that thread will remain unread every time the user visits the forum.

This setting allows you to force unread markers to switch to "read" after so many days (for example, 10). This would be the amount of time after which the user probably has no interest in reading that thread and therefore does not need to know that it contains unread posts.

Disable AJAX Features
AJAX uses JavaScript and other browser functionality to allow additional data to be retrieved without doing a page refresh, such as posting with quick reply or editing a thread title inline.

Due to the nature of AJAX, some functions may not work fully with non-Latin languages without additional modules, such as IconV. For example, AJAX-based quick reply may work correctly on your site, but thread subscription emails do not display correctly. If something like this occurs for you, you should select "Disable Problematic AJAX Features".

Enable Inline Moderation Authentication
Inline moderation actions require a user to re-authenticate prior to being performed. The timeout is based on the admin control panel timeout, or one hour if that option is disabled.

Image Settings

Path to Image Settings: Settings > Options > Image Settings

The Image Settings group allows you to control how vBulletin processes images for uploading and handles image verification.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Image Processing Library (default: GD)
vBulletin provides two options for manipulating attachment thumbnails, custom avatars, and profile pictures.

The first is GD, which is bundled with PHP 4.3.0 and later, and is often available with earlier releases. The GD v2+ library is preferable to the v1+ library, so always choose v2 if you're given the opportunity by your host. GD supports the following file types: GIF, JPEG, and PNG.

Note:

The GD Libraries might have to be manually activated when using PHP installed on Windows.

The second supported library is ImageMagick v6 by ImageMagick Studio LLC. ImageMagick is an executable binary that must be installed at the server level to be called by PHP. Only the identify and convert binaries from ImageMagick are required by vBulletin. ImageMagick supports the following file types: GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, and PSD. ImageMagick also has better support for handling animated GIF.

ImageMagick Binary Path
Path to the ImageMagick 6 binaries (convert and identify).

Example:
Unix:

/usr/local/bin/

Windows:

C:\imagemagick\

Human Verification Options

Path to Human Verification options: Settings > Options > Human Verification Options
This setting group controls where human verification is required on your site.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Verify at Registration
Require users to pass the Human Verification test during registration.

Verify Guest Posts
Require guest posters to pass the Human Verification test before their messages are posted.

Verify Guest Searches
Require searches by guests to pass the Human Verification test before the they are executed.

Verify Guest Contact Us
Require guests to pass the Human Verification test before they can leave feedback.

This applies only if sendmessage.php is being used as the Contact Us link and Guests are allowed to use the Contact Us for described in the Site Name / URL / Contact Details article.

Date and Time Options

Path to Date and Time options: Settings > Options > Date and Time Options.

Date and Time formats in vBulletin follow standard PHP formatting rules. For more information see the PHP reference manual.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Datestamp Display Option (default: Yesterday / Today)

Controls the display of dates throughout the site.

'Normal' uses the date and time formats below this option.

'Yesterday / Today' shows 'Yesterday' and 'Today' for dates that fall in those periods.

'Detailed' shows times such as '1 Minute Ago', '1 Hour Ago', '1 Day Ago', and '1 Week Ago'.

Default Time Zone Offset

Time zone offset for guests and new users. When using this setting, do not take DST (Daylight Savings Time) into consideration; instead, use the Enable Daylight Savings option to enable or disable DST.

Enable Daylight Savings

If DST is currently in effect for the time zone, enable this option so guests see the correct times on posts and events. (This setting has no effect on registered users, because they control their DST options in the User Control Panel.)

This setting is not automatic and needs to be changed with the standard/daylight switch twice a year.

Format for Date (default: m-d-Y)

Format for dates shown on vBulletin pages.

Examples:
US Format (e.g., 04-25-98): m-d-y
Expanded US Format (e.g., April 25th, 1998): F jS, Y
European Format (e.g., 25-04-98): d-m-y
Expanded European Format (e.g., 25th April 1998): jS F Y

Format for Time (default: h:i A)

Format for times shown on vBulletin pages.

Examples:
AM/PM Time Format (eg, 11:15 PM): h:i A
24-Hour Format Time (eg, 23:15): H:i

Format for Registration Date (default: M Y)

The user registration date shown in the upper left-hand column of users’ posts.

Format for Birthdays with Year Specified (default: F j, Y)

Date format in cases where the birth year is specified in the user profile.

Format for Birthdays with Year Unspecified (default: F j)

Date format in cases where the birth year is unspecified in the user profile.

Log Date Format (default: H:i, jS M Y)

Format of dates shown in Control Panel logs.

Cookie and HTTP Header Options

Path to Cookie and HTTP Header options: Settings > Options > Cookie and HTTP Header Options

These options allow you to control cookie settings, gzip compression, HTTP headers, and to redirect messages.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Session Timeout (default: 900)
The time in seconds that a user must remain inactive before any unread posts are marked read. This setting also controls how long a user will remain on Who's Online after their last activity.

Path to Save Cookies (default: /)
The path to which the cookie is saved. If you run more than one forum on the same domain, it will be necessary to set this to the individual directories of the forums. Otherwise, just leave it as / .

Note:

Your path should always end in a forward-slash; for example, /forums/ or /vbulletin/.

Warning:

Entering an invalid setting can leave you unable to log in to your forum. Change this setting only if you absolutely need to do so.

Cookie Domain (default: blank)
This option sets the domain on which the cookie is active. The most common reason to change this setting is that you have two different urls to your forum, i.e. example.com and forums.example.com. To allow users to stay logged into the forum if they visit via either url, you would set this to .example.com (note the domain begins with a dot.

Warning:

We recommend that you leave this setting blank. Entering an invalid setting can leave you unable to log in to your site.

GZIP HTML Output (Yes/No)
Selecting Yes allows vBulletin to GZIP compress the HTML output of pages, thus reducing bandwidth requirements. This will be used only on clients that support it, and are HTTP 1.1 compliant. There will be a small performance overhead.
This feature requires the ZLIB library.
If you are already using mod_gzip on your server, do not enable this option.

GZIP Compression Level (range: 0-9; default 1; recommended: 1)
Set the level of GZIP compression you want to use on the output.

Add Standard HTTP Headers (Yes/No)

If enabled, vBulletin will send 200 OK HTTP headers.
Because this option does not work with some combinations of web servers, it is off by default. Some IIS setups might need it turned on.

Add No-Cache HTTP Headers (Yes/No)
Selecting Yes will cause vBulletin to add no-cache HTTP headers. These are very effective, so adding them may cause server load to increase due to an increase in page requests.

Remove Redirection Message Pages (Yes/No)
Enabling this option will remove the update pages that are displayed after a user makes a post, starts a search, etc. These pages provide assurance to users that their information has been processed by the site. Disabling these pages will save you bandwidth and may lessen the load of the site on your server.

Note:

Some pages will still use the use the redirection page when cookies are involved to prevent some potential problems.

Disable IE8 Compatibility Mode (Yes/No)
You can disable the IE7 compatibility mode of Internet Explorer 8 with this option. This will force the IE8 browser to render all pages in IE8 mode.

Server Settings and Optimization Options

Path to Server Settings and Optimization Options: Settings > Options > Server Settings and Optimization Options

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Public phpinfo() Display Enabled (Yes/No)
If you enable this option, anyone can view your phpinfo() page by adding ‘&do=phpinfo’ to a forum URL. vBulletin Support might ask you to temporarily enable this to help diagnose problems if you request technical support. Otherwise, we recommend turning it off.

Cached Posts Lifespan (default: 7)
Posts are normally stored with bbcode tags in the same form the user posted them with so the code can be edited later, and then parsed at display time. If they are cached, they are parsed at post time (instead of display time) into the HTML they will be displayed in and stored separately from the pre-parsed posts. This results in a faster display on topics, since the posts do not have to be parsed at display time.

This option determines how long posts are stored. While a post is cached, it takes approximately twice as much storage space since it is essentially being stored twice. If you have a busy site, and topics typically don't last very long, you can probably set this to a lower value such as 10 days. If you have a slower site, and topics typically last longer, 20 to 30 days might be a better choice. If you have available disk space, you can set this to a higher value for better performance.

Update Thread Views Immediately (Yes/No)
If you enable this option, the thread view counter for a thread is updated in real time as threads are viewed. Otherwise, they are stored and updated every hour (by default) as a group. We recommend disabling this option for larger or busier forums, because updating them in real time can have a performance impact.

Update Attachment Views Immediately (Yes/No)
If you enable this option, the attachment view counter for an attachment is updated in real time as attachments are viewed. Otherwise, they are stored and updated every hour (by default) as a group. We recommend disabling this option for larger or busier forums, because updating them in real time can have a performance impact.

*NIX Server Load Limit (default: 0)
vBulletin can read the overall load of the server on certain *NIX setups (including Linux).

This allows vBulletin to determine the load on the server and processor, and to turn away further users if the load becomes too high. If you do not want to use this option, set it to 0. A typical level would be 5.00 for a reasonable warning level.

Re-check Frequency (default: 60)
The specified frequency to re-check the server load average after the system determines that the load average is too high. Re-checking diverts a tiny bit of system resource to check the new server load average, so re-checking too frequently might end up causing you to stay in busy mode for longer.

Safe Mode Upload Enabled (Yes/No)
If your server has Safe Mode enabled, set this to Yes. You can determine if Safe Mode is enabled by viewing your ‘phpinfo’ page and searching for Safe Mode.

Safe Mode Temporary Directory
If your server is running in PHP Safe Mode, specify a directory that is CHMOD to 777 that will act as a temporary directory for uploads. All files are removed from this directory after database insertion.

Note:

Do NOT include the trailing slash (‘/’ after the directory name.

Duplicate Search Index Information on Thread Copy? (Yes/No)
It is not strictly necessary to index a copied topic since the original topic is already indexed. However, you might want to index copied topics for the sake of completeness. Setting this option to Yes causes search index information to be copied with each post in the topic. This allows the copied version of the topic to be searchable, as well. However, on larger sites, this mibht cause significant delays in copying a topic. If this is a problem for you, we recommend disabling this option.

Session IP Octet Length Check
Select the subnet mask that reflects the level of checking you want to run against IP addresses when a session is being fetched.

This is useful if you have a large number of users who are behind transparent proxies (for example, AOL) and have an IP address that can change randomly between requests.

The more the level is decreased the greater the security risk from session hijacking.

Use Remote YUI (Yes/No)
YUI (Yahoo! User Interface Library) script files are hosted locally on your server; however, you can have them served from Yahoo or Google, saving you some bandwidth and potentially decreasing load times.

Disable Content Caching (Yes/No)
Setting this to Yes disables content caching. We do not recommend doing this except for troubleshooting purposes.

Style & Language Settings

Path to Style and Language Settings: Settings > Options > Style & Language Settings

You set style and language options in the Style & Language Settings screen of vBulletin Options.

Following are the Style and Language settings.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Default Language (default: English(US))
Select the default language for your site. This language is used for all guests, and any members who have not expressed a language preference in their options.

Default Style
Select the default style for your site. This style will be used for all guests, and any members who have not expressed a style preference in their options, or are attempting to use a style that does not exist or is forbidden.

Default Style for Mobile Browsers
Select the default mobile style for modern mobile browsers. This style is used if a user is browsing your site with a modern mobile browser. Set to None to use a desktop browser style.

Default Style for Old Mobile Browsers
Select the default mobile style for old mobile browsers. This style is used if a user is browsing your site with a modern mobile browser. Set to None to use a desktop browser style.

Allow Users to Change Styles (Yes/No)
Whether or not users can set their preferred style when they register or when editing their user options. Setting this to No forces users to use whatever style has been specified for the site.

Location of clear.gif (default: clear.gif)
Enter the path of your clear.gif image, relative to your site base directory.
By default, the value of this setting is clear.gif, meaning that the image is located in the base directory of your vBulletin installation (in the same folder as forumdisplay.php).

The URL must be relative, NOT beginning with http://.

Store CSS Stylesheets as Files? (Yes/No)
If you want to store the CSS stylesheet for each style as a file, you must ensure that you have a directory called vbulletin_css inside the clientscript folder, and that the web server has permission to write and delete files in that directory.

Use 'vBMenu' DHTML Popup Menus? (Yes/No)
Whether or not to use dynamic HTML popup menus to reduce screen clutter if the user's browser allows it.

Disabling this option will also disable some AJAX features, such as user name suggestion.

Use Legacy (Vertical) Postbit Template (Yes/No)
If you prefer the postbit style that uses two vertical columns rather than the horizontal layout, you can revert to using that template with this switch.

If you enable this option and want to customize the template, edit the postbit_legacy template rather than the postbit.

Show Instant Messaging Program Icons (Yes/No)
Whether or not to show the images for Skype, ICQ, AIM, MSN, and Yahoo! Messenger if the user has entered the correct information in his/her profile. These links are shown in various places throughout the site, for example on posts, who's online, memberlist, and profile.

Use SkypeWeb Graphics (Yes/No/Use Language-Specific SkypeWeb Graphics)
If set to Yes, the Skype™ icon from the SkypeWeb server is used to show users' online status.

If set to No, the local (static) graphic is used.

If set to “Language Specific”, graphics in the language being used by the visiting user are loaded. If the Language Specific option does not work, switch it off and try again in a few weeks.

Search Engine Referrers
Enter one or more HTTP referrer addresses as a search engine source. Enter multiple referrer names on separate lines.

For the most accurate detection, enter only the essential part of the domain. For example, instead of entering "www.yahoo.com" and "www1.yahoo.com", enter ".yahoo.com", or, better yet, “yahoo.”. Instead of entering ".google.com", ".google.ca", ".google.co.uk", enter ".google.".

Alternatively, if you are interested in only part of the domain, you can use an asterisk (*) as a wild card. For example "search*" will match "searching.site", "searchmaster.site", etc.

Censorship Options

Path to Censorship options: Settings > Options > Censorship Options

These options allow you to censor certain words or other string on your site. Strings designated as censored are replaced with one or more characters (for example, an asterisk). Strings that can be censored include all message titles and messages.

To apply censoring to existing posts, see Rebuild Post Cache

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Censorship Enabled (Yes/No)
Choose Yes to enable censorship and No to disable it.

Character to Replace Censored Words (default: *)
Enter the character that you want to replace a censored word or other string.

For example, if you have censored the word ‘dog’ and you set the censor character to an asterisk (*), all occurrences of ‘dog’ in message titles and messages appear as ‘***’.

Censored Words
Enter all words you want censored in the provided field. Use spaces (NOT commas) to separate words. Do not use quotation marks around your censor list.

Correct:

dog cat boy

Incorrect:

dog, cat, boy

If you type ‘dog’, all words containing the string ‘dog’ are censored (for example, the word ‘dogma’ appears as ‘***ma’. You can censor only exact matches by putting the word in curly braces, for example ‘{dog}’. Your revised censor list (which will not censor ‘dogma’) should read ‘{dog} cat boy’.

Blank Character Stripper (default: 160 173 u8205 u8204 u8237 u8238)
You can prevent users from including certain characters in posts or other strings like usernames (for example, non-breaking spaces (code 160) or soft hyphens (code 173)).

Enter the codes you want to prevent in the provided field. Use spaces to separate codes and do not use quotation marks. Prefix Unicode values with a ‘u’.

Example:

160 173 u8205 u8204 u8237 u8238

Note:

Stripping characters with this setting might break some double-byte character sets. If you are having problems with certain characters not displaying properly, try removing the contents of this setting.

Email Options

Path to Email options: Settings > Options > Email Options

Use the Email options to set up the behavior of the email features throughout your site.

Relying on the PHP internal mail function has always caused problems with a few configurations. The PHP internal mail function is simply a wrapper for the system’s own mail program such as sendmail or procmail. The problems occur when certain configurations have extra authentication settings or confusing line endings. This has been resolved by the introduction of our mail class to correct any problems that may occur with the internal mail function and also to allow the use of SMTP which will completely bypass PHP's own internal mail function.

You can enable the SMTP server options here.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Enable Email features? (Yes/No)
Enable the following email-sending features:

Report Bad Post

’Contact Us’ Link

Email a Member

Email this Page to a Friend

New Post Notifications to Members

You can turn off the Send to Friend feature for individual user groups in the Usergroup Manager.

Allow Users to Email Other Members (Yes/No)
Set this option to Yes to allow users to send emails to other users.

Note:

Use the Use Secure Email Sending option to determine how the emails are sent.

Use Secure Email Sending (Yes/No)
If Allow Users to Email Other Members is set to Yes, this option specifies how members’ email addresses should be displayed.

If this option is set to Yes, an online forum must be filled in to send a user an email, which hides the destination email address.

If this option is set to No, the user is simply given the email address to send email using his or her email client application.

Email Flood Check
Specify in seconds how much time must elapse before a user can send consecutive emails.

Setting ‘0’ disables this flood check.

Note:

Administrators are always exempt from this floodcheck.

Use Mailqueue System (Yes/No)

When enabled, subscription emails generated by your site are processed in batches to lessen the load on your server. Account activation, lost passwords and other vital emails are sent instantly regardless of this setting. If your site has low traffic, subscription emails might be delayed.

If you have a large site, consider enabling locking. This prevents a rare situation where the same email is sent multiple times.

Number of Emails to Send Per Batch (default: 10)
vBulletin includes a mail queuing system to prevent bottlenecks when sending large volumes of email. Use this option to specify how many emails are sent per batch.

Bounce Email Address
The email address to which bounce messages are directed. If this field is blank, the webmaster email address is used.

This email is used with an SMTP server or when the Enable ‘-f’ Parameter email for sendmail is switched on.

Enable ‘-f’ Parameter
Some sendmail servers might require the ‘-f’ parameter to be sent with email calls from PHP. If you are having problems with users not receiving email, try enabling this option; however, in all likelihood, your problem is not being caused by this setting.

Note:

This setting does not work when PHP SAFE MODE is enabled.

Use Bulk Header? (Yes/No)

Mail servers using Exchange send auto-responders unless you mark your email as bulk mail. While there is no documented case of emails being marked as spam directly due to this header, what other mail servers do with this header is unpredictable.

Set this option to Yes if you want to reduce number the auto-responders in your webmaster email from Exchange servers.

Encode as UTF-8 (Yes/No)

If you set this option to Yes, emails are re-encoded to UTF-8 before sending, if possible.

SMTP Email
Set this option to Yes to use an SMTP server rather than the internal PHP mail() function.

SMTP Host
If you have enabled SMTP mail, specify the host here. You might find that specifying an IP address rather than a domain name results in better performance.

Example: smtp.gmail.com

SMTP Port
If you have enabled SMTP mail, specify the port here.

SMTP Username
If you have enabled SMTP mail and your server requires authentication, specify your username here.

SMTP Password
If you have enabled SMTP mail and your server requires authentication, specify your password here.

SMTP Secure Connection (default: none)
If you have enabled SMTP mail and your server requires a TLS connection, set this to Yes.

Note:

This option requires OpenSSL support to be compiled into PHP.

User Registration Options

Path to User Registration Options: Settings > Options > User Registration Options

The User Registration options allow you to control how new user registrations are handled on your site.

You can activate the COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) registration system to comply with COPPA laws that require children under the age of 13 to get parental consent before they can post.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Allow New User Registrations (Yes/No)

Temporarily (or permanently) allow or prevent anyone new from registering.

If you set this option to No, anyone attempting to register is told that you are not accepting new registrations at this time.

Use COPPA Registration System (default: Enable COPPA)

Use the COPPA registration system, which complies with COPPA laws and requires children under the age of 13 to get parental consent before they can post.

For more info about this law, go to http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus45-how-comply-childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule.

COPPA Registration System Cookie Check (Yes/No)

If you select Yes, the vBulletin system saves a cookie to the user's computer if an age under 13 is entered. Subsequent registration attempts will fail, no matter what age is entered. This applies only if the previous option is set to either ‘Enable COPPA’ or ‘Deny registration for users under 13 years’.

Moderate New Members (Yes/No)

Allows you to validate new members before they are classified as registered members and are allowed to post.

Send Welcome Email (Yes/No)

If you select Yes, a welcome email that uses the email body/subject phrases for 'welcomemail' is sent to new users.

Note:

If you require emails to be verified, this email is sent after the user has activated his or her account. If you moderate new memberships, no welcome mail is sent since the user is already receiving an email as part of the moderation mechanism.

Welcome Private Message

If you select Yes, a welcome private message (PM) is sent to new users. Input the username of the user from which this PM is to be sent. To alter or translate this message, use the email body/subject phrases for 'welcomepm'.

Note:

If you require emails to be verified, this message is sent after the user has activated his or her account. You must also ensure that Receive Private Messages is enabled in the Default Registration Options.

Email Address to Notify About New Members

The email address you enter receives an email message when a new user signs up. Leave the option blank to disable this function.

Allow Multiple Registrations Per User (Yes/No)

By default, vBulletin stops users from signing up for multiple names by checking for a cookie on the user's machine. If one exists, the user cannot not sign up for additional names. However, this does not stop users from logging out and then registering new accounts.

If you want to allow users to sign up for multiple names, select Yes for this option, so they are not be blocked from registering additional usernames.

Verify Email Address in Registration

If you set this option to Yes, new members are not allowed to post messages until they go to a link that is sent to them in an email when they sign up.

If a user's account is not activated by the user visiting the link, it will remain in the Users Awaiting Activation usergroup.

Require Unique Email Addresses (Yes/No)

The default for this option is to require unique email addresses for each registered user. This means that no two users can have the same email address.

You can disable this requirement by setting this option to No.

Minimum Username Length (default: 3)

Enter the minimum number of characters in a valid username.

Maximum Username Length (default: 25)

Enter the maximum number of characters in a valid username.

Illegal User Names

Enter names that you do not want people to be able to register. If any of the strings are included within the username, the user is given an error message.

For example, if you make the name John illegal, the name Johnathan is also be disallowed.

Separate names with spaces.

Username Regular Expression

Use this option to require that the username match a regular expression (PCRE).
To disable this function leave the option blank.

Examples:
^[A-Z]+$ - Characters from A-Z only
^[A-Z ]+$ - Characters from A-Z including space
^[A-Z0-9 ]+$ - Alphanumeric characters including space
^((?!&#\d+;)[\x20-\x7E])+$ - ASCII characters from 32-127

User Referrer (Yes/No)

If you enable the User Referrer system, a user who visits your site through a link that contains referrerid=xxx gives referral credit to the owner of the referrerid when they register (where xxx is the userid of the referring user).

Default Registration Options

The user options on the New User creation form in the Admin control panel, as well as the New User registration form default to the settings you specify here, which include:

Receive Admin Emails
Invisible Mode
Display Email
Receive Private Messages
Send Notification Email When a Private Message is Received
Pop up a Notification Box When a Private Message is Received
Enable Visitor Messaging
Limit usage of Visitor Messages to Contacts and Moderators
Allow vCard Download
Display Signatures
Display Avatars
Display Images
Display Reputation
Automatic Thread Subscription Mode
Message Editor Interface
Thread Display Mode
Require Birthday

Username Reuse Delay (default: 365)

When a username is changed, you can prevent users from registering with that original name for a certain length of time.

Use this setting to determine the time before a deleted or previous username can be reused, or set it to 0 to disable this function.

User Infractions & Post Reporting Options

Path to User Infractions & Post Reporting Options: Settings > Options > User Infractions & Post Reporting Options.

User Infraction Discussion Channel (default: Select Channel)
Channel to contain a discussion topic for the infraction so moderators can discuss it further.

If you do not want a discussion topic for this user infraction, set to “Select Channel”.

Note:

The topic is updated if the infraction is reversed.

Require Infraction Message (Yes/No)
Whether or not to require that the user reporting an infraction include a private message (PM) or email, depending on your site settings.

If this option is disabled, the user may choose to not include a message with their infraction. The recipient of the infraction will still receive a generic PM or email in regards to their infraction.

Post Reporting Email (default: Email Moderators)
Usergroups to whom emails are to be sent when a post is reported.

The choices are “No Email”; “Email Moderators”; and “Email Moderators, Super Moderators, and Administrators”.

User Profile Options

With these options you can control the way your users edit their profile.

Settings > Options > User Profile Options

Enabled User Profile Features
Use this option to globally enable or disable the various user profile-related features. Additional options are available for each feature in their respective sections. The available options are:

Groups - Enables or disables the Groups feature across the board
enable_albums - Enables or disables the User Albums feature across the board
Friends - Enables or disables the Friends feature across the board. This does not disable either contacts or the ignore list feature.
Visitor Tracking - Enables or disables Visitor Tracking for user profiles only.
Enable visitor Messaging - Enables or disables the Visitor Messaging option for a user profile.
Profile Styling - Enables or disables a user’s ability to style their profile.

Require Date of Birth
This requires the users to provide a valid date of birth (1902 to current year).

Note:

When this is set to Yes users cannot edit their date of birth once it has been set.

User Title Maximum Characters
This is the maximum number of characters allowed for a user's custom title.

Censored Words for Usertitle
Type all words you want censored in the Usertitle in the field below. Do not use commas to separate words, just use spaces. For example, type "dog cat boy", rather than "dog, cat, boy."

If you type "dog", all words containing the string "dog" would be censored (dogma, for instance, would appear as "***ma"). To censor more accurately, you can require that censors occur only for exact words. You can do this by placing a censored word in curly braces, as in {dog}. Signifying "dog" in the curly braces would mean that dogma would appear as dogma, but dog would appear as "***". Thus your censor list may appear as: cat {dog} boy.

Do not use quotation marks and make sure you use curly braces, not parentheses, when specifying exact words.

Exempt Moderators From Censor (Yes/No)
Do you want to exempt your forum Moderators from the censor words? You will want to set this to yes if you censor anything that is part of a moderator's title like 'moderator' as they have custom titles by default and will get censored.

Number of friends to display in the small friends block
The maximum number of friends to display in the Small Friends Block on the User Profile Page.

Friends Per Page on Full Friends List
The maximum number of friends to show "per page" on the large friends list.

Maximum Visitors to Show on Profile Page
Set an upper limit for the number of recent visitors to display. Recent visitor records are cleaned out on a regular basis, so keep this to a reasonably small number. Somewhere between 5 to 30 is ideal.

Show Last Post on Profile Page (Yes/No)
When enabled, this option displays a user’s last post on their profile.

This can increase table locking due to large table scans. It may also increase load times on your site as well as the load of your server. This option should only be enabled for smaller forums.

Allow Users to Edit Profile Privacy (Yes/No)
This allows users to configure their profile page so that blocks and categories are shown or hidden to specific visitors.

Signature Soft-Linebreak Character Limit
When counting the number of lines in a signature, this setting controls the number of characters that can be displayed before text wraps in the browser and is displayed as multiple lines. Once this value is surpassed, the run of text will be counted as multiple lines.

The value in this setting should be based on the number of normal-sized characters. Other sized characters will be scaled appropriately to this setting.

Allow Users to 'Ignore' Moderators (Yes/No)
This allows users to add moderators and administrators to their ignore list.

Allow Signatures (Yes/No)
This allows users to include a signature in their replies.

User Profile: Album Options

You can control the album-related user profile settings for with the following options.

Path to User Profile: Album Options: Settings > Options > User Profile: Album Options.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Albums Per Page (default: 10)
Controls how many albums are displayed before pagination occurs when multiple albums are listed on a single page.

This number must be at least 1.

Pictures Per Page (default: 25)
Controls how many pictures are displayed before pagination occurs when a user is viewing an album.

This number must be at least 1.

Number of Albums to display in the Users Profile (default: 2)
Maximum number of albums to display on a user’s profile pages.

Picture Moderation (Yes/No)
If set to Yes, all new pictures are placed into moderation.

This option can also be set in usergroup permissions.

Caption Preview Length (default: 150)
The number of characters from a picture's caption that is shown when a user hovers over the picture.

Maximum Pictures per Album (default: 60)
Maximum number of pictures that a user can have in one album.

This option is primarily useful for encouraging your users to have albums for smaller topics, but it also has a minor performance impact.

Setting the option to 0 disables the limit.

The usergroup setting Maximum Number of Album Pictures takes precedence over this setting.

Recent Album Update Days (default: 7)
Number of days that albums are relevant in the Recently Updated Albums list.

Increase this value if picture updates are infrequent, or decrease it if update activity is low.

If user album permissions are changed, you can rebuild the Recently Updated Album list with Rebuild Counters.

If you set this option to 0, the Recently Updated Albums list is disabled.

Enable Picture Comments (Yes/No)
Set this option to Yes if you want to enable commenting on album and group pictures.

Comments are associated with the picture, so they are shown anywhere the picture is shown.

Moderate Picture Comments (Yes/No)
When set to Yes, all new picture comments are placed into moderation.

This option can also be enabled in usergroup permissions.

Default Picture Comments Per-Page (default: 10)
Default number of picture comments displayed per page with a picture.

This number must be at least 1.

Maximum Picture Comments Per-Page (default: 50)
Maximum number of picture comments displayed per page with a picture.

This number must be at least 1.

Allowed BB Code Tags in Picture Comments
A set of checkboxes allows you to enable and disable the use of various BB codes in picture comments.

Changes you make affect only messages posted (or edited) after the changes have been implemented.

Options include Link BB Code, Image BB Code, Font BB Code, and HTML Code.

User Profile: Visitor Messaging Options

Path to User Profile: Visitor Messaging Options: Settings > Options > User Profile: Visitor Messaging Options.

You can control the visitor messaging user profile settings with the following options.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Maximum Characters Per Visitor Message (default: 1000)
Maximum number of characters to allow in a visitor message.

Set this to 0 for no limit.

Default Visitor Messages Per-Page (default: 10)
Specifies the default number of messages displayed per page in the user profiles.

Note:

This number must be at least 1.

Maximum Visitor Messages Per-Page (default: 10)
Limits the number of messages displayed per page in the user profiles.

Note:

This number must be at least 1.

Visitor Message Moderation (Yes/No)
When set to Yes, all new visitor messages are placed into moderation. This can also be enabled in usergroup permissions.

Allowed BB Code Tags in Visitor Messages
This option is a set of checkboxes you can use to specify which BB codes your visitors may use when composing visitor messages.

By default, Basic (B, I, U), Color, Image and Link (URL, EMAIL, THREAD, POST) tags are enabled.

Note:

Any changes you make will affect only messages posted (or edited) after you click Save.

Message Searching Options

Path to Message Searching Options: Settings > Options > Message Searching Options

<<insert image of form>>

Search Engine Enabled (Yes/No)
Whether or not to allow searching for posts and threads within the channels.

This is a server-intensive process so you might want to disable it if you start to have performance problems.

Queue Search Updates (Yes/No)
Whether or not to queue updates for search.

When this option is set to Yes, changes to searchable content is not immediately reflected in search results. This can improve the response time for users making edits on larger sites.

Minimum Time Between Searches (default: 0)
Minimum time (in seconds) that must expire before the user can do a new search.

Set this to 0 to allow users to search as frequently as they want.

Search Results Posts Per Page (default: 25)
Number of successful search results to display per page.

This number must be at least 1.

Maximum Search Results to Return (default: 500)
Maximum results to be returned.

Any results over this amount are discarded.

Search Index Minimum Word Length (default: 4)
Minimum string length to be searched.

The smaller this number is, the larger the site search index and database will be.

Search Index Maximum Word Length (default: 20)
Maximum string length to be searched.

For example, if this is set to 15, users cannot search for 16-letter words.

When using full-text search, this option limits the size of words that can be searched. Smaller words take longer to search because they are more common. MySQL Fulltext has its own minimum word length as well, that must be changed at the server level.

Words to be excluded from search
If there are special words that are very common for your site, this option prevents their being searched.

Separate each word to be excluded with a space.

Searching for very common words on a large site can be server intensive.

Error Handling & Logging

Path to Error Handling and Logging options: Settings > Options > Error Handling and Logging

Log Database Errors to a File
To log all database errors to a file, enter the path to the file. The file will be saved as {filename}.log.

Note:

The directory in which this file is to be created must be writeable (chmod 777) by the web server.

Log Failed Admin Control Panel Logins to a File
To log all failed Admin Control Panel login attempts to a file, enter the path to the file. The file will be saved as {filename}.log.
.

Note:

The directory in which this file is to be created must be writeable (chmod 777) by the web server.

Log PHP Errors to a File
To log all PHP fatal errors to a file, enter the path to the file. The file will be saved as {filename}.log.

Note:

The directory in which this file is to be created must be writeable (chmod 777) by the web server.

Log Emails to a File
To log all emails to a file, enter the path to the file here. The file will be saved as {filename}.log.

You should enable email logging only if you suspect problems with the email system within vBulletin.

Note:

The directory in which this file is to be created must be writeable (chmod 777) by the web server.

Maximum File Size of Error Logs (default: 1048576)

Note:

1048576 bytes = 1 megabyte

If you want your vBulletin error logs to be rotated when they reach a certain size, enter the maximum file size in bytes.

When a log file reaches this size, it will be renamed as {filename}{unix timestamp}.log and a new file will be created.

Set this value to 0 to disable log rotation.

Disable Database Error Email Sending (yes/no)

To prevent vBulletin from sending email to the $config['Database']['technicalemail'] address you specified in config.php, set this value to Yes.

Error reports about database connection errors will still be sent.

We do not recommend that you set this value to Yes unless you are logging database errors to a file.

External Data Provider

Path to External Data Provider options: Settings > Options > External Data Provider

The External Data Provider syndicates vBulletin content to external sites using one or more of the following protocols:

Javascript
RSS
XML

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Enable External Javascript (Yes/No)
Enables Javascript-syndicated content to be displayed.

Sample call to check for new Javascript-syndicated content:
<<<Link: http://www.example.com/forum/external?type=js>>>

Enable RSS Syndication (Yes/No)
Enables RSS-syndicated content to be displayed. For example, a Trillian news plugin is being used to pick up content.

Sample call to check for new RSS-syndicated content:
<<<Link: http://www.example.com/forum/external?type=rss2>>>

Enable XML Syndication (Yes/No)
Enables XML-syndicated content to be displayed.

Sample call to check for new XML-syndicated content:
<<<Link: http://www.example.com/forum/external?type=xml>>>

Thread Cutoff (smallest value: 1; default: 30)
Number of days within which threads are selected.

If you have a busy site, choose a smaller number.

Thread Cache Lifespan (valid values: 1-1440; default: 60)
Time in minutes that thread content is cached.

The higher the value, the fewer resources are used.

Maximum External Records (default: 15)
Maximum number of records provided.

Note:

Users can add &count=X to their RSS feed request to retrieve more records.

Paid Subscriptions

Path to Paid Subscriptions options: Settings > Options > Paid Subscriptions

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Paid Subscription Email Notification

To enable Paid Scription Email Notification, enter an email address.

An email will be sent to this email address when a paid subscription is purchased or reversed.

Message Attachment Options

Path to Message Attachment Options: Settings > Options > Message Attachment Options.

Following are the vBulletin options related to message attachments.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Limit Space Taken Up By Attachments (Total) (default: 0)
Maximum disk space (in bytes) that all attachments can occupy.

Set the option to ‘0’ for no space limit.

Attachments Per Reply (default: 5)
Number of files that can be attached to a single reply.

Set the option to ‘0’ for no attachment limit.

Attachment Upload Inputs (default: 1)
Number of attachment upload input boxes to be displayed on the upload form.

Attachment URL Inputs (default: 1)
Number of attachment URL input boxes to be displayed on the upload form.

Allow Deletion of Attachments Beyond Edit Time Limit (Yes/No)
Whether or not users can delete attachments, even if the reply edit time limit has been exceeded.

If you have attachment quotas enabled then you need to enable this option to allow users to delete attachments once they reach their quota. Users still need permission to edit replies in the channel for this to apply.

Allow Deletion of Attachments in Closed Topics (Yes/No)
Whether or not users can delete attachments from topics that are closed.

If you have attachment quotas enabled then you might need to enable this option to allow users to delete attachments once they reach their quota. Users still need permission to edit replies in the channel for this to apply.

If Allow Deletion of Attachments Beyond Edit Time Limit (above) is set to ‘No’, then this option applies only up to the edit time limit setting.

Allow Duplicate Attached Images (Yes/No)
Checks for attachments posted by the user who is making the reply.

Resize Images (Yes/No)
Authorizes the system to try to resize images that are larger than your maximum allowed dimensions or filesize.

The resize attempt might fail if the image is too large to be successfully processed or if the image type is not supported for resizing.

When this option is enabled, limit the Attachment Input options above to one; otherwise the uploading of multiple large images by one user could overburden your server resources.

View Attached Images Inline (default: Yes, display thumbnails)
Other choices are ‘No’; ‘Yes, full size’; and ‘Yes, full size, but only if the reply has only one attachment’.

If this option is set to any variant of ‘Yes’, you also need to set the Thumbnail Creation option (below) to a variant of ‘Yes’.

Set this to ‘No’ if you want to preserve bandwidth or server processor resources.

Thumbnail Creation (default: Yes)
Whether or not to all thumbnail creation.

Other choices are ‘No’; ‘Yes, with border’; ‘Yes, with dimensions’; and ‘Yes, with border and dimensions’.

If your version of PHP supports image functions, setting this option to ‘Yes’ enables the creation of thumbnails for images. This is the “master switch” to enable/disable thumbnail display.

Go to Attachments > Attachment Manager > Edit > Display to choose the image types to be thumbnailed.

Note:

You must rebuild the attachment thumbnails via Maintenance > Update Counters > Rebuild Attachment Thumbnails after changing this setting.

Thumbnail Size (default: 280)
Number representing the maximum height and width (in pixels) of the thumbnail.

The image will be resized so that the longest side is no larger than this setting.

If you are changing this value and have existing image attachments on your channels, you need to rebuild your thumbnails to update the existing attachments.

Thumbnail Quality (default: 75)
Number representing the quality of thumbnails of filetype JPG.

We recommend trying first 75. Other choices are ‘65’, ‘85’, and ‘95’.

Thumbnails Per Row (default: 5)
Number of thumbnails per line that you want to display on a user's reply, assuming you allow more than one attachment per reply.

This is an approximate number, depending on thumbnail size and browser width. It will only display as many thumbnails as possible without causing a horizontal slidebar.

Thumbnail Color (default: #000000)
Standard web color code for the border and label of the thumbnail.

Use Image Lightbox (default: Yes, Click)
Whether or not to use an image lightbox, and the action that will display the lightbox.

Other choices are ‘No’; ‘Yes, Hover’; and ‘Yes, Click or Hover’.

Use the lightbox for quick display of attached image thumbnails rather than instantly loading the full size image on a new page.

Asset Manager - Enable (default: Yes, Flash Upload by Default)
Whether or not to enable the vBulletin Asset Manager.

Other choices are ‘No’; and ‘Yes, Ajax Upload by Default’.

The asset manager is an enhanced interface for uploading files. It allows users to reuse their existing attachments. Some older browsers might have problems using the interface.

Users can also choose to disable the asset manager from within their profiles.

Asset Manager - Assets Per Page (default: 20)
Maximum number of assets to display before displaying page navigation.

This number must be at least ‘1’.

Advanced Insert Image Popup - Enable (Yes/No)
Whether or not to turn on the Advanced Insert Image dialog, which allows users to insert images from their computer or retrieve images referenced from a URL and store them locally.

Disabling this option displays the legacy URL attachment dialog.

Message Posting and Editing Options

Path to Message Posting and Editing Options: Settings > Options > Message Posting and Editing Options

Following are the Message Posting and Editing Options.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<insert screenshot of form>>

Multi-Quote Enabled (Yes/No)
Whether or not Multi-Quote is enabled.

If this option is enabled, an additional button appears on replies. Users can click as many of these buttons as they want. Once they click a reply button, the content of each of the selected replies is quoted and shown in the reply window.

Multi-Quote Quote Limit (default: 0)
Enter a value to limit the number of quotes that can be created with Multi-Quote. Once this limit is reached the user cannot add any more quotes.

Note:

The Quote BB code can still be entered manually: this is not a limit on the number of quotes in a reply post.

Minimum Characters Per Post (default: 10)
If this number is set to a value greater than 0, users must enter at least that number of characters in each new reply post.

Note:

Setting this to 0 will not completely disable the minimum characters per reply check. Users must always enter at least 1 character.

Maximum Characters Per Post (default: 10000)
Replies that contain more characters than the value specified here will be rejected with a message telling the user to shorten the post.

Set the value to 0 to disable this function.

Maximum Characters Per Thread/Post Title (default: 85)
Maximum number of characters in topic and reply titles.

Enter a value larger than 0 and less than 251.

Ignore Words in [QUOTE] Tags For Min Chars Check (Yes/No)
Setting this option to Yes causes the system to not count words in quote tags towards the total number of characters posted.

If you enable this option, all text within quote tags in a reply will be ignored when determining how many characters that post has. Some users like to quote large replies and add a smiley or some other small bit of text as a response, and this prevents that.

Users can specify their own title if they want to do so.

Maximum Images/Videos Per Post (default: 3)
Maximum number of images or videos per reply..

Set the value to 0 to disable this function.

Prevent 'SHOUTING' (default: 3)
Prevents users from using all uppercase letters in their topic titles or message text by changing all-uppercase text with at least the number of characters specified from all caps to camelcase (initial caps only).

Set the value to 0 to disable this function.

Note:

Disable this for some international forums with non-English character sets, as this may cause problems.

Minimum Time Between Posts (default: 30)
Minimum number of seconds between replies from a single user.

This option enables a floodcheck, which disallows users from posting another reply within the timespan specified.

For example, if you specify a timespan of 30 seconds, a user cannot reply again within 30 seconds of the last reply.

Note:

Administrators and moderators are exempt from any floodcheck.

Enter 0 to disable this function.

Time Limit on Editing of Thread Title (default: 5)
Time limit in minutes within which the topic title can be edited by the user who started the topic.

Time Limit on Adding a Poll to a Thread (default: 0)
Number of minutes after which a user cannot a poll to a topic he or she just created.

Administrators and moderators with the “caneditpoll” permission can always add a poll to a topic after thetopic is created.

Time Limit on Editing of Posts (default: 0)
Number of minutes after which a user cannot continue to edit a given message.

After this time limit only moderators are able edit or delete the message.

Note:

1 day is 1440 minutes.

Set the value to 0 to allow users to edit their posts indefinitely.

Time to Wait Before Starting to Display 'Last Edited by...' (default: 2)
Number of minutes after which a "Last edited by..." message appears at the bottom of the edited reply.

Log IP Addresses

Do not log IP
Display, but require administrator or moderator
Display publicly

For security reasons, we recommend displaying the IP address of the person posting a message.

Post Edit History (Yes/No)
Whether or not to log the previous versions of replies when they are edited.

Edits are be logged if an “edited by” notice is not displayed or updated. This occurs in the following situations:

The editing user is in a usergroup that does not show “edited by” notices and no reason for editing is specified.
The post is edited quickly enough after being posted to trigger the Time to Wait Before Starting to Display 'Last Edited by...' option.

Note:
This increases the amount of disk space used by vBulletin for database storage.

Poll and Topic Rating Options

The path to the Poll and Thread Rating Options is: Settings > Options > Poll and Thread Rating Options. The options controls and limits what your users can do with polls.

Maximum Poll Options
This is the maximum number of options a user can select for the poll. Setting this option to 0 to allow any number of options.

Poll Option Length
Maximum characters that a poll option can be.

Update Thread Last Post on Poll Vote (Yes/No)
If you set this option to 'Yes' the thread's last post time will be updated when a vote is placed, thereby returning it to the top of its parent forum listing.

Note:

This option can cause confusion. The last post time of a thread will be changed with no visible post.

Required Thread Rating Votes to Show Rating
Thread ratings are relatively inaccurate with just a few votes. This setting can be used to delay the results until enough votes have been cast to give a more accurate rating. This option specifies the number of thread rating votes that must be cast of a particular thread before the current rating is displayed on forumdisplay.php and showthread.php.

Allow Thread Rating Vote Changes (Yes/No)
This allows users to change their original rating of a thread.

Spam Management

Path to Spam Management options: Settings > Options > Spam Management

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Anti-Spam Service (default: Disable Scanning)
Controls the service that is used for scanning supported data. You must enter the corresponding API key for the service (either Akismet or Typepad Anti-spam).

vBulletin Anti-Spam Key
Enter a vBulletin Anti-Spam service key (which you obtain from the service selected in the Anti-Spam Service option) to enable scanning of user data where supported.

Spam Scanning Post Threshold (default: 0)
This setting controls how many of a user's posts are scanned by the Anti-Spam Service. Once a user's post count exceeds this threshold, his or her posts are not scanned for spam content.

To always scan posts set this value to 0.

Anti-Spam Data Storage Length (Days) (default: 7)
Whenever a post is made, extra anti-spam data is stored. This allows details about false positives and false negatives to be submitted to the chosen anti-spam system to improve it.

This value specifies the length of time (in days) for which this data is stored.

XML Sitemap

Path to XML Sitemap options: Settings > Options > XML Sitemap

vBulletin allows you to create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines and website management tools. The sitemap can facilitate tasks like indexing of your site and troubleshooting problems with your site content.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Enable Automatic Sitemap Generation[b] (Yes/No)
If you set this option to Yes, vBulletin generates sitemaps automatically using the Scheduled Task Manager.

If you have a large site, you might want to leave this disabled, because it can be a time-consuming task.

Even if automatic sitemap generation is enabled, you can always generate your sitemap files manually by clicking on Rebuild Sitemap.

[b]Automatic Sitemap Generation Frequency (Days)[b] (default: 14)
If automatic sitemap generation is enabled, this option controls the number of days between automatic builds.

[b]Default Sitemap Priority (default: 0.5)
The default priority for content in the XML sitemap.

For performance reasons, only a limited amount of content should be listed in the sitemap as high priority, so don’t set this value too high.

You can configure the priority on a per-content basis in:

<<<Internal link: XML Sitemap>>>.

Automatic Sitemap Search Engine Submission
Allows you to select one or more search engines to which to submit your sitemap.

Possible selections include Google, Yahoo!, Bing!/Live Search, Ask.com, and Moreover.

Sitemap File Path
XML sitemap data must be written to the filesystem to function. Enter the full path to the directory to which the files should be written.

Do not include a trailing slash. This directory must be writable by the webserver. It also must be accessible via a web browser.

URLs Per Page (maximum: 50000; default: 30000)
Enter the number of URLs to be processed per page (and placed in each sitemap file).

Only one type of content is written to a file, so there might be files with fewer URLs than the number specified here.

Search Type

This section will show the different search engines installed in vBulletin and allow you to switch between them.

In a new installation of vBulletin 5.0.4 and higher, there two search engines installed. The default is called "DB Search" and is an indexed implementation stored in a number of tables within your database. This will allow you to search all content types marked as "Searchable" when they are created/installed in your system.

The second search implementation uses Sphinx Search. Sphinx is an open source full text search server, designed from the ground up with performance, relevance (aka search quality), and integration simplicity in mind. It's written in C++ and works on Linux (RedHat, Ubuntu, etc), Windows, MacOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, and a few other systems. To use this search engine, please see the instructions on Installing Sphinx.

You may be able to find alternative search engines from third-party vendors or possibly at http://www.vbulletin.org.

Note:

Changing search implementations will require you to rebuild the search index before the search function will return results. For the DB Search this can be done via Maintenance > Update Counters. Reindex can take a long time for large boards. Some high performance search engines may provide a faster alternate method of doing a full reindex, consult the documentation provided with your search type. Consult the documentation for your search type to learn how to rebuild the search index for it.

Installing Sphinx

Below you will find the instructions for installing the Sphinx Search Daemon on your server and how to configure it to work with vBulletin.

Warning:

Sphinx is designed for Advanced Users only. Knowledge of configuring and maintaining Server Platforms is a requirement.

Installing Sphinx on Linux/Unix/Mac OS

Note:

You may need to make some adjustments depending on the flavor of your unix system.

Install Sphinx

1	Login as root
2	Download Sphinx. Sphinx is available through its official Web site at http://sphinxsearch.com/downloads (Our minimum required version is 2.1.1-beta)
3	unpack the package
4	cd sphinx-<version>
5	./configure --enable-id64 --prefix=/usr/local/sphinx
6	make
7	Did you get Error 127 during step 5? Install gcc-c++ using the following command and then repeat step 5. yum install gcc-c++ OR For Debian and Ubuntu flavors of *nix: sudo apt-get install gcc
8	make install
9	Did you get dependency errors with steps 5 or 7? Install mysql-devel using the following command and then repeat steps 5 and 7. yum install mysql-devel OR For Debian and Ubuntu flavors of *nix: sudo apt-get install libmysqlclient-dev
10	Create the following directories in your sphinx install (/usr/local/sphinx/): log & data mkdir /usr/local/sphinx/log mkdir /usr/local/sphinx/data

Configure Sphinx for vBulletin

1	Upload the contents of the upload folder to the vbulletin root directory.
2	At the end of your vBulletin core/includes/config.php file, add the following: /* * Sphinx configuration parameters */ $config['Misc']['sphinx_host'] = '127.0.0.1'; $config['Misc']['sphinx_port'] = '9306'; $config['Misc']['sphinx_path'] = '/usr/local/sphinx'; //no trailing slash $config['Misc']['sphinx_config'] = $config['Misc']['sphinx_path'] . '/etc/vbulletin-sphinx.php';
3	Upload vbulletin-sphinx.php to /usr/local/sphinx/etc/ .
4	Update the first line in vbulletin-sphinx.php to match your php installation path
5	Change $myforumroot in vbulletin-sphinx.php to the exact forum root (Example: /home/vbulletin/public_html).
6	Set vbulletin-sphinx.php file to executable using: chmod +x /usr/local/sphinx/etc/vbulletin-sphinx.php
7	Change directory to your sphinx folder using: cd /usr/local/sphinx
8	Start the daemon using: /usr/local/sphinx/bin/searchd --config /usr/local/sphinx/etc/vbulletin-sphinx.php
9	Ignore the worning about 'vbulletin_disk' index, it will be created once you ran the indexer.
10	To verify your Sphinx is working you can enter: ps ax \| grep search[d]
11	If the above returned something such as: /usr/local/sphinx/bin/searchd --config... the daemon is running.
12	Go to your AdminCP->Options->Search Type. In the drop down, select Sphinx Search, then hit go.

That is it! Sphinx should now be working correctly on your board.

Note:

Note: Do not upload your vbulletin-sphinx.php to a web accessible URL. Doing so would give away your database details. If you follow these exact instructions, it will not be in a web accessible URL.

Warning:

If you adjust any of your config.php credentials you will need to restart your Sphinx daemon.

Installing Sphinx on Windows

Warning:

Important: Sphinx is mainly used on UNIX based systems. We are providing instructions for Windows for development and testing purposes. We cannot guarantee that it will work in a live environment.

Install Sphinx

1	Sphinx is available through its official Web site at http://sphinxsearch.com/
2	Download the sphinx package (minimum version is 2.1.1-beta), extract the content and follow the instructions in the doc/sphinx.txt Note: Note the installation folder and replace below with it where it says <shpinx_root>. Do not add the trailing slash.
3	Do not install the service yet!
4	If you installed the service, run the following commands from the Command line: net stop SphinxSearch <shpinx_root>\bin\searchd --delete --servicename SphinxSearch
5	Make sure the following directories are created in your sphinx install (<shpinx_root>): log & data. Using the command line: mkdir <shpinx_root>\log mkdir <shpinx_root>\data

Configure Sphinx for vBulletin

1	Upload the contents of the upload folder to the vbulletin root directory.
2	At the end of your vBulletin core/includes/config.php file, add the following: /* * Sphinx configuration parameters */ $config['Misc']['sphinx_host'] = '127.0.0.1'; $config['Misc']['sphinx_port'] = '9306'; $config['Misc']['sphinx_path'] = '<shpinx_root>'; //no trailing slash $config['Misc']['sphinx_config'] = $config['Misc']['sphinx_path'] . '/etc/vbulletin_sphinx.conf';
3	Upload vbulletin-sphinx.php to <shpinx_root>/etc/
4	Edit <shpinx_root>/etc/vbulletin-sphinx.php and update the path in the $myforumroot variable to your vbulletin root
5	Run the following command in a console (cmd) to generate a sphinx config file based on your board: php <shpinx_root>\etc\vbulletin-sphinx.php > <shpinx_root>\etc\vbulletin_sphinx.conf
6	Install the service by running this in a command line as administrator: <shpinx_root>\bin\searchd --install --config <shpinx_root>etc\vbulletin_sphinx.conf --servicename SphinxSearch
7	Start the service by running: net start SphinxSearch
8	Go to your AdminCP->Options->Search Type. In the drop down, select Sphinx Search, then hit go.

That is it! Sphinx should now be working correctly on your board.

Note:

Note: Do not upload your vbulletin-sphinx.php to a web accessible URL. Doing so would give away your database details. If you follow these exact instructions, it will not be in a web accessible URL.

Warning:

If you adjust any of your config.php credentials you will need to restart your Sphinx daemon.

Human Verification Manager

Question & Answer Options

An unlimited amount of questions may be specified and each question may have an unspecified amount of answers.

To add a new question, select the [Add New Question] button. Existing questions may be deleted, modified or have answers modified by selecting the controls on the right of the question.

CMS	Back to Top

The vBulletin CMS allows you and your users to create, edit and publish articles directly to your site. It combines a simple to use content manager with a unique organizational system that lets you control categories, authors, editors and publishers. Combined with vBulletin 5 Connect's Site Builder tool, you can control the the overall layout and design of your site.

Content List

Within the Content Lanager you can perform bulk actions on your articles and other content types within the CMS. There are more options to manage individual articles in the publicly viewable front-end of the CMS. Edit the article to view them.

The checkbox to the left of each article name is used to select an article. You can use this to apply a single action to multiple articles at the same time. The actions are chosen at the top of the page. To save a change to different articles, you would select the articles, chose the action at the top of the screeen and then click on the <APPLY> button.

Publishing an article will make it viewable to users. To publish an article, select the checkbox beside the article and click the <Published> button.

Un-publishing an article will make it invisible to users. To un-publish an article, select the checkbox beside the article and click the <Un-publish> button.

To delete an article, select the checkbox beside the article you want to delete and click the <Delete> button. A popup confirmation appears. Click the <Ok> button.

To edit an article and its contents, click on the <Edit> button to the right of the article. This opens the article form where you can make and save your changes to the article.

To change the order that articles appear in on the main page, fill in the display order box and click the <Save Display Order Button>

You can filter articles by a number of different options including category, content type, author, published status, tags and more. This is done at the top of the page. First you would select a filter and then you can select any options in the second dropdown. After you've made your selections click the <Filter> button.

Category List

The Category List allows you to manage your Article Channels. You can publish, edit and change the display order quite easily.

If you want to apply an action such as publishing or unpublishing a Category, check its box on the left and choose the action from the drop down at the top of the page. You can apply actions to multiple Categories at a time.

To edit the Display Order of the Categories, edit the display order values on the screen and click the <Save Display Order> button.

To add new categories, click the <+ Category> button. This will take you to a screen to add your new category.

Tag List

The Tag List provides a very simple interface. It will list the tags used in your articles and a link to view the articles that use each tag within the Content List. From the Content List you can edit articles as needed.

Styles

The Styles and Templates options allows you to change the fonts, colors and various types of HTML tags on your site.

The following topics include information about the style and language settings in vBulletin, as well as a complete style reference covering templates, CSS, and style variables.

Note:

To modify the look and feel of your vBulletin forums, you must have a basic understanding of XHTML 1.0 and CSS 1.0. You can learn the basics of these markup languages on W3schools.com. You can get many of your specific questions answered on the vBulletin community forums.

vBulletin Style Reference

The vBulletin Styles system is the interface through which you can configure the way that your visitors see your board.

A variety of controls are available for your use, allowing you to make both minor changes, such as the font used for the interface, right through to changing the underlying HTML used to generate the board's individual pages.

The look of your board can be altered to your own custom preferences through a simple-to-use interface that allows you to change fonts, colors and images etc. If you want to get down and dirty with the underlying HTML of the board, you can also do this by editing individual templates via the Style Manager.

A vBulletin style comprises several elements that work together to create a complete look for your board.

Those components are as follows:

Templates

A template is a piece of code that controls how a specific portion of a style looks and acts. vBulletin 5 allows you to edit a template for a style so that you can have greater control over how your site looks and functions.

How do Templates Work

The pages you see making up the user interface of vBulletin are generated using a number of templates. Templates are fragments of XHTML code interspersed with PHP variables. These combine together to form complete XHTML pages that are served up to visitors.

A simple example template might look like this:

<table class="tborder">
<tr>
    <td class="tcat" colspan="2">My Table</td>
</tr>
$tablebits
</table>

The $tablebits PHP variable represents an area of the template that will be replaced with either some data, or additional template contents.

For example, we might have another template that looks like this:

<tr>
    <td class="alt1">$username</td>
    <td class="alt2">$message</td>
</tr>

This template would have the $username and $message variables substituted with the appropriate username and message.

<tr>
    <td class="alt1">Mister User</td>
    <td class="alt2">This is my message</td>
</tr>

The template would then be repeated as many times as necessary, replacing the variables with the username and message for each repetition. Finally, this completed block of XHTML would be inserted into the first template, replacing the $tablebits variable, resulting in a complete block of code like this:

<table class="tborder">
<tr>
    <td class="tcat" colspan="2">My Table</td>
</tr>
<tr>
    <td class="alt1">Mister User</td>
    <td class="alt2">This is my message</td>
</tr>
<tr>
    <td class="alt1">Another Person</td>
    <td class="alt2">This message is in reply to that posted above.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
    <td class="alt1">Mister User</td>
    <td class="alt2">Hey, thanks for responding to my message!</td>
</tr>
</table>

This resulting code can then be passed on to the visitor's web browser for display.

Here is the vBulletin header template. It shows how a typical template is built in vBulletin.

<div class="above_body"> <!-- closing tag is in template navbar -->
<div id="header" class="floatcontainer doc_header">
    <vb:if condition="$stylevar['titleimage']"><div><a name="top" href="{vb:link forumhome}" class="logo-image"><img src="{vb:stylevar titleimage}" alt="{vb:rawphrase x_powered_by_vbulletin, {vb:raw vboptions.bbtitle}}" /></a></div></vb:if>
    <div id="toplinks" class="toplinks">
        <vb:if condition="$show['member']">
            <ul class="isuser">
                <li><a href="login.php?{vb:raw session.sessionurl}do=logout&amp;logouthash={vb:raw bbuserinfo.logouthash}" onclick="return log_out('{vb:rawphrase sure_you_want_to_log_out}')">{vb:rawphrase log_out}</a></li>
                <vb:if condition="$show['registerbutton']">
                <li><a href="register.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}" rel="nofollow">{vb:rawphrase register}</a></li>
                </vb:if>
                <li><a href="usercp.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}">{vb:rawphrase user_control_panel}</a></li>
                <li><a href="{vb:link member, {vb:raw bbuserinfo}}">{vb:rawphrase your_profile}</a></li>
                <vb:if condition="$notifications_total">
                <li class="popupmenu notifications" id="notifications">
                    <a class="popupctrl" href="usercp.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}">{vb:rawphrase your_notifications}: <span class="notifications-number"><strong>{vb:raw notifications_total}</strong></span></a>
                    <ul class="popupbody popuphover">
                        {vb:raw notifications_menubits}
                    </ul>
                </li>
                <vb:else />
                <li class="popupmenu nonotifications" id="nonotifications">
                    <a class="popupctrl" href="usercp.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}">{vb:rawphrase your_notifications}</a>
                    <ul class="popupbody popuphover">
                        <li>{vb:rawphrase no_new_messages}</li>
                        <vb:if condition="$show['pmmainlink']"><li><a href="private.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}">{vb:rawphrase inbox}</a></li></vb:if>
                    </ul>
                </li>
                </vb:if>
                <li class="welcomelink">{vb:rawphrase welcome_x_link_y, {vb:raw bbuserinfo.username}, {vb:link member, {vb:raw bbuserinfo}}}</li>
                <vb:if condition="$vboptions['enablefacebookconnect']">
                    {vb:raw facebook_header}
                </vb:if>
            </ul>
            {vb:raw template_hook.header_userinfo}
            <vb:comment><p>{vb:rawphrase last_visited_x_at_y, {vb:raw pmbox.lastvisitdate}, {vb:raw pmbox.lastvisittime}}</p></vb:comment>
        <vb:else />
            <ul class="nouser">
            <vb:if condition="$show['registerbutton']">
                <li><a href="register.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}" rel="nofollow">{vb:rawphrase register}</a></li>
            </vb:if>
                <li><a rel="help" href="faq.php{vb:raw session.sessionurl_q}">{vb:rawphrase help}</a></li>
                <li>
            <script type="text/javascript" src="clientscript/vbulletin_md5.js?v={vb:raw vboptions.simpleversion}"></script>
            <form id="navbar_loginform" action="login.php?{vb:raw session.sessionurl}do=login" method="post" onsubmit="md5hash(vb_login_password, vb_login_md5password, vb_login_md5password_utf, {vb:raw show.nopasswordempty})">
                <fieldset id="logindetails" class="logindetails">
                    <div>
                        <div>
                    <input type="text" class="textbox<vb:if condition="!$username"> default-value</vb:if>" name="vb_login_username" id="navbar_username" size="10" accesskey="u" tabindex="101" value="<vb:if condition="$username">{vb:raw username}<vb:else />{vb:rawphrase username}</vb:if>" />
                    <input type="password" class="textbox" tabindex="102" name="vb_login_password" id="navbar_password" size="10" />
                    <input type="text" class="textbox default-value" tabindex="102" name="vb_login_password_hint" id="navbar_password_hint" size="10" value="{vb:rawphrase password}" style="display:none;" />
                    <input type="submit" class="loginbutton" tabindex="104" value="{vb:rawphrase log_in}" title="{vb:rawphrase enter_username_to_login_or_register}" accesskey="s" />
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </fieldset>
                <div id="remember" class="remember">
                    <label for="cb_cookieuser_navbar"><input type="checkbox" name="cookieuser" value="1" id="cb_cookieuser_navbar" class="cb_cookieuser_navbar" accesskey="c" tabindex="103" /> {vb:rawphrase remember_me}</label>
                </div>

                <input type="hidden" name="s" value="{vb:raw session.sessionhash}" />
                <input type="hidden" name="securitytoken" value="{vb:raw bbuserinfo.securitytoken}" />
                <input type="hidden" name="do" value="login" />
                <input type="hidden" name="vb_login_md5password" />
                <input type="hidden" name="vb_login_md5password_utf" />
            </form>
            <script type="text/javascript">
            YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle('navbar_password_hint', "display", "inline");
            YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle('navbar_password', "display", "none");
            vB_XHTML_Ready.subscribe(function()
            {
            //
                YAHOO.util.Event.on('navbar_username', "focus", navbar_username_focus);
                YAHOO.util.Event.on('navbar_username', "blur", navbar_username_blur);
                YAHOO.util.Event.on('navbar_password_hint', "focus", navbar_password_hint);
                YAHOO.util.Event.on('navbar_password', "blur", navbar_password);
            });
            
            function navbar_username_focus(e)
            {
            //
                var textbox = YAHOO.util.Event.getTarget(e);
                if (textbox.value == '<vb:if condition="$username">{vb:raw username}<vb:else />{vb:rawphrase username}</vb:if>')
                {
                //
                    textbox.value='';
                    textbox.style.color='{vb:stylevar input_color}';
                }
            }

            function navbar_username_blur(e)
            {
            //
                var textbox = YAHOO.util.Event.getTarget(e);
                if (textbox.value == '')
                {
                //
                    textbox.value='<vb:if condition="$username">{vb:raw username}<vb:else />{vb:rawphrase username}</vb:if>';
                    textbox.style.color='{vb:stylevar shade_color}';
                }
            }
            
            function navbar_password_hint(e)
            {
            //
                var textbox = YAHOO.util.Event.getTarget(e);
                
                YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle('navbar_password_hint', "display", "none");
                YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle('navbar_password', "display", "inline");
                YAHOO.util.Dom.get('navbar_password').focus();
            }

            function navbar_password(e)
            {
            //
                var textbox = YAHOO.util.Event.getTarget(e);
                
                if (textbox.value == '')
                {
                    YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle('navbar_password_hint', "display", "inline");
                    YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle('navbar_password', "display", "none");
                }
            }
            </script>
                </li>
                <vb:if condition="$vboptions['enablefacebookconnect']">
                    {vb:raw facebook_header}
                </vb:if>
            </ul>
        </vb:if>
    </div>
    <div class="ad_global_header">
        {vb:raw ad_location.global_header1}
        {vb:raw ad_location.global_header2}
    </div>
    <hr />
</div>

Template Syntax

This topic contains reference and usage information about vBulletin template syntax.

Variable Access

Wherever possible, reference variables in templates using the following syntax:

{vb:var variable}

Variables accessed this way are made “safe” by being run through htmlspecialchars as they are output.

To access array elements, use a dot operator rather than standard PHP square brackets:

{vb:var variable.foo} // accesses htmlspecialchars($variable['foo'])
{vb:var variable.$varkey} // accesses htmlspecialchars($variable[$varkey])

Raw Variables

To access variables in versions of vBulletin prior to V4, use the following syntax:

{vb:raw variable}

This is equivalent to simply accessing $variable in the pre-vB4 syntax. No treatment is applied to the variable. The same dot operator is used to access array elements.

Curly-Brace Syntax

The general curly-brace syntax is the following:

{vb:method arg1[, arg2...]}

Inside curly braces, variables can be accessed without using a separate set of surrounding braces. For example:

{vb:method {variable}} // unneccessary extra braces
{vb:method variable}

Built-in Methods

phrase

The code {vb:phrase phrase_name[, arguments for phrase...]} inserts the specified phrase. If arguments are provided, they will be run through htmlspecialchars.

Example:

{vb:phrase welcome}

rawphrase

The code {vb:rawphrase phrase_name[, arguments for phrase...]} works like phrase, although arguments bypass htmlspecialchars.

Example:

{vb:rawphrase message_by_x_on_y_at_z, {vb:link member, {vb:raw postinfo}}, {vb:raw postinfo.username}, {vb:raw postinfo.postdate}, {vb:raw postinfo.posttime}}

date

The code {vb:date timestamp[, format]} formats a UNIX timestamp using the default date format for the active language. A format may also be explicitly specified. The timezone will be corrected for the viewing user.

time

The code {vb:time timestamp[, format]} works like date, although
it uses the default time format instead of date format.

number

The code {vb:number number[, decimals]} outputs a number having run through vb_number_format for the correct locale formatting. The number of decimal places to display can be optionally specified.

raw

The code {vb:raw variable} outputs the variable raw, without any formatting or escaping.

escapejs

The code {vb:escapejs variable} returns the variable prepared for use as a Javascript single-quoted string instead of running htmlspecialchars.

urlencode

The code {vb:urlencode variable} escapes the variable using urlencode.

if

The code {vb:if condition, true[, false]} can be used in instances where the full <vb:if>[\var] tag cannot be used, such as within HTML tags.

Example:

<div class="{vb:if $forumid==1, forum1, forum}">...</div>

link

The code [var]{vb:link type, info[, extra-info]} is used to build a hyperlink URL of the specified type and into the correct “friendly” format.

For more information, see <<<Insert doc link: Link Syntax>>>.

math

The code {vb:math expression} is primarily used within CSS to evaluate the result of the mathematical expression specified.

stylevar
The code {vb:stylevar name[.sub-part]} is used to output a style variable from the style system. No escaping is performed.

Tags

All tags make use of the vb namespace for ease of identification and parsing.

The following tags are available.

literal

The code inside <vb:literal>misc code</vb:literal> is treated as plain HTML. No curly-brace syntax or vb:tag markup is evaluated.

if

If the condition specified in <vb:if condition="condition">true result</vb:if> is true, the contents of the vb:if tags will be output, otherwise nothing will be output.

The following code is used in conjunction with vb:if.

elseif
<vb:elseif condition="condition" />true result

This allows a secondary condition to be checked and the true result to be output if the condition is met.

else
<vb:else />true result

Used in conjunction with vb:if, the true result is output if the vb:if condition failed, and so did any vb:elseif checks.

comment

The code <vb:comment>a comment</vb:comment> is used where a comment is necessary but the usual <!-- comment → syntax is undesirable. The vb:comment tag allows its contents to be completely removed upon compiling, so they will not be delivered to the browser. This is useful for internal commenting.

each

The code <vb:each from="array" key="key" value="value"></vb:each>
will iterate through an existing array, in a similar manner to foreach.

The following are example uses of <vb:each>.

Array:

// We have an array of users available in PHP. 
// It looks like this: 
// $users = array( 
//    1 => array('username' => 'Adam', 'email' => '[email protected]'), 
//    2 => array('username' => 'Ben', 'email' => '[email protected]'), 
//    3 => array('username' => 'Chris', 'email' => '[email protected]') 
// );  
[code]


Template:

[code]
<!-- our template code... -->
<vb:each from="users" key="userid" value="userinfo">
    <li><a href="member.php?u={vb:var userid}">{vb:var userinfo.username}</a></li>
</vb:each>

Output:

<!-- will output... -->
    <li><a href="member.php?u=1">Adam</a></li>
    <li><a href="member.php?u=2">Ben</a></li>
    <li><a href="member.php?u=3">Chris</a></li>

CSS	Back to Top

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used to describe the look and formatting of web pages. CSS is designed to separate page content from how the page is presented.

vBulletin uses CSS to style the pages of a site and invludes a user-friendly interface in which you can enter values to control the styling. The vBulletin Style Manager creates CSS for you so you don’t have to know the details of CSS in order to style your site.

The next few topics provide an introduction to CSS and how vBulletin uses it.

CSS Templates

vBulletin stores all of its CSS in templates within the Style Manager. You can edit these templates in the same way that you edit any other template.

To get to the templates follow this process: Styles & Templates > Style Manager then select the Edit Templates option under the StyleVars dropdown list. In the template list, you can select any CSS template and click the [Edit] to edit the template. Or, simply double-click the name of the template in the template list.

css_additional.css Template

The css_additional.css file is a special blank CSS template that you can use for your own customizations or to override the default CSS in the the vBulletin system. It is called on every page in the footer template.

The css_additional.css file will not be overwritten or merged on subsequent product upgrades.

Style Variables

StyleVars (short for Style Variables) are PHP variables that contain a single value used to control the appearance of some aspect of a vBulletin style. Stylevars are used in conjunction with CSS and Templates to control the look and feel of your vBulletin site.

StyleVars are incorporated into CSS and Templates using the {stylevar} syntax. While Stylevars are primarily used within CSS in vBulletin, they can be used in XHTML templates as well.

How Style Variables Interact with CSS

vBulletin uses Style Variables to dynamically build the CSS it uses for rendering during page load or when the files are written to the server, if you have enabled that option. The use of Style Variables allows you to build different styles from which your users can choose.

Here is a sample of code in a CSS template:

.postbit, .postbitlegacy, .eventbit {
    margin-bottom: {vb:stylevar padding};
    display:block;
    width: 100%;
    clear:both;
    position: relative;
    float: {vb:stylevar left};
    color: {vb:stylevar body_color};
    border: {vb:stylevar postbit_border};
}

This code contains several style variable references denoted by {vb:stylevar} tags. The vBulletin template engine retrieves the values of the style variables and inserts them directly into the CSS before it is used for rendering.

CSS Math Tag
It is possible to use style variables in mathematical expressions with the {vb:math} tag.

This is used to evaluate the result of the mathematical expression specified. The syntax is:

{vb:math expression}

An example using {vb:math} is:

height:{vb:math 8px + {vb:math {vb:stylevar font.fontSize}-1}};

This expression determines the height of an element based on the font size specified in the font style variable and an extra value of 8 pixels.

Style Variable List

Bbcode [code] Background	bbcode_code_background	Controls the background color and image for the Bbcode [code] display.	Bbcode	background
Bbcode [code] Border	bbcode_code_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the Bbcode [code] display.	Bbcode	border
BBCode [code] Font Size	bbcode_code_fontsize	This stylevar controls the size of BBCode [code] font.	Bbcode	size
BBCode [code] Line Height	bbcode_code_line_height	Controls the line height for bbcode [code] blocks. This needs to be set as a pixel line height (set units to px) for the block height calculation to work correctly.	Bbcode	size
Bbcode [quote] Background	bbcode_quote_background	Controls the background color and image for the Bbcode [quote] display.	Bbcode	background
Button Arrow Background	button_arrow_background	Controls the background color and image for the small arrow buttons, for example the pagination buttons for comments.	Buttons	background
Button Arrow Border	button_arrow_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the small arrow buttons, for example the comment pagination buttons.	Buttons	border
Button Disabled Background	button_disabled_background	Controls the background color and image for disabled buttons.	Buttons	background
Button Disabled Border	button_disabled_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for disabled buttons.	Buttons	border
Button Disabled Text Color	button_disabled_text_color	Controls the text color for disabled buttons.	Buttons	color
Button Primary Background	button_primary_background	Controls the background color and image for primary buttons.	Buttons	background
Button Primary Background Hover	button_primary_background_hover	Controls the background color and image for primary buttons when the mouse is over them.	Buttons	background
Button Primary Border	button_primary_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for primary buttons.	Buttons	border
Button Primary Border Hover	button_primary_border_hover	Controls the border width, style, and color for primary buttons when the mouse is over them.	Buttons	border
Button Primary Light Background	button_primary_light_background	Controls the background color and image for primary light buttons.	Buttons	background
Button Primary Light Border	button_primary_light_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for primary light buttons.	Buttons	border
Button Primary Light Border Hover	button_primary_light_border_hover	Controls the border width, style, and color for primary light buttons when the mouse is over them.	Buttons	border
Button Primary Light Text Color	button_primary_light_text_color	Controls the text color for primary light buttons.	Buttons	color
Button Primary Text Color	button_primary_text_color	Controls the text color for primary buttons.	Buttons	color
Button Primary Text Color Hover	button_primary_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for primary buttons when the mouse is over them.	Buttons	color
Button Secondary Background	button_secondary_background	Controls the background color and image for secondary buttons.	Buttons	background
Button Secondary Border	button_secondary_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for secondary buttons.	Buttons	border
Button Secondary Border Hover	button_secondary_border_hover	Controls the border width, style, and color for secondary buttons when the mouse is over them.	Buttons	border
Button Secondary Text Color	button_secondary_text_color	Controls the text color for secondary buttons.	Buttons	color
Button Special Background	button_special_background	Controls the background color and image for special buttons.	Buttons	background
Button Special Border	button_special_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for special buttons.	Buttons	border
Button Special Border Hover	button_special_border_hover	Controls the border width, style, and color for special buttons when the mouse is over them.	Buttons	border
Button Special Text Color	button_special_text_color	Controls the text color for special buttons.	Buttons	color
Content Entry Auto Save Notice Background	contententry_autosave_background	Color of the background of the Auto Save notice popup	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Auto Save Notice Text Color	contententry_autosave_text_color	Color of the Text of the Auto Save notice popup	ContentEntry	color
Content Entry Panel Background	contententry_panel_background	Controls the background color and image for the panels in the content entry interface.	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Panel Section Background	contententry_panel_section_background	Controls the background color and image for the content entry panel sections.	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Panel Section Title Background	contententry_panel_section_title_background	Controls the background color and image for the content entry panel section titles.	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Toolbar Background	contententry_toolbar_background	Control the background color for the content entry toolbar.	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Toolbar Button Secondary Background Active	contententry_toolbar_button_secondary_background_active	Controls the background color and image for the secondary content entry toolbar buttons when active.	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Toolbar Button Secondary Background	contententry_toolbar_button_secondary_background	Controls the background color and image for the secondary content entry toolbar buttons.	ContentEntry	background
Content Entry Toolbar Button Secondary Border	contententry_toolbar_button_secondary_border	Controls the border color style and width for the secondary content entry toolbar buttons.	ContentEntry	border
Footer Bar Background	footer_background	Controls the background color and image for the footer bar.	Footer	background
Footer Copyright Text Color	footer_copyright_text_color	Controls the text color for the footer copyright text.	Footer	color
Footer Font Style	footer_font_style	Controls the font family, size, and style for the footer.	Footer	font
Footer List Item Color	footer_list_item_color	Controls the text color for the footer links.	Footer	color
Footer List Item Divider Color	footer_list_item_divider_color	Controls the divider color between footer links.	Footer	color
Form Background	form_background	Controls the background color and image for forms.	FormElements	background
Form Border	form_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for forms.	FormElements	border
Form Dropdown Background	form_dropdown_background	Controls the background color and image Controls the border width, style, and color for the dropdown (select) elements in forms.	FormElements	background
Form Dropdown Background Hover	form_dropdown_background_hover	Controls the background color and image for the dropdown (select) elements in forms when the mouse is over them.	FormElements	background
Form Dropdown Border	form_dropdown_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the dropdown (select) elements in forms.	FormElements	border
Form Dropdown Text Color	form_dropdown_text_color	Controls the text color for the dropdown (select) elements in forms.	FormElements	color
Form Dropdown Text Color Hover	form_dropdown_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for the dropdown (select) elements in forms when the mouse is over them.	FormElements	color
Form Field Background	form_field_background	Controls the background color and image for form fields.	FormElements	background
Filter Field Border	form_field_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the input fields in forms.	FormElements	border
Form Field Text Color	form_field_text_color	Controls the text color in form fields.	FormElements	color
Announcement Background	announcement_background	Controls the background color and image of announcements within the topic list on forum display.	Global	background
Announcement Border	announcement_border	Controls the border color, style, and width of announcements within the topic list on forum display.	Global	border
Announcement Text Color	announcement_text_color	Controls the text color for announcements within the topic list on forum display.	Global	color
Autosuggest Background	autosuggest_background	Controls the background color and image for the global autosuggest dropdown menu.	Global	background
Body Background	body_background	Controls the background color and image of the content frame's background.	Global	background
Body Font	body_font	Controls the base font family, style, and line height for text.	Global	font
Body Line Height	body_line_height	Controls the base line height for text.	Global	size
Body Link Color	body_link_color	Controls the text color for links.	Global	color
Body Link Color Hover	body_link_color_hover	Controls the text color for links when the mouse is over them.	Global	color
Body Link Decoration	body_link_decoration	Controls the text decoration for links.	Global	textdecoration
Body Link Decoration Hover	body_link_decoration_hover	Controls the text decoration for links when the mouse is over them.	Global	textdecoration
Body Text Color	body_text_color	Controls the general default text color for the site.	Global	color
Content Entry box header text color	content_entry_box_header_text_color	Controls the text color of the content entry box header	Global	color
Notice Background	notice_background	Controls the background color and image for notices.	Global	background
Notice Border	notice_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for notices.	Global	border
Notice Text Color	notice_text_color	Controls the text color for notices.	Global	color
"Previous" button border color	pagination_nextprev_divider_left_color	Controls the border color for "previous" navigation button	Global	color
"Next" button border color	pagination_nextprev_divider_right_color	Controls the border color for "next" navigation button	Global	color
Placeholder Text Color	placeholder_text_color	Controls the text color for the placeholder text in form inputs and text areas.	Global	color
Wrapper Background	wrapper_background	Controls the background color and image for the content wrapper (everything between the header and the footer).	Global	background
Wrapper Max Width	wrapper_max_width	Controls the maximum width for the site, including the header and footer.	Global	size
Wrapper Min Width	wrapper_min_width	Controls the minimum width for the site, including the header and footer.	Global	size
Wrapper Width	wrapper_width	Controls the width for the site, including the header and footer.	Global	size
Header Background	header_background	Controls the background color and image for the header area.	Header	background
Header Search Button Background	header_search_button_background	Controls the background color and image for the search button in the header.	Header	background
Header Search Button Border	header_search_button_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for search button in the header.	Header	border
Header Search Button Text Color	header_search_button_text_color	Controls the text color for the search button in the header.	Header	color
Header Search Input Background	header_search_input_background	Controls the background color and image for the search box in the header.	Header	background
Header Search Input Border	header_search_input_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for search box in the header.	Header	border
Header Search Input Text Color	header_search_input_text_color	Controls the text color for the search box in the header.	Header	color
Header Search Placeholder Text Color	header_search_placeholder_text_color	Controls the text color for the placeholder text in the search box in the header	Header	color
Header Subtabbar Background	header_subtabbar_background	Controls the background color and image for the sub navigation links under the tabs in the header area.	Header	background
Header Subtabbar Border	header_subtabbar_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the sub navigation links under the tabs in the header area.	Header	border
Header Subtabbar Text Color	header_subtabbar_text_color	Controls the text color for the links under the tabs in the header area.	Header	color
Header Subtabbar Text Color Hover	header_subtabbar_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for the links under the tabs in the header area when the mouse is over them.	Header	color
Header Tab Background Active	header_tab_background_active	Controls the background color and image for the navigation tabs in the header area, for the currently selected tab.	Header	background
Header Tab Background	header_tab_background	Controls the background color and image for the navigation tabs in the header area.	Header	background
Header Tab Background Hover	header_tab_background_hover	Controls the background color for the navigation tabs in the header area when the mouse is over them.	Header	background
Header Tab Border Active	header_tab_border_active	Controls the border width, style, and color for the currently selected tab in the navigation tabs in the header.	Header	border
Header Tab Text Color Active	header_tab_text_color_active	Controls the text color for a header navigation tab, when it is currently selected.	Header	color
Header Tab Text Color	header_tab_text_color	Controls the text color for the navigation tabs in the header area.	Header	color
Header Tab Text Color Hover	header_tab_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for header navigation tabs when the mouse is over them.	Header	color
Header Tabbar Background	header_tabbar_background	Controls the background color and image for the navigation tabs area in the header.	Header	background
Header Tabbar Border	header_tabbar_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the header tabbar.	Header	border
Header Text Color	header_text_color	Controls the text color for any text in the header.	Header	color
Favicon File Path	favicon	This stylevar controls the file path of the favicon. The favicon is the small image displayed in the browser address bar and near browser page title.	ImagePaths	url
	imgdir_attach		ImagePaths	imagedir
Button Image Directory	imgdir_button		ImagePaths	imagedir
Misc Images Directory	imgdir_misc		ImagePaths	imagedir
Item Status Icon Folder	imgdir_statusicon		ImagePaths	imagedir
Title Image	titleimage	This is your logo or title image. Set to the path of the logo you want to use.	ImagePaths	url
Photo Background	photo_background	Controls the background color and image for photos.	Images	background
Photo Border	photo_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for photos.	Images	border
Photo Border Hover	photo_border_hover	Controls the border width, style, and color for photos when the mouse is over them.	Images	border
Photo Preview Background	photo_preview_background	Controls the background color and image for the photo preview area.	Images	background
Photo Preview Border	photo_preview_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the photo preview area.	Images	border
	slideshow_image_background		Images	background
Post Editor History Added Text Background	diff_add_background	This stylevar controls the background of added text in the post edit history.	Miscellaneous	background
Post Editor History Added Text Color	diff_add_color	This stylevar controls the text color of added text in the post edit history.	Miscellaneous	color
Post Editor History Removed Text Background	diff_remove_background	This stylevar controls the background of removed text in the post edit history.	Miscellaneous	background
Post Editor History Removed Text Color	diff_remove_color	This stylevar controls the text color of removed text in the post edit history.	Miscellaneous	color
List item background	list_item_background		Miscellaneous	background
Sticky topic background color	sticky_topic_background_color	Controls the background color of sticky topics	Miscellaneous	color
Tooltip signature background	tooltip_signature_background	Controls the background of the signature tooltip	Miscellaneous	background
Tooltip Signature Border	tooltip_signature_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for signature tooltips.	Miscellaneous	border
Topic Title Color	topic_title_color		Miscellaneous	color
	content_divider_color		Miscellaneous	color
	private_messages_mark_as_unread_background		Miscellaneous	background
	search_result_highlight_color		Miscellaneous	color
	section_divider_color		Miscellaneous	color
	time_stamp_color		Miscellaneous	color
Module Content Background	module_content_background	Controls the background color and image for module content areas.	Modules	background
Module Content Border	module_content_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the content area of modules.	Modules	border
Module Header Background	module_header_background	Controls the background color and image for module headers.	Modules	background
Module Header Border	module_header_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for module headers.	Modules	border
Module Header Font	module_header_font	Controls the font for module headers.	Modules	font
Module Header Text Color	module_header_text_color	Controls the text color for module headers.	Modules	color
Search module item border	module_search_list_item_border	Defines the border of the items inside the search module	Modules	border
No Content Background	no_content_background	Controls the background color and image for the &quot;no content&quot; message in modules.	Modules	background
Primary Module Background	primary_module_background	Controls the background color and image for the primary modules.	Modules	background
Primary Module Border	primary_module_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the primary module.	Modules	border
Primary Module Header Background	primary_module_header_background	Controls the background color and image for primary module headers.	Modules	background
Primary Module Header Font	primary_module_header_font	Controls the font for primary module headers.	Modules	font
Primary Module Header Text Color	primary_module_header_text_color	Controls the text color for primary module headers.	Modules	color
Primary Module Subheader Background	primary_module_subheader_background	Controls the background color and image for primary module subheaders.	Modules	background
Primary Module Subheader Border	primary_module_subheader_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for primary module subheaders.	Modules	border
Primary Module Subheader Text Color	primary_module_subheader_text_color	Controls the text color for primary module subheaders.	Modules	color
Module Tab Background Active	module_tab_background_active	Controls the background color and image for the currently selected module tab.	ModuleTabs	background
Module Tab Background	module_tab_background	Controls the background color and image for module tabs.	ModuleTabs	background
Module Tab Border Active	module_tab_border_active	Controls the border width, style, and color for the currently selected tab in modules.	ModuleTabs	border
Module Tab Border	module_tab_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for tabs in modules.	ModuleTabs	border
Module Tab Font	module_tab_font	Controls the font family, size, and style for module tabs.	ModuleTabs	font
Module Tab Text Color Active	module_tab_text_color_active	Controls the text color for the currently selected module tab.	ModuleTabs	color
Module Tab Text Color	module_tab_text_color	Controls the text color for inactive module tabs.	ModuleTabs	color
Module Tab Text Color Hover	module_tab_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for inactive module tabs when the mouse is over them.	ModuleTabs	color
Poll Result Border	poll_result_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for poll result bars.	Polls	border
Poll result percentage background	poll_result_percentage_background	Controls the background of the percentage number in poll results	Polls	background
Poll results vote count text	poll_result_vote_count_text	Controls the colour of the text displaying the vote count	Polls	color
	poll_result_color_01		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_02		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_03		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_04		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_05		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_06		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_07		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_08		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_09		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_10		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_11		Polls	color
	poll_result_color_12		Polls	color
Popup Background	popup_background	Controls the background color and image for popups.	Popups	background
Popup Border	popup_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for popups.	Popups	border
Popup Header Background	popup_header_background	Controls the background color and image of popup headers.	Popups	background
Popup Header Text Color	popup_header_text_color	Controls the text color of popup headers.	Popups	color
Popup Overlay Background	popup_overlay_background	Controls the background color and image for the overlay behind popups.	Popups	background
Activity Stream Avatar Border	activity_stream_avatar_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for avatars in the activity stream.	PostsRepliesAndComments	border
Comment Background	comment_background	Controls the background color and image for comments.	PostsRepliesAndComments	background
Comment Divider Color	comment_divider_color	Controls the color for the divider between comments.	PostsRepliesAndComments	color
Post Border	post_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the content area of posts.	PostsRepliesAndComments	border
Post Controls Votes Border	post_controls_votes_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for votes in the post controls area.	PostsRepliesAndComments	border
Post Deleted Border	post_deleted_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the deleted message that shows for deleted posts.	PostsRepliesAndComments	border
Postbit Background	postbit_background	Controls the background color and image for the user information area of posts.	PostsRepliesAndComments	background
	postbit_deleted_background		PostsRepliesAndComments	background
Postbit Unapproved Background	postbit_unapproved_background	The background color to show for unapproved posts	PostsRepliesAndComments	background
Thread View Avatar Border	thread_view_avatar_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for avatars in thread view.	PostsRepliesAndComments	border
	post_controls_divider_color		PostsRepliesAndComments	color
	post_controls_quote_active_text_color		PostsRepliesAndComments	color
	post_controls_text_color		PostsRepliesAndComments	color
	post_rating_color		PostsRepliesAndComments	color
	post_username_color		PostsRepliesAndComments	color
	post_user_info_color		PostsRepliesAndComments	color
	thread_reply_background		PostsRepliesAndComments	background
	thread_starter_background		PostsRepliesAndComments	background
	profcustom_navbar_background_active		Profiles	background
	profcustom_navbar_background		Profiles	background
	profcustom_navbar_border_active		Profiles	border
	profcustom_navbar_border		Profiles	border
	profcustom_navbar_text_color_active		Profiles	color
	profcustom_navbar_text_color		Profiles	color
	profcustom_navbar_toolbar_text_color		Profiles	color
Profile Navbar Button Background	profcustom_navbarbutton_background		Profiles	background
Profile Navbar Button Border	profcustom_navbarbutton_border		Profiles	color
Profile Navbar Button Text Color	profcustom_navbarbutton_color		Profiles	color
Profile Navbar Secondary Button Background	profcustom_navbarbuttonsecondary_background		Profiles	background
Profile Navbar Secondary Button Border	profcustom_navbarbuttonsecondary_border		Profiles	color
Profile Navbar Secondary Button Text Color	profcustom_navbarbuttonsecondary_color		Profiles	color
Profile Button Primary Background	profile_button_primary_background	Background for button in profile content area	Profiles	background
Profile Secondary Button Background	profile_button_secondary_background	Background for button in profile content area	Profiles	background
Profile Content Background	profile_content_background		Profiles	background
Profile Content Border Color	profile_content_border		Profiles	color
Profile Content Link Text Color	profile_content_linktext		Profiles	color
Profile Content Primary Text Color	profile_content_primarytext		Profiles	color
Profile Content Secondary Text Color	profile_content_secondarytext		Profiles	color
Profile section border	profile_section_border		Profiles	border
User settings tab highlight	profile_settings_tab_highlight	Controls the border width, style, and color for the tabs in the user settings.	Profiles	border
Profile Userpanel Font	profile_userpanel_font	Controls the font face, size, and style for the profile user panel.	Profiles	font
Profile User Panel Text Color	profile_userpanel_textcolor		Profiles	color
Profile Sidebar Button Background	profilesidebar_button_background		Profiles	background
Profile Sidebar Button Border Color	profilesidebar_button_border		Profiles	border
Profile Sidebar Button Text Color	profilesidebar_button_text_color	FFFFFF	Profiles	color
Profile Sidebar Count Text Color	profilesidebar_count_text_color		Profiles	color
	profile_content_divider_border		Profiles	color
	profile_content_font		Profiles	font
	profile_section_background		Profiles	background
	profile_section_font		Profiles	font
	profile_section_text_color		Profiles	color
	profile_userpanel_linkcolor		Profiles	color
Side Nav Background Active	side_nav_background_active	Controls the background color and image for the currently selected item in the sidebar navigation area.	SidebarNavigation	background
Side Nav Background	side_nav_background	Controls the background color and image for the sidebar navigation area.	SidebarNavigation	background
Side Nav Background Hover	side_nav_background_hover	Controls the background color and image for the sidebar navigation area when the mouse is over it.	SidebarNavigation	background
Side Nav Border	side_nav_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the sidebar navigation area.	SidebarNavigation	border
Side Nav Item Border Bottom	side_nav_item_border_bottom	Controls the border width, style, and color for the bottom of each sidebar navigation item.	SidebarNavigation	border
Side Nav Item Border Top	side_nav_item_border_top	Controls the border width, style, and color for the top of each sidebar navigation item.	SidebarNavigation	border
Side Nav Text Color Active	side_nav_text_color_active	Controls the text color for currently selected sidebar navigation items.	SidebarNavigation	color
Side Nav Text Color	side_nav_text_color	Controls the text color for sidebar navigation items.	SidebarNavigation	color
Side Nav Text Color Hover	side_nav_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for sidebar navigation items when the mouse is over them.	SidebarNavigation	color
	side_nav_avatar_border		SidebarNavigation	color
	side_nav_number_messages_color		SidebarNavigation	color
Inline edit button border	inline_edit_button_border		Sitebuilder	border
Inline edit field border	inline_edit_field_border		Sitebuilder	border
	inline_edit_module_title_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_background		Sitebuilder	background
	inline_edit_button_disabled_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_button_divider_left_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_button_divider_right_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_button_flat_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_button_primary_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_button_secondary_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_folder_active_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_folder_inner_highlight_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_folder_text_color_active_hover		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_form_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_header_body_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_header_line_bottom_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_header_line_top_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_popup_comment_line_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_search_bar_background		Sitebuilder	background
	inline_edit_search_bar_background_active		Sitebuilder	background
	inline_edit_search_bar_background_hover		Sitebuilder	background
	inline_edit_search_bar_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_search_text_active_color		Sitebuilder	color
	inline_edit_subheader_text_color		Sitebuilder	color
Main Navigation Admin Bar Background	main_nav_admin_bar_background	Controls the background color and image for the main navigation admin bar.	SitebuilderNavigation	background
Main Navigation Admin Bar Text Color	main_nav_admin_bar_text_color	Controls the text color for the sitebuilder admin navigation bar.	SitebuilderNavigation	color
Main Navigation Admin Bar Text Color (Hover)	main_nav_admin_bar_text_color_hover	Controls the text color for the sitebuilder admin navigation bar when mouse pointer is over them.	SitebuilderNavigation	color
Main Navigation Admin Bar Text Color (Disabled)	main_nav_admin_bar_text_disabled_color	Controls the text color for the sitebuilder admin navigation bar for disabled elements.	SitebuilderNavigation	color
Main Nav Button Border	main_nav_button_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the buttons in the sitebuilder admin navigation bar.	SitebuilderNavigation	border
	main_nav_admin_bar_divider_left_color		SitebuilderNavigation	color
	main_nav_admin_bar_divider_right_color		SitebuilderNavigation	color
	main_nav_login_error_field_background		SitebuilderNavigation	background
	main_nav_login_error_text_color		SitebuilderNavigation	color
Large Margin Helper	spacing_margin_l	Sets margin spacing for large margin helper css class.	Spacing	margin
Medium Margin Helper	spacing_margin_m	Sets margin spacing for medium margin helper css class.	Spacing	margin
Small Margin Helper	spacing_margin_s	Sets margin spacing for small margin helper css class.	Spacing	margin
Extra Large Margin Helper	spacing_margin_xl	Sets margin spacing for extra large margin helper css class.	Spacing	margin
Extra Small Margin Helper	spacing_margin_xs	Sets margin spacing for extra small margin helper css class.	Spacing	margin
XXL Margin Helper	spacing_margin_xxl	Sets margin spacing for extra extra large margin helper css class.	Spacing	margin
Large Padding Helper	spacing_padding_l	Sets padding spacing for large padding helper css class.	Spacing	padding
Medium Padding Helper	spacing_padding_m	Sets padding spacing for medium padding helper css class.	Spacing	padding
Small Padding Helper	spacing_padding_s	Sets padding spacing for small padding helper css class.	Spacing	padding
Extra Large Padding Helper	spacing_padding_xl	Sets padding spacing for extra large padding helper css class.	Spacing	padding
Extra Small Padding Helper	spacing_padding_xs	Sets padding spacing for extra small padding helper css class.	Spacing	padding
XXL Padding Helper	spacing_padding_xxl	Sets padding spacing for extra extra large padding helper css class.	Spacing	padding
Toolbar Background	toolbar_background	Controls the background color and image for toolbars.	Toolbar	background
Toolbar Border	toolbar_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for toolbars.	Toolbar	border
Toolbar Button Border	toolbar_button_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the buttons in toolbars.	Toolbar	border
Toolbar Dropdown Background Gradient End	toolbar_dropdown_background_gradient_end	Controls the gradient end background color in toolbar dropdown menus.	Toolbar	background
Toolbar Dropdown Background Gradient Start	toolbar_dropdown_background_gradient_start	Controls the gradient start background color in toolbar dropdown menus.	Toolbar	background
Toolbar Dropdown Border	toolbar_dropdown_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the dropdown menus in toolbars.	Toolbar	border
Toolbar Dropdown Divider Color	toolbar_dropdown_divider_color	Controls the divider color in the dropdown menus in toolbars.	Toolbar	color
Toolbar Dropdown Text Color Active	toolbar_dropdown_text_color_active	Controls the text color for text in currently selected menu items in toolbars.	Toolbar	color
Toolbar Dropdown Text Color	toolbar_dropdown_text_color	Controls the text color for the dropdown menus in toolbars.	Toolbar	color
Toolbar Form Field Background	toolbar_form_field_background	Controls the background color and image for the form fields in toolbars.	Toolbar	background
Toolbar Form Field Border	toolbar_form_field_border	Controls the border width, style, and color for the form fields in toolbars.	Toolbar	border
Toolbar Form Field Placeholder Text Color	toolbar_form_field_placeholder_text_color	Controls the text color for the placeholder text in the form fields in toolbars.	Toolbar	color
Toolbar Text Color	toolbar_text_color	Controls the text color for text in toolbars.	Toolbar	color

Style Inheritance

Path to Style Manager: Styles & Templates > Style Manager.

Like so many other systems in vBulletin, the vBulletin Styles system works around the concept of inheritance.

In implementing styles, “inheritance” means that you can create an unlimited number of styles in which your site can be viewed, and customizations made in one style are inherited by all of its child styles.

Topics in this section elaborate on the concept of inheritance with regard to the functionality of the Style Manager.

Inheritance Example

Path to Style Manager: Styles & Templates > Style Manager

The concept of inheritance as it applies to styles in vBulletin is best illustrated with an example of a common use for the system: customizing the look and feel of a site. You accomplish this by editing the colors used by vBulletin, and by editing the header and footer templates.

Assume that you want to customize your header and footer templates, but you also want to offer a choice of three possible color schemes to your users: we’ll call these the Red, Green, and Blue schemes.

You could create three new styles (Red, Green, and Blue) and customize the header and footer templates in each style. That is a valid solution, but has one serious disadvantage: if you decide you want to alter the HTML in the customized header template, you will need to edit the template in each of the three styles individually.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the initial page of the Style Manager with Red, Green, and Blue styles checked.>>>

A more manageable solution would involve creating a single new style, called something like “Custom Header / Footer” and setting up the customizations that apply to all three styles in that file.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the initial page of the Style Manager with the Red, Green, and Blue styles removed, and a style called Custom Header / Footer inserted (and checked) in their place.>>>

Then to offer the three color variants, you would create three more styles (Red, Green, and Blue) as child styles of the Custom Header / Footer style.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the initial page of the Style Manager with the Red, Green, and Blue styles re-inserted as child styles of Custom Header / Footer.>>>

Each of these child styles inherits the customized header and footer templates from the Custom Header / Footer parent style, so you do not need to edit that template in the child styles. If you choose to change the HTML of either the header or footer templates at some point in the future, you need only to edit those templates in the parent style: the changes are automatically inherited by the three child styles.

This is a simple example, involving only the site color scheme and the header and footer templates. However, vBulletin allows you to create much more elaborate customizations that individually customize every template and every CSS attribute of a style. Each of those customized attributes can be inherited by all child styles.

Replacement Variables

Replacement variables are useful in representing commonly used values in templates. Use the Styles & Templates > Replacement Variable Manager group to add / modify / delete replacement variables.

Note:

To learn more about Replacement Variables, please read the Replacement Variables Introduction

Refer to the Color Key at the top of the Replacement Variable Manager page to see how colors are used to indicate whether a replacement variable is customized in a particular style, or inherited from a parent style.

The Style Manager

Path to the Style Manager: Styles & Templates > Style Manager.

The Style Manager is the facility to use to create and edit vBulletin styles, which control the way your vBulletin installation appears to your visitors. Styles include color and font changes, as well as template changes that alter the layout of the site.
To see examples of customized vBulletin sites with modified styles, go to http://www.vBulletin.com/links.php.
To see examples of vBulletin style and template modifications, go to http://www.vBulletin.org/forum/.

Following are a list and descriptions of the various controls (left to right) on the initial screen of the Style Manager.
Allow User Selection Checkbox
Whether or not the style is available for non-administrators to use. If the checkbox for a style is cleared, only administrators are able to use that style.
Style Title Hyperlink
Click to open a new window that shows the public area of your site with the active style applied, even if general users are not able to use that particular style. <<<Because they don’t have the right set of permissions, or their device/monitor don’t support it, or..?>>>
Display Order Text Box
The number in the small text box in the middle of the screen specifies the display order of a style. Higher numbers are displayed later in the listing. The number makes no difference to the content of the style and is used solely for display order convenience.
Style Options Menu
This selection menu contains links to pages where you can make changes to the style, for example to change the style’s title or download the style as a style.xml file.
Expand/Collapse Templates List Button (<< >>)
Click this button to open or close the list of templates for the selected style.

Creating New Styles

Path to creating a new style: Styles & Templates > Style Manager and click Add New Style.

Clicking Add New Style brings up the Add New Style page.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect. After you have saved your new style, you are returned to the home page of the Style Manager, where the name of your new style is shown.

Parent Style
Choose the existing style that will provide the set of attributes that your new style will inherit.

For more information about vBulletin inheritance, see Style Inheritance.

Title
Enter the title of your new style.

Allow User Selection
Whether or not site users can themselves choose to view the site using this style.

Display Order
Enter a whole number to indicate this style’s rank order in lists of styles. Low numbers are displayed further up the list than high numbers.

Creating Child Styles

Path to creating a child style: Styles & Templates > Style Manager, click the StyleVars dropdown, and select the Add Child Style option (under Edit Style Options).

The Add New Style page of the Style Manager opens.

Notice that the correct parent style is already selected in the form.

Fill out the form as described in Creating New Styles.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

You can create additional child styles of your new child style to satisfy more complex inheritance criteria.

For more information about style inheritance, see the Style Inheritance article.

Replacement Variables

Replacement Variables are chunks of text that are replaced with alternative text by the system before being displayed on screen.

One use for replacement variables is to correct common spelling mistakes. For example, on the vBulletin Community Forums a replacement variable exists to replace all instances of the incorrect abbreviation for vBulletin “VBB” with the correct abbreviation “vB”.

Replacement variables can be used to insert commonly-used blocks of HTML.

For example, a replacement variable could be set up to replace <tablestart> with <table class="tborder" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1" border="0" width="100%" align="center">.

As another example, your templates could contain blocks of code like this:

<tablestart>
<tr>
    <td class="alt1">Cell contents...</td>
</tr>
</table>

Before being displayed in a visitor's browser, the replacement variable system would identify the <tablestart> replacement variable and replace it with the following:

<table class="tborder" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1" border="0" width="100%" align="center">
<tr>
    <td class="alt1">Cell contents...</td>
</tr>
</table>

Replacement variables in vBulletin are case insensitive, meaning that a replacement variable set to replace for word will also replace Word, wOrD and WORD.

The replacement variable system is activated in the last stages of page processing before the HTML is delivered to a visitor's browser. The system searches for target text in the completed, parsed templates.

Warning:

Replacement can be useful, but replacement variables can break the functionality of your site if used incorrectly.

For example, if you create a replacement variable to search for html and replace it with HTML, any hyperlinks pointing to files with a .html suffix will have those links replaced with .HTML, which is not the same file on a Unix web server, since Unix file paths are case sensitive.

Worse still, if you create a replacement variable to turn every instance of the word home into a hyperlink pointing to your home page: <a href="home.html">home</a>.

You might have the situation where the word 'home' is used in locations where creating a hyperlink would cause invalid HTML, such as the following:

<img src="home.gif" alt="" />

...which would end up being delivered to the browser as the following:

<img src="<a href="home.html">home</a>.gif" alt="" />

...which is invalid HTML and will not function correctly.

Replacement Variable Manager

Replacement variables are useful in representing commonly used values in styles and user content. They allow you to easily replace content items from users and in page text in a finished page output. Use the Styles & Templates > Replacement Variable Manager group to add / modify / delete replacement variables.

Note:

To learn more about Replacement Variables, please read the Replacement Variables Introduction

The Replacement Variable Manager lists all of your styles, together with any replacement variables defined within them. This allows you to see at a glance the way in which any replacement variables you have defined are being inherited by child styles.

<<<screenshot of Replacement Variable Manager>>>

Refer to the Color Key at the top of the Replacement Variable Manager page to see how colors are used to indicate whether a replacement variable is customized in a particular style, or inherited from a parent style.

Add New Replacement Variable

To add a new replacement variable, click the [Add New Replacement Variable] link next to any style listed on the Replacement Variable Manager main page.

On the Add New Replacement Variable page, you will find a form in which you can specify the style to which you want to add a new replacement variable, along with two text fields.

<<< Need Updated Screenshot >>>

The first text field is for the text you want the replacement variable to find, and the second field should contain the text with which to replace the find text.

Note:

The find text is not case sensitive, meaning that dog will match DOG, DoG, dOG etc.

When you click the [Save] button, any child styles of the style to which you added the new replacement variable will automatically inherit the new variable, while parent styles will be unaffected. This is the principle of inheritance in action.

<<need updated Screenshot>>>

Customizing a Replacement Variable

When a replacement variable is inherited by a style, you may customize it in that style and have the changes automatically appear in any of its child styles.

To customize a replacement variable, simply click the [Customize] link next to any replacement variable on the main page.

This will load the Replacement Variable Customization form, which looks almost identical to the Add New Replacement Variable interface, and works in exactly the same way.

<<need updated Screenshot>>>

After making your changes, the new value will be automatically inherited by any child styles.

Download / Upload Styles

This section covers how to download and upload styles.

Downloading styles is handy when you want to make a backup of your templates and options, or share your work with other forum administrators.

Uploading styles is handy to revert to a backup or applying the same style to several boards. You can use this option to import a style that someone has given you.

Make sure you read and understand all the options to avoid incomplete style downloads / uploads.

Note:

When you upload or download a style, the process will not transfer any image files. Your image files should be managed with an FTP client.

Languages and Phrases

In vBulletin, language-dependent text is kept separately from the HTML layout code.

This enables you to create (or download) versions of the user interface translated into multiple languages other than US English, so you can globalize and localize your site.

An Introduction to Languages and Phrases

vBulletin's language system allows you to localize your site in languages other than US English without editing any templates or files. The vBulletin phrase system makes its templates language independent so you can display pages in multiple languages using a single style.

Each phrase (for example, “password” or “one hour ago”) can have a translation for every language specified in this Language Manager. When a channel page is loaded, vBulletin checks what language the current logged-in user has selected, looks up the phrase variables in that language, and replaces them with the appropriate translated text.

In addition to translated phrases, vBulletin's language system supports translated images (by allowing you to override a style's images folder setting), and language-specific date/time/number formats.

The topics in this section cover what you need to know to localize your vBulletin site.

Languages vs. Phrases

The 'Master Language' and 'Custom Master Language'

Regardless of any languages you enable as administrator (for example, Spanish or German) there are always two that always exist in vBulletin: the Master Language and the Custom Master Language. They are generally protected from being directly edited.

The Master Language is where all of vBulletin’s untranslated, default phrases exist. It is important to have the original version of all phrases available for reference purposes. You cannot directly edit these language phrases.

The Custom Master Language contains only custom phrases you have created, which can be accessed as if they were part of the Master Language.

Phrase Syntax

The many phrase variable names in vBulletin have their values stored as strings when the vBulletin cached language data is generated or regenerated.

For example, the phrase variable show_all_users is stored as Show All Users, and additional_options is stored as Additional Options.

Sometimes the strings contain substitution variables that are not replaced with specific values until runtime.

For example, the phrase variable showing_avatars_x_to_y_of_z is stored as the following string with substitution variables {1}, {2}, and {3}:

Showing Avatars {1} to {2} of {3}

At runtime, the string might contain the values 10, 20, and 24 in place of {2}, and {3}:

Showing Avatars 10 to 20 of 24.

Suppose you wanted the output string to look like the following:

24 Avatars Total. Displaying 10 - 20.

You could accomplish that by changing the string to the following:

{3} Avatars Total. Displaying {1} - {2}.

As you can see, the order of the substitution variables can be changed. The important thing is that you reference the correct substitution variable number for the output variable you want.

Using Phrases in Templates

Phrases are generally straightforward to use in templates. Simple phrases (without any variable portions) can be referenced like regular $variables; complex phrases are referenced similarly to template conditionals.

When referencing a phrase in a template, you need to know the following information:

The phrase name (phrase_name)
The phrase name is what uniquely identifies a phrase and how phrases are referenced. Generally, the phrase name reflects the phrase text directly; for example, the phrase with variable name poll_timeout has the text of Poll Timeout.

The phrase group
If the phrase is in a group, you can access it only on pages that load that group.

To use a phrase in a template, you need to use the following constructs.

phrase

{vb:phrase phrase_name[, arguments for phrase...]}

Inserts the specified phrase. If arguments are provided, they will be run through htmlspecialchars().

Example:

{vb:phrase welcome}

rawphrase

{vb:rawphrase phrase_name[, arguments for phrase...]}

Inserts the specified phrase, but arguments bypass htmlspecialchars().

Example:

{vb:rawphrase message_by_x_on_y_at_z, {vb:link member, {vb:raw postinfo}}, {vb:raw postinfo.username}, {vb:raw postinfo.postdate}, {vb:raw postinfo.posttime}}

For more information about template syntax, see <<<doc link: Template Syntax>>>.

Managing Languages

Path to Managing Languages: Languages & Phrases > Language Manager.

<<<Insert screenshot of Language Manager screen.>>>

This screen lists all languages you have installed. Next to each language is a link for phrase-editing, as well as links to modify the language settings and download the language as an XML file.

Clicking on Edit / Translate allows you to edit the translation for phrases.

Edit Settings allows you to edit the settings of the language.

Delete removes the language from your vBulletin site.

Download lets you download a language set as an XML file, which consists of all phrases you have translated for that language. You can distribute this to other vBulletin owners.

The Set Default button allows you to set a language as the default for your site. The default language is shown to registered users who did not select a language at registration, and to unregistered users or those who are not logged in.

After the language list section there are links that let you search for phrases, view a language quickref, or rebuild all languages.

At the bottom of the screen are buttons to add a new language and download or upload existing language sets.

Adding and Editing A Language

Path to Adding or Editing a Language: Languages & Phrases > Language Manager and click [Add New Language] or [Edit Settings].

<<<Insert screenshot of the add language screen.>>>

The form to add or edit a language contains many settings that are specific to a locale. For example, some people might prefer the mm/dd/yy date format, while others prefer dd/mm/yy.

General Settings

Title
Name of the language. The title is displayed to users when they are selecting a language.

Allow User Selection (Yes/No)
Whether or not users can select the language. If this is set to No, the language is effectively disabled.

Text Direction (default: Left to Right)
Direction of the text in the language. For example, English is left to right, while Hebrew is right to left.

Language Code (default: en)
Two-character, standard abbreviation for the language (for example, fr for French)

This value does not have any effect on the displayed text, but it may be used by programs such as screen readers.

HTML Character Set (default: ISO-8859-1)
This indicates the encoding of the characters that are displayed on the page. Setting this to an incorrect value might prevent some characters from being displayed. If you are unsure what to put here, enter UTF-8, as it will likely contain the characters you need.

Image Folder Override
The path to button images, relative to the main channel directory, that contains translated text. This replaces the button images folder, which defaults to images/buttons. If you want to specify a specific button directory for each style, you can use <#>. At runtime, this replaces the ID number of the style that the user is using.

Date / Time Formatting
Date and time specification.

Settings in this group allow you to override the default date and time formatting with one that is more appropriate for your language. For example, English (US) would use the mm/dd/yy format, while English (UK) would use the dd/mm/yy format. These formats are represented by %m/%d/%y and %d/%m/%y, respectively.

Locale
You can define a locale or just specify the correct date and time formats in the settings below. Since locales are not supported on all systems, it is better to manually specify the correct date and time formats if you can.

Date Format Override
Overrides the date format specified in your vBulletin options. Leave blank to use the format that is set in your vBulletin options.

Time Format Override
Overrides the time format specified in your vBulletin options. Leave blank to use the format that is set in your vBulletin options.

Registration Date Format Override
Overrides the registration date format specified in your vBulletin options. Leave blank to use the format that is set in your vBulletin options.

Birthday Date Format Override (with year)
Overrides the birthday with year format that is specified in your vBulletin options. Leave blank to use the format that is set in your vBulletin options.

Birthday Date Format Override (without year)
This setting will override the birthday without year format that is specified in your vBulletin options. Leave blank to use the format that is set in your vBulletin options.

Log Date Format Override
Overrides the log date format specified in your vBulletin options. Leave blank to use the format that is set in your vBulletin options.

Number Formatting

Decimal Separator
Character that separates the integer and decimal parts of a number.

Use this setting to customize the way floating point (decimal) numbers are displayed for this language.

Thousands Separator
Character that separates and groups thousands in a number.

Use this setting to customize the way the thousands place is separated in large numbers for this language.

Translating a Language

Path to Translating a Language: Languages & Phrases > Language Manager, then click [Edit / Translate <language name> Phrases].

<<<Insert screenshot of Language manager edit/translate language screen.>>>

The Translate Phrases page contains a list of phrase names and values for the language. It is the first in a series of phrase group pages. The column on the left is the phrase variable name column (Varname), and on the right in the Text column are the default phrase string values (top) and the translated string values (bottom). If a phrase has not been translated yet, both values are the same.

Once you have translated a page, click the [Save] button. Any phrases that have changed will be saved and used in this language. To do a complete translation, repeat this process for every phrase group page in the language.

There are various ways you can navigate through the phrase translation pages. You can select phrase types from the pulldown list on the top of the page. You can select a page number from the pulldown list at the top, and on the bottom of each page of phrase translation are buttons that will take you to a particular page in the set of phrase translation pages. You can also use the Prev and Next buttons to move between pages. The View Quickref button displays the currently selected phrase types in a popup window.

Language Quick Reference

Path to Language Quick Reference:Languages & Phrases > Language Manager, then click [View QuickRef].

<<<Insert screenshot of the Quickref popup window.>>>

On the left of the Language QuickRef popup window is a list of phrase variable names. Once you click a name, the code to use in a template appears on the right, along with the current phrase text string value.

Using the pulldown lists at the bottom of the screen you can change the language and phrase group being viewed in the window.

Rebuilding All Languages

Path to Rebuilding All Languages:Languages & Phrases > Language Manager, then click [Rebuild All Languages].

This process regenerates all cached language data from the database. Generally this is not necessary. However, if you have edited the language information in the database directly, you need to run this process for your changes to take effect.

Note:

Running this process, even when unnecessary, will not harm your site.

Managing Phrases

Path to managing phrases: Languages & Phrases > Phrase Manager.

The Phrase Manager provides a way to record and manage the values of language variables.

The values can be in US English (the default natural language) or another natural language (for example, German). As a specific example, the value of the variable 1_day_ago could be One Day Ago, or it could be Vor Einem Tag, which is the German equivalent of One Day Ago.

In the Phrase Manager, variable names are grouped by category (for example, Albums, BB Code Tools, Holidays, and Hooks System).

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Language Manager with the Holidays option selected.>>>

The default number of phrases to show per page is 15; to show more or fewer per page (for example, 10 or 20), enter the number and click Go.

To see all phrases in a given language in the selected category, click the language name in the top middle section of the screen. All variables for the selected category are shown in a popup window.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Holidays popup window.>>>

For example, if you select Holidays as the phrase type, click the US English link to open the popup window, and select the easter variable on the left-hand side of the windows, the value of the easter variable displays on the right-hand side of the window as Easter.

Adding or Editing Phrase

Path to Adding or Editing a Phrase:Languages & Phrases > Phrase Manager

<<<Insert screenshot of phrase manager screen.>>>

To edit an existing phrase, click the Edit button to the right of it.

To delete an existing phrase, click the Delete button to the right of it.

To add a new phrase, click the Add New Phrase button. This takes you to a Phrase Manager screen where you can add the phrase.

Options

Insert into MASTER LANGUAGE (Yes/No)
Whether or not to add the phrase to the Master Language. This is a developer option.

Language
Select the language from this pulldown list.

Phrase Type
Type of this phrase. It will be loaded only by pages that load that type.

Varname
Variable name of the phrase that will be used to identify the phrase in code. You can only use a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and _ in the name.

Text
Default phrase text string. Within the string you can use {1}, {2}, etc to represent substitution variable parts of a phrase.

Note:

When editing an existing phrase, the options listed above may not be available. You must delete and re-add the phrase and translations to change these values.

Below this is a text area for each language on the site. Here you can create any translations necessary. If you leave the box blank, the value from the Text box will be used.

Note:

To delete a translation, remove the text in the translation box.

Orphan Phrases

Path to Search for Orphaned Phrases: Languages & Phrases > Phrase Manager and click on the [Find Orphan Phrases] at the bottom of the screen.

Orphan phrases are phrases that exist in the database but do not have a default value in the Master Language or the Custom Master Language. This is most commonly caused by phrases becoming obsolete and being removed by an upgrade. In most cases, these phrases are no longer used. If you need to edit or delete these phrases, you need to search for orphan phrases as described above.

The Find Orphan Phrases screen looks like the following.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Find Orphan Phrases screen.>>>

If you have no orphan phrases, you get the following message: No Phrases Matched Your Query.

If you do have orphan phrases they are listed, and you are given the option to Keep or Delete each one individually or [Keep All] or [Delete All].

Search in Phrases

Path to Search in Phrases: Languages & Phrases > Phrase Manager and click the [Search in Phrases] button at the bottom of the screen.

The Search in Phrases screen looks like the following.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Phrase manager, Search in Phrases form.>>>

Search in Phrases Options

Set the following options and click [Find]. Click [Reset] to reset the options.

Search for Text
Text to look for in the search.

Search in Language
Select All Languages or an individual language by name from the picklist.

Product
Select All Products or an individual by name from the picklist.

Search Translated Phrases Only (Yes/No)
Whether or not to return only translated phrases in the search results.

Phrase Type (default: blank or all categories)
Category of phrase, for example Access Masks, Blogs, or Holidays. Blank indicates all categories.

Search in... (default: Phrase Text Only)
Scope of the search: Phrase Text Only, Phrase Variable Name Only, or Phrase Text and Phrase Variable Name.

Case-Sensitive (Yes/No)
Whether or not to take case into account in the search. For example, if this option is set to Yes, a search of the text One Day Ago returns all instances of One Day Ago but not of one day ago.

Exact Match (Yes/No)
Whether or not to return only text that matches exactly.

Find and Replace in Languages Options

Set the following options and click [Replace], which replaces all instances of the original text with the replacement text.

Click [Reset] to reset the options.

Search in Language
Select the language to search.

Search for Text
Enter the text to look for.

Replace with Text
Enter the text to replace matches (“hits”) found in the search.

Downloading and Uploading Languages

Path to Download / Upload Languages: Languages & Phrases > Download / Upload Languages.

In vBulletin you can download (export) and upload (import) languages like you do styles. This capability allows you to share your translations with others or use existing translations to save you time.

The download/upload functionality is part of the Language Manager. There are two forms: Download, and Import Language XML File.

Download Options

Note:

Only translated phrases are included in a downloaded language.

Language
Select the language you want to download from the picklist of all languages installed on your vBulletin site.

Product
Select the product from the picklist of available products.

Filename
Name of the language file. We recommend including a string representing the name of the language in the file name (for example, es or Spanish for Spanish).

Your browser will prompt you for the complete path to the location where you want to store the file.

Charset
Character set used in the language file.

Include Custom Phrases (default: Yes/No)
Whether or not to include any custom phrases you have created.

Just fetch phrases (default: Yes/No)
If this option is set to Yes, no language settings are included.

After you have set your options, click the [Download] button to download.

To reset the options, click [Reset].

Import Language XML File Options

EITHER upload the XML file from your computer
File path to the file on your computer. If you leave this blank, the Language Manager assumes that you want to import the file from your server.

OR import the XML file from your server
Enter a file name complete with a server path that is relative to your main site directory.

For example, if the name of the language file is vbulletin-language.xml and you uploaded it to the install directory inside your main site directory, then the value you would enter is ./install/vbulletin-language.xml.

Overwrite Language
If you want to overwrite an existing language with the file you are uploading, select it from the picklist. Otherwise make sure (Create New Language) is selected.

Title for Uploaded Language
Name of the language as it appears on the site. If you are overwriting a language, that language will be renamed with this title; otherwise, your new language will be named with this title.

Ignore Language Version (default: Yes/No)
Whether or not to use the language even if it was created by a different version of vBulletin.

Warning:

Language data generally changes from version to version. If you are importing a language from an older version, these differences may cause problems.

Read Charset from XML File (default: Yes/No)
Whether or not to read the charset setting from the file header. If this option is set to No, ISO-8859-1 is used.

After you have set your options, click the [Import] button to upload.

To reset the options, click [Reset].

Data Format

Downloaded languages are in XML format. The XML for a language contains a <language> tag that provides information about the language, multiple <phrasetype> tags that denote each phrase type/group, and many <phrase> tags that describe the individual phrases.

The <phrase> tags here are very different from the <phrase> tags used in templates. An example language XML file looks like the following.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>

<language name="English (US)" vbversion="3.0.0">

   <phrasetype name="GLOBAL">
       <phrase name="1_day_ago"><![CDATA[1 Day Ago]]></phrase>
       <phrase name="1_hour_ago"><![CDATA[1 Hour Ago]]></phrase>
   </phrasetype>

   <phrasetype name="Control Panel Global">
       <phrase name="access"><![CDATA[Access]]></phrase>
       <phrase name="access_masks"><![CDATA[Access Masks]]></phrase>
       <phrase name="add"><![CDATA[Add]]></phrase>
   </phrasetype>

</language>

Find Updated Phrases

Path to Find Updated Phrases: Languages & Phrases > Find Updated Phrases.

vBulletin's default phrases are sometimes updated during product upgrades. In the Phrase Manager is a screen that shows you a list of customized phrases that might need to be edited or re-translated because the default phrases have changed.

If no no phrases have changed for which you have customized phrases, the following message appears when you go to Find Updated Phrases: All phrases are up-to-date.

If phrases for which you have customized phrases have changed, a screen similar to the following appears.

<<<Insert screenshot of changed phrases that also have custom phrases.>>>

To edit a custom phrase associated with a changed default phrase, click the [Edit] link to the right of the phrase. On the Edit page you can either modify or remove your customized phrase.

Help	Back to Top

The vBulletin Help manager allows you to create and maintain a dynamic and searchable document resource, which can be used for any purpose you see fit.

By default, vBulletin populates the Help with various helpful documents to instruct your users in how to use vBulletin, but you can edit these documents or create entirely new content if you wish.

Each entry for a Help-item can be translated into other languages that are installed on your board.

Help Manager

The FAQ manager can be found at FAQ > FAQ Manager.

Two levels of FAQ entries will be displayed at a time. If the title of an entry is linked, then you may click it to display any child entries; if the title is not linked, then the entry does not have any children.

To edit an entry’s text and translations, click [Edit].
To add a child entry with a specific FAQ entry as its parent, click [Add Child FAQ Item].
To delete an entry and any child entries, click [Delete].

Like forums, FAQ entries also have a display order; the lowest display orders within a level are displayed first.

Add or Edit a Help Item

To add a Help item, click Help -> Add New Help Item. You will be presented with a screen like this:

Varname – the variable name of the Help entry. This is used to uniquely identify an entry and can be linked to directly. You may only use a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and _.
Parent Help Item – parent Help entry. This item will be displayed under its parent.
Title – Help title. This is often the question it answers.
Text – the actual text of the Help entry. You may use HTML and $variables.
Display Order – controls when an entry is displayed within a level.

Below this, there will be a title and text box for each language. If you leave a box blank, the default text specified above will be used.

Notices

The following topics describe the Notices Manager and explain how to add and edit notices.

Notices Manager

Path to Notices Manager: Notices > Notices Manager

The Notices Manager is the primary page for working with notices. It lists all notices created by administrators for your site, and allows you to see at a glance the active status and display order of all notices defined in your system.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Notices Manager page. I suggest a single screenshot instead of the three that were used in the V4 docs.>>>

To add a new notice, click Add New Notice, which takes you to the Add New Notice page.

You can toggle the active status of all notices by checking or unchecking the Toggle Active Status for All checkbox.

To edit a notice, click its title or the Edit link associated with it.

To delete a notice, click the Delete link associated with it.

Each notice is displayed with 3 checkboxes and a text box containing a number. These represent the active status, the persistent nature of the notice, whether it is dismissible, and numbers representing the notice's display order.

If a notice is not active, it is never displayed to site visitors.

A notice that is not persistent is displayed only once per browser-session; otherwise, it is displayed throughout the browser session.

A message that is dismissible can be dismissed by the user.

The display order text box controls the order in which the notice is shown, both in the Notices Manager and to visitors. Display order also controls the order in which notices are checked, so it's important for the 'Notice x has not already been displayed' condition. Notices with the lowest numbers are displayed first.

You can make changes to display order rankings with the arrow buttons to the left and right of the display order text boxes.

Adding and Editing Notices

Path to Add a New Announcement: Notices > Notices Manager and then click Add New Notice or Notices > Add New Notice.

Path to Edit or Delete an Announcement: Announcements > Announcement Manager and then click either Edit or Delete

The Notices Manager provides controls to create and edit notices for your site, and to set up criteria for when each notice should appear.

The top part of the page deals primarily with the text and HTML tagging, while the bottom of the page sets up the display criteria.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Notice Details

<<<Insert a screenshot of the top half of the Add New Notice page, through the “Dismissible” radio buttons.>>>

Title
The title is an administrative convenience only to help in identifying notices. It is never shown to visiting users. You can add multiple translations of the title text using the Translations link.

Notice HTML
The Notice HTML textbox contains the text and HTML of the notice to be displayed to users when the active criteria are met.

Warning:

vBulletin allows any valid HTML tags here, so be sure not to include any tags that could potentially break your layout or allow site abuse.

You can use the special variables {userid}, {username}, {musername} and {sessionurl} in the HTML to personalize the notice text. For example, Hello, {username}, how are you? is replaced in the actual notice by Hello, John Doe, how are you? when John Doe is logged on.

Here is a more complex example, making use of the {sessionurl} variable to make links within the site work properly:

Hello, {musername].<br/>
<a href=”member.php?{sessionurl}u={userid}”View Your Profile</a>

Display Order
The Display Order text box controls the order in which the notices are shown, both in the Notices Manager and to visitors. Display order also controls the order in which notices are checked, so it's important for the 'Notice x has not already been displayed' condition.

Active
If a notice is not active, it is be displayed to visitors under any circumstances. The Active control is useful to use when you want to temporarily disable a notice without actually deleting it completely.

Persistent
A notice that is not persistent is displayed the first time a user visits the site and then disappears until he or she visits again (it is displayed once per browser-session).

Dismissible
A notice that is dismissible can be dismissed by the user after viewing.

Display Criteria

The lower part of the form contains controls to set up display criteria.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the bottom half of the Add New Notice page, starting with “Display this notice if...”>>>

To activate a criterion, check the box next to the criteria text, and then fill in any controls that are part of that criterion.

You can activate as many criteria as you like, but if any of the active criteria are not satisfied, the notice will not show. The following is a list of criteria you can use:

User Belongs to
Any user belonging to the selected usergroup will see the notice.

User does not belong to usegroup
Any user that does not belong to the selected usegroup will see the notice.

User is browsing forum
Any user browsing the selected forum will see the notice.

User is brown browsing forum... or one of its child forums
Any user browsing the selected forum or one of its child forums will see the notice.

User is browsing using style
Any user browsing the site using the selected style will see the notice.

User has not visited for (x) days or more
Any user who has not visited the site for the entered number of days or more will see the notice.

User has not posted for (x) days or more
Any user who has not posted for the entered number of days or more will see the notice.

User’s post count is between (x) and (y) posts
Any user whose post count falls between the two entered numbers will see the notice.

User has never posted
Any user who has never posted will see the notice.

User has between (x) and (y) reputation points
Any user whose reputation points falls between the entered numbers will see the notice.

User has between (x) and (y) infraction points
Any user whose infraction points falls between the entered numbers will see the notice.

Users private message storage is between (x)% and (y)% full
Any user whose message storage falls between the entered numbers will see the notice.

User’s username is
Any user who has a username that either matches or partially matches the entered username will see the notice.

User’s birthday is today
Any user who has a birthday on this day will see the notice.

User landed on this page via search engine
Any user who landed on the page via a search engine will see the notice.

User is in Global Ignore
Any user who is in Global Ignore will see the notice.

The date is (dd-mm-yyyy) (user’s timezone/universal time)
Any user on at the entered date will see the notice.

The time is between (hh:mm) and (hh:mm) (user’s timezone/universal time)
Any user on between the entered times will see the notice.

Criteria for notice ... are not met
If the criteria for the notice are not met, a user will still see the notice.

Announcements

If you need to inform your members of some news, or otherwise want to post something important on your site, you can post it as an announcement.

Announcements differ from threads in that they can appear in multiple forums simultaneously, and have a time period in which they are visible, then they disappear from view.

When there are multiple announcements posted at the same time, the latest one is listed on the top.

<<<Insert a screenshot of one or more announcements.>>>

You manage announcements from the Announcement Manager, which is accessible from the Announcements menu in the Admin CP.

<<<Insert a level setting screenshot of the initial page of the Announcement Manager.>>>

Announcement Manager

Path to Announcement Manager: Announcements > Announcement Manager

Announcements provide you with a way to distribute news and updates to your users. Announcements can be site-wide or channel-specific.

Each announcement displays its title, the user who created it, edit/delete controls, and its display time frame (how long it will be active).

The title of each announcement is displayed above the channel threads for as long as the announcement is active.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Announcement Manager page.>>>

The Announcement Manager page is divided up into two sections. In the top section are global announcements, if any are posted. These announcements are displayed at the top of every channel.

To edit or delete a global announcement, click Edit or Delete.

To add a global announcement, click New.

For more information, see Adding and Editing Announcements.

The bottom part of the Announcement Manager page is divided into channel categories, which list current announcements by channel and provide links to pages where you can edit or delete them, as well as links to pages where you can create new announcements.

To edit or delete a channel-specific announcement, click Edit or Delete to the right of the channel for which you want to create an announcement.

To add a channel-specific announcement, click New to the right of a channel for which you want to create an announcement.

For more information, see Adding and Editing Announcements.

Adding and Editing Announcements

Path to Add a New Announcement: Announcements > Post New Announcement

Path to Edit or Delete an Announcement: Announcements > Announcement Manager and then click New or Edit or Delete

Note:

The page on which you edit an existing announcement (Announcement: announcement_title) contains the field Reset Views Counter to Zero, which allows you to reset the views counter for the announcement as part of the edit process.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Post New Announcement page>>>

Channel
Choose the channel from the dropdown.

Title
Enter the title of the new announcement.

Start Date
Choose the month, and enter the day and year for the start date of the new announcement.

End Date
Choose the month, and enter the day and year for the end date of the new announcement.

Text
Enter the announcement text in the large text box. If you need more space you can increase the default size of the box.

Allow BB Code
Choose whether or not you will allow BB code to be used in the announcement. Not only will this allow you to use BB code tags such as [b] and [img], but all line breaks will automatically be converted to HTML line breaks. If you set this to No, then you must enable HTML and use <br /> for line breaks.

Allow Smilies
Choose whether or not you will allow smilies in the announcement. Setting this to Yes causes smilies such as :) to be parsed into the appropriate images.

Allow HTML
Choose whether or not you will allow HTML code. If you set this option to Yes, we recommend that you set Allow BB Code to No.

Automatically parse links in text
Choose whether or not to parse any links appearing in your text.

Show your signature
Choose whether or not to show your signature in the announcement.

Channel Management

An Introduction to Channels and Forums

What are channels?

Channels are nodes that can contain other nodes. Nodes are any content within vBulletin 5. They can be discussions, photos, links or channels among other content types.

In vBulletin 5, channels include: Forums, Blogs, Social Groups, Private Messages, Visitor Messages, User Albums, and Flagged (reported) Content. Additional Channels may be added in the future. Some channels can be maintained with the Channel Management (formerly Forum Management) tools in the Admin CP.

Others are hidden from view and maintained by the individual users. Such as the case with Blogs and Private Messages.

What are forums?
Forums are a type of channel that allow users to talk about various topics by starting discussions and making replies to those discussions. Forums can be sorted under categories with multiple sub-forums within them to further organize the discussions by topics.

Types of Forums and Using Them
Creating a usable forum structure is one of the integral parts of running a successful bulletin board. vBulletin allows you to create an infinite depth of forums and configure numerous settings related to the forum.

Some of the most common ways to setup individual forums include:

Category – this is a forum that people cannot post in; it is just used for grouping other forums.
'Normal' Forum – this is simply a regular forum that people can post in.
'Sub' Forum – this is a regular forum that people can post in and is a subset of a 'Normal' Forum.
Link Forum – this really is not a forum at all. It is just a link to another web page; it could be another forum, or it could be an entirely different site.
Archive Forum – this forum was once a 'Normal Forum', but is now just used as an archive for old information.

Channel Manager

Channel Manager

The Channel Manager, accessible via Channel Management> Channel Manager, is where you can choose to do a portion of your channel management. This is in addition to the management that you can do through the Site Builder function. Unlike the Site Builder, the Channel Manager gives you an overview of all the Channels in a central location.

When you enter this section, you will be presented with a screen similar to this:

Forum
Each row in the table is a channel in the database. In the first column, Title, you will see the name of the forum; clicking the name will allow you to edit the forum’s information.

Controls
The dropdown list in the next column of the Channel Manager has several options and will take you to other parts of vBulletin 5. The following is a list of the options and what they do:

Edit Forum - this takes you to a page where you can edit each of the selected channel’s settings.
View Forum - this displays the channel on the front end, allowing you to see the information posted to it.
Delete Forum - this allows you to remove the channel from the database. If this channel has any sub-channels, they will also be removed.
Add Child Forum - this takes you to the Add New Forum page with this forum automatically selected as the new forum’s parent.
Add Moderator - this allows you to specify a new moderator for this channel.
Add Announcement - this allows you to create a new announcement to be displayed at the top of the selected channel.
View Permissions - this displays the Channel Permissions Manager and scrolls to the selected channel.

Display Order
This controls the order in which the channels are displayed.

Moderators
The options in this dropdown list allow you to view and add moderators for a channel.

Moderators (x) – this simply displays the number of moderators for this forum. It is not a clickable link.
Add Moderators – this opens a form for you to add new moderators to the channel.

Adding or Editing a Channel

To add a new forum to your site in the AdminCP, go to Channel Management > Add new Channel. You will be presented with a form containing numerous settings. These settings are detailed below:

Create Channel Based off of Channel (dropdown list)
Selecting a channel from the dropdown list will copy the layout for the selected channel for the new channel.

Title
This is the name of the channel

Description
This is a description of the channel

Display Order
This is the display order of the channel on the main page of your site

Parent Forum
This is the channel that the channel you’re editing is listed under

Custom Style for this Forum
This is the style that the channel is using

Override Users’ Style Choice (Yes/No)
If activated, this overrides an individual user’s style choice with the style chosen for the channel

Act as Forum (Yes/No)
If activated, this option changes the channel to a category

Adding and Editing Moderators

Path to Add Moderator: Channel Management > Channel Manager, click the relevant pull-down list in the Moderators column, and select Add Moderator.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<<Add a screenshot of the Moderator Manager.>>>

Add New Moderator to Channel

Channel this user will moderate. Also applies to sub-channels.

Add one or more moderator usernames. Separate multiple usernames with a semicolon (;).

Usergroup Options

You can change the user’s usergroup when he or she becomes a moderator in the Change Moderator’s Primary Usergroup to. The most common setup is to put all moderators into a Moderators usergroup that then has access to a one or more channels.

If you do not want to move the moderator to a different usergroup but instead want to add that user to one or more groups, making him or her a secondary user in those groups, you can do so in the Make Moderator a Member of option.

Once you are in this panel, you can specify or change the options for a moderator. The options can be set in the following groups:

Change Moderator's Primary Usergroup to
This option allows you to change this user's primary usergroup he or she becomes a moderator. Often it is convenient to have moderators in a specific usergroup to give them special permissions.

Make Moderator a Member of
To add a moderator to one or more usergroups, making him or her a secondary user in those usergroups, select one or more usergroups in the check boxes.

Post / Thread Permissions

Can Edit Posts - (Yes/No)
Determines whether a moderator can edit other users' posts. They will still be able to edit their own posts (if their usergroup permission allows) even if you set this to No.

Can Delete Posts - (Yes/No)
Determines whether a moderator can delete and undelete posts.

Can Physically Delete Posts - (Yes/No)
Determines whether a moderator can delete and undelete posts.

Can Open / Close Threads - (Yes/No)
Determines whether or not this moderator can open and close threads. A closed thread appears with a lock on it and no one can reply to it except administrator and moderators.

Can Edit Threads - (Yes/No)
Determines whether or not this moderator can edit a thread's title and post icon.

Can Manage Threads - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can edit the rest of the thread permissions (for example, stick, merge, split).

Sticking a thread will make it always appear at the top of the thread listing. Merging allows a moderator to combine the posts of two threads into one thread. Splitting allows a moderator to split the posts from one thread into two threads.

Can Edit Polls - (Yes/No)
Determines whether or not this moderator can edit poll options and results within his or her forum.

Channel Permissions

Can Post Announcements - (Yes/No)
Determines whether or not this moderator can post announcements in this channel.

This permission allows this user to post announcements containing arbitrary HTML, which can be a security concern. Only grant this permission if you trust this person.

Can Moderate Posts - (Yes/No)
If post moderation is enabled in this moderator's channel, this permission allows the moderator to approve posts awaiting moderation. The moderator will also be allowed to send
posts back into moderation.

Can Moderate Attachments - (Yes/No)
If attachment moderation is enabled in this moderator's channel, this permission allows this moderator to approve attachments awaiting moderation.

Can Mass-Move Threads - (Yes/No)
Allows this moderator to mass-move threads out of his or her channel.

Can Mass-Prune Threads - (Yes/No)
Allows this moderator to mass-prune from his or her channel.

Can Set Channel Password - (Yes/No)
If this channel has a password, this permission allows this moderator to change it.

Visitor Message Permissions

Can Edit Posts - (Yes/No)
When this permission is set to Yes, it allows the moderator to edit visitor messages.

Can Delete Posts - (Yes/No)
When this permission is set to Yes, it allows the moderator to delete visitor messages.

Can Physically Delete Posts - (Yes/No)
When this permission is set to Yes, it allows the Moderator to physically remove group messages from the database.

Can Moderate Posts - (Yes/No)
When this permission is set to Yes, it allows the moderator to make visitor messages visible or invisible.

Groups Permissions

Can Edit Groups - (Yes/No)
When this permission is set to Yes, it allows the moderator to edit the title and description of any group.

Can Delete Groups - (Yes/No)
When this permission is set to Yes, it allows the moderator to delete any groups.

Can Transfer Groups - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can transfer groups.

Can Edit Pictures - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can edit pictures.

Can Delete Pictures - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can edit pictures.

Can Moderate Pictures - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can moderate pictures.

Can Edit Posts - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can edit posts..

Can Moderate Posts - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can moderate posts..

Can Delete Posts - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can delete posts..

Can Physically Delete Posts - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can remove group messages from the database.

Can Edit Discussions - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can edit discussions.

Can Moderate Discussions - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can moderate discussions.

Can Delete Discussions - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can delete discussions.

Can Physically Delete Discussions - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can delete discussions from the database.

User Permissions

Can View IP Addresses - (Yes/No)
Every post has an IP address recorded with it. This permission allows the moderator to click the IP address link in a post and view the IP address.

Can View Whole User Profile (but not edit) - (Yes/No)
This permission allows the moderator to view a user's entire profile, as it appears in the Admin CP. It does not give this moderator permission to edit a user's profile.

Can Ban Users - (Yes/No)
This permission allows this moderator to ban users, temporarily or permanently.

Can Restore Banned Users - (Yes/No)
This permission allows the moderator to restore banned users.

Can Edit User Signatures - (Yes/No)
This permission allows the moderator to edit user signatures.

Can Edit User Avatars - (Yes/No)
This permission allows the moderator to edit user avatars.

Can Edit User Profile Pictures - (Yes/No)
This permission allows the moderator to edit user profile pictures.

Can Edit User Reputation Comments - (Yes/No)
This permission allows the moderator to edit user reputation comments.

User Album Permissions

Can Edit Albums/Pictures - (Yes/No)
Whether or not the moderator can edit albums and pictures.

Can Delete Albums/Pictures - (Yes/No)
Whether or not the moderator can delete albums and pictures.

Can Moderate Pictures - (Yes/No)
Whether or not the moderator can moderate pictures.

Can Edit Picture Comments - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can edit picture comments.

Can Delete Picture Comments - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can delete picture comments.

Can Physically Delete Picture Comments - (Yes/No)
Whether or not this moderator can remove picture comments from the database.

Can Moderate Picture Comments - (Yes/No)
Whether this moderator can moderate picture comments.

Email Preferences

Receive Email When a New Thread is Created - (Yes/No)
Enabling this option notifies this moderator by email whenever a new thread is created. This is useful for low traffic forums that require close moderation.

Receive Email When a New Post is Created - (Yes/No)
Enabling this option notifies this moderator by email whenever a new post is created. This is useful for low traffic forums that require close moderation.

Channel Permissions

This page (Channel Management > Channel Permissions) is simply a link to the Channel Permissions form. That section is detailed in the Channel Permissions Manager section.

Moderator Permissions

Path to Show All Moderators: Channel Management > Show All Moderators.
Show All Moderators shows a list of moderators and super moderators, as well as when each was last online. On this page you can edit moderator information and permissions, as well as remove moderators, but you cannot add a moderator; you must do that in the Channel Manager.

Note:

You can combine super moderator and moderator permissions for a more granular approach.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Last online key.>>>

Last Online - Color Key
This section explains the color coding used to indicate when the moderators and super moderators were last online (for example, Today is black and Yesterday is green).

<<<Insert a screenshot of the super moderator section.>>>

Super Moderators
Moderators that have super moderator permissions are listed here.
To edit a super moderator, click a username, which takes you to the User Manager.
To edit a super moderator’s permissions click Edit Permissions, which takes you to a permissions page in the Moderator Manager.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the moderator section.>>>

Moderators
Moderators that do not have super moderator permissions, along with the channels for which they are responsible, are listed here.
To edit a moderator, click a username, which takes you to the User Manager.
To remove this person from moderating all channels, click Remove this Moderator from All Channels.
To edit a moderator’s permissions for a specific channel or to delete a moderator from a specific channel, click Edit or Remove next to the appropriate channel.

View Permissions

The View Permissions section, accessible via Channel Management > View Permissions, allows you to view what permissions a specific usergroup will have in a forum. This allows you to check that you have setup your forum-permission structure correctly.

Use the Channel and Usergroup dropdown menus to view the channel and usergroup for which you’d like to view permissions. Next, check the specific permissions you want to view with the search result. If you’re unsure which wants you want to see, check the Check All checkbox to the left of the Forum Permissions header.

When you’re done, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Find button. This will reload the page with the search results that matches the criteria you searched for.

This displays what each permission you selected is set to. In this example, the Administrators group has full permissions in the Main Forum.

Topic Prefixes

The Topic Prefix Manager

Path to the Topic Prefix Manager: Topic Prefixes > Topic Prefix Manager

The Topic Prefix Manager is where you create new prefixes and prefix sets, and edit existing prefixes and prefix sets. Prefixes and prefix sets are shown in the order they will actually display in your Create Topic form; you can quickly change this order by changing the numbers in the Display Order column and clicking "Save Display Order".

Adding or Editing a Prefix Set

Path to add a new Prefix Set: Topic Prefixes > Add New Prefix Set

Before you can create any prefixes, you must create one or more prefix sets. Prefix sets are simply a way of tying together related prefixes. When you select which channels will allow prefixes, you will enable one or more prefix sets for the channel.

The following options are on the page for adding/editing a prefix set:

Prefix Set ID - This is the unique identifier for this prefix set. Only one set can have this value and the value may only contain A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and _ (underscores) only. Once you pick a prefix set id, you will not have a chance to change it (it will not be editable when editing the prefix set).
Title - This is the title of this prefix set. You should not use any special HTML markup. It will be shown when administering content prefixes or if a user must choose between prefixes in more than one set.
Use Prefix Set in These Forums - Prefix sets must be attached to forums before they can be used. Select the forum or forums this prefix set will be available in using this field. Once you do this, when a user creates a new topic in a selected forum, he or she will be able to select a prefix from this set.
Display Order - The sorting order for sets. Sets with lower values will be shown before sets with higher values. Note that the display order setting for individual prefixes only controls their order within the set.

Adding or Editing a Prefix

Path to add new prefixes: Topic Prefixes > Topic Prefix Manager > click Add Prefix next to the Topic Prefix Set

Once you have created a prefix set, you may add any number of prefixes to that set. If a thread has a prefix applied to it, the prefix will show anywhere the thread title shows. For that reason, you must define two versions of the prefix: a plain text version and a rich text version. See below for more information.

The following options are on the page for adding/editing a prefix set:

Prefix ID - This is the unique identifier for this prefix. Only one prefix can have this value and the value may only contain A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and _ (underscores) only. It will be the id used in the URL to select other threads with this prefixid. Once you pick a prefix set id, you will not have a chance to change it (it will not be editable when editing the prefix set).
Prefix Set - The set this prefix is to be placed in. This prefix will only be selectable in forums that have this set enabled. If you change this set, topics that can no longer use this prefix will have it removed!
Title (Plain Text) - This is the title of the prefix, using no special markup. This will be shown in the prefix list menu, when the topic title is shown in the navigation bar, or when the topic title is used in an email. example - For Sale
Title (Rich Text) - This is also the title of the prefix, but you may use HTML to add additional markup to the title. This version of the prefix will be shown in a list of topics and within the thread itself. example of a red prefix title - <span style=”color: red;”>For Sale</span> - which will display as For Sale
Display Order - The sort order for this prefix. Lower values will be displayed first within the selected prefix set.

If the topic title is a link to view the topic, the prefix will generally not be linked. However, the prefix will be included in the link if the topic title is used in the navigation bar.

Prefixes will also be placed directly before a thread title, with only a space separating them. For this reason, you will probably want to include something to make the prefix stand out from the title. In the rich text value, this could be color, italics, or an image (For Sale). However, in the plain text version, you may need to include a colon or square brackets ("For Sale:" or "[For Sale]").

Moderation

The Moderation section is where you will find tools for you or your moderators to check on the various moderation queues that exist in vBulletin.

For example, if you have chosen to moderate all posts before they are viewable, the 'Moderate Posts' link will show you the Post Moderation List, where you can approve or reject posts that have been made by your members.

Unsubscribe Topics

To access the Unsubscribe panel, click the following: Threads & Posts > Unsubscribe.

On this page, you will be presented with two options for managing the thread subscriptions for your users.

Unsubscribe All Users from Specific Threads allows you to quickly remove all thread subscriptions from specific threads. Enter the thread IDs of the threads you wish to unsubscribe all users from; separate each with a space.

To obtain the thread ID, find the thread you want to remove. The link to the thread should look like http://www.example.com/forum_title/x-thread_title where forum_title is the forum title, thread_title is the thread title, and x is the thread ID you want. You would enter x into the form on this page. If there are multiple thread IDs, then separate them by spaces (not commas).

Unsubscribe All Threads from Specific Users allows you to quickly remove all of a user’s thread subscriptions. One reason you might do this is if the user’s email has been bouncing recently. However, this is not a temporary removal; you will not be able to restore the subscriptions in the future.

Here, you specify:

User Name – name of the user whose subscriptions you wish to remove.
Find All Threads Older Than X Days – allows you to only remove subscriptions to threads that are more than this number of days old.
Channel – allows you to only remove subscriptions to threads in specific channels.

Strip Poll from Topic

To access the Strip Poll from Topic panel, click the following: Threads & Posts > Strip Poll.

If you wish to remove a poll from a thread, you would click on the Strip Poll option and you will be presented with a simple form:

To remove the poll from a thread, you simply need to enter the thread ID that the poll is contained in. To obtain the thread ID, find the thread you want to remove the poll from. The link to the thread should look like http://www.example.com/forum_title/x-thread_title where forum_title is the forum title, thread_title is the thread title, and x is the thread id you want. You would enter x into the form on this page.

Once you have found this, submit the form. You will receive a screen where you can confirm that this is the correct poll. Simply submit that to remove the poll.

Tags	Back to Top

Path to Tags: Tagging > Tags.

A tag is a metadata keyword or term string attached to a content item. Once the tag is attached, it can be used in a search for content.

vBulletin tagging allows users to apply their own keywords (tags) to most content types. This allows users to categorize items based on their actual content.

Tags can contain any character except a comma, which is used to separate multiple tags. Additionally, you cannot add tags with the following characteristics.

Have less than an administrator-specified number of characters. The default is 3.
Have over 25 characters. (This is the default value. You can change it with the "Tag Maximum Length" option.)
Contain any censored words.
Are in a list of common words that you create yourself.

This page allows you to manage the existing tags:

By default, tags are shown alphabetically and paginated. If you want to see which tags have been added recently, you can click the Display Newest link.

Below this, you can add a new tag or control synonyms:

To add a new tag, type it into the text box and click Save.

You can manipulate synonyms by checking one or more tags in the tag list and then using the pulldown list to select one of:

Merge Selected as Synonyms
Promote Synonyms to Tags
Delete Selected

If you merge selected tags as synonyms, the tags will be merged with the new tag that you specify. The old tags will be considered synonyms of the new tag. Any content associations for the affected tags will be updated to use the new tag and synonyms will automatically replaced by the main tag when they are added to content items in the future. If the new tag does not already exist, it will be created.

Tagging Options

Path to Tagging Options: Settings > Options > Tagging Options

Enable Thread Tagging (Yes/No)
Whether or not to enable or disable the thread tagging system. You can choose which usergroups can apply tags to threads in the usergroup permissions section.

Tag Minimum Length (default: 3)
The minimum number of characters in a tag name. This can be between 1 and 100.

Tag Maximum Length (default:25)
The maximum number of characters in a tag name. This can be between 0 and 100.

Thread Tag Banned Words (default: none)
These words will be checked in addition to those listed in includes/searchwords.php to form a list of words whose use is banned in tagging.

Separate each word with a space or carriage return.

Thread Tag Allowed Words (default: none)
Words entered here will be allowed as tags, regardless of whether or not their use would be otherwise disallowed due to length, censorship, commonality etc.

If a word is specified in the “Banned” words group and here, it will be allowed.

Separate each word with a space or carriage return.

Tag Separators (default: none)
You can specify additional separators for tags. The comma is the default separator and cannot be removed, regardless of what is set here.

Place a space between each separator. For example, "| &" would mean that tags would be separated by a comma (,), pipe (|), or ampersand (&). Separators can be multiple characters.

If you want to include a space as a separator or within a separator, wrap the separator in { and }. For example, to make space a separator, you would use "{ }". To put a space within a separator, you would use "{| |}", This would mean that to separate tags you would have to enter "| |".

Note:

Adding separators might make previous tags unusable. For example, if you had a tag "American cars" and added space as a separator, users that try to add that tag will add two tags, "American" and "cars".

Maximum Tags per Thread (default: 25)
The maximum total tags per thread. No user can add more tags than this to an individual thread.

0 disables this.

Maximum Tags Applied by Thread Starter (default: 5)
The maximum number of tags the thread starter can apply. Even if this setting allows it, the number of tags in a thread cannot exceed the "Maximum Tags per Thread" setting.

0 disables this limit. To prevent a user from tagging a thread, use usergroup permissions.

Maximum Tags Applied by Other Users (default: 2)
The maximum number of tags users other than the thread starter can apply. Even if this setting allows it, the number of tags in a thread cannot exceed the "Maximum Tags per Thread" setting.

0 disables this limit. To prevent a user from tagging a thread, use user group permissions.

Force Tags to be Lower Case (Yes/No)
Whether or not "A" through "Z" will be replaced with "a" through "z" in tag names. Other characters will not be changed.

Tag Cloud: Number of Tags (default: 70)
The maximum number of tags to display in the tag cloud.

Tag Cloud: Number of Levels (default: 5)
The number of levels to be shown in the tag cloud.

By default, there are 5 levels named level1 to level5, with the font size growing from its smallest size at level 1 to its largest at level 5.

Increasing this value above 5 requires a template change.

Tag Cloud: Cache Time (default: 30)
Amount of time in minutes before the tag cloud data cache is regenerated.

A value of 0 will generate the tag cloud on each view.

Tag Cloud: Usage History (Days) (default: 365)
The number of days’ worth of data that should be used to generate the usage-based tag cloud here.

Tags added more than this many days ago will not change the size of the link in the cloud.

Tag Cloud: Build Usergroup
The tag cloud pulls together data from threads in many channels. Users might not be able to see all the threads that make up the tag cloud results. With this option, you can force the tag cloud to be built as if it were viewed by a particular usergroup.

Live permission checking is the most accurate, but disables the above specified caching.

Enable Search Tag Cloud (Yes/No)
Whether or not a tag cloud relating to the frequency of tag searches is shown at the bottom of the advanced search.

A usage-based tag cloud is always shown here.

Search Tag Cloud: History (Days) (default: 30)
Number of days the system will keep a record of tag searches for use in the search tag cloud.

0 means to use all data available.

Attachments

Path to attachment functionality: AdminCP > Attachments

vBulletin supports attachments (file uploads associated with vBulletin replies) in a number of file types, including text files, PDF files, and ZIP files.

Attachment-related tasks use the Attachment Manager, which you can reach through the Attachments menu and its submenus.

An Introduction to Attachments

Attachments are file uploads associated with vBulletin replies. vBulletin supports a number of attachment file types, including images, text files, PDF files, and ZIP files.

Key features of the vBulletin attachment functionality include the following:

Multiple attachments can be associated with a single reply.
Multiple attachments can be uploaded in a single operation.
Attachments can have smaller, thumbnail versions.
Attachments can be moderated.
You have full administrative control over file type, file size, and image dimension.
You can search and sort attachments in the Admin CP.
You can store attachments in either the database or the file system.
Users can manage their own attachments from their User CP.

Additional Information About vBulletin Attachments

You can set attachment permissions at the usergroup level. For example, vBulletin allows you to limit the total size of all of a user's attachments at the usergroup level. This is useful in preventing a single user from taking up too much storage space.

You can store attachments in either the database or the file system attached to your web server. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. The database is more efficient with storage space and is easier to back up than individual files. However, attachments served up from the database take additional time and resources. Other considerations include how you want to restrict access to attachments and whether you want to use the vBulletin permission system or directory permissions like htaccess.

vBulletin attachment options allow you to specify a maximum filesize for each type of file you allow in your system. This capability is useful in restricting the size of larger files like videos and images.

The vBulletin attachment system supports thumbnails. For example, you can configure vBulletin to generate a miniature version of the image (called a thumbnail) that is linked to the larger version. This capability is useful in preventing large inline image attachments from stretching your site layout.

If you are using the ImageMagick library, you might be able to create thumbnails from additional image types, for example BMP, TIF, PSD, and PDF. Be sure to install the latest version of ImageMagick if you intend to allow thumbnail PDF files.

General Attachment Settings

You manage vBulletin attachments in the following three task categories and areas of the Admin CP.

Set Message Attachment Options
Go to Settings > Options > Message Attachment Options.

For more information, see the Message Attachment Options article.

Set the Upload Attachments and Can Download Attachments Permissions
Go to Usergroups > Channel Permissions.

For more information, see the Adding and Editing Channel Permissions article.

Do Additional Attachment Management Tasks
Go to the Attachments menu and select the relevant submenus, which enable the following tasks:

Set attachment permissions
Search attachments
Moderate attachments
Get attachment statistics
Set the allowed attachment storage type (database or file system)

For more information, see the relevant topics in this section of the product documentation.

Attachment Manager

Path to Attachment ManagerAttachments > Attachment Manager.

Using the vBulletin Attachment Manager, you can specify the types of attachments (for example, JPB, GIF, or PDF) you want to allow users to upload to your site, the maximum filesize for a given attachment, the maximum dimensions for an image attachment, and whether or not as well as how thumbnails can be created from full-size images.

When you open the Attachment Manager, you are shown a tabular summary of the currently allowed attachment file types and their characteristics.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Attachment Manager home screen.>>>

The form has five columns. Each column displays a piece of information for the extensions. The information is as follows:

Extension - the name of the extension
Maximum File-size - the maximum file-sized allowed for the named extension
Max Width - the maximum width allowed for the named extension if it’s an image
Max Height - the maximum height allowed for the named extension if it’s an image
Controls - the options for editing, deleting, or viewing the permissions on the named extensions

From the Attachment Manager home screen you can do any of the following tasks:

To add a new attachment extension, click the Add New Extensiont button at the bottom of the screen.
To edit the characteristics of an existing extension, click the Edit link in the picklist to the right of the filetype name.
To delete
To specify usergroup permissions for an extension, click the View Permisisons link in the picklist to the right of the filetype name.

Adding Attachment Types

Path to adding new extensions: Attachments > Attachment Manager, and click the click the Add New Attachment button at the bottom of the screen.

Following is the Add New Attachment form of the Attachment Manager.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Add New Attachment form of the Attachment Manager.>>>

The following are the options you can set in the Add New Extension form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Extension
Extension of the allowed file type.

Example: jpg, in lowercase letters without the leading period (.).

Max Filesize (in bytes)
Maximum filesize for individual attached files of this extension.

Take your overall site storage limitations into consideration in deciding what size files to allow. You also need to consider the MySQL and PHP settings that affect the maximum file size you can upload.

Generally one megabyte is a good rule of thumb. If you need larger files and find yourself not able to post them, you'll need to ask for support via our ticket system or on the support forums.

Maximum Width (in pixels)
Maximum width of an uploaded image. This setting applies only to some image types. By default we include all image types that support this option.

This only applies to image files of the extensions: bmp, gif, jpe, jpg, jpeg, png, psd, tif and tiff.

Maximum Height (in pixels)
Maximum height of an uploaded image. This setting applies only to some image types. By default we include all image types that support this option.

This only applies to image files of the extensions: bmp, gif, jpe, jpg, jpeg, png, psd, tif and tiff.

Mime Type
The mime type dictates how the browser handles the files when the attachment is opened. General mime-type lists are available on the Internet.

If you leave this option blank, the user’s browser will probably prompt for save.

Content Type
This section gives you the option of adding the extension to specific parts of the your vBulletin. The columns are as follows:

Product - the name of the product that users can add an attachment with the named extension

Location - the location where that users can add an attachment with the named extension

New Window - whether or not the attachment is opened in a new windows.

Enabled (Yes/No)
Controls whether or not this attachment type is allowed to be uploaded.

Attachment Permissions

There are multiple administrative areas of vBulletin where you can control attachment permissions. Here are the paths to the various areas in the Admin CP:

Attachments > Attachment Permissions where (in the Attachment Permissions Manager) you can control attachments by file extension (for example, jpg or pdf). For more information, see the Managing Attachment Permissions article.

Settings > Options > Message Attachment Options where you can set general options for message attachments (for example, limit the total space taken up to attachments or allow duplicate attached images). For more information, see the Managing Attachment Permissions article.

Usergroups > Usergroup Manager, where you can control downloading and uploading attachments. For more information, see the Adding and Editing A Usergroup article.

Usergroups > Channel Permissions, where (in the Channel Permissions Manager) you can control downloading and uploading attachments, creating attachments, and moderating attachments. For more information, see the Adding and Editing Channel Permissions article.

Channel Management > Channel Permissions, where (in the Channel Permissions Manager) you can control downloading and uploading attachments, creating attachments, and moderating attachments. For more information, see the Adding and Editing Channel Permissions article.

Managing Attachment Permissions

Path to Attachment Permissions: Attachments > Attachment Permissions.

You edit attachment permissions (at the attachment type level) in the Attachment Permissions Manager, Attachment Permissions form.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Attachment Permissions Manager, Attachment Permissions form.>>>

The Attachment Permissions form displays a list of all allowed attachment extensions on your site with a list under each extension (for example, jpg or pdf) of of the usergroups authorized to use each one.

The display is color coded. Red indicates that a usergroup has a custom attachment permission specified for this channel. If no custom attachment permission has been specified, the usergroup is assigned the default attachment extension permissions.

To the right of each extension name are two links:

[Reset], which automatically deletes any custom permissions set for the extension.
[Deny All], which automatically denies every usergroup permission to upload the extension.

To edit or add an attachment permission, locate the appropriate extension and usergroup, and click the Edit link.

The following form opens.

<<<Insert a screenshot of Edit Attachment for Usergroup.>>>

At the top of the screen are radio buttons that allow you to select one of the following choices:

Use Usergroup Default Permissions for this extension
Use Custom Permissions

Choosing the “Use Default Permissions” option cancels any custom permissions previously set.

If you choose Use Custom Permissions you can set the permissions in the bottom part of the screen.

Following is the superset of options you can set in the Edit Attachment Permissions for Usergroup form (note that not all options apply to all extension types).

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Can use this extension (Yes/No)
Whether or not the usergroup can upload files with this extension.

Max Filesize (default depends on extension type)
Maximum filesize of the extension, in bytes.

There are multiple vBulletin configuration options that limit the maximum size of uploaded files. Look at the quick stats on the Admin CP home page for the current settings.

Maximum Width (default depends on extension type)
Maximum width of the attachment, in pixels.

This option applies only to files with extensions bmp, gif, jpe, jpg, jpeg, png, psd, tif, and tiff.

Maximum Height (default depends on extension type)
Maximum width of the attachment, in pixels.

This option applies only to files with extensions bmp, gif, jpe, jpg, jpeg, png, psd, tif, and tiff.

Attachment Storage Type

Path to Attachment Storage Type: Attachments > Attachment Storage Type.

In vBulletin you have the choice of storing attachments in your site database or file system.

By default vBulletin stores attachments in the database, because every server that supports vBulletin can use this method. However, not every server can store attachments in the file system.

Following are some factors to consider in choosing which storage method to use.

Storing Attachments in the Database

Pros
- Backing up your database also backs up your attachments
- Does not consume any of your file system storage limits (unless MySQL storage counts)
Cons
- Can increase server load on large sites

Storing Attachments in the File System

Pros
- Better performance for large sites
- Easier to back up your database
Cons
- Does not work if SAFE MODE is enabled on your server
- Need to back up attachments separately from database
- Consumes space on your file system

Users

User Moderation

Adding or Editing a User

Path to Adding or Editing a User: Users > Add New User

Profile

User Name
Name that will identify the user.

Password
Password this user will use to log in.

Note:

If you are editing a user, you will not be able to see this user’s password. Leave this field blank to keep the password as-is.

Email
Email address of the user.

Language (default: User Forum Default)
Language in which the user will view the site.

User Title (Yes, user set / Yes, admin set (HTML allowed) / No
Title displayed under this user’s name in posts.

If you want to set a custom title here, be sure to change the Custom User Title option, as well.

Custom User Title (Yes/No)
Settings in effect for the User Title option. If this is set to No, the user will receive the default title for his or her usergroup; otherwise, the user will receive the title specified above.

Home Page
User’s home page, which will be linked to from his or her profile and posts.

Birthday
User’s birthday.

Privacy (default: Hide Age and Date of Birth)
Controls how the birthday is displayed to others. The options are:

Hide Age and Date of Birth - no one but the user sees the birthday
Display Only Age - other users will see the user’s age, calculated by their birthday
Display Only Day and Month of Birth - other users will only see the day and month of the user’s birthday
Display Age and Full Date of Birth

Signature
User’s signature.

HTML, vBulletin code, and smilies are parsed according to your settings in Settings> Options> User Profile Options

ICQ UIN
User’s ICQ number, if he or she has one.

AIM Screen Name
User’s AIM screen name, if he or she has one.

Yahoo! ID
User’s Yahoo! handle, if he or she has one.

MSN ID
User’s MSN handle, if he or she has one.

Skype Name
User’s Skype name, if he or she has one.

COPPA User (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user is a COPPA user.

If the user is under 13 and you are using the COPPA system, set this option to Yes.

Parent Email Address
If the user is a COPPA user, then this address will receive an email every time this user changes his or her profile.

Referrer
User name that referred this user.

IP Address
User’s IP address at registration.

Post Count
User’s post count.

Image Options

Avatar
Allows you to edit the user avatar.

Profile Picture
Allows you to edit the user profile picture.

Signature Picture
Allows you to edit the user’s signature picture.

Warning:

Choosing one of these options will automatically submit any changes.

User Profile Fields
Biography
Allows you to edit the user’s biography.
Location
Allows you to edit the user’s location.
Interests
Allows you to edit the user’s interests.
Occupation
Allows you to edit the user’s occupation.

Usergroup Options
Primary Usergroup
The user’s primary usergroup.

See the Usergroup and Permissions section for more information.

Additional Usergroups
The user’s secondary usergroups.

See the Usergroup and Permissions section for more information.

Reputation

Display Reputation (Yes/No)
Whether or not to display the user’s reputation score with his or her posts.

Reputation Level (default: 10)
The user’s actual reputation score. A higher level is better.

Current Reputation Power
The user’s calculated reputation power. You cannot change this directly.

Infractions

Warnings
Number of warnings for this user.

Infractions
Number of infractions for this user.

Infraction Points
Number of infraction points for this user.

Browsing Options

Receive Admin Emails (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user receives emails sent by the administrator through the control panel.

Receive Email from Other Users (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user’s email button is displayed, allowing members to send email to him or her.

Invisible Mode (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user is invisible. This prevents the user’s current activity status from being displayed to other users.

Allow vCard Download (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user can download vCards.

Receive Private Messages (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user has enabled private messaging.

Receive Private Messages only from Contacts and Moderators (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user has enabled private messaging only from contacts and moderators.

Send Notification Email When a Private Message is Received (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user will receive a notification email when he or she receives a new private message.

Pop up a Notification Box When a Private Message is Received (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user receives a popup window when he or she has received a private message.

Save a copy of sent messages in my Sent Items folder by default Yes/No)
Whether or not a copy of sent messages is kept for the user.

Enable Visitor Messaging (Yes/No)
Whether or not visitor messaging will be enabled for this user.

Limit usage of Visitor Messages to Contacts and Moderators (Yes/No)
Whether or not to allow messaging with contacts and moderators.

Display Signatures Inline (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user sees signatures after posts.

Display Avatars (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user sees avatars.

Display Images (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user sees attachments and IMG tags inline.

Show Other Users' Custom Profile Styles (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user will see customized Profile Styles on other users’ profiles.

Receive Friend Request Notification (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user will receive an email notification of new friend requests.

Automatic Thread Subscription Mode (default: Do not subscribe)
Controls the user’s default thread subscription mode. This can vary from no subscription to instant emails to weekly digests.

Thread Display Mode (default: Linear, Oldest First)
Controls how the user views threads by default. The user may select linear along with post ordering, hybrid, or threaded.

Message Editor Interface (default: Show Standard Editor Toolbar)
Controls the type of editor that the user sees. Choices include no toolbar; the standard editor toolbar, which has buttons to include vB code; and the WYSIWYG editor, which will show users what their post will actually look like (e.g., red text will be red in the editor).

Style (default: Use Forum Default)
Controls the default style that this user uses to browse the forums.

Admin Override Options

Keep Custom Avatar (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user keeps his or her custom avatar in the event that he or she loses permission to upload custom avatars.

If the user is moved to an usergroup that doesn't allow custom avatars, the user's avatar will not be visible in posts, their profile, and the member's list unless this option is enabled.

This option does not allow the user to change his or her avatar. Usergroup permission is required to accomplish that task.

If the admin changes or gives an a user a custom avatar when the user doesn't have usergroup permission to have one, this option will be automatically enabled.

Keep Custom Profile Pic (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user keeps his or her profile picture in the event that he or she loses permission to upload profile pictures.

If the user is moved to an usergroup that doesn't allow profile pictures, the user's picture will not be visible in his or her profile or on the members’ list unless this option is enabled.

This option does not allow users to change their pictures. Usergroup permission is required to accomplish that task. If the admin changes or gives an a user a profile picture when the user doesn't have usergroup permission to have one, this option will be automatically enabled.

Time Options

Timezone
Controls how the times will be displayed for this user.

Automatically detect DST settings (Yes/No)
Whether or not automatic daylight savings time (DST) detection is used for the user.

Is DST current in effect
Whether or not DST is currently in effect, essentially changing the user’s time zone by one hour.

Default View Age (default: Show all threads)
Controls the default cutoff date for threads on the forum display page.

Join Date
The day the user registered.

Last Visit
The time of the user’s last visit. This is the time used to determine what posts are new.

Last Activity
The time the user was last active. This is the time the user last loaded a page.

Last Post
The time of the user’s latest post.

External Connections
Facebook Connected
Whether or not there is a connection to a user Facebook account.

Editing Access Masks

Warning:

Access Masks are not valid in vBulletin 5. They are maintained to show permissions from older versions

Path to Access Mask Manager: Users > Access Masks

Although membership in multiple groups is a good way to create exceptions to rules set up by usergroup permissions, they might be too powerful for some situations. For cases where you simply want to give a specific user access to a forum that he or she wouldn’t normally have access to, an alternative solution is access masks, which override all forum-level usergroup permissions.

Warning:

Access mask settings have no effect unless you have enabled access masks in vBulletin Options.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

To edit the access masks assigned to a specific user, go to Users > Search for Users. Then search for the user you want to edit and click Edit Forum Permissions or Edit Access Masks.

To view existing access masks, go to Users > Access Masks.

Access masks work similarly to forum-level usergroup permissions: inheritance to child forums still occurs. However, you do not have as many options as with a forum permission:

Setting a user’s access mask to Yes for a forum gives him or her the same permissions in that forum as he or she has at the global level, regardless of any forum-level usergroup permissions specified.
Setting the mask to No denies the user access to the forum completely, as if each individual permission were set to No.
Default means that no special access mask is specified; forum-level usergroup permissions are used instead.

Quick User Links

Path to Quick User Links: Users > Search for Users. Enter criteria that will find a user. From the search results page, select Quick User Links.

If you are editing a user, the Quick User Links section of the User Manager opens:

<<<Insert Quick User Links screenshot>>>

This allows you to:

Edit Forum Permissions (Access Masks)

Allows you to edit this user’s access masks.

View Forum Permissions

Shows what permissions this user has in each forum.

Send Email to User

Allows you to email this user directly using your default email program.

Email Password Reminder to User

Sends a password change request to this user.

Send Private Message to User

Brings up the form to send a private message to this user (if private messages are enabled).

Private Message Statistics

Displays the number of private messages this user has in each folder.

Delete All User’s Private Messages

Deletes all of this user’s received private messages.

Delete Private Messages Sent by User

Deletes all private messages this user has sent.

Delete Visitor Messages Sent by User

Deletes all visitor messages this user has sent.

Delete Subscriptions

Deletes all of this user’s thread subscriptions.

View IP Addresses

Displays all IP addresses that are logged for this user. Except for the IP logged at registration, IPs are only logged during posting.

View Profile

Displays this user’s public profile on the site front end.

Find Posts by User

Searches for posts made by this user.

View Infractions

View all infractions for this user.

Ban User

Allows you to ban this user from accessing the site for various timeframes.

Delete User

Allows you to remove this user from the database.

View Groups Created by User

Allows you to view groups created by this user.

Search For Users

Path to Search for Users: Users > Search for Users.

You search for users in the User Manager.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the User Manager, Quick Search section, and also the top of the Advanced Search section.>>>

Quick Search

Path to Quick Search: Users > Search for Users.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the User Manager, Quick Search section.>>>

At the top of the Search for Users screen, Quick Search provides you with several commonly-used, predefined searches. These options include:

Show All Users

Lists all users in alphabetical order.

List Top Posters

Lists all users, ordered by post count (descending).

List Visitors in the Last 24 Hours

Lists only users who have visited the board in the last 24 hours.

List New Registrations

Lists all users, with those registered most recently at the top of the list.

List Users Awaiting Moderation

Lists all users in the moderation queue.

Note:

This is generally empty unless you have enabled user moderation.

Show All COPPA Users

Lists all users waiting to be approved because of COPPA rules.

Advanced Search

Path to Advanced Search: Users > Search for Users.

Advanced search allows you to search for users using almost any profile field as search criteria. If you do not enter a value for a field, it is ignored.

Additionally, you may choose to display most fields inline on the search results page.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the User Manager, Quick Search section and the entire Advanced Search section.>>>

Advanced Search User Profile Fields

When using Advanced Search for users, you can use these fields:

User Name

Name that identifies the user.

Primary Usergroup (default: All Usergroups)

Which usergroups to include in the search.

Additional Usergroups

Additional usergroups to include in the search.

Email

Email address of the user.

Parent Email Address

User parent email address.

COPPA User COPPA User (Yes/No/Either)

Whether or not the user is a COPPA user.

Facebook Connected (Yes/No/Either)

Whether or not there is a connection to a user Facebook account.

ICQ UIN

User’s ICQ number, if he or she has one.

AIM Screen Name

User’s AIM screen name, if he or she has one.

Yahoo! ID

User’s Yahoo! handle, if he or she has one.

MSN ID

User’s MSN handle, if he or she has one.

Skype Name

User’s Skype name, if he or she has one.

Signature

User’s signature.

User Title

Title displayed under this user’s name in posts.

Join Date is After

Users who joined after the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd.

Join Date is Before

Users who joined before the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd.

Last Activity is After

Users active after the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-ddhh.mm.ss.

Last Activity is Before

Users active before the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss.

Last Post is After

Users active before the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss.

Last Post is Before

Users active before the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss.

Birthday is After

Users with birthdays after the entered day will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd.

Birthday is Before

Users with birthdays before the entered date will appear in the search results. The format is yyyy-mm-dd.

Posts are greater than or equal to

Users with posts greater than or equal to the number entered will appear in the search results.

Posts are less than

Users with posts less than to the number entered will appear in the search results.

Reputation is greater than or equal to

Users with reputations greater than or equal to the number entered will appear in the search results.

Reputation is less than

Users with warnings less than the number entered will appear in the search results.

Infractions are greater than or equal to

Users with infractions greater than or equal to the number entered will appear in the search results.

Infractions are less than

Users with infractions less than the number entered will appear in the search results.

Infraction Points are greater than or equal to

Users with infraction points greater than or equal to the number entered will appear in the search results.

Infraction Points are less than

Users with infraction points less than the number entered will appear in the search results.

User ID is greater than or equal to

Users with User IDs greater than or equal to the number entered will appear in the search results.

User ID is less than

Users with User IDs less than the number entered will appear in the search results.

Registration IP Address

Users with a matching or partial match to the entered number will appear in search results.

Biography

The user’s biography.

Location

The user’s location.

Interests

The user’s interests.

Occupation

The user’s occupation.

Advanced Search Display Options

In addition to specifying user profile fields to search on, you can also specify which fields will be displayed in the search result. The default is to display these fields: User Name, Options, Usergroup, Email, Join Date, Last Activity date and time, and Post Count.

Advanced Search Sorting Options

You can specify the order in which search results are displayed. The default is order by ascending User Name starting at result 1 for up to 50 results.

Search Results

Path to Search for Users: Users > Search for Users.

After you have requested a search for users, the search results page displays the users who match your search criteria. The columns displayed depend on what you chose on the search screen. By default, user name, email, join date, last visit, and post count are displayed.

In the search results, the user name and email fields are links. Clicking on a user name will take you to the User Manager where you can edit the user’s profile. Clicking on the email field lets you send an email to the user.

In addition, the Options column contains links you can use to manage a user, including the following:

View / Edit User

Displays this user’s information.

For more information, see the section on Adding or Editing a User.

Send Password to User

Redirects you to the lost password form, allowing you to send a new password to this user.

Edit Access Masks

Allows you to edit this user’s access masks.

Delete User

Selecting this option opens a confirmation screen asking if you are sure you want to delete the user. This action cannot be undone. Click the [Yes] to delete the user. All posts made by this user will be set to the username 'Guest'. Click the [No] to return to the search results.

Merge Users

To get to the Merge Users panel, click on the following in the menu to your left: Users > Merge Users.

You can use the Merge Users panel to merge two users’ accounts into one (if, for example, one user registered twice).

<<<Screenshot of Merge Users panel>>>

Enter the username of the source user into the Source Username field. This user's data (as specified below) will be written over to the destination user. Permissions will not be transferred.

Enter the username of the destination user into the Destination Username field. This user will inherit the source user's data. They will not inherit any permissions from the source user.

Posts, threads, calendar events, and private messages of the source user will be changed to appear to have come from the destination user. The source user’s post count, reputation, buddies, and ignored users will be added to the destination user.

Permissions will not be changed and moderator status will not be transferred; these must be re-specified.

After merging the users, the source username will be available to be registered by another user after the time period specified by Username Reuse Delay setting in the User Registration Options panel.

Ban Users

The Ban User form, accessible via Users > Ban User, allows you to ban a specific user from your site.

<<<screenshot of the ban user form>>>

By default, banned users are placed in the “Banned Users” usergroup and inherit the permissions (or lack thereof) of that group. For more information about usergroups and permissions, read the Usergroups and Permissions section of the manual. The “Banned Users” usergroup has all permissions set to ‘no’ by default.

The form has the following fields:

User Name
Enter the username of the user you would like to ban.
Move User to Usergroup Default: Banned Users
This is the usergroup to which the specified user will be moved.
Note:
Only usergroups that are specified as banned groups will be displayed here.
Lift Ban After... Default: 7 Days
This is the length of time that the ban will be in effect. Available time periods range from 1 day to 2 years. You can also select a permanent ban.
Reason to show the user
This message will be shown to the user (along with the ban duration set above) every time they visit the site while the ban is in effect.

Click the [Ban User] button to submit the form and ban the specified user or click the [Reset] button to clear the form.

User Banning Options

To get to the User Banning Options panel, click on the following to your left: Settings > Options > User Banning Options.

This section of the Admin Control Panel allows you to set the banning options for your forum, including IP bans.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Enable Banning Options (Yes/No)
Banning allows you to stop certain IP addresses and email addresses from registering and posting to the forum.
Banned IP Addresses
Use this option to prevent certain IP addresses from accessing any part of your board.

If you enter a complete IP address (242.21.11.7), only that IP will be banned.
If you enter a partial IP (243.21.11. or 243.21.11), any IPs that begin with the partial IP will be banned. For example, banning 243.21.11 will prevent 243.21.11.7 from accessing your board. However, 243.21.115.7 would still be able to access your board.

You may also use an '*' as a wildcard for increased flexibility. For example, if you enter 243.21.11*, many IPs will be banned including: 243.21.11.7, 243.21.115.7, 243.21.119.225.
Warning:
Use this option with caution. Entering an incorrect IP can result in banning yourself or other genuine users from your forums.
Banned Email Addresses
You may ban any email addresses from registering and posting. Type in the complete email address ([email protected]), or use a partial email address (as in @example.com).

Note that partial email addresses are matched from the end of the address unless you enable Aggressive Email Banning (see below). Therefore if you ban '@example.com' you will ban '[email protected]', but if you ban '@example' that user will not be banned. If you enable Aggressive Email Banning, '[email protected]' would be banned by '@example'.

If the email address of a user attempting to register or change their email address matches any of the addresses you specify here will see a no-permission error. For example, if you have banned 'example.com' then a user attempting to use '[email protected]' will be rejected.
Aggressive Email Banning (Yes/No)
If this option is enabled, incomplete addresses are matched anywhere in the email address when checking for banned emails, not just the end.

For example, if this option is enabled 'yahoo' will block any email address with 'yahoo' in it. If this option is disabled, no emails will be banned unless the ban was changed to 'yahoo.com'.
Allow User to Keep Banned Email Addresses (Yes/No)
If you ban an email address and a user already uses that address, a problem will occur. Using this option, you can specify whether the user will have to enter a new email address in their profile when they next modify their email address, or whether the user can just keep the email address which you have banned.
Global Ignore
This option allows you to effectively add a user or users to every member's 'Ignore List'. However, users in this list can still see their own posts and threads.

Enter a list of userid numbers into the textbox, separated by spaces (for example: 4 12 68 102).
Note:
If you change this option, you need to rebuild thread and then forum information in Maintenance > Update Counters.

View Banned Users

The View Banned Users panel, accessible via Users > View Banned Users, allows you to view and modify the status of all currently banned users on your site.

<<<screenshot of the View Banned Users panel>>>

There are two tables in the View Banned User panel: Temporary Ban and Permanent Ban. Both tables have the following columns:

User Name
The username of the user who has been banned. Clicking the username will open the Edit User form for that user. For more information on this form, see the Adding or Editing a User article.
Banned By
The username of the user who banned the specified user. Clicking the username will open the Edit User form for this user. For more information on this form, see the Adding or Editing a User article.
Banned On
The date the specified user was banned.
Ban Period
The length of the ban, in days. In the Permanent Ban table, this column displays “Permanent”.
Ban Will Be Lifted On
The date and time the ban will be lifted. In the Permanent Ban table, this column displays “Never”.
Ban Time Remaining
The amount of time the specified user has left on their ban, in days and hours. In the Permanent Ban table, this column displays “Forever”.
Lift Ban
Use this option to lift the ban on the specified user before the end of the ban period. Clicking the [Lift Ban] link opens a new page asking if you are sure you want to lift the ban for the specified user. Clicking the [Yes] button will remove the user from the banned usergroup and placed back into the usergroup they were a member of before their banning. They will also be removed from the View Banned Users panel. Clicking the [No] button will cancel the action and return you to the View Banned Users panel.
Ban Reason
This column displays the text entered into the “Reason to show the user” field on the Ban User form. Clicking this link will open a new page with the following fields:

<<<screenshot of the new forml>>>
- User Name
  The username of the specified banned user.
- Reason to show the user
  This message will be shown to the user every time they visit the site while the ban is in effect.
Click the [Ban User] button to save the changes and return to the View Banned Users panel or click the [Reset] button to clear any changes you’ve made.

Below each table is a [Ban User] button. Click this button to go to the b]Ban User[/b] form to ban a new user. For more information about this form, see the Ban Users article.

Prune/Move Users

If you wish to delete multiple users or move a number of users to a different usergroup, Users > Prune / Move Users allows you to do this.

You may search for users based on the following criteria:

Usergroup – the usergroup matching users must belong to.
Has not logged on for x days – the number of days since the user has visited the board. Set this to 0 to ignore.
Join Date is Before – the user must have joined before the date you specify here.
Posts is less than – the user must have less than this number of posts (based on post count stored with the user).
Order By – field to order matching users by.

Once you submit the search page, you will see a results page like this:

Each user that matched your search criteria will be shown here. On the right, you will see a check box; this allows you to select whether or not this user will be moved or deleted. At the end of the form, you may select whether you want to move the selected users to a different usergroup or delete them.

Note:

If you choose to move the selected users, only their primary usergroup will be changed. Secondary usergroups will remain the same.

Referrals

To get to the Referrals panel, click on the following to your left: Users > Referrals.

If you have enabled the referral system, you can see what users have the most referrals over a specific time frame. This form allows you to specify the time frame to search over.

<<<screenshot of Referrals panel>>>

Start Date
Enter the start date for the report.
End Date
Enter the end date for the report.

Click the Find button to generate the report or the Reset button to clear the form. Results will look like this:

<<<screenshot of results>>>

Users with referrals over this time frame will be displayed here. Users with the most referrals will be displayed first. To see detailed information about a user’s referrals, click his or her username.

<<<screenshot of user's referral screen>>>

Search IP Addresses

To get to the Search IP Addresses panel, click on the following to your left: Users > Search IP Addresses.

This form allows you to search for users with a specific IP address or list what IP address a user has used.

<<<screenshot of Search IP Addresses form>>>

Find Users by IP Address
If you wish to see what users have posted from a specific IP address, enter the address in this field. You may also enter a partial IP. For example, if you wish to see what users have had 192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255, then enter 192.168.1. (Note the period after the final 1.)
Find IP Addresses for user
If you wish to see what IP addresses a specific user has posted with, enter the username in this field.
Depth to Search
A depth setting of 1 will only return the results of the specified search. A depth setting of 2 will return the results of the specified search, as well as running a search on each of the results.

For example, a search on 127.0.0.1 with a depth of 1 returns "Freddie" and "Scott". A search on 127.0.0.1 with a depth setting of 2 returns "Freddie" and "Scott", as well as returning all of the ip addresses used by "Freddie" and "Scott".

Click the Find button to generate the report or the Reset button to clear the form.

Find Users by IP Address Results

If you used the Find Users by IP Address, the results will look like this:

<<<screenshot of results for Find Users by IP field>>>

The first section displays the IP Address and attempts to resolve it. If it cannot be resolved, it will display "Could Not Resolve Hostname". Clicking the IP address link will open a new page displaying the IP Address and the Host Name (if it is able to be resolved).

Under the 'Post IP Addresses' header, click the Find Posts by User link to find all posts made by that user. Clicking the View Other IP Addresses for this User will search for IP addresses used by that user, opening new results as if you used the Find IP Addresses for user field with that user's name.

Under the 'Registration IP Addresses' header, you will find a list of other users that used the same IP to register their accounts. Click on their username to open the User Manager panel for that user. Click the IP address link to attempt to resolve the address. Click the Find Posts by User link to find all posts made by that user. Clicking the View Other IP Addresses for this User will search for IP addresses used by that user, opening new results as if you used the Find IP Addresses for user field with that user's name.

Find IP Addresses for User Results

If you used the Find IP Addresses for user, the results will look like this:

<<<screenshot of results for Find IP for Users field>>>

The first section displays the 'Registration IP Address', the IP with which the user originally registered their username.

Under the 'Post IP Addresses' header, you will find the IP addresses the user has used to post. Click the IP address link to attempt to resolve the address. Clicking the Find More Users with this IP Address link will search for users by IP address, opening new results as if you used the Find Users by IP Address field.

Under the 'Registration IP Addresses' header, you will find a list of other users that used the same IP to register their accounts. Click on their username to open the User Manager panel for that user. Click the IP address link to attempt to resolve the address. Click the Find Posts by User link to find all posts made by that user. Clicking the View Other IP Addresses for this User will search for IP addresses used by that user, opening new results as if you used the Find IP Addresses for user field with that user's name.

User Profile

The User Profile is the part of vBulletin that allows you and your users to enter and display information about the individual accounts. The options in the AdminCP control what fields and options are activated in the user profile section.

Usergroups & Permissions

Understanding Usergroups and Permissions

A usergroup is a means of grouping users (registered members of a forum) together, all of whom have the same permissions, or access rights.

Concepts important in vBulletin usergroups and permissions include the following:

Channels
Group membership
Inheritance
Join requests
Permissions
Promotion
Users and product functionality available in the Users menu
Usergroups and product functionality available in the Usergroups menu

Those topics are included in in this section and the next.

What are Users and User Menus

A user is a registered member of a channel.

You can access many screens involving user tasks in the Users menu of the Admin CP.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Users menu and its submenus.>>>

What are Usergroups and Usergroup Menus

A usergroup is a named group of users, all of whom have the same permissions.

You can access many screens involving usergroup tasks in the Usergroups menu of the Admin CP.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Usergroups menu and its submenus.>>>

Membership to Multiple Groups

vBulletin users can belong to multiple usergroups. Assigning a user to more than one usergroup is a way to create a unique set of permissions for the user.

For example, you might have a user who belongs to group X, but needs to have access to the few extra options (such as attaching files to posts) given by group Y. You can make X this user’s primary group and make Y a secondary group.

If a user is in multiple usergroups that have conflicting permission settings, the “greater” permission overrides the “lesser.” A Yes always overrides a No, and a larger number overrides a smaller one.

Note:

If 0 represents “unlimited” or “no” restriction, it overrides all other settings.

Warning:

Be careful when you put a user in a secondary group that you also use as a primary group. You might edit the group and inadvertently give the secondary user more permissions than you originally meant to!

What are Channels

Channels are nodes that can contain other nodes. Channels include: forums, blogs, social groups, private messages, visitor messages, user albums, and flagged (reported) content. Some channels can be maintained with the Channel Management (formerly Forum Management) tools in the Admin CP. Others are private (hidden from view) and maintained by individual users.

A channel owner is the user that has ownership of a particular channel. Owners control what happens in the channel. Blogs and social groups are examples of channels that can have owners.

A channel moderator is a user appointed by the channel owner to moderate a particular channel. Blogs and social groups are examples of channels that can have moderators.

A channel user is an individual who has permission to access a specific channel. A social group is an example of a channel that has users.

What is Inheritance

The most important concept in vBulletin’s permission system is inheritance. In vBulletin a new usergroup on your site can inherit the permissions you have already established for another existing usergroup. In the new usergroup you can then override any permissions you want to be different from the original.

In vBulletin there are two levels at which you can specify usergroup permissions.

Global Permissions
The first is at a the global level, which applies to all channels on the site. To edit global permissions, go to Usergroups > Usergroup Manager > Edit Usergroup.

The permissions you specify at the global level apply everywhere on on your site unless you override them at at a lower level (for example, at the channel level).

Channel-level Permissions
To edit channel-level permissions, go to Usergroups > Forum Permissions. Permissions you specify for a channel are automatically inherited by any child channel, unless overridden for the child channel.

What are Permissions

Permissions are various access rights granted to users or usergroups.

vBulletin organizes permissions for various functions with a usergroup system. Default usergroups include Administrators, Super Moderators, Moderators, Registered Users and Guests.

You can use the Usergroup Manager to edit the various permissions for each group, and to add new usergroups to create a permissions system unique to your site.

You can access the Usergroup Manager from various links in the Usergroup menu, for example, Usergroup Manager and Add New Usergroup.

Also accessible from the Usergroups menu is the Administrator Permissions Manager, which allows Super Administrators to limit the powers of their co-administrators.

What are Join Requests

A join request is a request by a user to join a specific channel. You manage join requests in the Usergroup Manager.

When a user makes a join request, a message summarizing the request is displayed in the Usergroup Manager.

What are Promotions

Promotions allow users who already belong to a given usergroup and who also meet additional specific criteria to be automatically made secondary members of another usergroup, generally one with greater permissions.

You manage usergroup promotions in the Usergroup Manager.

By default, promotions are checked and executed hourly.

For information about managing promotions, see [HOP]acp_permissions_tools_promotions[/HOP]

Usergroup & Permission Tools

A number of tools are available to you in vBulletin to manage usergroups and permissions. The following table lists the specific tasks and tools, as well as how to access the tools through menus and submenus in the AdminCP interface.

For more information about the tasks and tools, see the documentation topics following this one.

User Manager

Most Usergroups & Permissions tasks in vBulletin are done through the Usergroup Manager, but some also involve dealing with the individual users that make up the usergroups, and are accomplished by the User Manager, which is accessible through the Users menu.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Users menu and its submenus.>>>

Another Usergroups & Permissions task involving the Users menu is managing access masks. Click Access Masks, which is the last submenu on the Users menu.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Access Masks Manager.>>>

For more information about managing access masks, see [HOP]acp_permissions_tools_accessmasks[/HOP].

Usergroup Manager

Most Usergroups & Permissions tasks in vBulletin are done through the Usergroup Manager. The Usergroups & Permissions tools are accessible through the Usergroups menu.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Usergroups menu and its submenus.>>>

Usergroups & Permissions tasks include managing access masks, administrator permissions, channel permissions, join requests, and promotions.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Usergroup Manager.>>>

Managing Usergroups

Primary path to managing usergroups: Usergroups > Usergroup Manager.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Usergroups menu and its submenus.>>>

The following submenus under the Usergroups menu take you to the Usergroups Manager:

Usergroup Manager
Add New Usergroup
Join Requests
Promotions

The following submenu under the Usergroups menu takes you to the Channel Permissions Manager:

Channel Permissions

The following submenu under the Usergroups menu takes you to the Administrator Permissions Manager:

Administrator Permissions

The following topics explain how to do the most common vBulletin tasks using these managers.

Adding and Editing A Usergroup

Path to Add New Usergroup: Usergroups > Add New Usergroup

Path to Edit Usergroup: Usergroups > Usergroup Manager > Edit Usergroup

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Add New Usergroup page>>>

You add a new usergroup on the Add New Usergroup page. If you are editing a usergroup, the form is already filled out. The only difference between the add and edit pages is that, when adding a new group, you have the ability to create a usergroup based on an existing usergroup.

Create Usergroup Based Off Of Usergroup

If you want to create the new usergroup based on an existing usergroup, select it from the picklist.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Create Usergroup Based off of Usergroup page>>>

If you use this option, all fields are populated with the values specified for the selected usergroup. Change whatever fields you want to and submit.

Default Channel Permissions

If you use this option, all fields are populated with the values specified for the selected channel. Change whatever fields you want to and submit.

Add New Usergroup

Title
Title of the new usergroup.

Description
Description of the new usergroup.

User Title
Use this to override the default ladder of user titles.

Username HTML Markup
Specify an opening and closing HTML tag with which to display the names of users in this group. This applies to names that appear on Logged-in Users, Who's Online, Users Browsing Channel, Users Browsing Thread, Posts, Member List etc.

The first field is the opening tag. The second field is the closing tag.

Password Expiry
Specify the number of days after which users’ passwords expire and they are required to change them.

Password History
If you specify x days here, users are not allowed to change their password to a string they have used in the past x days.

This setting has no effect if password expiry is set to 0 days

Public Group Settings

Public (Joinable) Custom Usergroups (Yes/No)
If this option is enabled, users are able to request membership to this group from their User CP. Join requests are queued up in the Usergroup Manager where you can handle them all at once.

Can override primary group title/markup (Yes/No)
Enable this option if you use this group as a member (secondary) group and you want group members to have this group's user title and username markup instead of the user title and username markup from their primary group.

Channel Viewing Permissions

Can View Channel (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view a channel.

Can View Thread Content (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view the content of threads.

Can View Others' Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view other user's threads.

Can Use Email to Friend (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can send content in this channel to a friend via email.

Can Download Attachments (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can download attachments.

Can See Deletion Notices (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can see deletion notices.

Can See Thumbnails (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can see thumbnails.

Can Configure Channel (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can configure a channel.

Channel Searching Permissions

Can Search Channels (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can run searches.

Can Use Boolean Search (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can user Boolean option in searches.

Post / Thread Permissions

Can Post Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can post threads.

Can Reply to Own Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can reply to their own threads.

Can Reply to Others' Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can reply to other user's threads.

Can Delete Own Posts (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can delete their own posts.

Can Delete Own Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can deleter their own threads.

Can Open / Close Own Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can open or close threads.

Can Move Own Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can move threads.
Can Rate Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can rate threads.

Follow Channel Moderation Rules (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the posts members of this usergroup makes are moderated. Selecting Yes will enable the functionality.

Can Tag Own Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can tag their own threads.

Can Tag Others' Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can tag other user's threads.

Can Delete Tags on Own Threads (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can remove tags from their own threads.

Can Use HTML (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use HTML in their threads and replies.

Can Publish (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can publish article.

Can Create Blog (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can create blogs.

Can Create Tags (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can create tags.

”Can Upload Attachments” Permissions

Can Upload Attachments (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload attachments.

Space (in bytes) that a user's total attachment usage may consume (default: 1000000)
Set to 0 to not have a limit.
This controls how many bytes an attachment can have. Users in this usergroup may not have an attachment that exceeds the byte limit entered.

Poll Permissions

Can Can Post Polls (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can create post polls.

Can Vote on Polls (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can vote in polls.

Private Message Permissions

Maximum Stored Messages: (default: 0)
This controls the maximum number of stored messages this usegroup can have.

Can Use Message Tracking (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can request a read receipt for their private messages.

Can Deny Private Message Read Receipt Request (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can deny a private message read receipt.

Can Ignore Quota (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can send PMs to users who have reached their Maximum Stored Messages.

Maximum Recipients to Send PMs at a time: (default: 5)
This controls the maximum number of recipients a user can Private Message.

For performance reasons, do not set this too high.

Set to 0 to allow unlimited recipients.

Message Throttle Quantity
This limits the number of messages the user can send within the Throttle Check Period.

The Throttle Check Period is defined in the global options.

Set this to 0 to disable throttling for this usergroup.

”Can View Calendar” Permissions

Can View Calendar (Yes/No)
This group must also have permission to view a specific calendar in order to view that calendar.

Can Post Events (Yes/No)
This group must also have permission to post events on a specific calendar if they are to post events on it.

Can Edit Own Events (Yes/No)
This group must also have permission to edit their own events on a specific calendar if they are to have permission to do so.

Can Delete Own Events (Yes/No)
This group must also have permission to delete their events on a specific calendar if they are to have permission to do so.

Can View Others' Events (Yes/No)
This group must also have permission to view other people's events on a specific calendar if they are to have permission to do so.

Posted Events are Not Moderated (Yes/No)
Event moderation can be enabled for an entire calendar by editing that calendar's settings. This permission allows you to make an exception for a specific usergroup.

Who’s Online Permissions

Can View Who's Online (Yes/No)
This permission allows members of this group to view the online.php page. This page shows a detailed list of currently active users, their locations, etc. This permission applies only to online.php, not the Currently Active Users list..

Reported locations do take channel permissions into consideration. For example, if a user in the online list is viewing a channel that the current logged in user doesn't have access to, online.php will only report that they are viewing a channel and not give the name of the channel.

Who's online must be enabled in your vBulletin options for this permission to have any effect. There are several Who's online settings on that page in your vBulletin options.

Can View IP Addresses (Yes/No)
This permission allows members of this group to view the IP addresses of currently logged in users on the online.php page.

Who's online must be enabled in your vBulletin options for this permission to have any effect. The Can View Who's Online permission above must also be enabled.

Can View Detailed Location Info for Users (Yes/No)
Allows the user to see detailed information for some channel actions. For example, if the subject is sending a private message, the user will be able to see who it is being sent to. If the subject is viewing the profile of a user, the user will be able to see who it is.

Can View Detailed Location Info of Users Who Visit Bad / No Permission Locations (Yes/No)
With this permission disabled, when a subject visits an unknown location or a location they don't have permission to visit, the user will see the subject as viewing the site home page.

Can view actual location of user (filepath/url). (Yes/No)
If this permission is enabled then members of this group will see a question mark icon next to locations on the online.php page. They can mouse over the image to see the file path of the page each user is visiting.

Who's online must be enabled in your vBulletin options for this permission to have any effect. The Can View Who's Online permission above must also be enabled.

Administrator Permissions

Can Moderate All Channels (is Super Moderator) (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can moderate all channels.

Can Access Control Panel (is Administrator) (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can access the AdminCP.

General Permissions

Can View Member Info (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view other user's profiles.

Can Edit Own Profile (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can edit their own profile.

Can Set Self to Invisible Mode (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can set themselves to invisible upon logging in.

Can 'See' Users Who Have Chosen to be Invisible While Online (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can see users who have chosen the go into invisible mode upon logging in.

Can Use Custom Title (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use custom titles.

Can View Others' Profile Pictures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view other user's profile pictures.

Can View Private Custom Fields (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view private custom fields.

Can Email Members (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can email other users.

Can Use Friends List (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can add friends to their account.

Show edited by note on edited messages? (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not an "edited by" note will appear in posts edited by members of this usergroup.

User Note Permissions

Can View User Notes About Others (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view user notes posted for other users.

Can Manage User Notes About Self (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manage user notes left for them.

User Notes Can Be Posted About This Group (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not notes can be posted about this usegroup.

Can View User Notes About Self (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view notes posted about themselves.

Can Manage User Notes About Others (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manage user notes left for others.

Can Post User Notes About Self (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can post notes about themselves.

Can Post User Notes About Others (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can post user notes about others.

Can Manage Own User Notes (Yes/No)
Notes that this user has posted, for self or others. This overrides the above manage permissions, if enabled.

Picture Uploading Permissions

Can Upload Profile Pictures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload a profile picture.

Can Upload Animated Profile Picture (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload an animated profile picture.

Profile Picture Maximum Width (pixels) (default: 100)
This controls the maximum width (in pixels) of this usergroup's profile pictures.

Profile Picture Maximum Height (pixels) (default: 100)
This controls the maximum height (in pixels) of this usegroup's profile pictures.

Profile Picture Maximum File Size (bytes) (default: 25000)
(1KB = 1024 bytes)
This controls the maximum file size of this usegroup's profile pictures.

Can Upload Custom Avatars (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload avatars.

Can Upload Animated Avatar (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload animated avatars.

Custom Avatar Maximum Width (pixels) (default: 50)
This controls the maximum width (in pixels) of this usergroup's avatars.

Custom Avatar Maximum Height (pixels) (default: 50)
This controls the maximum height (in pixels) of this usergroup's avatars.

Custom Avatar Maximum File Size (bytes) (default: 20000)
(1KB = 1024 bytes)
This controls the maximum file size of this usegroup's avatars.

Can Upload Images for Signature (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload images for their signatures.

Can Upload Animated GIF for Signature (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload animated gifs for their signatures.

Signature Image Maximum Width (pixels)
Specify 0 for no limit.
This controls the maximum width (in pixels) of a signature image.

Signature Image Maximum Height (pixels)
Specify 0 for no limit.
This controls the maximum height (in pixels) of a signature image.

Signature Image Maximum Filesize (bytes)
(1KB = 1024 bytes)
This controls the maximum file size of a signature image.

Specify 0 for no limit.

Signature Permissions

Can Use Signatures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can create a signature.

Maximum Characters in Signature Including BB Code Markup
Maximum number of characters that a user in this group may use in his or her signature, including markup code.

Maximum Characters in Signature Excluding BB Code Markup
This controls the maximum number of characters in a signature, excluding BB Code markups.

Maximum Lines in Signature
This is the maximum number of lines users of this group may have in their signatures. Unfortunately, due to browser and style variations, this is not an exact science and should only be used as a rough guide.

Soft linewrapping can cause one contiguous string of text to be counted as multiple lines. The number of characters that are allowed before this text is treated as multiple lines is controlled by the Signature Soft-Linebreak Character Limit option. Text that is not the default size is scaled to count as more or less characters than normal.

Allow BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Basic BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use basic BBCode in their signatures such as bold, italic and underline.

Allow Color BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use color BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Size BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use size BBCode in their signatures.

Maximum Value of x for [SIZE=x] BB Code (default: 7)
This controls the maximum font size of the size BBCode in a signature.

Allow Font BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use font BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Alignment BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use alignment BBCode in their signatures.

Allow List BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use list BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Link BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use link BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Code BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use the code BBCode in their signatures.

Allow PHP BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can PHP BBCode in their signatures.

Allow HTML BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use HTML BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Quote BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can user quote BBCode in their signatures.

Allow Image BB Code (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can use image BBCode in their signatures.

Maximum Number of Images/Videos in Signature
Maximum number of images and videos that users in this group may use in their signatures. This includes video tags, img tags, sigpic tags (uploaded pictures), and smilies.

Specify 0 for no limit.

Allow Smilies (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can user smilies in their signature.

Allow HTML (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can user HTML in their signatures.

User Reputation Permissions

Can See Who Left User Ratings (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can see who left them user ratings.

Can Use Reputation (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can user reputation.

Can Hide Reputation from Others (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can hide their reputation from other users.

Can Leave Negative Reputation (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can leave negative reputation for other users.

User Infraction Permissions

Can Give Infractions to Others (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can give infractions to other users.

Can See Others' Infraction Level (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can see other user's infraction levels.

Can Give Arbitrary Value Infractions (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can give other users arbitrary value infractions. The user must also have the Can Give Infractions to Others permission.

Can Reverse Infractions (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can reverse infractions.

User Album Permissions

Can Have Album and Upload Pictures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can have an album and upload pictures.

Can View Albums (Yes/No)
Users without this permission can still see picture in public and profile album if they know the exact URL.

Follow Picture Moderation Rules (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not pictures that members of this usergroup goes in to the moderation queue.

Album Picture Maximum Width (pixels)
This controls the album picture's maximum width in pixels.

Album Picture Maximum Height (pixels)
This controls the album picture's maximum height in pixels.

Maximum Number of Album Pictures
This controls the maximum number of pictures in an album.

Maximum Total File Size of Album Pictures (bytes)
(1KB = 1024 bytes)
This controls the maximum file size for an album picture.

Can Comment on Pictures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can comment on a picture.

Can Edit Own Picture Comments (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can edit their own comments on pictures.

Can Delete Own Picture Comments (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can delete comments made on their pictures.

Can Manage Comments on Own Pictures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manage comments on their own pictures.

Follow Picture Comment Moderation Rules (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not comments left by this usergroup on pictures goes through the moderation queue.

Profile Customization Permissions

Can Edit Font Family (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can edit existing font families.

Can Edit Font Size (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can edit font sizes.

Can Edit Colors (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can edit the colors.
Includes font and background colors.

Can Edit Background Images (Yes/No)
Users must have user album permissions as well.

Can Edit Borders (Yes/No)
Includes border style, color, and width.

Can Edit Profile Privacy (Yes/No)
Whether or not the user can hide blocks on his or her profile page from other users.

Can Customize Profile (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can customize their profile.

”Viewable on Show Groups” Permissions

Viewable on Show Groups (Yes/No)
Whether or not to show members of this group on the View Channel Leaders page.

Birthdays Viewable (Yes/No)
Whether or not the birthdays of users in this group are displayed on the calendar and channel home pages.

Viewable on the Memberlist (Yes/No)
Whether or not users in this group appear on the member list.

Allow Users to have Member Groups (Yes/No)
Whether or not permissions from the user's member (secondary) user group memberships are inherited.

This Usergroup is not a 'Banned' Group (Yes/No)
Setting this to No causes the group to be treated as a banned group, which prevents the sending of email notifications, show a banned error message on the permission error pages, and other unspecified behaviors.

Require Human Verification on Configured Actions (Yes/No)
Users have to pass human verification for the configured Human Verified Actions.

Visitor Message Permissions

Can Post Visitor Messages to Own Profile (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can post visitor messages to their own profile.

Can Post Visitor Messages to Others' Profile (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can post visitor messages to another user's profile.

Can Edit Own Visitor Messages (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can edit visitor messages they've created.

Can Delete Own Visitor Messages (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can delete visitor messages they created.

Can Manage Messages within Own Profile (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manage messages on their own profiles.

Follow Visitor Message Moderation Rules (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not a visitor message made by a member of this usergroup is put in the moderation queue. If set to No, messages are always placed into the moderation queue.

Groups Permissions

Can Join Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can join groups.

Can Create Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can create groups.

Maximum Created Groups (Yes/No)
Number of groups the user can have at any one time.

Can Manage Own Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manager their own group.

Can Edit Own Groups (Yes/No)
If the only member of the group is the owner, he or she will be able to edit the group's information regardless of this setting.

Can Delete Own Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can delete a group they own.

Can View Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can view groups.

Can Post Messages in Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can post a message in a group.

Can Always Post Messages (Yes/No)
If enabled, the user will also be able to view private and invite only groups.

Can Manage Own Messages (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manage a post they make to a group.

Can Create New Discussions in Groups (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can create a new discussion in a group.

Can Always Create Discussions (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can always create discussions. If enabled, the user will also be able to view private and invite only groups.

Can Limit Discussions in Own Groups to the Group Owner (Yes/No)
If enabled, the user can configure his or her groups so only the user can create new discussions.

Can Manage Own Discussions (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can manage their own group permissions.

Follow Group Message Moderation Rules (Yes/No)
If set to No, messages are always placed into the moderation queue.

Can Upload Group Icons (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload a group icon.

Can Upload Animated Group Icons (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload an animated gif group icon.

Maximum File Size of Group Icons (bytes) (Yes/No)
Group image icons are always limited to 200px by 200px.

Can Upload Pictures (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not the members of this usergroup can upload pictures to the group.

Follow Picture Moderation Rules (Yes/No)
This controls whether or not a picture uploaded by a member in this group is put in the moderation queue.

Adding and Editing Promotions

Path to adding or editing promotions: Usergroups > Promotions.

You add or edit promotions in the Usergroup Manager. To edit an existing promotion, click its Edit link in the Controls column to get to the Usergroup Manager Promotion form. To add a new promotion, click the Add New Promotion button to get to the Add New Promotion form.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Add New Promotion form.>>>

Except where otherwise noted, the options are the same whether you are adding or editing the promotion.

Note:

You must click on Save for your changes to take effect.

Usergroup
Select the usergroup to which you want this promotion to apply. A user must be a member of this usergroup if he or she is to be considered for this promotion.

Note:

This option is not available when you are editing an existing promotion. If you need to change a promotion’s source usergroup, create a new promotion and delete the old one.

Reputation Level
Reputation is a ranking of your user's benefit to your channel. Users gain and lose reputation based on how their posts are scored by other channel participants.

Days Registered
The number of days a user has been registered.

Posts
User post count.

Promotion Strategy[
Select from the pulldown list which of the conditions must be true for this promotion to be invoked. Conditions inside parentheses are evaluated first.

For example, suppose your promotion settings are the following:

Reputation Comparison Type = Greater or Equal to
Reputation Level = 1000
Days Registered = 30
Posts = 100
Promotion Strategy = Posts and (Reputation or Date)

If a user has a reputation value of 1100, has been registered for 20 days, and has 150 posts, he or she will be promoted.

Promotion Type
Type of promotion the user is to receive if promoted. This can be either a primary usergroup or an additional usergroup.

Which promotion type to select depends on how groups and permissions are configured. If the promotion causes only a few changes to permissions and settings then it is easier to set up a new usergroup that grants the new permissions and settings, and then to have the promotion add membership to that group as an additional usergroup. If the promotion involves many changes then a primary usergroup change might be called for.

Reputation Comparison Type
Choose Greater Than or Equal To or Less Than.
This option applies only to reputation and only when reputation has been selected as part of the promotion strategy above.

Move User to Usergroup
Select the usergroup the user will be moved to when he or she is promoted.

Show All Primary Users

Path to Show all Primary Users: Usergroups > Usergroup Manager, then select Show All Primary Users in the dropdown for a given usergroup in the Controls column.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Default Usergroups form or Custom Usergroups form with Show All Primary Users selected in the Controls column.>>>

The Show All Primary Users control displays a “Showing User” form that lists all users who are primary users in the specified usergroup.

<<<Insert screenshot that shows the beginning of the “Showing User” form.>>>

Showing Users Output

The list has several columns. The columns are:

User Name
If you click on the user name, you will be transferred to the Edit User page for that user.

Email
Clicking the email address allows you to email that user.

Join Date
The date the user joined the usergroup.

Last Activity
The date the user was last active in the usergroup.

Post Count
The post count for this user.

Options
Here you can select from a pulldown list to do one of the following:

View/Edit User
Send Password to User
Edit Access Masks
Delete User

Show All Additional Users

Path to Show all Additional Users: Usergroups > Usergroup Manager, then select Show All Additional Users in the dropdown for a given usergroup in the Controls column.

Note:

Users can be in multiple usergroups. They can have one primary usergroup and many secondary usergroups. “Additional Users” are those with that usergroup as their secondary usergroup.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Default Usergroups form or Custom Usergroups form with Show All Additional Users selected in the Controls column.>>>

The Show All Additional Users control displays a “Showing User” form that lists all users who are Additional users in the specified usergroup.

<<<Insert screenshot that shows the beginning of the “Showing User” form.>>>

Showing Users Output

The list has several columns. The columns are:

User Name
If you click on the user name, you will be transferred to the Edit User page for that user.

Email
Clicking the email address allows you to email that user.

Join Date
The date the user joined the usergroup.

Last Activity
The date the user was last active in the usergroup.

Post Count
The post count for this user.

Options
Here you can select from a pulldown list to do one of the following:

View/Edit User
Send Password to User
Edit Access Masks
Delete User

View Reputation

Path to View Reputation: Usergroups > Usergroup Manager, then select View Reputation in the dropdown for a given usergroup in the Controls column.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Default Usergroups form or Custom Usergroups form with View Reputation selected in the Controls column.>>>

The View Reputation control displays a “Showing User” form that lists all users in the specified usergroup with his or her post count and reputation value.

<<<Insert screenshot that shows the beginning of the “Showing User” form.>>>

Showing Users Output

The list has several columns. The columns are:

User Name
Clicking the username will open the Edit User page for that user.

Usergroup
The name of the usergroup.

Post Count
The post count for this user.

Reputation
The user’s reputation value.

Options
Here you can select from a dropdown list to do one of the following:

View/Edit User
Send Password to User
Edit Access Masks
Delete User

Channel Permissions Manager

Most channel permissions tasks in vBulletin are done through the Channel Permissions Manager. The channel permissions tools are accessible through the Usergroups menu.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Usergroups menu and its submenus, with the Channel Permissions link highlighted.>>>

The primary tool is View Channel Permissions, available on the home page of the Channel Permissions Manager. Using this facility, you can edit permissions by channel.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Channel Permissions Manager, View Channel Permissions section.>>>

Other functions include Permission Duplication Tools, Permissions Quick Editor, and Quick Channel Permission Setup.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Additional Functions form on the home page of the Channel Permissions Manager.>>>

For detailed information about channel permissions tasks and functions, see the Managing Permissions article.

Managing Permissions

Primary paths to managing permissions: Users > Add New User, Usergroups > Usergroup Manager, Usergroups > Channel Permissions, and Usergroups > Administrator Permissions.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Users menu and and its submenus.>>>

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Usergroups menu and its submenus.>>>

In vBulletin you can assign permissions to individual users and to users as a group. You can also assign permissions at the channel level. A special set of permissions is automatically assigned to users who are given administrative privileges.

The following topics explain how to do the most common vBulletin tasks involving permissions.

Adding and Editing Channel Permissions

You add channel permissions using various vBulletin tools, which are described in the following topics: Permission Duplicating Tools, Permissions Quick Editor, and Quick Channel Permission Setup.

Path to viewing and editing channel permissions: Channel Management > Channel Permissions or Usergroups > Channel Permissions.

You view and edit channel permissions in the Edit Channel Permissions form of the Channel Permissions Manager.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of the Channel Permissions Manager home screen.>>>

On this screen, all of your channels are listed. Beneath each channel, all of your usergroups are listed.

The color of each usergroup is significant. If the usergroup text is in white, it is using the default permissions for the usergroup. If the usergroup text is in red, it is using permissions customized for that channel. If it is in yellow, it is using custom permissions from a parent channel. The circle next to each usergroup name is also significant. A hollow circle means the usergroup cannot view the channel, while a full circle means they can.

To edit the permissions for any usergroup, or to revert them to default, click Edit next to the relevant group under the relevant channel.

You can Reset or Deny All usergroups within a channel as a group.

Other Channel Permissions Manager functions are linked from the Additional Functions form at the top of the page. There is detailed documentation for each (linked below).

The Permission Duplicator allows you to quickly duplicate an existing permission set between usergroups or between channels (see the Permission Duplicating Tools article).

You can also access the Permissions Quick Editor from here. The Quick Editor allows you to quickly revert permissions to default (see the Permissions Quick Editor article).

The last link at the top is Quick Channel Permissions Setup. You can use this to mass-apply permissions to multiple usergroups for a particular channel (see the Quick Channel Permission Setup article).

Following is information about viewing, adding and editing channel permissions.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of only the View Channel Permissions form of the Channel Permissions Manager.>>>

All existing channels and their usergroups are listed on the form in a hierarchical format.

To edit the permissions for a given usergroup within a given channel, click the Edit link to the left of the usergroup name.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

The edit screen of the Channel Permissions Manager opens.

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of a sample “edit” screen.>>>

The exact contents of the edit screen varies depending on which set of permissions is being displayed.

However, the options in the top form (Edit Channel Permissions for Usergroup x in Channel y) are always as follows:

Inherit from parent (this will delete any existing permissions)
To save any changes to this page, you must select "Use custom permissions" (see below). If you already have custom settings and want to set this usergroup back to its default, select "Use usergroup default" and click the [Save] button.

Note:

This option is not available unless you have already created custom settings.

If you have custom settings for this group and remove them as described above, any subchannels also revert if they do not have custom settings explicitly set.

Use Custom Permissions
If you intend to make changes to anything on the remainder of the page, click this option.

To set the Yes/No options on the rest of the screen to either all Yes or all No, click the All Yes or All No button.

Edit Channel Permissions Options

Time Limit for Editing Replies (hr) (default: 24)
This limits the amount of time a member of this usergroup has to edit a reply for the selected channel. After the entered time period a reply cannot be changed.

Require Moderation for Replies (Yes/No)
Any reply made by this group to any topic in the selected channel will require a moderator to approve it before it becomes visible to other users.

Maximum number of tags (default: 6)
This limits the number of tags members of the usergroup can apply to a topic in this channel.

Maximum tags for Starter Reply (default: 3)
This limits the number of tags members of the usergroup can apply to the first post of a topic.

Maximum Tags by Other Users (default: 3)
This limits the number of tags members of the usergroup can apply to a topic they did not start.

Maximum Attachments (default: 5)
This limits the number of attachments a topic can have.

Channel Permissions

Can View Channel (Yes/No)
If set to ‘No’, the rest of the settings on this screen are unused, because the user is denied access to the channel.

Can Move Own Topics (Yes/No)
If this is set to ‘Yes’, users can move their own topics between any channels to which they have access. We recommend leaving this set to ‘No’ and having your channel moderators move the topics or doing it yourself.

Can Download Attachments (Yes/No)
If this is set to ‘No’, users cannot download reply attachments from topics in this channel. The attachment link is still visible, but after clicking it users are told that they don't have permission to use it.

Can Upload Attachments (Yes/No)
If this is set to ‘No’, users cannot attach files to their replies. They can, however, still use the BB IMG code to show images if you have turned that on for this channel.

Can Tag Own Topics (Yes/No)
Whether or not members of the usergroup can add tags to their own topics within this channel.

Can Tag Others’ Topics (Yes/No)
Whether or not members of the usergroup can add tags to others' topics within this channel.

Can Delete Tags on Own Topics (Yes/No)
Whether or not members of the usergroup can delete tags from topics they started within this channel.

Can Use HTML (Yes/No)
This determines whether or not members of the usergroup can use HTML in their topics and replies.

Can Publish (Yes/No)
This determines whether or not members of the usergroup can publish articles.

Moderator Permissions

Can Edit Replies (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to edit replies in this channel.

Can Manage Topics (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to move, delete, sticky, and unsticky topics in the channel

Can Moderate Replies (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to moderate replies in the channel.

Can Moderate Attachments (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to moderate attachments in the channel.

Can Ban Users (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to ban other users from the channel.

Can remove replies (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to remove and delete replies from topics in the channel.

Can Set Featured (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to set articles in the channel as Featured content.

Can Moderate Tags (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to moderate tags in the channel.

Can add_owners (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to add a moderator to the social group or blog.

Create Permissions
This allows members of the usergroup to create permissions for other users in the channel.

Can create channel (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usegroup to create subchannels in the channel.

Can create text/reply (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to make replies to topics in the channel.

Can create report (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to create reports.

Can create photo gallery (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to create a photo gallery.

Can poll (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to post polls in the channel.

Can create attachment (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to post attachments in the channel.

Can create photo (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to post photos in the channel.

Can create private message (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to send private messages.

Can create video (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to post videos.

Can create link (Yes/No)
This allows members of the usergroup to use links in their posts.

Permission Duplicating Tools

Path to Permission Duplication Tools: User Groups > Channel Permissions, then click on Permission Duplication Tools.

This page allows you to duplicate existing permissions, either by usergroup or by channel. This expedites setting up a usergroup or channel that is similar to an existing one.

The usergroup-based permission duplicator copies permissions from a usergroup into one or more other usergroups you select. You can limit this to specific channels with the Only Copy Permissions from channel option.

To prevent accidental overwriting, use the Overwrite Duplicate Entries and Overwrite Inherited Entries settings. Overwrite Duplicate Entries prevents you from overwriting an existing permissions set for a channel (the entries are in red) for one of the usergroups you are copying to. Overwrite Inherited Entries is similar, except that it refers to cases where permissions aren’t directly specified for a channel, but rather a parent channel (the entries are in orange).

Click the Go button to execute the permission copy.

Click the Reset button to clear any checkboxes you have checked.

The channel-based permission duplicator works in a similar fashion, except that it copies all permissions in one channel to one or more selected channels. Overwrite Duplicate Entries and Overwrite Inherited Entries behave the same way.

Administrator Permissions Manager

Managing Administrators

Primary path to managing administrators: Usergroups > Administrator Permissions.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Usergroups menu and and its submenus.>>>

In vBulletin there is a special set of permissions pre-assigned to users who have administrative privileges. When you create new users (using the User Manager) you can name them as administrators, thereby giving them all of the existing administrator permissions.

To edit the administrator permissions, use the Administrator Permissions Manager, where you can link to screens that allow you edit the Administrator usergroup, view the control panel log, and edit the administrator permissions.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the initial screen of the Administrator Permissions Manager.>>>

The following topic describes the default administrator permissions and how to edit them.

Adding and Editing Administrator Permissions

Path to editing administrator permissions: Usergroups > Administrator Permissions and click Edit Permissions.

You edit administrator permissions using the Administrator Permissions Manager.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<<Insert screenshot of the Administrator Permissions form of the Administrator Permissions Manager page>>>

Administrator Yes/No Permissions

Following is a list of the administrator Yes/No permissions, which are all set by default to Yes.

You can toggle back and forth between “All Yes” and “All No” using the All Yes and All No buttons at the top of the form. You can also set any of the options individually.

Can Administer Settings
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Settings > Options menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Languages
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Languages & Phrases menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Channels
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Channel Management menu of the Admin CP.
>
Can Administer Topics
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Topics & Posts menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Calendars
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Calendars menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Users
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Users, Usergroups, User Infractions, User Profile Fields, User Ranks, User Reputations, User Titles, and Paid Subscriptions menus of the Admin CP.

Can Administer User Permissions
Whether or not an administrator can access the Usergroups > Channel Permissions and Users > Access Masks submenus of the Admin CP.

Can Administer FAQs
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the FAQ menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Avatars / Icons / Smilies
Whether an administrator can access functionality in the Avatars, Post Icons, and Smilies menus of the Admin CP.

Can Administer BB Codes
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Custom BB Codes menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer CRON
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Scheduled Tasks menu of the Admin CP.

Can Run Maintenance Tools
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Maintenance menu of the Admin CP.

Because this permission allows an administrator to run code directly on your site server, ensure that you trust this administrator to do that correctly before setting the permission to Yes.

Can Administer Products
Whether or not an administrator can manage external products used by your site.

Because this permission allows an administrator to run code directly on your site server, ensure that you trust this administrator to do that correctly before setting the permission to Yes.

Can Administer Notices
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Notices menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Moderator Log
Whether or not an administrator can view the moderator log available through the Statistics & Logs menu of the Admin CP.

Even if this option is set to Yes, permission to prune moderator logs is still limited by the "users with admin log pruning permissions" setting in includes/config.php.

<<<The online help is missing from the following 5 options. Are my made-up definitions correct? I need text for the rest.>>>

Can Administer XML Sitemap
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the XML Sitemap menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Ads
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Advertising menu of the Admin CP.

Can Administer Tags
Whether or not an administrator can access functionality in the Tagging menu of the Admin CP.

Can Set Default User Profile Styling
Whether or not an administrator can override a user’s customized profile.

Can Use Sitebuilder
Whether or not an administrator has access to the Sitebuilder functionality in the front page.

Other Administrator Permissions
The other two administrator permissions are the following:

Control Panel Style Choice
The style this adminstrator sees, by default, in the Admin CP.

The administrator can override this setting on the login screen.

Dismissed vBulletin News Item IDs
The comma-separated list of news item IDs that have been dismissed by this administrator.

To reset the list, remove all contents from the field.

Join Requests

Path to Join Requests: Usergroups > Join Requests

Use the Join Requests page to manage join requests for moderated, public usergroups. If you enter directly (Usergroups > Join Requests), you are prompted to select a usergroup whose requests you want to see. If you enter through Usergroups > Usergroup Manager > View Join Requests link, you are taken directly to the join requests for a group.

Once you have selected a usergroup, you go to a page similar to the following:

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Join Request page>>>

Each outstanding join request is listed on this page. Selecting Accept will add this user to the group; Deny will remove the request, preventing the user from joining the group; and Ignore leaves the request as-is. Additionally, you can click Accept, Deny, and Ignore to select an option for each request.

Promotions

Path to Add New Promotion: Usergroups > Promotions

<<<Insert a screenshot of the “initial promotions” page of the Usergroup Manager.>>>

Any existing promotions are listed. Click a promotion name to edit it.

To add a promotion, click Add New Promotion.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Add New Promotion page of the Usergroup Manager.>>>

The promotion criteria are listed below.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Usergroup
Select a usergroup from the picklist.

Reputation Level
Enter a number that represents the required reputation level.

Days Registered
Enter the required number of days since registration.

Posts
Enter the required number of posts.

Promotion Strategy
Select from the picklist the promotion strategy (for example, Posts, Join Date, Reputation, or various combinations of criteria).

Promotion Type
Type of promotion that the user is to receive.

Select Primary Usergroup to change the user's main usergroup to this group or select Additional Usergroups to add this group to the user's additional usergroups.

Reputation Comparison Type
Select Greater Than or Equal or Less Than.

This option applies only to reputation and only when reputation has been selected as part of the Promotion Strategy option.

Move User to Usergroup
Select from the picklist the usergroup to which the user will be promoted.
Promotions are evaluated based on the time period defined in the Scheduled Tasks section. The default is every hour.

Promotions: Practical Examples

Promotions: Practical Examples

There are a number of ways in which the Promotions system can be used within vBulletin 5. The entries in this section give the more common examples and are not in any way exhaustive.

Promotions Example 1: Moderate New Users

How to moderate the posts of new users only:

To help combat spam, many users opt to have new user’s posts moderated until they’ve made a specific number of posts. This allows the Admin/Moderator team to keep potentially malicious posts out of the public eye until a user has effectively passed a ‘probationary period’ as a member of the site.

For this example, we will use the following criteria:

- Moderated Usergroup: Registered Users
- ‘Full Member’ Usergroup: Approved Members
- Number of Posts to Moderate: 10

As all new users go into the Registered Users usergroup by default, simply adjust the permissions for this group to ensure these have all posts and threads moderated. Then, you need to setup the usergroup for your non-Moderated users and adjust the permissions for this usergroup accordingly. To do this, create a new usergroup based off the Registered Users usergroup and set the permissions so that their posts and threads are NOT moderated.

For more information on usergroups and permissions, please see this section of the manual relating to these.

Once you have your usergroups setup to your needs, you should create the appropriate Promotion. Using the criteria above, your Promotions screen should look like this:

<<<Screenshot of Promotions screen with the following criteria>>>

Explanation:

Usergroup
This is the usergroup that the users are currently a member of, i.e. Registered Users. The Promotion will only apply to these users.
Posts
These are the number of posts that a user should have made before they can be promoted, in this case 10.
Promotion Strategy
As this example will have a user promoted after 10 posts have been made, this should be set to ‘Posts’
Promotion Type
Set this option to ‘Primary Usergroup’. When the Promotions Scheduled Task runs, the user will then have their Primary Usergroup changed.
Move User to Usergroup
This should be set to the new (non-Moderated) usergroup that was setup earlier, i.e. ‘Approved Members’

Note that the ‘Reputation Level’ and ‘Days Registered’ values although completed will have no effect on this Promotion as the Strategy has been set to ‘Posts’. Once the above have been set, click the Save button.

Now complete, this Promotion will move active users from the ‘Registered Users’ usergroup to the ‘Approved Members’ usergroup once they have made 10 approved posts in your forum.

Promotions Example 2: Limit Access

How to limit access until x posts made:

As with Example 1, some admins prefer to limit the access that a new user has until they ‘prove’ themselves. This can be used for the following purposes (note these are not exhaustive):

- Avatar size (or ability to have one!)
- Signature usage (ability to have or limit what can be used)
- Ability to use Blogs
- Access to specific Channels

For this example, we will use the following criteria:

- Initial Usergroup: Registered Users
- ‘Full Member’ Usergroup: Full Members
- Number of Posts before Promotion: 10

As all new users go into the Registered Users usergroup by default, simply adjust the permissions for this group to what you wish them to have. Then, you need to setup the usergroup for those members who will have full access. To do this, create a new usergroup based off the Registered Users usergroup and set the permissions to give them the enhanced level of access.

For more information on usergroups and permissions, please see this section of the manual relating to these.

Once you have your usergroups setup to your needs, you should create the appropriate Promotion. Using the criteria above, your Promotions screen should look like this:

<<<Screenshot of Promotions screen with the following criteria>>>

Explanation:

Usergroup
This is the usergroup that the users are currently a member of, i.e. Registered Users. The Promotion will only apply to these users.
Posts
These are the number of posts that a user should have made before they can be promoted, in this case 10.
Promotion Strategy
As this example will have a user promoted after 10 posts have been made, this should be set to ‘Posts’
Promotion Type
Set this option to ‘Primary Usergroup’. When the Promotions Scheduled Task runs, the user will then have their Primary Usergroup changed.
Move User to Usergroup
This should be set to the new usergroup that was setup earlier, i.e. Full Members’

Note:

To promote users using other criteria, simply set the relevant ‘Days Registered’ value, or ‘Reputation Level’ if promoting users after they receive ‘x’ reputation points and set the ‘Promotion Strategy’ to the appropriate option.

Promotions Example 3: Free/Paid Access

How to set up a trial subscription for your paid subscription site

Some admins prefer to limit the access that a new user has to their site until they take out a Paid Subscription. The drawback with this is that the new user may not be in a position to decide whether they wish to pay for access until they’ve seen what content is available. As such, a method of allowing a ‘Trial Access’ is required.

For this example, we will use the following criteria:

- Initial Usergroup: Registered Users
- ‘Expired Trial Members’ Usergroup: Expired Trial Members
- Paid Access Usergroup: Premium Members
- Time Trial Access is available: 10

When a new user registers, they automatically go into the Registered Users usergroup. This usergroup can be set with partially restrictive permissions so that new users can see but perhaps not post to the forums unless they take out a Paid Subscription. To set this up, you will need to ensure that the permissions for your Registered Users usergroup are correct for your ‘Trial Members’. You will then need to create a new usergroup, ‘Expired Trial Members’, which should have no access to view your site.

For more information on usergroups and permissions, please see this section of the manual relating to these.

Once you have your usergroups setup to your needs, you should create the appropriate Promotion. Using the criteria above, your Promotions screen should look like this:

<<<Screenshot of Promotions screen with the following criteria>>>

Explanation:

Usergroup
This is the usergroup that the users are currently a member of, i.e. Registered Users. The Promotion will only apply to these users.
Days Registered
These are the number of days that a user will have access to view your site before they are moved (promoted) to the usergroup that has no access, in this case 10.
Promotion Strategy
As this example will have a user promoted after 10 days have elapsed since registration, this should be set to ‘Join Date’
Promotion Type
Set this option to ‘Primary Usergroup’. When the Promotions Scheduled Task runs, the user will then have their Primary Usergroup changed.
Move User to Usergroup
This should be set to the new usergroup that was setup earlier, i.e. Expired Trial Members’

Note that the ‘Reputation Level’ and ‘Posts’ values although completed will have no effect on this Promotion as the Strategy has been set to ‘Join Date’. Once the above have been set, click the Save button.

Now complete, this Promotion will move active users from the ‘Registered Users’ usergroup to the ‘Expired Trial Members’ usergroup once they have been registered for 10 days in your forum.

Note:

For more information on Paid Subscriptions, please see this section of the manual <<<Needs correct hop after Paid Subscriptions article is written>>>

Promotions Example 3: Upgrade Access After Time

How to enhance access for longer standing members:

Some site owners opt to reward users who have been members of their site for a significant time by giving them access to features that newer members don’t. This example deals with how to set this up.

For this example, we will use the following criteria:

- Initial Usergroup: Registered Users
- ‘Enhanced Member’ Usergroup: Enhanced Members
- Length of Time Registered: 730

As all new users go into the Registered Users usergroup by default, simply adjust the permissions for this group to what you wish them to have. Then, you need to setup the usergroup for those members who will have enhanced access. To do this, create a new usergroup based off the Registered Users usergroup and set the permissions to give them the enhanced level of access..

For more information on usergroups and permissions, please see this section of the manual relating to these.

Once you have your usergroups setup to your needs, you should create the appropriate Promotion. Using the criteria above, your Promotions screen should look like this:

<<<Screenshot of Promotions screen with the following criteria>>>

Explanation:

Usergroup
This is the usergroup that the users are currently a member of, i.e. Registered Users. The Promotion will only apply to these users.
Days Registered
These are the number of days that a user will have access to view your site before they are moved (promoted) to the usergroup that has no access, in this case 730.
Promotion Strategy
As this example will have a user promoted after 730 days (2 years) have elapsed since registration, this should be set to ‘Join Date’
Promotion Type
Set this option to ‘Primary Usergroup’. When the Promotions Scheduled Task runs, the user will then have their Primary Usergroup changed.
Move User to Usergroup
This should be set to the new usergroup that was setup earlier, i.e. Enhanced Members’

Note that the ‘Reputation Level’ and ‘Posts’ values although completed will have no effect on this Promotion as the Strategy has been set to ‘Join Date’. Once the above have been set, click the Save button.

Now complete, this Promotion will move active users from the ‘Registered Users’ usergroup to the ‘Enhanced Members’ usergroup once they have been registered for 730 days in your forum.

User Infractions

The vBulletin User Infraction system is designed to automate the management of “misbehaving” users.

Infractions carry a point total that is assigned to users as infractions occur. When user infraction points reach specified numbers, the users are added to infraction groups. Infraction groups can be set up to restrict the permissions of users.

Note:

There is no method to apply infractions in the vBulletin 5 Connect Front-End at this time.

An Introduction to User Infractions

The vBulletin User Infraction system is designed to automate the management of “misbehaving” users.

The first step in setting up your user infraction system is to create infraction levels. These levels vary based on the content of the site and the scale of the system that you want to create. You can create just a few levels or set up many levels covering a myriad of infractions.

When creating levels, keep in mind the point total at which you want to start penalizing users by taking away permissions. If you envision taking away a certain permission when a user accumulates 10 infraction points, then you need to consider how many points should be given for each infraction and how quickly the user can get to 10 points.

Each infraction level has an expiration time. When the infraction expires, the associated points are removed from the user's point total and the user's infraction groups are recalculated.

Infraction levels can also be allowed to be given as warnings. A warning does not add any infraction points to the user's point total. Warnings serve as a method to remind users of your site's rules and encourage them to be followed without awarding infraction points. Moderators can give an infraction or a warning for those levels that have the warning ability enabled.

When an infraction is given, a message is sent by the moderator to the receiving user that explains why the infraction is being given. This message uses the Private Messaging System if it is enabled. Otherwise, if your site has email enabled, an email is sent. At the same time, a new thread for discussion of the infraction is created in a predetermined channel. This channel is set up in the Settings > Options > User Infractions & Post Reporting Options section. For more information, read the User Infractions & Post Reporting Options article.

The second step in setting up the system is to create infraction groups that penalize users in whatever way you define.

Normal permissions work by combining all of a user's usergroup permissions and granting a permission for any that are set to ‘Yes’. Infraction group permissions work in the reverse: the permissions are combined and any permission set to ‘No’ is taken away from the user.

When you set up your infraction usergroups (in the Usergroup Manager), set all permissions to ‘Yes’, and then change those that need to be removed in case of an infraction to ‘No’.

Any permissions set to ‘No’ affects all channels. If you want to penalize a user only in certain channels, set all permissions to ‘Yes’ and then set up custom permissions at Usergroups > Channel Permissions for the channel in question using the Infraction Group. For more information on channel permissions, read the Channel Permissions article.

A user can be in multiple infraction groups: they will be assigned to all groups that apply to their primary usergroup ID that have a point total less than or equal to their accumulated points.

Navigate to User Infractions > User Infraction Manager to view current Infraction Levels and Infraction Groups. If you don’t have any set up, you can add them from this screen.

<<<Insert screenshot of User Infraction Manager.>>>

To add a new level, navigate to User Infractions > Add New User Infraction Level. For more information, see the Modifying User Infraction Levels article.

To add a new group, navigate to User Infractions > Add New User Infraction Group. For more information, see the Modifying User Infraction Levels article.

The User Infraction Manager

The User Infraction Manager, accessible via User Infractions > User Infraction Manager, allows you to view and modify user infraction levels and groups, as well as automatic ban settings.

The User Infraction Manager has three tables: User Infraction Levels, User Infraction Groups and Automatic Ban.

User Infraction Levels

<<<screenshot of the User Infraction Levels table>>>

The User Infraction Levels table has the following columns:

Title
The title of the user infraction level.
Points
The number of points the specified user infraction level is worth.
Expires
The amount of time that the points stay active for the specified user infraction level. If the points never expire, this column will display "Never".
Warning
Whether or not the infraction level can be given as a warning.
Extend
Whether or not the expiration time period will be extended if the user receives an additional infraction of the same kind within the time period specified in the Expires field.
Controls
The dropdown list has the following options:
- Edit
  Selecting this option and clicking the [Go] button will open the Edit User Infraction Level form for the specified user infraction level. For more information about this form, see the Modifying User Infraction Levels article.
- Delete
  Selecting this option and clicking the [Go] button will open a confirmation dialog asking if you are sure you would like to delete the specified user infraction level. Clicking the [Yes] will delete the user infraction level and return you to the User Infraction Manager. Clicking the [No] will cancel the operation and return you to the User Infraction Manager.

Clicking the [Add New User Infraction Level] button at the bottom of the table opens the Add User Infraction Level form. For more information about this form, see the Modifying User Infraction Levels article.

User Infraction Groups

<<<screenshot of the User Infraction Groups table>>>

The User Infraction Groups table has the following columns:

Primary Usergroup
The usergroup for which this infraction group applies.
Override Usergroup
The usergroup that will be used to override the primary usergroup. See the Modifying User Infraction Groups article for more information about how permissions work in regards to this setting.

Clicking this link opens the Edit Usergroup form. For more information about this form, see the Adding and Editing A Usergroup article.
Override Display
Whether or not the user's username markup and user title will be replaced by the markup and user title from the infraction usergroup.
Points
The number of points that must be accumulated for this infraction group to apply.
Controls
The dropdown list has the following options:
- Edit
  Selecting this option and clicking the [Go] button will open the Edit User Group form for the specified user infraction group. For more information about this form, see the Modifying User Infraction Groups article.
- Delete
  Selecting this option and clicking the [Go] button will open a confirmation dialog asking if you are sure you would like to delete the specified user infraction group. Clicking the [Yes] will delete the user infraction group and return you to the User Infraction Manager. Clicking the [No] will cancel the operation and return you to the User Infraction Manager.

Clicking the [Add New User Infraction Group] button at the bottom of the table opens the Add User Infraction Group form. For more information about this form, see the Modifying User Infraction Groups article.

Automatic Ban

<<<screenshot of the Automatic Ban table>>>

The Automatic Ban table has the following columns:

Primary Usergroup
The usergroup for which this automatic ban applies.
Ban Usergroup
The usergroup the user will be moved to after they are banned. Clicking this link opens the Edit Usergroup form. For more information about this form, see the Adding and Editing A Usergroup article.
Amount
The number of points or infractions that the user must accumulate in order to trigger the automatic ban.
Method
Whether the the automatic ban is triggered via the specified number of "Points" or "Infractions".
Ban Period
The length of time that the user will be banned.
Controls
The dropdown list has the following options:
- Edit
  Selecting this option and clicking the [Go] button will open the Edit Automatic Ban form for the specified user infraction group. For more information about this form, see the Modifying Automatic Bans article.
- Delete
  Selecting this option and clicking the [Go] button will open a confirmation dialog asking if you are sure you would like to delete the specified automatic ban. Clicking the [Yes] will delete the automatic ban and return you to the User Infraction Manager. Clicking the [No] will cancel the operation and return you to the User Infraction Manager.

Clicking the [Add New Automatic Ban] button at the bottom of the table opens the Add Automatic Ban form. For more information about this form, see the hop=acp_users_userinfractions_modbans]Modifying Automatic Bans[/hop] article.

Modifying User Infraction Groups

Path to adding a new User Infraction Group: User Infractions > Add New User Infraction Group.

Path to modifying an existing User Infraction Group: User Infractions > User Infraction Manager, then select “Edit” from the dropdown in the Control column for the infraction group you would like to edit.

Path to deleting an existing User Infraction Group: User Infractions > User Infraction Manager, then select “Delete” from the dropdown in the Control column for the infraction group you would like to delete.

<<<Insert screenshot of Add New User Infraction Group.>>>

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

The available fields are:

Points
User's infraction point total at which this infraction group will apply.

Primary Usergroup
This is the usergroup to which this infraction group applies. Setting this to “-- All Usergroups--” applies this infraction group to all users.

Override with Permissions from Usergroup
When sufficient infraction points are accumulated by a user, that user is added to this infraction group.

Infraction groups work in the opposite manner from normal usergroups. When a user is assigned to an infraction usergroup, the user's normal permissions are determined and then the user’s combined infraction groups permissions are determined. If any permission in an infraction usergroup is set to “No”, then the user will lose that permission. “No” permissions override “Yes” permissions.

Override Display (Yes/No)
Whether or not to override the user's username markup and user title with the markup and user title from the infraction usergroup.

Modifying Automatic Bans

Path to adding a new automatic ban: User Infractions > Add New Automatic Ban.

Path to modifying an existing automatic ban: User Infractions > User Infraction Manager, then select “Edit” from the dropdown in the Control column for the automatic ban you would like to edit.

Path to deleting an existing automatic ban: User Infractions > User Infraction Manager, then select “Delete” from the dropdown in the Control column for the automatic ban you would like to delete.

<<<Insert screenshot of Add New Automatic Ban screen.>>>

Options:

Amount
The number of points or the number of infractions or points (see Method option, below) that will trigger this ban. This trigger will happen any time that a user exceeds this number of infractions or points.

Method (default: Points)
The method (infractions or points) by which to automatically ban the user.

The method uses the value specified in the Amount option above as a triggering limit.

Primary Usergroup (default: All Usergroups)
This ban applies only to users who have this usergroup as their primary usergroup.

Selecting “All Usergroups” applies this ban to all users.

Move User to Usergroup (default: Banned Users)
The usergroup where the user will be moved during the ban.

For the ban to be effective, this usergroup should have reduced or no permissions.

Note:

You can only select usergroups that are specified as banned groups.

Lift Ban After... (default: 1 Day)
Length of the ban. This ranges from 1 day to 2 years to permanent.

Viewing User Infractions

Path to Viewing User Infractions: User Infractions > View Infractions.

You will be presented with a form, allowing you to search based on criteria such as the user the infraction was left for or by (optional) and a range of dates to search across.

<<<Note to reviewer: when I clicked on GO in the View Infractions form, I got:
Debug: Error Database error in vBulletin 5.0.0 Alpha 35: Invalid SQL:. I will mark this impeded.>>>

Once you submit this form you will receive results in a table like this:

This shows:

The user that received the infraction
The user that left the infraction
The date and time the infraction was left
The type of Infraction
The number of points that was given for the infraction
The expiration time of the infraction
The post that the infraction was left for

You may also delete or reverse the infraction that was left.

Issuing User Infractions

There are two kinds of infractions you can issue to users after you have completed the setup in the Admin CP:

General infraction
Per-post infraction

To see a user’s list of infractions (current and historical), go to the user’s profile and locate the Infractions form, which shows a summary and allows you to add infractions.

To see more detail and search using various filtering criteria, click [View].

To give an infraction for a particular offending reply, click the Yellow Card / Red Card icon. (The location of the icon varies depending on your Postbit layout and style.)

By default it looks like the following.

<<<Insert a screenshot of of the Yellow Card / Red Card icon.>>>

After you select an infraction type to assign to the user, the Infraction screen opens.

In the Infraction screen, you can select the specific infraction to issue, add an administrative note and send a message to the user.

User Profile Fields

When users register to be members of your vBulletin site they enter default profile information. You can also define custom profile fields for them.

Commonly used custom profile fields include Location, Occupation, and Interests.

An Introduction to Custom Profile Fields

vBulletin features a wide array of input options for you to gather information from your members through the creation of custom profile fields. With these fields you can present a defined list of options for the user to choose from or you can ask the user to give their own input. You can even combine the two options for maximum usability.

There are six input options to choose from to tailor your required user profile data collection method.

Single-Line Text Box
A single-line textbox that allows the user to enter a response.

Multiple-Line Text Box
A multiple-line textbox.

Single-Selection Radio Buttons
This option offers the user a choice of multiple answers, allowing them to make one selection.

Single-Selection Menu
This option offers the user a single choice of multiple answers presented as a dropdown menu.

Multiple-Selection Menu
This option offers multiple choices to the user, allowing multiple selections to be made from a drop down menu plus a selection box.

Multiple-Selection Checkbox
This option also offers multiple choices to the user, allowing multiple selections to be made from a set of checkboxes.

These fields can be required at registration or you can have them be shown after registration via the user's profile and options in the User CP.

User Profile Field Manager

Add New User Profile Field

Path to Adding a New Custom Profile Field: User Profile Fields > Add New User Profile Field

In the Add New User Profile Field form, choose which type of input field you want to use. Examples include Single-Line Text Box, Single-Selection Radio Buttons, or Multiple-Selection Menu.

Single Line Text Box

To add a Single-Line Text Box field to the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields> Add New User Profile Field then select Single Line Text Box from the dropdown menu.

The Single-Line Text Box form allows you to add a custom single line text box field to the User Profile form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Add New User Profile Field

Title
The name of your single-line text box field.
Description
This is the description of the field as shown to your users. You should describe here what the field is intended for, and if it is required field or not, and/or if it is private from other users or not.
Profile Field Category
It is possible to group custom user profile fields into categories so that they can be logically grouped. The primary purpose of doing this is to allow different categories to be shown in different tabs or blocks on a user's profile page (in addition to being shown in the 'About Me' tab). See the User Profile Field Categories article for more information.
Default Value
If the member doesn't change this field, then this will be the value stored in their profile.
Max length of allowed user input Default: 100
The maximum number of characters that the member will be allowed to input.
Field Length Default: 25
The width of the input box in characters.
Display Order
This sets the order in which fields are displayed. The default is to add it to the end of your current fields. Display order starts at 1 and can be any whole positive number (don't use decimals or fractions).
Field Required Default: No
- Yes, at registration and profile updating
  User will be required to complete this field at registration and when updating their profile.
- Yes, always
  User will be required to complete this field at registration. Enabling this setting will force all users to complete it before they can continue using your forum. This applies only if the field is shown on the "Edit Your Details" page.
- No
  Completion of this field is optional.
- No, but display at registration
  Completion of this field is optional but it will appear at registration.
Field Editable by User Default: Yes
- Yes
  User may edit this field at any time.
- No
  User may never edit this field.
- Only at registration
  User may only edit this field at registration or if it is set to be required and it is blank.
Private Field Default: No
If this is set to Yes, this field can be filled in by the user but will only be viewable to those with the proper usergroup permission.
Field Searchable on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to No, users will not be able to search using this field on the Member's List Advanced Search.
Show on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to Yes, this field will be displayed on the Member's List for each user.
Regular Expression
You may require this field's contents to match a PCRE-type regular expression. For example, you could have a field that is for the user's ICQ number. Since ICQ numbers consist of only numerals, you could write a regular expression to check for non-numerals.

Example:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$
```
If you want to allow an empty response to be given, you need to account for it within the regex:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$|^$
```
See PHP.net for more information on regular expressions.

Display Page

Which page displays this option? Default: Edit Profile
This controls what page the profile field is displayed on. Most likely you want to leave this on "Edit Profile" but if you wish to create your own user options that can be manipulated via template conditionals then select "Options". This field will then appear on the "Options" page of the User CP. Also, this field will not appear when viewing a user's profile.

Multiple Line Text Box

To add a Multiple-Line Text Box field to the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields> Add New User Profile Field then select Multiple-Line Text Box from the dropdown menu.

The Multiple-Line Text Box form allows you to add a custom multiple line text box field to the User Profile form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Add New User Profile Field

Title
The name of your Multiple-Line Text Box field.
Description
This is the description of the field as shown to your users. You should describe here what the field is intended for, and if it is required field or not, and/or if it is private from other users or not.
Profile Field Category
It is possible to group custom user profile fields into categories so that they can be logically grouped. The primary purpose of doing this is to allow different categories to be shown in different tabs or blocks on a user's profile page (in addition to being shown in the 'About Me' tab). See the User Profile Field Categories article for more information.
Default Value
If the member doesn't change this field, then this will be the value stored in their profile.
Max length of allowed user input Default: 100
The maximum number of characters that the member will be allowed to input.
Field Length Default: 25
The width of the input box in characters.
Text Area Height Default: 4
This is how many rows high the input should be on the forms. It is recommend that you set this to at least 2.
Display Order
This sets the order in which fields are displayed. The default is to add it to the end of your current fields. Display order starts at 1 and can be any whole positive number (don't use decimals or fractions).
Field Required Default: No
- Yes, at registration and profile updating
  User will be required to complete this field at registration and when updating their profile.
- Yes, always
  User will be required to complete this field at registration. Enabling this setting will force all users to complete it before they can continue using your forum. This applies only if the field is shown on the "Edit Your Details" page.
- No
  Completion of this field is optional.
- No, but display at registration
  Completion of this field is optional but it will appear at registration.
Field Editable by User Default: Yes
- Yes
  User may edit this field at any time.
- No
  User may never edit this field.
- Only at registration
  User may only edit this field at registration or if it is set to be required and it is blank.
Private Field Default: No
If this is set to Yes, this field can be filled in by the user but will only be viewable to those with the proper usergroup permission.
Field Searchable on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to No, users will not be able to search using this field on the Member's List Advanced Search.
Regular Expression
You may require this field's contents to match a PCRE-type regular expression. For example, you could have a field that is for the user's ICQ number. Since ICQ numbers consist of only numerals, you could write a regular expression to check for non-numerals.

Example:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$
```
If you want to allow an empty response to be given, you need to account for it within the regex:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$|^$
```
See PHP.net for more information on regular expressions.

Display Page

Which page displays this option? Default: Edit Profile
This controls what page the profile field is displayed on. Most likely you want to leave this on "Edit Profile" but if you wish to create your own user options that can be manipulated via template conditionals then select "Options". This field will then appear on the "Options" page of the User CP. Also, this field will not appear when viewing a user's profile.

Note:

Multiple-Line Text box fields can not be listed on the Members List.

Single Selection Radio Buttons

To add a Single-Selection Radio Button field to the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields> Add New User Profile Field then select Single-Selection Radio Buttons from the dropdown menu.

The Single-Selection Radio Buttons form allows you to add a custom single-selection radio button field to the User Profile form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Add New User Profile Field

Title
The name of your single-selection radio button field.
Description
This is the description of the field as shown to your users. You should describe here what the field is intended for, and if it is required field or not, and/or if it is private from other users or not.
Profile Field Category
It is possible to group custom user profile fields into categories so that they can be logically grouped. The primary purpose of doing this is to allow different categories to be shown in different tabs or blocks on a user's profile page (in addition to being shown in the 'About Me' tab). See the User Profile Field Categories article for more information.
Options
In this box, put each value that should appear as a radio button. Make sure to separate each option with a new line carriage return ("Enter" key).
Set Default Default: Yes
If this is set to Yes, the first radio button will be preselected for the user. Otherwise, none will be selected.
Display Order
This sets the order in which fields are displayed. The default is to add it to the end of your current fields. Display order starts at 1 and can be any whole positive number (don't use decimals or fractions).
Field Required Default: No
- Yes, at registration and profile updating
  User will be required to complete this field at registration and when updating their profile.
- Yes, always
  User will be required to complete this field at registration. Enabling this setting will force all users to complete it before they can continue using your forum. This applies only if the field is shown on the "Edit Your Details" page.
- No
  Completion of this field is optional.
- No, but display at registration
  Completion of this field is optional but it will appear at registration.
Field Editable by User Default: Yes
- Yes
  User may edit this field at any time.
- No
  User may never edit this field.
- Only at registration
  User may only edit this field at registration or if it is set to be required and it is blank.
Private Field Default: No
If this is set to Yes, this field can be filled in by the user but will only be viewable to those with the proper usergroup permission.
Field Searchable on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to No, users will not be able to search using this field on the Member's List Advanced Search.
Show on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to Yes, this field will be displayed on the Member's List for each user.

Optional Input

<<<Screenshot of Optional Input section>>>

Allow user to input their own value for this option Default: No
If this is set to Yes, the user will be allowed to fill in a text input field as an alternative to the options you have given for this field.
Max length of allowed user input Default: 100
The maximum number of characters that the member will be allowed to input.
Field Length Default: 25
The width of the input box in characters.
Regular Expression
You may require this field's contents to match a PCRE-type regular expression. For example, you could have a field that is for the user's ICQ number. Since ICQ numbers consist of only numerals, you could write a regular expression to check for non-numerals.

Example:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$
```
If you want to allow an empty response to be given, you need to account for it within the regex:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$|^$
```
See PHP.net for more information on regular expressions.

Display Page

Which page displays this option? Default: Edit Profile
This controls what page the profile field is displayed on. Most likely you want to leave this on "Edit Profile" but if you wish to create your own user options that can be manipulated via template conditionals then select "Options". This field will then appear on the "Options" page of the User CP. Also, this field will not appear when viewing a user's profile.

Single Selection Menu

To add a Single-Selection Menu field to the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields> Add New User Profile Field then select Single-Selection Menu from the dropdown menu.

The Single-Selection Menu form allows you to add a custom single-selection menu field to the User Profile form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Add New User Profile Field

Title
The name of your Single-Selection Menu field.
Description
This is the description of the field as shown to your users. You should describe here what the field is intended for, and if it is required field or not, and/or if it is private from other users or not.
Profile Field Category
It is possible to group custom user profile fields into categories so that they can be logically grouped. The primary purpose of doing this is to allow different categories to be shown in different tabs or blocks on a user's profile page (in addition to being shown in the 'About Me' tab). See the User Profile Field Categories article for more information.
Options
In this box, put each value that should appear as a menu item. Make sure to separate each option with a new line carriage return ("Enter" key).
Set Default Default: Yes, Including a First Blank Item
- None
  The selected option will be a blank field. If you require this field, this will force the user to make a choice.
- Yes, Including a First Blank Option
  This sets the first option above as selected but also creates a blank option allowing the user to choose nothing if this field isn't required.
- Yes, but No First Blank Option
  This also sets the first option above as selected but doesn't allow the user to choose a nothing since their is no empty option to choose from.
Display Order
This sets the order in which fields are displayed. The default is to add it to the end of your current fields. Display order starts at 1 and can be any whole positive number (don't use decimals or fractions).
Field Required Default: No
- Yes, at registration and profile updating
  User will be required to complete this field at registration and when updating their profile.
- Yes, always
  User will be required to complete this field at registration. Enabling this setting will force all users to complete it before they can continue using your forum. This applies only if the field is shown on the "Edit Your Details" page.
- No
  Completion of this field is optional.
- No, but display at registration
  Completion of this field is optional but it will appear at registration.
Field Editable by User Default: Yes
- Yes
  User may edit this field at any time.
- No
  User may never edit this field.
- Only at registration
  User may only edit this field at registration or if it is set to be required and it is blank.
Private Field Default: No
If this is set to Yes, this field can be filled in by the user but will only be viewable to those with the proper usergroup permission.
Field Searchable on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to No, users will not be able to search using this field on the Member's List Advanced Search.
Show on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to Yes, this field will be displayed on the Member's List for each user.

Optional Input

<<<Screenshot of Optional Input section>>>

Allow user to input their own value for this option Default: No
If this is set to Yes, the user will be allowed to fill in a text input field as an alternative to the options you have given for this field.
Max length of allowed user input Default: 100
The maximum number of characters that the member will be allowed to input.
Field Length Default: 25
The width of the input box in characters.
Regular Expression
You may require this field's contents to match a PCRE-type regular expression. For example, you could have a field that is for the user's ICQ number. Since ICQ numbers consist of only numerals, you could write a regular expression to check for non-numerals.

Example:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$
```
If you want to allow an empty response to be given, you need to account for it within the regex:
```
^[0-9]{7,8}$|^$
```
See PHP.net for more information on regular expressions.

Display Page

Which page displays this option? Default: Edit Profile
This controls what page the profile field is displayed on. Most likely you want to leave this on "Edit Profile" but if you wish to create your own user options that can be manipulated via template conditionals then select "Options". This field will then appear on the "Options" page of the User CP. Also, this field will not appear when viewing a user's profile.

[/*][/list]

Multiple Selection Menu

To add a Multiple-Selection Menu field to the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields> Add New User Profile Field then select Multiple-Selection Menu from the dropdown menu.

The Multiple-Selection Menu form allows you to add a custom multiple-selection menu field to the User Profile form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

<<<screenshot of Multiple-Selection Menu form>>>

Add New User Profile Field

Title
The name of your Multiple-Selection Menu field.
Description
This is the description of the field as shown to your users. You should describe here what the field is intended for, and if it is required field or not, and/or if it is private from other users or not.
Profile Field Category
It is possible to group custom user profile fields into categories so that they can be logically grouped. The primary purpose of doing this is to allow different categories to be shown in different tabs or blocks on a user's profile page (in addition to being shown in the 'About Me' tab). See the User Profile Field Categories article for more information.
Limit Selection Default: 0
Maximum number of options the user may select. Set to 0 to allow the user to select all options.
Box Height Default: 0
Sets the number of options to display simultaneously. Set to 0 to display them all.
Options
In this box, put each value that should appear as an option. Make sure to separate each option with a new line carriage return ("Enter" key).
Note:
You may have a maximum of 31 options in this field.
Display Order
This sets the order in which fields are displayed. The default is to add it to the end of your current fields. Display order starts at 1 and can be any whole positive number (don't use decimals or fractions).
Field Required Default: No
- Yes, at registration and profile updating
  User will be required to complete this field at registration and when updating their profile.
- Yes, always
  User will be required to complete this field at registration. Enabling this setting will force all users to complete it before they can continue using your forum. This applies only if the field is shown on the "Edit Your Details" page.
- No
  Completion of this field is optional.
- No, but display at registration
  Completion of this field is optional but it will appear at registration.
Field Editable by User Default: Yes
- Yes
  User may edit this field at any time.
- No
  User may never edit this field.
- Only at registration
  User may only edit this field at registration or if it is set to be required and it is blank.
Private Field Default: No
If this is set to Yes, this field can be filled in by the user but will only be viewable to those with the proper usergroup permission.
Field Searchable on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to No, users will not be able to search using this field on the Member's List Advanced Search.
Show on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to Yes, this field will be displayed on the Member's List for each user.

Display Page

Which page displays this option? Default: Edit Profile
This controls what page the profile field is displayed on. Most likely you want to leave this on "Edit Profile" but if you wish to create your own user options that can be manipulated via template conditionals then select "Options". This field will then appear on the "Options" page of the User CP. Also, this field will not appear when viewing a user's profile.

Multiple Selection Checkbox

To add a Multiple-Selection Checkbox field to the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields> Add New User Profile Field then select Multiple-Selection Checkbox from the dropdown menu.

The Multiple-Selection Checkbox form allows you to add a custom multiple-selection checkbox field to the User Profile form.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Add New User Profile Field

Title
The name of your Multiple-Selection Checkbox field.
Description
This is the description of the field as shown to your users. You should describe here what the field is intended for, and if it is required field or not, and/or if it is private from other users or not. If you choose the limit the number of choices, you should also add that information here.
Profile Field Category
It is possible to group custom user profile fields into categories so that they can be logically grouped. The primary purpose of doing this is to allow different categories to be shown in different tabs or blocks on a user's profile page (in addition to being shown in the 'About Me' tab). See the User Profile Field Categories article for more information.
Limit Selection Default: 0
Maximum number of options the user may select. Set to 0 to allow the user to select all options.
Options
In this box, put each value that should appear as an option. Make sure to separate each option with a new line carriage return ("Enter" key).
Note:
You may have a maximum of 31 options in this field.
Display Order
This sets the order in which fields are displayed. The default is to add it to the end of your current fields. Display order starts at 1 and can be any whole positive number (don't use decimals or fractions).
Field Required Default: No
- Yes, at registration and profile updating
  User will be required to complete this field at registration and when updating their profile.
- Yes, always
  User will be required to complete this field at registration. Enabling this setting will force all users to complete it before they can continue using your forum. This applies only if the field is shown on the "Edit Your Details" page.
- No
  Completion of this field is optional.
- No, but display at registration
  Completion of this field is optional but it will appear at registration.
Field Editable by User Default: Yes
- Yes
  User may edit this field at any time.
- No
  User may never edit this field.
- Only at registration
  User may only edit this field at registration or if it is set to be required and it is blank.
Private Field Default: No
If this is set to Yes, this field can be filled in by the user but will only be viewable to those with the proper usergroup permission.
Field Searchable on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to No, users will not be able to search using this field on the Member's List Advanced Search.
Show on Members List Default: Yes
If this is set to Yes, this field will be displayed on the Member's List for each user.

Display Page

Which page displays this option? Default: Edit Profile
This controls what page the profile field is displayed on. Most likely you want to leave this on "Edit Profile" but if you wish to create your own user options that can be manipulated via template conditionals then select "Options". This field will then appear on the "Options" page of the User CP. Also, this field will not appear when viewing a user's profile.

User Profile Field Categories

User Profile Field Categories are used to organize the custom profile fields you can create for your users and their profiles. In order to get to the User Profile Field Categories form, follow this path: User Profile Fields > User Profile Field Categories.

If there are no User Profile Field Categories, this screen will display:

Otherwise, the screen you arrive on will look like this:

ID
This identifies the sequence in which the category was created.

Title
This is the title of the created category. The italic text beneath is the entered description.

Contains (x) fields
This is how many custom fields have been organized into this category.

Display Order
This is the display order of the category in the User Profile Field Manager.

Edit
This link opens the edit page for a selected category.

Delete
This link starts the delete process for a selected category.

Save Display Order
This saves any changes made to the display order of the categories.

Add View Profile Field Category
This link opens the form you need to create new categories.

Adding / Editing User Profile Field Categories

User Profile Field Categories are used to organize the custom profile fields you can create for your users and their profiles. You can add or edit them at any time. In order to get to the User Profile Field Categories form, follow this path: User Profile Fields > User Profile Field Categories.

If you want to add a new category, click on the Add New Profile Field Category at the bottom of the page.

If you want to edit an existing category, click on the Edit link to the left of the category you want to edit.

Both options will open a form similar to the one above. The edit version will have the fields filled out, while the add version will have empty fields.

Title
This is the title of the category.

Translations
When inserting a custom phrase, you may also specify the translations into whatever languages you have installed.If you do leave a translation box blank, it will inherit the text from the 'Text to insert' box. You may customize the translations further at any time.

Description
This is the description for your category.

Location on Profile Page
Use this control to specify whereabouts on a users' profile pages you would like this profile field category to appear.

There are several options, some of which will cause the information to appear as a tab, and other will display the information as a block in the column next to the tabs.

Display Order
This option controls where the category will appear relative to other categories when listed. A category with a higher display order number will appear after or below a lower number.

Allow User Privacy Options
This option controls whether the category will appear in the 'Customize Profile' page, allowing users to select whether to hide or display the category's profile block to other users.

Modifying Existing Custom Profile Fields

To modify, edit and manage existing profile fields on the User Profile form, click on the following to your left: User Profile Fields->User Profile Field Manager.

User Profile Field Manager

The User Profile Field Manager panel allows you to manage and modify existing profile fields on the User Profile form.

The table displays the Title, Options, Name, Display Order and links to modify the fields in the User Profile form.

The Title column displays the text entered into the Title field in the Add New User Profile Field form.
The Options column displays any of the following options that are active for the field:
- Required - If the field is set as any of the yes options in the Field Required field on the in the Add New User Profile Field form.
- Editable - If the field is set to Yes in the Field Editable by User field on the in the Add New User Profile Field form.
- Private - If the field is set to Yes in the Private Field radio button option on the in the Add New User Profile Field form.
- Searchable - If the field is set to Yes in the Field Searchable on Members List radio button option on the in the Add New User Profile Field form.
- Member List - If the field is set to Yes in the Show on Members List radio button option on the in the Add New User Profile Field form.
The Name column displays the field number of the corresponding profile field. You can use a profile field's field number to make it show in user posts.
The Display Order column shows the display order of the corresponding profile field. Display orders are used to order profile fields on the various pages of the User CP on which they can be displayed. You can change display orders by editing the display order fields and clicking the Save Display Order button.
Note:
You must click Save Display Order for changes to the display order to take effect.
The Controls column displays two links: one to edit and one to delete the corresponding profile field.

Clicking the Edit link will display the options for the field, much like Add New User Profile Field form. There are a few differences that are discussed below.

Clicking the Delete link displays a confirmation screen asking if you are sure you want to delete the field. Clicking the No button will cancel the operation and return you to the User Profile Field Manager. Clicking the Yes button will delete the field and all data associated with it. This action cannot be undone.

Editing User Profile Fields

There are a couple points that you must consider when modifying an existing profile field.

The first is that profile fields are limited in what other field types that they can be converted to.

A Single-Line Text Box can be converted to a Multiple-Line Text Box and vice versa
A Multiple-Selection Checkbox can be converted to a Multiple-Selection Menu and vice versa

No other conversions are supported.

Secondly, a special form is required when modifying the user choices in the Multiple-Selection Checkbox and Multiple-Selection Menu fields. If you wish to add, delete or change the order of the available options, click the Modify button in the Fields field of the form. It will display the following screen:

To move an item up in the list, press the up arrow to the left of the item and to move an item down press the down arrow to the left of the item.

To rename an item, click the Rename link to the right of the item. To delete an item, click the Delete link.

Use the Add form to add a new item. To add a new choice to the list, enter the name of the choice in the Name field. You can set the position of the item using the Position dropdown menu. Click the Add New Option button to save the item to the list or click the Reset button to clear the form.

User Ranks

User Ranks are similar to User Titles in that they allow users to progress through a number of classes depending upon the number of posts they have made.

However, User Ranks are more flexible than User Titles because they can (if desired) be applied to specific usergroups, and can contain images and HTML in the titles.

An Introduction to User Ranks

User ranks are images or text that are assigned to your users based on their post count. The most common usage of ranks is that of stars that increase or change color based on the user's post count and usergroup.

User's ranks generally appear beneath their username on posts, private messages, announcements, usernotes and in their profile.

Ranks can be assigned to specific usergroups or they can be assigned to cover all groups who don't have a rank specifically assigned to them.

As of vBulletin 3.5, it is possible for a user to display multiple ranks by being a member of multiple user groups, each with specific ranks. vBulletin 3.0 only allowed a single set of ranks to be displayed for a user. This is covered in more detail when editing a rank is discussed.

Navigate to User Ranks > User Rank Manager to view your current ranks. If you have none set up, you will only see the small notice that defines user ranks.

The figure above demonstrates a simple rank scheme. In this setup, members of the Administrator group who have at least 1 post would have the rank of three smilies. Since we have also set up a rank to cover All Usergroups, all members, including the Administrator group, with at least 10 posts would have a rank of .::Newbie::..

To add a new rank, navigate to User Ranks > Add New User Rank.

Modifying User Ranks

You can modify user ranks anytime after creating them. To do so, use the following path: User Ranks->User Rank Manager and then click on the Edit link to the right of the rank you wish to modify.

Number of Times to Repeat Rank
This generally applies to ranks that are images. This is the number of time the image will be repeated. If you wanted 4 stars to appear, you would either create an image of 4 stars and set this to 1 or you would create an image of 1 star and set this to 4.

Usergroup
This is the usergroup that this rank applies to. If you want it to apply to all groups then leave it set to All Usergroups

Note:

When this is set to All Usergroups, Display Type controls an important feature. If Display Type is set to 'always', then this rank will display for every user, no matter what other ranks you may have defined for their usergroups. When set to 'if displaygroup = this group', then this rank will only display if the user has no other ranks explicitly defined for their usergroup. You use this setup to create a generic rank for everyone but keep it from displaying for other groups that have a special rank (Admin, Moderator, etc)

Minimum Posts
This is the minimum number of posts that the user must have to obtain this rank. If you set this to 20 and then create a second rank for the same usergroup that had a minimum posts of 30 then this rank would be shown only for users in this usergroup that have from 20 to 29 posts.

Stack Rank (Yes/No)
This allows you to control how ranks are displayed in case a user has multiple ranks displayed. If you set this to yes, this rank will be displayed on its own line. If you set this to no, this rank will follow the previous rank on the same line.

Display Type
This option controls who the rank will be shown for. If you select 'always', the rank will be displayed for any user that has this user group as a primary or secondary group. If you select 'if displaygroup = this group', then this rank will only be shown if the user is currently being identified as this group. If you are not using multiple-group membership, this option does not have any effect.

Note:

Remember, the rank will apply to the users Primary Usergroup unless the user has chosen to be identified by a Secondary Usergroup through Public Groups.

User Rank File Path
This is the file path to the image you wish to use. It is relative to your forum directory, i.e. images/smilies/biggrin.gif.

OR you may enter text
If you wish to use text instead of an image, you would put in this field.

To modify an existing rank, press Edit to the right of the rank in the User Rank Manager. Editing a User Rank presents you with the same options as adding a new rank.

To remove a rank, select the Delete option to the right of the user rank in the User Rank Manager.

User Ranks Example

This example will demonstrate how you would setup a group of ranks for all users, based on post count. Administrators will get a special rank and will not have the rank that everyone else has.

Since we have set the Display Type of the All Usergroups ranks to Displaygroup, we have invoked the special setting mentioned in Modifying User Ranks. The All Usergroups ranks will display for everyone except for those in the Administrator group since that group has a rank explicitly defined, the ADMIN rank. Since we have set Stack Rank to No for both ranks, that means that the rank will appear all on one line.

Ranks are evaluated by usergroupid in reverse order. This means that the All Usergroups rank will appear last. If you wish to have ADMIN appear on one line, and the All Usergroups rank on another, you would set the Stack Rank option of the Administrator group to Yes. This will result in an html <br /> being placed after ADMIN. The All Usergroups rank would then follow, displaying on a new line.

The ADMIN rank would only display for users that had the Administrator group as their primary Usergroup or as a Secondary group. If the Display Type of the Administrator group's rank was changed to Displaygroup, then this rank would only show for those user's who have set the Administrator group as their displaygroup. That would be accomplished either by the user only being in the Administrator group, being a member of multiple groups assigned by the admin and having the Admin group as their displaygroup, or by having used Public Groups to to join the Admin group and choosing that as their display group.

The last scenario is quite unlikely since you would not allow members to join the Administrator group on their own choosing but the logic can be applied to other groups.

User Reputation

The User Reputation system allows your board members to leave comments about one another’s posts, and thereby contribute to their overall 'reputation'.

Using the User Reputation manager, you can create titles for a variety of reputation levels, so that users are given a reputation title when they reach a certain reputation level.

An Introduction to User Reputation

User Reputation in its simplest form is a ranking of your user's benefit to your forum. Its basis comes from the opinions of all of your forum users that choose take part in it.

Users gain and lose reputation based on how their posts are scored by other forum participants. Users with the ability to affect reputation, will either give or take aways points by approving or disapproving with a post's content.

User reputation can be a divisive element of your forum so great care should be taken before a decision is made to enable it.

All of the factors that affect a user's reputation score are found in the User Reputation section. Please view that section of the manual for more information on controlling how users are able to affect another user's reputation.

Add New User Reputation

You can add new user reputation levels through this form: User Reputation> Add New User Reputation.

<<Insert image of form here>>

Description
The text entered here becomes the description of the reputation level. For example, if you were to enter is a fine minion! into the text field, it would display as: (username) is a fine minon! as long as they met the number entered into the Minimum Reputation Level field.

Minimum Reputation Level
This is the minimum reputation level that the user must meet before receiving the reputation description entered above. This can be a positive or negative number.

Note:

Make sure to choose a reputation level that is not the same as a level that already exists as levels must be unique. You will not be allowed to save the field if you duplicate a minimum level.

User Reputation Manager

As users, gain and lose reputation, they are associated with a moniker that describes their current level. These levels are modifiable by navigating to User Reputations->User Reputation Manager.

<<insert image of reputation manager>>

In the above example, we have all of the levels that users on this forum can achieve. For example, a user with a reputation of 55 would have the level of will become famous soon enough. A user with a reputation of -5 would have a level of has a little shameless behaviour in the past. Since the lowest level in this example is -99999, any user with a reputation lower than this would use the default undefined level that is set in the reputation section of the vBulletin Options.

From this screen you can choose to edit a level description, change a level minimum or remove a level. If you wanted to change the minimum level of has a reputation beyond repute from 2000 to 3000 you would enter 3000 in the input field where 2000 is currently and press Update.

If you wished to change the text of has a reputation beyond repute, you would press the Edit link.

<<insert image of reputation editor>>

From this screen you can also change the minimum level as you can from the previous screen. Enter the new level text in the Description field but take care as you can not use HTML in this field. Press Update when finished.

User Titles

An Introduction to User Titles

User titles are the descriptions of a user that are displayed under his or her username in a post. These titles will often refer to one of three things:

The user’s amount of activity on the board (examples: Junior Member, Senior Member). This is usually set through the default user title ladder that is described in the User Title Manager article.
The user’s relationship to the board (examples: Administrator, Moderator). This is usually set through a usergroup-specific user title that overrides the default user title ladder.
A custom title, specified by the user. This can refer to anything the user desires. The user may not have permission to set their own user title; it is controlled by a usergroup permission. More information about Usergroup and Permissions can be found here

User Title Manager

To get to the User Title Manager, click on the following to your left: User Titles> User Title Manager.

The User Title Manager allows you to specify user titles based on post count. When a user reaches the specified minimum post count their title will be changed. User titles are an indication of status on the forums and are displayed below names in posts and in their User Profile. The term 'ladder' is used to describe the hierarchy of the titles.

Note:

If a user's usergroup has a user title specified (see the Usergroup Manager article) then that user will have their usergroup's title instead of the ladder of titles in the User Title Manager.

The User Title Manager displays a table of the user titles based on post count available on your site. Above the table is a note that you should update user titles and ranks after adding, editing and deleting user titles. Clicking the link in the note takes you to the Maintenance panel. For more information on this panel, consult the Maintenance article.

The table displays the User Title, Minimum Posts, and Controls for editing or deleting the user titles.

The User Title column displays the text entered into the Title field in the Add/Edit User Title form.
The Minimum Posts column displays the text entered into the Minimum Posts field in the Add/Edit User Title form. This is the minimum number of posts for a user to receive this title. They will have this title until they make enough posts to be moved to the title with the next highest minimum posts value.
Note:
The post count checked against the minimum posts value is the value stored with the user. Therefore, posts in forums that do not count posts will not have an effect.
The Controls column contains a dropdown with two options: one to edit and one to delete the corresponding user title.

Choosing the Edit option will open the Add/Edit User Title form for the corresponding title.

Choosing the Delete option displays a confirmation screen asking if you are sure you want to delete the title. Clicking the No button will cancel the operation and return you to the User Title Manager. Clicking the Yes button will delete the title. This action cannot be undone.

Below the table is a Add New User Title button. Clicking this button will open a blank Add/Edit User Title form.

Adding or Editing A User Title

To get to the Add New User Title form, click on the following to your left: User Titles> User Title Manager then click the Add New User Title button.

To edit an existing user title via the Edit User Title form, click on the following to your left: User Titles> User Title Manager, find the user title you would like to edit and choose the Edit option from the dropdown in the Controls column.

The Add/Edit User Title form allows you to add a new user title or edit an existing title.

Note:

You must click Save for changes to take effect.

Title
This is the title that will be given to a user that reaches the minimum post count specified below. It will appear below their name when the user posts.
Minimum Posts
This is the the minimum number of posts that a user needs to receive this title.

Note:

If a user has enough posts to receive a title with a higher minimum posts value, he or she will receive that title instead.

Note:

The post count checked against the minimum posts value is the value stored with the user. Therefore, posts in forums that do not count posts will not have an effect.

Paid Subscriptions

The vBulletin Paid Subscriptions system allows you to charge your visitors for access to specific areas and services that you may offer.

In general, this is achieved by temporarily making a subscribed user into a member of one or more specific usergroups, which have access to the site areas or services for which they have paid.

Introduction to Paid Subscriptions

The Paid Subscriptions system present in vBulletin allows the owner of the board the opportunity to create income via the forums.

Payment is processed automatically via the various online processors that support a call back to a user defined script, this allows the system to be virtually maintenance free.

Note:

If you run vBulletin with any sort of HTTP authentication system then the callback by the online processors will be subject to the same conditions and the subscription will not go through.

Payment API Manager

This section will explain how to setup the appropriate variables to integrate with external Payment Gateways.

Paid Subscriptions > Payment API Manager will present you with the following screen, the Payment API Manager allows you to change the appropriate variables regarding payment as well as enable and disable a particular gateway.

Within debug mode further Payment API's can be added, please refer to the Developer Documentation on how to create a Payment API.

Paypal

1	Log in to your PayPal account
2	Click the settings icon at the top of your PayPal account page and then click Account Settings.
3	On the Notifications page, click the Update link for the Instant payment notifications item.
4	Click Choose IPN Settings to specify your listener's URL and activate the listener. The following page opens: You should now be presented with a screen containing the following: Note: If the Instant Payment Notification link is not present you will need to apply for Premier Account or a Business Account from PayPal. Check the checkbox to activate Instant Payment Notification and enter the following URL below the checkbox. http://www.example.com/forums/payment_gateway.php?method=paypal Make sure to replace www.example.com with your own domain name. Click [Save]
5	Go to Paid Subscriptions > Payment API Manager > PayPal in your AdminCP where you will be presented with the following screen:
6	Enter your PayPal email address in the PayPal email field. This does not need to be the primary email address for your PayPal account and can be any email address associated with your PayPal account that you wish to use for payments received from your forum.
7	If you wish to use recurring subscriptions, you also need to enter your primary email address for your PayPal account in the PayPal Primary Account Email field. Your completed PayPal page will then look like either where the PayPal email address used for your forum is the same as the primary email address for your PayPal account, or where the PayPal email address is different to the primary email address for your PayPal account.
8	Finally, to activate the PayPal API for paid subscriptions, change the Active setting to Yes.

NOCHEX

1	Log in to your NOCHEX account
2	Click on the 'Edit Automatic Payment Confirmation Details' link You should now be presented with a screen containing the following: Note: If the 'Edit Automatic Payment Confirmation Details' link is not present you will need to contact NOCHEX support and request that your account have this feature activated. Enter the following URL in the input box: http://www.example.com/forums/payment_gateway.php?method=nochex Click [Save Changes]
3	Go to Paid Subscriptions > Payment API Manager > NOCHEX in your vBulletin AdminCP where you will be presented with the following screen: and enter your NOCHEX email address in the NOCHEX email field.
4	Finally, change the active setting to Yes to activate payments via NOCHEX in vBulletin

Note:

NOCHEX does NOT support recurring payments.

Worldpay

1	Log in to the WorldPay CMS You should now be presented with a screen containing the following:
2	Click Configuration Options next to the Installation which has (Select Junior). This will lead you to the configuration screen which should look like the following:
3	Enter the following URL in the 'Callback URL' field: http://www.example.com/forums/payment_gateway.php?method=worldpay
4	Check the 'Callback enabled?' checkbox.
5	Within the 'Callback password' field enter an appropriately secure password, this will be used for verifying transactions. Click [Save Changes]
6	Go to Paid Subscriptions > Payment API Manager > Worldpay in your vBulletin AdminCP where you will be presented with the following screen:
7	Enter your Installation ID that was displayed in the initial login to the WorldPay CMS and the password you setup within the CMS in the relevant fields on this page.
8	To activate WorldPay payments in your forum, change the Active setting to Yes

Note:

WorldPay does NOT support recurring payments.

Authorize.net

1	Log in to Authorize.Net merchant account
2	Click Settings on the left menu
3	Under the 'Transaction Response' group click Relay Response You should now be presented with a screen containing the following:
4	You should now enter the following URL, adjusted to your forum: http://www.example.com/forums/payment_gateway.php?method=authorizenet Click [Submit]
5	You should now be on the main Settings screen again, click 'Obtain Transaction Key' under the Security group. Enter the appropriate secret information and a new key will be generated for you. Note: If you already know your transaction key you dont need to generate a new one.
6	To set the Login ID and transaction key go to Paid Subscriptions > Payment API Manager > Authorize.Net in your vBulletin AdminCP where you will presented with the following page:
7	Complete the Authorize.Net Login ID and Authorize.Net Transaction Key with your login for Authorize.net and the transaction key that you have generated in the relevant fields.
8	If you have a MD5 Hash Security Key for your Authorize.net account, then you can enter it in the MD5 Hash Security Key field. This is not a required field, so if this field is not completed then it will not affect the operation of the paid subscriptions.
9	Finally, to activate Authorize.Net payments, change the Active setting to Yes.

Note:

Authorize.Net does NOT support recurring payments.

Adding or Editing a Paid Subscription

To add a Subscription, click Paid Subscriptions > Add New Subscriptions. You will be presented with a screen like this:

Title – Subscription title.
Description – a short description which can be used to describe what the subscription offers.
Active – if checked users will be able to subscribe to this Subscription.
Subscription Length – the length of time the user will remain in the subscription before being reverted.
Cost – the various costs in each currency, if the value is left blank the payment option will not be available.
Primary Usergroup – the primary usergroup that the subscription should change, this is not always required.
Additional Usergroups – the secondary usergroups that the user joins on subscription.

Please read the permission system section for further information regarding access masks and usergroups.

Practical Example of a Paid Subscription

We will assume that the appropriate payment gateways have been setup and that one of them is enabled within the Settings section of the Admin Control Panel.

The subscription will offer some benefits over our a regular user such as increased attachment space, large avatars and more private messaging space.

Creating the new Usergroup

1	Login to the Admin Control Panel
2	Open the Usergroups menu and click "Add New Usergroup"
3	At the top of the screen choose "Registered Users" from the Create usergroups Based off of Usergroup menu and click [Go]
4	Adjust usergroup permissions appropriately, increasing attachment space, avatar dimensions and private messaging space
5	Click [Save]

Creating the subscription

1	Open the Subscriptions menu and click "Add New Subscription"
2	Enter the appropriate title, description, length and cost for your subscriptions
3	On the right of the screen there will be a Usergroup Options table, under Additional Usergroups check the Usergroup that you created earlier in this example
4	Click [Save]

When viewing the Settings page, a new tab labeled Paid Subscriptions should be shown. Users will be able to purchase subscriptions at this point.

Subscription Manager

To edit existing subscriptions or to perform any management on subscription users, go to Subscriptions > Subscription Manager. This will display all subscriptions setup in the system with the number of currently active subscriptions and those which are inactive.

Title – the title of your Subscription.
Cost – the cost of your Subscription in various currencies.
Active – the number of users with active subscriptions.
Completed – the number of users with completed subscriptions.
Total – the total number of users with active or completed subscriptions.
Controls – these options allow you to edit a subscriptions, manage users with a subscriptions or manually add a user to a subscription.

Manually Adding a Subscribed User

A user can be manually added to a subscription in the case that they have transferred funds in another way. From the Subscription Manager select Add User from the Controls menu.

You will be presented with a screen containing the following:

You should enter the username that this subscription applies to and adjust the dates if appropriate, by default these are the lengths for the subscription.

Transaction Log

The Transaction Log is where all successful payment transaction posted to your forum can be viewed. This log is the actual history of transactions posted to your forum by the payment processors. These transactions are comprised of successful charges and reversals.

This log offers several search options that enable you to narrow down searches to specific criteria.

Start Date - Date to limit the oldest transactions to.

End Date - Date to limit the newest transaction to.

Subscription - Include transactions that pertain to all subscriptions or limit transactions to thost that pertain to a specific subscription.

Processor - Include transactions that pertain to all payment processors or limit transactions to those that pertain to a specific payment processor.

Currency - Include transactions that pertain to all currencies or limit transactions to those that pertain to a specific currency.

Type - Include failure, charged and reversed transactions or limit to either one.

Note:

Failed transactions are those that could not be matched up with a subscription. This generally happens when there is a misconfiguration. Click on Failure when viewing these transactions to see raw output of what was sent by the payment processor. This information can be used by support to help you troubleshoot problems.

User Name - Include transactions that pertain to all users or limit transactions to those
that pertain to a specific user.

Order By - Control the order of the resulting log. The order can also be changed when viewing the log by clicking the column headers.

Note:

Transactions completed before vBulletin 3.6.0 Beta 1 will contain incomplete information.

From this screen you may also directly look up a transaction. The transaction lookup accepts the transaction id that pertains to the transaction performed on the payment processor side. You can often find this ID in any email that is sent you when a signup is received or in the admin center of your payment processor.

Transaction Stats

Transaction Stats allows you to track how many transactions are being performed.

Stats offers several search options that enable you to narrow down searches to specific criteria.

Start Date - Date to limit the oldest transactions to.

End Date - Date to limit the newest transaction to.

Subscription - Include transactions that pertain to all subscriptions or limit transactions to those that pertain to a specific subscription.

Processor - Include transactions that pertain to all payment processors or limit transactions to those that pertain to a specific payment processor.

Currency - Include transactions that pertain to all currencies or limit transactions to those that pertain to a specific currency.

Type - Include charged and reversed transactions or limit to either one.

Order By - Control the order of the resulting stats. List the stats in order of most transaction or in order of date.

Scope - Groups transactions into the chosen option. Example, selecting Monthly would show you how many transaction were performed each month.

Note:

Transactions completed before vBulletin 3.6.0 Beta 1 will contain incomplete information.

Subscription Permissions

Managing your subscription permissions is done by simply selecting yes or no for usergroup access. If you click Paid Subscriptions > Subscription Permissions, you will see a screen similar to this:

Here, you will see each subscription on your forum with a list of all usergroups under each forum. Notice the color key at the top. In this example, red indicates that a usergroup does not have permission to purchase the subscription. Otherwise, usergroups listed in black have access to purchase the subscription.

To edit a subscription, simply find the appropriate subscription and usergroup, and click [Edit]. This will lead you to this screen:

To deny access to purchase a subscription, choose No, otherwise choose Yes to allow permission.

Avatars

Avatars are small pictures that appear next to or underneath your members' names on their posts etc.

Using the Avatar Manager, you can pre-define groups of avatars from which your members can choose one as their own avatar.

Also under this section is a tool to control the storage of your members' custom avatars (those which they have uploaded themselves). You may choose to store custom avatars in the database, or as files on the server's file system.

User Picture Storage Type

vBulletin allows you to choose which storage type you want to use for your user picture images (profile pictures). You can either opt to have the user pictures stored in the database or in a file system on your server. You can change the storage type at anytime.

Database vs File System
There are no real advantages or disadvantages to using one of these storage types over the other. Keeping items in the database provide an easier backup method, while using a file system may be slightly more efficient as there are less queries that need to be run. But both require disk space and are easy to manage via the AdminCP.

At the end of the day it comes down to your own preference on how you want to manage your user picture images and how you want to store them.

Note:

The default storage type is to store the images in the database.

Smilies

The Smilies group allows you to manage the smilies on your board.

Smilies (also called emoticons in some quarters) are small images used to convey some form of emotion in messages.

Example

What you type:	Hi there! :)
Will get parsed as:	Hi there!

This section will show you how the smilies can be arranged in categories. It will also show you how you can process one or more smilies that you have uploaded to your web server or how to manually upload one through the smilie upload manager.

Note:

Don't forget to go through the settings of the Settings > Options > Message Posting and Editing Options where you can control the 'Maximum Images Per Post/Signature'.

Smilie Manager

To access the Smilie Manager panel, click the following to your left: Smilies > Smilie Manager.

You can manage your smilies using this panel. The smilie images can be arranged in groups, or categories.

The above image shows a list of your smilie categories. By default there will be only one - Generic Smilies. As you add more categories, they will be listed there.

Title
This column tells you the name of each category. You can click on the category name to view which smilies are in it, after which you can edit or delete a smilie and update its display order. See below for more information*.
Contains
This column tells you how many images are in the corresponding category.
Display Order
This column tells you the display order of each smilie category. The display order is used to order the smilie category listing in this Smilie Manager as well as how it is displayed on your forums. You can update the display orders shown on this page by changing the number values and clicking the [Save Display Order] button.
Controls
On the right side you will find several options for each smilie category.
The [Mass Move] link takes you to a page where you can select a new category for each smilie in the corresponding category and submit the changes all at once.
The [View] link does the same thing as clicking on the category name to the left, it takes you to a page where you can view all smilies in the corresponding category.
The [Edit] link allows you to edit the title and display order of the corresponding category.
The [Delete] link takes you to a page where you can delete the corresponding category and all of its smilies or mass move the categories smilies to another category and then delete the original category.

At the bottom of the page (see above figure) you will see two additional links which allows you to add a new smilie category and to display all the smilies from all categories.

Click on the [Add New Smilie Category] link to add new new smilie category. The Add New Smilie Category form has two fields: Title and Display Order. Enter the title for the new category in the Title field. If you don't know the number for the display order than you can leave this empty. Then press the [Save] button to add this new smilie category. You will then return to the initial overview of all the smilie categories.

Click on the [Show All Smilies] link to load a page from where it will display all the smilies from all the categories. On this page you can also edit and delete a smilie.

*Smilie Category Content Listing
When clicking on the name of a Smilie Category, you will open a new page with the list of smilies in that category. The screenshot below shows the default ‘Generic Smilies’ category listing:

<<<Screenshot of the Generic Smilies listing>>>

Each smilie on this page has the following options:

Edit
This option allows you to edit an existing smilie and change its:
- Title
  The title of the image as shown when a user hover’s over the smilie
- Text to Replace
  This is what the user will type to have transformed into a smilie. For example :) or :( - keep in mind, this is case-sensitive. S:) and s:) are not the same thing.
- Smilie File Path
  The path to the image relative to the core/ directory
- Smilie Category
  The category you wish to move the image to - leave as it to remain in the category being edited.
- Display Order
  This determines the order in which images are shown on the smilie pop-up within the editor. For more information, see the Smilies Display Order article.
Delete
This option allows you to delete a smilie from the current category being viewed.
Display Order
The text box determines the order in which images are shown on the smilie pop-up within the editor. For more information, see the Smilies Display Order article.

Add New Smilies

To access the Add New Smilies panel, click the following to your left: Smilies > Add New Smilies.

This screen allows you to add one or more images at a time. These images must already reside on the server, having been uploaded using the Upload Smilie option or by FTP prior to doing this.

You can either add a single image or add multiple images at the same time.

Note:

Don't forget to upload the smilies to your core/images/smilies/ directory first before using this feature. If you don't know how to do that you can also use the alternative feature to manually upload a smilie.

Adding a single new Smilie

Title
This is the title you want to give to describe your smilie, for example, ‘Happy Face’
Text to Replace
This is the replacement text for the smilie. When a user types this text in a post, it will get replaced with the smilie image.
Smilie File Path
Type the path and filename of the smilie you want to add. An example would be images/smilies/happy.gif
Note:
This path is relative to the core directory. Best practice is to add all smilies to the core/images/smilies giving a path of images/smilies/filename
Smilie Category
This drop down box will have all the possible smilies categories - select one to add this smilie to this category.
Display Order
If you know which order you'd like to give to your smilie you can enter it here. This is an optional field, if you don't know what the display order should be you can leave this field empty. You can always change it later. View the Smilie Display Order article for more information.

When these details are entered press the Add Smilie button to add the smilie to the selected smilies category.

Adding Multiple Smilies

Smilie Category
This drop down box will have all the possible smilies categories - select one to add all the smilies to.
Smilies File Path
Type the path and not filename of the smilies directory you want to add. An example would be images/smilies/newones/ (if you have uploaded your smilies to the newones/ directory)
Note:
This path is relative to the core directory. Best practice is to add all smilies to the core/images/smilies giving a path of images/smilies/filename
Smilies to Show Per Page
This is the number of images to display per page while adding them.

When these details are entered press the Add Smilies button to add the smilie to the selected smilies category which will load a page where you can select and deselect smilies.

Smilie Display Order

Unlike many other items in vBulletin, the display order of a smilie actually affects the final HTML output generated by your board.

Consider this example where you have two smilies:

Smilie Name	Smilie Text	Smilie Image
Smilie 1	:o
Smilie 2	:o)

The smilie display order controls the order in which smilies will be parsed. If Smilie 1 were to be parsed first, not only would all instances of :o be converted to

, but also the first two characters of Smilie 2 would be matched and converted, leaving you with

).

To make these smilies parse correctly, Smilie 2 should have a smaller display order than Smilie 1, so that it is parsed first and is not picked up in the search for Smilie 1.

Upload Smilies

To access the Upload Smilies panel, click the following to your left: Smilies > Upload Smilies.

On this screen, you can upload one image at a time through your browser for use on your forum. To do this, both your web server and PHP must have permission to write files to disk. If they do not, this will fail.

Note:

The directory that you are trying to put the file in must be CHMOD 777. Consult your FTP program documentation for how to do this.

If you don't know how to do that you can also use the alternative feature to add one or more smilies through the Add New Smilie manager.

Uploading a single new Smilie

Filename
Click on the Browse.. button and select from your hard drive the smilie you want to upload.
Title
This is the title you want to give to describe your smilie, for example - Happy Face.
Text to Replace
This is the replacement text for the smilie. When a user types this text in a post, it will get replaced with the smilie image.
Smilie File Path
Type the path of the smilie directory. An example would be images/smilies. This directory should be readable and writable by the webserver (usually CHMOD 777).
Note:
This path is relative to the core directory. Best practice is to add all smilies to the core/images/smilies/your-folder-name giving a path of images/smilies/your-folder-name/filename
Smilie Category
This drop down box will have all the possible smilies categories - select one to add this smilie to this category.
Display Order
If you know which order you'd like to give to your smilie you can enter it here, this is an optional field. If you don't know what the display order should be you can leave this field empty, you can always change it later. View the Smilies Display Order article for more information.

When these details are entered press the Upload button to add the smilie to the selected smilies category.

Scheduled Tasks

Path to Scheduled Task Manager: Scheduled Tasks > Scheduled Task Manager.

The vBulletin Scheduled Task Manager allows you to control tasks that will be executed by vBulletin at specific intervals, much like the Unix Cron system.

When vBulletin is installed, it has a number of tasks already set to run at specific times. Using the Scheduled Task Manager, you can modify, disable or delete an existing scheduled task. You can also add your own scheduled task definitions.

Managing Scheduled Tasks

Path to Scheduled Task Manager: Scheduled Tasks > Scheduled Task Manager

<<<Insert a level-setting screenshot of Scheduled Task Manager.>>>

The Scheduled Task Manager displays all the currently defined tasks and lets you modify them and add new tasks.

The table has the following columns:

Checkbox
To disable a number of tasks at once, uncheck the checkbox next to the tasks you’d like to disable and click the [Save Enabled Status] button. To enable any disabled task, check the checkbox and click the [Save Enabled Status] button.

m
(Minute) The minute that a task runs. If this is an asterisk it runs every minute.

h
(Hour) The hour that a task runs. If this is an asterisk it runs every hour.

D
(Day) The day of the month (numerically) that a task runs. If this is an asterisk it runs every day.

M
(Month) The month of the year that a task runs. If this is an asterisk it runs every month.

DoW
(Day of Week) The day of the week that a task runs. If this is an asterisk, it defers to the Day setting.

Title
The title of the scheduled task in bold with a short description of the task below.

Next Time
The next time the task is scheduled to run. You can run it immediately using the [Run Now] button on the far right.

Controls
This column contains a drop-down with “Edit”, “Enable/Disable” and “Delete” controls, and a [Run Now] button to run the task immediately.

To edit the settings for a task, select Edit. This opens the Edit Scheduled Task form.

To delete a task, select Delete.

Products and Hooks

The Products & Hooks menu in Admin CP allows you to access functionality to manage the products and hooks in your vBulletin system.

<<<Insert a screenshot of the Products & Hooks menu and its submenus.>>>

From the Products & Hooks menu you can do the following:

Manage hooks
- Add or edit a new hook
- Temporarily deactivate a hook
- Completely remove a hook from the system
Manage products
- Import / install a product
- Temporarily deactivate a product
- Remove / uninstall a product
View a list of your package API extensions

Moderators

Moderators are users appointed by the vBulletin site administrator who are put in charge of maintaining one or more channels. Moderator responsibilities include deleting offensive or inappropriate posts, pruning old threads, and banning users from their channels. Moderator responsibilities are “assigned” to moderators through permissions.

Many of the product functions important to moderators are located in the vBulletin Moderator Control Panel (ModCP), a menu of your vBulletin installation and its submenus. The ModCP is a scaled-down version of the AdminCP.

What are Moderators

Moderators are users who are put in charge of maintaining one or more channels. Moderators are appointed by the vBulletin Administrator . Moderator responsibilities include deleting offensive or inappropriate posts, pruning old threads, and banning users from their channels. Moderator responsibilities are “assigned” to moderators through permissions.

The Administrator can assign a moderator to a single channel by adding them in the Channel Manager screen. Administrators can also create Super Moderators by setting the user's primary usergroup to Super Moderator in the User Manager.

Note:

Placing a user in the Moderator usergroup is only for organization. The default permissions of this group do not apply any actual Moderator functionality.

Inline Moderation

Inline thread moderation allows moderators and administrators to edit topics and replies easily from the Forum or Topic that they are currently viewing.

Topic Moderation

To access the inline moderation for topics open a forum page, and click on the Topics tab, if not already selected. A list of topics is displayed. Each topic has a checkbox at the end of the row. Selecting the checkbox adds the topic to the list of topics to be moderated. The topic will be highlighted to signify that the topic has been chosen.

Once you have selected the topics that you want to work with, select the moderation menu as indicated by the image below.

Then choose the action that you wish to complete. All selected topics will have the action applied to them.

Note:

Selecting the checkbox to the right of the Moderation Menu Control will select all topics on the current page.

Individual Topics
If you enter a single topic, you can perform all topic moderation actions on it from the Topic Moderation Menu.

Post Moderation

If you enter or view a specific topic, you gain access to the Post Moderation icon. This allows you to treat individual posts as a group similarly to how topics are handled on the Forum page. Each post will have a checkbox in the upper-right corner of its display. Selecting the post will mark it for moderation actions. Once you have selected the posts you want to act on, then you can choose from the moderation menu, as shown below.

Actions Available

Mark This Channel Read
Marks the channel as read.

Move Threads
Brings up the move topicss interface. This allows you to move a thread to another Forum.

Merge Threads
Merges the selected topics into a new thread.

Delete Threads
Brings up the delete topics interface that allows you to choose between soft and hard deletion (depending on permission level). You can also choose to delete the topic as SPAM. When you do this, you can ban the user from your site.

Undelete Threads
Restores soft-deleted topic.

Open Threads
Opens one or more closed topics.

Close Threads
Closes on or more open topics.

Approve Threads
Publish one or more topics that have been marked as suspect either by another moderator or the system's Anti-Spam Controls.

Unapprove Threads
Unapproves one or more topics, sending them back to moderation. Unapproved topics, are not visible to most users.

Stick Topic
Pins the topic to the top of the page. This highlights the topic and removes it from the normal sort order.

Unstick Topics
Removes the pinned topic and places it in the normal sort order.

Feature Topics
Adds a flag to the thread so that if a user searches for “Featured Topics” this thread will appear in the results. Featured Topics are used for content in the Content Slider Module.

Unfeature Topics
Removes the featured topic flag from one or more topics.

Select All
Selects all the topics on the current page, including sticky, soft-deleted, unapproved, and closed topics.

Select None
Resets the selected topics on the current page, including sticky, soft-deleted, unapproved, and closed topics.

Invert Selection
Selects all currently unselected topics, and resets previously selected topics on the current page, including sticky, soft-deleted, unapproved, and closed topics.

Select Unapproved Threads
Selects all the threads that are not visible to members (in the moderator queue) on the current page, including sticky, soft-deleted, and closed topics.

Select Deleted Topics
Highlights all the topics that are marked as soft-deleted on the current page, including deleted topics that are sticky, unapproved, and/or closed.

Select Threads with Attachments
Highlights all the topics that are have attachments added to them on the current page, including topics with attachments that are soft-deleted, sticky, unapproved, and closed.

Developers

This is the section of content for Developers. We will be updating the content in this area throughout the beta.

Extensions

vBulletin 5 Connect Supports API Extensions which allow Addon Developers to create extensions to the core of the software itself. These aren't plugins but extensions of the actual classes of plugins. Installed predominantly in a central location, auto-installing and more capable than plugins. Extensions tie directly into the existing API classes and extend them. They can provide output via template hooks, insert template hooks into templates and include their own templates, etc... Templates themselves are more robust as well as they can pull information directly from the database using special tags, if needed and without additional coding.

vBulletin 5 Connect Template Syntax

vBulletin 5 Connect expands on the vBulletin Markup used in templates. These are the new methods you can use for manipulating and retrieving content from the API and Database.

New Built-in Methods

{vb:set}
{vb:set} is used for assigning template variables during the execution of a template.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	variable	string	Yes	The name of the variable being assigned
2	value	compilable code	Yes	The value being assigned

Code:

{vb:set name, 'Adrian'}
The value of $name is {vb:raw name}.

The above example will output:

The value of $name is Adrian.

{vb:template}
{vb:template} is used for including other templates in the current template.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	template	string	Yes	The name of the template to include
2...∞	[var=value]	compilable code	No	Variable to pass local to template

Template:

This is {vb:raw arg1}. Today is {vb:raw arg2}

Code:

{vb:template template, arg1="an example", arg2="Sunday"}

The above example will output:

This is an example. Today is Sunday

{vb:js}
{vb:js} is used for including javascript files from filesystem easily before body close tag.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1...∞	path[, ...]	relative path	Yes	Relative path of the javascript file to include

Code:

{vb:js js/test.js, js/test1.js}

The above example will output the following code before </body>:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://localhost/vb5/js/test.js?v=500a36"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://localhost/vb5/js/test1.js?v=500a36"></script>

{vb:cssextra}
{vb:cssextra} is used for including css templates easily before head close tag (all css templates are included in one request).

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1...∞	template[, ...]	string	Yes	The name of the css template

Code:

{vb:cssextra test.css, test1.css}

The above example will output the following code before </head>:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://localhost/vb5/core/css.php?styleid=x&amp;td=xxx&amp;sheet=xxx.css,...,test.css,test1.csss?ts=xxxxxxxxxxx" />

{vb:hook}
{vb:hook} is used for including templates hooks in current template.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	hook	string	Yes	The name of the template hook

Code:

{vb:hook test}

{vb:redirect}
{vb:redirect} is used for perfoming a php redirect during the execution of a template.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	url	url	Yes	The url of the page to redirect

Code:

{vb:redirect 'http://www.google.com.ar/'}

{vb:strcat}
{vb:strcat} is used for concatenating values to the given variable.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	variable	string	Yes	The name of the variable being assigned
2...∞	string[, ...]	compiable code	No	The value being concatenated

Code:

{vb:strcat test, 'This is a', ' test'}
{vb:raw test}

The above example will output the following:

This is a test

{vb:strrepeat}
{vb:strrepeat} is used for repeating a string to the given variable.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	input	variable	Yes	The string variable to be repeated
2	multiplier	variable	Yes	The positive integer variable of time the input should be repeated

Code:

{vb:set input, '. '}
{vb:set multipler, 10}
{vb:strrepeat input {vb:raw multipler}}
{vb:raw input}

The above example will output the following:

. . . . . . . . . .

{vb:data}
{vb:data} is used for setting an API class and method return value to the given variable.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	variable	string	Yes	The name of the variable being assigned
2	controller	string	Yes	The name of the called controller
3	method	string	Yes	The name of the called method
4...∞	argument	compilable code	No	Variable to pass to called method

Code:

{vb:data unread, content_privatemessage, getUnreadInboxCount}
{vb:raw unread}

vB_Api_Content_Privatemessage->getUnreadInboxCount()

The above example will output the count of undeleted notifications.

{vb:url}
{vb:url} is used for building an hyperlink url of the specified route.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	route	string	Yes	The route identifier (routeid or name)
2	data	array	No	Data for building route
3	extra	array	No	Additional data to be added
4	options	array	No	Options for building URL noBaseUrl: skips adding the baseurl

Code:

{vb:url 'lostpw'}

The above example will output the following:

http://localhost/vb5/lostpw

{vb:debugvardump}
{vb:debugvardump} is used for dumping information about a variable.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	expression	variable	Yes	The variable you want to dump

Code:

{vb:debugvardump $user}

The above example will output the dump of user variable into a nice red box.

{vb:php}
{vb:php} is used to run allowed php functions during the execution of a template.

Parameter Position	Parameter Name	Type	Required	Description
1	function name	string	Yes	The name of the function
2...∞	string[, ...]	compiable code	No	Arguments of the function

Code:

{vb:set test, {vb:php implode, ',', {vb:raw variable}}}

PHP Equivalent:


<?php



$test = implode(',', $variable);

Allowed functions:

implode()
explode()
array_merge()
array_intersect()
array_intersect_key()
array_keys()
array_push()
array_pop()
array_shift()
array_unshift()
array_unique()
array()
current()
str_repeat()
str_pad()
strip_tags()
strtolower()
strtoupper()
trim()
substr()
vbstrtolower()

Appendix: Terminology

vBulletin-Related Terms

Access Mask

An override for forum permissions based at the user level. You would change a user's access masks from within the User Editor.

Admin Control Panel

The Admin Control Panel (AdminCP) is, as the title suggests, the area of your vBulletin installation where the administrator configures and sets up their board.

Only administrators have access to the AdminCP.

Administrator

An administrator is person with permissions to access the AdminCP where he/she can control the configuration and settings of their forums and users.

Avatar

An avatar is a small image that users can include in their profile and will be displayed on every post they make.

There are two types of avatars, predefined and custom:

Predefined avatars are images that the board administrator has made available to use.
Custom avatars are images created by the user that can be uploaded to the board if the Adminstrator has granted that particular permission.

BB Code

BB Codes, sometimes referred to as vB Codes, are a used to replace the need for html tags when formatting text in posts.

Examples:

In html to make text bold, italics or underlined you would use:

<b>Bold</b>
<i>Italic</i>
<u>Underlined</u>

With BB Code you use:

[b]Bold[/b]
[i]Italic[/i]
[u]Underlined[/u]

Bulletin Board

A Bulletin Board is a software package designed to allow users to carry on conversations via the internet. Unlike chat software, the threads and messages are stored on the server and can be accessed by users until the board administrator deletes them, allowing the conversations to continue over long periods of time.

Channel

A Channel is a heading used to group threads that are similar in content or theme.

Conditionals

Conditionals are a comparison test that you can use to control how your templates work. See Template Conditionals

Customer Number

A customer number is a unique number allocated to everyone who purachses a vBulletin license. The customer number, along with a password is required to access the vBulletin Members' Area.

Customer Password

See Customer Number

Data APIs

Data APIs / Data Managers are object-oriented PHP classes that act to centralize the manipulation of object data within vBulletin.

For example, instead of having different code to update a user record from the Admin Control Panel and from the User Profile editor, both systems can now simply direct their data to the user data manager, which will deal with ensuring that the data is valid and complete, then save it to the database.

Forum

A Forum is a heading used to group threads that are similar in content or theme.

Guest

A 'guest' is any visitor to your board who is not logged-in as a member.

This could be because they have not yet registered, or because they are a registered member who has logged out.

Hook	Back to Top

A hook is a location in the vBulletin PHP code that triggers events, which can be used to execute external scripts or code; such as for a plugin. The code is executed within the context and scope of the location of the hook.

Hooks in the code look like this:

($hook = vBulletinHook::fetch_hook('unique_hook_id')) ? eval($hook) : false;

In this instance, the hook is called 'unique_hook_id'.

Ignore List

This is a list of users you wish to ignore. To add a user to your ignore list, go to your User CP and in the left Nav Panel under Miscellaneous, select [Buddy / Ignore Lists], type the username you wish to ignore in the Ignore List blank and click [Update Ignore List]

Posts from users that you are ignoring are hidden from view when logged into the forums.

Inline Moderation

Inline Moderation allows administrators and moderators to moderate the threads and posts in forums using inline moderation without having to login to a admin or moderator control panel. The inline moderation allows them to select individual threads or posts from one or multiple pages by checking a checkbox at the top-right of a thread or post. Selected threads or posts will display highlighted in a yellow color.

The following actions can be performed on threads with inline moderation from forumdisplay:

Delete Threads
Undelete Threads
Open Threads
Close Threads
Approve Threads
Unapprove Threads
Stick Threads
Unstick Threads
Move Threads
Merge Threads

The following actions can be performed on posts with inline moderation from showthread:

Merge Posts
Move Posts
Delete Posts
Undelete Posts
Approve Posts
Unapprove Posts
Approve Attachments
Unapprove Attachments

Member

A member is a registered user on your board.

Members' Area

The Members' Area is a private part of the vBulletin.com site for registered licensed customers. The area is security protected and requires members to enter their customer number and password to again access.

The Members' Area is where you can download vBulletin releases and updates as well as access to additional documentation and resources not publically available.

The Members' Area is currently located at http://members.vbulletin.com.

Moderator

A Moderator is a user appointed by the Administrator who is put in charge of maintaining a forum or forums. The duties can include deleting offensive or inappropriate posts, pruning old threads and banning users from their particular forum(s).

Moderator Control Panel

The Moderator Control Panel (ModCP) is an area of your vBulletin installation where board Moderators can administer certain aspects of board.

The ModCP is a vastly scaled down version of the AdminCP and allows Moderators to perform duties based on the permissions assigned to them by the Administrator.

Plugin

A vBulletin plugin is a code snippet to be executed within a specific hook.

Plugins allow code to be added to vBulletin without actually modifying the PHP files.

Post	Back to Top

An individual message entered by a user, making up a part of a thread.

Post Icon

A post icon is a small image file that appears next to the post title and in the post icon column of the main forum page. An Administrator may choose to allow or disallow use of post icons for posts and or private messages in the Admin Control Panel.

Product

A product is a downloadable package containing code snippets (plugins), templates, options, phrases, admin help, control panel navigation entries and bitfields definitions.

vBulletin products are arranged in a such a way that they can be semi-automatically installed and uninstalled through the Product Manager.

Products are used to extend or modify functionality in vBulletin.

Prune

Prune is to delete a large number of posts and/or threads from your message board. This is often used as a step in maintaining a small database. To prune messages you would do so through the Admin Control Panel under the Threads / Posts heading or from the Forum Tools menu within a particular forum. This option only shows up if you have permission to use it.

Replacement Variable

Replacement Variables allow you to globally replace text with alternative text anywhere in your forum. See Replacement Variables.

Smilies

Smilies are small icons that can be used in posts that denote a persons emotional state, eg happy, mad, sad.

Sticky Thread

A sticky thread is a thread that always shows at the top of the threads listed in a forum.

Making a thread sticky is part of the Thread Tools that are available to Adminstrators and Moderators.

StyleVar

StyleVar is short for Style Variable. This is an array of variables created in the Style Manager. Stylevars control image paths, forum width and other aspects of your forum's look and feel. For more information see StyleVars.

Super Administrator

A superadministrator is essentially another administrator but with additional permissions. For example only a superadministrator can manage other admins.

Superadministrators must be added to the vBulletin config.php file to enable their superadmin status:


//    ****** SUPER ADMINISTRATORS ******

//    The users specified below will have permission to access the administrator permissions

//    page, which controls the permissions of other administrators

$config['SpecialUsers']['superadministrators'] = '1';

Super Moderator

A supermoderator is essentially another moderator but with additional permissions that the administrator has assigned in the Usergroup and Forum Permissons.

Thread

A thread is a collection of posts usually with a common subject matter.

User	Back to Top

A User is a registered member of the Forum.

User Control Panel

The User Control Panel (UserCP) is the area of the forums where members can administer there own profile preferences, such as signatures, avatars.

Usergroup

A usergroup is a means of grouping users together, all of whom will have the same permissions.

General Internet-Related Terms

AJAX	Back to Top

AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) allows your browser to send data to and receive data from a server without reloading the current page. This technology, whose use is being pioneered by Google, allows developers to create rich, fast-responding interactive pages.

Cookie

A cookie is a file that is created and stored on a computer that contains information about a user or users' preferences when viewing certain web pages.

CSS	Back to Top

CSS is short for Cascading Style Sheets. These are a means of controlling the display qualities of a webpage. vBulletin makes extensive use of CSS.

Domain

A domain is a name leased to identify your website on the intenet.

FTP	Back to Top

FTP is short for File Transfer Protocol. This is a means of uploading files to your website.

HTML	Back to Top

HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. This is the language behind the World Wide Web. It defines how a page should look to visitors with a web browser.

HTTP	Back to Top

HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. This protocol defines how computers communicate with each other over the Internet when web pages are requested by a web browser.

IP Address

An IP Address is a 4 section string of numbers used by the internet to locate a website. It is much like a telephone number for your site.

An example would be IP Address 66.135.192.87 is for ebay.com

Javascript

Javascript is a web scripting language that interacts with HTML source code, allowing the browser to create dynamic content. vBulletin offers many enhancements that will only function when Javascript is enabled.

When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets(CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML.

Search bot

See Spider

Server

A server is a computer that accepts connections from other computers for the purpose of exchanging information.

Spider

A spider is a program or script that systematically follows URLs on a page gathering information.

Typically search engines use spiders to gather information from web sites to increase there search index.

example search engine spiders:

Googlebot
lycos
ask jeeves
scooter
fast-webcrawler
[email protected]
turnitinbot

Normally these spiders show on your board as guests. If you want to be able to see search engine spiders that are browsing your forum pages there is a setting under the vBulletin Options section in the AdminCP.

AdminCP > vBulletin Options > Who's Online Options

Enable Spider Display - Setting this to Yes will allow you to see the spiders you have specified in the Spider Identification Description
Spider Identification Strings - Enter the unique identifier for the spider you want to see
Spider Identification Description - the description of the spider to be displayed in the Who's Online section of your board

SSH	Back to Top

SSH (Server Shell) is a secure server-side application that allows you to run command line functions on your website.

You will need to check with your hosting company to see if it is available with your hosting package.

Telnet

Telnet is a server-side application that allows you to run command line functions on your website.

You will need to check with your hosting company to see if it is available with your hosting package.

Note:

Telnet is generally considered to be insecure, as your login username and password is transferred using plain text.

To prevent this, it is preferable to use the SSH protocol.

URL	Back to Top

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the address of a server and it allows computers to route traffic between each other on the Internet.

XHTML

XHTML stands for Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language. This is a language similar to HTML but with stricter rules. To find out more about XHTML please visit the World Wide Web Consortium.

XSS	Back to Top

XSS stands for Cross Site Scripting. Cross Site Scripting is usually a sign of vulnerability in a software application or script. This allows information to be exchanged with one or more computers without verifying the factuality of that information.

XML	Back to Top

XML is an acronym of Extensible Markup Language. It is a markup language for documents containing structured information which enables the use of user defined tags. To find out more about XML please visit the World Wide Web Consortium

Miscellaneous Terms

AIM	Back to Top

AOL Instant Messenger

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

CGI Shebang

A CGI Shebang is the path to your PHP installation. If your server is running PHP as CGI you may be required to have this at the top of your website's php pages.

COPPA

COPPA stands for Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

vBulletin is compliant with the COPPA law and requires children under the age of 13 to get parental consent before they can post.

For more info about this law, see: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/coppa.htm

DST	Back to Top

Daylight Savings Time

FAQ	Back to Top

Frequently Asked Questions

Firewall

A firewall is an application running on a computer to prevent unwanted connections to be made to that computer. Firewalls protect both incoming and outgoing traffic on a computer.

ICQ	Back to Top

I Seek You. It is a buddy chat program used by millions of people to communicate on the internet.

Import

The term Import can be applied in a few ways regarding vBulletin:

Conversion
Importing is conversion of data from a different Bulletin Board program to vBulletin. Merging two forums together (users, forums, attachments, etc).
Admin Control Panel
Importing of additional Style- or Language Packs. This allows you to update or include (additional) styles or languages on your board.

Localhost

localhost is the default host address of a computer on which a service is running.

localhost uses the reserved loopback IP address 127.0.0.1.

In general a MySQL server runs on the same server as your web server. You can enter in the vBulletin includes/config.php file as host address for the MySQL server localhost. (See example below)


//    ****** MASTER DATABASE SERVER NAME ******

//    This is the hostname or IP address of the database server.

//    It is in the format HOST:PORT. If no PORT is specified, 3306           is used.

//    If you are unsure of what to put here, leave it at the default value.



$config['MasterServer']['servername'] = 'localhost';

MSN	Back to Top

MSN Instant Messenger. It is a buddy chat program used by millions of people to communicate on the internet owned by Microsoft.

MySQL

MySQL is a database management system that uses SQL. vBulletin uses this to store and retreive all the data from your board.

Note:

More information about how to get and install MySQL can be found here Technical Documents / Installing MySQL or from http://www.mysql.com

PHP	Back to Top

PHP Hypertext Preprocessor

PHP is a script language and interpreter.

Note:

More information about how to get and install PHP can be found here Technical Documents / Installing PHP and Apache or from http://www.php.net

phpMyAdmin

Graphical User Interface (GUI) for MySQL available from http://www.phpmyadmin.net

RSS Enclosure

RSS enclosures are a method for including media files withing RSS feeds. The media is not actually contained within the feed but rather is linked via a hyperlink to another source.

Thumbnail

A Thumbnail is a small preview image of an attachment in a post.

WYSIWYG

Acronym for: What You See Is What You Get

The vBulletin WYSIWYG editor is one that allows a user that creates a new post to see what the end result will look like while the post is being created. This is in contrast to editing a post in the vBulletin standard editor which requires you to understand BB Code tags like [b] for bold and [u] for underline.

Yahoo

Yahoo! Instant Messenger. It is a buddy chat program used by millions of people to communicate on the internet.

Appendix: Technical Documents

Securing Your vBulletin Installation

vBulletin has many features built-in to help keep your data safe but if your server is not secure then your data can be jeopardized. There are several steps to secure your vBulletin Installation. Most of them involve server configuration and settings outside your the vBulletin Application. Securing your server will provide the foundation that your site security will be built on.

Securing Your Server

Securing or "Hardening" your server is beyond the scope of this document but is an important step to creating a secure environment for your data.
Most hosting providers will provide this service if you have a dedicated machine so you should work with them to make sure your machine is as secure as possible. Below are some links that will help you.

Linux Kernel Hardening
Installing and Securing IIS Servers
Securing Apache
Securing PHP
Securing MySQL

Please note, that if you are on a shared server you must rely on your hosting provider to secure your server for you.

Accessing Your Server and Files

How you access your server can undermine any security protocols you put into place. It is recommended that you use SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) and SSH (Secure Shell) access to directly access your server and files. These are secure versions of the common FTP and Telnet protocols. SFTP and SSH will send passwords in an encrypted format whereas FTP and Telnet send them in plaintext.

You can find out more about these protocols at Wikipedia.com
SFTP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSH_file_transfer_protocol
SSH: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSH

Root Accounts
Root or Super User accounts are a necessity if you maintain your own server but they are a security nightmare. You should never access your server directly with a Root Account unless you can absolutely guarantee a secure tunnel between your access point and the server itself. You can do this with a Virtual Private Networking protocol on both your server and the computer you access the server with. Not all servers will support this though and your datacenter might not allow the installation of the software to allow it.

If you are using Linux or Unix, you can create a usergroup called a "Wheel Group". This is a group of users that once logged in through SSH, can issue a command to switch to a superuser. This is the only way you should access your superuser accounts without a VPN connection. You can find information on creating wheel account users in your operating system's documentation.

Restricting Access to Your Files

Restricting unauthorized access to your files is one of the most important things you can do. If someone has access to your files, they can alter them to send data to them or they can access your database directly with the information given.

The most common method of authorizing someone is called "Basic Authorization. The Basic authentication method transmits user names and passwords across the network in plaintext or unencrypted form. A computer vandal could use a network monitoring tool to intercept this information. You can use your Web server's encryption features, in combination with Basic authentication, to secure user account information transmitted across the network.

.htaccess
.htaccess is how you can easily secure files in Apache. It allows you to use Apache's configuration directives without editing the default configuration file (httpd.conf). This makes it useful for communities on shared or virtual hosting or dedicated hosting.

There are a lot of things you can do with .htaccess but we are concerned with denying access to specific files and directories.

NTAUTH
Windows comes with a permissions system often referred to as NTAUTH. It is part of the NTFS file system and integrated into IIS and other server technologies in Windows. For instructions on how to use this to protect your server please see Microsoft's IIS Documentation:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/en/server/iis/default.asp?url=/windows2000/en/server/iis/htm/core/iiabasc.htm

Alternatives to NTAUTH
IISPassword is a free utility that can be installed on your IIS server. IISPassword uses Basic HTTP Authentication for password protecting web sites on IIS, just like htaccess works on Apache. That makes your password protected Apache web site compatible with IIS, and vice versa.

CHMOD, or File Permissions on your Unix/Linux System
You can control who has access to files on your servers beyond whether a web browser can call them up and have the server execute them. This is based on file permissions and can help to protect your files if someone gains unauthorized access to another portion of the machine. File permissions will help protect your site more on a shared server which has many people accessing it than they will on a server that only you have access to. However it is a good practice to only give the minimum permissions that you need to give and allow your site to work properly.

In our case, the web server application needs to be able to read your vBulletin files as long as PHP is installed as an Apache or ISAPI Module. If you are using the CGI executable, then they will probably need Execute permissions as well. In Linux and Unix, you change permissions using a tool called CHMOD which lets you set the permissions.

CHMOD can use either bitkeys, a series of numbers to designate permissions, or letters to represent the permissions. Both of these can be confusing to the uninitiated. Using the numbers results in more concise commands with the same number of control. You will see these commonly referred to in technical documents.

To set the permissions for your vBulletin files, with PHP as a Apache or ISAPI module, you would type the following in your command prompt on the server:

chmod 644 *

This tells the server that the owner of the file (you) has permission to read and write to the files but everyone else only has permission to read them.

If your hosting provider tells you that you need Read and Write permissions on your files then you would use this command:

chmod 755 *

A more indepth tutorial on CHMOD can be found here: http://catcode.com/teachmod/index.html

Most modern SFTP clients can handle this automatically though a properties dialog on the context menu. Refer to your client software for documentation on how to do this.

Please Note: If an attacker gets root access to your machine, there is no way to protect your files with permissions. They will be able to access everything. If this happens you will need a recent backup so you can recover your site.

Securing your Config.php File

The config.php has several settings that can help protect your vBulletin installation. These settings are listed below. Since these are security features, less is more. Give out as few permissions as possible, otherwise your forum will not be as secure. Ultimately you should only include yourself as the owner in any of the settings. It is recommended to leave the "Users with Query Running Permissions" setting empty until you need to actually run a query. At that time, change the setting and reupload your config.php. The change will take effect immediately. When you are done running your queries, change the setting back to the default. With this one setting and your password, an attacker has complete control of your database.

// ****** USERS WITH ADMIN LOG VIEWING PERMISSIONS ******
// The users specified here will be allowed to view the admin log in the control panel.
// Users must be specified by *ID number* here. To obtain a user's ID number,
// view their profile via the control panel. If this is a new installation, leave
// the first user created will have a user ID of 1. Seperate each userid with a comma.
$config['SpecialUsers']['canviewadminlog'] = '1';
// ****** USERS WITH ADMIN LOG PRUNING PERMISSIONS ******
// The users specified here will be allowed to remove ("prune") entries from the admin
// log. See the above entry for more information on the format.
$config['SpecialUsers']['canpruneadminlog'] = '1';
// ****** USERS WITH QUERY RUNNING PERMISSIONS ******
// The users specified here will be allowed to run queries from the control panel.
// See the above entries for more information on the format.
// Please note that the ability to run queries is quite powerful. You may wish
// to remove all user IDs from this list for security reasons.
$config['SpecialUsers']['canrunqueries'] = '';
// ****** UNDELETABLE / UNALTERABLE USERS ******
// The users specified here will not be deletable or alterable from the control panel by any users.
// To specify more than one user, separate userids with commas.
$config['SpecialUsers']['undeletableusers'] = '';
The section of code to look for is:
// ****** UNDELETABLE / UNALTERABLE USERS ******
// The users specified here will not be deletable or alterable from the control panel by any users.
// To specify more than one user, separate userids with commas.
$config['SpecialUsers']['undeletableusers'] = '';

Securing your config.php file
Making sure no one edits this file after you upload it to the server is a large priority. If an attacker can change the contents of this file they can easily take control of your community. The first thing you want to do is restrict access to this file via file permissions. Make sure no one can access this except you. Use the techniques described under Restricting Access to secure this file.

One thing you might consider doing is denying access via a Web Browser at all times. This file only needs to be read internally via PHP and should not be accessed with a Web Browser. On most installations, this would never occur. However should your version of PHP stop working for some reason, then the file can be served as plain text and any prying eyes can see it. You can counter this on the webserver level with tools like .htaccess and NTFS Permissions.

Here is an example .htaccess file that would prevent access to the config.php. You would place this file within your /includes directory.

Apache 2.2:

<Files config.php>
order deny,allow
deny from all
</Files>

Apache 2.4:

<Files "config.php">  
  Require all denied
</Files>

For details on securing this file in IIS on a Windows Server please see:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/en/server/iis/htm/core/iidfpsc.htm

Moving Servers

There are two major parts to successfully move your vBulletin forums from one server to another. These are:

1. The vBulletin files, including all the vB files currently on your server as well as any attachments, avatars and profile pics (if you store these in the file system instead of the database) along with any custom images.

2. The vBulletin database which contains the actual data itself, including the user info, posts, threads, forums, setting, styles, languages, etc.

This guide will help you move your vBulletin forum from one server to another. Please note that while you can move the files themselves with FTP, moving the database generally requires Telnet or SSH access to both servers. (Other methods are available but are less reliable.)

If you only have this access on one of the servers, you may need to ask your host to assist you with the steps you cannot perform.

Warning:

Specific cookie domains (Cookie Domain) and cookie paths (Path to Save Cookies) may cause problems if you are moving servers and changing the URL to your forums.

If you are unsure whether your cookie settings will cause problems after the move, we recommend resetting your cookie path to / and removing any cookie domain value before the move. An incorrectly set cookie domain or path will likely prevent you from accessing your control panel.

1) Backing Up and Moving the Files

You can use FTP or your hosts' file manager to move your vB files from one server to another. You need to download all the appropriate vB files and directories (making sure to retain the current directory structure) then upload these files and directories to the new server. Make sure you transfer all the image files (.gif, .jpg, .png, .ico, .attach, .thumb) in Binary format and the non-image files in ASCII format. Most FTP programs are set to recognize the correct file types automatically but it does not hurt to double-check.

If you are storing attachments, avatars and user profile pictures in the file system instead of the database (the default storage method) then you will need to move those files and directories over as well. As with the old server these directories will need to be made world-readable and writable, (chmod -R 777 on *Nix systems.)

Also since the exact path to these directories will very likely be different on the new server, you will need to reset these paths in the Admin CP after the transfer is done and your forums are up and running on the new server. You do this here:

Admin CP -> Attachments -> Attachment Storage Type

Admin CP -> Avatars -> User Picture Storage Type

2) Backing-Up the Current Database

Telnet/SSH into the server where your vBulletin is currently installed. We will call this machine1.

Type:

mysqldump --opt -Q -uUSERNAME -p DATABASENAME > /PATH/TO/DUMP.SQL

In this line, you should change the following:

USERNAME – this is the username you use to access MySQL. It is specified in your config.php file.
DATABASENAME – the name of the database which your vBulletin is installed into. It is specified in your config.php file.
/PATH/TO/DUMP.SQL – this is the path to the file that will be outputted. If you are unsure what to put here, simply use vb_backup.sql or something similar.

Once you press enter, you will be prompted for the password you use to access MySQL. This is also specified in your config.php file.

Once it has returned to the prompt, verify that DUMP.SQL exists in the directory you specified. If you did not specify a full directory, the file will be in the directory you are currently in.

Note:

When moving servers you need to check the MySQL versions on both the old and new servers. It is always best if the new server is running the same or a newer version of MySQL.
If the new server is running an older version of MySQL it would be best to seek out a different host. If this is not possible, you will need to make a compatible dump of the database.
This only applies between major version number, ie MySQL 5.x to MySQL 4.x.

Add the following option to the mysqldump command:

--compatible=name

Produce output that is more compatible with other database systems or with older MySQL servers. The value of name can be ansi, mysql323, mysql40, postgresql, oracle, mssql, db2, maxdb, no_key_options, no_table_options, or no_field_options. To use several values, separate them by commas. These values have the same meaning as the corresponding options for setting the server SQL mode.

Please note that there may still be issues even using the --compatible option

MySQL Manual

3) Transferring to the New Server

1	Telnet/SSH into machine1 if you have not already.
2	Type: ftp MACHINE2 Replace MACHINE2 with the host name (www.example.com) or IP address (192.168.1.1) of the new server. You should be prompted for a username and password. This is the username and password that you use to login via FTP to your new server.
3	Type the following: asc cd /PATH/TO/NEW/DIRECTORY put /PATH/TO/DUMP.SQL Here you should change: /PATH/TO/NEW/DIRECTORY – this is the path to the directory in which you want to place the database backup. If you are unsure what to specify here, you can usually omit the entire cd /PATH/TO/NEWDIRECTORY/ command. /PATH/TO/DUMP.SQL – this is the same path that you specified in step 1.
4	Once these commands have finished, type: close quit
5	Verify that DUMP.SQL is in /PATH/TO/NEW/DIRECTORY on the new server.

4) Restoring the Database on the New Server

On the new server, if necessary, create the database which your vBulletin will be installed in. Refer to your host for specific information on how this is done.

Telnet/SSH into machine2.

Type:

mysql -uUSERNAME -p NEWDBNAME < /PATH/TO/NEW/DUMP.SQL

You should change the following parts of this line:

USERNAME - this is the new username which you will use to access MySQL. If you do not know this value, you should contact your host.
NEWDBNAME - the name of the new database that you created in the first part of this step.
/PATH/TO/NEW/DUMP.SQL - this is the path to the backup file that you transferred to this server in step 2.

Note:

We recommend you use the method described above to restore your database, as it is the most reliable. If you don't have access to SSH then there are alternate instructions on restoring your database available in the technical section of the manual.

5) Bringing it Back Online

1	Open up includes/config.php and edit $config['MasterServer']['servername'], $config['MasterServer']['username'], $config['MasterServer']['password'], and $config['Database']['dbname'] with the values that correspond with the new server. If you are not sure what these values should be, please contact your new host.
2	Upload the new config.php and the rest of the files (if they still need to be uploaded).
3	Login to your admin control panel, go to the vBulletin Options section, and change your BB URL, if necessary.

Note:

If you are not using the default database cache in vBulletin, you will need to flush your cache and restore it on the new server. These means updating your Memcache settings in your config.php file. If you are using the filesystem to store your Datastore, you need to make sure that includes/datastore/datastore.php is chmod 0777 so vBulletin can write to it.

Installing PHP and Apache

This section will cover installing PHP and Apache from source onto a Unix/Linux system. This requires SSH/Telnet and super user (e.g., root) access to your server.

This section will compile and perform a basic, generic install of Apache and PHP. If you need specific values, you will need to modify the configure lines to suit.

Note:

We will setup PHP with Apache 1.x in this section. Instructions may vary for Apache 2.x.

For more information on installing PHP, see http://www.php.net/manual/en/installation.php. For more information on installing Apache, see http://httpd.apache.org/docs/install.html.

1) Downloading PHP and Apache

1	We need to download the latest versions of both Apache and PHP to the server. Go to http://www.php.net and download the source code of the latest version, php-xxx.tar.gz and place it in the /usr/local/src directory on your server.
2	Go to http://www.apache.org and download the source for the latest version of Apache 1.x, apache_xxx.tar.gz, and place this in the same location.

Note:

The file names will vary slightly as they will include the version number. You will need to replace xxx in the following steps with the appropriate value.

2) Preparing to Install Apache

1	Telnet/SSH into your server if you have not already.
2	From the shell prompt, type the following: cd /usr/local/src tar xfz apache_xxx.tar.gz tar xfz php-xxx.tar.gz
3	Now we need to figure out where Apache is currently running, so we can configure the new version for the same location. Type: ps –ef Look for a line like this: nobody 32319 340 0 19:48 ? 00:00:00 /usr/local/etc/httpd/bin/httpd This says Apache is installed in /usr/local/etc/httpd. This may be different on your system, if so, replace /usr/local/etc/httpd with your Apache location in the following steps.
4	Now type: cd /usr/local/src/apache_xxx ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/etc/httpd This will configure Apache and get ready for compiling in a later step.

3) Compiling and Installing PHP

From the shell, type the following:

cd /usr/local/src/php-xxx
./configure --prefix=/usr/local/php --with-config-file-path=/usr/local/php --with-mysql --with-apache=../apache_xxx
make
make install

Now PHP 4 is installed and we are ready to compile and install Apache.

4) Compiling and Installing Apache

1	From the shell, type: cd /usr/local/src/apache_xxx ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/etc/httpd --activate-module=src/modules/php4/libphp4.a make
2	Now shut down Apache to install in new binaries: /usr/local/etc/httpd/bin/apachectl stop
3	Now install Apache: make install

5) Completing the Installation

1	Now we just want to copy our PHP configuration file: cd /usr/local/src/php-xxx cp php.ini-optimized /usr/local/php/php.ini If you have any modifications you wish to make to your php.ini file, you may make them now.
2	cd /usr/local/etc/httpd/conf Edit your httpd.conf file and make sure the following line is added: AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
3	You can now reboot your system, or simply re-start Apache with: /usr/local/etc/httpd/bin/apachectl start

Installing PHP under IIS using FastCGI

The recommended method to use PHP on an IIS server under Windows is using FastCGI. This method allows you to reuse resources similar to an ISAPI module but does not have the instabilities introduced through a multi-threaded PHP installation.

Microsoft has posted instructions on how to install PHP under FastCGI on their IIS.net website. You can see those instructions here:

To install PHP with FastCGI under IIS6 please follow these instructions:
http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/247/using-fastcgi-to-host-php-applications-on-iis-60/

To install PHP with FASTCGI under IIS7 please follow these instructions:
http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/246/using-fastcgi-to-host-php-applications-on-iis-70/

Installing MySQL

MySQL is freely available for Linux from http://www.mysql.com on the downloads page at http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html. Download the latest stable release (listed as recommended on the download page). You should grab the tarball source download version, with filename mysql-version.tar.gz.

1) Compiling and Installing MySQL

With the program downloaded, you should make sure you're logged in as root before proceeding with the installation, unless you only want to install MySQL in your own home directory. Begin by unpacking the downloaded file and moving into the directory that is created:

tar xfz mysql-version.tar.gz
cd mysql-version

Next you need to configure the MySQL install. Unless you really know what you're doing, all you should have to do is tell it where to install. I recommend /usr/local/mysql:

./configure --prefix=/usr/local/mysql

After sitting through the screens and screens of configuration tests, you'll eventually get back to a command prompt. You're ready to compile MySQL:

make

After even more screens of compilation, you'll again be returned to the command prompt. You're now ready to install your newly compiled program:

make install

MySQL is now installed, but before it can do anything useful its database files need to be installed too. Still in the directory you installed from, type the following command:

scripts/mysql_install_db

With that done, you can delete the directory you've been working in, which just contains all the source files and temporary installation files. If you ever need to reinstall, you can just re-extract the mysql-version.tar.gz file.

2) Setting Up a New User for MySQL

With MySQL installed and ready to store information, all that's left is to get the server running on your computer. While you can run the server as the root user, or even as yourself (if, for example, you installed the server in your own home directory), the best idea is to set up a special user on the system that can do nothing but run the MySQL server. This will remove any possibility of someone using the MySQL server as a way to break into the rest of your system. To create a special MySQL user, you'll need to log in as root and type the following commands:

/usr/sbin/groupadd mysqlgrp
/usr/sbin/useradd -g mysqlgrp mysqlusr

By default, MySQL stores all database information in the var subdirectory of the directory to which it was installed. We want to make it so that nobody can access that directory except our new MySQL user. The following commands will do this (I'm assuming you installed MySQL to the /usr/local/mysql directory):

cd /usr/local/mysql
chown -R mysqlusr.mysqlgrp var
chmod -R go-rwx var

3) Starting the MySQL Server

Everything's set for you to try launching the MySQL server for the first time. From the MySQL directory, type the following command:

bin/safe_mysqld --user=mysqlusr &

The MySQL server has now been launched by the MySQL user and will stay running (just like your Web or FTP server) until your computer is shut down. To test that the server is running properly, type the following command:

bin/mysqladmin -u root status

A little blurb with some statistics about the MySQL server should be displayed. If you get an error message, something has gone wrong. If retracing your steps to make sure you did everything described above doesn't solve the problem, a post to the SitePoint.com Forums will probably help you pin it down in no time.

4) Making MySQL Start Up with Your Server

If you want to set up your MySQL server to run automatically whenever the system is running (just like your Web server probably does), you'll have to set it up to do so. In the share/mysql subdirectory of the MySQL directory, you'll find a script called mysql.server that can be added to your system startup routines to do this.

Assuming you've set up a special MySQL user to run the MySQL server, you'll need to edit the mysql.server script before you use it. Open it in your favorite text editor and change the mysql_daemon_user setting to refer to the user you created above:

mysql_daemon_user=mysqlusr

Setting up the script to be run by your system at startup is a highly operating system-dependant task. If you're not using RedHat Linux and you're not sure of how to do this, you'd be best to ask someone who knows. In RedHat Linux, the following commands (starting in the MySQL directory) will do the trick:

cp share/mysql/mysql.server /etc/rc.d/init.d/
cd /etc/rc.d/init.d
chmod 500 mysql.server
cd /etc/rc.d/rc3.d
ln -s ../init.d/mysql.server S99mysql
cd /etc/rc.d/rc5.d
ln -s ../init.d/mysql.server S99mysql

That's it! To test that this works, you can reboot your system and request the status of the server as before to make sure it runs properly at startup.

Creating a New MySQL Database for vBulletin to Use

Depending upon your web server, you may need to create a new MySQL database into which vBulletin can be installed.

The following pages describe the process needed to do this under a variety of systems.

Setting-up a MySQL Database on the Command Line

If you have root access to your web server, you can set up a new database for vBulletin to use via the MySQL command line.

1	Firstly, you will need to log in to your server via SSH or Telnet as the root user, or some other user with permission to control MySQL at the root level. Windows users can use Command Prompt.
2	Next, you will need to start the MySQL command line tool by typing something along these lines: /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql -uroot -p on Windows it willl be similar to: c:\mysql\bin\mysql -uroot -p The system will then ask you to provide the MySQL root password to continue.
3	When you have completed the login to MySQL you will see a mysql> command prompt. To see the list of databases that already exist, type the following: SHOW DATABASES; You will then be given a list of the databases that already exist. The name you choose for your new database must be unique, so ensure that the name you want to give to your new database is not already in use.
4	After you have decided upon a name, you can run the query to create the new database. For this example, we will call the database example_database. Type the following, replacing the name of the database with the name you have chosen: CREATE DATABASE example_database;
5	Having created the database, we will now create a MySQL user account with permission to access the new database. Doing this is a security precaution, as it's never a good idea to have PHP scripts talking to MySQL with root privileges. In this example, we will name our new user example_user and give the account a password of p4ssw0rd. Replace those values as appropriate when you type the following: GRANT ALL ON example_database.* TO example_user@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'p4ssw0rd';

Your new database and new user are ready to be used. Based on the example names given in this document, you should enter the following values into config.php:


$config['Database']['dbname'] = 'example_database';

$config['MasterServer']['servername'] = 'localhost';

$config['MasterServer']['username'] = 'example_user';

$config['MasterServer']['password'] = 'p4ssw0rd';

Setting-up a MySQL Database in cPanel

For purposes of this manual, I am using screenshots from the cPanel X theme. Your cPanel theme may differ, but the instructions will remain virtually the same.
The only notable difference is if you are using the cPanel Advanced theme. If that's the case, click the [Advanced Tools] then the [MySQL Databases] and join us again at the next step.
For all others, you should see a screen something like the one in the figure below. Click the [MySQL Databases] icon.

On this screen, you will enter the database name you want in the blank next to [db:] then click [Add DB].

Once you have clicked [Add DB] you will be brought to a redirect screen confirming the creation of the database. Click the [back] or [Go Back] link to return to the main MySQL screen.

Now we have to create the database user and password. Scroll down the screen until you see this:

Enter the database username and password you want in the appropriate blanks and click the [Add User].

Once you have clicked [Add User] you will be brought to a redirect screen confirming the creation of the username and password. Click the [back] or [Go Back] link to return to the main MySQL screen.

Now you have to add the user to the database so they can have access and control. Scroll until you see this:

Using the drop-down menus, make sure you have selected the proper user and database, then click [Add User to DB].

Again, you will be sent to the redirect screen confirming the addition of the user to the database. Again, click the [back] or [Go Back] link to return to the main MySQL screen. You should see something like this:

These are the database name, username and password you will use in the config.php file.

Note:

cPanel will always preface the database name and database username with your main account username and an underscore.
If you chose the database name [forums] and the database username [user] your database will be [mainusername_forums] and your database username will be [mainusername_user]

Setting-up a MySQL Database in Plesk

When you first log into Plesk, you will see this screen. Click the [DATABASES] button to begin setting up your database:

Note:

If the [DATABASES] button is greyed out, it means that your account does not have MySQL database access. Please contact your host to correct this.

This will bring you to the database create screen. Enter the name you want for your database and click the [ADD] button.

Now you must create your database user. Enter the database username you want and click the [ADD] button.

Now you must create a password for the database username. Enter it in the first blank, reenter it in the second blank for confirmation and click the [UPDATE] button:

You have now created your database and will be redirected to this screen:

The database name, username and password you created here are what you input into your config.php file.

Setting-up a MySQL Database in Ensim

There are 2 possible ways to set up a MySQL database in Ensim. In most Ensim configurations, you will have links on the left as well as icons on the main screen. Some hosts, however, don't use the icon set up, so I will cover both.

When you load your control p