PHPBB Convert

[sremington]

Howdy

OK I have a current site that has been around for a while. It is operating on phpbb. I am looking to convert everything over to vBulletin.

A couple questions first. Is there a link so I can see what there is for templates. I am real picky with the look of my board and have only seen the original version of vBulletin.

Also is it possible to convert without changing the drectory? Probably nay on the last one huh?

[sremington]

OK since nobody responded yet I will toss out another question I didn't see in the features list. Can you combine threads? Sometimes I get 2 topics that are started that are similar and I would like to combine them.

Thanks

[Nxs]

I believe you can see and play around with templates usign the vBulletin demo on this site, if you are ok with HTML then the sky's your limit really.

It would be safer to run vB in a different folder on your host then phpBB, there would be contention between the systems (as both have an index.php for starters) if yuor host supports .htaccess you could easily add a redirect to point to the new vB installation.

vBulletin allows moderators to merge multiple threads into one

[sremington]

Nxs thanks for the quick reply.

Currently I have phpbb installed in the root directory. I sort of wanted to transfer everything over and remain in there instead of like moving everything over to /forums for instance. All those old posts were picked up nicely by Google and that's how a lot of people found us.

That's cool you can combine threads. I love it!

[kvnband]

Yes, you can install VB in the same directory as phpBB. Simply delete your phpBB files (backup first) but keep the database intact. Then upload your vbulletin files to your root and run impex to bring the phpBB data over to the vBulletin installation.

Please note, however, that any pages that google has indexed won't be available after you remove your phpBB files....
Kevin

[sremington]

Oh ok cool.

How come when I go to view the free skins in the "free skins forum" it tells me I am not allowed to see them. Do I have to purchase vBulletin before I can see what they offer me?

[Steve Machol]

Those are only available to licensed customers.

[sremington]

Can I view them prior to purchasing?

[Steve Machol]

Some of them are viewable here:

http://www.vbulletin-styles.com

[feldon23]

You can install vBulletin in a testing area and start creating the styles (skin/template/whatever you want to call it) and getting the settings and options the way you want and THEN import all your users, passwords, threads, posts, attachments, etc. later on. You could lock your phpBB forum so it's readable but you can't post and then when the import is done, just switch directories. Talk about seamless.