phpp->vB : How to avoid broken links int./ext. ?

[globetrotting]

Hi,
I consider changing a board from phpBB to vB and, at the same time, moving to a different domain.

Can broken links, both internally and externally be avoided (e.g. by mod_rewrite)?

Internally:
Many threads within the forum have links to other threads within the forum, which need to be changed to the new urls.
How can I accomplish that?

Externally:
The forum has an adjoint main site that contains a lot of links to specific threads within the forum.
The forum is also well spidered by search engines.
All of these links will be broken once the forum is moved and imported.

Is there any way of re-directing most of these links correctly?
Can there be renaming rules established and executed even on the level of threads?

Thanks for help

[Floris]

Yes, using mod_rewrite it is possible to manage the external links. This is something apache offers through .htaccess

For internal links you can try : http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/impex_cleaner

[feldon23]

ImpEx also comes with a phpBB htaccess script which will link all old threadIDs to the new threadIDs.

[globetrotting]

Thanks for your answers!

ImpEx also comes with a phpBB htaccess script which will link all old threadIDs to the new threadIDs.

Good to hear! So the renaming will follow a general reproduceable renaming rule.

My next wish would be to replace the .php?t=xxx with something that carries the thread's titel in it via .htaccess.
Will even this be possible without loosing the old phpbb-links?

Will all that produce redundant content from the eye of a search engine - and will the pagerank of the forum persist?

[Floris]

vBulletin does not have something that holds the thread title in the .htaccess, this "SEO" is not an option, as addon it is possible.