An easy UBB Classic importing question

[Ixtlan]

I must be daft. No matter how much I read, I can't find where or how to tell Impex where or how to find the UBB Classic bulletin board information to import. Predictably, the attached image represents as far as I manage to get.

It would seem to me that it ought to be a setting in the configuration file...

[ Source Database ]
; If the system that is being imported from uses a database,
; enter the details for it here and set 'sourceexists' to TRUE.
; If the source data is NOT stored in a database, set 'sourceexists' to FALSE
sourceexists = false
; mysql OR mssql
sourcedatabasetype = mysql
sourceserver = localhost
sourceuser = "username"
sourcepassword = "password"
sourcedatabase =
sourcetableprefix =

...but since the information is flat file, none of that seems to apply.

What have I missed?

[Floris]

If UBB stores the data in a database, set sourceexists = true instead of false.

[Ixtlan]

If UBB stores the data in a database, set sourceexists = true instead of false.

It does not...and that's really the point, isn't it? The instructions say what to do if it does store the data in a database, but not what to do if it does not. Or have I missed something?

[Floris]

Sorry, I do not know that either. All I know is that the ubb class files should be on the same server as the impex & vb forum software, but I do not know in which folder it will look for it.

[Jerry]

It does not...and that's really the point, isn't it? The instructions say what to do if it does store the data in a database, but not what to do if it does not. Or have I missed something?

Yes that is the point.

Ubb.classic dosn't store information in the database, so set it to false.

[Ixtlan]

Yes that is the point.

Ubb.classic dosn't store information in the database, so set it to false.

That, of course, wasn't my question, but instead was a point brought up by another poster.

So no one here knows how to import a UBB Classic into vBulletin?

Really?

[Ixtlan]

Most businesses use a support ticket system to handle support requests and they have forums, like this one, to take some pressure off of the ticket system for the easier questions. Below that, they have a FAQ which takes some of the pressure off of the bulletin board. But is this forum the only support available here? So far, it's not up to par. My UBB Classic is huge with half of a decade of threads to import - I can't just simply start out with an empty board and neither can I wait forever.


Average response time(last 30 support issues)
1 hr : 02 min


That's a bit misleading, isn't it? In the case of this thread, I clearly stated in my original query that UBB is flat file (i.e., not a database), so the first response was from someone who didn't really read my question, and the second responder said, essentially, "Yes, leave the setting specifically in the way that doesn't work", which was quite helpful. So in terms of actual useful responses (i.e., responses which actually add to the information which is already apparent in the initial post/question), there have been none, and we're coming up on 8 hours having past already during prime work hours. And I have a sinking feeling that, because of the holiday, support is going to disappear for a longer than average weekend - which is precisely the time that I need to be working on this installation.

Can someone please, even if you don't know how to solve this problem, give me a link or a phone number or something to someone who I can actually expect to help me to solve this problem in reasonable time?

[Zachery]

You can go into the members area and submit a support ticket, the average sresponse time is directly pointed at the members area ticket system, not the community forums.

http://www.vbulletin.com/members/membersupport_contactform.php

I have also forwarded this thread to jerry our import developer.

[Ixtlan]

Excellent. Thank you. 9 minutes! Much appreciated.

[Zachery]

We try to get to thing as best we can but we are only human

Try asking microsoft to get back to you in under an hour

[Ixtlan]

We try to get to thing as best we can but we are only human

Try asking microsoft to get back to you in under an hour

Right. I'm still working on finding that link myself, btw.

Start: http://www.vbulletin.com/
Two links: Contact us and Sales Support.

Contact us: http://www.vbulletin.com/contact.php
One seemingly pertinent link: Log in to support area

Log in: http://www.vbulletin.com/members/
New links appear: Member support, Priority Support. Priority support sounds exactly like what I need.

Priority support: http://www.vbulletin.com/members/mem...t_priority.php
Entirely unhelpful

Member Support:
Ah, nice paragraph:

vBulletin Community Forums
For the fastest possible response to your technical support questions, post your question in the vBulletin community forums. To receive priority support, please enter your email address using this form.

Fastest possible? Just what I want! No need to look any further! (Except that there is a need, isn't there?):

You can go into the members area and submit a support ticket, the average sresponse time is directly pointed at the members area ticket system, not the community forums.

http://www.vbulletin.com/members/membersupport_contactform.php

That link is at the bottom of the page and is suggested to be inferior in terms of response time (i.e., not the "fastest possible") - yet it is the one that is associated with the reported average response times.

Customers are only human, too, unfortunately.

[Zachery]

The members support tickets are fast, they are also private.

[Ixtlan]

I really thought that this was going to be something very easy. I thought that someone would say, "You dummy...it says right in the instructions to copy your UBB files to a folder within your vBulletin folder and name it 'importfiles', then run the software" or something. Instead I've got someone wanting to log into my server so that they can "diagnose the problem". But there is no problem, other than a lack of instructions of what to do.

Oh well.

[Jerry]

It is very easy, I've just done it for you to ensure it would be ok.

There is a HOWTO and a manual, as well as every page having instructions and explanations.

I would suggest reading the howto and then planning you own import.

[Ixtlan]

I still need help

Thanks. But with a little criticism: I know you meant well, but asking how to do something, or where to find the instructions on how to do something, is not the same as saying "Please do this for me". So I still don't know the answer to my question.

But from what I can tell so far, it appears to me that I did everything right, except that when I changed the name of ImpExConfig.php.new, I changed it to ImpExConfig.php, rather than to ImpExConfig.php3 (I followed the instructions just a little too closely, I suppose).

So the only way to figure out if that was the problem is to figure out how to delete everything you've done, reset the board to its original state, then try to run it again.

If so, the appropriate technical support answer would've been something along the lines of, "If the bulletin bulletin board you're importing from is not a database, then Impex will give you an opportunity to set the paths after starting the import process. If you're not getting this option, then something is wrong," or something of that nature. And if you were really good, you might've added, "Check the file extention on your configuration file and see that it matches the rest of the installation." But unless that's a common problem, guessing that would be a long shot.