How to convert from phpbb2 to phpbb3 seo premod

noises · Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 5

Hello,

Your SEO mod is really intersting! I run a forum with an installed version of phpbb2 and aroung 35000 posts, and I want to switch to phpbb3 premod. So I uploaded it into a dir as explained, but then in the folder "Convert" I get the following message:

No installation found
The phpBB Unified Convertor Framework requires a default installation of phpBB3 to function, please proceed by first installing phpBB3.

How can I convert my existing phpbb2 database to phpbb3 premod?

Thanks! Wink

PS: Sorry if I have opened a new topic, but your forum structure is very difficult to use and I could not find any similar topic..

TomaS · PR2 Joined: 08 Jun 2007 Posts: 225

first you have to install it Smile

and then you can convert.Just place bb3 in ftp and isntall and in the end push convert

SeO

And welcome Very Happy

So converting from phpBB2 is exactly the same using the premod or phpBB vanilla.
You need to install phpBB3 (or the premodded version) first, in a separate directory in the phpBB2 domain and in the same DB.
Doing this will not alter phpBB2 in any way as long as you use a different table prefix for phpBB3.
You'll as well be able to convert without altering the phpBB2 install once done, and see how it goes before you actually switch.
35000 post should not be this much of a deal to convert, won't be done in a minute but processing time should stay reasonable (should take less than one hour unless your host really is slow).

This means you''ll most likely will end up converting twice, the first one to see how it goes and to set up the SEO settings (url and personalised forum urls), and then, when everything works well, a final conversion to take the recently posted message in phpBB2 into account.

You should deactivate posting in phpBB2 (locking all forums for example or deactivating the board) when you go for the final conversion to make sure user will not post during the process (so you do not miss any post).
Once done, you'll have to rename phpBB2 dir (or move phpBB2 file within a dir if installed in the domain's root) and then rename phpBB3 dir to the original phpBB2 one (or move the phpBB3 files to root in the root install case) to actually switch from phpBB3 to phpBB2.
Then, you'll have to update the phpBB3 config a bit, you can either do it before you move phpBB3 files or after using phpmyadmin, you just need to set up the new script path (since the phpBB3 dir will have changed). Once done, clear phpBB3's cache.
Your SEO settings will be kept during the final conversion process, but you'll have to update the .htaccess for the new phpBB3 location, you can either edit it by hand (replacing the old path to the new one) or generate a new one once phpBB3 is up and running in the new dir with the updated script path config.
If your phpBB2 installation was not using any mod rewrite, you'll just need to activate the zero duplicate and you'll be done.
If not, you'll most likely have to implement some personalized rewriterules in order to properly redirect the old urls.

Once everything is working nicely, you can safely delete phpBB2 files and tables.

Wink

noises · Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 5

I'm not using mod rewrite. I just eliminated the sid in URLs in phpbb2, so after the conversion there should be no problem. Thank you for the help!!!

I've got another doubt : I've read that if I use Advanced SEO URL, I get the topic title injected into the URL. I was wondering what happens if I edit the name of the topic after the topic is created. Does the URL changes according to the new title or does it stay the same? I'm asking this thing because I often optimize the titles of new topics created by users on my forum when they are too vague, and I think that it can be a problem if the URLs change after the edits.

Have a nice day, and thanks for your useful and fast replies! Wink

SeO

noises · Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 5

Hello,

Yes, thinking twice is the only approach to SEO Wink

Following your instructions, I've successfully installed phpbb3 premod.

Then I started the conversion, and I've seen just the first page with the status of the conversion. Then it automatically refreshed, and I got an error: "500 Internal server error".

I've checked the db and I've found that a few tables have been filled with data from the old db.

So I've opened the ACP, and I've chosen "Continue previously started conversion", but no way...I've tried several times, but every time I try, I get no progress page at all, just the same error.

Maybe the server is overloaded at this time, so I'll try again tomorrow..anyway, if you've got hints, let me know. Thanks again for your detailed and clear help.

SeO

You're welcome Wink

Then it looks like you are in a case where local convert will be necessary.
There is either an error when converting (sometime can be the case with password conversion for example) or simply some load limit reached by either the web or the SQL server.

How is your forum hosted ? Shared or dedicated ?

On a shared server, it could as well be because you reached the DB size limit, since you'll pretty much will need twice (and almost a half) more space than just with phpBB2 (after conversion, you have both phpBB2 and phpBB3 table fully filled with all post so ...).

Give it a try on a local server with your online DB installed, it may work directly.

noises · Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 5

Ok, the conversion is successfully over..I'm on shared hosting, so I had to put set_time_limit(20); and finally everything worked fine. So now I'm working on the settings to tune the board...I'll let you know my doubts and impressions.

Another question: my forum is in Italian language, so I have to change the board's language...Is the procedure the standard one (i.e. through Language packs)?

SeO

There are few additions to the languages packs, language/en/acp/phpbb_seo.php should be translated or added as is in the italian pack for the acp options, as well :

noises · Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 5

Thank you again!

Sorry if I disappeared, but I've got a lot of work to do...however, I'm back on hacking phpbb3 and I've noticed the section "Manage bots", where you can manage accounts for crawlers.

I think that I'll leave this option to "deactivate" for each bot, not letting them to log in, because this feature reminds me of cloaking...what do you think?

dcz

I agree with you, bots should have the same authorisations as guest, not more not less and see the same content.

Though, make sure you do not disallow public content for bots.

Because, yes, it is technically cloaking to even only get rid of the profile links for bots only.
And even if the risk may be very little, given the few final code changes that can be involved with the phpBB3 bots toolkit, we still do not have any guarantee not to be blacklisted for doing so. And ultimately why cloaking if only to do minor changes, it's close to non sens IMHO.

It's more or less the same with the other possibilities such as letting bots crawl private forums, we all know webmasterworld does it without problems, but, I never read Google say anything about this, they only say that cloaking bots is something we shouldn't period.

To me, the phpBB2 bots module is only useful to better handle bots sessions and to output bot-names in the online list, I won't be using more of it and I advise other to do the same Wink

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