Hi there,

I am currently using phpBB SEO very successfully on a forum located inside a directory on my main domain. The URL is -http://maindomain.com/blog/forum (or public_html/blog/forum). The code for SEO is placed inside the .htaccess file at the domain root, i.e., public_html/.htaccess.

Now, I have another domain, an add-on domain, that is physically located inside the folder public_html/addondomain/forum. Well, placing the SEO code inside the .htaccess file located in the add-on domain folder obviously has no effect because it is being superseded by the .htaccess file at the domain root. The URLs are being rewritten properly but the page always returns to the add-on domain root, i.e., addondomain.net/index.php when I want it to resolve to addondomain.net/forum.html.

Is there a way for me to get phpBB SEO to work properly inside the addon domain?

I have searched for an answer to this question but couldn't find the answer.

Thanks so much for your support.

What you say does not fully makes sense.
Because if addondomain is in public_html/addondomain/forum and the forum in public_html/blog/forum, well, you're doing it the hard way, why not just simplify and install the domain you want to use for phpBB in the same place where phpBB is indeed installed ?

Once done it's only a matter of setting phpBB Server and Cookie settings right (ONLY considering the domain you want to use, not other that may be redundant in the physical location).

Also, FYI upper .htaccess do not interfere with lower level one, the lower one is the one used staring form where it is in the directory structure (unless you set inheritance, but here it's not he case).

++

I don't have a choice where the Apache server places the folder that represents the new add-on domain. Each add-on domain folder is placed at the root of public_html/.

The URLs in the add-on domain's forum are being correctly rewritten. That is not the problem. The problem is that the URLs are redirecting to the add-on domain root. And lately, they were redirecting to the main domain's forum!

So instead of resolving to the add-on domain's forum, I am either redirected to the add-on domain root or the main domain's phpBB3 forum with SEO installed.

There is obviously some sort of problem here with the redirection 301 statements that I'm not spotting.

PS. The problem is that this installation of phpBB3 is embedded inside a Joomla directory. I used the default .htaccess file created by Joomla to add the phpbb SEO generated code and an earlier statement was causing redirection back to the add-on domain root:

########## Begin - Joomla! core SEF Section
#
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/index.php
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (/|\.php|\.html|\.htm|\.feed|\.pdf|\.raw|/[^.]*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) index.php
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization},L]
#
########## End - Joomla! core SEF Section
#####################################

The problem is I need these Joomla statements for the core SEF and SEF Advance to work properly. The first two lines are redundant (included with SEO) but how do I integrate the remaining statements with phpBB SEO?

Thanks so much.

You're over complicating this.

First, if you can add a domain, then, you most likely can change its physical location in the server (VHOST).
Then, do not confuse among domains, phpBB should be set up for the domain you want, and its script path should be considered for this domain.
For example, if you have :

Code: Select all

public_html/ <=> domain1
public_html/phpBB/ <=> domain2 or sub.domain1

Then, phpBB domain is domain2 or sub.domain1, and its script path is /. It is indeed installed in its (sub) domains root, and that also where (public_html/phpBB/) its .htaccess should be installed, and from there, it would not interfere with the one in public_html/ what so ever.

So please confirm all this and try to simplify the matter if it's still not the issue.

++

Thank you for getting back to me on this.

The reason this has become so complicated is because 1) I installed Joomla at the domain2 root and 2) I am using Rokbridge to sync registrations between Joomla and phpBB3. Consequently, the phpBB3 installation must be inside the Joomla installation and this is the problem.

If, for example, I had installed Joomla inside a directory instead of at the root of the add-on domain, then there wouldn't be any conflict because I'd have: public_html/domain2 (.htaccess2)/site (Joomla install, JoomlaSEF.htaccess)/forum (phpBB install). With this setup, the phpBB SEO code in the .htaccess at the domain2 root would not interfere with the JoomlaSEF .htaccess code in the /site directory. I know because this is precisely the setup I have with my main domain (as you pointed out in your first reply).

Either I need to move the Joomla installation into its own directory, so that its SEF .htaccess code is separate from the domain root, or move (and unsync) the forum so that the .htaccess code at the main domain root takes effect (as you suggested above).

There is obviously no way of having the phpBB SEO redirects coexist with the Joomla SEF redirects, not in the same .htaccess file.

Right now, the syncing of the registrations is more important to me than SEO URLs. I will probably just move the whole thing into a separate directory as noted above so that the Joomla installation is separate from the domain2 root.

To my understanding, phpBB and joomla cannot be installed in the same physical directory, at least without file renaming. And you can combine phpBB3 and joomla .htaccess (would be useful if you would use virtual root option), you just need to add joomla rewriterules after phpBB3 ones, and maybe, to comment / delete / tweak the two :

Code: Select all

# FIX RELATIVE PATHS

rewriterules.

As well trying without :

Code: Select all

# DO NOT GO FURTHER IF THE REQUESTED FILE / DIR DOES EXISTS
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule . - [L]

could help.

But I'm still unsure about your personal set-up, could you clarify which domain goes where (on which server if more than one) and with what application inside ?

I can't thank you enough for your continued support and patience.