convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

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fredipb
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convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

Hi - there's an old IPB forum (v 2.3.4) that is closing and I'd really like to convert to phpBB as an archive. Looking at the closed IPB 2.3.x to phpBB3 thread viewtopic.php?t=576207 and the converter how-to at viewtopic.php?f=65&t=1213555 it seems the procedure would be to convert IPB 2.3.4 -> phpBB3.0.x -> latest phpBB. The first conversion would use the converter at viewtopic.php?p=9367695#p9367695.

Is this feasible onto a recent system: Debian 12, Apache 2.4.62, php8.2, recent MySQL/MariaDB/SQLite? Would the converter work to the final phpBB 3.0.14? Can phpBB 3.0.14 be installed onto that recent system, or would I need older versions of php/sql etc?

Thanks!
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thecoalman
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by thecoalman »

fredipb wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2024 3:07 pm or would I need older versions of php/sql etc?
Yes, you can get older versions of XAMPP to do it locally. For that time frame based on the post dates you'll probably want older version of php5.2 or newer version of php5.3:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/files/
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fredipb
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

Thanks for the quick reply, coalman. I'll give XAMPP a try. XAMPP v 1.7.2 came with php 5.3.

Did you mean newer version of php 5.2/older 5.3 rather than the other way around?

I understand this is really a question for XAMPP, but any idea if I could install such an older XAMPP (which includes Apache 2.2.12) on a system that already has Apache 2.4.62, presumably specifying different ports for the two, or should I uninstall the current Apache?
Last edited by fredipb on Tue Dec 24, 2024 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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thecoalman
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by thecoalman »

fredipb wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2024 6:51 pm Did you mean newer version of php 5.2/older 5.3 rather than the other way around?
Either should work regradless of version, even newer versions. However the post date from your links appear to be around 2009 so I would use phpBB version from around then. The php versions from those dates are going to be later versions of 5.2 or very early versions of 5.3.

In other words pick a php version released before phpBB version you are using which should not cause any conflicts. Once you converted you can upgrade to last version of 3.0.X branch and run the STK which may find any DB issues.

https://www.phpbb.com/support/stk/

After STK you should be able to go right to 3.3.14 but do that using php8.2 or 8.3
I understand this is really a question for XAMPP, but any idea if I could install such an older XAMPP (which includes Apache 2.2.12) on a system that already has Apache 2.4.62, presumably specifying different ports for the two, or should I uninstall the current Apache?
This I know will cause issues and Apache/MySQL will not start because of the port conflicts. It's possible to change the default ports but your question is better answered in XAMPP forum.
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fredipb
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

OK, great, thanks a lot again. That's pretty clear now. I'll give it a try...
fredipb
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

As a related question, I understand to convert IPB-> phpBB I'll need the .sql file with all the tables (and separately the attachment files) from the old IPB forum. When running the converter I guess I'll be able to point to the .sql file path and name (and attachment path)? Everything will be on a local machine.

The .sql file was created on the separate IPB forum server with command:

Code: Select all

mysqldump --opt -c -e -Q -h$HOST -u$USER -p$PASSWORD $DBNAME > $DBNAME.sql
I have root access to the IPB forum server (but not web access like cpanel etc) so I can run whatever command I like - should I run mysqldump with any different options or is this command OK for the conversion?
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rockedge
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by rockedge »

It might be a good idea to add the option --extended-insert=FALSE
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

Thanks again for the tips - I have now converted from the old IPB to phpBB 3.0.14. Before I upgrade to phpBB 3.3.14 I have a couple more questions.

First, the old IPB (v 2.3.4) board created thumbnails for larger image attachments, but the converted board doesn't recognize the thumbnails and just shows the full-size images. I imagine I could regenerate thumbnails, but is there some way to use the IPB thumbs? For each image with filename such as post-453-1212787892.jpg IPB created a thumbnail called post-453-1212787892_thumb.jpg. I've tried simply renaming the IPB thumbs to thumb_post-453-1212787892.jpg but phpBB still doesn't display the thumb. Do I need to manually edit the thumbnail field in the phpbb_attachments table to make phpBB display the thumbs?

Next, the IPB board had topic descriptions which don't appear on the phpBB 3.0.14 board. I suppose I can install a topic description add-on that supports phpBB 3.0.x, such as https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/ ... scriptions. Or after I upgrade to phpBB 3.3.14 I could install an add-on that supports 3.3.x such as https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/exte ... scription/. Is there any need to install a 3.0.x topic description add-on before the upgrade to 3.3.14, or would I be able to see the old IPB topic descriptions by simply converting to 3.3.14 first and then installing a 3.3.x topic description add-on?

Thanks again!
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thecoalman
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by thecoalman »

3.0.X uses mods where you need to edit core files. 3.3.X uses extension installed and uninstalled in the ACP.

Upgrade to 3.3.14 first, install the extension and then import the descriptions using SQL. I would test how new description is being stored. If it's enclosed in <t></t> or <r></r> tags then it's been run through the text formatter

phpbb3.0.x text formatting is different than 3.3.14. I'm assuming that your converter handled changing IPB formatting to phpBB 3.0.x formatting for links, bbcode etc. I don't know which version it changes but when you get to 3.3.14 phpBB's built in cron will convert them in the background to new format. You can do this manually by using command line:

Code: Select all

php /full/path/to/phpbb_root/bin/phpbbcli.php --safe-mode reparser:reparse --ansi
The reason I'm mentioning this is because the description is probably run through the text formatter but you will need to determine that yourself. If so running the reparser from command line might format them correctly. If not ask your question in the extensions discussion area for some help.
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fredipb
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

Thanks again! I'll upgrade to 3.3.14 first.

In the phpBB 3.0.14 board converted from IPB the formatting of links and code blocks looks good. Quotes of earlier posts also look OK. But quotes not referencing previous posts, ie quotes without an argument to quoteo, are not formatted right - there is no quote box. It's not too big a deal and I imagine I could fix it with bash sed on the .sql file if I decided to.

I'm not seeing my more recent personal messages, even though I've set the max number of messages per box to zero (ie, unlimited). The formatting (in the IPB sql table) of the newer messages I'm not seeing doesn't look any different from that of the older ones I can see. Maybe I need to set the messages per box to zero before the conversion?
fredipb
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by fredipb »

thecoalman wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2024 7:54 pm Once you converted you can upgrade to last version of 3.0.X branch and run the STK which may find any DB issues.

https://www.phpbb.com/support/stk/
Before upgrading from phpBB 3.0.14 to 3.3.14, which tools in the STK woukd be most relevant to run?
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warmweer
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by warmweer »

fredipb wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2025 6:35 pm
thecoalman wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2024 7:54 pm Once you converted you can upgrade to last version of 3.0.X branch and run the STK which may find any DB issues.

https://www.phpbb.com/support/stk/
Before upgrading from phpBB 3.0.14 to 3.3.14, which tools in the STK woukd be most relevant to run?
If a tool finds an issue, it will inform you as such and give you the choice of starting an action to fix the issue or not. It runs some tests but doesn't automatically edit the database. There a confirmation needed before any intrusive action is undertaken.

Notwithstanding that, you should always have a backup of the database before running the STK or any other program that could edit the database.
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thecoalman
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Re: convert ancient IPB to phpBB?

Post by thecoalman »

fredipb wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2025 6:35 pm Once you converted you can upgrade to last version of 3.0.X branch and run the STK which may find any DB issues.
I don't know how helpful this is going to be for you but it can't hurt to see if it finds anything. It's been a lot of years since I used it so I don't remember what tools it has. The big feature is the database cleaner which will remove columns and tables created by mods, you shouldn't have any of them.
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