Installing and Seeing AutoMOD

[grizzerrr]

Pre-script: I am too frustrated to be looking up the various links, so I'll come back to this later when I'm more motivated to edit this.

I cannot believe it took me so much time to install this. It's a cool thing, the autoMOD. But it was extremely frustrating while I wasn't able to get it to work.

Here's my quick story. I wanted to get AutoMOD to install ADAP (Advanced Double Activation Pack) and ABM (Advanced Block Mode).
I had no clue how any of these were related, so I'll begin from the very first step.

I'll use layman's terms because I am myself not too technical, so hardcore programmers, bear with me.

AutoMOD will help you automatically install MODs. Think of ADAP and ABM as advanced features that you need to install to your phpBB3 forum.

You can manually install ADAP and ABM, but we don't want to do more stuff than necessary for us noobs. ENTER our SAVIOR "AutoMOD".

Download the latest AutoMOD. When you download AutoMOD, you will get a zip file. Extract all the files somewhere on your computer - desktop is a fast option.
Within the extracted directory, you will specifically see a folder called "root". This is the important part - ALL the contents (files, blah blah etc) inside this root folder are the ones that are important for installing AutoMOD. What you want to do is transfer EVERYTHING inside the root folder directly into the directory on the server where you have your main files for your phpBB forum. For example: If you installed your forum at http://www.mywebsite.com/myforum, then ALL the files and folders from the root directory (install, includes etc) are to be copied directly INTO mywebsite.com/myforum.
You should not have anything that looks like mywebsite.com/myforum/root/install etc.
It should look like be: mywebsite.com/myforum/install. <-- that /install is one of the folders found directly inside the autoMOD root folder. Again, all folders from within the root folder need to be copied to the main directory inside which you have your phpBB forum set up.
If you did that, you're golden. To install, all you need do now is access that install folder through your browser (literally just type in the url to your myforum/install). Follow the steps on the screen and BOOM.

All right, now here's another problem. AutoMOD doesn't show up in the ACP (administration control panel). Here's what you gotta do. Go to the main page of the administration control panel. Scroll to the bottom where it says purge all cache. Hit run, refresh the page and voila. AutoMOD will show its snarky face.

Now life is simple: simply download whatever MOD you want from the Modifications Database - you will most prolly download a zip file. Go to your shiny AutoMOD tab, and select "upload zip file". Upload it. Refresh the page. Install it. Keep it.

[KevC]

Download the latest AutoMOD. When you download AutoMOD, you will get a zip file. Extract all the files somewhere on your computer - desktop is a fast option.
Within the extracted directory, you will specifically see a folder called "root". This is the important part - ALL the contents (files, blah blah etc) inside this root folder are the ones that are important for installing AutoMOD. What you want to do is transfer EVERYTHING inside the root folder directly into the directory on the server where you have your main files for your phpBB forum. For example: If you installed your forum at http://www.mywebsite.com/myforum, then ALL the files and folders from the root directory (install, includes etc) are to be copied directly INTO mywebsite.com/myforum.
You should not have anything that looks like mywebsite.com/myforum/root/install etc.
It should look like be: mywebsite.com/myforum/install. <-- that /install is one of the folders found directly inside the autoMOD root folder. Again, all folders from within the root folder need to be copied to the main directory inside which you have your phpBB forum set up.
If you did that, you're golden. To install, all you need do now is access that install folder through your browser (literally just type in the url to your myforum/install). Follow the steps on the screen and BOOM.

Correct.
This is what the installation instructions also tell you.

All right, now here's another problem. AutoMOD doesn't show up in the ACP (administration control panel). Here's what you gotta do. Go to the main page of the administration control panel. Scroll to the bottom where it says purge all cache. Hit run, refresh the page and voila. AutoMOD will show its snarky face.

You shouldn't need to do that for it to show up.

[grizzerrr]

1) Indeed.
2) Not indeed. I actually needed to do that. I tried enabling and disabling the automod from the module management in ACP (changing it back and forth between module, category, parent, no parent etc), but it wouldn't show up. When it did show up, I had a bunch of baloney-filled errors. Purging the cache did away with anything and everything that was in my way.

On instructions: they clearly weren't doing anything for me. The other option is my comprehension skills are below average. And if so, I am afraid I cannot help that. But I can help others whose comprehension skills are at par with mine.
Besides, the abundance of posts relating to the AutoMOD should well say a little about whether the instructions are... you know. :)

[KevC]

But the instructions clearly weren't doing anything for me. The other option is my comprehension skills are below average. And if so, I am afraid I cannot help that. But I can help others whose comprehension skills are at par with mine.

But that's why we have a support forum. When it's not going to plan people can just ask and we'll do our best to fix it.

[Lumpy Burgertushie]

and about 99% of those posts you refer to are problems with people not following the instructions exactly.

installing automod is very quick and straight forward in almost all cases.

you upload the files to the correct place as the instructions clearly say.

you go to the proper url on your board and click the buttons.

poof, you are done.

that part about having to clear the cache, I have never heard of. I have never had to do that in the hundreds of times I have installed automod.

I have never had to do any module changes either to install automod and have it work properly.

some MODs require those steps , but not automod itself.

rob4ert

[grizzerrr]

But the instructions clearly weren't doing anything for me. The other option is my comprehension skills are below average. And if so, I am afraid I cannot help that. But I can help others whose comprehension skills are at par with mine.

But that's why we have a support forum. When it's not going to plan people can just ask and we'll do our best to fix it.

I'd disagree. Most threads (about 7-8) that I tried were unresolved. Then there were more unresolved ones on ADAP and ABM as well. People who were answering questions were sometimes not notified of updated threads and they were stalling to the point the OPs had to bump them.

I strongly suggest you have a centralized SuperFAQs in the navbar up there. Next to community, put a second link - it should contain the most, most, most commonly and only the most, most, most commonly asked questions. I suspect you'd have about 8-10, if that.

Anyway, I digress.

[grizzerrr]

that part about having to clear the cache, I have never heard of. I have never had to do that in the hundreds of times I have installed automod.
rob4ert

Good for you and others for whom this isn't a problem. I typed up all this up because it was a problem for me, and there are 2-3 threads out there telling you to do exactly that (i.e. purge the cache). In fact, I uninstalled and installed phpbb as well as automod 4 times (between chrome and ff), each time having to purge the cache for automod to show up.
About the 99% - if they really didn't read the instructions, they wouldn't be persistent about their questions coming back - even after 10+ days - to check on an answer. There clearly has to be something about the installation instructions that isn't working. Perhaps, the instruction copywriter was writing for an expert audience, but this software and its mods/hacks being open source and free need to be accessible by even those who have just begun php (my ilk) and have grand plans for world domination. That's precisely what I think the instructions don't do. The layman has to be able to understand, and it isn't really all that difficult to explain so. How cool (and brand-endearing) would a short youtube video on such stuff be?

[KevC]

I'd disagree. Most threads (about 7-8) that I tried were unresolved.

Sometimes it depends if you're sure you're looking at the same error. We get a lot of people that post in topics saying 'I have the same problem' and 9 times out of 10 it isn't.

Posting a new topic is free, so you might as well do it and we'll look at your specific problem and try to work it out. The vast majority of installation issues are from files not being uploaded to the right place.

Then there were more unresolved ones on ADAP and ABM as well.

MOD problems are the exclusive domain of the MOD author. We have no control over issues with MODs. Often it's a version problem, such as people installing a very old or abandoned MOD on a much newer version of phpBB. Incidentally, neither of those MODs are really needed imo.

I strongly suggest you have a centralized SuperFAQs in the navbar up there. Next to community, put a second link - it should contain the most, most, most commonly and only the most, most, most commonly asked questions. I suspect you'd have about 8-10, if that.

Feel free to post a suggestion in the phpBB discussion forum (the tracker for the website is off at the moment as a lot of development is going on behind the scenes), but we have FAQ topics in other forums as stickies and people still post the same questions. As you haven't said specifically what your problem was, we don't know if it was a frequent issue so it may not have helped your specific case anyway.