Converting from SMF to phpBB

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sakm
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Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

Hi all

I have just acquired a from that I want to convert to phpBB

its currently running on (not so) simple machines 2.0.15 I was going to leave it on this and bring it up to date but I have come to realise the software is just shocking! I need to move it to my server and update the software but everything I have tried just fails or causes massive issues with old modification that are tied in to the files! its in the dark ages of editing files etc I even tried replacing all files for a clean mod free forum but nope that doesn't even work

After spending way too long messing with it and realising that phpBB would have done what I needed in less time than cooking my tea I have now decided to take the plunge to what I know best and convert to phpBB

Now I have done a little bit of research and it appears its hit and miss with some converters as to whether they work or now and you have to go to a lower version of phpBB hence why I am in the 3.2 section

I did an offline conversion using this converter and it seemed to work well https://github.com/juju2143/smf2-phpbb-convertor

My issue is all the images. Does anyone know if these would come across?

I tried to but the images in the relevant folder on phpBB but the attachments where still broken

It would be good to get some feedback from anyone who has converted to see how the images behaved etc

Thanks
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Mick
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by Mick »

If you’ve done the conversion you should know if the images transferred?

How do you mean the images are broken, do you mean corrupt?

There are several topics where conversions from SMF to phpBB have been done successfully, maybe have a search in the 3.2 convertors section as well.
  • "The more connected we get the more alone we become" - Kyle Broflovski©
  • "The good news is hell is just the product of a morbid human imagination.
    The bad news is, whatever humans can imagine, they can usually create.
    " - Harmony Cobel
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

The images was not transferred in to the folder and adding them to the folder did nothing

The posts just show that an image should be attached but there is no image showing. I have deleted it now so can't take a screenshot

I wasn't sure if they would show properly when in a real server environment as doing it offline can sometimes show some funny results

Or if there was something that I need to do to maybe rebuild the images to allow them to show
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warmweer
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by warmweer »

sakm wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:12 pm ...
I tried to but the images in the relevant folder on phpBB but the attachments where still broken
Mick wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:48 pm If you’ve done the conversion you should know if the images transferred?

How do you mean the images are broken, do you mean corrupt?
...
Just for clarity's sake, if you did transfer the images (which were posted as attachments), Your FTP might have done that in ASCII mode (Filezilla is notorious for that). If that is the problem, then reuploading the files form your old location using BINARY mode should solve that.
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sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

I lied! I thought I had removed everything but I hadn't

screenshot of how the images look
2022-08-15 18 59 58.png
2022-08-15 18 59 58.png (7.06 KiB) Viewed 5032 times
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

warmweer wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:58 pm
sakm wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:12 pm ...
I tried to but the images in the relevant folder on phpBB but the attachments where still broken
Mick wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:48 pm If you’ve done the conversion you should know if the images transferred?

How do you mean the images are broken, do you mean corrupt?
...
Just for clarity's sake, if you did transfer the images (which were posted as attachments), Your FTP might have done that in ASCII mode (Filezilla is notorious for that). If that is the problem, then reuploading the files form your old location using BINARY mode should solve that.
It was all done locally on my computer the only transfer was taking them off the server the rest was copy and past in the relevant file
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warmweer
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by warmweer »

sakm wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:03 pm ...
It was all done locally on my computer the only transfer was taking them off the server the rest was copy and past in the relevant file
And taking them off the server could have done the incorrect way. Which FTP program did you use and can you view the attachments on your PC?
Spelling is freeware, which means you can use it for free.
On the other hand, it is not open source, which means you cannot change it or publish it in a modified form.


Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

warmweer wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:10 pm
sakm wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:03 pm ...
It was all done locally on my computer the only transfer was taking them off the server the rest was copy and past in the relevant file
And taking them off the server could have done the incorrect way. Which FTP program did you use and can you view the attachments on your PC?
filezilla

And actually no I can't!

All attachments are png and none are viewable and jpg's are fine though ie avatars :?
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Mick
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by Mick »

  • "The more connected we get the more alone we become" - Kyle Broflovski©
  • "The good news is hell is just the product of a morbid human imagination.
    The bad news is, whatever humans can imagine, they can usually create.
    " - Harmony Cobel
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

Thats the same settings I have

I have managed to upload the forum to a server and try it online and the images are still broken so I don't think they will transfer!

But opening the images on a server they work fine
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

I have messed around with this for a while seeing if I can find an issue! for some reason the converter doesn't pull all the info for the images and even inserting the info manually in to the database doesn't fix the issue properly

There is no image inserted just a box where the image should be with a file name and when clicked it would open the correct image

The trouble is that would mean a manual edit for every image so its a no go on that front

I think I will still use the converter and just have to take the hit on the images! at least I can move forward with the forum instead of being stuck in the dark ages with ancient broken software
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

For anyone interested I did a conversion from SMF 2.0.15 to the latest 3.2.11 and it worked really well

A bit of tidying up to do but thats normal

It pulled over the smilies but nothing else

I figured out how to make the images work again but its a lot of messing about if you have a lot of files! I have over 6k so it doesn't look like I will be fixing them all

the converter doesn't pull the real file name across and fill in in the correct place so you have to manually add that and you also have to change the thumbnail column to 0 from 1 if thats in there

This will make the image work again but its a manual edit of the database and would mean a lot of editing :?
barrypoore
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by barrypoore »

Could I possibly ask which convertor you used for this task? I've tried one from the following URL but get nothing but MySQL errors.

https://github.com/juju2143/smf2-phpbb-convertor
sakm
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by sakm »

barrypoore wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 12:18 pm Could I possibly ask which convertor you used for this task? I've tried one from the following URL but get nothing but MySQL errors.

https://github.com/juju2143/smf2-phpbb-convertor
Thats the one I used and it seemed to work fine

But you need to convert to 3.2 then upgrade to latest after the conversion

Images don't work properly though but its worth it to get off smf
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Re: Converting from SMF to phpBB

Post by barrypoore »

Thanks for your reply, I did manage to run the conversion based on your post, unfortunately I have run into several issues including no longer being able to login for starters, I'll see if I can work through the errors and get it working, thanks.
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