Importing Data into vBulletin

If you are moving to vBulletin from another type of discussion board, then there is a good chance that you won't want to lose all the posts that you already have and start again with nothing. And it's not just the posts that are important—what about all your member information—usernames, passwords, profile data? You don't want to lose all that and start with a blank forum!

To make migration easier, the vBulletin development team has created a Import/Export script (called the ImpEx script).

Downloading the ImpEx Script

The ImpEx script is available from the Member Area on the vBulletin site. This means that you need a valid license to be able to download it.

After downloading the script, you will need to extract the files into a convenient location (just as you did with the vBulletin installation files).

Compatibility

The following boards are supported in the ImpEx script:

• IPB (version 2)
• phpBB (version 2.0.4 - 2.0.11 MySQL and MSSQL))
• Infopop eve (EVE: version 1.2.6, UBB.x forum module: version 4.0.3)
• IPB (version 1.1 - 1.3)
• wBB (version 2)
• Ubb_classic (version 6.3 - 6.7)
• Open Topic & Ubb.x
• DCFm (DCForum+ MySQL backend)
• YaBB SE (version 1.5.5)
• Ubb_threads (version 6.4)
• vBulletin 3 (version 3.0.x -> vB 3.0.x)
• Snitz (version 3.4.x MySQL and MSSQL)
• Ikonboard MySQL (version 3.x)
• XMB (version 1.9)
• CuteCast (version 2.0)
• vBulletin (version 2)
• ThwBoard (version 3)
• SMF (version 1.0)
• DiscusWare (version 4.00.x)
• vB (version 1.0 RC 1)
• YaBB - Gold (version 1.3.1)
• openBB (version 1.0.7)
• deluxeportal (version 2.0)
• Digiposts (version 2.0)
• Phorum (version 3)
• Fusetalk
• WebWiz (version 7.9)
• Maxportalweb
• Jiveforums
• Xoops—Newbb
• Siteframe
• PNphpBB2
• TruBB
• bbBoard2
• MyBB
• tritaniumbb2
• ASPPlayground (MSSQL)
• Geeklog
• PunBB
• e107.org
• phpBB1
• Oyxgen
• megaBBS (version 1.69-2.1 MySQL & MSSQL)
• yahoogroups_text
• wowBB
• vB lite (version 1.0)
• Encore II
• Freethreads
• W-agora
• ttCMS
• Simpleboard—mambo server
• Allaire
• dotnetBB
• Beta support for vBzoom

Preparing for Upload

When the unzipping progress is complete, you will find that the process has created a new folder called xxxxxxxx.impex (where xxxxxxxx is the license number of your vBulletin license).

Within this folder you will find another folder called upload. This folder contains the ImpEx files that need to be uploaded to your web server.

Editing the Configuration File

However, you're not ready to upload just yet. First you must make some changes to the ImpEx configuration file. This file is located in the impex subfolder of the upload folder and is called ImpExConfig.php.new.

As before, the first thing you must do is rename this file from ImpExConfig.php.new to ImpExConfig.php (removing the .new extension). This step is in place to make sure that you remember to edit the file!

To edit the ImpExConfig.php file, you will need to open the file in a text editor such as Windows WordPad. (Again, the use of Windows Notepad is not recommended, as Notepad has problems displaying line breaks.)

The settings in this file need to be edited in order to get the script working.

The settings that require editing are divided into two groups.

• Target database
• Source database

Target Database Settings

The target database is the database that will be having data imported into it by the script.

• targetdatabasetype—Enter the type of database here. This is usually mysql.
• targetserver—This sets the address of your database server. On most installations the database server is located on the same computer as the web server, in which case the address should be set to localhost, otherwise use the address of the database server as supplied by your web host.
• targetuser—This contains the username to connect to your target database.
• targetpassword—This is the password to connect to the target database.
• targetdatabase—This is the name of the database that contains your vBulletin.
• targettableprefix—If your vBulletin installation uses a prefix on the tables, then set this value here.

Source Database Settings

The source database is the database that the script will be extracting the data from.

• sourceexists—If the system that is being imported from uses a database, enter the details for it here and set sourceexists to TRUE. If the source data is not contained in a database, set sourceexists to FALSE.
• sourcedatabasetype—Enter the type of database here. This is usually mysql.
• sourceserver—This sets the address of your database server. On most installations the database server is located on the same computer as the web server, in which case the address should be set to localhost. Otherwise use the address of the database server as supplied by your web host.
• sourceuser—This contains the username to connect to your source database.
• sourcepassword—This is the password to connect to the source database.
• sourcedatabase—Change this value to state the name of the database that contains your other forum software data on the database server.
• sourcetableprefix—If the source database uses a prefix for the tables, set that here.

Upload the ImpEx Script

When you have finished editing the ImpExConfig.php file, you should save it and you are then ready to upload the ImpEx script to your web server.

Remember only to upload the contents of the upload folder.

Connect your web server with your FTP program and upload the files and folders.

As we saw earlier in this chapter, FTP client applications usually handle the file transfers automatically, but if this does not happen, then all text files (.html, .php, .js, .xml, and .css) will need to be transferred in ASCII mode, and all non-text files (.gif, .png, .jpg, and .ico) will need to be transferred in Binary mode.

Once all the files are uploaded, you are ready for the next stage of the installation.

Running the ImpEx Script

From your Admin Control Panel select Import & Maintenance, then Import / Export, and select the system you wish to import from the list.

Tip

Version issues

Note that the ImpEx script has been written for version 3.0.1 and higher of vBulletin.

The script will then run automatically, and all you need to do is run each module by clicking on the appropriate button. Make sure that you work through each module in turn and don't be tempted to skip steps or rush things—the ImpEx script can take a lot of time.

If you receive an error message, make a note of it and carry out a search for it on the vBulletin forum. If you cannot find a resolution, contact support—importing data is a complex procedure, but the vBulletin support team is likely to be able to help you with any problems that you might have.

Tip

Check usergroups

After each import, check all options for every usergroup that was imported into vBulletin using the ImpEx script, and make sure that all the usergroup permissions are set correctly.

We will be covering usergroup management in Chapter 5.