Fig 1.0 Click on the DOWNLOAD LATEST RELEASE link to continue
| INSTALL A PHPBB FORUM |
What is a Forum? Technical Answer: A Message Board on a discussion website, which is an updated version of the old Bulletin Board (a Pin/Notice Board).
Basic Answer: An area of a website for Questions & Answers. A forum allows someone to ask a question that is then, hopefully, answered by at least
one other forum member. A forum should normally be used as a Customer Support platform but these days it is being used as a Social Networking platform
(similar to a Blog). Either way, a forum can help you build up your visitor numbers, visitor interaction and search engine ranking/position depending
on the quality of the questions and answers. These in turn depend heavily on your knowledgeable members, which you need because you cannot know the
answer to every question of course. Therefore. Think very carefully about setting up a forum because it usually takes a lot of time and energy to make
it popular.
At this time, phpBB is one of the more popular Forum Software downloads. To install it you must first go to the phpBB webpage
(http://www.phpbb.com/) and click on its DOWNLOAD LATEST RELEASE link - The following instructions will guide
you through the installation of phpBB 3.0.5.
At the time of writing the current version of phpBB is 3.0.5. If when you read this section the current version is 9.4.1 for example, unless there
are changes in the phpBB installation process you can take the installation process below as being applicable to that newer version of phpBB.
After clicking on the DOWNLOAD LATEST RELEASE link (above) your are taken to the actual DOWNLOADS page (below) which you need to scroll down in order to then click on the DOWNLOAD PHPBB 3.0.5 (ZIP) link. Doing so will bring up a security Information Bar (Fig 1.2 below) that when hovered over will give you the option to download the file. Simply click on the DOWNLOAD FILE option to continue.
Clicking on the DOWNLOAD FILE option brings up a File Download message requester, asking you if you want to Save or Open the compressed (zipped) file called phpBB-3.0.5.zip. Clicking on the OPEN button will download (save) the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file, into the system (Windows Vista) folder called TEMP, and then open (unzip/decompress) it for you. However. In this example, to keep it simple and because you might want to use the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file again, click on the SAVE button to save (download) the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file into a folder of your choice.
In this example I have navigated the SAVE AS file requester to the DOWNLOADS folder, but you can navigate it to some where like the DOCUMENTS folder, a Flash Drive folder or a sub-folder on a Floppy Disk if you wish. Once you have navigated the SAVE AS file requester to your chosen folder click on its SAVE button to start the download (saving) process.
After choosing a folder to save the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file into and then clicking on the SAVE button (Fig 1.4 above) the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file will begin
to download (save) into the folder you chose. Depending on your internet connection you may see the above Download message requester (i.e. on a P.A.Y.G
Dialup connection) or one with a green guage on it (i.e. on a Broadband connection). Either way, do not worry too much about it. As long as the
phpBB-3.0.5.zip file downloads. Its current file size is: 2.21MB.
At any time throughout the download process, decompression process (exampled later) and upload process (exampled later) you can click on the CANCEL
button, if a CANCEL button is available of course. However. In the case of the decompression process and upload process, even if you click on a CANCEL
button its process might have gone too far for it to be stopped, cancelled and/or reversed. So think very carefully before deciding to install a forum.
| EXTRACT THE CONTENT OF PHPBB-3.0.5.ZIP |
With the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file successfully downloaded the next step is to open the folder where it was saved (downloaded). In this example the DOWNLOADS folder. From there. Right click on the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file to bring up its Options (context/pop-up) menu and then select (left click on) the EXTRACT ALL menu-item. This tells Windows Vista to unzip/decompress/extract the content of the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file and put that content into a new folder. In this example I am assuming you do not have a file de/compression utility installed, for whatever reason(s). However. If you do have a de/compression utility installed, such as WinZip, you can use its EXTRACT TO option instead.
After clicking on the EXTRACT ALL menu-item (above) a message requester appears (below) asking you for a Destination folder. This is the folder where
the, unzipped (decompressed/extracted), content of the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file will be stored. In this example just leave the Destination folder as it
is set by the message requester - It is set to extract the content of the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file into a new folder called the phpBB-3.0.5. It will
be created for you inside the DOWNLOADS folder, in this example and normally by default (normal behaviour) too. Therefore, the phpBB-3.0.5 folder
will actually be a sub-folder inside the DOWNLOADS folder. If you do want to change the Destination folder simply click on the BROWSE button and then
navigate the SELECT A DESTINATION folder requester that appears to your desired folder.
The setting called SHOW EXTRACTED FILES WHEN COMPLETE is normally ticked to denote that you want to have the destination (phpBB-3.0.5) folder opened,
once the content of the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file has been extracted into that destination folder. And in this example that is what you want to happen
as well, so make sure the SHOW EXTRACTED FILES WHEN COMPLETE setting is ticked.
With the destination folder set click on the EXTRACT button to continue.
After clicking on the EXTRACT button (Fig 2.1 above) the content of the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file is extracted (Fig 2.2 above) into the newly created folder
called phpBB-3.0.5. When the extraction (green guage) has finished the new phpBB-3.0.5 folder will open automatically and display its content (Fig 2.3
below) which is a sub-folder called phpBB3. So you will have Downloads >> phpBB-3.0.5 >> phpBB3.
The just said applies even if you use a de/compression utility, such as WinZip, to extract the content of the phpBB-3.0.5.zip file.....into a folder
called phpBB-3.0.5. In fact, it does not really matter what the destination folder is called in that case because either way you will end up with a
phpBB3 folder or sub-folder.
With the phpBB3 sub-folder displayed the next thing to do is transfer (upload) it to your web space, and more precisely to your public_html (website)
folder. To do that you first need to connect (sign-in) to your web space and then go into your PUBLIC_HTML folder. To see how this is done read the
Connect To Website Folder Via FTP section.
After uploading the phpBB3 sub-folder, or even before if you want, an empty MySQL Database needs creating so that the installation php scripts can store
membership records and forum settings for you. If you need help with creating an empty mysql database read the
How To Create An Empty MySQL Database section. In this example I am going to use an
empty mysql database called website1_forum with the username website1_john and the password myforum2009.
| TRANSFER THE PHPBB3 FOLDER INTO PUBLIC_HTML |
Now you should have two folders (windows) open - The phpBB-3.0.5 folder and your PUBLIC_HTML folder. Go to the phpBB-3.0.5 folder and right click over the phpBB3 sub-folder to bring up its Options (context/pop-up) menu. From there, left click on the COPY menu-item. You will then have a copy of the phpBB3 sub-folder (and its content) in memory, ready to be PASTEd into your PUBLIC_HTML folder.
With a copy of the phpBB3 sub-folder (and its content) in memory go to your PUBLIC_HTML folder and select (left click on) its EDIT menu. From there, left click on the PASTE menu-item to transfer the memory copy of the phpBB3 sub-folder into the PUBLIC_HTML folder.
Depending on your internet connection, and your web hosting provider's server, the transfer of the phpBB3 sub-folder (and its content) may take a few minutes or up to one hour. It really does depend on many factors. If you transfer using a FTP Client program, such as AceFTP Pro, it should be noticeably quicker. And the good thing about a FTP Client is that they usually handle scenarios such as File Corruption and Dropped Internet Connection, during a transfer, quite well.
| INITIALIZE THE PHPBB FORUM |
The last stage of the forum set up (initialization) is to run its index.php script from your web space, by typing its path name (URL) into your web browser's (i.e. Internet Explorer's) Address Bar edit box. This means your web browser connects to your web space in order to run the script. In this example I have typed the path name http://www.websitecreationhelp.com/phpBB3/install/index.php into internet explorer's Address Bar edit box, because my domain name is websitecreationhelp.com, but if my domain name was inthekitchen.com then I would need to type the path name http://www.inthekitchen.com/phpBB3/install/index.php instead. When you have finished typing the path name either press the ENTER keyboard key, or click on internet explorer's blue arrow (GO) button, to run (execute) the index.php script.
When the index web page appears (above) click on its INSTALL Tab (window) to continue. From there. Click on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button, at the
bottom of the web page, to go to the Installation Compatibility web page (below). It checks your PHP Version, MySQL setup, Server setup,
File & Directory setup and so on for incompatibility issues before allowing you to proceed with the install.
What you are looking for is a green marker next to each setting - The PHP Settings to be marked YES, the mbstring Extension Check to be marked YES, the
main Supported Databases to be marked AVAILABLE, the Optional Modules to be marked AVAILABLE and the Files & Directories to be marked FOUND And
WRITABLE. Not all of the Supported Databases will be supported/AVAILABLE, which is normal. As long as you have MySQL marked as AVAILABLE you should be
okay to proceed but if not the installation wizard will tell you what is UNAVAILABLE and guide you as to what to do about the problem. If all is well,
click on the START INSTALL button to proceed with the installation.
The next page to appear asks you to configure your MySQL Database settings. Simply enter your details as below. The DATABASE TYPE drop-down has the following options: MySQL with MySQLi Extension, MySQL, PostgreSQL7.x/8.x and SQLite. Do not worry too much about these because the installation wizard will pick a default setting for you. If in doubt, select the MySQL option to play safe. The DATABASE SERVER edit box needs to be filled with localhost in most cases and the DATABASE SERVER PORT edit box left blank in most cases. The other entries are straight forward. They are your mysql database NAME, USER NAME and PASSWORD, that are normally prefixed with your web hosting account username (i.e. website1_ or johnssite_). The phpbb_ prefix is for use with the database tables that will be created for this forum. You can change this prefix if you want to but it is normally suggested to leave it as it is. When you have entered all the necessary details click on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button to continue.
After clicking on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button (above) a SUCCESSFUL CONNECTION page should appear (not shown here) whereby you then click on its PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button. Doing so will bring you the following Administrator Configuration page. Simply give it a User Name for the forum administrator account, a Password for the forum administrator account and a Contact E-Mail Address for the forum. If you want to change the forum Language you can do so by selecting a different language from the LANGUAGE drop-down menu. When you have entered the details click on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button to continue.
After clicking on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button (above) a TEST PASSED page should appear (not shown here) whereby you then click on its PROCEED TO NEXT
STEP button. Doing so will bring you to the Configuration File page (not shown here) that should have a message on it stating The Configuration File
Has Been Written (set up). In which case proceed to the next page by clicking on its PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button.
The next page is the Advanced Settings page (not shown here). Its settings can be left alone. Just click on its PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button to take you
to the Create Database Tables page (also not shown here). When you arrive on that page it should be displaying a message stating: The Database Tables
Used By Phpbb 3.0 Have Been Created And Populated With Some Initial Data. If so, click on its PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button to continue. You should then
see the following Congratulations page.
In case you did not realize, the above installation process was following the steps to the left of the INSTALL Tab. So if you were wondering where the
missing screenshots were in comparison to these steps just look to the left of the INSTALL Tab. I did not screenshot certain pages because, as said
above, those pages did not need explaining and/or did not need their settings changed. All you have to do is click on their PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button
to continue to the next step.
In the next section I will teach you how to Create A Category (Board). How to set up Permissions for certain types of member. How to Post A Message. And
so on.
All HTM, CSS, PHP and MySQL files in the websitecreationhelp.com folder and its sub-folders are (c) John White, 2009. All Rights Reserved. Email: John