How To Install A Questions And Answers Helpline
Forums Are Ideal For Product/Service Support And Visitor Interaction
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 (i.e. 6 Months to 1 Year).
At this time, phpBB is one of the more popular Forum Software downloads. To install it you must first go to the phpBB web page (http://www.phpbb.com/) and click on its DOWNLOAD LATEST RELEASE link - The following instructions will guide you through the installation of phpBB 3.0.7.
At the time of writing the current version of phpBB is 3.0.7. 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.
Fig 1.0 Click on the DOWNLOAD LATEST RELEASE link to continue
After clicking on the DOWNLOAD LATEST RELEASE link your are taken to the actual DOWNLOADS page (below) which you need to scroll down in order to then click on the DOWNLOAD PHPBB 3.0.7 (ZIP) link. Doing so will bring up a security Information Bar (Fig 1.2) that when hovered over will give you the option to download the file. Simply click on the DOWNLOAD FILE option to continue.
Fig 1.1 Click on the DOWNLOAD PHPBB 3.0.7 (ZIP) link to continue
Fig 1.2 Hover over the security Information Bar and then click on the DOWNLOAD FILE option
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-3.0.7.zip file, into the system (Windows) folder called TEMP, and then
open (unzip/decompress) it for you.
In this example though, to keep it simple and because you might want to use the phpBB-3.0.7.zip file again, click on the SAVE button to save (download)
the phpBB-3.0.7.zip file into a folder of your choice.
Fig 1.3 Click on the SAVE button to continue
Fig 1.4 Click on SAVE once you have navigated the SAVE AS file requester to your chosen folder
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.
Fig 1.5 phpBB-3.0.7.zip is now downloading
After choosing a folder to save the phpBB-3.0.7.zip file into and then clicking on the SAVE button (Fig 1.4 above) the phpBB-3.0.7.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-3.0.7.zip file downloads. Its current file size
is: 2.30MB.
EXTRACT THE CONTENT OF PHPBB-3.0.7.ZIP
With the phpBB-3.0.7.zip file successfully downloaded the next step is to open the folder where it was saved (downloaded), in this example the DOWNLOADS
folder, in order to extract the folders/files from within the zip file.
Begin by right clicking on the phpBB-3.0.7.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 to unzip/decompress/extract the content of the phpBB-3.0.7.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). If you do have a de/compression utility installed, such as WinZip,
you can use its EXTRACT TO option instead.
Fig 2.0 Right click on the phpBB-3.0.7.zip file and then left click on the EXTRACT ALL menu-item
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-3.0.7.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-3.0.7.zip file
into a new folder called the phpBB-3.0.7-PL1. It will be created for you inside the DOWNLOADS folder, in this example and normally by default (normal
behaviour) too. Therefore, the phpBB-3.0.7-PL1 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-3.0.7-PL1) folder opened,
once the content of the phpBB-3.0.7.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.
Fig 2.1 Click on the EXTRACT button to continue
Fig 2.2 The content of phpBB-3.0.7.zip is being extracted into a new folder called phpBB-3.0.7-PL1
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-3.0.7-PL1.
When the extraction (green guage) has finished the new phpBB-3.0.7-PL1 folder will open automatically and display its content (Fig 2.3 below) which is a
folder called PHPBB3. So you will have: Downloads >> phpBB-3.0.7-PL1 >> 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-3.0.7-PL1. 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 phpBB-3.0.7-PL1 folder or sub-folder.
Fig 2.3 Double click on the PHPBB3 folder (sub-folder) to open it
Well done! The hard part is over! The forum files (PHPBB3 folder) are now ready to be transferred (copied & pasted) over to your web space (public_html website folder). If you want to familiarise yourself with the forum content simply double click on the PHPBB3 folder (sub-folder).
UPLOAD THE FORUM FOLDER
The next thing to do is transfer (upload) the FORUM folder (and its content) to your public_html (website) folder using a FTP Client such as FileZilla. Instructions for filezilla and how to use it to connect to your web space are shown in the Connect To Website Folder Via FTP section. In this example I have used FileZilla to carry out the upload.
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 A MySQL Database section. In this example I am going to use an empty mysql database called forum with the username john and the password myforum2010.
Fig 3.0 Transfer (upload a copy of) the Forum folder and its content to.....
Fig 3.1 .....your public_html (website) 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 FileZilla, 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 (address) 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 typed 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 it was inthekitchen.com then I would of typed http://www.inthekitchen.com/phpBB3/install/index.php
instead.
Fig 4.0 Select the INSTALL Tab and then click on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button to continue
When the index web page appears (above) click on its INSTALL Tab (window) and then 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.
Fig 4.1 Click on the START INSTALL button to continue
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.
Fig 4.2 Type in your MySQL Database details and then click on the PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button
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.
Fig 4.3 Type in the required Admin Config details and then click on PROCEED TO NEXT STEP 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.
From this point on just ignore other pages that appear, and their settings, by clicking on their PROCEED TO NEXT STEP button only. You will eventually
end up on the following Congratulations page.
Fig 4.4 Congratulations. You have successfully installed a phpBB forum
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), Post A Message and Set Up Permissions for certain types of member amongst other
things.