Setting up a test forum

Discussion in 'vBulletin Discussions' started by ashimashi, Sep 9, 2012.

  1. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    Hello,

    I am trying to set up a test forum to do a quick test for a mod. I have to change some things for the mod and it can really mess things up for the forum if I make a mistake. So I want to make a test forum to test it out.

    It seems like a easy thing and it should be... But I can't seem to get it to work.

    my current forum is site.com/forum. I want to make site.com/forumtest into another VB website where I can do the test.

    I have copied all the files into site.com/forumtest as well. I downloaded my database and reuploaded it using a different name and changed the database name in config for VB which is located in the site.com/forumtest. I believe everything should be working but it redirects me back to site.com/forum. It is connected to a different database and files but it keeps coming back to site.com/forum.

    Is there a way for me to fix it so it becomes 2 different vbulletin sites?
     
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  2. benjaminp

    benjaminp Regular Member

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    I'm not really familiar with the vB database, but a complete stab in the dark would be you'll need to find in your new database something a long the lines of baseurl and change it to reflect the new location.

    Also, I'm not 100% sure how the licensing system works at vB, but you may find you need a second license.

    *Edit - Just did a little more digging around and I think the setting is actually under includes/config.php.

    Change your forumpath to reflect the new directory.

    Again, I don't own a vB license, so don't have access to the code or forums, so can't really do too much digging about.
     
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  3. cpvr

    cpvr Regular Member

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    Hopefully @Bradon @Iconic @Dan Hutter can fully answer this as well.

    I believe all you have to do is change the database to reflect the new test forum, so nothin happens to the regular database like @benjaminp stated.
     
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  4. benjaminp

    benjaminp Regular Member

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    He will have to change the forumpath like I mentioned in my edit. That's why when he clicks a link it keeps going back to the original forum :)
     
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  5. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    Hi Ashimasi,

    You need to change the forum's URL in the setting table. bburl is the table you're looking for. Open phpmyadmin and navigate to the <prefix>_setting table for the TEST board database and edit the bburl value to reflect http://site.com/forumtest .

    Clear your browser's cookies and cache and you'll be good to go. :)


    -Dan
     
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  6. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    I am pretty sure I will be fine as long as I am the only one using it. I am also going to delete it after the test is done... :)




    Thank you! :)


    Thank you Dan! But I am having a little difficulty finding that table. So to clarify, I go to phpmyadmin and pick the test database. In the left column, I scroll down until I find "setting"? That is the part where you lost me. I looked through settings but there is nothing for editing the BBURL value.

    Sorry for the questions, I don't mess with vB too much to know this. :(
     
  7. carntheroos4eva

    carntheroos4eva Regular Member

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    If you need a hand give us a yell.
     
  8. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    Yes on the left hand side you should see setting. It will be prefixed by your table prefix as set in config.php. As you can see my prefix is vbull_

    vb_setting.PNG

    Next you want to sort by variable name. This is done by clicking on the varname header. From there bburl should be on the third page.

    vb_setting_url.PNG
     
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  9. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    @Dan Hutter

    Thank you Dan, I got how it works now. The problem was I did not set a prefix so I was not sure where what you meant by that. For me it is only "Settings". But sadly I don't think it worked. When I go to site.com/forumtest, it redirects to site.com/forum

    They have different files and databases and I have changed the bburl like you suggested. I tried clearing my cache and cookies through firefox and it didn't work. I use Chrome myself but I don't want to lose all my passwords unless I really have to clear it. But none the less, it still didn't work...

    Do you have any ideas of why?

    Thanks
     
  10. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    Assuming it's vBulletin 4 - Do you have an htaccess in the forumtest directory? If so overwrite it with the default vBulletin htaccess from the do_not_upload/rewrites/apache folder.

    You shouldn't have to clear your passwords at all so don't worry abotu that.
     
  11. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    I apologize for the late response, I appreciate the fast reply from you!

    Yes it is vB 4, 4.2 to be exact. Yes I believe I do have access to the htaccess for forumtest. But how exactly do I overwrite the vBulletin htaccess? Sorry but I am new to this so not sure where to find the do_not_upload folder.
     
  12. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    Is forumtest a subfolder of your production forum?

    The donotupload folder is in the ZIP you downloaded from the vB member's center.
     
  13. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    No, the forum is /forum while the forumtest is /forumtest

    As for the donotupload folder, I will see if I can find it in the member's center.

    Thanks!
     
  14. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    Redownload the vBulletin ZIP file. The do not upload folder is in there.
     
  15. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    Okay thank you, I downloaded the latest version of VB. It is higher than what I have, I currently have the 4.2 Patch Level 1 and I just downloaded Level 2. Maybe I should have downloaded the same one but I don't think it makes a difference in this case. If it does then let me know and I will get the same one.

    Anyways the is in DO_NOT_UPLOAD/rewrite/apache2/ I don't know whether you want the .htaccess that is in /apache2 or the one that is located in /apache2/forum.

    Where do I overwrite this file?
     
  16. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    You want the one that's in apache2 and overwrite the htaccess in your test forum directory.

    4.2 PL 2 is just a patch release you don't even have to run the upgrade script..So no worries.
     
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  17. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    Thanks! I thought I could see the htaccess but it seems to be hidden... I remember seeing it in the past but I don't know why its not there now

    I still uploaded the .htaccess to forumtest/.httaccess. It seems to redirect back to /forum like before.

    Do you know why? Thanks again
     
  18. Dan Hutter

    Dan Hutter aka Big Dan

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    Without looking at it I'm at a loss. Sorry.
     
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  19. ashimashi

    ashimashi Regular Member

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    Thanks for your help anyways. I would have offered my info so you could check it out but the whole point of this was so I can try out a new mod. I wanted to change it but noticed that the new update to the mod now allows this. So no need for the test forum any more.

    Thanks a lot for your help still! :)
     
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