Servlet Web Hosting - MySQL, Java, JSP, Servlet, Tomcat, SSH Blog

CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB 257 Figure 8-20. A glance at the revamped phpBB 3.0 Administration panel Finding General Configuration Settings The items under General Admin in phpBB 2.0 s Administration panel are now available in two locations in phpBB 3.0: Board Defaults and Board Settings. The Board Defaults group deals with the settings the users will pick up when they first sign up, as shown in Figure 8-21. This is where you configure the time zone, default theme, and other useful options for users.
Searching for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your web applications? Go to our java web server services and you will be pleased.

256 CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB Configuring phpBB 3.0 As with post-2.0.15 versions of the phpBB 2.0.x series, you must now reauthenticate yourself with the board in order to enter the Administration panel, as shown in Figure 8-19. phpBB 3.0 is all about increased security, and this is one of the many measures the developers have taken to keep intruders out. Once you log in, you ll see a confirmation message stating that your authentication was successful and that you re being taken to the Administration panel. Figure 8-19. Reauthentication is now required to enter the Administration panel. As you can see in Figure 8-20, the Administration panel has been totally revamped. Administrative actions are now logged with the user, the action the user performed, the time, and the IP address of where the action happened. The statistics have been updated to reflect new features such as attachments, and you can refresh these statistics using a drop-down menu. Finally, you are presented with a list of users who have yet to activate their accounts. This is particularly useful for administrators who have set phpBB to screen all new members and require manual activation. The left pane of the Administration panel is bustling with all sorts of new categories and features. With this reorganization of the navigation pane, it is much easier to find the function you are looking for, as the headings and links generally make more sense.
If you are looking for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your business application visit our ftp web hosting services.

CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB 255 Figure 8-17. Basic configuration for phpBB 3.0 (notice the new Test Connection button underneath the database information) Hold your breath I m going to start the install! As you can see in Figure 8-18, it worked, largely because I had the chance to do all the tests beforehand. The installer is vastly improved. Figure 8-18. It just works. You can t ask for much else. Now let s kick the tires on this new installation and see what it can do.
We recommend cheap and reliable webhost to host and run your web applications: Coldfusion Web Hosting services.

254 CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB Figure 8-16. The second half of the preinstallation test suite. I changed the permissions on those directories only because the tests failed the first time. Since I ve passed all the tests, I have the option to continue to the next stage. So let s do that! Configuring the Basics Entering server information and administrator account details for phpBB 3.0 is similar to filling in the form in phpBB 2.0. However, there s one nice change in this form, shown in Figure 8-17, which is the Test Connection button at the bottom of the Database Configuration section. You can make sure your database details work properly before you try to perform the installation. The phpBB team has pulled out all the stops in this release to help ensure a fully successful installation, and this is just another example of that. As before, you can leave the prefilled fields intact.
Visit our web design programs services for an affordable and reliable webhost to suit all your needs.

CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB 253 Figure 8-15. phpBB 3 s new installation routine checks to make sure you have all the requisite software. The installer also tests to make sure that the proper files and directories are writable by the web server. For phpBB 3.0, you ll want to ensure that the cache, files, and store directories are writable, as is config.php, as you have done for phpBB 2.0. The installer will test for this, as shown in Figure 8-16, and complain accordingly if it can t write to the files.
We recommend you use shared web hosting services, because many users agree that it is cheap, reliable and customer-satisfying webhost.

252 CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB Touring the phpBB 3.0 Installer and Administration Panel For the curious reader, I ll conclude this chapter with a sneak preview of the next generation of phpBB, version 3.0, code-named Olympus. I will describe installing and configuring a phpBB 3.0 board, and the changes and improvements version 3.0 delivers. Caution The screenshots and instructions in this section are based on prerelease versions of phpBB 3.0. They are all subject to change at any time, as phpBB 3.0 s features are still in flux. Things could be added or deleted, and the installer could be massively overhauled overnight. Also, some items in the prerelease version of phpBB 3.0 may display phpBB 2.2 or even phpBB 2. Those references primarily exist as a reference to the development version of 3.0, which the phpBB development team dubs version 2.2 or even just phpBB 2. These inconsistent references will eventually be fixed to read phpBB 3.0. Installing phpBB 3.0 The phpBB 3.0 installer is totally revamped. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of installing the board and is considerably more helpful than any previous phpBB installer. Let s take a tour of the new phpBB installer. I ll walk you through my installation experience. Performing the Initial Tests New to the phpBB 3.0 installer is a set of initial tests that run on your server to verify that you have the proper PHP version and a compatible database server available, as shown in Figure 8-15. It also checks to see which modules are available to phpBB for use in its various features, and it tells you which features are affected.
Visit our web design programs services for an affordable and reliable webhost to suit all your needs.

CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB 251 If you create a staff-only forum, as I suggested earlier, I recommend you set it to Moderators [Hidden], as that will hide the forum from the general public but permit your moderators and administrators to see it. In this case, regular users don t need to see the staff room, since they can t get into it. Previewing Your Forums Use the Preview Forum link in the navigation pane to take a look at your forum structure. Figure 8-14 shows an example of a forum preview. Figure 8-14. The humble beginnings of my community, Fastballer s Lounge You can use the links in the Forum Administration panel to rearrange your forums and categories accordingly. The Move up and Move down links change their order. To move a forum out of one category into another, click the Edit link, and then choose a different category on the forum s setup form. Once you are satisfied with how things look, try logging out. Make sure all your permissions work as you wish, and then log back in.
You need excellent and relaible webhost company to host your web applications? Then pay a visit to Inexpensive Web Hosting services.

250 CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB Figure 8-11. Your new forum in all its glory The rest is pretty straightforward. Repeat these steps to add your forums until you are satisfied with your changes. Feel free to edit and delete at will. I recommend using the Preview Forum link in the navigation pane to see the changes from the user s perspective, as discussed shortly. Once you are satisfied with all your changes, you ll want to set permissions on your forums. Setting Permissions on Forums Now you need to set up your forums permissions. Click Permissions under Forum Admin in the navigation pane, and you ll see a drop-down list of your available forums, as shown in Figure 8-12. Figure 8-12. The initial Forum Permissions panel You ll want to set the permissions on each forum, unless you wish to permit guest posting on your board (which I strongly discourage for security reasons). Select the first forum in the list, and then click the Look up Forum button, which will take you to the permissions screen in Simple Mode, as shown in Figure 8-13. I recommend sticking with Simple Mode for now. You will delve further into the finer-grained permissions possible with phpBB in Chapter 10. My recommendation for the vast majority of your forums is to set them to the Registered mode. This permits the public at large to read your forums but not post new topics or respond to them. Among other benefits, this deters people from stopping in to post spam and other undesired messages. If you don t wish Figure 8-13. The Forum for the public to see some of your forums, you can use the Regis- Permissions panel in tered [Hidden] option. Use that option conservatively, as it Simple Mode generally is better to permit guests to read your forum so they can have an idea what that forum covers before they register.
Note: In case you are looking for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your j2ee application check Vision J2ee Web Hosting services.

CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB 249 At the end of each category, you see a text box with a Create new forum button next to it. As you ve guessed, that s how you create a new forum within that category. Fill in the title of the forum you wish to create, and then click the Create new forum button. You ll see a form requesting additional information about the forum you wish to create, as shown in Figure 8-10. Figure 8-10. The form for additional information about your new forum This form contains the following fields: Forum name: This field is filled in for you. You gave the forum a name on the previous page, and that information is carried over to this page. If you decide that you don t like the name of your forum, you can change it at this point. Description: You ll need to add a brief description of what the forum entails for your users. Category: If you have second thoughts about which category you wish to put this forum in, you can change that in the Category drop-down menu. Forum status: In most cases, you will wish to leave the forum unlocked, unless you are creating a forum for archival purposes that you don t want anyone posting in. Auto-pruning: Leave auto-pruning, a feature that automatically removes dead topics on a schedule you specify, off for now, as this feature is far from ideal for fledgling boards. Naturally, you can always return to this form and change any of these settings. Click the Create new forum button, and you ll see the familiar success screen. Return to the Forum Administration panel, and your new forum should appear in its proper category, as shown in Figure 8-11.
Searching for affordable and proven webhost to host and run your servlet applications? Go to Linux Web Hosting services and you will find it.

248 CHAPTER 8 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING PHPBB Adding Forums Log in to the Administration panel, click Management under Forum Admin in the navigation pane, and take a look at the screen. Chances are it resembles Figure 8-8. Figure 8-8. The Forum Administration panel When you installed phpBB, it created a sample category and forum for you. You can feel free to delete those if you wish. They were intended only as a brief demonstration that, in fact, your board works. Since you know your board works, it s time to get started creating categories. At the very bottom of the form, you ll see a text box with a button next to it labeled Create new category. Fill the text box with the title of the category you wish to create. I ll call mine Forum Announcements, but feel free to call yours whatever you like. Click the Create new category button, and you will get a confirmation message, saying that the forum and category information was updated successfully. Click the first link to return to the Forum Administration panel, and your categories list should now look something like Figure 8-9. Figure 8-9. The Forum Administration panel, featuring the newly created category If you don t like the position of your category, feel free to use the links to move it up and down. You can use the Edit link to change the title, or if you decide that you don t want that category, you can delete it.
We recommend you use shared web hosting services, because many users agree that it is cheap, reliable and customer-satisfying webhost.