PhpBB

From Support Center

This tutorial is a step-by-step walk-through on installing phpBB forum software on your Globat web site.

This tutorial expects that you are familiar with the File Manager interface of the GCC.

Table of contents

1 Getting the Software Package 2 Decompressing the Package 3 Moving the Package to The Right Place 4 Creating the Database 5 Finishing the Installation 6 Cleaning Up 7 Testing and Customizing the Forum

Getting the Software Package

To get the phpBB software package, you need to visit http://www.phpbb.com/

Click "Downloads."

Before downloading the software, you'll need to read the license agreement on the phpBB site.

If you agree with it, you may continue.

You now have two choices to get the phpBB software:

1. Download the .gz file to your computer and FTP to your site; or
2. Log in to GCC (https://login.globat.com/), click Site Content, File Manager, and choose Upload, then select Upload from URL, and enter the URL for the phpBB .gz file. (explained below.)

If you download the .gz file to your computer and FTP it to your site, create a folder in httpdocs called downloads and place it there.

If you are using File Manager Upload from URL, follow these steps:

1. Use File Manager to create a folder called downloads inside httpdocs.
2. Click the downloads folder in httpdocs to prepare for the upload.
3. Click the "Uploads" button in File Manager.
4. Select the radio button next to "From URL" and press "Upload."
5. Enter the URL (web address) to the Full Package .gz file. My file was called: http://www.phpbb.com/files/releases/phpBB-2.0.17.tar.gz
6. Click "Confirm" to upload the file to your web space.

The phpBB is a growing project, so the version number may vary slightly depending on a new release.

Decompressing the Package

Once you have the phpBB .gz file in your downloads folder, you'll need to decompress it, using a PHP script (preferred) or Perl script.

You'll need to use File Manager to create a New File, called decompress.php and place it within the downloads folder, or create the file in a text editor on your computer and upload it to the downloads directory.

The contents of the PHP file will look like this (you may need to change the filename if you downloaded a newer version of phpBB than used in this tutorial):

<?php
  exec("tar xzf phpBB-2.0.17.tar.gz");
?>

Once you have saved the file, use File Manager's CHMOD to change its permissions to 755. (User R - W - X - Group R - X - Other R - X). This will allow you to execute the script from your web browser to decompress the phpBB software package.

Now, to execute the script that will decompress the package, you'll need to load this URL in your web browser:

http://www.example.com/downloads/decompress.php

Replace example.com with your Globat domain name.

It may take up to a minute to load this page. It will be blank. Do not hit refresh!

Now, if you look in File Manager (or refresh your FTP client) you should see a phpBB2 folder, if everything decompressed correctly.

If it did not work, edit the decompress.php file and make sure the filename matches the .gz file you downloaded.

Delete the decompress.php file, as it is may be a security hazard and is no longer needed.

Moving the Package to The Right Place

Now, before you finish the phpBB installation, we'll need to move the folder we just decompressed (phpBB2) into its final location.

For this example, we'll put it in the folder forum in httpdocs.

To accomplish this, within File Manager, click the checkbox next to phpBB2, and click "Rename." Change the name to forum. If you wish to call it something else, feel free to give it a unique name.

Next, click the checkbox next to the forum folder, and click "Move/Copy."

The destination directory should be /httpdocs, so either delete the text /downloads after /httpdocs or click "Select Dir" and choose httpdocs, and click "Confirm."

Check File Manager to see if forum is now in the httpdocs folder. If it is, we're ready to finish the phpBB installation.

Creating the Database

phpBB will use a MySQL database, so we'll need to use the Databases section of the GCC to create a database specifically for the phpBB forums.

While in GCC, click the Databases button.

Then, click the "Add Database" button.

We'll call our database phpBBdata but you can call it whatever you'd like. Database names must be unique on shared servers, so if your first choice is taken, please choose another unique database name. You may wish to prefix the database with your domain name. If your domain name is globat-example.com, you may wish to call the database globatexBB or globatexphpBBdata.

Now, you'll need to add one database user so that the phpBB software can access the database to store your forum data.

Click "Add User."

We'll call ours phpBBuser, and our password is CcurePasswd. Please pick a unique username and password for your database.

Finishing the Installation

Now, open a new web browser, and visit:

www.example.com/forum/

Replace example.com with your Globat domain name.

You should see a welcome to phpBB2 screen if you've followed the instructions to this point.

English, MySQL 4.x, and Install are good settings for Basic Configuration.

Now, for the Database Configuration, use this data:

Database Server Hostname: localhost
Your Database Name: phpBBdata
(Use your *unique* database name.)
Your Database Username: phpBBuser
(If you used another username, use that.)
Your Database Password: CCurePasswd
(Use the unique password you created above.)

In the Admin section, enter your address as Admin Email Address.

Then, enter an Administrator Username and Password, and confirm the password.

Please pick a hard to guess password, this administrator account controls the entire forum software package.

Next, click "Start Install."

You should get a screen with a "Finish Installation" button. Click it.

Cleaning Up

Now you should get a screen instructing you to delete the install/ and contrib/ directories.

File Manager only allows you to delete empty folders, so you'll need to either use your FTP client to delete these folders, or create the following script in File Manager within the forum folder in the httpdocs folder. Call it delete2.php:

<?php
  exec("rm -rf install/ ; rm -rf contrib/");
?>

Click "Items per page: 20" to show the delete2.php file in File Manager. Then, click the checkbox next to delete2.php and press the "CHMOD" button. You'll need to set its permissions to 755 (User R - W : Group R - X - Other R - X). Save the permissions changes.

To execute the script, visit www.example.com/forum/delete2.php (Replacing example.com with your Globat domain name).

Delete delete2.php after you've run the script.

Testing and Customizing the Forum

Now, reload the www.example.com/forum/ page (Replacing example.com with your Globat domain name).

You should now have an active forum. To make a test post, first click "Log In" and enter your phpBB administrator account information.

Next, click the "Test Forum 1" link, and then click the "New Topic" button. You can then fill out the message.

There's one more set of things to finish: You need to customize the title of your phpBB community. Once logged in as administrator, you'll see a "Go to Administration Panel" link at the bottom of the forum pages. Click it. You'll be asked for your administrator password again.

Within the Adminstration Panel, you will see lots of information and settings about your account. We encourage you to explore the settings. To change the name of your board from yourdomain.com to a more appropriate name, choose the "Configuration" link from the "General Admin" section on the left side of the screen. You'll then see text boxes to enter Site Name and Site Description. We're changing our Site name to "globat-example.com Forum" and the site description to "We like examples!"

Scroll down to click the "Submit" button when you have finished editing your settings.

Next, click "Forum Index" at the top left of the screen, in the left frame. Your new name and description should appear on the board!

Congratulations! You now have an active phpBB2 forum on your site!

Customize as you please!