XF 1.4 bars between nodes after import

wardsweb

Member
I just did a clean install of Xenforo and imported the data from vB3.8.8. The forum nodes imported in the correct order and correct node categories but have these blank bars periodically. How do I remove these from the Admin console? Is it in the node tree?

AKxenforo.webp
 
Can you screenshot what the node tree looks like in the control panel?

Specifically, I think at least "Music Forums" is a forum at level 1, with things like Music Reviews under it. You may also have other forums at level 1, where the bar just works as a divider to help separate them.

The more common setup involves categories at level 1 and forums under.
 
I have never used Xenforo before (last 12 years with vB), so getting up to speed. I have done nothing with the node tree yet. This is how the import set things up. The top bar is set category and the rest are forums for this section. I can redo how these are setup in the node tree if that is what is needed to remove the spacer bars. In vB, the categories were used as forum dividers.nodetree.webp
 
Right, you're not actually using it as a tree. The dividers that you see are there to separate when things appear to change between "groups" when grouping isn't actually being used.

I would recommend redoing it into more of a tree/grouped structure, such that related forums are under a parent category. I see custom permissions for almost every forum though, so doing this may change how the permissions are calculated (due to custom stuff at the parent level inheriting down, unless overridden).
 
Thanks Mike, just what I needed to know. Just need to spend the time to redo all the categories and forums to get the tree "right". Running this is test folder on our server, at the moment, to get everything worked out. Once I work out all the setup, config and get the monetization in order, I will do it all again on our live forums.

By the way, the Xenforo importer did a great job when importing 8.5 million posts without a glitch.
 
Did the other AK categories (System Building, AK Manufacturers, etc.) transfer over as-is? I seem to recall that our categories from vB3.7 on SH's forum may have transferred over as-is, with the selected areas below them.

I am thinking you might have those somewhat in a tree already, as I see eight categories in the current AK forum, with forum sections beneath each.
 
I will try an explain better. All the categories and forums under those categories transferred in the correct orientation. In the node tree they are designated correctly category and forums. The orange divider bars with writing in them are the correct categories. The orange bars with no writing in them were added by the import process but are not shown in the node tree. I just want the blank orange dividers bars gone.
 
Ok after some digging around and learning more about the node tree, I have figured it out. The importer set everything under "root node". I need to go through all 128 forums and reassign them to their respective categories. Simple fix, just takes a little time. Chalk this one up to newbie learning the system.
 
Idea--do you have all of your forum nodes underneath categories, or are some of those forums at the root level? I think that is what Mike might be asking.

I wish I could remember if I had any of those when I've imported forums in the past. I vaguely recall that I might have. One thing I noticed about the vB import is that it often "shakes out" any strange configurations I had in vB. I do know that any weirdness in nodes went away after I had organized everything to my liking. The SH Forums only really had three categories, two of them public, so it was not too difficult to deal with.
 
One other thing, before you get too involved--what I have tried to do is group into categories with common permissions. That way, I only need to set permissions on a category, and those are inherited by the forums. Our Marketplace and Classifieds categories have different permission sets than Discussions. Although, the Off-Topic area does have an additional restrictive permission, but it is easier to add a single permission than apply (or remove) it from several.

Plus, it is so much easier now to tie permissions to nodes (both categories and nodes)--you can easily revoke permissions based on secondary usergroup, for example. This is how we can remove some problematic members from, say, Off-Topic, without affecting the rest of their forum access. Permissions in XF are different, but ultimately so much easier to use...I ended up wiping out all permissions and starting over, just to organize things better. It was worth it.

I remember how convoluted the permissions system was in vB--I can only imagine what you went through to set all of those up! ;)
 
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