Convert from vB5 to XenForo?

[MatthewUK]

Hello everyone,

I'm a long-time user of both vBulletin and IPB (12+ years for both). I've recently upgraded one of my large forums to vBulletin Connect (vB5). That was a big mistake! vB5 is full of bugs and the worse production of vB I've ever seen.

I've had a root around here and read some other threads and it appears there's no official converter to XenForo from vB5, is that correct? Or is it possible to do?

The other option I could have is to convert vB5 back to IPB, then convert IPB to XenForo.

Would be grateful for clarification and ideas, thanks all.

 

[Chris D]

It's not unheard of for people to restore their pre-VB5 backup and convert from that. But, of course, that would depend how recent

Otherwise, no. There is no official VB5 importer. If there is a route from VB5 to IPB then that may be the most straight forward route.

 

[MatthewUK]

Many thanks Chris for your quick reply!

Yes, that sounds sensible - my conversion was from IPB to vB4, then vB5 about a month ago, so I've had new posts/members since then, so restoring a backup would lose some of that. I think there's some unofficial converters back to vB4 from vB5 that I could consider too.

On the subject of design - there seems to be some nice skins available for XenForo which is encouraging.

 

[MatthewUK]

2 quicky questions please if I may.

Been taking a look at the extensive resources area, looks great.

Is there an Arcade add-on in current development? Some of my members like this as a distraction.

Also, where do I obtain the IPB converters/import tools from?

Thanks!

 

[Paul B]

I don't believe a third party arcade add-on is available.

The IPB importer is built in to the core software.

 

[MatthewUK]

Thank you Brogan and that's definitely available for IPB 3.4.7 conversion?

 

[Paul B]

Yes, you can see here: https://xenforo.com/community/threads/pre-sales-faq.4951/

 

[MatthewUK]

Thanks again; must say it's a refreshing change to get speedy help and support, unlike on vB!

Wish me luck - now converting back to IPB, then onwards to XF!

 

[Biker]

They're working on an Arcade: https://xfrocks.com/forums/xf-arcade.20/

Sort of. No updates on it for some time, but I can confirm it does work in it's current form.

 

[MatthewUK]

Thanks Biker!

 

[imno007]

2 quicky questions please if I may.

Been taking a look at the extensive resources area, looks great.

Is there an Arcade add-on in current development? Some of my members like this as a distraction.

Also, where do I obtain the IPB converters/import tools from?

Thanks!

You can also download their importers for free here

Looks like there are certain things the importer will not import from vb5, like announcements and profile comments, but click on that importer to get specific info.

 

[MatthewUK]

Thanks imno007, appreciate the help.

Just tidying up my conversion/installation now, will post the URL when done.

 

[MatthewUK]

Hi all - is there a way to mass apply or inherit forum (node) permissions for groups? I've got 120 forum areas and 20 odd groups so it's going to take ages to set permissions per group, per area.

Thanks.

 

[Paul B]

First, ensure you are using user groups and permissions correctly: http://xenforo.com/community/resources/implementing-permissions-across-multiple-user-groups.358/

Second, node permissions only need to be applied to the parent and they will filter down to all children.

Other than that, they would need to be applied to each parent node.

 

[MatthewUK]

Thanks Brogan, appreciate that.

I need to ensure all my users (around 40K of them) are included in the Registered Group by default (ID 2), keeping all the other groups assigned so far too. Is it possible to use an SQL query to do this in one go?

 

[Paul B]

You can use the Batch Update Users function.

 

[MatthewUK]

Thanks Brogan.

PS: All this support is so refreshing; some 'other' companies take your money and then never answer!

 

[MatthewUK]

I have now finally got my forum up and running which has taken me some long hours this weekend!

I am really delighted with everything and it's been a pleasure to use so far; the settings and features are relatively easy to grasp and the software is powerful, providing a solid foundation for my community and members going forwards.

If anyone would like a look, please PM me and I can send you the URL.

 

[Paul B]

Glad to hear it.

Welcome aboard.

 

[MatthewUK]

Some of my members are displaying a 'Custom Title' field from the conversion that I'd like to delete the text from.

Is there a way to mass find/delete text from these areas? On the advanced search function that field isn't available.

Thanks!