import > 4x individual vb3.8x forums into 1 xenforo installation?

[snoopy5]

Hi

I am running several vb 3.8x forums independent from each othr. Each one has its own database, userregistration, domainname etc.

I am thinking about merging all those independent vb 3.8x installation into one master xenforo installation. But all users, postings, postcounts, threads, subforums, images and albums shall be imported. I do not care about passwords. Users can reset them, if this would be too difficult to keep.

The target is, that the xenforo installation has diferent subforums and each subforum is the content of an old vb forum. The forum structure of the specific vb forum shall be kept of course.

Example

xenforo forum master which has

xf subforum 1 (content and structure of vb forum 1)

xf subforum 2 ( content and structure of vb forum 2)

xf subforum 3 ( content and structure of vb forum 3)

I first wanted to do the merge first with vb and then move over to xenforo. But Afaik this merger is not possible within vbulletin, because they use always the same thread and user ID. would this be possible with Xenforo?

Thanks in advance

 

[Slavik]

Its completely possible.

Each time you import one of your forums its structure will be kept intact. Just maintain seperate import logs for each and all will be dandy.

Eg.

Import forum 1 > Set up redirects for forum 1 using archived_import_log_1
Import forum 2 > Set up redirects for forum 2 using archived_import_log_2
Import forum 3 > Set up redirects for forum 3 using archived_import_log_3
Import forum 4 > Set up redirects for forum 4 using archived_import_log_4

 

[Adam Howard]

Yes, this can be done.

You can import vBulletin 3, vBulletin 4, vBulletin 4 Suite, phpBB, and IPB all inside the same site.

 

[snoopy5]

That sounds cool...

some more questions:

1. albums

How about the albums within each userprofile. AFAIK, there is no album feature in Xenforo yet. What would happen to them?

2. profile messages and private messages

will the old profile messsages and the old private messages be still available in the users profiles?

3. different versions of vb

And does it make a difference, if some vb installtions are version 3.8.0 others 3.8.2 or 3.8.5? Do they need to have all the same version number?

4. what are normally the most made mistakes when importing vb into xenforo?

5. Are there templates for tabltes (ipad, samsung 10.1) and/or smartphones available. Those do not have to be specific templates just for these devices. They just need to work with it ( navigation, textbox etc., uploading images, PMs, login and register etc.)

6. I offer premium usergroups with special rihts for image uploads (size and kb), more PMs etc. with paypal subscriptons (recurring payments every year atomatically). What happens to them after the import? Will they be still working/valid?

Thanks in advaance

 

[Jake Bunce]

1) The unofficial vB4 importer does user albums as threads:

http://xenforo.com/community/resources/vbulletin-4-to-xenforo-importer.256/

The official vB3 importer (included with the software) doesn't do albums at all.

2) Yes and yes.

3) The minor version doesn't matter, only the major version (3.8.x).

4) The importer is very thorough. But one mistake I often see is people who do a test import, develop their forum using the test install, and then expect to be able to run the import again and take the test forum live. The problem with this approach is there is no easy way to deal with duplicate content when you run the same import twice on the same XF install. You should think of the test install as temporary and use it only as a point of reference in doing your final import on a new database.

5) Most tablets do not require a special style. But here is a mobile style that is optimized for mobile browsing:

http://xenforo.com/community/resources/xfs-mobile-style.290/

6) Paid subscriptions are not imported from vBulletin. They will need to be recreated. There is an unofficial importer but I have discovered a few problems with it:

http://xenforo.com/community/threads/vbulletin-4-subscription-importer.19169/

 

[snoopy5]

Hi

thanks for the answers..

is there a mod for XF out there, which comes close to the album feature of vb 3.8x? so even if nothing gets imported, the users could strar to create new albums within their profiles?

 

[Jake Bunce]

is there a mod for XF out there, which comes close to the album feature of vb 3.8x? so even if nothing gets imported, the users could strar to create new albums within their profiles?

http://xenforo.com/community/resources/xfr-user-albums.54/

 

[snoopy5]

Hi

2 other questions:

1. I read in another posting:

I would advise you to do this cleanup in vB before importing to XF. Either way can work, but there are some reasons why it might be better in vB.

1) vB has a mass move utility in the Admin CP, XF does not.

2) vB has a less complex forum and permission structure which might make manual queries on those data types easier.

3) While both vB and XF have scaling issues with large numbers of forums, it is less of an issue in vB. XF takes on extra processing at save time in the name of performance.

Are those arguments with the newest version of Xenforo still valid?


2. Let's assume the username of the admin in each vbulltin installtion is called "smith".
When i install xenforo for the import, does the admin of xenforo then needs to have a different name to avoid conflicts during the import? What about his email address?

Thanks

 

[Slavik]

Hi

2 other questions:

1. I read in another posting:

Are those arguments with the newest version of Xenforo still valid?


2. Let's assume the username of the admin in each vbulltin installtion is called "smith".
When i install xenforo for the import, does the admin of xenforo then needs to have a different name to avoid conflicts during the import? What about his email address?

Thanks

1) Pretty much, you would want to make all the moves before the import. (You know, I cant remember how I did this with my board? I recalled an option in Xf where if you deleted a forum it allowed you to chose where to put all the discussions, but now I look for it in my test bed I cant find it?!)

2) names or duplicate emails will give you an option to rename or merge them iirc.

 

[Jake Bunce]

Just to confirm

1. I read in another posting:

I would advise you to do this cleanup in vB before importing to XF. Either way can work, but there are some reasons why it might be better in vB.

1) vB has a mass move utility in the Admin CP, XF does not.

2) vB has a less complex forum and permission structure which might make manual queries on those data types easier.

3) While both vB and XF have scaling issues with large numbers of forums, it is less of an issue in vB. XF takes on extra processing at save time in the name of performance.

Are those arguments with the newest version of Xenforo still valid?

That was my post, and yes it's still valid. That person was wanting to do some major consolidation of forums and moving of threads. My recommendation relates to that.

2. Let's assume the username of the admin in each vbulltin installtion is called "smith".
When i install xenforo for the import, does the admin of xenforo then needs to have a different name to avoid conflicts during the import? What about his email address?

As Slavik said, the import can auto-merge or rename at the time of the import. It will give you the option.

 

[snoopy5]

...

That person was wanting to do some major consolidation of forums and moving of threads. My recommendation relates
...

same problem with my project...

Or would it be advisable to make the steps inbetween via different software i.e.

4vb -> 1 myBB -> 1 xenforo or

4vb -> 1 IPB ( i have also one IPB licence somewhere) -> 1 xenforo

instead of 4vb -> 1 vb -> 1 xenforo?

I just trust the vb impex not that much for merging 4 vb 3.8x into 1 vb 3.8x and do not think that the vb staff will be able to help much. This is why I check all possible scenarios/ deviations...

 

[Jake Bunce]

A double import is not necessary. Just do four direct imports from vB to XF using the vB importer that is built-in to XF.

 

[Carlos]

1. albums

How about the albums within each userprofile. AFAIK, there is no album feature in Xenforo yet. What would happen to them?

I used Paul M's vB4 importer and I tell you from first-hand experience that all your albums from your vB4 instance will be converted into forum posts. If you have images in those albums, they will be converted into attachments.

2. profile messages and private messages

will the old profile messsages and the old private messages be still available in the users profiles?

All PM's will be converted using Paul's Importer. All of it.

3. different versions of vb

And does it make a difference, if some vb installtions are version 3.8.0 others 3.8.2 or 3.8.5? Do they need to have all the same version number?

Nope. No difference. Just imported. Go for it!

4. what are normally the most made mistakes when importing vb into xenforo?

Not planning ahead. Make a new directory inside your actual site, then import your posts into there. Then move the file outside and rename (to the same filename as the site's root) it once you're finished with the import and edits.

6. I offer premium usergroups with special rihts for image uploads (size and kb), more PMs etc. with paypal subscriptons (recurring payments every year atomatically). What happens to them after the import? Will they be still working/valid?

All of your usergroups, including premium usergroups will be imported intact. All you'd have to do is find a hack that deprives from your premium groups.