XF 1.5 Importing from UBB Threads 7.5.5

[Evan Scamman]

Hi all,

I purchased xenForo yesterday because my old software, UBB Threads, is basically defunct and hasn't seen a major upgrade in 6 years. My current forum has 1000+ users and 36k posts - not super big.

There is no importer from UBB Threads, so I understand that my options are either double a double-import (which may lose some stuff like passwords), hire someone to do it for me, or do it myself. I've reached out to some folks who may be able to offer their services. However, because I'm on a budget, I'm also considering the possibility of doing this myself.

Is it possible or practical to do an custom import by writing a series of SQL statements? Or can it only be done by writing or modifying one of the PHP import scripts? (I can tinker with SQL but I don't know PHP). I am guessing that anything can be done manually through SQL, but a fully-automated import solution would use PHP scripts and probably take longer to write. I don't need full automation, I just need to do this once and be done. So, is SQL the right way to go?

Thank you,
Evan

 

[Paul B]

It's not really practical to do it just by SQL queries as there is a lot of data to read from the source database and then multiple interconnected tables in XF would need to be updated for each user, thread, post, etc.

The quickest and easiest way is going to be via a double import - having to reset a password isn't going to cause too many issues for the members (I had to do it with my forum when I converted).

 

[Evan Scamman]

Thanks for the advice. If I do a double import, does that mean I need to own a third software package?

 

[Paul B]

If it's paid software, yes.

You may be able to use one of the free ones, such as phpBB.