Importing just new posts from vBulletin?

[UT59]

Hello, I am most likely going to migrate from vBulletin 4.2.5 to Xenforo. A couple of simple questions:

1) Should I upgrade to the last version of 1.5 before going to 2.2?

2) Can I do the upgrade in a test directory with a copy of the vb database, and spend some time customizing the new site, and THEN re-import the new VB posts since the original copy? Or do I need to start from scratch again?

 

[Chris D]

1. If you're migrating to XenForo from vBulletin you should just install XF 2.2 and import directly into that.

2. We do not support incremental imports so you would need to start from scratch after testing.

 

[UT59]

Thank you for the prompt reply. I assume I can backup and restore any style changes I make, can I also export other options that are changed in the admincp to restore to a new install?

 

[Paul B]

Yes, there's a guide here.

Importing guidelines

Importing, although relatively straightforward, sometimes requires a few test runs to become familiar with the process and iron out any issues. This simple guide aims to outline the basic steps and explain how to do multiple imports in the same installation, without ending up with duplicate...

xenforo.com

 

[UT59]

I might have missed it, but I didn't see a way in that guide to backup admincp settings, only the whole database.

Separate but related question, Can I re-import a vb database and overwrite a previously imported one while retaining template and widget changes I have made?

 

[Paul B]

That's correct - the database needs to be backed up before starting the import.

Can I re-import a vb database and overwrite a previously imported one while retaining template and widget changes I have made?

Yes, by restoring the backed up database (hence why the backup needs to be taken).

 

[UT59]

Yes, by restoring the backed up database (hence why the backup needs to be taken).

So just to be sure I understand. I want to create a test installation with imported posts and information. I then want to customize it.

You are saying back up the database when done. Meanwhile, there are new posts on my vb that I will want to import. SO I then run a clean install, attach it to the backed up database, and then run the upgrade and import on my newer vb database?

 

[Paul B]

No, that won't work.

The guide I linked to explains how it needs to be done.

Once installed, configure the software as required; whether that be importing a style or creating your own, installing any add-ons, setting the options in the ACP, configuring permissions, etc.

If you intend to retain the IDs of the imported forum, do not create any content at all: categories, forums, user groups, members, threads, etc.
If you do, you will not be able to retain IDs due to duplicate entry errors.

The next step is the most important; take a backup of the XF database.
This backup will then be the clean master database, which can be used over and over again until you're ready to do the import for the final time.

 

[Rhody]

I bought another XF license today and did all of this a few minutes ago. The importer worked like a champ. (Imported vb 4.2.3)

Everything converted fine in about 8 minutes, except a couple usergroups that had spaces as the first character. I did a back up just before the import, so I can do it again after testing.

The only thing that was troublesome was putting a different PHP version (7.4) in the test folder, with the one VB requires in the root folder (5.6), but I figured out how to do that with a simple .htaccess line.

Kudos to whoever wrote the conversion tool.

 

[UT59]

I did all of this a few minutes ago, and the importer worked like a champ. (Imported vb 4.2.3) Everything converted fine in about 8 minutes, except a couple usergroups that had spaces as the first character. I did a back up just before the import, so I can do it again after testing. The only thing that was troublesome was putting a different PHP version (7.4) in the test folder, with the one VB requires in the root folder (5.6), but I figured out how to do that with a simple .htaccess line.

Kudos to whoever wrote the conversion tool.

Are you saying you did second import? Or just did an initial test upgrade?

For php, I will be okay with 4.2.5 running on 7.1. I'll just change to 7.4 after

 

[Rhody]

It was just an initial test upgrade, but pretty much turnkey.

 

[UT59]

Thanks, good to know. I was hoping to have like a week with imported data to customize it, and them import again for that week's worth of posts.

I guess I'll just backup a custom style, do the upgrade, and work for a few hours to get everything else set and configured. I was hoping XF had an export settings in the ACP like VB has.

 

[Ozzy47]

The only thing that was troublesome was putting a different PHP version (7.4) in the test folder, with the one VB requires in the root folder (5.6), but I figured out how to do that with a simple .htaccess line.

Care to share how you did that?

 

[Paul B]

You can use an .htaccess override.

AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php74 .php .php7 .phtml

 

[Rhody]

Thanks, good to know. I was hoping to have like a week with imported data to customize it, and them import again for that week's worth of posts.

I guess I'll just backup a custom style, do the upgrade, and work for a few hours to get everything else set and configured. I was hoping XF had an export settings in the ACP like VB has.

Well what I'm doing is doing the customizations first on a blank install, backing that sql file up. Then doing the import right before going live.

 

[Paul B]

^ That's how to do it.

 

[UT59]

I understood Brogan, and thank you for your help. I was just trying to have too much by having some users and posts imported to start so I could have help with the look and feel from my membership with threads they are familiar with.

It's not a big deal, I've had a lot of practice these past few weeks setting up test forums for VB 3.8, 4.2, and vb5 before moving to vb4. But after looking at the state of the modding community and knowing it was end of life, I started planning the next step.

Thanks again.