Installation
Installation Time!
| • Installation Time • Congratulations! |
Please note that wherever 'YaBB.pl' is referred to, you may have the 'YaBB.cgi' file instead. They are the same file with a different name, depending on which package you have downloaded.
First
open 'YaBB.pl', which is in the 'cgi-bin/YaBB' folder of the package
you downloaded. This file contains a path to your server's Perl location.
Generally, this setting is correct, but Perl can be installed in different
locations. For example on a Windows or WinNT machine, your Perl path
should probably be set to #!C:/Perl/Bin. Check your server for the proper
path and change accordingly.
Next open 'Settings.pl' and set the variables inside as follows:
Required
Settings-->
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$mbname
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The
name of your YaBB forum
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$boardurl
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URL
of your board's folder (without trailing '/') - where YaBB.pl
is located
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$cookieusername
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Name
of the username cookie (no change necessary)
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$cookiepassword
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Name
of the password cookie (no change necessary)
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$mailprog
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Location
of your sendmail program (generally "/usr/sbin/sendmail" or similar)
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$webmaster_email
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Your
e-mail address, such as [email protected]~
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$boarddir
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Absolute
path to the board's folder (usually can be left as '.')
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$datadir
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Directory
with messages (can be left alone unless you wish to move elsewhere)
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$memberdir
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Directory
with member files (can be left alone unless you wish to move elsewhere)
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$boardsdir
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Directory
with board data files (can be left alone unless you wish to move
elsewhere)
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$sourcedir
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Directory
with YaBB source files (can be left alone unless you wish to move
elsewhere)
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$vardir
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Directory
with variable files (can be left alone unless you wish to move
elsewhere)
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$facesurl
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URL
to your avatars folder (without trailing '/')
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$facesdir
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Absolute
Path to your avatars directory (this MUST be correct for profile
page to display)
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$imagesdir
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URL
to your images folder (without trailing '/')
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$helpfile
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URL
to your help index file (http://www.mysite.com/yabbhelp/index.html)
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The remaining settings in Settings.pl are not required, but are only feature and layout variables. It is recommended that you DO NOT change them until you get YaBB working! After that, have fun....
Open 'template.html' and modify the layout as you wish (to make it look like your site). Note: the tags beginning with "<yabb " MUST REMAIN in the template.html file. You may move them around as you wish, but leave them somewhere in the file, or things will not show up. The tag "<yabbnews>" has been removed in this version, in favor of the NewsFader script. You may insert this tag if you would like the old text news format back on your YaBB. (But be sure to set $ShowNewsFader to '0' before you put that tag back in, or you'll have the news twice on the Board Index.) It is recommended that you do not change template.html either until you get YaBB working!
Although we think it is great that people like to "hack YaBB" and make mods, NEVER install mods before installing a new yabb board. Always get the board to work first, then install mods and reupload your files. YaBB does not support any mods - you are on your own if you install them.
| Step 2 - Create Directories |
In your 'cgi-bin', create a directory called "yabb" (or whatever name you wish to use). If you do not have a cgi-bin, then first create a directory called 'cgi-bin' and then inside that create the 'yabb' directory. The example structure is provided in the YaBB package you've downloaded.
You should have a folder structure similar to the following:
cgi-bin/yabb/ cgi-bin/yabb/Boards cgi-bin/yabb/Members cgi-bin/yabb/Messages cgi-bin/yabb/Sources cgi-bin/yabb/VariablesThen, in a section of your webspace (outside the cgi-bin, generally in a 'public_html' folder, as suggested in the package's folders), create another directory called 'yabbimages' or something similar:
/yabbimages/And create another directory called 'yabbhelp' or something similar in a section of your webspace:
/yabbhelp/
| Step 3 - Upload Files |
------- NON cgi-bin section ---------
/ubbc.js /fader.js /yabbhelp/ *.* (Upload in Ascii) /yabbhelp/images *.* (Upload in Binary!) /yabbimages/ *.gif all files (Upload in Binary!) /yabbimages/avatars *.* all files (Upload in Binary!)------- CGI-BIN section (all files in ASCII) ---------
/yabb/ drwxrwxrwx (chmod 777 or 755) /yabb/YaBB.pl -rwxr-xr-x (chmod 755) /yabb/Settings.pl drwxrwxrwx (chmod 777) /yabb/template.html drwxrwxrwx (chmod 777) /yabb/english.lng -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) # or another language file
/yabb/Boards drwxrwxrwx (chmod 766 or 777) /yabb/Boards/.htaccess -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Boards/general_cat.cat -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Boards/news.dat -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Boards/news.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Boards/sticky.stk -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Members drwxrwxrwx (chmod 766 or 777) /yabb/Members/.htaccess -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Members/admin.dat -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Members/memberlist.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Messages drwxrwxrwx (chmod 766 or 777) /yabb/Messages/.htaccess -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources drwxrwxrwx (chmod 766 or 777) /yabb/Sources/Admin.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/AdminEdit.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/BoardIndex.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Display.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/ICQPager.pl -rwxr-xr-x (chmod 755) /yabb/Sources/InstantMessage.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Load.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/LockThread.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/LogInOut.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Maintenance.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/ManageBoards.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/ManageCats.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Memberlist.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/MessageIndex.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/ModifyMessage.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/MoveThread.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Notify.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Post.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Profile.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Recent.pl -rwxr-xr-x (chmod 755) /yabb/Sources/Register.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/RemoveOldThreads.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/RemoveThread.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Search.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Security.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/Subs.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Sources/YaBBC.pl -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) /yabb/Variables drwxr-xr-x (chmod 766 or 777) /yabb/Variables/.htaccess -rw-r--r-- (leave as is) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/agreement.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/ban.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/ban_email.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/ban_log.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/ban_memname.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/cat.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/censor.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/clicklog.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/flood.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/log.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/membergroups.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/news.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/oldestmes.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/reserve.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING /yabb/Variables/reservecfg.txt -rw-rw-rw- (chmod 666) !!DO NOT UPLOAD IF UPGRADING There is a ksh (UN*X) script available to set the permissions as needed, get it here. (note: this script is not endorsed by YaBB.)
| Step 4 - Run, Log In and Test |
If you can't run the board, please re-do the above 3 steps and consulting the troubleshooting section of this manual. After you have successfully run your YaBB board from the web, you need to try logging in. The default username is "admin" and default password is "admin". They will always be so when you install a new YaBB board. Login with that information and you should see an "Admin" icon in the menu of the YaBB board. Clicking it will take you to the "Admin Center" where you can see all sorts of nifty things to do.
Test everything
(that you know exists), such as posting, registering a new member, modifying
message.. etc. Then after that, go to the admin center to create some
new boards.
Congratulations, you've now got a great open-source bulletin board all for yourself!