Topic: SMF conversion done.. some issues remain (now fixed)

[saratogaWX]

Thanks for your patience!  The SMF conversion is done, and all the userid/forum/posts have been ported to SMF.

Not working right now:

Smileys  (but we're working on it).  Fixed! 2:41pmPDT      We'll be adjusting the smiley set to your familar one in just a while.

New and changed stuff:

The RSS feed for the board has a new URL
http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?action=.xml&type=rss2&limit=20  for posts on the whole board

You'll see RSS icons on the Home page after forum names .. you can subscribe to individual forums too.

The Search for recent stuff is now using the SMF search URL:

http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?action=unread  for undread posts

http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?action=unreadreplies for unread replies for your posts

Please check your Profiles and make any adjustments as necessary.  Please make sure your Location and Website name/URL are posted, and your notification settings are to your liking.

I'll feed this thread with more info as the final touches are done.

Best regards,
Ken

[saratogaWX]

Ok... Smileys are working again

[WeatherHost]

Seems to be working so far.

[WeatherHost]

Status icon is showing as "Off-Line" though even though I'm posting and the "On-Line for: " counter is counting up.

[saratogaWX]

Thanks.. I'll check on that.  It should be showing 'online' for members.

I've reorganized the Smiley set so the post list should look fairly familiar now.

[WeatherHost]

Just a minor thing.  Not worth too much effort.

[saratogaWX]

Got it... you've got your Profile set to 'Hide online status', so only admins can see you in the who's online box like the attached.

Best regards,
Ken

[saratogaWX]

I've added a blanket redirect on the old forum pages to go to the new forum.

I've added specific redirects for the Reviews pages for software, hardware and books from the old forum URLs to the new locations.

Please let me know if you find a missing redirect (or other issue with the forum).

Best regards,
Ken

[saratogaWX]

Just a quick update for a few more features added to the forum.

At the top of each page, under the links for Unread and Recent posts, you'll find a summary of your current PMs (if you have personal messages).  You can go to your profile under the "Personal Messages Option" and tick the "Show a popup when you receive new messages?" to enable a popup window when you receive a PM.  Make sure your browser settings allow popup windows for this website if you choose that feature.

The second feature added is a by-board RSS feed.  In the main Index view, you'll see small RSS icons to the right of the forum name -- the RSS icons link to URLs to produce a RSS2.0 feed of the last 20 posts in a particular forum.  If you have a favorite forum or two, you can add those URLs to your newsreader to keep informed of recent posts.  I still like the index.php?action=recent to see everything posted since I last looked.

Third, you might have noticed a Quick Reply box at the end of a thread.  You can use it to send a (strangely enough) quick reply to the last post on the thread.  You can use BBcode in the post but there's not a list of icons to help you remember

So, enjoy the new features... 

Best regards,
Ken

[WeatherHost]

Third, you might have noticed a Quick Reply box at the end of a thread.  You can use it to send a (strangely enough) quick reply to the last post on the thread.  You can use BBcode in the post but there's not a list of icons to help you remember

Note; if you don't like the Quick Reply box for some reason, you can turn it off in your Profile.

[WeatherBeacon]

I like it, Ken! Nice look, and nice job!

Kevin...

[saratogaWX]

Thanks Kevin!

I really learned a LOT about SMF with this conversion.  By locating the 'latest-and-greatest' DB converter (not the one on the download area, but one in the support forums), the databases from phpBB to SMF were easily converted (in about 30 seconds).  The harder part was understanding how mods get applied (different from phpBB) and what to 'tweak/tune' to get the forum updated with good features (like the Staff List).  Munging the 'Help' function to make a 'Reviews' function and getting Gary's deathless prose in accessible form was a learning experience too.  In all, a fun project, and now 3 of the four weather forums I frequent are on SMF (WD, Ambient, WXforum) so it's nice to apply the same forum usage techniques to them (love the Show Unread posts since last visit).

Best regards,
Ken

[WeatherHost]

The harder part was understanding how mods get applied (different from phpBB) and what to 'tweak/tune' to get the forum updated with good features (like the Staff List).

Yeah, the file structures are all different.  I haven't tried digging into it yet; brain cells are foggier than they used to be.

One thing I would like to see (if you can find a Mod for it) is a Quick Quote feature for the Quick Reply box, so when I want to quote only a part of a previous post, I don't have to manually type the BBcode tags.

 

[saratogaWX]

I'll take a look for a mod for that.

Best regards,
Ken

[saratogaWX]

The harder part was understanding how mods get applied (different from phpBB) and what to 'tweak/tune' to get the forum updated with good features (like the Staff List).

Yeah, the file structures are all different.  I haven't tried digging into it yet; brain cells are foggier than they used to be.

One thing I would like to see (if you can find a Mod for it) is a Quick Quote feature for the Quick Reply box, so when I want to quote only a part of a previous post, I don't have to manually type the BBcode tags.

 

Actually, there's no mod necessary.  I just discovered if you click on the Quote button on a post while you're viewing the thread, AND your have Quick Reply enabled, it DOES quote the message in the Quick Reply area (I'm using it now to make this message).  So the Quick Reply is only missing the 'Additional' options (like attach a file), and the buttons for styling and smileys on the QR area. 

Best regards,
Ken

[WeatherHost]

I just discovered if you click on the Quote button on a post while you're viewing the thread, AND your have Quick Reply enabled, it DOES quote the message in the Quick Reply area (I'm using it now to make this message).

True, however it quotes the entire message including any previous quotes in the post.

I'm looking for a way to copy/paste only a portion of the post as a quote as I have done here without having to type the Quote tags.