Integration Issues w/PHPBB2

QuaiBoy · June 5th, 2006, 09:14 AM

Hi all, thx for reading/thoughts.

I installed the latest version of PHPbb2 the other day with a MSSQL database connection. Everything is working fine and people have been using it without issue.

Today, we purchased PhotoPost for integration with phpbb2. Although it's requirements include MySQL, it seemed from the description like it would still be able to make a connection with phpbb2 running on MSSQL.

My question is: Is it possible for PhotoPost to work with phpbb2 running on a MSSQL database if there is a separate MySQL DB for PP? If not, what would be the easiest way to get our forum information converted to MySQL / what things would need to be changed in phpbb2's settings to make it work?

Thanks again,
-Evan

Chuck S · June 5th, 2006, 09:16 AM

Evan Photopost only works with mysql not mssql,

Basically you just need to make sure you install mysql on your server and get it running then install phpbb2 into a mysql database and then continue with the photopost install.

QuaiBoy · June 5th, 2006, 09:27 AM

So there's no way to integrate PP with a phpbb2 forum running MSSQL? That's a big drag. It should be spelled out in the system requirements. I have no problem providing MySQL for PP like the requirements state. I browsed the (insubstantial) installation guide before buying and didn't catch it there either.

Now I have to find a way to convert my forum to MySQL or lose $129 in software I just bought. Lovely.

Thanks for your reply.
-Evan

Chuck S · June 5th, 2006, 09:45 AM

It is spelled out in the requirements page. We state we are compatible with mysql and not mssql. You will find nowhere on this site where we say we are compatible with mssql.

QuaiBoy · June 5th, 2006, 11:09 PM

Right, your software needs a MySQL DB to run. That doesn't mean that phpbb2 has to be running MySQL, that means that PP needs it and implies that it can run that way.

Anyway, I converted the MSSQL-based forum to MySQL. Now the integration seems not to have worked. Although I entered the phpbb2 DB and path info during the installation it still just installed the PP forum and that's it. I don't want it to mess up my phpbb2 forum so how do I proceed.

phpbb2 forum:
http://www.jobkite.com/forums/index.php
pp installation:
http://www.jobkite.com/forumphotos/

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 12:05 AM

Actually, the only "integration" between PP and phpbb2 has been the user database. The PP theme has stayed the same and there is no link to either the forum from PP or vice-versa.

I also cannot upload photos. No matter what upload settings I change in the admin it still sets a file limit of 1kb. It seems to save them properly (when saved I can see the new value in the admin) but there is no change in the PP forum itself.

Please advise.

Chuck S · June 6th, 2006, 05:54 AM

Yes when we say we integrate with mysql that would preclude that the forum also needs to be running mysql since we pull information from it.

Now as far as your site. You need to set user permissions to upload etc in Admin => Edit Usergroups or if there is some other error you might need to post that so we can assist. As far as it not pulling your stylesheet thats easy you have use forum stylesheet turned off in Admin => Forum Settings.

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 09:16 AM

OK, we're making progress.
However, under Forum Settings in the Admin, only the following are listed.
- URL to forums main
- User Registration System
- Forum DB table prefix
- Use integrated forum stylesheets (set to 'no')

Changing the last one makes the whole forum white (no borders and stuff).

-Evan

PS: There are no errors on-screen during the navigation of the site or the admin

Chuck S · June 6th, 2006, 10:01 AM

You need to change the last one to yes correct to use the forum style. Now the css must exist on disk so if your style is null then we need to figure out whats wrong as in is the css not being found etc.

I see your issue see your phpBB style is quite custom. Usually in phpBB the style name is the same as the directory name of the style in your case Iris in the phpBB2 templates directory. Therefore if you save the contents of the file below as Iris.css and upload it to your Iris directory under templates you should be fine to turn on the style. Your special Iris css file is named style1.css which is your issue.

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 01:36 PM

OK, I appreciate your help thus far. Looking good now, I futzed around with IM for a couple of hours and got it working fine. Two remaining issues:

1. Everytime I go between the phpbb2 forum and PP I have to re-login. I have the cookie info in PP set to the following (might be wrong, no idea):
PhotoPost Cookie Path : /
Forum Cookie Prefix : phpbb2mysql
PhotoPost Cookie Domain : www.jobkite.com

2. When a normal user goes to uploadphotos.php, the boxes "User File Limits" and "Extra Options" appear. How do I remove those? They are rather annoying. If it has to be changed in the PHP, I'd appreciate an outline of what to delete (I can setup PHP but I'm not too familiar with the coding itself).

Thanks again,
-Evan

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 02:04 PM

3. Also, the most recent images uploaded aren't being shown on the front page. The inital one I tested with did and now the latest ones don't.

-Evan

Chuck S · June 6th, 2006, 02:20 PM

Try using cookie domain of .jobkite.com

User file limits and such should appear. You can edit your uploadphoto template and remove what you do not want to display.

As far as number 3 where are you talking about? example.Your site looks fine here

http://www.jobkite.com/forumphotos/

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 02:32 PM

Hmmm, OK. Guess I have to learn the tags to edit that template, huh. Unless you can give me references to the 'user file limits' and 'extra options' tables so I can find them easily.

Disregard number 3, seems to be fine now. Does it update every period of time or something? For a while it wasn't showing any new photos.

Cookie issue: Changed the domain, no change. When I logout of both the forum and PP and return to the forum I then login to the forum and try to go to PP. I am not logged into PP when I get there. Is it because my link to PP on the forum page is an absolute link (http://...etc)?

-Evan

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 02:34 PM

Cookie info as listed in phpbb2:

Cookie domain : .jobkite.com
Cookie name : jobkite_forum
Cookie path : /forums
Cookie secure: disabled
Session length [ seconds ]: 3600

Chuck S · June 6th, 2006, 03:01 PM

your cookie path needs to be / in the forums. Your cookie prefix just match the photopost cookie prefix what is this jobkite_forum?

From what your showing me your cookies dont match between the forum and photopost and your forum cookie is only for the forum not site wide

QuaiBoy · June 6th, 2006, 03:17 PM

Great! Got it to work by making the phpbb2 settings site-wide and changing that jobkite_forum field to the default (dunno how it got changed).

So I guess all I have left to do is edit the uploadphotos template. If you have any literature on that I'd love to see it.

-Evan