Dandello's Dummy's Guide to BoardMod
YaBB 2.5.2 bug fix mods

  1. First, since you're reading this we'll assume you have a working YaBB 2.5.2 forum and a copy of the zip install file (unzipped) and you want to install the newest release of bug fixes.
  2. Download and install the most recent version of BoardMod from here: http://www.boardmod.org/downloads.php. Note that this is for Windows users. Everybody else gets to do this by hand. (See below.)
  3. Now that Boardmod is installed, find the program on your computer (usually at C:\Program Files\BoardMod\Mods but this may be different on your PC.)
  4. In the "Mods" folder, create a folder with the name "2.5.2". Copy your bug-fix.mod file into that folder (I assume you've unzipped the bug-fix mod zip file since this file is inside of it. wink)
  5. Create a folder somewhere on your computer for a copy of your YaBB 2.5.2 files. (You can name this folder whatever you want, but keep track of it. This folder will allow the necessary files to be modified without affecting your back-up files - which you need in the event something bad happens.) Copy your YaBB 2.5.2 files into this folder. (Since this is for bug fixes, just take the folder 'cgi-bin' from the YaBB 2.5.2 install zip and copy it into your new modification folder. Same with the public_html folder.
  6. Inside the zipped bug-fix mod file, there may also be folders with the same folder structure as in the install and your modification folder, such as "cgi-bin" and "public_html", etc. The files inside these folders are files that may need to be added or replaced. These need to be uploaded to your server in the appropriate places AND copied into the appropriate places in your modification folder. This will help to simplify things in the future when you need to install new bug-fixes or decide to add mods from BoardMod.
    Note: if your server installation is to different folder names than the ones in the 2.5.2 distribution, you might want to change the folder names in your modification folder to reflect how the folders on your server are named. Or if you're using backups from your server to make changes on. This also means you will have to edit the bug_fix.mod file to reflect the actual paths. ie "..\..\public_html\yabbfiles\Templates\Forum\default.css" may need to be "..\..\yabbfiles252\Templates\Forum\default.css" (The '..\..\' means 2 levels up from your starting point - which for BoardMod is the location of YaBB.pl.
    If you have already added some bug-fixes from YaBBForum.com: These will need to be removed from the bug-fix mod. Find the <search for> string that corresponds to the code you've aleady replaced. Remove the search for tags, the string and the tags and string for the replacement. ie: You've already done the password fix in Register.pl so find:
    <search for>
           $regpass = encode_password($member{'passwrd1'});
    </search for>

    <replace>
           $regpass = $member{'passwrd1'};
    </replace>
    and remove it.
  7. pix_01 Open the Boardmod program, and in the "Path to Script" at the top left, navigate to the folder containing the YaBB.pl file. ie: YaBB252Mods\cgi-bin\yabb2\YaBB.pl. This will be the folder that you placed your files in from step 5 and may be different for you. In the selector box on the right you should see an option for 2.5.2. Choose that - it's the folder that contains the bug-fix mod file. Just below that you should now see a list of the mod files in that folder.
  8. Click on the bug-fix mod that you want to install.
  9. pix_02 Assuming no problems cropped up you should see this screen:
    This means the files were modified and you are now ready to put your forum into Maintenance Mode. First, backup your entire forum (You ARE making regular backups, aren't you?), and then upload the changed files, including any replacement files and/or additional files. (NOTE: you DO NOT need to upload Setup.pl or FixFile.pl to your server. In fact, if they are on your server DELETE THEM!)
    After uploading, look in the admin center of your forum and check 'Installed Mods'. Your bug-fix mod should be listed there.
  10. pix_03If there was an error installing the mod, you will see this screen pop up showing which steps failed and the reason for the failure. If this happens, no files were modified.
    Should this happen and you don't know what to do, simply visit YaBBForum.com or Boardmod.org forum where you can ask for help in the thread that the file was downloaded from.

General advice, keep your mod files in their folder in the BoardMod program. Also keep your modification folder and the bug-fixed files intact for future bug-fixed and mods.

For non-Windows users:

  1. Follow the instructions in (5) - create a folder to put your YaBB 2.5.2 files in. Copy any new or changed files into their appropriate places.
  2. Open the bug-fix mod file in a text editor.
    Mod files are written to resemble XML.
  3. Simply open the file listed in
    <edit file>
    File here
    </edit file>
    Then follow the instructions - search for a string, add the new string item above or below it or replace the old string with the new one.

Caution: failure to copy the ENTIRE new string can break your forum. So keep a backup. (You ARE making regular backups, aren't you?)

Many thanks to MervinsForum for his instructions on Installing YaBB Mods

From the YaBB team: Best of luck with your forum and keep checking YaBBForum.com for news, updates, and helps.