1. What is this BoardMod thing I've been hearing about?
BoardMod is a program which makes it easier to apply modifications to the free YaBB/YaBBSE MessageBoard System. The only thing you have to do is to select the changes you want and press the install button. Within 5 minutes you'll have a full customized community board. For more detailed information about the project visit the Project page.
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2. How to use BoardMod?
You have to make sure that your YaBB/YaBBSE is already working on your web page. When it is, follow these simple steps to download and use BoardMod:

1. Go to http://www.boardmod.org/downloads.php and download the latest version of BoardMod (currently 2.5.3)
2. Unpack the .zip-file into a directory of your choice(use one that's easy to access, like C:\BoardMod)
3. Download YaBB/YaBBSE off your server(via FTP) to a folder on your hard drive.
4. Start BoardMod. You will see a box with a Browse button next to it in the upper left corner
5. Click the Browse button and point it to the directory you downloaded YaBB/YaBBSE into(usually the directory containing YaBB.cgi/YaBB.pl/index.php)
6. You see the select-box in the top right corner? Click it. You should get a list of YaBB versions(actually this is a list of folders within the Mods folder in the BoardMod main directory)
7. Select your version of YaBB/YaBBSE. Currently, this is YaBB 1 Gold - SP1.3/YaBBSE 1.5.2
8. Proceed to next topic of this FAQ :)

If you need an even more detailed description, please try Boardmod for the Bloody Novice.

3. How to install mods I've downloaded?
First, save the mod you downloaded into this directory: *boardmod dir*/Mods/*your YaBB version*. If the mod is packed to .zip then only copy the .mod file(s) to this directory. Now, start BoardMod and follow the steps in Topic 2 of this FAQ if you haven't already done so.
Now, when you select your version, a list of mods should appear. Browse through the list until you find the one you just downloaded and click the checkbox next to it. Installation should commence.

(NOTE: Mods with a checked checkbox are INSTALLED mods, those unchecked are not installed. This can be toggled manually by holding Ctrl(Control)

If you get any errors, be sure that you downloaded a mod for your version of YaBB:
IE: Mods for YaBB 1 Gold doesn't work on SP1/SP1.1
Mods for YaBB 1 Gold SP1 have a 90% chance of working with SP1.1 and vice versa
Mods for YaBB 1 Gold SP1/SP1.1 doesn't work with Gold.
Mods for YaBBSE definitly don't work with YaBB and vice versa

If you still have trouble with your mod, go here(for Y1 mods) or here(for YSE mods) to get further help

4. How to install mods manually/by hand?

1. Using BoardMod
   
   Click the 'Manual Install' button and follow the instructions. Usually, you search for the contents of the left box, and the contents of the right box is added before/after or replaced(What you should do is mentioned above the right box). The file it edits is above the left box.
   


2. Using nothing but the mod file:
   
   Open the file, and skip down to the first <edit file> tag. The file you should edit is listed between this tag and the </edit file> tag. Example: Sources/AdminEdit.pl means that you should browse into the YaBB dir, open the Sources subfolder and edit the AdminEdit.pl file. Now, everything between this set of <edit file> tags and the next set is instructions on what you are supposed to do with the file, the format is quite literal. The first thing you will encounter is the <search for> tag. This is a simple one, just search for the contents of this tag. The next tag is one out of three, and they tell you what you should do with what you found:
   
   <replace>: Replace what you searched for with the content of this tag.
   </replace>
   
   <add before>: Add the contents of this tag before what you searched for.
   </add before>
   
   <add after>: Add the contents of this tag after what you searched for.
   </add after>
   
   Continue like this with the file you opened until you encounter a new <edit file> tag. When you do, close and save the file you have edited, and open the new one.

5. Does BoardMod support YaBB's .cgi version? Does it support YaBBSE?
Since v2.5.1 BoardMod fully supports both, .pl and .cgi versions. Lower versions don't so please update if you run into trouble.
BoardMod also supports YaBBSE since v2.5.3, which is a nice thing too. > back to top <

6. BoardMod gives me an error message when I'm trying to install a mod.
The only thing you can do is to cancel the installation. That is because BoardMod is unable to find the code which needs to be changed. Usually that happens when the wrong version has been selected and the mod is not written it. But sometimes it is possible that a mod which you've installed before, has deleted/changed some code which the current mod needs. What you can do is ask the mod author for rewriting the mod so that it is compatible with your mod. I normally try to check all mods for their compatibility and fix them but sometimes it can happen that I forget one or it is just not possible to make them compatible. If you want to know how to contact the mod author, most of them hang out at BoardMod Forums
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7. I can't uninstall a mod - HELP!
This happens when the mod adds new settings in Settings.pl. When you have changed such a new setting, you first have to set it back before uninstall the mod. If this doesn't help you'll have to remove the mod manually. To do this just click on the button on the lower left and follow the instructions given to you.
(note that no mods for YaBB 1 Gold SP1 or newer will change settings in Settings.pl. You've probably installed a mod that changed the code for this mod) > back to top <

8. Why is this project open source and where is the source code?
The project is open source and is licenced under the GPL because I think it is important that a program is transparent for the user. Everyone should be able to understand how it works and who knows... perhaps there are some good programmers out there who can help to improve it. The program is written in Kylix2 OE and Delphi6, so it is not too hard to understand the source. The code can be downloaded as seperat package.
Also it makes it easier to modify BoardMod to work together with other scripts.
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9. I want to write a mod for this program. How to do that?
A .mod file is basically nothing else than a text file. Just try to open it with Notepad, you'll see it looks like HTML code - just with other tags. You have two ways to create a mod. 1st is to use Notepad and writing it yourself or you can use the since version 2.0 included Mod Editor (Version 2.5.1 includes now the YaME editor, which is much better with a nicer look). I recommend to use the Mod Editor because then you can't make any tag mistakes and it has more overview. But whatever you'll choose, you have to read the HowTo to understand the file format and to see the limitations. To submit your mod please visit this site.
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10. Who wrote this excellent FAQ?
This FAQ was originally written by Michael himself and later re-done by Christer Jenson.
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If you have a question which is not listed here and which might be important for others too then contact the FAQ team by email.