Roxy

Some of you are probably thinking; "Yay, finally a tutorial on how to install and work PHPBB. I've been waiting for this since forever!", or then again maybe not? But regardless here is a very easy to understand tutorial on how to install PHPBB via Fantastico and use it! =)

Installing PHPBB

Once in Fantastico, scroll down to the category Discussion Boards, and click on the first link, which will say PHPBB.



On the overview page, click on the link that says New Installations. On the next page, fill out all of your admin details and setup where you would like your new phpbb installation to be place. (ie: /forums). After that, the next page will show the process of what is going on. The last page, will show you what created and configured. Also a link to the admin panel will be provided for you. You are also able to email yourself the details of your new installation, whether it be for records or personal preference, comes in handy.



Using PHPBB

If you're new to PHPBB, the interface will probably look very nice and clean, if you're a returning user you will notice the significant amount of changes that 3.0.1 has brought to the board script.



Lets start off by setting up your general settings. Usually people keep with the default settings because its easier and usually are at an OK setting. Some people prefer to change them up a bit to meet their needs. Going through the settings on the side bar, make sure to read what each is about and whether you need to enable or disable it.



One setting to make sure to take a look at is the CAPTCHA feature. There you are able to set the difficulty of the captcha from unwanted people or things. This will come in handy a lot, of course its always good to have a secure plugin or two to add to the security of your board.



Creating Categories and Forums

Now here comes the fun part. Creating all of your categories and the forums that belong to them! In your admin panel click on the tab at the top that says Forums. You'll then be taken to the overview page. You'll see a "category" called "Your First Category". On the right side of it are little graphics, click on the green gear-like image, this is the edit button.



Once you have clicked on it, you are taken the settings page for that category. Change the name for the category to whatever you need it to be, remember the category is not the forum or board itself, but the general title of what the boards under it are about.



Click the submit button once you are finished with that. Now it is time to create some forums/boards for your category. Back on the category overview page, you will notice an empty input box in the bottom right hand corner of the table. Type in the name of your forum/board and click on the "Create New Forum" button.



You'll then be taken to the forum's setting page. This page has a little more settings then the category as it is where people will be posting. Be sure to make the main category for the board as the parent of it in the drop down menu. After fill in the rest of the details and read each setting for choosing.



When you are finished, click the submit button, you'll be taken to the forums overview page from here.



From time to time, be sure to look at the index page and make sure everything is going well. Don't want to have done so much work and then go to the index page and only see a litter of problems.



Users & Groups Security

Under the users and groups category there is a great security tool that you can utilize to keep your board safe from certain people and also spam!



Once you click on the Users and Groups tab button, scroll down to the bottom. On the left side bar you will see a list of links under the category name User security.



Here you have a few options when it come to protecting your forum. One of those is banning an IP, while another is banning a certain Username. I find this feature to be very helpful as you can put in terms that usually spam post/users use. With the banning of IP feature, if you get emails or comments from spammers before, then you'll know what to look for and where to find their IP address. Using that as a referencing can help you out.



Installing Styles

Fortunately with PHPBB you are able to change the style of the forum to anything you'd like. You can either make it on your own, or pick up a free one from site's who make them. For now, lets pretend you got a free one from a site and now want to upload it into your phpbb files. Once you have the folder for the style downloaded and extracted on your computer. Open your FTP program and locate the style folder within your phpbb files.



Put the folder inside the style folder and watch as everything gets uploaded.



Now go to your phpbb admin panel and click on the tab called Styles.



You'll notice the name of the style you uploaded under the already activated default styles. Click on the install link next to it and it will automatically be installed into the server. Once that is done click the activate button.



If you want to make this style your default style, you'll just have to go to the General tab and click on the link called Board settings. Once there you will see the option of default server. Click on the drop down menu and click on your newly uploaded style and click submit. All done!


More to come soon!

__________________
Roxanne
Surpass Staff

Urban Roxy -Personal Blog
SH63 - the best darn shared server!

norin

Nice start, I look forward to seeing how you expand that. I think a lot of people are intimidated by phpbb, and this guide should help them.

Roxy

Thank you, I'll be sure to add more soon.

__________________
Roxanne
Surpass Staff

Urban Roxy -Personal Blog
SH63 - the best darn shared server!