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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13 |
I'm SO scared to get started with this. I have just enough understanding to get me in trouble. I don't know which hacks to install that are reliable enough not to take down my board and get me in trouble -- I do, of course, know to back up before I begin, but are all the hacks in the "finished" forums actually ready to use? Specifically, I'd love to incorporate a) birthdays/calendar and b) topic ratings c) spellcheck, and d)photo gallery. Are these stable enough that I can install them? If worse comes to worse, are there people I can hire out to do this for me (reasonably)? Very worried, but needing more on my board -- Lucy www.sugarglider.net
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 7,394
Admin / Code Breaker
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Admin / Code Breaker
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 7,394 |
Welcome to UBBDev Lucy, If you back up before hacking, nothing can really go wrong - if something does, just load backups. Finished modifications should be ready to be used, while many beta modifications don't have any bug, and they aren't in finished forum because the author wants to enhance it or wants to see if someone will post a bug report. Good luck 
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 54
Member
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Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 54 |
I started whithout knowing a single thing about CGI or Perl. I started using just the multihack files. (thanks to all those who make them) It is fairly automated and works very well with a clean install. After I installed a few multihacks I would read each line of what the program did and replicate it on another copy of the board. edit: (by hand) Now, I feel quite comfortable doing things by hand. In fact to the point that with my hacked up boards I feel more comfortable doing it myself than letting multihack handle it. Back everything up before you hack it and there is little chance of really messing anything up. I like to do the work on sundays since it's my slowest board day. http://www.theemeraldorder.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13 |
Thank you so much. I do okay following instructions, so I have been able to handle UBB installations, so maybe Multi-Hack is the place to start.
Thank you for your encouragement!
My next stupid question:
Do I only need to back up the files being hacked, or the whole board?
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 13 |
1. Do I need to backup ALL the board, or just the files being hacked?
2. Does the board need to be closed while I update the scripts?
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 794
Content Queen
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Content Queen
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 794 |
quote:
Originally posted by Glidergirl:
1. Do I need to backup ALL the board, or just the files being hacked?
2. Does the board need to be closed while I update the scripts?
Lucy,
First of all, you've come to the best place to seek out advice. Trust me, I've been in your shoes, and in a lot of respects, I still am.
To answer your first question, you usually only need to back up the files you are going to hack.
When you are ready to install your newly hacked files, your board should be closed.
The one thing that I have done--which I strongly recommend--is set-up a test board. You will probably need to ask your host if they will set-up another cgi bin for you to do this.
What you do then is install your hacks onto the test board, and then try them out. If they work smoothly, then you know that you can apply them successfully to your actual board (provided, of course, that the two boards mirror one another (i.e. 6.2.1.1 w/the same modifications)).
When I upgraded to 6.2.1.1., I tested all of the hacks on my test board and had my moderators work it. When I was satisfied they were "good-to-go," I upgraded my actual community and then replaced the 6.2.1.1 files that were upgraded with my hacked files (except, of course, for the variables). I did some minor tweaks, and it was good-to-go.
The first time I upgraded my board, it took me almost 2 to 3 days because I didn't transfer over my test board's files (I didn't know I could!  ); the last time I upgraded, the entire process took less than 12 hours--and the bulk of that time was because I had to do a maintenance feature to remove old file fields from my regular board.
I know that more experienced hackers are able to do it in a far shorter time span.
A final thought: I've installed something like 30 hacks into my 6.2.1.1 board -- almost all the hacks in the Beta forum are pretty much good to go; the ones with Multihack files are pretty much "gold." Pick the ones you want most and give it a shot; if you run into problems, the gang here at UBBDev are fabulous at helping out. You'll soon become addicted to tweaking your board! 
Sue
adwoff.com
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,849
Spotlight Winner
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Spotlight Winner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,849 |
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