==SuddenLaunch TO SMF/phpBB CONVERSION INSTRUCTIONS==
[Scripts tested with SMF 1.1.4, phpBB 2.0.22, phpBB 3.0.0]
[To convert to a different forum software, modify members_topics_posts.py accordingly]
Before you begin, change a few profile settings:

In your Profile Settings, Account Preferences section, change the options to these values:
Show Avatars: Yes (pages may download faster with this set to NO but you will not get converted
avatars)
Show Images: Yes (no makes it impossible to get posted images)
Select Skin: Default (Default recommended, some skins could potentially break conversion)

In the Preferences section:
Time Format: 12/28/2004 at 23:11:23

Make sure your forum is NOT in Maintenance Mode! If it is, your topics are going to come out with
"Maintenance Mode Enabled" as the topic name.

Finally, unhide all hidden boards (unless you don't want them converted). Hiding boards prevents
the converter from knowing about them.

You're set.

==REQUIRED STUFF==
Python (versions 2.5 to 2.6 will work, but Python 3 will NOT work!) -- download from http://www.python.org
A freshly installed forum (SMF, phpBB2 or phpBB3)
**N.B. Read all comments in settings.py to understand what each setting does! Setting bad settings
may result in a poor quality conversion (missing stuff), a broken board, or no conversion at all.

=POSTS AND TOPICS=
1) Change some settings in settings.py (edit the file)
	table_prefix
		When you set up your forum software, what prefix did you use (default will depend
		on the exact software used; it's usually the product name plus an underscore;
		phpbb_ or smf_)
	COOKIEPREFIX
		Probably the same as the forumname part of your board URL (see URL, below)
	USERNAME and PASSWORD
		Your username and password, as you would use to log on.
	URL
		URL to the board's index.cgi page (usually something like
		http://forumname.suddenlaunch<number>.com/index.cgi)
	lockimage
		Location of your skin's "locked topic" image.
		Note: It is recommended that you leave "s\\d.images.proboards.com" in, unless your
		locked and/or sticky images are hosted on a completely different site. Proboards
		may choose a number of different servers each time you load a page, so leaving
		the \\d in allows the script to "see" the sticky no matter what server gets used.
		The defaults work for the default theme.
	stickyimage
		Location of your skin's "stickied topic" image. See above note.
	BOARDPASSWORDS
		If any boards have passwords, let the script know. You can leave out boards
		without passwords.
	[[Member settings]]
	RANDOMNUMBER
		a randomly chosen number used to generate member passwords; put any 9-digit-or-less
		number here.
	postgroup
		(SMF Only) Definitions for postgroups, IDs as in SMF.
2) Run the members_topics_posts.py Python script (Windows: double click it; *nix use "python
members_topics_posts.py" as a command)
3) Import the SQL batch files categories_forums.sql, members.sql and topics_posts.sql and to the forum database using the "latin1", "iso8859-1" or "cp1252" character set (encoding)
4) To notify members of the new passwords (randomly generated), run the pm_passwords.py file
(configuring settings.py first to suit your needs).
	[in settings.py]
	waittime
		Time to wait (in seconds) between successive PMs. You should not set this lower
		than 15.
		The default, 17, is for safety, in case a PM is slow to be picked up by Proboards.
		16 seconds or even 15 seconds should be fine, but use this only if time is
		really important.
		pm_passwords.py will produce errors and quit if it detects that the timeout is
		too short.
	msgtitle
		The title of the personal message to send
	msgbody
		The text in the personal message. %%0A is a line break (new line), %s is the
		password (use this only once!)
		If you must use a % sign for any reason, place two of them (%%), only one will
		show up in the PM. Failure to do so will result in a failed script run!
5a) [SMF Only] Find and repair any errors, Recount all forum totals and statistics (both in
	Admin/ Forum Maintainance)
5b) [phpBB Only] Resynchronize all forums (use resync button/icon on each forum)
6) [phpBB3 Only] Resynchronize statistics, post counts and dotted topics (main ACP page),
	Maintenance->Search index->Create Index for the active search method (if the Delete
	Index button is shown instead, click it first)
7) [phpBB3 Only] Use this script:
http://www.startrekguide.com/community/viewtopic.php?p=47648#p47648. This script is designed
to resynchronize individual post data which this converter is unable to reproduce. Instructions
are posted there.

=FINAL TOUCHES=
Make sure to set your forum permissions correctly.
Manually add any moderators, themes or other settings.

=BUGS/INCOMPLETE CONVERSION NOTES
-No Attachments
-No Polls
-No special membergroups ("admin" gets default group 1, moderators and other admins need to be
added by hand.)
-No calendar
