Test Board?

[MarylandMommy]

My 2 month old site is my first forum site (and has been very well received, in large part thanks to vB!)

I know this is a complete newbie question, but I haven't been able to figure out and with the announcement of the new version, I probably should be doing this.

What is the best way to run a test board to implement new features before adding to my production board.

Please pretend I'm stupid when giving me the information (I'm not, but don't have a lot of background in this).

[Wayne Luke]

For a test board you want a completely separate installation of vBulletin. This means separate files and database.

Most hosting providers give you the option of having multiple databases so create one for your test board and install vBulletin in a testvb folder. You want to turn off access to the forums to keep the public out or use .htaccess to prevent entry.

If you do not have access to multiple databases, you can install a test server on your local computer using a package such as WAMPServer.

[Hottommi]

Hi Wayne,
is it also possible to copy my production site to my xamp on the local computer?

I imported a backup of the mysql db and I copied all files from the hoster to my local folder. But it didnt works, I always get the 500 internal error.

Have I anything to change in a config file or something else?

Thomas
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German Site for Stockphotographers www.foto-talk.de

[Lynne]

You need to remember to change your includes/config.php file to include the location of your test database, not your production database.