- phpBB MF (download the full package here)
- Apache 1 Web Server
- PHP 4.4+ Access
- mySQL 4.x+ Access
- 2 databases (1 is required but 2 is recommended)
- open_basedir off (only if you plan on using more than 1 domain with phpBB MF; open_basedir must be off on each domain)
- Ability to create (or have created for you) wildcard DNS entries (needed for each domain you plan to use)
- Ability to create a top level domain (ie domain.com) or subdomain (sub.domain.com) - phpBB MF is not currently designed to be used in a subfolder
- Ioncube loaders (included w/phpBB-MF)

1. Log into your control panel where your domain is hosted and create a database (preferably 2) and a database user, and make sure the user has rights to both databases. If you don't know how to do this, please ask your host for assistance.

2. Create a wildcard DNS entry for your domain. If you do not have root access to the server you're hosted on you should ask your host to do this for you; most will. The wilcard entry should look something similar to this:

ServerAlias www.domain.com domain.com *.domain.com

You will also need to add an A entry to the domain's DNS zone. Again, if you do not have the capability to do this yourself you should ask your host. The A entry should look something similar to this:

*.domain.com. A 14400 [SERVER IP]

3. You will notice 2 zip files in the package you downloaded. One is phpBB, modified to work with phpBB MF, and the other holds the files for phpBB MF itself.  Upload all files from the phpBB.zip archive first, maintaining directory structure.

4. Upload all files from your phpBB MF download, maintaining the directory structure. Make sure to upload all phpBB MF files in BINARY format.

5. Change the permissions/chmod the following folders to 777:
- /mf_functions
- /mf_admin/includes
- /images/avatars
- /logos

Change the permissions/chmod the following files to 666:
- /mf_functions/multiconfig.php
- /mf_admin/includes/multiconfig.php

6. Navigate to the install.php file and enter the requested information. Click submit and your base phpBB MF will be automatically set up for you.

7. Delete install.php and reset the permissions as follows:

- /mf_functions - set to 755
- /mf_admin/includes - set to 755
- /mf_functions/multiconfig.php - set to 444
- /mf_admin/includes/multiconfig.php - set to 444

(You made need to adjust the above permissions to work with your specific server setup; some servers may require 644 for the files)

8. Go to http://www.yourdomain.com/mf_admin and begin configuring your settings.

9. You will receive a key.php file in your email. Upload the key file to the root directory (in other words, where home.php file is located).

10. home.php is the file visitors will be redirected to if the forum they requested does not exist, or if they simply type in yourdomain.com. Modify this to your needs as you see fit.

I have removed a number of functions from the phpBB admin area that most admins would not want their users to have access to, including SMTP configuration, paths, and certain features of eXtreme styles (such as chmod capabilities, template uploading, etc). In the case of the eXtreme styles pages, the removed functions have had the pages renamed to a nonsense-type name. It is recommended, although certainly not required, that you rename these to something unique to your forum host, just to maintain optimal security.

It is still recommended that you test the admin area and make security adjustments as you see fit.

I TAKE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SERVER SECURITY IF YOU USE THE INCLUDED FILES; YOU MUST DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR *YOUR* FORUMS.

Database Upgrade Tool

A very powerful feature of phpBB MF is the ability to run updates on all forums on the selected database. Because in the wrong hands this tool could be used to completely wipe out all of your hosted forums, extra security measures have been taken to protect your forums.

After installation you will need to open /mf_admin/includes/multiconfig.php and find this line:
$auth_admin = "";

You can put your current admin name (the one you chose while installing) there, but for optimal security I would recommend creating a second admininstrator for the sole purpose of using this database tool. When you've added the name, reupload the file.

Right now phpBB MF does not have the ability to add admins via the MF admin panel, so you will need to run the following command in phpMyAdmin:
INSERT INTO mf_phpbb_admin (name,pass,email) VALUES ('[ADMIN NAME]', '[ADMIN PASS**]', '[ADMIN EMAIL]');

Replace [ADMIN NAME] with the admin username
Replace [ADMIN PASS**] with the md5 version of your password. To generate the md5, click here to do a search on Google for a site that offers this feature. Normally you just enter your password (for example, password) and it will give you the md5 version of your entered text.
Replace [ADMIN EMAIL] with the email of the admin.

phpBB MF uses Paypal's IPN feature to validate and automatically upgrade a user's forum. You have the ability to select one-time or recurring payments.

The Paypal module is not automatically installed; you can install it easily by logging into your admin control panel and navigating to paypal_settings.php. Follow the instructions to install the module and make sure to delete install_paypal.php from the admin folder. You will then need to visit paypal_settings.php again to set your Paypal email, the name of your product, amount, whether or not to use demo mode (NOTE: In order to use the script in demo mode you need to have a Paypal Sandbox account), and various other features. Please make sure to set Demo Mode to NO when you're ready to go live.

One of the most powerful features of phpBB MF is its ability to use multiple domains.

Configuring the seperate domains is quite simple: (for demonstration purposes I will refer to domain2.com as the domain you are adding to phpBB MF)
[The below instructions assume you have already set domain2.com up on your server, including setting up wildcard subdomains for it.]
1. Log into FTP for domain2.com and upload all folders from phpBB MF, excluding any with a mf_ prefix
2. Create a folder called mf_functions and upload multiconfig.php to it.
3. Log into your MF admin area and click the "View/Edit/Add Domains" link
4. Click "Add Domain" and enter the domain name as well as the absolute path and click save
Your domain should now show up and be available for users to sign up!

Please note that the multiple domain feature has not been tested with multiple servers.

Another powerful feature of phpBB MF is the ability to use multiple databases. The database you installed phpBB MF on is automatically added to the database list when you installed, but if you would like to add more, simply follow the below instructions.
1. Log into your control panel and create the database.
2. Grant permissions (aka add the user) to the user you created when you installed phpBB MF. If, for example, the database you installed phpBB MF on was db1 and the user was user1, and you created db2, you would add user1 to db2.
3. Log into your MF admin area and click the "View/Edit/Add Databases" link
4. Click "Add Database" and enter the database name and press the button to save
Your database is now in the database pool.

If you would like to make it the "active" database (the one that users' boards will be set up on when they sign up) click the "Make Active" link to the left of the database name. Otherwise phpBB MF defaults to using the currently active database until it has reached its "quota" of forums (which is set in the Configuration area in the MF Admin panel), and will then switch to the next database. If there is no 'next' database for phpBB MF to switch to signups will be disabled until you add another database.

NOTE: You MUST have a database with the phrase "Currently Active" next to it in order for phpBB MF to succesfully and correctly install forums to the databases. You will receive an error when the database is set up if you don't do this step!

NOTE 2: Upon installation phpBB MF defaults to setting up 5 forums per database. If you would like more than this, navigate to the configuration page and where it says "Number of forums to set up on a single database before switching to another", set the number to whatever number you wish. You can set it to 9, 99, or 9999 - it's completely up to you.