Last Updated: September 2007  
SHN v9.0 Full Install Readme
Hello. Thank you for downloading the SHN Forums modified forum code.

For those who want a turnkey forum, the SHN forum is a great choice. This excellent portal system is powered by the popular Snitz Forums 2000 base code. SHN includes an attractive and vibrant layout, and incorporates many of the most useful MODs which have been developed for Snitz.
For many, adding MODs and fixes to the base forum code is a fun and challenging adventure. For others, it's not fun at all. That makes SHN Forums the perfect choice for those who aren't comfortable "tinkering under the hood" and making changes themselves.

Please note: these instructions are not fully comprehensive. However, this document will walk you through the basics on installing the forum software.

::: Installation Instructions :::

     
01.
First we need to open the "forum/config.asp" file, and set the path for the database file.
  
Please note:
This should work out of the box, you will only need to edit your database info if your database folder is outside the "forum" folder. If your database folder is outside the forum folder there are 3 files that need edited for the 3 databases used in the code, do as follows, else you can move on to the next step.
  
Edit for main forum database, edit the "config.asp" file:
Look for this line
strConnString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\yourwebfolder\db\snitz_forums_2000.mdb" '## MS Access 2000
Edit the
C:\yourwebfolder\db\snitz_forums_2000.mdb
to point to where your db file will be.
 
 
Edit for spell checker database, edit the "pop_spellcheck.asp" file:
Look for this line
spellConnStr = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" & Server.MapPath("sitedbfiles/dictionary2000.mdb")
Edit the
sitedbfiles/dictionary2000.mdb
 
to point to where your db file will be.
 
 
Edit for topsites database, edit the "topsite_config.asp" file:
Look for this line
strDSN = "DRIVER={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};DBQ="& Server.MapPath("sitedbfiles/topsite.mdb")
Edit the
sitedbfiles/topsite.mdb
 
to point to where your db file will be.
 
If you need to set the full path to your database files for the last two edits or if you cant use "../", then just remove the:
" & Server.MapPath("sitedbfiles/topsite.mdb"
then use your full path
"C:\yourwebfolder\dbfolder\databasename.mdb"
  Be sure to follow Step 7 below to assign read/write permissions to the database files on your server.
   
   
02.
Open the "forum/topsite_config.asp" and edit the part below for your site.
' change these variables to suit your server and thats it... Run up the topsite.

Const g_strTitle = "yoursitename.com" 'Not sure if it does much
Const g_strPath = "http://www.yoursitename.com/forum/" ' Definately do this one
Const g_nSitesPerPage = 10
Const g_ClickThruPage = False ' True = anti-cheating gateway on
Const g_MailServer = "mail.yoursitename.com" ' Definately do this one to.
Const g_OutgoingMailFrom = "admin@yoursitename.com"
   
   
03.

Now we need to edit the chat information:

Open "functions_chat.asp" in the Chatroom/functions folder and edit Const AdminPassword = "changeme" to change the default password.

LEGACY:
If you decide to use ConquerChat, you will need to edit the "inc.config.asp" file in the conquerchat folder.

You can also edit variables in your messages.xx file (where the xx corresponds to your desired language. For example, messages.en for English) found in the messages folder within the conquerchat folder.

Also you can edit "conquerchat/css/chat.css" if you want to change the colors.

   
   
   
04.
Now we need to edit the "Email A friend" information for your site, you will need to edit the "pop_tell_a_friend.asp" file in the forum folder.
 
Look for this when editing
I want to let you know about this website I found, Your Site Name, Please stop by and visit their site. Or better yet, register and be a part of their cyber community.
Edit this to what you like
   
   
   
05.
Now we need to edit the donation information, you will need to edit the "sitedonations.asp" file in the forum folder.
 
Look for this when editing
strpaypalemail = ("donations@shnemail.com")
strpaypalitemname = ("Website Donation")
strpaypalcurrency = ("USD")
strdonationssofar = ("0")
strdonationstotalsofar = ("$0.00")
Edit and replace with your Paypal information.
   
   
   
06.
Now you can start uploading the "forum" folder to your server.
 
The "forum" folder goes into the main site folder (root folder)
 
Folders for the root folder:
forum
  
  
LEGACY: If you want to use the Conquer Chat application, you'll also need to upload the files from the "Root Files" folder to the "Root" folder of you site, copy only the files not the folder.
 
Files for the root folder:
global.asa
   
   
   
07.
Now we need to setup the folder and file permissions.
 
Set these folders to read, write and delete
mainuploadsfolder
sitedbfiles
library
avatars
new_avatars
 
Set these files to read and write and delete
sitestat.txt
forumlog.txt
 
Read, write and delete permissions = (unix: CHMOD 777) (win: -rwd-rwd-rwd)
   
   
   
08. Now go to "http://www.yoursitename.com/forum/setup.asp" to make sure your forum is seeing the database.  If not, go back to step 01.
   
   
   
09. Now go to "http://www.yoursitename.com/forum/admin_config_system.asp" and setup the main setting for the forum.

You can login as admin to setup your forum by using this:

Username: admin
Password: admin

NOTE: please remember to change the admin password once you're setup.
 
After you have the main configuration done, you need to go to "http://www.yoursitename.com/forum/admin_config_sitenews.asp" to setup the Login/Site News/Loading options.

The Login and Site News options must be set or nothing will be shown on Site News and you will have nowhere to login.

   
10. A note: If you want to allow Events Calendar events to be posted in other forums, you'll need to edit the file "cal_config.asp" to add additional forum IDs to the array. You can also specify the member level allowed to post events.
   
11. That should be it, you site should be up and running now.

If you need help please post your questions at the forum here:
http://www.shnforums.com

   

::: End Readme :::