Configuring Zen To Work With Phpbb

How to configure Zen Cart to work with phpBB AFTER installing Zen Cart

1. We will assume that you have v1.2.1 or higher of Zen Cart installed already, and that you did NOT choose to integrate with phpBB during the Zen Cart installation.

2. Install phpBB and test that it works properly. For ease of configuration, it's recommended to install phpBB to the root of your server, perhaps like this:
   'http://mysite.com/forums
   or
   'http://mysite.com/phpbb

3. Edit the **/includes/configure.php **file for Zen Cart and enter the path to your phpBB folder on this line:```
   define('DIR_WS_PHPBB', '/phpBB2/');

It NEEDS to be the full exact path to your forum folder, including the /var/www/client/public_html/ ... or whatever it is on your server ... look at your DIR_FS_CATALOG for a good hint... ... then adjust by adding your phpBB or forum or whatever to that, or maybe it's in a different folder... 

Be sure to include the / on the end.

4. In Zen Cart's Admin area, go to Configuration, My Store, and set "**Enable phpBB Linkage?**" to **TRUE**

Now any new users created will be asked to select a forum username during signup.


NOTE: The above details do NOT include instructions on how to assign/edit phpBB account info for existing customers.

DrByte:

NOTE: The above details do NOT include instructions on how to assign/edit phpBB account info for existing customers.
Cool.

Now anyone have advice on how to set up existing ZenCart accounts with phpBB accounts?

Woody

Newbie question time - does it work only with phpbb or will it also intergrate with CMS's based on phpbb?,

Drac0:

Newbie question time - does it work only with phpbb or will it also intergrate with CMS's based on phpbb?,
It will work with a phpBB system that has not made any changes to its security components. ie: password encryption methods are the same, and database structure for members (users, groups, etc) are the same.

("same" meaning ... same as original phpBB)

Hmmmm. added the phpbb as instructed, but I do not see in zen where there is a link to the forum? Plus when I make a new user there is no choice to register for the forum. Running zen 1.2.2

I tried both '/forum/' in the configure file and '/www/forum/' which is the longer address.

suggestions? :huh:

Admin> Configuration> My Store> Enable phpBB Forum

The setting for DIR_WS_PHPBB is used like this:

Zen Cart attempts to locate a file called "config.php" in the path set for DIR_WS_PHPBB.

So, if you have your forum in the folder "/phpBB", and "/phpBB" is a subdirectory of "/home/users/billy123/public_html", then you need to put this into DIR_WS_PHPBB:

define('DIR_WS_PHPBB','/home/users/billy123/public_html/forum');

In "some" server environments, simply specifying '/forum' is enough, but not always.

ok I have done everything that this has said and still nothing. what now?

alliwire:

ok I have done everything that this has said and still nothing. what now?

1. What path is your phpBB "config.php" file located in?
2. Post your /includes/configure.php file here, without your database password.

<?php
//
// +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
// |Zen Cart Open Source E-commerce                    |
// +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
// | Copyright (c) 2004 The Zen Cart developers              |
// |                                   |
// | http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php                  |
// |                                   |
// | Portions Copyright (c) 2003 osCommerce                |
// +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
// | This source file is subject to version 2.0 of the GPL license,    |
// | that is bundled with this package in the file LICENSE, and is    |
// | available through the world-wide-web at the following url:      |
// | http://www.zen-cart.com/license/2_0.txt.               |
// | If you did not receive a copy of the Zen Cart license and are unable |
// | to obtain it through the world-wide-web, please send a note to    |
// | [email][email protected][/email] so we can mail you a copy immediately.     |
// +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
//

// Define the webserver and path parameters
 // Main webserver: eg, http://localhost - should not be empty for productive servers
 define('HTTP_SERVER', 'http://www.alliwire.com');
 // Secure webserver: eg, https://localhost - should not be empty for productive servers
 define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://www.alliwire.com');
 // secure webserver for checkout procedure?
 define('ENABLE_SSL', 'false');

// NOTE: be sure to leave the trailing '/' at the end of these lines if you make changes!
// * DIR_WS_* = Webserver directories (virtual/URL)
 // these paths are relative to top of your webspace ... (ie: under the public_html or httpdocs folder)
 define('DIR_WS_CATALOG', '/');
 define('DIR_WS_HTTPS_CATALOG', '/');

 define('DIR_WS_IMAGES', 'images/');
 define('DIR_WS_INCLUDES', 'includes/');
 define('DIR_WS_BOXES', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'boxes/');
 define('DIR_WS_FUNCTIONS', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'functions/');
 define('DIR_WS_CLASSES', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'classes/');
 define('DIR_WS_MODULES', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'modules/');
 define('DIR_WS_LANGUAGES', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'languages/');
 define('DIR_WS_DOWNLOAD_PUBLIC', DIR_WS_CATALOG . 'pub/');
 define('DIR_WS_BLOCKS', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'blocks/');
 define('DIR_WS_TEMPLATES', DIR_WS_INCLUDES . 'templates/');

 define('DIR_WS_PHPBB', '/phpBB2/');

// * DIR_FS_* = Filesystem directories (local/physical)
 //the following path is a COMPLETE path to your Zen Cart files. eg: /var/www/vhost/accountname/public_html/store/
 define('DIR_FS_CATALOG', '/var/www/html/');

 define('DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD', DIR_FS_CATALOG . 'download/');
 define('DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD_PUBLIC', DIR_FS_CATALOG . 'pub/');
 define('DIR_WS_UPLOADS', DIR_WS_IMAGES . 'uploads/');
 define('DIR_FS_UPLOADS', DIR_FS_CATALOG . DIR_WS_UPLOADS);
 define('DIR_FS_EMAIL_TEMPLATES', DIR_FS_CATALOG . 'email/');

// define our database connection
 define('DB_TYPE', 'mysql');
 define('DB_PREFIX', '');
 define('DB_SERVER', 'localhost'); // eg, localhost - should not be empty
 define('DB_SERVER_USERNAME', 'NONYA');
 define('DB_SERVER_PASSWORD', 'NONYA');
 define('DB_DATABASE', 'NONYA');
 define('USE_PCONNECT', 'false'); // use persistent connections?
 define('STORE_SESSIONS', 'db'); // leave empty '' for default handler or set to 'db'

 // The next 2 "defines" are for SQL cache support.
 // For SQL_CACHE_METHOD, you can select from: none, database, or file
 // If you choose "file", then you need to set the DIR_FS_SQL_CACHE to a directory where your apache 
 // or webserver user has write privileges (chmod 666 or 777). We recommend using the "cache" folder inside the Zen Cart folder
 // ie: /path/to/your/webspace/public_html/zen/cache  -- leave no trailing slash 
 define('SQL_CACHE_METHOD', 'file'); 
 define('DIR_FS_SQL_CACHE', '/var/www/html/cache');

?>

It's located at /var/www/html/includes/config.php

well, based on reading your configure.php file, I'd suggest that you ```
define('DIR_WS_PHPBB', '/var/www/html/phpBB2/');

However, in attempting to access your phpBB by manually keying the URL, I get "not found" or "unable to load page" errors. .... so, does your PHPBB installation even exist?
If so, what is the URL for it?

I believe that is where the problem comes in hand. My index page is renamed in my phpBB2 files. here is the link to the forums:
https://www.alliwire.com/phpBB2/forumindex.php

alliwire:

I believe that is where the problem comes in hand. My index page is renamed in my phpBB2 files
Why ?

just because that is the way we set everything up to track files we have too many index.php files and that is just the way we did it. can we fix this problem?

open
/includes/classes/sniffer.php

Around line 50, you'll see:```
$debug1=false;

TEMPORARILY change that to ```
   $debug1=true;
```Then open your Zen store in a browser.

Then quickly go back and change the setting to false again so that all that important info isn't shown to the whole world.

Then use that output to find out what stage it's failing at.

You can even post the output here ... just blank-out the passwords for your own protection.

ok here is what happened:

dir=/phpBB2/
link_enabled_admin_status=true
FAILURE: phpBB NOT activated

Warning: session_start(): Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent by (output started at /var/www/html/includes/classes/sniffer.php:58) in /var/www/html/includes/functions/sessions.php on line 111

Warning: session_start(): Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent (output started at /var/www/html/includes/classes/sniffer.php:58) in /var/www/html/includes/functions/sessions.php on line 111

The "cannot send headers" part is a result of us displaying debug text ... so it can be ignored.

was there "nothing" else shown between the "dir=..." and the "link_enabled_admin" part ?

If not, then it's not finding the "...../phpBB2/config.php" file.

What is the exact path to the config.php file for your phpBB installation?

what I posted is what it gave me.

here is my path to the config: /var/www/html/phpBB2/config.php

https://www.alliwire.com/phpBB2/config.php

BTW, you will need to make this change for the forum link (when it "does" work for you) to be valid:

/includes/filenames.php```
define('FILENAME_BB_INDEX', 'index.php'); // phpBB main index filename

I'm sure I've asked this before, but what happens when you set this in your /includes/configure.php file?```
define('DIR_WS_PHPBB', '/var/www/html/phpBB2/');

If the forum link doesn't appear, turn on the debugging for a moment again and post the results again.