RokBridge - phpBB3 Edition

Requirements

First you must have the base environment for the Rocketwerx Bridge - phpBB3 edition. We have thoroughly tested Joomla! on: Linux, Free BSD, Mac OS X and Windows NT/2000. Linux or one of the BSD's are recommended, but anything else that can run the 3 pieces of software listed below should do it.

• Apache > http://www.apache.org
• MySQL > http://www.mysql.com
• PHP > http://www.php.net

Server Configuration

You MUST ensure that PHP has been compiled with support for MySQL and Zlib in order to successfully run phpBB3. This is a pretty standard configuration, but you can double check your php's capabilities by running the following php command:

 
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
 

NOTE: While we have reports that the bridge works on IIS server we recommend Apache for running the bridge on Windows.

Optional Components

If you want support for SEF (Search Engine Friendly) URLs, you'll need mod_rewrite and the ability to use local .htaccess files.

Installation

Downlaod and Install Current Joomla! 1.5 Version

• http://www.joomla.org > Direct Download Link
• Download or checkout the code into a directory in your web path, eg: /public_html/joomla/
• install Joomla! by using the web intaller, eg: http://www.mysite.com/joomla/

Download & Install phpBB3

• http://www.phpbb.com > Direct Download Link
• phpBB3 MUST be installed inside the Joomla! directory structure. For example if you have Joomla! installed at /public_html/joomla/ you should install the forum in a directory such as /public_html/joomla/distribution/.
• The folder name "distribution" can be changed, but the default value is already set as "distribution" in the bridge configuration.
• Point your web browser to http://www.mysite.com/joomla/distribution/install where the phpBB3 web based installer will guide you through the rest of the installation.

NOTE: You CAN have a separate database for Joomla! and phpbb3.

Download & Install RokBridge - phpBB3 edition

Use the download link on the left to download the latest and greatest rokbridge archive file.

Extract the rokbridge.tar.gz package, you will notice that it contains these files :

- CHANGELOG.php : contains the changelog
- htaccess.txt : contains sample htaccess file for SEF and redirect direct forum access
- INSTALL.php : this file
- joomla15-bridge.tar.gz : contains the rokbridge application for Joomla! 1.5
- joomla15-user.tar.gz : contains the Joomla! 1.5 user plugin for phpBB3
- joomla15-authentication.tar.gz : contains the Joomla! 1.5 authentication plugin for phpBB3
- phpBB3-authentication.tar.gz : contains the phpBB3 authentication plugin for Joomla! 1.5

• Extract the joomla15-bridge.tar.gz package into you Joomla! website root directory (eg /public_html/joomla/). It should create a directory called "forum" so the bridge ends up in: /public_html/joomla/forum/.
• Install the user and authentication plugins using the Joomla! 1.5 backend.
• Enable both plugins and check that their RokBridge Base Path parameter points to the base path of your 'bridge' installation, relative to your site root. By default this value should be forum.
• Extract the phpBB3-authentication.tar.gz into your phpBB3 root director (eg. /public_html/joomla/distribution). It should add a file called auth_joomla.php to the /public_html/joomla/distribution/includes/auth/ directory.

Select Joomla! Authentication method

Finaly go to your phpBB3 Administration Control Panel and select Joomla! as the authentication method to be used. (Client communication -> Authentication).

Test the Bridge

Open up a browser window with your forum and another one with you Joomla! 1.5 installation, try logging in into your forum and refresh your Joomla! 1.5. If all is setup correctly you should be logged in there too. Try logging out in Joomla! and check if you are also logged out in phpBB3.