Open Beta FAQ

[VS Admin]

This post will be updated from time to time with general information to help answer common questions.



Logging into v5

Once your forum has been converted, you can click "Login" at the top. On this new page, enter the same username and password you used to login before conversion.

If this is your first time logging in you will be guided through an account upgrade process to create a global account. The upgrade process should be very simple -- and will allow you to login with your email address and password in the future. This way, in v5, you can access every single ProBoards forum using a single set of login information (email address + password).

Step-By-Step instructions

Upgrading your account after conversion
1. Go to your forum's home page.
2. Click 'login' in the upper right corner of the forum (if the forum has Guests Must Login enabled, select the login button towards the middle of the page)
3. You will now be on the login page.
4. If this is your first time here enter your Forum Username and Password you used previously in V4.
5. Go through the upgrade process to upgrade to a global account for v5.
6. Upon completion you will be back at the forum, logged in.

From Then On
1. Go to your forum's home page.
2. Click 'login' in the upper right corner of the forum.
3. You will now be on the login page.
4. Enter your Forum Username (OR your global account's Email) and your Password.
5. If you have only one linked forum account you will be back at the forum, logged in. Otherwise you will select which account you want and you will be logged in as the one you choose.

I found a bug! What do I do?
Report it on the Bugs board.

Can I get MY forum converted to v5?
Yes! All forums are now eligible to upgrade to ProBoards V5!

But first, we highly recommend you try out BetaZone, which will allow you to make a test copy of your forum before converting the real thing. Once you feel you've gotten the hang of V5, you're more than free to upgrade your original forum via the link at the top of your admin panel. Remember that the real conversion to V5 is permanent and cannot be reversed.

If you feel you need more time to prepare, clicking on the upgrade link on the main page of your admin panel will present you with 2 options: Upgrade or Opt-Out. If you choose to opt-out, your forum will remain on V4 during the automatic V5 conversion process that takes place on April 29th. You'll be able to remain on V4 until the end of December 2013.

I'm receiving an error when trying to login. What do I do?
If this happens to you first double check to make sure that your username and password are correct. If you encounter any other issues, be sure to follow the steps outlined in this thread.

[VS Admin]

Release Information

Phase	Status/Release	TimeFrame	Description
Internal Testing	Completed	~Years	Structure, design and planning.
Alpha	Completed	~3 months	Small group of testers on early front end copy of support.
Alpha 2	Completed	~3 months	Larger group of testers on early front end copy of support.
Closed Beta	Completed	6 months	Large group of testers on solid front end copy of support.
Open Beta	Completed	6 months	Front end copy of support open to everyone for viewing and testing.
Beta Zone	Completed	Until Full Release	Admins can make copies of their forums to test back end (admin panel).
Beta Phase 2	Completed	~4 Months	Admins will be able to upgrade their forums to v5 early if they choose.
Full Release	Now	April 29th, 2013	All remaining forums will be upgraded to v5.
v5.x	?	Unknown	Additional features that didn't make initial release will be added over time.

When is the Full Release of v5?
When it is ready, and not a moment sooner.

When I'm on v5 do I have to post in the Test Board?

No. We want you to post everywhere and try everything. Send PMs. Try clicking everything. Try to find things that might be broken. Test all the options you can. Make sure that the correct options are appearing for you based on your rank or group.

When I post on v5 it doesn't show up here on support, why?

V5 is a copy of the support forum, but it is an entirely separate forum. Whenever we make a copy the forums are identical and separate. As soon as anyone posts or sends a PM on one or the other they become different.

Treat them as if they are completely different forums with their own members and content. Because they are.

I made a post on v5 last week and it's gone this week, why?

This is the same reason explained in the last question. V5 is a copy. Whenever we make a new copy all the content on v5 is overwritten. So any PMs or Posts created since the last copy are gone.

But I had an important conversation going with someone on v5, will you ever copy v5 to support?

If it's really important you should be interacting with people here on support. V5 is constantly being updated, overwritten and broken since it is the beta forum for v5 testing. We absolutely want you to send messages and make posts all over the place. But if it's real content or real messages keep it on the real forum here.

I'm a beta tester here on Support, but not on v5. What's going on?

One of two things is happening. The first is that you got into the beta after we made the last copy. So you got your group promoted to Beta Tester here, but remember v5 is a separate forum. Your group will not be beta tester there until we make another copy. You'll still have access so you have nothing to worry about. It's just a title in your mini-profile.

The second possibility is that you are an Alpha Tester. When we make the copy of support only one group is copied. So you are an Alpha Tester even if you signed up for the beta. All alpha testers were automatically in the beta, so you never needed to sign up in the first place.

Sometimes right after a conversion I see these beta boards on the v5 forum. Should I post v5 related things like my features and bugs here or there?

Always, always, always post everything v5 related on this forum. We do not read all the threads on the v5 forum. You should always post in the v5 boards here on support when your posts are important. We wont see your ideas or bugs on the v5 forum and they will be overwritten and lost the next time we make a copy. We do our best to disable and hide these boards after a conversion to eliminate this confusion.

When v5 eventually launches will I lose my forum data and have to start over?

No, of course not. All of your posts, members, PMs and everything will be converted. The only thing that will really change is that we will take all the codes in your headers and footers out of your headers and footers. We will make you a copy that you can download as you wish. The reason for this is certain codes might break on conversion and we don't want your forum to break as a result.

[Patrick [ASE]]

What is Betazone ?
Betazone is a place to test V5 software, not only to find bugs, but also to see how your board will look in V5 when your board is converted.
You have the option of converting early during the transition period, or waiting until full conversion,
The transition period has been announced as 28 January, with full conversion being 29 April

If you are not  ready to convert on April 29th, there will be an opt out, this means that you will not be forced to convert until December

Currently you should see the opt out button by going to the 'Click Here To Get Started' link.


Whether you have copied your board, or made a new one, or both (you can convert up to 5 times), you have the opportunity to make the Beta board look the way you want it, once you are happy, you can export everything to your computer, this includes themes, plugins, templates, headers and footers. it will not include any posts or PM's.

Betazone is temporary, just because you made a copy of your V4 board, doesn't mean the betazone board settings will transfer automatically to the full conversion, so that's why you will need to export


Will my V4 codes work with V5 ?
Any code that modifies the way your V4 board looks or behaves are unlikely to work with V5, many of the popular codes are now built in to the V5 software.
Just to note, in the V5 copy of your V4 board, the headers and footers are removed, but you will find a saved copy of them by clicking the icon on the right in headers and footers


The less popular ones are or will be available as a plugin, please check the V5 plugin database.
If you can't find what you are looking for, you can request a plugin.
If you have a standalone code (one that displays forum age, or moon phases etc) they are likely to work as a plugin, you can ask for help on this in the plugin discussions, or you can have a go yourself (create plugin, select on the right where you want it to appear, drop the code into 'components. and enjoy)

Inviting my members to V5
 If you have made a copy of your V4 forum, all your members (at the time of conversion) will be there too, so all they need to do is login just like they do on V4 (there's an upgrade process, but that's it) even your current staff should retain their current permissions.
Any new members will have to register

[Ryan Roos]

Helpful flowchart after you have converted your forum during the Beta.

Did my forum convert properly?	YES ------>	Awesome!
vvv NO vvv
Is what's wrong based on codes you had?	NO ------>	Report it as a bug
vvv YES vvv
Is that old code now a feature?	YES ------>	Awesome, go play with it's settings.
vvv NO vvv
Is this something every forum could/should use by default?	YES ------>	Make a Feature request.
vvv NO vvv
Is this something other forums could use but would want to customize a lot?	YES ------>	Make a Plugin request.
vvv NO vvv
So it's very specific to your forum and probably involves unique customization?	YES ------>	Request a Header/Footer code. but far more likely get help with a template mod.