pre-bridge integration to SMF 2.0.5

[brynn]

Hi Friends,
I would have posted in the bridging board except for the requirements to post certain info there.  I don't think it will be needed to answer my questions.  I make it a habit to read instructions ahead of whever step I'm on, so I haven't yet started to bridge.

One of the first things the manual says about bridging, is not to use the gallery before you bridge it, because bridging will cause any content that exists before bridging will be lost.

But a little further down, the manual says "Standalone version first" and it says to test the newly installed CPG before starting the bridge integration.  So I guess that's what I'll be doing next.  I guess testing registration and upload (and etc.) will involve creating a new user and I would guess, a new album, to hold at least 1 image.

But then the next section "Coppermine users, groups and pics uploaded by users are lost when integrating".  So that makes me think - oh great, then I won't have to delete the test user and test images later.....up until I get to the Summary of this section, which says:

"Summary:
Correlation between the actions that the unbridged coppermine users have performed and the "new" accounts from the app you bridged with is lost. Subsequently, you don't actually lose files that have been uploaded previously, but they appear to have been uploaded by a different user."

So I'm a little confused.  It sounds like the test images will still be there after finishing the bridge, but they will appear to be owned by someone else?  If that's the case, the test image(s) still will need to be deleted, right?  I suppose I'll be able to do that with admin permissions, no matter which forum member appears to own the image.  But I'm not clear what happens to the test new user, after the bridge is complete.

I've actually read those couple of paragraphs several times, and it just seems like I'm missing something.  Can someone please clarify all this for me?

Thank you very much 

[phill104]

When you bridge nothing is lost image wise. When you upload an image it has some information about it stored in the database. One of the information items is a user ID number. That ties the image to a user account. When you bridge the new applications user table is used instead of the Coppermine user table. Inevitably the new users table with have different ID numbers for each user so once bridged an image that belonged to one user will now belong to a different user. It is possible to manually manipulate the tables to restore images to the correct user. Not too hard if you have just a few users but as the user base increases that becomes a big task which is why we suggest bridging at the start.

[Αndré]

I suggest to perform your tests before bridging and then delete the test pictures and user(s) before you actually bridge.

[brynn]

I suggest to perform your tests before bridging and then delete the test pictures and user(s) before you actually bridge.

Ah-HA!!  Such a simple answer    When I'm doing something like this, that I've never done before, I really stick to the steps that are given.  And I have to say, CPG's user manual/documentation is some of the best I've seen anywhere -- and definitely the best I've seen as a fledgling webmaster/admin!!

Anyway, since it didn't say to delete them before starting the bridge, I thought there must be some reason for keeping them there, so that's why I was confused.  Plus the wording in that section is a little confusing.  Well at least it is to me.  But no worries, I'll learn little by little.

Anyway, thank you very much!  Now I can proceed with the bridging 

[brynn]

Hi again,
Sorry for marking this solved and then unsolved.  But I'm still pre-bridge.  For the life of me, I could not find any way to register a new user, for testing.  So while searching out how to do that, I came across the Getting Started page of the manual.  And also, that after installation is complete, that's where I was supposed to go.

So then I realized that the next step after installing the gallery (according to the manual) is to do all the config steps.  And that's what I was doing, until I got to setting up Registration.  From what I've read so far, the native user management of CPG gets dropped after the bridge, and the user management for the bridge app takes over.  So wouldn't registration happen via the forum, after the bridge?  It just makes me wonder if I should put off the config until after the bridge is finished.

I do see bridging further down under Basic Concepts on the Getting Started page of the manual.  But it just seems like setting up registration first might cause some confusion with the bridging, if registration will be taken over by my forum later.

Should I skip the config-ing and just do the bridge, or should I keep to the steps that are shown on Getting Started page?  Because unless I allow new user reg, I won't be able to test it.  But then what happens after the bridge, if I had allowed new user reg?

Sorry to be so confused about this 

[Αndré]

registration happen via the forum, after the bridge?

Correct. IMHO you worry to much, as it's probably simpler than you think. You don't need to delete your testing data before bridging. Any created/registered user still remains in the database, but that data is just ignored until you unbridge your gallery. The config is independent from the user management/bridging, so it basically doesn't matter if you change it to your needs before or after bridging. However, it's recommended to perform your tests (if needed at all) before bridging, as it's sometimes easier to debug if something doesn't work as expected.

[brynn]

Ok.  Thank you very much