Migrating Agora3 to AgoraPro

 Before Migrating

1. Once again, make a Back Up of your Site before proceeding, paying attention to the Image Folders for Agora. These folders contain the User’s Avatars and Attachments that Users have uploaded to your Forum. After making the Back Up, go to the image folders of your Agora 3.** installation. Check the Avatars Folder, found in ROOT/components/com_agora/img/pre_avatars, to see if any of the files there end with .backup. If so, delete these files as they may interfere with the migration process and will also cause the migration to take longer. You should do the same for the folders containing the User’s Attachments, found in ROOT/components/com_agora/img/members/User ID/ and all other image folders. Also, some of the images may need to be moved manually after the migration process is completed. If you notice any other sort of Backup files in any of the Agora Folders, these should also be removed. To restore them you can simply make a Site backup after the migration is succesfully completed.

2. Install the latest Version of Agora 3.**

3. Run all the Database Tools that are supplied with Agora 3.** except for the “install clean Databank”. These are found in Joomla Admin/Components/Agora Forum/Maintenance/DB Tools/. Although the migration can be performed without running these Tools first, they may prevent some problems and will also result in the Migration being performed more quickly.

4. Install the Latest Version of AgoraPro. Please Note that the Migration is not possible with the AgoraPro Starter Pack, it is only possible with the Standard and Ultimate Packages.

5. Many of the Features that were included in the core of Agora 3.** are now included as Add-Ons in AgoraPro. In order to migrate all data, all Add-Ons should be installed before migrating. These are installed along with AgoraPro using the Standard and Ultimate Packages. The Standard Package does not include all Add-Ons, only the ones necessary for Migration, so you should make sure that all Add-Ons that you need are in the Package. If you have un-installed any Add-Ons after installing AgoraPro, the Data for these will be lost during Migration.

6. The migration process will migrate the Agora 3.** Database Tables, User Avatars, and User Attachments from a working Agora 3.0.155 Forum to AgoraPro. The migration will only work if the Agora 3.** Forum and the AgoraPro Forum are on the same Host Server and use the same Database.

7. Although it is recommended to migrate directly after installing AgoraPro, you can test AgoraPro first before migrating. During the migration the AgoraPro Database Tables will be emptied, so any Settings or changes made will be lost after the migration.

8. The migration of the Agora ACL (Groups and Group Permissions) will only work in AgoraPro if you are using the AgoraPro ACL for your Forum. If you have decided to use the Joomla ACL, you will need to re-create your Groups and the Permissions for each Forum after the migration.

Migration

1. Migration is a simple one-click process. To start the Migration, go to the Joomla Admin/Components/Agora Pro/Migration. Read the instructions that are shown in the Pop-Up and then close the Pop-Up when you have understood them.

2. On the left you will see “Actions” and underneath that “Start Migration”. Click on “Start Migration”.

3. A Pop-Up will appear asking if you are sure that you want to start the migration. Click “Yes”, and another Pop-Up will appear asking if you have read and understood the instructions. If so, then click “Yes”.

4. The migration process will now start. DO NOT HIT THE START BUTTON OR RELOAD THE PAGE WHILE THE MIGRATION IS RUNNING! The migration will inform you of its process and what is currently being migrated. It is important not to do anything on this page until the migration has been completed. Once completed, it will also be shown in the Log that the Migration was successful. Do not make any changes or leave this page until this is shown.

5. Since Agora 3.** and AgoraPro use different Database Tables, no data is lost in your Agora 3.** Forum so it can still be used while checking your migrated AgoraPro Forum.

After Migration

1. When the migration has been successful, then visit your Forum and check that everything looks okay and that Categories, Forums, and Topics that were in the Agora 3.** Forum are also now shown in the AgoraPro Forum.

2. Also check that User Avatars, Attachments and any other additional Images that you or your users have uploaded are also present, for example the Smilies.

3. Since many of the Features are now Add-Ons, some of these will need to be configured after the Migration. This will be explained further in the Add-Ons section.