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How to Hide Entire Forum

How can I hide the entire forum from the public view while I work on it? It's important that the forum is not viewable to anyone (not just the forums/activity/etc, the entire forum). I tried password-protecting the folder, but then the forum would not work (not compatible with the Vanilla htaccess file?). I also tried placing the forum in a separate subfolder and PPing the main folder with the same result.

TIA

Comments

  • vrijvlindervrijvlinder Papillon-Sauvage MVP
    edited July 2014

    Ok I suggest you use the Extrapage plugin and create an intro or whatever then make that page the landing page. Then make it so guests can't view anything in the roles and permissions and they get redirected to sign in.

    Also you can make the registration by invitation only and don't invite anyone until you are done.

    You can use the force redirect plugin to make it so if they try to view something it redirects to login and only allow the extra page as the landing page saying under construction or whatever you want.

    you can also make it a private community.

    $Configuration['Garden']['PrivateCommunity']=TRUE;

  • peregrine, if it is mandatory that we post our version, then make it a mandatory field in the post box. Arrogantly refusing help and lecturing the user after the fact only irritates the user.

    vrijvlinder, thanks for the advice, it is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, your suggestions aren't going to help, as I wish to hide the forum completely. I can't allow the user to see a landing page, a blank forum, or anything. I need the forum to be completely blocked unless the user has access. This is easily done via htaccess, but for whatever reason it breaks Vanilla when I do this.

    I'm using v2.1

  • peregrineperegrine MVP
    edited July 2014

    @MikQuattro said:
    peregrine, if it is mandatory that we post our version, then make it a mandatory field in the post box

    I would if it were my forum. I suggested that and so did others. Because it is not a mandatory field, many of the mods and responders, have to go through the added question, of "What is your version?".
    Also a link in the discussion post form for how to find your version would be useful. It seems you would want to help yourself help people answer your question correctly, and do so in the future.

    Seems like a good idea to follow advice on the the discussion posting message to me.

    its only mandatory for me , because I don't want to waste my time, since the version you are using can affect the answer - do what you choose? And I do what i choose. I just wanted to let you know.

    I would use closed for maintenance plugin, and modify it so you can log back in as admin, if it were me.

    http://vanillaforums.org/addon/maintenance-plugin

    you could change it if you want to re-login and you have a static or semi-static address or keep modifying config.php

    $Configuration['Plugins']['Maintenance']['LastIP'] = '127.0.0.1';

        class Maintenance  extends Gdn_Plugin {
    
    
    
            public function Base_Render_Before($Sender) {
    
    
    
            $currentIP = ($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']);
    
            $lastIP =  C('Plugins.Maintenance.LastIP');
    
            $sameIP = "No";
    
    
    
            if (   (isset($currentIP)) && (isset($lastIP))  && ($currentIP == $lastIP )  ) { 
    
                echo '<div style="color:#00FF00; background-color:red;text-align:center;"><b>The site is currently in Maintenance Mode</b></div>';
    
                return;
    
                }
    
    
    
                if ( Gdn::Session()->CheckPermission('Garden.Settings.Manage'))
    
                {
    
                echo '<div style="color:#00FF00; background-color:red;text-align:center;"><b>The site is currently in Maintenance Mode</b></div>';
    
                }
    
                else
    
            header( 'Location:'.$Url.'./plugins/Maintenance/closed.php' ) ;
    
        }
    
    
    
        public function Setup() {
    
             if ($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']) {
    
                    $remoteaddress = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
    
                     SaveToConfig('Plugins.Maintenance.LastIP', $remoteaddress);
    
               }
    
            }
    
        }
    

    I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.

  • LincLinc Detroit Admin
    edited July 2014

    @peregrine said:
    I would if it were my forum.

    And yet it's not, so your options are to ask politely when it's needed & not offered, or hold your piece. Not on the list: passive-aggressive or sarcastic retorts, especially when you yourself could look in his last thread and know damn well he's using 2.1. You badger everyone else about not searching first; the info you seek is in equally plain sight.

    Thread pruned.

  • LincLinc Detroit Admin

    @MikQuattro‌ Set Garden.UpdateMode = TRUE in the config. Make sure you are logged in with the owner account first; no one else will be able to access it but those with Admin=1 on the User table (separate from normal permissions). This works in all versions of Vanilla.

  • peregrineperegrine MVP
    edited July 2014

    @Linc said:
    in his last thread and know damn well he's using 2.1.

    thanks for the answer and pruning.
    I beg to differ and not passive-aggressively or sarcastically, he may have been using 2.1 in his last discussion, but, as you and I know, all in the span of a day, people use multiple versions, revert back to older versions, and upgrade, as has been noted in other discussion threads by other posters, where questions were answered with wrong version in mind, so I don't know, and I'm not clairvoyant. and since I don't have any version except 2.1, I can't test on any other versions, nor do I know if something will not work on any other version but 2.1.

    yes I could and should politely ask "What Version are you using?" since this is normally the first response (and probably the correct response to a user question and possibly a link to

    http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/26710/why-adding-your-version-is-more-important-than-ever

    and

    http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/26943/tutorial-how-to-determine-the-version-number-of-vanilla-that-you-are-using-for-your-own-forum

    , if they don't provide a version number of vanilla.

    And other viewers (presently as well as someone viewing thread 3 months from now) do not know what he was using as well. and the answer could very well be version specific. The answer provided today many not work in 2.5 of vanilla, when there is one.

    and I also will do my utmost to follow your advice in my future responses.

    edited: I modified my title.

    I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.

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