Question [Merged topic] Re-ordering/resequencing categories

I have also edited messages #38234, #38235 and #38236 in which was posted a complete database dump. That was unnecessary and did not improve comprehension of the problem. The question that Matias asked (#36885) and that xillibit attempted to clarify, was whether you could bundle the data into a package (a ZIP file, for example) that you could attach for further investigation. It is nearly impossible using text cutting and pasting techniques to guarantee an accurate representation of the current state of your database.

I am not an expert with SQL. I am sure that, in the hands of a skilled SQL "surgeon", having a complete dump of all your jos_fb_* tables will be fascinating reading. Unfortunately, you've got "ol' butter fingers" here and I tend to faint at the sight of blood. :laugh: Rather than pursue this avenue of investigation, I would prefer to take more lateral approach. In other words, instead of recommended deep exploratory surgery, I would rather you show me where it hurts. Would it be possible for you to post the URL of your website so that we can see the extent of the problem? Your active participation in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sozzled,

Thank you for your replies. I very much appreciate your help.

My website url is:

www.collegewagontrain.com/cwt2

Once on the website, you can select 'Ride Share Forums' from the main menu to go to my Kunena Forums.

(You will probably want to register (free) on the site to see the full extent of the forums I have set up.)

Once you are at the forums, if you look at the 'Board Categories' pull down menu, you will see all the forums I have set up along with their correct sequencing. This reflects how I have structured the forums in the back end.

However, if you look at the sequencing of the forums in the Front End display, you will notice that they are not displayed in the same sequence as the back end. Specifically, the States should be listed alphabetically, yet they are not. And, the forum titled 'Add A College' should be listed first yet it is being displayed last.

Also, anytime I either add or delete even one forum, the sequencing of ALL the existing forums gets scrambled and I need to spend a couple hours re-sequencing everything.

Please let me know if this helps with your pre-op surgical procedures!

I will talk to my server administrator tonight about getting a .zip file of the date base extracts you asked about.

Thanks again!

Mainiac

There are several ways of tackling this problem but, basically, what you want to do is to sort your categories, forums and topics in alphabetical sequence. Have I got the problem statement right?

The problem, however, is compounded when you add a new topic. The new topic will appear in chronological sequence. I think that's something you're just going to have to accept. This is the basis of what discussion forums are about. People want to see the latest messages, not necessarily the organisational hierarchy of the forum. OK, let's leave the philosophy aside for a moment.

Back to the problem. It may be possible to save the patient. It may also be necessary to let the patient depart in peace so that we can save the entire population. In other words, your current site, that you have spent time in building, may need to be overhauled and the categories repopulated. Let's also leave this possibility alone for a little while longer.

The trick, it would seem to me, is to find some other way of presenting your forums: in alphabetical order. This, as you probably know, doesn't exist "natively" in Kunena and that's why you've gone to the trouble of adding your forums in the more natural sequence. Somewhere along the line, you interrupted the natural flow (you deleted a forum) and that's when things unravelled.

I'll have a look - I can't promise anything - but your case illustrates the benefit of having forum categories listed alphabetically, not sequentially by cat-id.

I've discussed this matter with the development team. The prevailing opinion is that deleting a forum should not affect the order of the other forums. Meanwhile, I can only say that this issue is being investigated.

Thank you for all your help...I really do appreciate it (and your sense of humor)!

I have talked to my server guy and asked for another dump of the tables only in .zip format this time. I'll post them here as soon as I get them.

Thanks again!

Thank you. Please do not post the dump here unless we specifically ask for it.