Invision Power Board Configuration
The first thing you would like do after installing the forum is to perform some fine-tuning. We will deal with it in this tutorial section.
This is the basic looks of the admin panel. It might slightly differ from version to version but its functions remain the same:
Configure Email Functions in IPB
The first thing you can do is to configure the email functions of the board. This can be done from Tools & Settings -> Email setup (in the right frame window). You must use SMTP authentication method and to have a valid email box under your domain name hosted by IndicHosts.net. The configuration must resemble the following:
Customize Date & Time Formats in IPB
The next thing you would want to customize is the Date & Time formats and time offset. The server time cannot be changed, it is -5 GMT, however, IPB gives you the ability to set time offset. Once in the Tools & Options tab, right above Email setup click on Date & Time Format. Click on "Native Server Time Zone" dropdown box and select the correct time offset that corresponds to your time zone.
General Configuration and Meta Info
Next in the list of adjustable settings is the "General Configuration" right below Email setup in Tools & Options tab. The things that you'd like to adjust here are - Board Name, Website Name, Website Address - those are self explanatory, the important thing here is not to end with a trailing slash "/"any of the URLs or paths to directories. The rest of the settings can be left by default. Click on Update Settings at the bottom of the page when done. Next important settings are the User profiles. There are a few things you would like to change here
Allow HTML in signatures? - set to No as to avoid unsolicited ad messages
Allow BBCode in signatures - BBCode is important part of every board and it's a good idea to have it enabled; set to Yes.
Auto prune all topic subscriptions if the topic has no replies over [x] days - you might want to set a number of days after which unanswered messages will be deleted from the board. It's a good idea to keep the database clean from junk data that might slow down the forum.
The rest of the settings available under "Tools & Options" are self explanatory, however if you need detailed description of any of the other features, please contact our support team who will gladly provide you with more information.