FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Does BoardMod work on the Mac?
Unfortunately BoardMod does not run on the Mac. However do not panic, there are many options open to you. There is a program called 'Virtual PC' available, which will run Microsoft Windows, and all software for it on your Mac. This software does cost money however.

If you do not have Virtual PC - don't fear, you can still apply all your mods manually. The details are below, and also in the regular FAQ.
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2. How can I apply mods without using BoardMod?
Firstly you need a good text editor, BBEdit Lite 6.1.2 is the one I recommend, and it is available for free. There are versions for both Classic Mac OS9, and Mac OSX - Using TextEdit, or SimpleText is not recommended because they edit text using 'Rich Text Format' which can cause problems with the code.

You will need to 'drag & drop' the .pl files onto the BBEdit application icon to make it open them - In the preferences you will need to select 'UNIX style line breaks' and 'Translate Line Breaks Automatically' you should also make sure that 'Auto Indent' is DISABLED.

To actually apply the mods, follow these instructions:
Open the mod file, you will see that it is quite clear to read. Skip down to the first <edit file> tag. The file you should edit is listed between this tag and the </edit file> tag - Much like HTML. Example: Sources/AdminEdit.pl means that you should navigate into the YaBB Folder on your Hard Drive, open the Sources subfolder and edit the AdminEdit.pl file. Now, everything between this set of <edit file> tags and the next set is instructions on what you are supposed to do with the file, the format is quite literal. The first thing you will encounter is the <search for> tag. This is a simple one, just search for the contents of this tag. The next tag is one out of three, and they tell you what you should do with what you found:

<replace>: Replace what you searched for with the content of this tag.
</replace>

<add before>: Add the contents of this tag before what you searched for.
</add before>

<add after>: Add the contents of this tag after what you searched for.
</add after>

Continue like this with the file you opened until you encounter a new <edit file> tag. When you do, close and save the file you have edited, and open the new one.

When you have finished modifying all the files, you will need to upload them to your website, please make sure you have backup copies of all files in case something goes wrong. Feel free to use the FTP client of your choice, although I recommend Transmit. Make sure to upload in ASCII mode as well.
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3. Why is there not a version of BoardMod for Mac?
BoardMod is written in 'Kylix2 OE' and 'Delphi6' - There is no way to 'compile' this kind of code on a Mac, because there is no software to do this. A Mac version of BoardMod has been talked about, but there has been no development on it, and nothing is planned.
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4. How can I write Mods for YaBB, without the tools that are available with BoardMod?
It can take time to create mods using just BBEdit Lite, typing out all your <search for> tags can be very time consuming - it is possible though. The tools included with BoardMod only speed up this process. To learn more about the mod format, please check out the HowTo.
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5. Is a separate FAQ for Mac users really necessary?
I believe that it is necessary. It is important for Mac users to see that they have not been left out, and that even though there is no BoardMod for Mac, we are still able to modify our YaBB boards through other means. - I also think that is nice to show that Mac users have been thought about.

This FAQ is by no means a standalone document, and Mac users should also read the normal FAQ, as most of the concepts and ideas are cross platform. This FAQ is just meant to isolate some of the specific issues that face Mac Users.
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6. Who wrote this excellent FAQ?
This Mac FAQ was written by Andrew Aitken. The regular FAQ was written by Christer Jenson, and Michael Prager.
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If you have any Mac related queries, please feel free to send me a PM (LoonyPandora), I will be happy to troubleshoot your problems, I am a seasoned Mac user and work for Apple, so I feel I can solve most problems.

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