MyBBThemes Community

I'm a MyBB noob, and so when I first imported a theme to my MyBB forum I spent a couple of hours figuring out how to install it. It's actually so easy, no one has ever thought to write a guide, nor did I find it in the documentation. But if you've never done it before, you may have the same trouble I did. So I decided to write a guide for it.

1) First you must download a theme. You can get many cool themes from mybbthemes.8ez.com, and also from community.mybboard.net.

2) They usually come zipped, so you'll want to unzip your new theme someplace convenient. There will be an .xml file that you'll need to find later, and usually a folder or folders with other assets, such as image files.

3) Now go into your Admin Control Panel (ACP). In the menus on the left side, choose Themes->Import.

4) On this page, there is a browse button next to the "File:" box. Browse to the .xml file that you unzipped in step 1. Select this file. Any other assets are also imported automatically. You just have to select the main .xml file.

5) You can also make a custom name for the theme, or leave the "Custom Name" box blank and the theme will get it's name from the theme itself. -- Edit 15 Sept 07 -- I've since found that not importing the theme with a new name can be problematic later. When trying to modify the theme and it's templates, it's best to have made a new name for the theme. -- end edit --

6) You'll probably need to select "Yes" at the "Ignore Version Compatibility" check box. I don't know all the details about what themes work with which versions. However, I had just installed the latest MyBB version (1.2.8), which was brand new when I installed it. I downloaded and installed 4 themes. Each one threw an error and wouldn't install until I selected "Ignore Version Compatibility", after which they installed and worked fine. Probably themes made for 1.2.x will work on any 1.2.x version installation. But that's just a guess.

7) Press "Import Theme". You'll get a screen that will tell you that the theme installed, or if not, why not.

Test the theme:

8) Login to your User Control Panel (User CP).

9) Select "Edit Options" from the left side menu.

10) At the bottom right of this page under "Other Options", you'll see a drop-down box with the heading "Board Style". Select the name of your new theme here.

11) Press "Update Options" at the very bottom of the page. You'll see your new theme.

If you don't like it, just re-do steps 10 & 11, selecting the previous theme.

12) Go back to the Admin CP, and select Themes->Modify/Delete from the left side menu.

13) Find your them in the theme list, and using the drop-down box next to it, select "Set as Default", if you want the new theme to be the default theme for your forum, or "Delete Theme", if you found you don't like it.

Some forums have many themes so their users can select the ones they like the best.

You're done.

14) Have a beer.

Local Filename:
Theme Import Options
Custom Name
If left blank, the name specified in the theme file will be used.
Parent Theme
Import Custom Templates
If this theme file includes custom templates, do you want to import them? Yes No
Ignore Version Compatibility
Do you still want to install this style even if it is for a different version of myBB? Yes No


Well here is a copy and paste of what i saw in import so you can get the idea that there is no browse button its just a drop list of ready made themes from BB. im baffled :'(

Well, I'm sure it's a simple fix, but above what you pasted into your post, you should see: "File:" with a box next to it, and a button next to that that says "Browse...". Pressing the "Browse..." button allows you to browse to the xml file, and the rest of the import process happens automagically.

If you don't see the "File:" line as I've described it, it sounds like something else is wrong, such as you are logged in without full permissions of an admin, or something like that. You'd have to debug that with a MyBB person higher on the food chain than me.

Great Tutorial! Now i can use custom themes from this website!!

useful thank you any ca

My board doesn't have an import link at all, any thoughts?

(It's not a permission issue, I created the board. My only guess is because I used a free host, but as far as I know that shouldn't make a difference like this.)

No, the hosting is not an issue. If you can create the bulletin board, and it runs, then hosting isn't an issue. I'm assuming your BB works.

You might try starting over on your theme import. Import a simple theme, like firefoxwiz's MyBBDream theme. Follow the directions carefully and try again.

There's a screenshot from my ACP, is that where the Import link is supposed to go?

I don't know why it wouldn't be there, but try this. ACP > Themes > Modify / Delete. An Import button should be at the top beside the other two buttons.

My screenshot:
[attachment=1042]

I don't have an Import button there either. I'm beginning to think that feature is missing on the host I used.