I would use the dashboard>topics to bulk delete either prior to export or post import – if I were actually doing this, I would create a copy of the live site, take out the topics I didn’t want, and then export to the new beta, so that live remained complete with no risks.
and then I’d then run the tools>forums>repair to just do a tidy up, although probably not needed
Thanks Robin, this is exactly what I intended to do. Unfortunately that was not that easy.
First i decided to import via PHPMyAdmin the entire “user” and “user_meta” tables (just in case some users unsubscribed or changed their password meannwhile)
Then i entirely deleted (delete from trash as well) from my copy-prod website the oldest replies i already had on the beta website. In order to export/import to beta (the fact that you have to reassign one by one each author could be a big hassle if your forum has been very active)
Then i entirely deleted (delete from trash as well) from my copy-prod website the oldest subjects i already have on the beta website (note: dont remove subjects before replies). In order to export/import to beta.
I’m fortunate i did not have to deal with new forums.
I still have some inconsistencies to deal with, but overall it seems to work.
Next time i’ll need a beta website with bbpress I’ll definitively find another way.
great – thanks for posting your experience. Partial forum transfers are always difficult as there is lots of meta-data like counts and latest items that need to be correct at the end
