I tried to use the mod_rewrite as per the wiki instructions, but, I got through the creating the .htaccess file and changing the settings.pl file but when i went in to change the path in the admin control pannel, it gave me an error when I hit the Save button, saying the file could not be found.  with a bit of address bar messing i got it to save, but i got nowhere with using the shortened address.  At this point I undid all the changes I made, but now I have no themes....

They were showing up but if i selected one i got an error that the theme didn't exist.  Now they don't even show up, I have an un themed admin pannel and board and every time i press the search for new theme button I get :
Error
Sorry, but an error occurred. If you are unsure about how to solve this error you can contact the system administrator.
     The theme you chose is invalid.

My address is http://www.im-not.in/cgi-bin/forum/blah.pl
as you can see it says Theme not found! right at the top

please help...

Update....

It would appear that my themesList.txt file is now empty....
What should it look like with just the X2 theme installed?
Can I just replace this file with a generic copy to get my themes back or are there dependencies that will cascade and I would be better reinstalling the board from scratch.... please say I don't have to reinstall...

You must have a path error to the /blahdocs folder, this is the only way that a theme will not show, double check your settings.

Any chance you could post what they should look like in a standard install?

This is what mine looks like now.  I knew I should have copied it before I made any changes... sigh...
I only did a standard install with no additions until I put in an extra template... which worked fine until.... I tried to do the mod_rewrite. at which time I got the errors as posted earlier and could not roll back.
*please ignore the [url] [/url]tags... i had to put them in so the http would not resolve in the posting. they are not in my setup.

     
Change Forum Settings
Directories and Web Addresses
Change the locations of directories on this board.
Note: Do not add trailing slashes.
Directories
Root:                      .                       Directory
     This directory should contain the following directories: "Messages", "Members", "Prefs", "Mods", and "Themes".
Code:
          Directory
Boards:             ./code                Directory
Preferences:           ./Boards             Directory
Members:           ./Prefs               Directory
Messages:           ./Members         Directory
Languages:           ./Messages        Directory
Mods:                      ./Languages      Directory

Templates
Templates:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/      Directory
Templates:           template/                                        Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Avatar Directory
Avatars:           {blank}                                              Directory
Avatars:           /home/www/public_html                        Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

Global URLs
Forum Address:           [url]://www.mysite.in/cgi-bin/forum            [/url] Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
     If the mod_rewrite modification is turned OFF, you should add a trailing slash here.
Default Images:           {blank}                                              Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Default Buttons:           {blank}                                              Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Smilies:                       {blank}                                              Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
blahdocs:           [url]http://www.im-not.in/public_html/blahdocs [/url]       Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
blahdocs:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs                     Directory
Help:                                {blank}                                             Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

I'm sure that this:

Code Templates:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/                      Directory Templates:           template/                                                       Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

needs to be this:

Code Templates:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/                    Directory Templates:           http://www.im-not.in/blahdocs/template/          Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

Presuming that path is correct...

Thanks iCONICA, i tried that but it made no difference. sigh.

If your DOCUMENT_ROOT is correct then your path's in Settings.pl should look like this:

Code $images = "/blahdocs/images"; $simages = "/blahdocs/Smilies"; $avsurl = "/blahdocs/Avatars"; $avdir = "/home/www/public_html/blahdocs/blahdocs/blahdocs/Avatars"; $realurl = "http://www.im-not.in/cgi-bin/forum/"; $bdocsdir = "/blahdocs"; $helpdesk = ""; $languages = "./Languages"; $templates = "/home/www/public_html/blahdocs/template"; $templatesu = "/blahdocs/template"; $buttons = "/blahdocs/buttons"; $bdocsdir2 = "/home/www/public_html/blahdocs/blahdocs";

or in Admin Center:

Code Templates Templates:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/        Directory Templates:           /blahdocs/template/                           Uniform Resource Locator (URL) Avatar Directory Avatars:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/Avatars   Directory Avatars:           /blahdocs/Avatars                                    Uniform Resource Locator (URL) Global URLs Forum Address:    http://www.mysite.in/cgi-bin/forum/        Uniform Resource Locator (URL)      If the mod_rewrite modification is turned OFF, you should add a trailing slash here. Default Images:    /blahdocs/images                                Uniform Resource Locator (URL) Default Buttons:    /blahdocs/buttons                                Uniform Resource Locator (URL) Smilies:               /blahdocs/Smilies                                 Uniform Resource Locator (URL) blahdocs:           /blahdocs                                              Uniform Resource Locator (URL) blahdocs:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs             Directory Help:                                                                            Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

Tnakk you Martin,

At this point wiht the changes you showed me I now have proper formatting and all the images are showing up, but none of the buttons... and,
There is still no colours or borders etc.
When i go the the Theme Manager, no themes are available for me to choose from and when I click the search for new themes hyperlink (not yet a button) it tells me :  
Error
Sorry, but an error occurred. If you are unsure about how to solve this error you can contact the system administrator.
     The theme you chose is invalid.
As mentined before,

Quoted Text

It would appear that my themesList.txt file is now empty....
What should it look like with just the X2 theme installed?
Can I just replace this file with a generic copy to get my themes back or are there dependencies that will cascade and I would be better reinstalling the board from scratch.... please say I don't have to reinstall...

sorry, change:

Templates:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/        Directory

to:

Templates:           /home/www/public_html/blahdocs/template        Directory

Must have missed while copying and pastin.

Nope, still the same...
I still get Theme not found when i go to the site.
http://www.im-not.in/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?

PM me admin password if you want me to take a look.

Fixed, your DOCUMENT_ROOT was wrong.

Enjoy