I am running version 10.3.6.  I downloaded the portal_button_9596 mod.  I unzipped it, and there were 4 objects in it:
install.txt
Portalbutton.v2m
Admin2.pl
a folder labelled "Buttons"; the Buttons folder contained a folder labelled "Icons" and a file named portal.png
The Icons forder contained a file named portal.png

The install text said to upload portalbutton.v2m in ASCII to the Mods directory.  I did that
It said to upload the two gif files in binary to the appropriate folders; as there were no gif files, I took this to refer to the two "portal.png" files:  I uploaded each, in binary (the button to the Buttons folder in public_htiml; the icon to the icons folder in the buttons folder)

I logged onto my site, found the mod in the Modifications Center, ran a test install (got "code looks ok")  I ran an install.

No Portal button showed up.

Where did I go wrong?

Sorry, it's an old mod written for 10.3 and I didn't update the install.txt. You need to go into your Admin Center and tick the box Show Portal Button.

Took me a couple of minutes, but I found it in the Forum Settings/Main Preferences panel under "message posting," and that worked!  Thank you very much!

Is there a simple way to change the position of that button within the menu bar to move it next to the Home button?   (There's gratitude for you--solve their problems and they just go out and find a new problem to whine about. . .)

Not the way it is written, it adds it as it runs through routines just like the Admin and Help buttons are added.

OK--having the button at all is a big advance, so I'll quit whining.  And thanks again for your help!

Actually, ah-ha!  I found something else to whine about.  It doesn't seem to be accessing the .png images--when I have the large, boxed menu buttons enabled, there is no button for portal--just the "Show Portal" legend.  With the smaller, unboxed buttons-with-icons selected, it says "Show Portal" twice--once where the button text would be, once where the icon would be.  Can I adjust something so the icon image will show instead?

Can you post a link to your forum so we can see what is going on?

There should have been a folder called icons after unzipping.
the image in this folder needs uploading to your \blahdocs\images\icons folder.

Quoted from Martin

There should have been a folder called icons after unzipping.
the image in this folder needs uploading to your \blahdocs\images\icons folder.

OK.  I uploaded that image to the Icons subfolder I found in the Buttons folder in public_htiml.  I don't have my ftp program where I am at the moment, so I can't go look--but I gather that there is a separate Icons folder in blahdocs?  That would sure explain it!  I'll try that when I get home tonight--and thank you!

ThunderBucks:  It's a private forum which is in the process of being built (VERY slowly, since I don't know what I'm doing), but here is a screen shot of what displays:

Sometimes when an image is uploaded in the wrong mode they won't display. Try uploading the image again in BINARY and see if that works.

Um, as I stated in my initial post, I uploaded the images in Binary in the first place.

Alright, I'm stumped.
I left the portal.png in the blahdocs/buttons/icons folder, but also uploaded it to the blahdocs/images/icons folder, and I'm still not getting the icon image--I'm getting the double text image I posted above.
Both my blahdocs and my cgi-bin folders are INSIDE the public_html folder.  I tried moving them out of it and crashed the site (but restored it, my I'm learning a lot by screwing all this up!).  Long and the short of it is, I can't get the portal button to display.

Oh, and ThunderBucks--well, duh!  I realized you don't have to LOGIN to the site to see the problem, as the menu bar displays on the inital page.  So, if it helps any--the site is at http://www.dragonmoot.info/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?

It's probably pretty obvious by now that I'm not a programmer, and know squat about PERL.  I'll gladly accept ANY suggestions.  (and, yes, I have consistently uploaded the .png images in BINARY mode)

Thanks, folks.

upload it to /blahdocs/template/winter/buttons/icons/
you're using the Winter theme...

Ah HAH!  Yes, thank you, that worked.  And I have uploaded it to the other theme I have installed (Fancy Pink, which just makes me giggle incessantly), but I see that I don't need to upload it specifically to X2, because that's the default theme.  I like understanding stuff, even if it's not very deep understanding.  Thank you very much for your help.  I have a bad feeling I'll be back, but I honestly do try to comb the knowledge base before dumping my ignorance before y'all.  So, THANK  YOU again!

And a special thanks to ThunderBucks for suggesting the link so y'all could look at it!