gizmo4321
01-30-2006, 10:00 PM
Purpose of this product
vBulletin supports the ability to use multiple styles or 'skins' for your web site. As long as all of the styles use the same basic color schemes, this is great, but what happens if you want to have several drastically different color schemes? Now you've got problems, because the various icons that are used either have harsh edges because they aren't anti-aliased into the background color properly, or else they have ugly looking edges for the same reason. vBulletin allows you to handle this to a degree by allowing you to specify different folders for the item status and attachment icons, the text editor controls, and the miscellaneous , polls, ratings, reputations, and buttons images in the StyleVars settings for each style. However, there is no provision for setting style specific folders for the rank or smilie icons, or icons that come from the 'icons' folder. In addition, although you can specify a title image for each Style, if you are like most sites, your title is actually composed of several images pasted together. This pasting of images requires you to make fundamentally the same change in every style even though the only thing that changes in each style is simply the path to the stored image, again, based on the style that you are using.
Capabilities
UnsupportedStylesDir now gives you the ability to have rank, smilie, and icon images per style. It also adds a new global variable ($USDHeaderImageStylePath) that you can use in your templates to set the path to your title graphics. Now you have the capability to have multiple styles with vastly different color schemes that can all inherit the same base template; no more template modifications to support what are essentially trivial changes.
Where Can I See It In Action?
The current version is running at www.aoaforums.com, if you want to see it. I hope you find it useful. As this is freeware, I cannot be expected to provide on-demand support. However, if you have a problem or need something added, I will do my best to try to help.
It was developed on vBulletin 3.5.1, and should work on newer versions (we are currently on 3.5.4)
Usage
To use, simply install the product from the AdminCP Plugins|Manage Products menu, then find the USD_INIT plugin from the AdminCP Plugins|Plugin Manager menu. Edit the plugin code, find the section near the top with the comment "User Configurables" and change your settings as necessary. The comments in the code should make everything clear (I hope).
Upgrade Instructions
To upgrade from a previous version, you'll need to go the the USD_INIT plugin, and copy everything between the
/*******************User configurables****************/
and the
/****************** End User Configurables**************/
markers. Once you've done that, import the updated product, go to the USD_INIT plugin, and paste what you copied from the old plugin back to this plugin, in the same spot.
Update History
1.0.5 - Initial Public Release
1.0.6 - Fixed minor bug with arguments to strncmp function
If you don't want to go through the upgrade process, go to the USD_INIT plugin and find the line with the strncmp statement, which will look like this:
$bDoReplacement = (strncmp($Temp, '<img src="') == 0);
and replace it with this:
$bDoReplacement = (strncmp($Temp, '<img src="', 10) == 0);
1.0.7 - Added style support for message editor icons
vBulletin supports the ability to use multiple styles or 'skins' for your web site. As long as all of the styles use the same basic color schemes, this is great, but what happens if you want to have several drastically different color schemes? Now you've got problems, because the various icons that are used either have harsh edges because they aren't anti-aliased into the background color properly, or else they have ugly looking edges for the same reason. vBulletin allows you to handle this to a degree by allowing you to specify different folders for the item status and attachment icons, the text editor controls, and the miscellaneous , polls, ratings, reputations, and buttons images in the StyleVars settings for each style. However, there is no provision for setting style specific folders for the rank or smilie icons, or icons that come from the 'icons' folder. In addition, although you can specify a title image for each Style, if you are like most sites, your title is actually composed of several images pasted together. This pasting of images requires you to make fundamentally the same change in every style even though the only thing that changes in each style is simply the path to the stored image, again, based on the style that you are using.
Capabilities
UnsupportedStylesDir now gives you the ability to have rank, smilie, and icon images per style. It also adds a new global variable ($USDHeaderImageStylePath) that you can use in your templates to set the path to your title graphics. Now you have the capability to have multiple styles with vastly different color schemes that can all inherit the same base template; no more template modifications to support what are essentially trivial changes.
Where Can I See It In Action?
The current version is running at www.aoaforums.com, if you want to see it. I hope you find it useful. As this is freeware, I cannot be expected to provide on-demand support. However, if you have a problem or need something added, I will do my best to try to help.
It was developed on vBulletin 3.5.1, and should work on newer versions (we are currently on 3.5.4)
Usage
To use, simply install the product from the AdminCP Plugins|Manage Products menu, then find the USD_INIT plugin from the AdminCP Plugins|Plugin Manager menu. Edit the plugin code, find the section near the top with the comment "User Configurables" and change your settings as necessary. The comments in the code should make everything clear (I hope).
Upgrade Instructions
To upgrade from a previous version, you'll need to go the the USD_INIT plugin, and copy everything between the
/*******************User configurables****************/
and the
/****************** End User Configurables**************/
markers. Once you've done that, import the updated product, go to the USD_INIT plugin, and paste what you copied from the old plugin back to this plugin, in the same spot.
Update History
1.0.5 - Initial Public Release
1.0.6 - Fixed minor bug with arguments to strncmp function
If you don't want to go through the upgrade process, go to the USD_INIT plugin and find the line with the strncmp statement, which will look like this:
$bDoReplacement = (strncmp($Temp, '<img src="') == 0);
and replace it with this:
$bDoReplacement = (strncmp($Temp, '<img src="', 10) == 0);
1.0.7 - Added style support for message editor icons