Download PMs to File (for all 2.x.x versions)"

[bira]

HACK UPDATED NOV 27TH 2001 - WORKS WITH ALL 2.X.X VERSIONS!

Since I was asked to make this available, here's my hack for downloading Private Messages (as many as you select) at once into a local txt file.

This is helpful if you need to clear out your PM folder(s) due to quota limitation, but don't want to lose those messages.

In effect, it works like an e-mail RFC archive.

Installation Instructions:

1. Open private.php.

Find:


if ($delete!="") {
$what="delete";
}


Immediately AFTER it put:


if ($download!="") {
$what="download";
}


Find:


}

// ############################### start delete ###############################


Immediately ABOVE it (make sure you put it ABOVE the } ) put:


if ($what=="download") {
if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

while(list($key,$val)=each($privatemessage)) {
$downloads=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT touserid,fromuserid,dateline,title,message FROM privatemessage WHERE privatemessageid='$key' AND userid=$bbuserinfo[userid]");
$tousername=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT username FROM user WHERE userid='$downloads[touserid]'");
$fromusername=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT username FROM user WHERE userid='$downloads[fromuserid]'");
$msgdt = vbdate($dateformat,$downloads[dateline]);
$msgtm = vbdate($timeformat,$downloads[dateline]);
$wordwrap = wordwrap($downloads[message],75,"\r\n");

print("Date/Time Sent: $msgdt, $msgtm\r\n");
print("From: $fromusername[username]\r\n");
print("To: $tousername[username]\r\n");
print("Subject: $downloads[title]\r\n\r\n");
print("$wordwrap\r\n");
print("================================================== ========================\r\n\r\n\r\n");


} //end while

} else {
eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("error_pmnoselected")."\");");
exit;
}
}


Note for Foreign Users: replace the words 'Date/Time Sent', 'From', 'To', 'Subject' in the above code with whatever wording in your language that suits you.

Save file and upload.

2. Edit template privfolder.

Find:


$massforwardlink


Immediately after OR before it (it does not matter), put:


or <input type="submit" class="bginput2" name="download" value="Download" style="background-color:#606096;color:#FFF788;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold">


Note for Foreign Users: replace the word "or" and the value "Download" with whatever wording in your language that suits you.


That's it!

Usage: select one or more messages in one of your Private Messages folder and click on "Download". You will be prompted to save messages.txt on your hard drive (a Windows filename & folder selection dialogue will pop up).

Cheers,

Bira

http://www.atlasf1.com/personal/bira/pm-download.gif

[bokhalifa]

good hack min;)

[conan]

Thanks a lot for the great hack!

[poil11]

Thanks for this great hack. i hope that you don't mind but i hacked it to work with wwwthreads. and i am going to use this in many many other things! good deal!

instead of it being message.txt i made that the subject of the post....

[the_sisko]

This is what a lot of my Users asked for!!!
THANKS A LOT!

[bira]

thanks :D

[Streicher]

Very good hack. No problems to hack in vB.

[smelialichu]

This is a great hack, just one problem though. When i click on download it displays the pm's in my browser and doesn't download it. i use IE 5.01 none of the other people on the board have reported the problem, ideas? I realise the problem is most likely at my end.

[bira]

Originally posted by smelialichu
This is a great hack, just one problem though. When i click on download it displays the pm's in my browser and doesn't download it. i use IE 5.01 none of the other people on the board have reported the problem, ideas? I realise the problem is most likely at my end.

smelialichu, I'm not sure where to point you to, but it has to do with your system/browser setting. Instead of prompting you to choose between save file or open it, it goes right ahead and opens it without asking. I'm not sure how you solve that as I am not familiar with win32 registry stuff.

You might want to check in your security settings (Tool -> Internet Options) that Download is enabled (general download, that is). Not sure about anything else.

In any case, I'd recommend upgrading to IE 5.5, which is a much better, faster and less buggy browser.

Cheers,

bira

[veedee]

Great looking hack.

I run about 7 styles on my website, does this mean i have to hack the templates 7 times ?

~veedee

[bira]

Originally posted by veedee
Great looking hack.

I run about 7 styles on my website, does this mean i have to hack the templates 7 times ?

~veedee

Do you actually have a different templateset for every style though?!?

Run a search in the Control Panel -> Templates for $massforwardlink. If you have more than one template with it, you can do a search/replace of


Search for: $massforwardlink
Replace with: $massforwardlinkor <input type="submit" name="download" value="Download">


At your peril though :)

[veedee]

yeah different templates :)

will do what you told me, cheers me dear :)

[smelialichu]

Abyone got any ideas on how to solve my prob? i got it so the filename includes the date. i can tell you how if anyone's interested, iy's fairly simple. In fact very simple

[bira]

Actually, wordwrap() is a built-in function in PHP.

Perhaps, though, it's only in PHP4 or something.

[slip]

i installed everything exactly as it should be done, yet when i try to download some pm's, i just get a blank page (completely blank, no errors)

any help?

[NORRITT]

Hi, if i click in the user cp on the link 'Private Messaging' I get just the following error messsage:

Parse error: parse error, expecting `T_STRING' or `T_VARIABLE' or `T_NUM_STRING' in e:\apache\apache\nsdocs\forum\private.php on line 695

[zarkov]

restore private.php and see if that works then rehack.
You probably deleted a , or } or something. :)

See my hack based on this one to Email the selected PM's to the registered email address here
http://161.58.84.213/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18991

[NORRITT]

I did it three times! :(

[zarkov]

did it work OK when you re up the original file?

[NORRITT]

yes

[zarkov]

Then it must be something to do with the hack, either your doing something wrong or possibly your using PHP 3 and it maybe it doesnt work with 3 ( that is only a guess as i have never tried it on 3).

[slip]

Originally posted by slip
i installed everything exactly as it should be done, yet when i try to download some pm's, i just get a blank page (completely blank, no errors)

any help?



can anyone help me?
I'm using PHP4 and I did everything like I should have..

[zarkov]

What browser you using?

I found that the code in the hack worked in IE 5 but not 5.5, I had to do a little digging around,But i assume its to do with http versions, IE 5 being http 1.0 complient and 5.5 being http 1.1 compliant.

I did work out and get it to work in IE.5.5 and netscape 4.7, but at the moment im at work and dont have access to the code, but ill post the changes later for anyone to use.

Please note that from mmy playing you can have it work in IE 5 or 5.5 but not both

[slip]

yup, i'm running IE 5.5

those code modifications that you did would be GREATLY appreciated..

[zarkov]

OK look for this code in private.php

if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=messages.txt");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

and replace it with

if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: uknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");


Dont forget to change the filename=messages.txt to what ever you want to call the downloaded file.

[Axel Foley]

Bira, first of all GREAT HACK! ;)

For Zarkov & Norritt & Slip & Bira :rolleyes: :

I had the same error as Norritt (Parse error: parse error, expecting `T_STRING' or `T_VARIABLE' or `T_NUM_STRING' in e:\apache\apache\nsdocs\forum\private.php on line 695), and it wasn't my fault, after a while I found out the error. I had to modify the last EVAL() in this way:


// Original code by Bira
eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("error_pmnoselected")."");");
exit;
}

// My modification
eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("error_pmnoselected")."\");");
exit;
}


One other thing: I use IE 5.5 and the hack works greatly without applying Zarkov's modifications.

[ezdreamer]

I tried this with version 2.2.0 but the only thing that came up was an empty page when I hit the pm section.

Will Bira's code work with 2.2.0 or could I be doing something wrong. I followed the instructions to the letter and nothing... :confused:

[Alien]

Wow, I never even saw this one..

Anyone have this working in recent versions? ...and did it require modification? I'd love to install this...

[amykhar]

I have it working on my board. It only required a bit of tweaking to make the button match other buttons on the form.

Amy

[Amasov]

I am running this hack on my 2.2.0 an it works perfectly (thanks @Bira, great hack)

Only one question:

How do I change the size of the "Download"-Button ??
(It's greater than the others, but I used the same style like the others)..

Thanks.

@ezdreamer:
Actually you did something wrong! :p

@Alien:
I ran this hack on RC2, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3 :)

[Sweet Evil]

Originally posted by smelialichu
This is a great hack, just one problem though. When i click on download it displays the pm's in my browser and doesn't download it. i use IE 5.01 none of the other people on the board have reported the problem, ideas? I realise the problem is most likely at my end.



Same Problem... :) (IE 5.0)

[Sweet Evil]

Originally posted by Zarkov
OK look for this code in private.php

if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=messages.txt");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

and replace it with

if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: uknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");



Dont forget to change the filename=messages.txt to what ever you want to call the downloaded file.

Thanks!.. this fixed the problem .. now it is a download.. :)

[Sweet Evil]

Originally posted by Amasov
I am running this hack on my 2.2.0 an it works perfectly (thanks @Bira, great hack)

Only one question:

How do I change the size of the "Download"-Button ??
(It's greater than the others, but I used the same style like the others)..

Thanks.

@ezdreamer:
Actually you did something wrong! :p

@Alien:
I ran this hack on RC2, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3 :)


Replace:
or <input type="submit" name="download" value="Download">

With:
or <input type="submit" class="bginput" name="download" value="Download" style="background-color:#336D95;color:#000000;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold">

But if you already made it look like the rest... (style=")

Then you just need to
Replace:
or <input type="submit" name="download" value="Download"

With:
or <input type="submit" class="bginput" name="download" value="Download"

[Amasov]

It was the


class="bginput"


Thanks a lot, Sweet Evil :) :)

[Sweet Evil]

Yea I was just trying to make it sound tech like.. (lol)

Just saying add (class="bginput") after (type="submit") did not sound very tech like..

Anyhow NP :D

[Alien]

Thanks for your responses everyone. :D

Installed, and working!

[ezdreamer]

In private.php

Find code:

eval("standardredirect(\"".gettemplate("redirect_pmdelete")."\",\"private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&folderid=$thisfolder\");");
}

But instead of the above I find this in private.php:

eval("standardredirect(\"".gettemplate("redirect_pmdelete")."\",\"private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&folderid=".intval($thisfolder)."\");");
}

What do I do now? :confused:

[jamie]

now now where can i get the hack for vb 2.0.3?

has it been deleted?

[jam583]

After adding the new code:

if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: uknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

I still get a white screeen

[JJR512]

Originally posted by ezdreamer
In private.php

Find code:

eval("standardredirect(\"".gettemplate("redirect_pmdelete")."\",\"private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&folderid=$thisfolder\");");
}

But instead of the above I find this in private.php:

eval("standardredirect(\"".gettemplate("redirect_pmdelete")."\",\"private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&folderid=".intval($thisfolder)."\");");
}

What do I do now? :confused:

For 2.2.1, find this:
eval("standardredirect(\"".gettemplate("redirect_pmdelete")."\",\"private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&folderid=".intval($thisfolder)."\");");
}
And make that replacement after that.

Note: Do NOT make the replacement after this:
eval("standardredirect(\"".gettemplate("redirect_pmdelete")."\",\"private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]&folderid=".intval($folderid)."\");");
} #end dodelete
Which is very similar and appears a few lines further down.

[DarkReaper]

Works great except for one thing:

When I click download, it saves it as private.php instead of messages.txt :confused:

[grumpy]

Originally posted by DarkReaper
Works great except for one thing:

When I click download, it saves it as private.php instead of messages.txt :confused:

Me too... It says it is going to save as private.php but if you save it, it will actually save as messages.txt. Odd for me though, as the first time I tried it it stated that it was going to save it as messages.txt. I decided to change the private.php so it would say forummessages.txt instead, and then it gave me that odd message. I changed it back to just messages.txt but it still says private.php when you attempt the dowload.

[bira]

REMOVE THE WORD 'ATTACHMENT'

I don't know why someone gave you the advice to change the content-disposition header to attachment type. THIS IS NOT AN ATTACHMENT.

Make sure the header line is:


header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: unknon/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");


And you will be prompted to save messages.txt (or whatever filename you gave).

[DarkReaper]

It still says private.php :(

[bira]

What browser/version are you using?

[DarkReaper]

IE 5.5

[grumpy]

removing the reference to attachments worked for me, it refers to the download as message.txt

[bira]

I have IE 5.5 and this is what I get:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/

make absolutely sure you have the following lines in private.php:


header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: unknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");


Again I say this: make sure that you DON'T have 'attachment' in the content-disposition header.

[DarkReaper]

I have that. Try it for yourself...

http://www.unrealtournament.org/forums/private.php?s=

[bira]

I can't try it -- I don't have access to your board and don't have PMs there :)

Do you have a testing account I can use? You can PM me the details if you like.

You can also e-mail me at goren@atlasf1.com your private.php file and I'll take a look at it

[Pady]

thanx Bira, got it installed and it works a charm!

[Nam]

Bira, the code you've changed didn't for me, I have 2.2.1 and it says error, I had to use your old code (luckily I did save it) to make it work :(. What's wrong with updating?

[bira]

Nam, what error did it give you?

[Nam]

I don't remember exactly, because I have put back the old code (the first one) to my board, it says some thing about parse errer on the line 748 ( the line that has close } at the end) just right above the ############ line.

Sorry for replying late.

[Lionel]

I am using version 2.21 and I also get the error on line 749. Line 749 is the "}" aove start delete.

When I remove it completely I do not get the parse error but when I try to download it opens the text file in the browser IE 6.02.26

[bira]

Take a look at the first hack and compare the code you got to the one you copied. I just edited that post and made it more clear

[Lionel]

I added the first line and put the } back. I do not get the parse error but it was opening the text in browser. So I changed it as per below. But what is weird, when I click the download, it tells me that I am downloading private.php. If I click open, then a second dialog box comes up telling me that I am downloading message.txt Is that the way it supposed to be? (double dialog box)

if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: uknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

[Lionel]

I removed "attachment" as per previous post.

header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: unknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

The original post was showing like that:

header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");

Thanks... great hack.

[Streicher]

Is it possible to change this hack, so that the users can download the PM's HTML formatted?

[Lucky]

Wicked!

Loving this one!

Thanks.

[Una Persson]

After doing the initial hack, then several of the fixes posted later on, it seems to be working very well for me.

[eva2000]

Originally posted by bira
I have IE 5.5 and this is what I get:

http://www.atlasf1.com/personal/bira/pmdownload-ie.gif

make absolutely sure you have the following lines in private.php:


header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
header("Content-type: unknown/unknown");
header("Pragma: no-cache");
header("Expires: 0");


Again I say this: make sure that you DON'T have 'attachment' in the content-disposition header. bira your original post has the headers different from the ones i quoted... had to change them from your original post to be able to download the pms

[Warlord]

I just installed it and when I try to download a pm it just takes me to a web page which contains the private message . How do i change it to the orgional version that prompted you to save it as a tet file?

[Warlord]

bump

[Warlord]

bump

[Warlord]

Okay well since no one wanted to help wittle old me, after reading this thread over again, I did some messing around with private.php and got it working the way I wanted it too. But for some reason the file name to be downloaded is private.php instead of messages.txt...

oh well...

[Princeton]

Another great hack ... thank you. Just installed with no problems.:)

[DScollon]

Fantastic feature to add to the board. Installed it with only the problem of the webpage appearing rather than the download, which I've now fixed with the help of this thread. Well done and thanks.

[Regs]

Is there anyway to hack this in such that it is only available to certain group(s)? I'd like to offer it as a 'premium'-type feature.

Cheers,

~Regs.

[freehtml]

Originally posted by smelialichu
This is a great hack, just one problem though. When i click on download it displays the pm's in my browser and doesn't download it. i use IE 5.01 none of the other people on the board have reported the problem, ideas? I realise the problem is most likely at my end.

I am using IE 5.5 and i also encounter this...

[Logician]

Thx pal, it is a very nice hack! :)

I have a suggestion: Wouldnt it be nice if you modified it so that it can used for normal forum messages as well? ;) So members would be able to download/save a thread to their computer easily.. Just a thought..

Regards,
Logician

[TheCaver]

Originally posted by freehtml


I am using IE 5.5 and i also encounter this...

Me too. The fix is pretty simple. Your browser probably knows how to handle the octet-stream type. Simply change it to make it ask you.

Change "octet-stream" to just "stream" and see what happens :)

JC

[-=dm=-]

Im getting the blank page private.php page.
it worked for me yesterday, but I have just upgraded to v2.2.2

anyone?

[r.cakir]

I tried this Hack in Mac OS X 10.1.3 with IE 5.1.3 and it doesn't work for me. If i click in the user cp on the link 'Private Messaging' I get just a Parse error on line 715 in private.php. Can somebody tell me, if this hack works only with windows, or is Mac OS X also supported? :confused:

[LamBras]

Doesn't work with 2.2.4
Parse error on the starting line on if?($download!="")?{
????$what="download";
??}

Is this hack still being worked on, or any advice how I could make it work with 2.2.4? Thanks.

[Robert]

Originally posted by LamBras
Doesn't work with 2.2.4

Works fine with 2.2.4, double check that you placed the code hack in the right place in your private.php

[LamBras]

I will retry this evening, thanks.

[LouChipher]

don't usw this... every user can see and download all pns...

[TWTCommish]

Uh, what? How can they see your PMs if you're downloading them to your hard drive?

[LouChipher]

there is a bug in the script which everyone can use...

[bart]

I changed the script a little:


if ($what=="download") {
if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
// header("Content-disposition: filename=messages.txt");
// header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
// header("Pragma: no-cache");
// header("Expires: 0");

while(list($key,$val)=each($privatemessage)) {
$downloads=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT touserid,fromuserid,dateline,title,message FROM privatemessage WHERE privatemessageid='$key' AND userid=$bbuserinfo[userid]");
$tousername=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT username FROM user WHERE userid='$downloads[touserid]'");
$fromusername=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT username FROM user WHERE userid='$downloads[fromuserid]'");
$msgdt = vbdate($dateformat,$downloads[dateline]);
$msgtm = vbdate($timeformat,$downloads[dateline]);
$wordwrap = wordwrap($downloads[message],75,"\r\n");

$dump .= "\r\nDate/Time Sent: $msgdt, $msgtm\r\n";
$dump .= "from: $fromusername[username]\r\n";
$dump .= "To: $tousername[username]\r\n";
$dump .= "Subject: $downloads[title]\r\n\r\n";
$dump .= "$wordwrap\r\n";
$dump .= "\r\n============================================== ============================\r\n";

} //end while

mail("$bbuserinfo[email]","Download Private Messages","$dump","From: Title of your board <no_reply_emailaddress>");

eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("pm_download_complete")."\");");
exit;

} else {
eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("error_pmnoselected")."\");");
exit;
}
}



Now the messages are send to the users emailaddress. In the template "pm_download_complete" you can warn them to check the email before deleting the messages.

[LouChipher]

@ bart, search the bug...
every user can see and download all pns... ;)

[bart]

Guess you're right, Lou. Thanks for your warning (though less for making it a puzzle).

Does this solve it?


if ($what=="download") {
if (is_array($privatemessage)) {
$pms = implode(",",array_keys($privatemessage));
$downloads=$DB_site->query("SELECT touserid,fromuserid,dateline,title,message FROM privatemessage WHERE privatemessageid IN ($pms) AND userid=$bbuserinfo[userid]");
while ($pm = mysql_fetch_array($downloads)) {
$tousername=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT username FROM user WHERE userid='$pm[touserid]'");
$fromusername=$DB_site->query_first("SELECT username FROM user WHERE userid='$pm[fromuserid]'");
$msgdt = vbdate($dateformat,$downloads[dateline]);
$msgtm = vbdate($timeformat,$downloads[dateline]);
$wordwrap = wordwrap($pm[message],75,"\r\n");

$dump .= "\r\nDate/Time Sent: $msgdt, $msgtm\r\n";
$dump .= "From: $fromusername[username]\r\n";
$dump .= "To: $tousername[username]\r\n";
$dump .= "Subject: $pm[title]\r\n\r\n";
$dump .= "$wordwrap\r\n";
$dump .= "\r\n============================================== ============================\r\n";
} //end while
mail("$bbuserinfo[email]","Download Private Messages","$dump","From: BOARD-TITLE <EMAILADDRESS>");
eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("pm_download_complete")."\");");
exit;
} else {
eval("standarderror(\"".gettemplate("error_pmnoselected")."\");");
exit;
}
}

[LouChipher]

looks bad... one of my moderators tell u what's wrong. btw he release a secure template version (save pms as a html file) in a few days.

lou

[Cano2]

Hi,
sorry forposting so late... didn't have much time


The most importent rule in web-programming is "never trust user input". But this rule is ignored here, so injection of SQL statements is possible...

[detailed description removed]

I have postet a very simmilar hack with enhanced functionality (templates...), which should be safe (uses verifyid() ) here: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37172

[bart]

Oops.

Thanks for your reply Cano. I'll switch to your version soon as I have the time.

I couldn't do what you suggest is possible, but the thought of it maybe being possible is more then enough.

Maybe you should remove your post to not give someone a bad idea.

[Boofo]

Thanks zarkov, that fixed it. :-)

[Boofo]

Thanks for the great hack, bira! I am in the process of getting the board ready to go up and this will be a great addition and surprise for everyone. Keep up the great work!

[Dark Shogun]

I got a error. Does anyone know how to fix this? I have Ver. 2.2.6.

Parse error: parse error, unexpected $ in /home/blarg/public_html/forum/member.php on line 1638

Dark Shogun

[Boofo]

Show us the code a few lines up and a few lines after the error and we'll see if we can spot the problem.

Originally posted by Dark Shogun
I got a error. Does anyone know how to fix this? I have Ver. 2.2.6.

Parse error: parse error, unexpected $ in /home/blarg/public_html/forum/member.php on line 1638

Dark Shogun

[Dark Shogun]

That reply via email thing double posted.

Dark Shogun

[Dark Shogun]

Problem fixed. It had nothing to do with this hack after all.

Dark Shogun

[Dark Shogun]

1 Problem with the hack. When it emails it to me it says it is from my server email address not my domain email address.

It says:

From: EMAILADDRESS@server10.alwayswebhosting.com (BOARD-TITLE)

Dark Shogun

[gmarik]

Is there a way not to change the icon?
I mean the one with the floppy-disk or is it only on vb.org?