Product Review Forums ? Research, Review & Compare Items

[Ted S]

Version 1.4.0 has been released to remove the giftery / list it integration of the addon now that service has been discontinued. No upgrade is needed though there have been a few other bug changes since 1.3.5.

Finding Feedback Can be Like a Needle in a Haystack

The more your forum grows, the more of a challenge it becomes to sort through the history and get the full story.

Product Review Forums Brings Structure to the Chaos

As a full-featured product management addon, PRF sits on top of your forum allowing you to create defined products which, unlike individual posts, stay relevant over time. Each comment, review and even product updates filter back into this one spot allowing for a quick and comprehensive overview while the individual discussions rage on as always.

Here's just a few of the many features you'll find in PRF:
Bring structure to products with established pages & reviews
Reduce the number of repetitive posts from members looking up the same info
Increase your traffic with content-rich, seo friendly, product listings
Drive revenue by adding your own affiliate links to product listings
Increase the activity stream's value with review integration

Engage visitors with integrated wishlists from Giftery.me===========================

Installation is not upload & go... individualized settings are required. Read the install file.

===========================
QUICK TIPS:
===========================

Enabling Product Forums: To show product details and ratings, each product-forum must be enabled in the forum manager.

Adding Products: You may upload products one at a time through the admin or you can bulk import through XML. You can also enable users to add [I]moderated products through a global and usergroup option.

Product Review Index: To access your forum's product overview go to www.yoursite.com/productforums.php (http://www.yoursite.com/productforums.php) - You may want to add a link to this to your navbar or as a tab.

Customization: This addon is made to be customized. To change the color schema see clientscript/vbulletin_css or dive right on in to the templates and phrases.

Powered by Giftery.me: This mod is maintained includes two integrations you should know about. Both can be controlled through the mod options.

[Ted S]

More answers on getting started and customizing PRF can be found in the Install Guide (http://www.giftery.me/productforums/howto/)

How does this mod work?
Rather than waiting for a user to open up a new thread talking about a product or service, you create a single “master” thread through your Admin Panel. This automatically creates a product record which shows up in a formatted, easy to follow section above the newly created thread containing an image, title, price and all sorts of other details.

Users looking for information can then turn to this single thread to get an overview snapshot, post a follow up question, and of course click over to write their own review or browse the existing ones.

How do reviews work?
Each time a user reviews a product, the main thread is updated both to include the review into the summary and with a post of the detailed comments. If you chose to do so, a separate thread can also be created in a different forum to increase conversation on the review.

Will this help me get more traffic / search engine rankings?
When users [or search engines] go looking for information what they want is clear, relevant and recent information. By moving conversation into a single thread this is provided in a digestible way that users are more likely to click on, search engines find easier to pick out over thousands of similar posts. Plus reviews are prime for sharing, discussing and passing around. So yes, this should increase traffic.

Can I have non-product threads in the same forum?
You can allow other threads in the same forums however this is likely to confuse your users as they will not see the product header bar and is not recommended.

Can I use this mod for displaying more than just standard products?
Sure. Anything that has consistent information and can be reviewed will work… whether your forum covers cruises, day spas or home repair services, this mod will fit the bill.

What fields can I fill out on each product?
1. Product Title
2. MSRP Price
3. Affiliate Shop URL & Title
4. Short & Long Description
5. Product Image [now uploadable]
6. UPC / ISBN / SKU for easy searching

How do I get the customized forums like in your images?
The install guide explains this in detail but sufficient to say it requires a quick code change to your forumdisplay script. We wish this wasn't the case but for now that's the only way to completely override the thread listings.

How does the activity stream get impacted?
Products and reviews are regular posts... sort of. To avoid odd looking updates we hide all of the activity from PRF in your activity system and instead create our own records written to reflect what's really happening each time an item is reviewed. Simple, and if we can say so... pretty slick.

[Ted S]

Held for Variables & Customization

[Ted S]

This post contains a list of suggested / planned features.

Planned Changes [Week of 1/16]
- Link to reviews in each user's profile [optional]
- Tab with a list of user's recent reviews [optional]
- Alternative star image colors
- WYSIWYG editor for writing a review

Planned For the Next Major Release [TBD]
- Image Uploading & Resizing

Other Suggestions I'm Aware Of
- Multiple update "types" [reviews, news, fact, question] w/ inline comments and sorting of posts
- Custom fields to add to reviews
- Additional images
- Additional videos
- Custom rating groups [service, reliability, appearance, etc]
- Product thumbnails on search listing page
- Sidebar widget with most recent reviews
- Sidebar widget with top products from the past X hours

[TheLastSuperman]

Been waiting for this, downloading now ;).

[mmackinnon]

Tried to install and got this:

Database error in vBulletin 4.1.4:

Invalid SQL:
ALTER TABLE user ADD productreviews INT UNSIGNED NULL;

MySQL Error : Table 'crna_vbulletin.user' doesn't exist
Error Number : 1146
Request Date : Tuesday, September 6th 2011 @ 09:38:07 PM
Error Date : Tuesday, September 6th 2011 @ 09:38:08 PM
Script : http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/admincp/plugin.php?do=productimport
Referrer : http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/admincp/plugin.php?do=productadd
IP Address : 68.98.69.63
Username : ADMIN
Classname : vB_Database
MySQL Version : 5.1.39-log

[thecore762]

Will test this out this weekend!
Looking forward to this!

[Ted S]

Tried to install and got this:

Database error in vBulletin 4.1.4:

Invalid SQL:
ALTER TABLE user ADD productreviews INT UNSIGNED NULL;

MySQL Error : Table 'crna_vbulletin.user' doesn't exist
Error Number : 1146
Request Date : Tuesday, September 6th 2011 @ 09:38:07 PM
Error Date : Tuesday, September 6th 2011 @ 09:38:08 PM
Script : http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/admincp/plugin.php?do=productimport
Referrer : http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/admincp/plugin.php?do=productadd
IP Address : 68.98.69.63
Username : ADMIN
Classname : vB_Database
MySQL Version : 5.1.39-log


Looks like I'm missing the prefix check. Pesky prefixes...

1.0.1 beta coming in a few minutes.

[Ted S]

Very minor update released to address table prefix issues with the installer.

This only impacts those using prefixes.

[Sforums]

This looks very promising!
At our forum we have many vendors selling multiple products. Each vendor has it's own subforum. Does this mean I can have this mod implemented in each of their subforums?

[Ricsca]

Demo?

[ProFifaLeagues]

Working superb for us on 4.1.3
thank you!
Anyway we can change the list price from $ to the £ sign?

[Ramsesx]

Very interesting, will checking it out in some minutes.

[Ramsesx]

If I click at "be the first to write a review" get following db error:
Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:

SELECT pf.threadid,pf.title,pf.reviews,pf.rating,pf.price ,pf.short_desc,pf.mfrg,pf.upc,pf.sku,thread.forumi d
FROM vb3_pf_product as pf
JOIN vb3_thread ON pf.threadid = thread.threadid
WHERE productid = '1' AND active = 1;

MySQL Error : Unknown column 'thread.forumid' in 'field list'
Error Number : 1054
Also the tools menu is below the product listing and the manufacturer is not visible.
The above error is only if I have in the acp "Create New Thread on Review" set to no.
If it is set to yes I get the message "This feature is not configured yet. Please check back soon." if trying to write a review.
And if I add a forum ID in the acp setting "Review Thread Forum ID" get above db error again.
There are also db errors when clicking at "Manage" in "Manage Product Reviews Forums" (value 0)
Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:

SELECT COUNT(productid) AS count
FROM vb3_pf_product
WHERE pf_product.productid <> 0;

MySQL Error : Unknown column 'pf_product.productid' in 'where clause'
Error Number : 1054

[Mr_Running]

must create products in order for the mod to show up

Where do we create the products?

[Ramsesx]

acp

[Mr_Running]

Thanks It was right in front of me...lol :)

[Mr_Running]

Template code showing up in the review post?

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->
Review here
<!-- END TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->

[starman?]

Installed - looks promising but I'm wondering how I could adapt this for restaurant reviews?
I'm also get a code error when posting a review but failed to capture an image in time. I'll post it soon if I can grab it quickly enough.

[preemz10314]

thank you for this, needed this for affiliate products...appreciate it.

[Ted S]

This looks very promising!
At our forum we have many vendors selling multiple products. Each vendor has it's own subforum. Does this mean I can have this mod implemented in each of their subforums?

Yes!

If you elect to have reviews create new threads they will all be placed in one forum but you can have as many product forums [with reviews showing up as post replies to each product] as you like.

[Ted S]

Demo?

Is there another screenshot you would like to see?

[Ted S]

Where do we create the products?

Via your Admin Control Panel. Once installed you will see an area "Product Review Forums" with a manager and add product feature.

[Ted S]

thank you for this, needed this for affiliate products...appreciate it.

No problem.

Are you using a feed for your affiliates? Perhaps we can build a bulk importer in

[Ted S]

Template code showing up in the review post?

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->
Review here
<!-- END TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->

The code is from this mod but the comments are not. Do you have something installed that comments each mod's code?

[Ted S]

Installed - looks promising but I'm wondering how I could adapt this for restaurant reviews?
I'm also get a code error when posting a review but failed to capture an image in time. I'll post it soon if I can grab it quickly enough.

Error codes there generally mean a fault with the new thread so please let me know.

And yes, you can use this for any type of review... there's really no limit. We'll be changing the price field to a string so you can simply put in a price range of $, $$, $$$ type indicators on cost.

[Ted S]

Working superb for us on 4.1.3
thank you!
Anyway we can change the list price from $ to the ? sign?

Sure.

The $ sign is managed by a phrase... prodforums_priced

You can edit it in your phrase manager.

[Brandon Sheley]

nice mod!

* Brandon Sheley tags

hmm.. the /me tag doesn't work now? :(

[Ted S]

If I click at "be the first to write a review" get following db error:
All of your errors are related to table prefixes... A pesky but sometimes necessary option.

Complete review of all queries and update coming shortly.

[ProFifaLeagues]

Sure.

I'll add a new symbol option to version 1.0.2


Thank you Ted :up:

[Ted S]

Thank you Ted :up:

Sorry, you can edit this with the phrase manager... Just change prodforums_priced

[Ted S]

Released update 1.0.2 beta

- Fixes issues with table prefixes [hopefully all of them :D]
- Changes price field to a string. You can use prices (x.yy), uk prices (x,yy), ranges (xx-yy) or buckets ($,$$,$$$,$$$$).

This is a minor release. XML, /upload/productforums.php and /upload/admincp/productforums.php have all been updated.

[Ramsesx]

Thanks for the quick upgrade Ted.
Manage Products gives still the error:
Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:

SELECT COUNT(productid) AS count
FROM vb3_pf_product
WHERE pf_product.productid <> 0;

MySQL Error : Unknown column 'pf_product.productid' in 'where clause'
Error Number : 1054
And if I write a review it creates a duplicate in forum ID 2.
The rating image doesn't show, leads to /images/pf/stars-green-4.png
Why do I have to add a Nickname?

[Ted S]

Manage Products gives still the error:
Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:
MySQL Error: Unknown column 'pf_product.productid' in 'where clause'


Sorry about that. Prefixes aren't something I use on my test boards so while I know you don't want to hear it, it takes a few runs to fix.

Try the attached version of upload/admincp/productforums.php

[quote=Ramsesx;2243138]And if I write a review it creates a duplicate in forum ID 2
As duplicate as in a second copy or a duplicate as in it makes a new thread? If the later, this is an option you can disable.

The rating image doesn't show, leads to /images/pf/stars-green-4.png

Good catch. 1.0.3 will fix this by moving stars into the rating folder. You can manually change this on line 134 of the xml file or by editing prodforums_product_details

Why do I have to add a Nickname?

This is a feature I'm toying with... There's reasons why a user may not want to post under their username. This will be an option in 1.0.3

[ProFifaLeagues]

Sorry, you can edit this with the phrase manager... Just change prodforums_priced


Cheers Ted worked a treat!

[Ted S]

I'm putting together a few small feature additions for tonight's update which also fixes compatibility with forums using sub-folders and prefixes.

If there's anything apparent that is missing please chime in and I'll see what I can do to include it.

[Ted S]

1.0.3 minor update has been released

- option to show nickname field for anonymous reviews
- option to allow users to post multiple reviews per product
- moved star rating images to images/rating/pf to allow for sub-folder installed forums
- bug fix to address prefix bug in admin panel

Please upload all files again.

With this update you can delete /images/pf/ as it has been moved to /images/rating/pf/.

[Ted S]

Please also note, while this mod is in beta I will release updates frequently. As it stabilizes [we're already seeing forums using it in the "real world" but there may be a few typos / quirks] releases will slow down to be less burdensome & more comprehensive.

If any update comes out that is critical a notification is sent but usually the changes at this phase are small features / site-specific bugs.

[Mr_Running]

The code is from this mod but the comments are not. Do you have something installed that comments each mod's code?

Hello Ted S

Nothing installed that comments each mod code? I have never seen or heard of anything that would comment code and don't know why anyone would want to?

Also the review is going to the review forum but for some reason the rating is going to the first forum on the page and I do not have it set up to do it?
Also on the rating post when I click on
View all reviews on xxxxxx it goes to my 404 page? I guess something is missing?

I just updated from 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 did not change. I see 1.0.3 now...willl update after the movie tonight. :)

[Ted S]

Nothing installed that comments each mod code? I have never seen or heard of anything that would comment code and don't know why anyone would want to?

No idea. All I can tell you is that the mod doesn't write comments so something is. Perhaps view the source of your page and see if other mod generated templates have a similar result?


Also the review is going to the review forum but for some reason the rating is going to the first forum on the page and I do not have it set up to do it?


Be sure "Create New Thread on Review" is disabled. If it is on a thread is created in whatever forum you pick or forum id 1.


View all reviews on xxxxxx it goes to my 404 page? I guess something is missing?


I see the problem. Easy fix in the next release... or just update prodforums_review_postcontent to change showthread to showthread.php

[Ramsesx]

Ted, thanks for your support, so far it works nice.
Only a few things.
This fields are not showing:
- Manufacturer
- short description
- and the new added Location field

If rating is 4 stars it's showing 4 1/2 stars.
What's the point of the links "Read all 1 reviews" and "View all reviews on x"?
A first suggestion, it would be nice to have the options now in settings - options - Product Reviews Forum Settings moved to the other options in the left side.
The description in the Product Reviews Forum Settings are some kind of confusing.
I wrote a review with my admin account plus a review with a mod account, the review of the mod account is only visible for the admin account but not for the mod account who wrote the review.
If clicking at "Read all two reviews" it's listed but not in the review thread itself.
But at all it's a cool start and has some great potential Ted, thanks again.

[fechten]

This looks promising. I'll be testing it out tomorrow.

I'd be really interested in a bulk product upload to this. I'll dig into the files tomorrow.

[Ted S]

Ted, thanks for your support, so far it works nice.
Only a few things.
This fields are not showing:
- Manufacturer
- short description
- and the new added Location field


The short description shows in the optional forumdisplay hack.

Location and Manufacturer are added in 1.0.4

If rating is 4 stars it's showing 4 1/2 stars.

It should round to the nearest half. I'll take a look.


What's the point of the links "Read all 1 reviews" and "View all reviews on x"?


To let people go from one review back to more reviews. If you don't like the link, you can edit the template.


A first suggestion, it would be nice to have the options now in settings - options - Product Reviews Forum Settings moved to the other options in the left side.


I can add a shortcut link, easy enough.


The description in the Product Reviews Forum Settings are some kind of confusing.


You'll have to be more specific...

I wrote a review with my admin account plus a review with a mod account, the review of the mod account is only visible for the admin account but not for the mod account who wrote the review

Did you enable the moderation option? If so, you need to approve the review first [as an admin].

[Mr_Running]

1.0.3 will not uninstall from product manager Installed Products?
I have removed all files from server but still can not uninstall product.

I would like to remove this so I can do a fresh install. How can I remove it?

[Ted S]

This looks promising. I'll be testing it out tomorrow.

I'd be really interested in a bulk product upload to this. I'll dig into the files tomorrow.

We do a numbre of bulk imports on our shopping site using XML. Would that work for an import for you?

[Ted S]

1.0.3 will not uninstall from product manager Installed Products?
I have removed all files from server but still can not uninstall product.

I would like to remove this so I can do a fresh install. How can I remove it?

You'll need to be more specific on your issue to be able to help you. The install / uninstall method is the proper path but if it failed part way through, things get more complex.

[Ted S]

If rating is 4 stars it's showing 4 1/2 stars.

4 and 4/5 images got mixed up. Fixed in 1.0.4 as well.

[Sforums]

4 and 4/5 images got mixed up. Fixed in 1.0.4 as well.

Is 1.0.4. released yet?

[fechten]

We do a numbre of bulk imports on our shopping site using XML. Would that work for an import for you?

I tend to use csv files, but I can export my product feed into xml so as long as I can figure out the specs that should be good. That will also let me pull a bunch of products on amazon.

[Ramsesx]

Did you enable the moderation option? If so, you need to approve the review first [as an admin].
"Screen New Reviews" is set to no but just saw I had the usergroup permissions wrong.
Sorry.

[Mr_Running]

You'll need to be more specific on your issue to be able to help you. The install / uninstall method is the proper path but if it failed part way through, things get more complex.

Confirm Deletion: Product Review Forums - Structured Rating System

Are you sure you want to uninstall the product called 'Product Review Forums - Structured Rating System'?
(productid: product_forums)

This action cannot be undone.

Click: Yes

Fails and receive this error

Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:
DROP TABLE `pf_product`;

MySQL Error : Unknown table 'pf_product'
Error Number : 1051
Request Date : Friday, September 9th 2011 @ 02:51:52 PM
Error Date : Friday, September 9th 2011 @ 02:51:53 PM
Script : http:// www. mysite. com/admincp/plugin.php?do=productkill
Referrer : http:// www. mysite. com/admincp/plugin.php?do=productdelete&productid=product_forums&s=

[Ted S]

Confirm Deletion: Product Review Forums - Structured Rating System


That error is because the table has already been dropped.

You'll need to install it then uninstall again to see where it actually is failing.

[Ted S]

I tend to use csv files, but I can export my product feed into xml so as long as I can figure out the specs that should be good. That will also let me pull a bunch of products on amazon.

Cool.

I'm off for a week but will add this in shortly. XML tends to be better for product data as it allows line breaks, special characters and flexible formats without having to move things around.

[Ted S]

Version 1.0.4 beta released. This is a minor bug fix & feature tweak update.

- added manufacturer field to the product box
- added location field to review posts
- changed review posts to not show under a particular user if annonymous
- replaced image/rating/pf/stars-green-4.png which incorrectly shows 4.5 stars
- fixes bug with "View all reviews on..." phrase to add .php to links

[AURFSCAN]

any demo where i can click a link to a site and see this installed?

also, only admin can create a product for review?

thanks

[Ted S]

any demo where i can click a link to a site and see this installed?

No one has shared a public install as of it, but as most sites don't want people testing around that's fair. The screenshots cover the features.

also, only admin can create a product for review?

At this time, yes.

[Sforums]

Absolute disaster on 4.1.0!
Installed modification and allocated subforum for single product for purpose of testing. It changed the title of every single topic in all vendors forums (even though I've chosen single subforum) to test the title. More than thousand of threads have been renamed even I uninstalled the modification. Trying to rename them back to original titles and can't be done!!
I am absolutelly desperate to bring my forum back to original state. Wish I never touched beta product. These things should be properly tested before released to public.

[Sforums]

As a matter of fact every single thread on the forum has been renamed. This is the worst thing ever happened to me in 6 years on vb forums!

[ProFifaLeagues]

We have been using it on 4.1.3 and so far its done a 100% job without any problems or errors at all,Superb support on the mod too From Ted and our forum members have been very happy with it.

[jshallo]

Hi, Just installed this on 4.1.3 and I got as far as adding products and it creates a product page (new thread) and one empty post under it. However, When I attempt to add the first review its taking me to a white screen at http://www.yoursite.com/forums/productforums.php

I like what you have here but, find myself wanting to customize some things for my type of reviews (cruise ship reviews). So maybe we can work on this together and tailor it to my needs and I'll list it as a live demo. My concern with editing too much now is that it would be too hard to upgrade this later on once its been modified too much now.

Some things I noticed.

1. Review submission box was small for a ship review and lacked the full editor that would allow users to include photos, videos, etc like a forum post. So I would like a (advanced editor option (on or off) per product option. The advanced would have the advanced forum editor box.

2. Products one thing about ship reviews is the (product) would have a parent category (the cruise line) and then the ships within the line. (ie Royal Caribbean) and then all the ships (Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas).. etc.

3. Price - You have price as mandatory and I'm not selling a product, just displaying the review. So this would need to be an option (on or off) in the product settings?

4. Some added options? Launch Date (Inaugural), Link to Deck Plans, Link to Cruise Line, Discussion Forum Link, Related Videos Link.

Thanks for listening.

[Ted S]

Absolute disaster on 4.1.0!
Installed modification and allocated subforum for single product for purpose of testing. It changed the title of every single topic in all vendors forums (even though I've chosen single subforum) to test the title. More than thousand of threads have been renamed even I uninstalled the modification. Trying to rename them back to original titles and can't be done!!
I am absolutelly desperate to bring my forum back to original state. Wish I never touched beta product. These things should be properly tested before released to public.

This mod does not update your database on anything that already exists on install. It does not rename thread titles. It does not care about current threads.

So, let's figure out what's happening and get your forum back in order...

Did you have this issue after installing? After adding a product? After adding a review?

Have you checked your database to see if the thread titles were actually changed or merely getting displayed wrong?

To test run: SELECT title FROM [table_prefix]thread WHERE forumid = XXX LIMIT 10.

Did you run this on a LIVE site or a DEV site?

And while I absolutely agree that nothing negative should happen, which is why testing is done before anything is released. However, there are an infinite number of forum options, other modifications and configurations which can introduce problems... that's why this mod is clearly labeled beta. But that's not what counts... right now let's focus on fixing up your forum.

[Ted S]

We have been using it on 4.1.3 and so far its done a 100% job without any problems or errors at all,Superb support on the mod too From Ted and our forum members have been very happy with it.

Thank you!

[Ted S]

Hi, Just installed this on 4.1.3 and I got as far as adding products and it creates a product page (new thread) and one empty post under it. However, When I attempt to add the first review its taking me to a white screen at http://www.yoursite.com/forums/productforums.php


White pages are a pain to diagnose but we'll figure it out...

Is the blank poage showing up when you click write a review or when you go to submit it? Does the url structure look correct to your forum?

I like what you have here but, find myself wanting to customize some things for my type of reviews (cruise ship reviews). So maybe we can work on this together and tailor it to my needs and I'll list it as a live demo. My concern with editing too much now is that it would be too hard to upgrade this later on once its been modified too much now.

The mod is built using the vBulletin plugin system's flexibility so even if you customize the heck out of the templates, you can update the base code. When I release template changes they are documented so you can make any you want easily.

If you want to get really extensive I'd suggest waiting until after the "beta" ends as the release cycle is a little high pace right now.


1. Review submission box was small for a ship review and lacked the full editor that would allow users to include photos, videos, etc like a forum post. So I would like a (advanced editor option (on or off) per product option. The advanced would have the advanced forum editor box.


I'll have to see how the advanced editor works for inline vs attachment images. The attachment system is not flexible and while I realize this doesn't concern you much, I'd like to avoid trying doing anything that requires direct uploads for a bit.

Otherwise I hear you loud & clear and can add in the WYSIWYG editor easily enough.

2. Products one thing about ship reviews is the (product) would have a parent category (the cruise line) and then the ships within the line. (ie Royal Caribbean) and then all the ships (Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas).. etc.


So you'd need a 3 category tree but more likely an infinite category tree...

Now the big point: Since reviews show up in forums you would either have to create a structure with forums or put them all into one area and then highly promote the search tool to find them by category [i.e. a pretty page with all the sorting options]. Does that sound right?

3. Price - You have price as mandatory and I'm not selling a product, just displaying the review. So this would need to be an option (on or off) in the product settings?

Easy enough.

4. Some added options? Launch Date (Inaugural), Link to Deck Plans, Link to Cruise Line, Discussion Forum Link, Related Videos Link.

I'm looking into ways to let you add your own fields as it's obviously not logical to have a database of hundreds of options for every type of product. Great idea of course!

[jshallo]

Hi Ted, I upgraded the forum to 4.1.5 and tried to submit a review again. It came back with a special error message.

"Oh great, you had to go and press THAT button. There goes the whole site. Just kidding... We had an issue posting your review, please try again or contact support and use code 164250-A"


Url: http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/productforums.php

[Ted S]

Hi Ted, I upgraded the forum to 4.1.5 and tried to submit a review again. It came back with a special error message.

"Oh great, you had to go and press THAT button. There goes the whole site. Just kidding... We had an issue posting your review, please try again or contact support and use code 164250-A"


Url: http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/productforums.php

Was actually just working on this code... Nice timing.

Mind giving the attached copy of upload/productforums.php a shot? Also be sure your forumcache is properly set.

To be clear, this error comes when you have enabled the "create review thread" option. If you did not intend that option to run please let me know.

[jshallo]

Is the blank poage showing up when you click write a review or when you go to submit it? Does the url structure look correct to your forum?

When I submit it.

Now shows "vBulletin Message
Oh great, you had to go and press THAT button. There goes the whole site. Just kidding... We had an issue posting your review, please try again or contact support and use code 164250-A"

The url structure appears ok, however the productforums.php is in root.. which is fine if that where it belongs.

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG is not a priority but, probably would be a nice option.

Categories:

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/reviews/index.php (http://www.cruise-addicts.com/reviews/index.php)

Here is what I have in place now. So this may answer a many of your questions. Note the lists of ships and how you can select from the drop-down menu a specific ship.

The reviews are displayed by most recent submission. So one Cruise Review forum sorted by newest with each thread being a unique ship review would work.

Note that my setup is not perfect but, I think it can be improved with better software and VBSEO and good integration your mod provides.

[Ted S]

Now shows "vBulletin Message
Oh great, you had to go and press THAT button. There goes the whole site. Just kidding... We had an issue posting your review, please try again or contact support and use code 164250-A"


Think the updated version I just posted should fix the error... we'll see where that gets things.


WYSIWYG is not a priority but, probably would be a nice option.


It would have to be without HTML but I doubt that's a big deal. Playing with the code now.


Categories:
Here is what I have in place now. So this may answer a many of your questions. Note the lists of ships and how you can select from the drop-down menu a specific ship.

The reviews are displayed by most recent submission. So one Cruise Review forum sorted by newest with each thread being a unique ship review would work.


The dropdowns will be a bit tricky but with some fun code they'd basically progressively expand so if you have 3 layers, you'd get 3 dropdowns building as you select [and updating results along the way with our good friend AJAX].

Users will also be able to search by rating range, when the review was posted, product [or ship] title, and so forth.

As far as the one forum, one thread, we're already good there so it's really much more about getting categories in place and searching than changing any core code.

[TheLastSuperman]

Absolute disaster on 4.1.0!
Installed modification and allocated subforum for single product for purpose of testing. It changed the title of every single topic in all vendors forums (even though I've chosen single subforum) to test the title. More than thousand of threads have been renamed even I uninstalled the modification. Trying to rename them back to original titles and can't be done!!
I am absolutelly desperate to bring my forum back to original state. Wish I never touched beta product. These things should be properly tested before released to public.

As a matter of fact every single thread on the forum has been renamed. This is the worst thing ever happened to me in 6 years on vb forums!

We have been using it on 4.1.3 and so far its done a 100% job without any problems or errors at all,Superb support on the mod too From Ted and our forum members have been very happy with it.

This mod does not update your database on anything that already exists on install. It does not rename thread titles. It does not care about current threads.

So, let's figure out what's happening and get your forum back in order...

Did you have this issue after installing? After adding a product? After adding a review?

Have you checked your database to see if the thread titles were actually changed or merely getting displayed wrong?

To test run: SELECT title FROM [table_prefix]thread WHERE forumid = XXX LIMIT 10.

Did you run this on a LIVE site or a DEV site?

And while I absolutely agree that nothing negative should happen, which is why testing is done before anything is released. However, there are an infinite number of forum options, other modifications and configurations which can introduce problems... that's why this mod is clearly labeled beta. But that's not what counts... right now let's focus on fixing up your forum.

I have not had any issues with this modification, in fact I even noticed a misc issue and contacted Ted about it and he already had it in the next version, furthermore I don't see anything within the code that would do this?

To anyone and everyone reading this from here on out, this goes for EVERY modification on this site - Anything marked as Beta and/or anything that deals with your database should throw up a red flag telling you to either:

1) Install on a test site first.
2) If you install on a Live/Production site make a database backup beforehand then install the modification and test the functionality before turning the forums back on - this way if something is not quite right or goes wrong you can restore the backup promptly then turn the forum back on and return to the modification thread and report the error. *You just avoided much stress and can always be confident that your dealing with a Beta product correctly ;).

[jshallo]

Hi Ted, Yes the new file fixed the problem. I did have it set to create a new thread for each new review but, now that I see it in action I don't think its what I wanted. So I may have to change this setting. I'll look forward to what you come up with and making it work for my needs. Most review sites don't have very much video, photos so its not a priority but, I think embed options that VB use would be nice possibly.

[Ted S]

Furthermore I don't see anything within the code that would do this?

Your remarks on beta installs should be stuck with any thread but of course any serious error gets me worried. However, I'm just not seeing anything that could cause a mass-rewrite either.

Hopefully the poster chimes in with some additional insight so I can track down what happened, if it was this mod, a conflict, whatever.

[Ted S]

Hi Ted, Yes the new file fixed the problem. I did have it set to create a new thread for each new review but, now that I see it in action I don't think its what I wanted. So I may have to change this setting. I'll look forward to what you come up with and making it work for my needs. Most review sites don't have very much video, photos so its not a priority but, I think embed options that VB use would be nice possibly.

Thankfully links and embeding are easy so it's more about just letting you define your own fields than worrying about what's in them.

What i'll probably end up with is:

Text Fields
Yes / No fields
Additional Images [url]
Video [url]

On the other side you have user contributions which are a little more tricky to process since users aren't likely to FTP up an image.

[jshallo]

Ok, I'll wait for your next update.

[Ted S]

PRF users -

I will be traveling for the next few days and not on to check this thread. Please chime in with any questions or suggestions you have and I will get back to you later next week.

[PaintballHQ]

Thanks for putting this together Ted!

I have some suggestions that I was thinking of.

Having the products rating based on the average of the following: (maybe customizable options depending on what your site is geared toward)
Appearance
Performance
Reliability
Value
Customizable fields like you said would be great. I need to have fields for Pros & Cons.

Define what user group(s) can add a new product/service for review & what user group(s) can submit a review.

[Da-Vinci]

Hi Ted, your mod looks really good, but when I install it, the thread the review should show in, just displays the title and below it says. This is an empty post

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2011/09/26.png (http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/showthread.php?288-Sony-Alpha-A500&p=663#post663)

Not sure what I could have done wrong, I uploaded everything to the root and installed the product via the product manager.

When I visit http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/productforums.php I just get redirected to the CMS.

Here is how I've got the settings.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2011/09/27.png (http://www.cameraguru.co.uk)

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2011/09/28.png (http://www.cameraguru.co.uk)

[angeljs]

Hi, I'm receiving this error message when trying to add a product:

Something went terribly wrong in creating your review. End of the line.

Not sure why :(

[Ted S]

Thanks for putting this together Ted!

I have some suggestions that I was thinking of.


Having the products rating based on the average of the following: (maybe customizable options depending on what your site is geared toward)
Appearance
Performance
Reliability
ValueCustomizable fields like you said would be great. I need to have fields for Pros & Cons.

Define what user group(s) can add a new product/service for review & what user group(s) can submit a review.

Expanded ratings with attributes are definitely on the roadmap -- both in terms of stars and also descriptions of "who" is writing the product [for example, a pro may not like the new tipman while novice users find it a great buy].

Groups is also a fun idea around posting products. Thanks!

[Ted S]

Hi, I'm receiving this error message when trying to add a product:

Something went terribly wrong in creating your review. End of the line.

Not sure why :(

Did you pick a forum to save the product too?

Does it have the rights to be posted in?

[Ted S]

Hi Ted, your mod looks really good, but when I install it, the thread the review should show in, just displays the title and below it says.


Not sure what I could have done wrong, I uploaded everything to the root and installed the product via the product manager.

When I visit http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/productforums.php I just get redirected to the CMS.

Here is how I've got the settings.





This post should be wrapped in a hidden div. Can you check for the code:

<div style="display:none;">

By view sourcing the page?

[Ramsesx]

Some more suggestions, it would be nice to have the reviews listed in the user profiles in a new tab. And an overview of all reviews on productforums.php, and some informations like most viewed reviews, latest reviews etc. like you can see it here (http://www.vbcover.com/ireviews.php). A lot of work, I know but maybe you could think about offering later a paid pro version.

[angeljs]

Did you pick a forum to save the product too?

Does it have the rights to be posted in?
All yes. I also had to uninstall the product as every post I viewed with it installed gave me a database error. :(

[Ted S]

All yes. I also had to uninstall the product as every post I viewed with it installed gave me a database error. :(

If you'd like help I'll need to know what the error was :D

[Ted S]

Some more suggestions, it would be nice to have the reviews listed in the user profiles in a new tab. And an overview of all reviews on productforums.php, and some informations like most viewed reviews, latest reviews etc. like you can see it here (http://www.vbcover.com/ireviews.php). A lot of work, I know but maybe you could think about offering later a paid pro version.

Overviews won't be a problem... Since this is for vB4 it can be both a page and a sidebar plugin.

There's also already the right information to edit the profiles, it's just a matter of finding a useful place to put it. So that's on the list/

And while I know the Pro idea works for many, it's not how I offer mods. Everything for free or nor at all.

[Ramsesx]

Overviews won't be a problem... Since this is for vB4 it can be both a page and a sidebar plugin.

There's also already the right information to edit the profiles, it's just a matter of finding a useful place to put it. So that's on the list/

And while I know the Pro idea works for many, it's not how I offer mods. Everything for free or nor at all.
Thank you Ted, this looks very promising.

[KeystoneAirsoft]

Hi Ted S,

THis mod looks very promising and am very much interested in using it. I did install the latest release on VB 4.0.8 and adding products was easy enough however when I went to post a test review I got this error message:

Fatal error: Call to undefined method vB_WysiwygHtmlParser::parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode () in /home/mydomain/public_html/productforums.php on line 134

Also another great feature would be to allow vendors to post their own products via the Forums through this. With sites running as a service site (such as mine) and having vendors and allowing them to post their own products would be less time consuming for the Owners/Admins of the Sites.

Right now I don't have vendors as I am just getting underway with a site, but if I get 5 vendors and they want to post 6 new products a month that would mean I would have to have the vendors send me the info for each product and then I would have to post the 30 products in a timely fashion. Whereas the vendors can log in go to their specific Forum and post the info themselves and be done with it.

Again overall this is a fantastic addition to vBulletin and will use it for time being once I get the above mentioned error figured out.

Thanks for your time spent on this mod ;)

[Ted S]

Hi Ted S,

THis mod looks very promising and am very much interested in using it. I did install the latest release on VB 4.0.8 and adding products was easy enough however when I went to post a test review I got this error message:

Fatal error: Call to undefined method vB_WysiwygHtmlParser::parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode () in /home/mydomain/public_html/productforums.php on line 134


Hum. This may be a result of running less than vB 4.1 but I'm not sure. Will have to dig in...


Also another great feature would be to allow vendors to post their own products via the Forums through this. With sites running as a service site (such as mine) and having vendors and allowing them to post their own products would be less time consuming for the Owners/Admins of the Sites.

Right now I don't have vendors as I am just getting underway with a site, but if I get 5 vendors and they want to post 6 new products a month that would mean I would have to have the vendors send me the info for each product and then I would have to post the 30 products in a timely fashion. Whereas the vendors can log in go to their specific Forum and post the info themselves and be done with it.


That's a great point...

Along with usergroup controls, I will also allow guests to post [as many vendors don't wish to sign up for a site] but require them to provide an email / name for contact info. This will of course be an option.

[Ted S]

Hi Ted S,

THis mod looks very promising and am very much interested in using it. I did install the latest release on VB 4.0.8 and adding products was easy enough however when I went to post a test review I got this error message:

Fatal error: Call to undefined method vB_WysiwygHtmlParser::parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode () in /home/mydomain/public_html/productforums.php on line 134


Confirmed that this requires vB 4.1 or higher. I have updated the mod to prevent future confusion.

[victorvu]

If this mod can be linked to Mary's Classifieds, it is awesome.

I like this mode alot, but havenot installed it at my site and will be installed soon.
:up:
Victor

[KeystoneAirsoft]

Confirmed that this requires vB 4.1 or higher. I have updated the mod to prevent future confusion.

Man thats horrible :( . I would like to upgrade to the current release but alot of the mods I am currently running doesn't support the newest vers of vBulletin yet and until they do I don't want to upgrade. Ohhh well and thanks for your prompt reply :).

And thanks for taking my suggestion into consideration as well.

Will keep this mod tagged

[Ted S]

Man thats horrible :( . I would like to upgrade to the current release but alot of the mods I am currently running doesn't support the newest vers of vBulletin yet and until they do I don't want to upgrade. Ohhh well and thanks for your prompt reply :).

And thanks for taking my suggestion into consideration as well.

Will keep this mod tagged

It should be fairly simple to get around this... I just need to dig into the code and write a check for the version that determines which parser to use.

[ProFifaLeagues]

Just an update and thanks,Ted we have been using the last couple of versions you have released and the members we have love it and feel its something we have missed for a while,Top Work and many thanks Sir

[Ramsesx]

If moving over the thread title in forumdisplay view it shows "This is an empty post".
Wouldn't it be an advantage to have the Full Description field added in the post field instead assign a new db field like pf_product?
Because if you have a lot of products and disable/uninstall the plugin you will lose all product descriptions.

[Ted S]

If moving over the thread title in forumdisplay view it shows "This is an empty post".
Wouldn't it be an advantage to have the Full Description field added in the post field instead assign a new db field like pf_product?
Because if you have a lot of products and disable/uninstall the plugin you will lose all product descriptions.

I'll have to find away around that tip...

The issue with making posts rather than using a table is that you lose the structure. Rather than having a price field you can edit, you have a price line in a string. Parsing all this apart is not ideal and updating it [either for new reviews or changes to products] becomes a poor experience.

[CharlieDelta]

I think this may be of great use for my forums but was wondering if there is a demo that I could look at.

[Ted S]

I think this may be of great use for my forums but was wondering if there is a demo that I could look at.

Just the screenshots.

For obvious reasons few forums want people to demo on their active sites as it disrupts "real" data.

[CharlieDelta]

Just the screenshots.

For obvious reasons few forums want people to demo on their active sites as it disrupts "real" data.
Understood. Thanks Ted.

[jshallo]

Hi Ted, Any time line on a new release?

[Ted S]

Hi Ted, Any time line on a new release?

Looks like the next feature release will be early October.

[Ted S]

PRF users -

I'm pulling together the requirements for the next major update of the mod and while there's already a lot, I want to be sure I've captured what's most important.

Please review the list at https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=2242838&postcount=4 and chime in with any other comments you may have

[Da-Vinci]

Hi Ted, I didn't have the product enabled in the forums, guess I missed that, DOH!!!

But when I try to enable it I get this Database error.

Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:
UPDATE forum SET
title_clean = 'General',
title = 'General',
description_clean = '',
description = '',
link = '',
displayorder = 1,
parentid = 29,
daysprune = -1,
defaultsortfield = 'lastpost',
defaultsortorder = 'desc',
showprivate = 0,
newpostemail = '',
newthreademail = '',
### Bitfield: forum.options ###
options = IF(options & 8, options - 8, options),
options = IF(options & 16, options - 16, options),
options = IF(options & 32, options - 32, options),
options = IF(options & 32768, options - 32768, options),
options = IF(options & 8192, options, options + 8192),
options = IF(options & 4, options, options + 4),
options = IF(options & 1, options, options + 1),
options = IF(options & 2, options, options + 2),
options = IF(options & 16384, options, options + 16384),
options = IF(options & 256, options - 256, options),
options = IF(options & 64, options, options + 64),
options = IF(options & 128, options, options + 128),
options = IF(options & 512, options, options + 512),
options = IF(options & 1024, options, options + 1024),
options = IF(options & 2048, options, options + 2048),
options = IF(options & 4096, options, options + 4096),
options = IF(options & 65536, options, options + 65536),
options = IF(options & 131072, options - 131072, options),
styleid = 0,
imageprefix = '',
password = '',
forumiconimg = 'cartman.png',
forumiconimg_forum_height = '50',
forumiconimg_forum_width = '50',
default_tags = '',
productforumsbits = '1',
default_tags_ids = ''
WHERE forumid = 34;

MySQL Error : Unknown column 'productforumsbits' in 'field list'
Error Number : 1054
Request Date : Saturday, September 24th 2011 @ 12:49:55 AM
Error Date : Saturday, September 24th 2011 @ 12:49:56 AM
Script : http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/admincp/forum.php?do=update
Referrer : http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/admincp/forum.php?do=edit&f=34
IP Address : 78.144.36.145
Username : Pablo
Classname : vB_Database
MySQL Version : 5.0.22-Debian_0ubuntu6.06.11

If I try to select Manage Products & Reviews I get this Database error.

Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:
SELECT COUNT(productid) AS count FROM pf_product;

MySQL Error : Table 'cameraguru.pf_product' doesn't exist
Error Number : 1146
Request Date : Saturday, September 24th 2011 @ 12:57:07 AM
Error Date : Saturday, September 24th 2011 @ 12:57:07 AM
Script : http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/admincp/productforums.php?do=productforums
Referrer : http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/admincp/index.php?do=nav
IP Address : 78.144.36.145
Username : Pablo
Classname : vB_Database
MySQL Version : 5.0.22-Debian_0ubuntu6.06.11

And if I try to uninstall the product I get this.

Database error in vBulletin 4.1.5:

Invalid SQL:
DROP TABLE `pf_product`;

MySQL Error : Unknown table 'pf_product'
Error Number : 1051
Request Date : Saturday, September 24th 2011 @ 12:58:57 AM
Error Date : Saturday, September 24th 2011 @ 12:58:58 AM
Script : http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/admincp/plugin.php?do=productkill
Referrer : http://www.cameraguru.co.uk/admincp/plugin.php?do=productdelete&productid=product_forums&s=
IP Address : 78.144.36.145
Username : Pablo
Classname : vB_Database
MySQL Version : 5.0.22-Debian_0ubuntu6.06.11

Obviously I'm missing the table pf_product but how do I add that table to my database?

I've tried overwriting the product but it hasn't helped.

[Ted S]

Sounds like none of the db-queries ran at all.

Try removing the addon then reinstalling it.

[Mr_Running]

Sounds like none of the db-queries ran at all.

Try removing the addon then reinstalling it.

Having the same as post #100 and can not remove addon.

[Ted S]

Having the same as post #100 and can not remove addon.

None of the mySQL commands were rendered... likely the result of limited permissions to the script...

How can you "not remove the addon"

[Ted S]

PF users, I will be out of the country for the next week and returning 10/6. Please continue to post questions for the community to answer and look for a major update mid-October.

[ProFifaLeagues]

Ted Hope you have a good week away,When you arrive back could you check the info needed for linking your mod to this set-up Please https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=266739

[Ted S]

Ted Hope you have a good week away,When you arrive back could you check the info needed for linking your mod to this set-up Please https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=266739

There shouldnt be a conflict but do you want an intgration of some sort?

[ProFifaLeagues]

There shouldnt be a conflict but do you want an intgration of some sort?


Just tried it Ted thank you all spot on.I just was not sure about linking them in the php file!
All good thanks

[Ted S]

Just tried it Ted thank you all spot on.I just was not sure about linking them in the php file!
All good thanks

Sure thing... If you come up with things to make this mod play nicer let me know and I'll add it up into a future version if possible.

[egdevilboy]

Ted,
I am running VB 4.1 and have been getting the same error:


Fatal error: Call to undefined method vB_WysiwygHtmlParser::parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode () in /public_html/forum/productforums.php on line 134

[Ted S]

Ted,
I am running VB 4.1 and have been getting the same error:


Fatal error: Call to undefined method vB_WysiwygHtmlParser::parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode () in /public_html/forum/productforums.php on line 134

You need 4.1 or higher to run this mod. A fix for 4.0.x users will be out soon.

[egdevilboy]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Infact I am running 4.1.1

[bada_bing]

Ted looks like a great mod and wondering if this will work in vb 3.8 and if not do you plan to release a 3.8.x version ?

[christon26]

Ted looks like a great mod and wondering if this will work in vb 3.8 and if not do you plan to release a 3.8.x version ?

Seconds this hopefully, I'd be willing to donate :)

[Ted S]

Ted looks like a great mod and wondering if this will work in vb 3.8 and if not do you plan to release a 3.8.x version ?

It will not work on 3.8 as the code base is nearly entirely different and while I'd love to offer it to more users, porting across versions really hinders expansion so I have not planned a version.

Is there still a big resistance to the 4.0 move?

[christon26]

I don't think I will ever move to 4, I have tried it a few times on new installs, and every time I end up re-installing 3. For me VB4 is ugly, I don't like the design at all, I don't like how hard it is to customise it so I will stick with 3 as long as I can lol

And to add because I forgot lol this mod would have been a perfect addition to my forum as I have been looking for something similar but there's nothing else out there....that I can find lol I can understand though why you wouldn't want to backwards port it :)

[Ted S]

I don't think I will ever move to 4, I have tried it a few times on new installs, and every time I end up re-installing 3. For me VB4 is ugly, I don't like the design at all, I don't like how hard it is to customise it so I will stick with 3 as long as I can lol

And to add because I forgot lol this mod would have been a perfect addition to my forum as I have been looking for something similar but there's nothing else out there....that I can find lol I can understand though why you wouldn't want to backwards port it :)

Thanks for the feedback. I've seen less use of my mods on vB4 which has me wondering if the adoption is low or mods are just less needed with the more powerful system. I'll certainly keep watching feedback to see if a 3.8x version makes sense.

[christon26]

You're welcome :) Guess I'll keep watch too hehe

[egdevilboy]

Ted,
Hook your boy up with a solution. I would love to use this app!

[Ted S]

Ted,
Hook your boy up with a solution. I would love to use this app!

Open up includes/class_wysiwygparser.php and search for parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode

If it's not there we know your script is old

[lazyseller]

Ted you come up with the best mods!!! this mod has alot of potential to really change how forums are used...

[Phrost]

Ted S, I could kiss you for coming up with this! Eagerly awaiting custom ratings categories and then we'll deploy this on one of my "big boards". We need more of what GARS used to offer, with that level of flexibility, given that our users are mostly rating businesses, not products.

Heck, I'll PayPal you $20 right now if you can get that functionality added in the next couple of weeks.

[Ted S]

Ted S, I could kiss you for coming up with this! Eagerly awaiting custom ratings categories and then we'll deploy this on one of my "big boards". We need more of what GARS used to offer, with that level of flexibility, given that our users are mostly rating businesses, not products.

Heck, I'll PayPal you $20 right now if you can get that functionality added in the next couple of weeks.

The upgrade is certainly on my to do list but we just launched our main site and that's the focus right now. Hopefully we'll have time to circle back soon.

As for the donation, thanks but I assure you, I don't release mods for the profit :D

[deafcity]

Hey Ted...its my first post and I am very new...after reading you last sentence.... I want to hug you!

[indyprocentral]

I've installed this and enabled it and can't for the life of me find the link to add products for review in the acp.

[Ted S]

I've installed this and enabled it and can't for the life of me find the link to add products for review in the acp.

Did you upload the xml files to the right folder?

[Ted S]

Hey Ted...its my first post and I am very new...after reading you last sentence.... I want to hug you!

:D :D :D

[twitch]

could this be used to rate trails, hikes, rock climbs, etc?

[Ted S]

could this be used to rate trails, hikes, rock climbs, etc?

Absolutely. You could extend it to bring in fields like difficulty, time, grade, etc to make it more rich but even out of the box you've got something which can easily rate a climb or other outdoor activity.

[indyprocentral]

You're like a beautiful mind.

lol, thanks. Apparently I had two upload folders.

[twitch]

Absolutely. You could extend it to bring in fields like difficulty, time, grade, etc to make it more rich but even out of the box you've got something which can easily rate a climb or other outdoor activity.

Perfect! Thanks for this!

[lazytown]

Is this functioning well with 4.1.7 ?

[Ted S]

Is this functioning well with 4.1.7 ?

As marked, this beta mod works with 4.1.x

[downloadsuk]

Hi Ted - many thanks for your mod - it really is great.

I did read that you were looking at a solution to 'bulk' import the products via xml or csv - This would of course be a fantastic addition.

Are you still planning on adding it?

Many Thanks,

[Ted S]

Yes. XML imports will be a part of the next release which is turning into a rather large update the more I work on it.

CSV and other text formats will not be used as they become problematic when dealing with descriptions.

[Ted S]

Product Forum users [and prospective users]... Very excited to announce the release of 1.1.0 beta -- a significant update to this modification based on member feedback.

New features include...

- New index allows browsing & searching of products
- After creating a review, users can share it to Facebook & Twitter
- Members can post products w/ modifcation & usergroup restrictions

- Review counts are shown on each user's profile page
- Products can now be grouped into categories
- Import product data quickly through XML feeds

And of course a few bug fixes...

- mySQL change to allow for capturing reviews per user
- Improved logic ot hide empty first posts [thanks to Adrian Schneider]
- Support for 4.0 - 4.1 with dual WYSIWYG editors

Given the scope of the update this is definitely a beta. Give it a whirl and let me know if you find any issues or something missing that I can add right in.

As big a change as this is, there's still a few features not included. See post #4 of this thread for what's coming up next.

Note for bigger boards: Upgrading will rebuild the productforums field in the user table. This can take a few minutes

[Ted S]

To upgrade -

1- Upload all files again including the includes and xml scripts.
2- Upgrade the plugin file now found in the /do not upload/ folder
3- Review the Product Forums. Many new features require setting choices

[CoZmicShReddeR]

WTF!! Take this plugin down it just renamed every post in my entire forums to a review name!

[Ted S]

See next post. We've recreated the issue to debug it directly.

However if you are able to explain when exactly this happened it would be very useful as we are not certain when exactly the issue occurs.

From your brief description, presumably you had added one or more products and reviews when this occured...

Do you know what had last been done? Writing a review? Approving a review? Editing a review?

Had you updated from 1.0.4 before this occured or was it a new install?

Did you run any counter updates or other routines on your forum?

[Ted S]

WTF!! Take this plugin down it just renamed every post in my entire forums to a review name!

I've been able to re-create your issue, clearly reason to take the beta mod offline as we resolve this.

From the looks of it, one of the triggers to make new product threads or replies which runs through a vBulletin core engine is mis-firing and performing a hard update on other threads. Unfortunately on a clean install we are unable to make this happen again despite trying many variations of settings, even removing checks in the mod for validity... Hopefully we will be able to track this down and issue a release in the next few days.

[CoZmicShReddeR]

This was a an updated install and I did recover my forums from a 4 day old backup but this happened as soon as I add a product...

[Ted S]

This was a an updated install and I did recover my forums from a 4 day old backup but this happened as soon as I add a product...

CoZmicShReddeR -

Thanks for the additional info. One of our development forums had the same problem but we're not sure when exactly it happened as that site has hundreds of sub-installs... After upgrading did you add products, create reviews or know if any users did?

In short we're trying to understand what triggered the issue to stop it from happening again.

And of course our apologies for any issues your site experienced. Despite the beta label, I realize things can still happen to real sites. If we can help with anything please just let me know.

[carsafety]

Can anyone comment how review threads created on this mod look with the vbulletin app, forumrunner or tapatalk? Obviously I know it wont be fully feature compatible, but I'm looking to create a product review website and would like some platform that includes an app or has one available. Maybe wordpress or some other platform would be better for this?

[Ted S]

Can anyone comment how review threads created on this mod look with the vbulletin app, forumrunner or tapatalk? Obviously I know it wont be fully feature compatible, but I'm looking to create a product review website and would like some platform that includes an app or has one available. Maybe wordpress or some other platform would be better for this?

Since the apps are closed development it's not possible to make this mod render posts with the same product block. The solution we've mapped out for the future is to place the key details in the first post of the thread -- which is currently hidden -- and unhide it for mobile but it's not an ideal fit.

For a true review site I would suggest coding your product & review features first and back into a forum integration as needed. Our main site is a product service as well and that's the approach we took.

[Sforums]

WTF!! Take this plugin down it just renamed every post in my entire forums to a review name!

This was a an updated install and I did recover my forums from a 4 day old backup but this happened as soon as I add a product...

That is exactly what happened to my forum. Luckily I did backup prior to installing.
I really need this stuff but I am scared to install it again.

[carsafety]

Since the apps are closed development it's not possible to make this mod render posts with the same product block. The solution we've mapped out for the future is to place the key details in the first post of the thread -- which is currently hidden -- and unhide it for mobile but it's not an ideal fit.

Any idea how it looks with the Vbulletin4 mobile style or a low-bandwidth/mobile style mod?

For a true review site I would suggest coding your product & review features first and back into a forum integration as needed. Our main site is a product service as well and that's the approach we took.

It's not limited to reviews so I do prefer a forum platform. If only I could do my own coding lol! An app isn't essential, but I'm not seeing any other platform that integrates easy website review templates along with a forum and mobile app availability. Hiring a coder seems like the other option.

What happens if you uninstall the mod? Do you just get basic thread with reviews in it?

Finally, who's currently using this in a live site and can you share a public demo link please?

[Ted S]

That is exactly what happened to my forum. Luckily I did backup prior to installing.
I really need this stuff but I am scared to install it again.

Sforum,

Unfortunately while we've had the issue happen on one test server we can not recreate it on demand... good for meaning it won't happen, bad for making sure. The mod has been pulled as we look into this and will not be reposted until we are certain it is gone... however if you have any information on when this occurred, such as right after an upgrade, durign a review or posting a product that would be very helpful.

Our goal is to confirm the new version and roll this out in stable form to use on live sites.

[Ted S]

Any idea how it looks with the Vbulletin4 mobile style or a low-bandwidth/mobile style mod?

It depends on how the mobile skin is built. From our side it will look identical to how full sized forums show it as the code will render the same but if the skin does not allow plugins then it would not display at all.


It's not limited to reviews so I do prefer a forum platform. If only I could do my own coding lol! An app isn't essential, but I'm not seeing any other platform that integrates easy website review templates along with a forum and mobile app availability. Hiring a coder seems like the other option.


Of course not, because what you're looking for isn't a mass used tool. There's no market to build product review sites with discussion integration. Custom coding is your only real option if you want something with real potential.

As much as vBulletin can be a platform, out of the box a mod is not going to cut it. Sure this will let you have some review threads but it's still premised on forums without most of the features you would need to stand out. Data is by far the biggest challenge for large product focused sites and of course if you want to play in this space you are not the first -- thus you must stand out.

If your goal is less ambitious and you just want a place for niche product discussions I'm sure this mod could be a starting point but you'll likely still need to bring a developer in to match whatever category you are going after.

What happens if you uninstall the mod? Do you just get basic thread with reviews in it?


You get a post with the reviews, but the product content is gone.


Finally, who's currently using this in a live site and can you share a public demo link please?

The mod is in beta.

[Ted S]

That is exactly what happened to my forum. Luckily I did backup prior to installing.
I really need this stuff but I am scared to install it again.

If you're up for it and have a test site or don't mind pulling a backup, try uninstalling the previous version and installing the latest one [posted a few replies back]. This would be a significant help for us to track down the bug.

[kfyonur]

where is the file ? i didn't see

[Ted S]

where is the file ? i didn't see

The mod is offline pending debugging.

[Sforums]

Sforum,

Unfortunately while we've had the issue happen on one test server we can not recreate it on demand... good for meaning it won't happen, bad for making sure. The mod has been pulled as we look into this and will not be reposted until we are certain it is gone... however if you have any information on when this occurred, such as right after an upgrade, durign a review or posting a product that would be very helpful.

Our goal is to confirm the new version and roll this out in stable form to use on live sites.

Well first problem was empty post, just as many others experienced it.
The moment I tried uninstalling, forum went nuts and every single thread and post were renamed as product I tried to post. I can't remember much, I was pannicking and really upset about it. As I said, this mod has great potential and I really need it. Will be checking this thread for updates.

[Ted S]

Well first problem was empty post, just as many others experienced it.
The moment I tried uninstalling, forum went nuts and every single thread and post were renamed as product I tried to post. I can't remember much, I was pannicking and really upset about it. As I said, this mod has great potential and I really need it. Will be checking this thread for updates.

What do you mean by "empty post"?

[Sforums]

What do you mean by "empty post"?

Same as described in post 60 in this thread:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=269808&page=4

[carsafety]

As much as vBulletin can be a platform, out of the box a mod is not going to cut it. Sure this will let you have some review threads but it's still premised on forums without most of the features you would need to stand out. Data is by far the biggest challenge for large product focused sites and of course if you want to play in this space you are not the first -- thus you must stand out..

Thanks again! As long as it displays nicely on Vbulletin's own mobile style in vB4, that would be sufficient. It is a niche site and this plugin might be exactly what I need. Hopefully you are able to get the issue resolved and somone will make public a test site so we can take a look and play with it live. Since I'll essentially be starting from scratch, I may just try it to play with it anyway if you are able to fix the bug and publish it again.

[Ted S]

Thanks again! As long as it displays nicely on Vbulletin's own mobile style in vB4, that would be sufficient. It is a niche site and this plugin might be exactly what I need. Hopefully you are able to get the issue resolved and somone will make public a test site so we can take a look and play with it live. Since I'll essentially be starting from scratch, I may just try it to play with it anyway if you are able to fix the bug and publish it again.

The bug has not been reported in any new installs, nor is there any testing that has been able to duplicate it in such setups. Doesn't mean it's gone but it's perfectly safe to try on a test site.

You can find the files a few posts back.

[Ted S]

Same as described in post 60 in this thread:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=269808&page=4

Either the templates are not applying to each of your styles or there is a bad url. When you install the mod again we can sort that out easy enough.

[owning_y0u]

tagged, and downloaded the files, only waiting for the product.xml

[Ted S]

tagged, and downloaded the files, only waiting for the product.xml

The mod is offline pending bug fixes. As no one can [intentionally] recreate the bug as of yet, there is no ETA on when it will be fixed.

[owning_y0u]

The mod is offline pending bug fixes. As no one can [intentionally] recreate the bug as of yet, there is no ETA on when it will be fixed.

i have read that ;-) currently testings things on my test forum so i wont mind testing it out for you. and do more then my best to recreate the bug's i found if you want?

[Ted S]

i have read that ;-) currently testings things on my test forum so i wont mind testing it out for you. and do more then my best to recreate the bug's i found if you want?

Absolutely.

To be clear, the bug is not minor -- it involves all thread titles being renamed so you should not be running this on a live forum unless you have a lot of guts, and backups. That's why it still has the beta tag.

In short, we're trying to see if we can make that issue happen somehow. Unfortunately while some users have had that issue, no one on our test team, or who is using the mod has been able to figure out exactly what caused it or when in the process... And we can't force it to happen to stop it from happening.

At this point it seems that only upgrades had the issue but we're still testing to make sure.

[owning_y0u]

it will run on a local test site where only i can post ;-). i currently has an complete live forum Database backup over it. beta mod i always test first local before putting it live ;-)
If you want can you send me the product xml to me? so i can see what i can do for you?

[Ted S]

it will run on a local test site where only i can post ;-). i currently has an complete live forum Database backup over it. beta mod i always test first local before putting it live ;-)
If you want can you send me the product xml to me? so i can see what i can do for you?

Well said.

Here's the full product and just the xml file. Be sure to enable the mod in each forum you want it on and configure the options prior to using it.

[Ted S]

Note: This mod is in BETA and is not recommended for live sites just yet. However if you are considering using it and run a test site or have a good backup system and wish to try it out we are looking for a few more users to validate that everything runs smoothly.

[malinghi]

Sigh. Crap. So, I downloaded this a while ago and installed it, back before this thread renaming issue surfaced. I only just started using it now, and yeah, all my threads have been renamed.

So I don't know if anyone has mentioned this detail or not, but it happened when I tried to rename one of the products. Instead of just renaming that single product, it renamed every thread on the board. I've been able to reproduce that part. If I name one of the products "example", then every thread on the forum is now called "example".

[malinghi]

So, I'm not a programmer or anything, but is it possible that the code that tells it how to rename a single product just has a typo that tells it to make that new name the title of every single thread?

[Ted S]

Sigh. Crap. So, I downloaded this a while ago and installed it, back before this thread renaming issue surfaced. I only just started using it now, and yeah, all my threads have been renamed.

So I don't know if anyone has mentioned this detail or not, but it happened when I tried to rename one of the products. Instead of just renaming that single product, it renamed every thread on the board. I've been able to reproduce that part. If I name one of the products "example", then every thread on the forum is now called "example".

Verified the issue.

Update coming along shortly and hopefully that does it for this bug. So, what features would YOU like us to add? :D

[Ted S]

So, I'm not a programmer or anything, but is it possible that the code that tells it how to rename a single product just has a typo that tells it to make that new name the title of every single thread?

That was pretty much it... mySQL checks things well but a couple wrong characters and that's all gone. What I call a rookie move but hey, that's why the mod was in beta for everyone to test around.

90% of the mod [as it relates to threads] runs through a default vBulletin process to create and update. This is a very sophisticated routine and helps insure things don't go wrong, in fact there's about a dozen critical error points in the script that if something happens, the script just shuts down and stops to prevent impacting other data.

Of course in the other 10% of stuff that we coded from scratch to work with threads there was a bug that triggered something wrong...

When you code an app you build a lot of elements, then go back and fix them up. Bugs tend to occur when something on day one is messed up by what you do on day 10. As was the case here.

[Ted S]

Version 1.1.1 beta has been released to address a serious bug that can impact thread titles across your forum! All users with previous versions should do a forum back up and upgrade immediately.

While this upgrade appears to resolve the issue completely, 1.1.0 was a significant release and there are likely other features that will need tweaking. As such the mod remains in beta... but is edging much closer to a production version just in time for the holiday season.

Thank you to everyone who helped report and track down the issue and especially malinghi who kept testing through it to report back the exact source.

[owning_y0u]

Cant submit a review due to a removed file since 4.1.4 (functions_wysiwyg.php)

problem can be solved if you change the following in your productforums.php
Find
if($vbulletin->VERSION < '4.1') {
require_once(DIR . '/includes/functions_wysiwyg.php');
$newpost['message'] = convert_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode($message, 1);
} else {
require_once(DIR . '/includes/class_wysiwygparser.php');
$html_parser = new vB_WysiwygHtmlParser($vbulletin);
$newpost['message'] = $html_parser->parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode($message, 1);
}

and replace with
if (version_compare(@$vbulletin->versionnumber, '4.1.4', '>='))
{
require_once(DIR . '/includes/class_wysiwygparser.php');
$html_parser = new vB_WysiwygHtmlParser($vbulletin);
$vbulletin->GPC['message'] = $html_parser->parse_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode($_POST['message'], 0);
} else {
require_once(DIR . '/includes/functions_wysiwyg.php');
$vbulletin->GPC['message'] = convert_wysiwyg_html_to_bbcode($_POST['message'], 0);
}

[Ramsesx]

Hi Ted, thanks for adding the number of written reviews into the user profile.
It would be cool if it could be done by an extra tab and listing all reviews like in the new productforums.php view.
The phrase prodforums_admin_category_added is missing when adding a category.

[jshallo]

Hi Ted, I have upgraded my version and added a category and product with good results. The only problem I'm seeing is that the review comments are not including any (returns) in the body of the text. So this needs to be fixed in the output.

Here is an example:
http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/f49/carnival-magic-177596/

[Ted S]

owning_y0u - thanks for spotting that!

jshallo - we're on it and will issue a sub-release.

Ramsesx - for now we're going to make the count linkable to a search and will work on a tab for 1.2.0 in a few weeks

Any other comments, changes or issues guys? We will have 1.1.2 out this weekend to fix these small, but important issues.

[Alan_SP]

How does this mod work?
Rather than waiting for a user to open up a new thread talking about a product or service, you create a single ?master? thread through your Admin Panel. This automatically creates a product record which shows up in a formatted, easy to follow section above the newly created thread.

Users looking for information can then turn to this single thread to get an overview snapshot, post a follow up question, and of course click over to write their own review or browse the existing ones.

Is it possible to have users create product records?

I'm also thinking that it would be great if we could use something like that as virtual shop on our forums, even without shopping carts. Some people may be interested to use our forums for starting their businesses.

[lazytown]

Awesome mod.. Will install when it looks like most bugs are worked out.

Some Suggestions:
1) Thumbnails on the review listings and review search listings pages
2) WYSIWYG is pretty important for creating reviews (already requested)
3) Ability to add more than 1 picture, additional views of product, etc (possible now?)

Thx!

[downloadsuk]

Without knowing the mod inside out - it would be great if there could be more than just reviews posted for the product. For example, some people may want to ask a question, others post a comment, perhaps link to a related news story, or even related product.

Not sure if this is something that has been considered, but I guess it would encourage further activity around the product reviews. So for example, a user can select if their post is a review, a comment, a question, or additional information.

Great mod though Ted_S. Thanks.

EDIT: +1 for allowing users to add their own products.

[jshallo]

I would like to see the input for the review wider, more like the size of the a normal forum post window rather than a small box. I know I can edit this myself but, I figured I would suggest it.

[Ted S]

Is it possible to have users create product records?

I'm also thinking that it would be great if we could use something like that as virtual shop on our forums, even without shopping carts. Some people may be interested to use our forums for starting their businesses.

Yup.

You can enable this feature per usergroup to give mods or store owners access.

The link appears on the product review over-view page.

[Ted S]

I would like to see the input for the review wider, more like the size of the a normal forum post window rather than a small box. I know I can edit this myself but, I figured I would suggest it.

This will be changed when we add the WYSIWYG editor

[Ted S]

Without knowing the mod inside out - it would be great if there could be more than just reviews posted for the product. For example, some people may want to ask a question, others post a comment, perhaps link to a related news story, or even related product.


Interesting.

Are you seeng it post those items [question, story] to another forum or inside one main thread?

[Ted S]

Awesome mod.. Will install when it looks like most bugs are worked out.

Some Suggestions:
1) Thumbnails on the review listings and review search listings pages
2) WYSIWYG is pretty important for creating reviews (already requested)
3) Ability to add more than 1 picture, additional views of product, etc (possible now?)

Thx!


None of those exist yet but all three are now noted. Thanks!

[downloadsuk]

I think maybe inside the main thread? However, maybe it could be split out in to a different thread, for example "Questions about Apple iPad 2G" - I guess it comes down to each individual webmaster's requirements.

If they were in the same thread, a filter by comment type could even be included.

Interesting.

Are you seeng it post those items [question, story] to another forum or inside one main thread?

[Alan_SP]

If they were in the same thread, a filter by comment type could even be included.

Yes, thinking about it, if it could be filtered, posts of certain types accessed through tabs under product review, it could be excellent.

Don't know what is better technically, using only one thread with different titles for filtering purposes (if it is possible) or some other method for distinction between types of comments, or using different forums for automatically creating thread for filtering?

[Ted S]

Yes, thinking about it, if it could be filtered, posts of certain types accessed through tabs under product review, it could be excellent.

Don't know what is better technically, using only one thread with different titles for filtering purposes (if it is possible) or some other method for distinction between types of comments, or using different forums for automatically creating thread for filtering?

It's hard to filter posts but I like the idea... we add a little column for type and let everything run through it. This way other mods can tap in to the system and post their own contribution like a photogallery program letting members upload photos of the product.

For direct development I've got questions [with answers getting posted inline so they occupy just one post per thread?], facts, reviews. Anything else?

[downloadsuk]

Possibly news as well?

For example, Android Ice Cream Sandwich is going to be released for the Samsung Galaxy S2 - so the product thread for the Samsung Galaxy S2 might benefit from that update?

Just another thought, would there be any potential for custom fields?

For example if we take a product like the iPad - it has multiple configurations - being able to link separately to each configuration might be better than simply creating multiple threads for each configuration.

Many thanks for your work Ted.

[Ted S]

Just another thought, would there be any potential for custom fields?


The plan is to add fields into reviews, so you could do "version" or "screen". If you want multiple product details, you can use HTML in the post to build headers.

[Domiav]

i'm going to have a problem with this product, i've installed it on a fresh vbulletin 4.1.7 board..everything work well but when i go to make a review of a product i obtain a white page after pressing "post review" button.
any idea on why i've this problem?

also, and this is problably a noob question:D, i don't understand how a user can post a new product; i've put on yes the "Allow Members to Post Products" option on the ACP but i can't figure out where is the form or any link for add a product using the front end.
thank you!

[Ted S]

i'm going to have a problem with this product, i've installed it on a fresh vbulletin 4.1.7 board..everything work well but when i go to make a review of a product i obtain a white page after pressing "post review" button.
any idea on why i've this problem?

Try uploading the attached version of upload/productforums.php and let me know what that does for you.

If not, let me know if the review is saved... And if the url is correct [i.e. it's loading a valid file on your site].


also, and this is problably a noob question:D, i don't understand how a user can post a new product; i've put on yes the "Allow Members to Post Products" option on the ACP but i can't figure out where is the form or any link for add a product using the front end.

Very fair question actually.

If you load up productforums.php it will let people search & browse your reviews and also adds the "post new product" link. You can add this page to your navigation or just add the post product link somewhere. I'd suggest your navbar but every site is different.

[bigtree]

This is very cool. I've installed and its working great but I have one problem. I am using vbseo which must be effecting why I cannot access the productforums.php page.

Is it possible to import a forum page? or better yet, export the review into the thread? Either way would be a great bonus here because I have hundreds of threads that could be turned into reviews.

[bigtree]

no worries on the file, I just clued in.

Please consider my other request?

[bigtree]

better all the time!

This is showing up on the review
<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->
review content
<!-- END TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->

[Mr_Running]

better all the time!

This is showing up on the review
<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->
review content
<!-- END TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->

Reported on
07 Sep 2011 - Post #18 earlier version

I have this product disable as it will not uninstall :(

I like the concept of the product but it's a true beta.

[Ted S]

This is very cool. I've installed and its working great but I have one problem. I am using vbseo which must be effecting why I cannot access the productforums.php page.


What error do you get? What does your .htaccess file look like?


Is it possible to import a forum page? or better yet, export the review into the thread? Either way would be a great bonus here because I have hundreds of threads that could be turned into reviews.

I'm sure it could be done but it would require a manual process to bring the necessary structure [product id, rating score] to the item.

Something like:

INSERT into pf_review SET
productid = XXX,
threadid = XXX,
userid = XXX,
rating = XXX,
createddate = NOW(),
approved = 1;

Then run the resync query by approving a reviews on the product or a little script

Much faster than trying to rewrite them all but still manual.

[Ted S]

I have this product disable as it will not uninstall :(

You will need to be more specific.... "it will not" or "it does not" is not something I can solve.

As for your issue; as I said to post #18. The code is not being output by this modification and is a result of a setting on your forum.

I like the concept of the product but it's a true beta.

Hence why it's labeled beta... :eek:

[bigtree]

Originally Posted by bigtree View Post

This is very cool. I've installed and its working great but I have one problem. I am using vbseo which must be effecting why I cannot access the productforums.php page.

What error do you get? What does your .htaccess file look like?
Its all working but I have, I forgot to load the productforums.php to the root.

[bigtree]

better all the time!

This is showing up on the review
<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->
review content
<!-- END TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->

Why am I getting this?

[Ted S]

This is showing up on the review
<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->
review content
<!-- END TEMPLATE: prodforums_review_postcontent -->

This code is not generated by this modification and is not a bug [for the other user who reported it as such]. Rather it is a setting collision.

The code sppears to be debugging either from vBulletin setting [see below] but can also come from other modification. As a result you are getting comments printed out that would be hidden in HTML but are being translated into a post here.

Step 1: Disable Add Template Name in HTML Comments which is under "General Settings"

Step 2: If that does not resolve it, disable mods on your test board until you find which one is adding it.

[Ted S]

Its all working but I have, I forgot to load the productforums.php to the root.

Great!

[Ted S]

Why am I getting this?

Slow down there... I know you're eager to get your site looking perfect and test out new mods but it does take time to review comments and see what's going on when you consider the near infinite number of setting and mod customization combinations.

One post with an issue is all you need. :D

[bigtree]

As you can see, I'm pretty excited about this.

Can the Admin copy past HTML. Being able to add tables would be pretty sweet.

[bigtree]

Okay sorry, I'm tossing a pile on you and thinking you will take this all as stuff to consider over time. Just brain storming with you.

[Ted S]

As you can see, I'm pretty excited about this.

Can the Admin copy past HTML. Being able to add tables would be pretty sweet.

Products can use HTML. As long as it's well formated and you avoid form tags which will break the editor it should work.

[Ted S]

Okay sorry, I'm tossing a pile on you and thinking you will take this all as stuff to consider over time. Just brain storming with you.

Ideas are never a problem nor are reports... pile them on.

I was referring to your reposting of the issue with the commenting... Having one post per user per issue helps speed things up dramatically when you're trying to dig through dozens of posts. Beyond that all is good in the world :D

Thanks

[Ted S]

1.1.2 has been posted.

This is a minor bug fix which addresses issues with some versions of 4.0.x not being able to post reviews, fixes line breaks in reviews and insures that the template debugging option in vBulletin is disabled as well as minor typo fixes.

Upgrading [upload all .php files and the plugin .xml file] is suggested but not required.

In addition the pending-change log in post #4 has been updated with new suggestions.

Bug and core adjustments will continue for another week at which point we hope to officially move the mod to a stable state.

[bigtree]

That fixed it for me. Thank you! All works very nice.

[Ted S]

That fixed it for me. Thank you! All works very nice.

Fantastic!

I'll be on the road for a few days and while I don't think there's any true importer I can build, I'm sure we can add a little script that helps you "guide" threads in... basically lets you fill in the right details and makes them into reviews for you.

[Ramsesx]

I'll have to find away around that tip...

The issue with making posts rather than using a table is that you lose the structure. Rather than having a price field you can edit, you have a price line in a string. Parsing all this apart is not ideal and updating it [either for new reviews or changes to products] becomes a poor experience.
Ted, on archive view the "This is an empty post" issue is existing too.
I'm not a coder but wouldn't it be an idea to have a dual output when creating a new product? Means, the product description goes to pf_product_description and post_pagetext?
Some other things I observed:
- if trying to + Add New Product on productforums.php it gives me the VBulletin message "This feature is currently not in use", have I missed to enable anything?
- if quick reply is enabled this may lead some users to using this instead pressing the "Write your own" text
- I still don't understand why there is the "View all reviews on *" link in each review because it leads to the same site again I am right now
Suggestions:
- having the overall rating of the product shown in the forumdisplay view right beside the thread title
- Ratings using Rich Snippets see here (http://www.gdstarrating.com/2009/11/02/ratings-in-google-search-results/)

Enjoy your trip.

[Domiav]

Try uploading the attached version of upload/productforums.php and let me know what that does for you.

If not, let me know if the review is saved... And if the url is correct [i.e. it's loading a valid file on your site].


work! thank you!


Very fair question actually.

If you load up productforums.php it will let people search & browse your reviews and also adds the "post new product" link. You can add this page to your navigation or just add the post product link somewhere. I'd suggest your navbar but every site is different.
ok, so i've another problem:)
on productforums.php page i don't have any "add a product" link(you can see it into the attachment).
i'm browsing like administrator and of course the "admin usergroup" have the right on "yes" for add a new product.

At last, and this is a feature request, is there a way to add also on the review form the price that a user spent to bought the products?

[Ramsesx]

ok, so i've another problem:)
on productforums.php page i don't have any "add a product" link(you can see it into the attachment).
i'm browsing like administrator and of course the "admin usergroup" have the right on "yes" for add a new product.

Have you set Product Review Forum Settings --> Allow Members to Post Products to yes?

[Domiav]

Have you set Product Review Forum Settings --> Allow Members to Post Products to yes?

yes sure, the permissions was all on yes.
However i've solved with the last release, i've seen that Ted have changed like 0,02kbs on the code from the attachment file that gived to me and the last release; i've tried to upload the last one and here we go, i've the add product link;)
He problably changed the right 0,02Kbs part of code:D

Looking for the feature request; thank you again for the support!

[Domiav]

ok, another little problem; on the "buy this product" link when i click on it the system put the forum url before the shop url; for example if i put www.newegg.com when i click on buy this product i will redirect to:
www.mywebsite.com/forum/www.newegg.com that of course give a 404 error.

can also someone show me how to translate the mod? is everywhere into the productforums.php? i just need to revert the text link part into my language?
If yes, i'll release for free the translated version if may help.

[downloadsuk]

ok, another little problem; on the "buy this product" link when i click on it the system put the forum url before the shop url; for example if i put www.newegg.com when i click on buy this product i will redirect to:
www.mywebsite.com/forum/www.newegg.com that of course give a 404 error.

can also someone show me how to translate the mod? is everywhere into the productforums.php? i just need to revert the text link part into my language?
If yes, i'll release for free the translated version if may help.

Try adding http:// to www.newegg.com

[Ted S]

Ted, on archive view the "This is an empty post" issue is existing too.

Hum. Hadn't considered the archive as it's faded off. We'll have to code around that.

The issue with trying to sync up a post is the frequent changes. Sure it's possible but you're basically rebuilding a post every time an edit / review / post happens and there's really no benefit to the user as it's just a big unstructured blob of text.


- if trying to + Add New Product on productforums.php it gives me the VBulletin message "This feature is currently not in use", have I missed to enable anything?


Yes.


- if quick reply is enabled this may lead some users to using this instead pressing the "Write your own" text


Not sure what you mean


- I still don't understand why there is the "View all reviews on *" link in each review because it leads to the same site again I am right now


Beacuse each post can be viewed individually. If you don't like this appearing you can edit it out of the template.

[Ted S]

ok, another little problem; on the "buy this product" link when i click on it the system put the forum url before the shop url; for example if i put www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) when i click on buy this product i will redirect to:
www.mywebsite.com/forum/www.newegg.com (http://www.mywebsite.com/forum/www.newegg.com) that of course give a 404 error.


Given that it's an admin feature we didn't think to include a url validator but now that user's have access to the feature we will validate them in a future release.

[Ted S]

At last, and this is a feature request, is there a way to add also on the review form the price that a user spent to bought the products?

See post #4 of this thread.

[Ted S]

- Ratings using Rich Snippets see here (http://www.gdstarrating.com/2009/11/02/ratings-in-google-search-results/)


Supporting the OP meta data is planned.

[Domiav]

Given that it's an admin feature we didn't think to include a url validator but now that user's have access to the feature we will validate them in a future release.

Try adding http:// to www.newegg.com

you was in right, solved adding http:// thx!

[bigtree]

After update to 1.2

I get raw html size=3 in the review now. When I posted the code here it actually resolved

Excellent

[bigtree]

I see, Allow Size BB Code needs to be enabled for the forums

[bigtree]

More suggestions:

Is there a way to distinguish the Review thread created as a "REVIEW"? on the forums? They appear as a standard thread lost in the quagmire sort-of-speak.

Also, would it be better SEO to have the word "Review" added to the "end" of the title page? Something that makes the review better indexed as a product "review".
When I google search for reviews I always include the word review in the search query.

Cheers!

[Ted S]

Is there a way to distinguish the Review thread created as a "REVIEW"? on the forums? They appear as a standard thread lost in the quagmire sort-of-speak.


Not sure what you mean... They are normal threads with review content. See part II about titles.

Also, would it be better SEO to have the word "Review" added to the "end" of the title page? Something that makes the review better indexed as a product "review".
When I google search for reviews I always include the word review in the search query

Totally up to the forum and their optimization tactics. You can append every thread with a word if you like but for best optimization I suggest using just one thread per product with reviews as follow-up posts. This gives engines a single block to spider as a frequently updated product entry rather than many different, and often dated, reviews to try and pick from.

[Ted S]

I see, Allow Size BB Code needs to be enabled for the forums

Or you can edit the review template to remove the font sizes.

[bigtree]

Adding content.

With vbulletin 4, Forums or CMS, I can simply copy and paste manufacturers content perfectly without having to code it. Even easier, I can simply highlight it and drag it to the message box (drag and drop) and it writes it perfect. Press save and its there. I understand tables are a problem but how about just text so we don't have to do all the line breaks, bolding etc. It would make this very robust.

To my testing, we can't do that here. If we could do this with the Product Review , that would be awesome.

[bigtree]

More suggestions for you:

If the images could be a set thumbnail, clicking onto them enlarges.

[bigtree]

Not sure what you mean... They are normal threads with review content. See part II about titles.



Totally up to the forum and their optimization tactics. You can append every thread with a word if you like but for best optimization I suggest using just one thread per product with reviews as follow-up posts. This gives engines a single block to spider as a frequently updated product entry rather than many different, and often dated, reviews to try and pick from.

Possibly an tiny icon or prefix that distinguishes the review threads created.

[1320Nation]

Please tell me this is not some bad news!
Btw, I searched rather quickly through the pages on this mod a saw something similar to what I posted around thread #60(something?). Anyway, to get this error message I was trying to leave a review on a the one and only product I have added so far. I tried reducing the amount of text I had in the Product Comments section, with no luck. I tried changing the name in Review Headline, and switching from 5 stars to a 3 star selection, again all with no luck. The error message below kept appearing after each attempt.
I'm running a 4.1.7 version board and Products Review Forums v1.1.2beta file.

vBulletin Message
Oh great, you had to go and press THAT button. There goes the whole site. Just kidding... We had an issue posting your review, please try again or contact support and use code 164250-B

[downloadsuk]

Hi Ted,

We've spent a week or so now playing around with this mod - customising it etc. It really is great - however, since we are looking to potentially add thousands of products, our concern is bulk management - for example, products get updated, specs / prices change.

What is the potential for being able to 'update' products with a bulk XML file - for example, the first column we include the unique product ID, and then the subsequent columns of information will update that specific product.

Obviously in order to do this, we would need to be able to export the current list of products as well...

Thanks,

[jshallo]

Things are working good. I could use it but, I'm looking to add custom fields now.

[Akangage]

I try it on vB 4.1.7 follow your step etc etc, the result is...

This is empty post

Whats wrong?

[Alfa1]

since we are looking to potentially add thousands of products, our concern is bulk management
Please keep in mind that vbulletin has a maximum number of forums that you can have, after which you will encounter performance issues. Forums are not fit to be used as a large number of review categories.

[downloadsuk]

I try it on vB 4.1.7 follow your step etc etc, the result is...



Whats wrong?

You need to enable the forum to allow for product reviews - edit the settings of the forum - it's the last option.

[Alan_SP]

Please keep in mind that vbulletin has a maximum number of forums that you can have, after which you will encounter performance issues. Forums are not fit to be used as a large number of review categories.

Well, he speaks about thousands of products, they could go in numerous categories, but it hardly would exceed few dozens of them, asking for not too many forums. Forum is category, and each category could have thousands of products.

[bigtree]

FYI

This works fine on 4.1.7 . Looking forward to the official release.

Cheers!

[downloadsuk]

I've had another idea for a potential feature - could we have a field for 'tags', which are then used as tags for that particular 'thread'/review/product?

Also, any idea how I can remove/replace the dollar sign in the product listings page?
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2011/11/71.jpg

Thanks.

[Ted S]

Hi Ted,

We've spent a week or so now playing around with this mod - customising it etc. It really is great - however, since we are looking to potentially add thousands of products, our concern is bulk management - for example, products get updated, specs / prices change.

What is the potential for being able to 'update' products with a bulk XML file - for example, the first column we include the unique product ID, and then the subsequent columns of information will update that specific product.

Obviously in order to do this, we would need to be able to export the current list of products as well...

Thanks,

The latest release brings in internal categories, review browsing and even XML importing so you should be just fine with hundreds, even thousands of products.

We'll be extending the importer a bit in the next version to allow scheduled updates.

If you're looking at millions things change a bunch and I can walk you through that directly.

[Ted S]

I've had another idea for a potential feature - could we have a field for 'tags', which are then used as tags for that particular 'thread'/review/product?

Very possible... How would you use them? Who would create them?


Also, any idea how I can remove/replace the dollar sign in the product listings page?



Edit the template and / or phrase as you see fit.

[Ted S]

Please tell me this is not some bad news!
Btw, I searched rather quickly through the pages on this mod a saw something similar to what I posted around thread #60(something?). Anyway, to get this error message I was trying to leave a review on a the one and only product I have added so far. I tried reducing the amount of text I had in the Product Comments section, with no luck. I tried changing the name in Review Headline, and switching from 5 stars to a 3 star selection, again all with no luck. The error message below kept appearing after each attempt.
I'm running a 4.1.7 version board and Products Review Forums v1.1.2beta file.

vBulletin Message
Oh great, you had to go and press THAT button. There goes the whole site. Just kidding... We had an issue posting your review, please try again or contact support and use code 164250-B

This error means that after creating the post an internal ID is not being returned which opens the door to data issues... thus the error to stop from going further.

Double check all of your vBulletin install files are updated to the most recent version.

[paradox1666]

When I write a review and submit it, I got this message in post: This is an empty post

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2011/11/76.png

Please fast help me

[downloadsuk]

Thanks Ted - is there any chance we can get the product name in the URL for the list of reviews? Currently it is; /productforums.php?do=matches&productid=25

It would be good to have it as /productforums.php?do=matches&productid=25&name=Xbox-360

This way we can use vBSEO to make the URL look a lot nicer, i.e. /reviews/Xbox-360/25/

[downloadsuk]

When I write a review and submit it, I got this message in post: This is an empty post

http://uploadtak.com/images/34mbkiy7g8s0wigmkn7f.png

Please fast help me

Try reading the instructions in the original post;

"You must enable the modification in each forum you wish to designate for products and you must create products in order for the mod to show up. "

[Ted S]

Thanks Ted - is there any chance we can get the product name in the URL for the list of reviews? Currently it is; /productforums.php?do=matches&productid=25

It would be good to have it as /productforums.php?do=matches&productid=25&name=Xbox-360

This way we can use vBSEO to make the URL look a lot nicer, i.e. /reviews/Xbox-360/25/

If you want to customize your url structure it would take a bit of work to find each link but should not be difficult to add a title too and then remap with htaccess as you see fit.

[Killhunter]

How can I remove the Giftery.me social link? Is there a german translation (If not: I would do one if you explain me how). Will you create a "gold" edition or will you keep it free?

[Ted S]

How can I remove the Giftery.me social link?

To change the social sharing links, edit the product template and you can remove any you don't want or add attributes to others.

Is there a german translation (If not: I would do one if you explain me how).

None that I have seen. To translate a mod you just edit everything you want adjusted through the Phrase Manager and type in your translations.

Will you create a "gold" edition or will you keep it free?

I don't do paid mods. This will always be free.

[bigtree]

How cool it this.
Ted, how far away are we from stable?

[bigtree]

Ted, is there any way to make the text box capable of drag and drop so we don't have to enter raw html or is there a setting I need to activate?

[Killhunter]

Ted, could you make the box for the review bigger in the next release?

And I have another question: When i add a product, in my sidebar (last posts) is the following text: This is an empty post.

Could you fix that, so that the product description is there?

I also think that it would be greater, if you could write a little program which makes the pictures as big as I want to have them. And the product description should stand next to the picture and not under it. ;)

I really love your work!

[Ted S]

Ted, is there any way to make the text box capable of drag and drop so we don't have to enter raw html or is there a setting I need to activate?

Not sure what you mean

[Ted S]

How cool it this.
Ted, how far away are we from stable?

Given the comments it seems like we're there. Probably push out a few more tweaks this weekend to make it official.

[Killhunter]

To change the social sharing links, edit the product template and you can remove any you don't want or add attributes to others.

And where can I do that?

[bigtree]

Adding content.

With vbulletin 4, Forums or CMS editor, I can copy and paste "manufacturers" web content perfectly without having to code it ( add raw code). Example: I can simply highlight text from a website and drag it to the vb editor (drag and drop) save writes it perfect. No need to put the <b> <u> <br>

I understand tables are a problem for this layout but how about just text so we don't have to do all the line breaks, bolding etc adding content for Product Review. Does this make more sense?

To my testing, we can't do that here unless I add the html . If we could do this with the Product Review , that would be awesome making, adding content very fast!

[Ted S]

Ted, could you make the box for the review bigger in the next release?

Sure thing. That will move to the WYSIWYG editor anyways.

And I have another question: When i add a product, in my sidebar (last posts) is the following text: This is an empty post.

What mod or feature is pulling that in?

I also think that it would be greater, if you could write a little program which makes the pictures as big as I want to have them. And the product description should stand next to the picture and not under it.

Assuming the mod grows in installs we'll be writing an image uploader to resize the photos and do a thumbnail / medium / large version.