External PHP File - Display User Location in "Who's Online"

[Mko]

Hey all,
I have a question regarding external files.
To start off:
- I have vBulletin installed to mysite.com/forums.
- I have a homepage at mysite.com/index.php (which has working login to forums)

However, I've been unable to figure out what needs to be done so, if a user is viewing mysite.com/index.php, their User Location would read something like "Viewing Homepage SITENAME".
Essentially, I want it so there's a custom User Location that displays when a user is viewing mysite.com/index.php, because right now, the User Location only updates if the user is browsing any file in mysite.com/forums

Thanks for any and all help,
Mark

[kh99]

You may be able to do it with a couple of plugins - I guess it depends on how the login on your home page is implemented. But if you look at this article https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=228112 and scroll to the bottom to the section "Instructions to Add your Page to the Who's Online List (WOL):", there's an example of the two plugins you need.

[Mko]

You may be able to do it with a couple of plugins - I guess it depends on how the login on your home page is implemented. But if you look at this article https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=228112 and scroll to the bottom to the section "Instructions to Add your Page to the Who's Online List (WOL):", there's an example of the two plugins you need.
I've simply included global.php and copy and pasted the navbar login code into my homepage to get login to work.
Anyways, I gave your attempt a try. The location in the `session` table on my forums updates correctly (it displays / which means I'm on my homepage). Yet, on my Current Activity, it says 'Viewing Index SITENAME' instead of what is defined through the plugins you linked me to.

[kh99]

Hmm...well, whatever you set $userinfo['activity'] to in the first plugin is the case you want to check for in the second plugin (it's 'mypage' in the example) - do you have yours that way? I think if the session table is showing '/' that must mean you used '/' and that the first plugin is working.

Edit: is your homepage called index.php? I suppose that might conflict with some of the existing cases.

[Mko]

Hmm...well, whatever you set $userinfo['activity'] to in the first plugin is the case you want to check for in the second plugin (it's 'mypage' in the example) - do you have yours that way? I think if the session table is showing '/' that must mean you used '/' and that the first plugin is working.

Edit: is your homepage called index.php? I suppose that might conflict with some of the existing cases.
Yeah, my homepage is called index.php :/
Would renaming it to home.php be of some use?

P.S. For the Plugin online_location_process:
switch ($filename)
{
case '../':
Would '../' be correct, or would it need to be './' if I'm trying to evaluate the case of a file outside of my /forums/ directory?

[kh99]

Yeah, my homepage is called index.php :/
Would renaming it to home.php be of some use?

That might work. You might also be able to create another plugin using hook online_location_preprocess and change $filename (if you can figure out how to know when you're on your homepage). For example, if you set a THIS_SCRIPT value in your home page (maybe with value 'homepage', then use this code on online_location_preprocess:

if (THIS_SCRIPT == 'homepage')
{
$filename = 'homepage';
}



Then in the online_location_process plugin use case 'homepage'.

P.S. For the Plugin online_location_process:
switch ($filename)
{
case '../':
Would '../' be correct, or would it need to be './' if I'm trying to evaluate the case of a file outside of my /forums/ directory?


I'm not sure - I'd probably need to set up a test and then print out the value to know for sure. But if the above works, then it won't matter.

[Mko]

That might work. You might also be able to create another plugin using hook online_location_preprocess and change $filename (if you can figure out how to know when you're on your homepage). For example, if you set a THIS_SCRIPT value in your home page (maybe with value 'homepage', then use this code on online_location_preprocess:

if (THIS_SCRIPT == 'homepage')
{
$filename = 'homepage';
}
Then in the online_location_process plugin use case 'homepage'.




I'm not sure - I'd probably need to set up a test and then print out the value to know for sure. But if the above works, then it won't matter.
Alright. Renaming it to home.php works. I still get an 'Unknown Location' error.
My current online_location_process:

switch ($filename)
{
case '../home.php':
$userinfo['activity'] = 'homepage';
break;
}
My current online_location_unknown:

switch ($userinfo['activity'])
{
case 'homepage':
$userinfo['where'] = '<a href="test.php?'.$vbulletin->session->vars[sessionurl].'">My Page</a>';
$userinfo['action'] = "Viewing My Page";
break;
}
It still seems to be an issue with the home.php's path, though :s

Also, for your snippet for online_location_preprocess, would I have to change the case in my online_location_process plugin to be 'homepage' instead of the filepath?

[kh99]

I think you only need the file name, so maybe try using case 'home.php': and don't put any path.


Also, for your snippet for online_location_preprocess, would I have to change the case in my online_location_process plugin to be 'homepage' instead of the filepath?


Yes, I believe so.

[Mko]

I think you only need the file name, so maybe try using case 'home.php': and don't put any path.

Yes, I believe so.
Neither of those options worked, sadly :c
I've tried: /home.php, ./home.php, ../home.php, /../home.php, ./../home.php, ../../home.php, home.php, and homepage.

[kh99]

Yeah, you know, someone asked about this a while back and I made the same mistake - it doesn't work to check THIS_SCRIPT because that doesn't run until someone goes to look at the who's online info.

The idea of changing the script to home.php might work but I think maybe you need to call the function exec_shut_down() in your script or else the location never gets updated in the session table. (I think you can call it any time you're done with the vb part). And you don't need the online_location_preprocess plugin for that method.

(While you're trying that I'm going to look in to it more).

[kh99]

OK, this seems to work: name your script home.php, add a call to exec_shut_down(), then in the online_location_process plugin use case 'home.php' (with no path). Then just make sure whatever string you use for $userinfo['activity'] is the same one you use in the case in the online_location_unknown plugin.

[Mko]

OK, this seems to work: name your script home.php, add a call to exec_shut_down(), then in the online_location_process plugin use case 'home.php' (with no path). Then just make sure whatever string you use for $userinfo['activity'] is the same one you use in the case in the online_location_unknown plugin.
Still doesn't work. For the plugins I'm calling inside vB:
online_location_process:
switch ($filename)
{
case 'home.php':
$userinfo['activity'] = 'homepage';
break;
}online_location_unknown:
switch ($userinfo['activity'])
{
case 'homepage':
$userinfo['where'] = '<a href="home.php?'.$vbulletin->session->vars[sessionurl].'">Homepage</a>';
$userinfo['action'] = "Viewing Homepage";
break;
}Thanks for the continued help ^_^

[kh99]

Hmm...I don't see anything wrong with that. When you look at the session table what does it say now? If it doesn't say home.php (possibly with a path in front of it) then I think it means it's still some issue with your home.php script. If it does have home.php in it then it's something to do with one of the plugins.

[Mko]

Hmm...I don't see anything wrong with that. When you look at the session table what does it say now? If it doesn't say home.php (possibly with a path in front of it) then I think it means it's still some issue with your home.php script. If it does have home.php in it then it's something to do with one of the plugins.
The location that's stored in the database when I view home.php is:
/

Not sure how I'd get around that :s

[kh99]

The location that's stored in the database when I view home.php is:
/

Not sure how I'd get around that :s


Yeah, I'm not sure why that is. I created a file named 'test.php' that just does a chdir to the forum directory and includes global.php, then calls exec_shut_down(), and when I browse to that file then look at the session table it says "./test4.php".

Is there anything else in your script that might access a vbulletin page?

[Mko]

Yeah, I'm not sure why that is. I created a file named 'test.php' that just does a chdir to the forum directory and includes global.php, then calls exec_shut_down(), and when I browse to that file then look at the session table it says "./test4.php".

Is there anything else in your script that might access a vbulletin page?
Whoops, was an error on my part. Sorry :(
Now, when I go to mysite.com/home.php, the value in the `session` table is actually /home.php! So, the value's getting stored in the table. All that we need to do is to get rid of that pesky Unknown Location :c

Do you think this can still be accomplished through those two plugins, or would there need to be some other modifications done to accomplish this?

Thanks for your continued help :)

--------------- Added 1357935560 at 1357935560 ---------------

I've fixed it! Turns out that the plugins I had added didn't work - they were designed for vB4, not vB3 :c

My final result:
online_location_process:
if ($filename == 'home.php') {
$userinfo['activity'] = 'homepage';
}

online_location_unknown:
if ($userinfo['activity'] == 'homepage') {
$userinfo['action'] = "Viewing Homepage";
$userinfo['where'] = "<a href='google.com'>Google</a>";
$handled = true;
}

As always, thanks for your help! I really appreciate it :)