Links and Downloads Manager

[AndrewD]

NOOOOOOOO! Keep it i need it coz as you might remember i plan to play mp3s thru this addon. and my artists dont want people to be able to download there mp3's just stream them. i dunno if it would be possible with the media player thing / or will be possible in some other way but i was gonna make a flash player so users can only stream music from my site not download it... this is kinda crutal to my site. unless you have anyother ideas that is :rolleyes: :D


cheers andrew

OK, will investigate.

[bhxtyrant]

Hey andrew,having a bit of a problem here,I just upgraded our forums and installed the update for this mod and everything works fine on the outside but on the inside when i try to change anything in the "settings and permissions" area of the admin page i get the following error

The following setting(s) are invalid
days_seen_on_portal : 0,0
Return

i have tried changed the option for "days seen on portal" to many different ones from 0 and up but it still get this error.I think it may be because i upgraded from the old 1.60 but im not sure.any help would be appreciated :)

[AndrewD]

Hey andrew,having a bit of a problem here,I just upgraded our forums and installed the update for this mod and everything works fine on the outside but on the inside when i try to change anything in the "settings and permissions" area of the admin page i get the following error



i have tried changed the option for "days seen on portal" to many different ones from 0 and up but it still get this error.I think it may be because i upgraded from the old 1.60 but im not sure.any help would be appreciated :)

Do you get exactly the same error regardless of the value you put in the option field? If so, I think that the form must be returning the wrong value to the code. Take a look at your main admincp/style manager and see if the system is showing rthat you mave multiple versions of templates like links_admin_onesetting_start, etc. If so, it's picking up the wrong template - perhaps the old versions were not cleared out during the upgrade (should have happened automatically).

If this is the not the problem, go to the links admin/settings page, do a 'view source', and email me the result - ad_rodin (at) noos.fr. Also a dump of the local_linksadmin table from your database.

[GrendelKhan{TSU]

is there any word on an UPLOAD feature in future update? that feature is still killing me in my going back and forther between this and the vbDownloads hack. ;)

[AndrewD]

is there any word on an UPLOAD feature in future update? that feature is still killing me in my going back and forther between this and the vbDownloads hack. ;)

The word is *mark this very carefully and pay me in gold coins* - the alpha code is written and running on my PC and should be ready for beta testing soon.

To briefly explain:

Upload will be handled as an additional field on the 'add link' form. It is only visible when
a) the current user's usergroup has *can_upload_files* permission
b) the master switch *uploads_enabled* is turned on
c) the total disk space used for uploads is less than a per-site maximum

Uploads will only be available for file with recognised mimetypes according to the standard vb admin settings.

OK

[bhxtyrant]

Do you get exactly the same error regardless of the value you put in the option field? If so, I think that the form must be returning the wrong value to the code. Take a look at your main admincp/style manager and see if the system is showing rthat you mave multiple versions of templates like links_admin_onesetting_start, etc. If so, it's picking up the wrong template - perhaps the old versions were not cleared out during the upgrade (should have happened automatically).

If this is the not the problem, go to the links admin/settings page, do a 'view source', and email me the result - ad_rodin (at) noos.fr. Also a dump of the local_linksadmin table from your database.
No i don't get the same error exactly depending on the value.The error looks like this.
The following setting(s) are invalid
days_seen_on_portal : 30,0

with the number "30" before ",0" changing to whatever value i put in for "days seen on portal"

I checked templates and nope only one set of templates for LDM is showing up.I will e-mail you the source in a moment but i wont have access to get you the mysql dump until our admin is online.Thanks for the help.

[PtP]

I am having the same problem, just a little more info to help, whatever I imput into that field it aphends ,30 to it ie: I put 0 in I get 0,30 as the error and if I put 30 in I get 30,30. Hope this helps in diagnosis.


Hey andrew,having a bit of a problem here,I just upgraded our forums and installed the update for this mod and everything works fine on the outside but on the inside when i try to change anything in the "settings and permissions" area of the admin page i get the following error



i have tried changed the option for "days seen on portal" to many different ones from 0 and up but it still get this error.I think it may be because i upgraded from the old 1.60 but im not sure.any help would be appreciated :)

[bhxtyrant]

yep that is the same thing i get,i have determined that the two numbers in the error message are from

"days_seen_on_portal"=0 and "default_forumid"=0
Which looks like this 0,0 in the error message.

Besides this everything else seems to work perfectly.

:EDIT: e-mail sent

i also notice when i go to edit/create a new link that in the "Parent Forum" portion in the old version it used to have a list of all my forums on vB but now the only thing there is "Parent Forum,None" :ermm:

[Benj]

The word is *mark this very carefully and pay me in gold coins* - the alpha code is written and running on my PC and should be ready for beta testing soon.

To briefly explain:

Upload will be handled as an additional field on the 'add link' form. It is only visible when
a) the current user's usergroup has *can_upload_files* permission
b) the master switch *uploads_enabled* is turned on
c) the total disk space used for uploads is less than a per-site maximum

Uploads will only be available for file with recognised mimetypes according to the standard vb admin settings.

OK

andrews a legend ;)

[AndrewD]

i also notice when i go to edit/create a new link that in the "Parent Forum" portion in the old version it used to have a list of all my forums on vB but now the only thing there is "Parent Forum,None" :ermm:

Precisely .. that is what I must track down.

[bhxtyrant]

I see,thanks for the replies and help by the way.Also note that i just tried uninstalling and reinstalling LDM through the admin panel but didnt help any.I still get the same issues.

On a more positive note i really love the way the new version is set up,It's so easy to customize templates in the version.I made a similar setup in vB as well to make it a bit easier for myself.Last time on 3.0 i was hard coding all my templates which took up a lot of time.

I would just say the heck with it and reinstall the mod from scratch (as it worked perfectly fine when i installed it for testing on another server) but if i were to do that i would have to re-add the 2000 links in my database and re-create the catagories/sub catagory structure :ermm: good luck.I will get you that mysql dump asap.

[AndrewD]

yep that is the same thing i get,i have determined that the two numbers in the error message are from

"days_seen_on_portal"=0 and "default_forumid"=0
Which looks like this 0,0 in the error message.

Besides this everything else seems to work perfectly.

:EDIT: e-mail sent


i also notice when i go to edit/create a new link that in the "Parent Forum" portion in the old version it used to have a list of all my forums on vB but now the only thing there is "Parent Forum,None" :ermm:


You've turned off the Forum Jump menu in the main vb admincp , haven't you... For the time being, the problem should go away if you turn if back on - at least for long enough to set the value you want for the days_seen_on_portal and default_forum_id parameters. I'll investigate further - I had handled this situation correctly with VB3.0, but I need to work out the fix for vb35.

[AndrewD]

Some of you are experiencing problems with setting the days_seen_on_portal and default_forumid parameters. I think you will find that you have switched off the forumjump in your main vb admin. You can fix the problem in one of two ways:

Either
a) Turn Use Forum Jump back on for the length of time you need to set these parameters

or

b) Patch local_linksadmin.php. At line 184, change
construct_forum_jump();
to read
// Force construct_forum_jump to return a result even if user has turned off the forumjump menu
$vbulletin->options['useforumjump'] = 1;
construct_forum_jump();

The same bug also hits the add link, edit link, add category and edit category forms, which may lack a forum selection list is you have turned off forum jumps. The solution is exactly the same, at the relevant places in local_links.php.

This will be fixed in the next release of LDM.

[bhxtyrant]

Hey Andrew,Yes thats what it was alright.We have the ForumJump menu disabled on our forums because we really have to use for it as all links are clearly accessable on menu's and such on our forums/site.I applied your fix and it's now working perfectly.Thanks alot for helping with the problem. :) i love the new version so far.lots of nice features.

[Blackbeard]

Iam having one small problem, thumbnail images are not being shown, set to 64, not using tables but the other option, i get a white square with unable and i cannot read rest of message, what am i doing wrong.

Also is there a way to link it with ftp site with username and password as it will not connect to one.

[bhxtyrant]

Iam having one small problem, thumbnail images are not being shown, set to 64, not using tables but the other option, i get a white square with unable and i cannot read rest of message, what am i doing wrong.

Also is there a way to link it with ftp site with username and password as it will not connect to one.

About the image problem,I had the same issue a while back and it was because we didnt have GD installed on our server.Do you know if you have it?

[Blackbeard]

Links and Downloads Database
Code 2.0.5
MySQL 4.0.25-standard
PHP 4.4.0
allow_url_fopen Yes
cURL Yes
GD2 Yes

looking at the table at bottom of settings its says yes and i dont have problems displaying thumbnails on the forum

[AndrewD]

Iam having one small problem, thumbnail images are not being shown, set to 64, not using tables but the other option, i get a white square with unable and i cannot read rest of message, what am i doing wrong.

The string probably reads 'unable to load ...' which means that the thumbnail display script has not been able to read the file. Try creating a new link in which you use the image filename as the link itself, and see if clicking on it works. Do any thumbnails work or is it just this one?

Also is there a way to link it with ftp site with username and password as it will not connect to one.

I have not tried this, but I had not coded anything special for usernames/passwords. Are you using the fopen or curl interface? Curl, if available, is used by default.

[bhxtyrant]

Just noticed another small problem which is more then likely the same issue in another file.In any "edit" menu for catagories,sub catagories or mass edit's the same problem with only "Parent Forum" and "none" showing up.I checked out the Local_links.php file and noticed it uses the same code "construct_forum_jump();" so i tried adding the same fix but it didnt seem to work lol thought it would be easy but i guess not.Any possible fix for that as well?

[TundraSoul]

Here's a suggestion for this to make searching the database more accurate and useful.

When you add or edit a link, offer the ability to associate the link with a an item from the users profile. For instance, lets say the user is from California, and there's a user profile field with a list of states, one being California. When I add a link, I could choose California and other states and that creates an association between that link and the user. For that matter all uses who have California in their profile.

The point here is to associate the information in the users profile field with links in the links database. When the user returns to the links database they can optionally search for new links and be shown what's relevant to them. This association can be useful with many types if links or downloadable content. You could have profile fields for locations, hobbies, vehicles, schools, etc, and put groups of links together based on the users apparent interest.

[Wolven]

AndrewD: I wanted to take a moment to say thank you, both for the wonderful module for my site, and the amazing amount of assistance that you have offered to everyone.
I just went through and read all 19 pages of conversation, and even when people have been rude to you, you've been quietly helpful. I have just installed it, and got it working with a little bit of twiddling around. The only reason I had trouble is my own foolishness, (goofed the permissions) and I now have a nice private list of links on my site.
I'm working on figuring out a way to add an image to each category.

So, to sum up, thank you for your hard work and your kind words. Have a wonderful day. :_)

[AndrewD]

Here's a suggestion for this to make searching the database more accurate and useful.

When you add or edit a link, offer the ability to associate the link with a an item from the users profile. For instance, lets say the user is from California, and there's a user profile field with a list of states, one being California. When I add a link, I could choose California and other states and that creates an association between that link and the user. For that matter all uses who have California in their profile.

The point here is to associate the information in the users profile field with links in the links database. When the user returns to the links database they can optionally search for new links and be shown what's relevant to them. This association can be useful with many types if links or downloadable content. You could have profile fields for locations, hobbies, vehicles, schools, etc, and put groups of links together based on the users apparent interest.

Thank you - you're well ahead of me here :) In fact, when I get the requested extensions and bug fixes done, I intend to start work on a new hack or module or something to do more or less what you are suggesting:

- allows keyword associations - just as you say - to point directly at entries in LDM, and ideally also at posts/threads
- allows users to define keywords of interest to them and to manage those lists
- provide a generic interface between these and, e.g., vbAdvanced, so that the user can see what's new, etc
- use this also as the guts of a glorified version of the apache error 404 trap, so that requests to go to /yoursite/keyword either take the user directly to a particular page or carry out a keyword search.

Any further ideas? I don't know how long this will take me and/or if part of the job is already done.

[AndrewD]

AndrewD: I wanted to take a moment to say thank you and thank you too

I'm working on figuring out a way to add an image to each category.

have you tried using a bbcode, i.e an img tag in the category description or extended description?

[AndrewD]

Just noticed another small problem which is more then likely the same issue in another file.In any "edit" menu for catagories,sub catagories or mass edit's the same problem with only "Parent Forum" and "none" showing up.I checked out the Local_links.php file and noticed it uses the same code "construct_forum_jump();" so i tried adding the same fix but it didnt seem to work lol thought it would be easy but i guess not.Any possible fix for that as well?

Yes, it is the same issue - I had tried this yesterday and thought the same fix worked, but will check again - it's at lines 766, 891, 1230 and 1351 in local_links.php

[bhxtyrant]

Thanks once again for the reply Andrew.I will give it another shot and let you know my results.

@at the above suggestion of associating keywords.I must say i love that idea!I think it would be an exellent addition.I have tried many different hacks here and of them all i have to say yours are the best.Your one of the few i have seen that think everything through before tossing a hack/mod online.I look foward to seeing your future mods.Thanks again.

:EDIT:yes you were 100% correct Andrew,It seems i missed one of the lines around line 1400 which needed to be moddified with the code you provided.All is now working :)

[TundraSoul]

Here's another suggestion.

If a user doesn't have access to view a link, I would like to let me know this before they tried to view it. For instance, next to the link display a message like (Register to View) or (Subscribe to View) whatever. This sounds like something you could do in the templates, but I'm not sure.

The default vB no permission template that users are shown when they have no access to a link just doesn't do it for this application.

[Wolven]

and thank you too


have you tried using a bbcode, i.e an img tag in the category description or extended description?

Aye. I am looking to put the image directly beneath the category name, making it a clickable link, just like the category name itself. As a test, I enabled HTML and added the img src=/dir/file.png to it, which I thought worked wonderfully. Then I actually clicked the link, and up top, the HTML was part of the displayed category name. So it showed up like:
Library <img src=/dir/file.png>
I'll keep plugging away at it. :_)

Thank you again.

[AndrewD]

Here's another suggestion.

If a user doesn't have access to view a link, I would like to let me know this before they tried to view it. For instance, next to the link display a message like (Register to View) or (Subscribe to View) whatever. This sounds like something you could do in the templates, but I'm not sure.

The default vB no permission template that users are shown when they have no access to a link just doesn't do it for this application.

I'd come to the same conclusion myself. It is an easy template change, which I will add.

[AndrewD]

Aye. I am looking to put the image directly beneath the category name, making it a clickable link, just like the category name itself. As a test, I enabled HTML and added the img src=/dir/file.png to it, which I thought worked wonderfully. Then I actually clicked the link, and up top, the HTML was part of the displayed category name. So it showed up like:
Library <img src=/dir/file.png>
I'll keep plugging away at it. :_)

Thank you again.

Yes, the code traps bbcodes in the title, but doesn't trap html. You're the first that has pointed this out.

[EasyTarget]

here's a thread with a list of suggestions/features that people were requesting if you wanted to go through it.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=77446

[AndrewD]

here's a thread with a list of suggestions/features that people were requesting if you wanted to go through it.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=77446

Thanks, I'll take a look. What I've tried to do with this hack is to keep it consistent, keep it working, keep it under control. The first version that got released last year involved 29K of php code. It's now 220K+ and I'm afraid to upload new releases for fear of what is broken. *More and more* is always the cry, but this isn't necessarily what people actually want to use. There's also the question of what people are actually wanting to use this type of software to achieve. I'm sorry, but providing easy ways to share large videos is not my responsiblity.

The single design feature in LDM that I think was a mistake was to pick up protections from forums, rather than replicating the VB permissions system over onto categories. But it works well for our site, and is deeply embedded into the code, so I'm reluctant to unwind that decision.

Anyway, keep up the suggestions, and I'll see what I can do.

[Scotty2k]

Uhh.. a lot to read in this thread but couldn´t find a answer to my question

Is it possible to set the limit of categories by usergroups ?

I have some links for every member in our forum, but some big downloads should be limited to a special usergroup

[AndrewD]

Uhh.. a lot to read in this thread but couldn?t find a answer to my question

Is it possible to set the limit of categories by usergroups ?

I have some links for every member in our forum, but some big downloads should be limited to a special usergroup

In fact, this was what I was discussing in the previous post.

Set up or select a forum which is only visible to the usergroup(s) you want to have access to the large downloads.

When you create or edite the download, set that forum as its parent. Voila, only the usergroups which can access the forum will be able to see the download.

[Scotty2k]

In fact, this was what I was discussing in the previous post.

Set up or select a forum which is only visible to the usergroup(s) you want to have access to the large downloads.

When you create or edite the download, set that forum as its parent. Voila, only the usergroups which can access the forum will be able to see the download.

Thank you very much ! Works fine for me !

[Tradjick]

As you described in instructions.txt i run into the following errors when reimporting a dump: invalid category id list

I needed to do this in order to change the links from localhost/forum to domain.com/articles.

Have I to delete all categories and also the links for it to work?

[AndrewD]

As you described in instructions.txt i run into the following errors when reimporting a dump: invalid category id list

I needed to do this in order to change the links form domain.com/forum to domain.com/articles.

Have I to delete all categories and also the links for it to work?

Three comments:

a) Did you 'Dump' or 'Export' - you can only 'Import' what you have 'Exported' The error message you quote suggests you me that you 'Dumped'

b) If you 'Export', then edit the filenames in the csv and then 'Import' on top of an existing database, what should(!!) happen is that the category records will be flagged as errors and ignored; the links that are unchanged will be untouched; the links which have new file names will be inserted; but the old entries will not be deleted.

c) If you empty the database after exporting the dump, the re-import should work fine. However, there are some fields (e.g. the thumbnail image, I think) which are not retained during this process.

d) There may be a much easier way to do this with a short bit of sql.

[Tradjick]

Yes i did a dump indeed.
Thank you, using export.php it worked.

I am almost finished with customizations, the only thing i can´t figure out is how to have the same "breadcrump" (navigation) from the links directory show up in showthread.php. Is there an easy way around you would consider to me?

[s1l3NCER]

I have install and everythingworks perfectly I cant express my gratitude for you makin this. But I got a question or a suggestion. Anyways to add a module for the vBa CMPS.

[AndrewD]

I have install and everythingworks perfectly I cant express my gratitude for you makin this. But I got a question or a suggestion. Anyways to add a module for the vBa CMPS.

In fact, there is one in beta form - if you look in the modules directory of the release and read the instructions.txt file. There are a couple of issues which people have reported and will be fixed in the coming version.

[Ranma2k]

Thanks AndrewD :)

I just updated my site to 3.5 and installed the new ver of the hack :) works like charm

I'm going to modify my ticket system hack to work on the new system


Thanks alot :D

[Aceman]

AndrewD - When you get this live with the uploader. You can expect a nice "donation" from me.. I'm checking this thread daily if not several times a day.

[s1l3NCER]

AndrewD - When you get this live with the uploader. You can expect a nice "donation" from me.. I'm checking this thread daily if not several times a day.

Yes I second that. Man I really donate to real hard workers and that release they stuff for free. since I use it even more. thanks again man.

[AndrewD]

Yes I second that. Man I really donate to real hard workers and that release they stuff for free. since I use it even more. thanks again man.

Hang on in there - it's nearly ready for prime time audiences....

[MrNase]

Any chance to get the WYSIWYG-Editor in it while editing links and their description? :)

[AndrewD]

Any chance to get the WYSIWYG-Editor in it while editing links and their description? :)

Depends how difficult it is:) - I haven't looked into this at all.

[EasyTarget]

The single design feature in LDM that I think was a mistake was to pick up protections from forums, rather than replicating the VB permissions system over onto categories.
Does this mean instead of adding new permissions to usergroups for the LDM that the permissions are embedded in the forum access like where you set whether they can edit their own thread, use thread ratings and stuff?

[Vtec44]

I just installed this on my forum, vb3.5 RC3. It's working great so far. :)

[AndrewD]

Does this mean instead of adding new permissions to usergroups for the LDM that the permissions are embedded in the forum access like where you set whether they can edit their own thread, use thread ratings and stuff?

There are two levels of permissions:

a) permissions to 'do' things (e.g. create links, delete categories, etc), which are set in the LDM admin page per usergroup. This part is straightforward - it is easy to define which usergroups can or cannot 'do' things

b) permissions to 'access' specific links and categories. These are set by selecting a forum which has the required permission masks, and 'associating' it with the link or category, using either default_forumid or explicitly. The point is that, by using a forum in this way, it is possible to pick up the whole set of (possibly cascading) permission masks without requiring too much coding or new interfaces for the user. It also provides some coherence between the forums and LDM - there tend to be patterns of access that you want to allow or not. The problem with this approach is that it ties LDM to forums, which a number of people have found tricky.

[fringehead]

Andrew, thank you for your awsome mod and amazing support. I really like the product but I would like the links to be bigger. If I make a new style to use for the Links whick template do I need to modify to change the fonts, etc?

Thank You,

Sean

[LeeWicKeD]

Well done again, AndrewD. *thumbsup*


Will try to translate the new .xml file fully to German.;)

[MrNase]

Depends how difficult it is:) - I haven't looked into this at all.


It isn't ;)
However there's no how-to available but... I have built it in my vBGarage installtion so it can't be that complicated ;)

[Vtec44]

Wow, AndrewD is doing a great job and supporting this. Very nice! :)

[AndrewD]

Andrew, thank you for your awsome mod and amazing support. I really like the product but I would like the links to be bigger. If I make a new style to use for the Links whick template do I need to modify to change the fonts, etc?

Thank You,

Sean

Thanks, depending on which layout you're using, you need to look at the links_linkbit and links_linkbit_table templates.

Pls be aware that there are minor changes in these templates in the forthcoming 2.0.6 - it's no big shakes and doesn't affect the way you change the text size

[AndrewD]

Well done again, AndrewD. *thumbsup*


Will try to translate the new .xml file fully to German.;)

Thanks - it would be a really great help if you could work on the version for 2.0.6 rather than the current release - there are a few more phrases added - see attached

*Edited - job done*

[AndrewD]

Edited 16.10.2005 - zip file moved into first post in the thread.

With much trepidation, I offer the beta version 2.0.6 of LDM. This fixes the recent bugs reports and adds some useful new features. Because of the number of changes, I intend that this will remain *beta* until we are reasonably sure that no serious bugs have been introduced.

I strongly encourage a quick scan through the instructions.txt file.

Enthusiasts are encouraged to try this and report - please backup your database first. LDM will install and upgrade smoothly via VB admin/Plugins/Manage Products

Perhaps the most significant feature is that uploads are now available (at last, they say!) - for authorised users within specified size and space limits - note that this feature is not enabled by default - there are a series of settings and permissions with *upload* in their name that need to be set.

The release comes with French and German translations, and there are a number of new phrases which need to be translated. LeeWicked has offered to help with the German. I'd appreciate help with the French, and so attach the French phrases xml file. Many, many thanks.

Other new features:

+ when thumbnails enabled, thumbnails are automagically created for new image links during normal entry when no other link specified, and during scans
+ LDM home page displays statistics if show_hit_parade=1 (default), including the most popular entries in *days_seen_on_portal* days. Statistics box is collapsible.
+ searches extended: find uploads, find by filetype
+ new *protected_link* setting controls behaviour of links shown when user does not have can_access_link permission

Bugs fixed:

> interface with vbAdvanced tidied up
> handles situations where VB admin has turned off the forum jump menu
> moderation of links with review frequency set works correctly again
> the jukebox feature works and checks the user is running windows
> catches html in category titles so breadcrump isn't screwed up
> in main display, categories are sorted according to same scheme as links
> in scans, trap filenames with some magic characters
> multiple hit detection within timeout period in record_hit() works again **

** This bug meant that earlier versions failed to trap multiple hits by the same user on the same link within the period timeout_hit_recording. Consequently your downloads statistics may be inaccurate, e.g. if users 'double-click'. If you care about this, upload local_links_fixdlds.php from the development/fixes directory into your main forums directory, run the script once, then delete it from your site.

Coding style
New global variables ($LINKS_SCRIPT, $ADMIN_SCRIPT) are used in the templates instead of hard-coded script names
<?php tags used consistently in code files

[LeeWicKeD]

damn just finished 2.0.5 and now saw 2.0.6 :D

ok i will translate 2.0.6 this weekend

[Dez_U]

and here was me just discovered the thread and read through the lot just to find Andrew had just released a new version LOL

Now I need to wait for the gold again but man, it sounds great :)

[AmpSul]

@andrewd: are there any plans to include daily download limits? obviously this only applies to files.

my board currently offers several gigs of (legal) dj sets which are remotely hosted. access to these files is controlled by usergroup... but still if everyone decides one day to download the whole lot again - there goes my bandwidth for the month :(

as previously stated, this software absolutely rocks and has enhanced my forum a great deal... but i'm reluctant to add any more content (file links) in case they get abused.

any feedback most appreciated!

[AndrewD]

@andrewd: are there any plans to include daily download limits? obviously this only applies to files.

my board currently offers several gigs of (legal) dj sets which are remotely hosted. access to these files is controlled by usergroup... but still if everyone decides one day to download the whole lot again - there goes my bandwidth for the month :(

as previously stated, this software absolutely rocks and has enhanced my forum a great deal... but i'm reluctant to add any more content (file links) in case they get abused.

any feedback most appreciated!

You're the first who has asked this - I don't think this would be difficult to add as all the relevant data (who's accessing what and how much traffic that creates) is already being captured - what do other's think?

[Vtec44]

I think it's a great idea. Although I have no need for it now, but it gives the admin more control over this area. I'm all for that.

[bhxtyrant]

You're the first who has asked this - I don't think this would be difficult to add as all the relevant data (who's accessing what and how much traffic that creates) is already being captured - what do other's think?

I love this idea as well,I was just actually thinking about it yesterday matter in fact.It would be awsome so be able to set limits by usergroups.For example usergroups 1 can download (this many files per day) while user group 2 can download (this many per day) while admins can download (unlimited) would be very handy for sites like mine which have alot of downloads but may require restrictions to save bandwidth.

[Benj]

You're the first who has asked this - I don't think this would be difficult to add as all the relevant data (who's accessing what and how much traffic that creates) is already being captured - what do other's think?

sounds cool

[PtP]

Possible bug in 2.06 or me missing something new.

The catagories in the main catagory view are not showing by order I have given them in the "display order"

I just found that /local_links_admin.php?action=admin&set=categories is showing them in correct order though, Am I missing another setting ;)

[AndrewD]

Possible bug in 2.06 or me missing something new.

The catagories in the main catagory view are not showing by order I have given them in the "display order"

I just found that /local_links_admin.php?action=admin&set=categories is showing them in correct order though, Am I missing another setting ;)

Confirmed bug, introduced in 2.0.6 in fixing another bug. Order of subcategories should match order of links (by title, date, etc), but a specified displayorder should always trump anything else.

Fix is to edit local_links_include.php, line 519

function catcmp($a, $b) {
global $holdsort, $holdcat;

switch ($holdsort) {
Before the switch statement, insert these two lines so that the code reads as follows:
function catcmp($a, $b) {
global $holdsort, $holdcat;

// Display orders always over-ride the rest
if ($holdcat[$a]['displayorder'] < $holdcat[$b]['displayorder']) return(-1);
if ($holdcat[$a]['displayorder'] > $holdcat[$b]['displayorder']) return( 1);

switch ($holdsort) {

[PtP]

Fixed ;)

[TundraSoul]

<i>v2.0.6, very nice, good job!</i>

Here are a couple of suggestions I think would improve usability. I noticed the links are no longer accessible if you don't have permission to view/download them. You should do the same thing with the Most Popular Entry links on the home category.

The most popular entries looks a little weird centered there in the middle of the home category. Even the entries are centered. Please allow us to enable or disable the most popular entries box.
In Advanced Search, people really don't know what to type in as the file type. Should it be for instance, *.doc or just doc or .doc? Perhaps a few examples in the template is all that's needed to clear up any confusion.

[AndrewD]

v2.0.6, very nice, good job! Thanks

Here are a couple of suggestions I think would improve usability. I noticed the links are no longer accessible if you don't have permission to view/download them. You should do the same thing with the Most Popular Entry links on the home category. Yes, I agree.

The most popular entries looks a little weird centered there in the middle of the home category. Even the entries are centered. Please allow us to enable or disable the most popular entries box. Yes, I agree. The layout can be improved. btw, you can switch the whole welcome box off with the show_hit_parade setting (admin page).

In Advanced Search, people really don't know what to type in as the file type. Should it be for instance, *.doc or just doc or .doc? Perhaps a few examples in the template is all that's needed to clear up any confusion. Yes, I agree.


I'm impressed - you've really dug into this!

[LeeWicKeD]

Ok, finished German translation...I hope it's understandable for the German-Users...some phrases we're difficult to translate :D

@AndrewD: is this xml-file the file i can post at vbhacks-germany for the translated version, or do you import this to your 2.0.6-zipfile?


Have fun,

Cheers

Lee

[AndrewD]

Ok, finished German translation...I hope it's understandable for the German-Users...some phrases we're difficult to translate :D

@AndrewD: is this xml-file the file i can post at vbhacks-germany for the translated version, or do you import this to your 2.0.6-zipfile?


Have fun,

Cheers

Lee

Thanks, Lee - I'll include in the next upload of 2.0.6 and I'll check it with 2.0.5 to give you a proper answer for vbhacks-germany.

[AndrewD]

I've moved the beta 2.0.6 into the first post in this thread and fixed the bugs/suggestions reported so far.

Both the zips in the first post (2.0.5 and 2.0.6) also contain the complete German translation that LeeWicked has provided - thanks :)

Further reports please, particularly about uploading, which is the main new feature.

[Benj]

2.0.6 is sweet from what i can see :D cheers for that andrew few questions tho.. my mp3's still dont play in the player ive enabled the player (any suggestions) also i back the bandwidth option that is cool..

theres only one suggestion ( well really a request) i have and that is a whats hot section & whats new section for every category would this be possible or ?


cheers loads andrew

benj

[Vtec44]

Okay, what do I do with this error?? I got this after installing 2.0.6 over my existing 2.0.5 version.

"Critical error: different versions of software, templates, phrases and database.
Software: 2.0.6 database: 2.0.5
Cannot continue - ask administrator to correct."

I can't get to LDM AdminCP either :( I can manually edit the .php file and lower the version number, but don't want to screw up.

[EasyTarget]

I haven't dug into this yet, but maybe one small thing to add could be to the sort by: feature and make it so people can sort by ratings. Then maybe the ratings would also be a bit more important/encouraged.

[Dez_U]

Man, this was just what I was looking for from my refrigeration site.

Thank you very much for a very very very very good product.

[EasyTarget]

for some reasons the rating *'s don't usually appear for me, and when they do its usually just the 2 ** selection and/or the 5 ***** selection.

[BeasTboyz]

1.) I am wondering if anyone knows why the downloads using this script would be limited to only 20KBps roughly? Any idea how to fix that (I'm guessing its in my php settings or something?

My PHP info: http://www.observedtrials.net/info.php


2.) I'm guessing upload_maxspace is set in bytes, but I figure it probably can't hurt to change:
upload_maxspace
Total filespace available for use by uploads; 0: no limit

to:

upload_maxspace
Total filespace (bytes) available for use by uploads; 0: no limit

Anyhow, just a suggestion :p.


3.) How about user selectable permissions for users that are allowed to upload files?

For instance, we set permissions based on forum permissions, how about a table where we would make our own name up, like "subscribed users", "regular users", "anonymous" users and set the permissions for these new groups (based on forum permissions), then the uploading users can just check off who they want it to be available for. This way they don't get confused by our forum permissions stuff. Hopefully you understand what I mean here.

4.) How about making it so users can only upload under certain categories. I see this entire upload feature being more useful for sharing the link on the forum than people actually using the downloads database, I don't want them to be able to mess with my categories.

5.) Did you set the max filesize to 200,000 bytes? If so, how can I change that?

I think those are all my suggestions/questions, but I wanted to say thanks again, because I've been a user since 1.22 and its been absolutely wonderful for me :).

Matt

[EasyTarget]

I'd like to choose between the links setup, where you click on a category and see a list of live links and a downloads setup, where you click on a category and you see a list of files (with the description and/or thumbnail) but clicking on a file name brings you to a new page for that file.

So something like this if it makes sense.

Category
-Sub-Category of links
-->live link
-->live link
-->live link
-Sub-Category of files
-->file description
--->file page + live download link
-->file description
--->file page + live download link

[Benj]

ok i found out how to make the player work my fault cheers...

[Vtec44]

Benj, how did you get it to work?

[Benj]

man you need to suppy a path to your post icons in the settings something like "images/misc" well thats mine anyway then a little winamp symbol comes up next to your mp3 links and when you click on that it'll play in the jukebox

[BeasTboyz]

ah, is the max file size derived from our attachments options $maxupload or $vbphrase[ll_uploadmaxsize]? Can we set that seperately? And can we mess with only accepting certain mime types?

[AndrewD]

Okay, what do I do with this error?? I got this after installing 2.0.6 over my existing 2.0.5 version.

"Critical error: different versions of software, templates, phrases and database.
Software: 2.0.6 database: 2.0.5
Cannot continue - ask administrator to correct."

I can't get to LDM AdminCP either :( I can manually edit the .php file and lower the version number, but don't want to screw up.

Did you reinstall through the VB product manager (remember to allow 'overwrite') or did you simply upload the code?

If necessary, the fix is simply to uninstall the product and then reinstall - don't worry, the uninstall does not destroy your database tables.

[AndrewD]

1.) I am wondering if anyone knows why the downloads using this script would be limited to only 20KBps roughly? Any idea how to fix that (I'm guessing its in my php settings or something?

The main factor influencing download speed is whether you identify the files as full urls or as filenames without a url. The worst case is when the url points to someone else's server, but http://yoursite/dir/file.type will be much slower that /dir/file.type

2.) I'm guessing upload_maxspace is set in bytes, but I figure it probably can't hurt to change:
upload_maxspace
Total filespace available for use by uploads; 0: no limit

to:

upload_maxspace
Total filespace (bytes) available for use by uploads; 0: no limit

Yes, I agree. Actually, it will accept the same format as the php.ini file, i.e. a number optionally followed by K, M or G

3.) How about user selectable permissions for users that are allowed to upload files?

For instance, we set permissions based on forum permissions, how about a table where we would make our own name up, like "subscribed users", "regular users", "anonymous" users and set the permissions for these new groups (based on forum permissions), then the uploading users can just check off who they want it to be available for. This way they don't get confused by our forum permissions stuff. Hopefully you understand what I mean here.

I understand, this is a good idea and I'll add it to the list of things to think about

4.) How about making it so users can only upload under certain categories. I see this entire upload feature being more useful for sharing the link on the forum than people actually using the downloads database, I don't want them to be able to mess with my categories.

Ditto a good idea

5.) Did you set the max filesize to 200,000 bytes? If so, how can I change that?

No, the file types that can be uploaded are read from the VB attachments table (VB/admincp/attachmenets/extensions and sizes) and in that you can set the maximum size per filetype

[AndrewD]

I'd like to choose between the links setup, where you click on a category and see a list of live links and a downloads setup, where you click on a category and you see a list of files (with the description and/or thumbnail) but clicking on a file name brings you to a new page for that file.

So something like this if it makes sense.

Category
-Sub-Category of links
-->live link
-->live link
-->live link
-Sub-Category of files
-->file description
--->file page + live download link
-->file description
--->file page + live download link

Yes, this makes sense, will think about it.

[AndrewD]

ah, is the max file size derived from our attachments options $maxupload or $vbphrase[ll_uploadmaxsize]? Can we set that seperately? And can we mess with only accepting certain mime types?

See the answer just up a little. Per mimetype, the maximum filesize is set from vb/admincp/attachmenets/extensions and sizes, taking into account the overall maximum values forced in your php.ini file.

[dfdems]

I have this installed with about 40 links and so far it works great. I have two questions though

1st question is about link_imagesize

What is a good size to set on average I guess, 300, 1000? Any ideas so they are not to big but convey a decent picture?

2nd question is about downloads. I have movies on my site (WMV, MPG, AVI) Is it possible to set these as available to download or view? I would rather ask and get an answer and then screw up my board then try it and screw it up without having asked..

At any rate, great hack, installed with ZERO problems!

[Vtec44]

Did you reinstall through the VB product manager (remember to allow 'overwrite') or did you simply upload the code?

If necessary, the fix is simply to uninstall the product and then reinstall - don't worry, the uninstall does not destroy your database tables.

Yep, I reinstalled the XML file through vB Product manager and even saw the correct version. I didn't try to uninstall it, cuz I was afraid that it would destroy my links. Now that you mentioned that it won't, I'll give it a shot and update you with the status. Version 2.0.5 works flawlessly BTW. Great job! :D

[AndrewD]

I haven't dug into this yet, but maybe one small thing to add could be to the sort by: feature and make it so people can sort by ratings. Then maybe the ratings would also be a bit more important/encouraged.

Good idea.

[AndrewD]

theres only one suggestion ( well really a request) i have and that is a whats hot section & whats new section for every category would this be possible or ?


I wanted to get reactions to the home page version of this before I could see about putting it into other categories too

[AndrewD]

I have this installed with about 40 links and so far it works great. I have two questions though

1st question is about link_imagesize

What is a good size to set on average I guess, 300, 1000? Any ideas so they are not to big but convey a decent picture?

I'd keep it small - 150 or so - one reason is that these thumbnails are regenerated on every page display (maybe that needs rethinking) and if you make them too big you'll have a big hit on your server.

2nd question is about downloads. I have movies on my site (WMV, MPG, AVI) Is it possible to set these as available to download or view? I would rather ask and get an answer and then screw up my board then try it and screw it up without having asked..

It's certainly possible, but you need to think carefully about the cpu and bandwidth consequences. In particular, *dont try to set the video up as a full url http://yoursite/video.fil (or worse http://somewhereelse/video.fil, as this will really kill you. Host them on your own server and identify them with just their filename.

Even less demanding is to modify the force_download setting so that the files are accessed as simple links rather than processed through the script - but this will make the file location completely visible and exposes you to leeching.

[dfdems]

150 or so it is!

as far as the movies, they have always been up, mainly only to registered users as a hook I guess to get people to register. I think in a year I have hit 6% of my monthly limit for bandwidth and that was when I uploaded all of them.

If I linked them it would be as movies/moviename.dhe whatever vs. the http: route. I am assuming if I do it that way they embed and auto play? I am not to keen on auto play but I am trying to understand the media player in this I guess, I had assumed it was for MP3's. Would I have to add the media extensions to the list?

[Evil X]

anyway to make it so when they add a link it also makes a thread in a selected forum, wit hthe title and the link in it, ect?

[AndrewD]

150 or so it is!

as far as the movies, they have always been up, mainly only to registered users as a hook I guess to get people to register. I think in a year I have hit 6% of my monthly limit for bandwidth and that was when I uploaded all of them.

If I linked them it would be as movies/moviename.dhe whatever vs. the http: route. I am assuming if I do it that way they embed and auto play? I am not to keen on auto play but I am trying to understand the media player in this I guess, I had assumed it was for MP3's. Would I have to add the media extensions to the list?

I found this all a bit complicated !! It works as follows:

- Assuming the filetype is registered in the vb/attachments table, then - when the use clicks on the link - LDM sends the headers that are defined in that table, then dumps the contents of the file. Normally, that will produce an Open/Save As dialog at the user's end - but depending on the software that has been installed, it may fire up an application. Adobe Acrobat is the worst culprit in this regard.

- If the filetype is not registered in the vb/attachments table, behaviour depends on the browser and software loaded on the user's computer. It may or may not offer an open/save dialog or simply fire up an application.

So in general it's a good idea to register the file types in vb/attachments so that there's more control.

- For the embedded player, this only works for registered filetypes. It behaves the same way as a normal 'click' except that the material is diverted to an embedded Windows Media Player. This will work for videos, except - as far as I understand - WMP will wait until the complete file is downloaded before it starts playing. I have not looked into what happens with Real Media .rm files, etc, which I think tell the player to start work immediately.

Hope this helps.

[AndrewD]

anyway to make it so when they add a link it also makes a thread in a selected forum, wit hthe title and the link in it, ect?

Not for links, but when you create a category, there's an option to 'autocreate' a subforum in the category's parent forum, so this gives the user a 'one-click' way of finding all the associated entries.

One difficulty with this is that VB does not seem to have a way to track 'when last updated' for these pseudo-forums that are in fact links somewhere else, so the user does not get to see when something new appeared. This may just be a matter of writing a timestamp into the forum description table, but I haven't tested this.

[dfdems]

Sorry for the confusion, I will give it a shot and post the results back here. thanks again for your help

[fringehead]

Thanks for the update! Very cool to have the file uploads.

My forum is in a subdomain. I am trying to input an upload directory off my forum url. I have chmoded it to 777 to test and it won't take my directory in the upload_directory setting.

If my local_file_root_prefix is /var/www/forums I should be able to enter "videos" into the upload_dir if the directory is /var/www/forums/videos ??? For some reason anything I enter into this field is not accepted.

Thank You for the help!

Sean

[AndrewD]

My forum is in a subdomain. I am trying to input an upload directory off my forum url. I have chmoded it to 777 to test and it won't take my directory in the upload_directory setting.

If my local_file_root_prefix is /var/www/forums I should be able to enter "videos" into the upload_dir if the directory is /var/www/forums/videos ??? For some reason anything I enter into this field is not accepted.

Thank You for the help!

Sean

I tried this with a test site which sits in http://ipaddress/local_site/forums etc. The directory holding http://ipaddress/local_site is /data/www/sites/local_site and I want to store uploads in subdirectories of /uploads which sits in the local_site directory. So I set *local_file_root* to 1, *local_file_root_prefix* to /data/www/sites/local_site and *upload_dir* to /uploads, and it all works correctly for me.

[BeasTboyz]

The main factor influencing download speed is whether you identify the files as full urls or as filenames without a url. The worst case is when the url points to someone else's server, but http://yoursite/dir/file.type will be much slower that /dir/file.type

I pull from my server a few directories back, ../../blah/blah/file.type so I would figure it would be nice and fast and I thought it was before the upgrade. Is it still true that if we link to another domain's files it will pull from their server, through us (thus we're downloading and re-uploading the file)?

Yes, I agree. Actually, it will accept the same format as the php.ini file, i.e. a number optionally followed by K, M or G Sounds good to me :)


No, the file types that can be uploaded are read from the VB attachments table (VB/admincp/attachmenets/extensions and sizes) and in that you can set the maximum size per filetypeIs it your intention to never seperate this from the vB attachments area? What if we don't want to allow the attachments in threads of certain files, only in our Links/Downloads manager?

Thanks for the help :)

Matt

[AndrewD]

I pull from my server a few directories back, ../../blah/blah/file.type so I would figure it would be nice and fast and I thought it was before the upgrade.

I don't know what to say. I've just tested our primary server, which we access via ADSL - a 1.6Mb word file came down from LDM at 160 kbytes/sec, which is close to the limit that we can achieve from the ADSL service to which we subscribe. (I have a test script on that server to test theoretical speed of line + server - it reported 126 kbytes/sec, but I imagine that LDM achieved some compression with the word file).

Is it still true that if we link to another domain's files it will pull from their server, through us (thus we're downloading and re-uploading the file)?

That's got to be true unless you set force_download to expose the link so that the user's browser can get straight to the host domain.

Is it your intention to never separate this from the vB attachments area? What if we don't want to allow the attachments in threads of certain files, only in our Links/Downloads manager?

I'll never say never, but I do prefer not to rewrite code that's already written and properly supported by the VB people.

*Edited* - by the way, I think you can disable filetypes in the VB admincp as far as having them as allowed attachments. LDM will still pick them up as acceptable.

[BeasTboyz]

Very strange that I'm not getting good speeds. The server only hosts my small site and its a dual xeon 2.8ghz with 1gb ram and 2x120gb drives. If you had any suggestions for what to check, I'd certainly appreciate it, otherwise I'll just see what I can do with testing different methods.

Thanks again, Andrew :)

Matt

[AndrewD]

Very strange that I'm not getting good speeds. The server only hosts my small site and its a dual xeon 2.8ghz with 1gb ram and 2x120gb drives. If you had any suggestions for what to check, I'd certainly appreciate it, otherwise I'll just see what I can do with testing different methods.

Thanks again, Andrew :)

Matt

You said that it has slowed down - which version of LDM were you running before? The only change I can think of is that LDM now uses the cURL library when it is available. (You can see what is being used by looking at the table which is printed at the bottom left of the LDM admin pages.) I wonder if curl is slower than fopen?

[TundraSoul]

LDM 2.0.6

AndrewD here are a few more suggestions that came in from our members.

When adding/editing a link/file, please allow the user to input the "When submitted" date. Often I would rather use the published date instead of the date the link/file is added. I have about 2,800 press releases I would like to add, but I can't unless I can set a real date for them.

The next suggestion is a personal request to make the links more SEO compliant. So for instance, instead of using local_links.php?action=links&catid=2, you could use local_links.php/accessories/ to list the category. It's important that the search engines be able to find the filenames or link names and index them correctly.

I think I mentioned some of this before, but it has to do with Keywords, and Searching. Many users are complaining that it's hard to find files/links, which are relevant to them. It's really not a big deal if you only have a few dozen links, but when you have hundreds or plan to have thousands, it quickly becomes a big deal. Sorting through all the links looking for those relevant to you or your search is very time consuming and frustrating.

Thanks for all the hard work!

[AndrewD]

When adding/editing a link/file, please allow the user to input the "When submitted" date. Often I would rather use the published date instead of the date the link/file is added. I have about 2,800 press releases I would like to add, but I can't unless I can set a real date for them.

Funny thing is, I hit this problem today myself. Will put it on the 'to-do' list

The next suggestion is a personal request to make the links more SEO compliant. So for instance, instead of using local_links.php?action=links&catid=2, you could use local_links.php/accessories/ to list the category. It's important that the search engines be able to find the filenames or link names and index them correctly.

I'm assuming that this would be a site-option, and turned on when you are using e.g. mod_rewrite, yes?

I think I mentioned some of this before, but it has to do with Keywords, and Searching. Many users are complaining that it's hard to find files/links, which are relevant to them. It's really not a big deal if you only have a few dozen links, but when you have hundreds or plan to have thousands, it quickly becomes a big deal. Sorting through all the links looking for those relevant to you or your search is very time consuming and frustrating.

Again, I have this problem also - I'm up to over a thousand documents. I think the best approach to enable the admin/user to place arbitrary keywords on links, regardless of the category they are in. Also the search results need paginating, perhaps with the option to use the results of one search as the start of the next - although this would need a lot of work.

[TundraSoul]

Yes, the server would need mod_rewrite enabled to use this function.

I would consider Keywords an somewhat useful enhancement. However there's no point if the user doesn't put any words in or if they're the same words as the title. The majority of users are lazy and will not input any keywords at all. I've seen this when they upload photos and other content, we barely get a description with it.

Another option, be it a personal preference that I've mentioned before, is link associations. This associates the link/file with something from the users profile. More importantly this creates an association between the user and something they're interested in. Ultimately this can allow the user to search for links/files that are relevant to them. It's a very powerful method of presenting content/files/links based on the users interests, and choices. :drool:

Funny thing is, I hit this problem today myself. Will put it on the 'to-do' list


I'm assuming that this would be a site-option, and turned on when you are using e.g. mod_rewrite, yes?



Again, I have this problem also - I'm up to over a thousand documents. I think the best approach to enable the admin/user to place arbitrary keywords on links, regardless of the category they are in. Also the search results need paginating, perhaps with the option to use the results of one search as the start of the next - although this would need a lot of work.

[EasyTarget]

I was wondering if anyone could help suggest how to setup a folder/ftp system on my site.

There's a couple people that want to help me set up the links/files section but I don't want to give them access to the whole site via ftp. I was thinking I could remap the downloads folder to a separate ftp for them so whatever they put in their ftp shows up in the downloads folder on the web. Are there any other ways I can do this?

Also if this is the way to go, how would I set up the scan directories and all the other settings to where it puts the uploads and all?

[Benj]

I wanted to get reactions to the home page version of this before I could see about putting it into other categories too

cool.... just wondering what infomation is stored in the database with regards to link click / downloads is there a timestamp submitted or something just wondering for my own purposes.... because you have in the "whats hot" section i think hot links from the last 30 days... how does this work?

[fringehead]

I have upped the file attachment size to 50 megs, but when I upload a 7 meg file I get a "file too large" error message. I believe my php.ini file is 96 megs... Do you have any idea why this isn't uploading these?

Also I would like to be able to assign the upload to a username in case I am uploading materials for another person....

Thanks Andrew!!!

Sean

[AndrewD]

cool.... just wondering what infomation is stored in the database with regards to link click / downloads is there a timestamp submitted or something just wondering for my own purposes.... because you have in the "whats hot" section i think hot links from the last 30 days... how does this work?

Yes, the linksdownloads table has a record with the following fields for each 'hit':
linkid, url, username, userid, user IP address, timestamp
There also a userbrowser field, but it's no longer used.

There are some analysis features available under administer/statistics/hits/view hits, where you can get tabulations sorted in certain ways. It's a bit rudimentary.

[AndrewD]

I have upped the file attachment size to 50 megs, but when I upload a 7 meg file I get a "file too large" error message. I believe my php.ini file is 96 megs... Do you have any idea why this isn't uploading these?

I think that the relevant parameters in php.ini are as these:
upload_max_filesize
post_max_size
max_input_time

There are also the per-mimetype settings in your VB/admincp/attachmenets/extensions and sizes

Also I would like to be able to assign the upload to a username in case I am uploading materials for another person....

Thanks Andrew!!!

Sean

Will think about it. Why not just log on as them?

[fringehead]

Andrew, how about you allow the people to upload an icon instead of putting in a url, have the program scale/resize the picture, then store it on the hard drive?

I use an Ensim server which runs the site in high security which runs the site in a chroot environment. It seems I am having a problems with the pathnames. I tried the example you put above (relative to mine) and I got no sucess... Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Sean

[BeasTboyz]

You said that it has slowed down - which version of LDM were you running before? The only change I can think of is that LDM now uses the cURL library when it is available. (You can see what is being used by looking at the table which is printed at the bottom left of the LDM admin pages.) I wonder if curl is slower than fopen?

I believe it was 1.26 I was running before. Would it be hard for me to change it over to fopen instead of cURL?

[AndrewD]

I believe it was 1.26 I was running before. Would it be hard for me to change it over to fopen instead of cURL?

AS far as I can tell from the code, if nothing has changed on your site, then the guts of LDM that handle the download have not changed. cURL is only used if your site admin has switched off the allow_url_fopen switch in your php.ini file. As I said, you can tell that by checking at the bottom of one of the LDM admin pages - if it says 'allow_fopen' is 0 and cURL 1 then it's using cURL rather than the simpler php code. In that case, you would have to re-enable allow_fopen.

If fopen is on, then I'm stuck. I attach some code that you can use to check the raw download speed from your site to a pc - just unzip and upload it into a subdirectory called eg speedtest and point your browser at speedtest/speedtest4.php

[BeasTboyz]

AS far as I can tell from the code, if nothing has changed on your site, then the guts of LDM that handle the download have not changed. cURL is only used if your site admin has switched off the allow_url_fopen switch in your php.ini file. As I said, you can tell that by checking at the bottom of one of the LDM admin pages - if it says 'allow_fopen' is 0 and cURL 1 then it's using cURL rather than the simpler php code. In that case, you would have to re-enable allow_fopen.

If fopen is on, then I'm stuck. I attach some code that you can use to check the raw download speed from your site to a pc - just unzip and upload it into a subdirectory called eg speedtest and point your browser at speedtest/speedtest4.php
I really appreciate you working with me on this one, so Thank you again!

Anyhow, it appears its using fopen:

Links and Downloads Database
Code 2.0.6
MySQL 4.0.21-nt
PHP 4.3.9
allow_url_fopen Yes
cURL Yes
GD2 Yes
open_basedir

Here's the speedtest link (http://www.observedtrials.net/speedtest/speedtest4.php), I got 24KBps. Here's a link to a video file on the same server so you can test your normal speeds: http://videos.observedtrials.net/coustellier.mpg

Matt

[welo]

Here's the speedtest link (http://www.observedtrials.net/speedtest/speedtest4.php), I got 24KBps.

Is giving me 333.808 Kbps. I think the fault lies not in ourselves, but your ISP. :)

[BeasTboyz]

Is giving me 333.808 Kbps. I think the fault lies not in ourselves, but your ISP. :)

Theres a difference between KB and Kb.

little b = bits, as in 8 bits per byte
big B = bytes, as in 8x the size of a bit.

so if you were getting 333Kbps, that would be 333/8 = 41.625KBps, a pretty shabby speed considering most cable nowadays is 3-5Mbit/sec or like 375-625KBps Besides, I have testers everywhere, its not my ISP :p.

Try getting the video, welo.

Matt

[AndrewD]

Theres a difference between KB and Kb.

little b = bits, as in 8 bits per byte
big B = bytes, as in 8x the size of a bit.

so if you were getting 333Kbps, that would be 333/8 = 41.625KBps, a pretty shabby speed considering most cable nowadays is 3-5Mbit/sec or like 375-625KBps Besides, I have testers everywhere, its not my ISP :p.

Try getting the video, welo.

Matt

Matt, the straight link to the mpg comes to me at 230 KB/s, i.e a couple of minutes for the 35meg file. The php speed test is reporting 26 KB/sec, i.e. abouit one tenth of that speed. That speed test is a standard script I pulled from a French website which throws a large file at the browser and times the delivery. There's a bottleneck somewhere.

[BeasTboyz]

Matt, the straight link to the mpg comes to me at 230 KB/s, i.e a couple of minutes for the 35meg file. The php speed test is reporting 26 KB/sec, i.e. abouit one tenth of that speed. That speed test is a standard script I pulled from a French website which throws a large file at the browser and times the delivery. There's a bottleneck somewhere.

Yeah, I wish I knew where the bottleneck was.

my php info: http://www.observedtrials.net/info.php

[AndrewD]

Yeah, I wish I knew where the bottleneck was.

my php info: http://www.observedtrials.net/info.php

I notice that your php has output_buffering set to 4096 and you're running a windows box. A google search took me to an article http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?t=10257783 which suggests putting output_buffering to On. You'll find a similar comment in http://fr.php.net/configuration

Worth trying?

[welo]

Theres a difference between KB and Kb.

little b = bits, as in 8 bits per byte
big B = bytes, as in 8x the size of a bit.

so if you were getting 333Kbps, that would be 333/8 = 41.625KBps, a pretty shabby speed considering most cable nowadays is 3-5Mbit/sec or like 375-625KBps

My bust. 330.947 Kbps = 41.368 KBs. For me your video comes in at a straight download of ~170KBs. Since you're on a Win box not much coherent advice I can offer.

[BeasTboyz]

I notice that your php has output_buffering set to 4096 and you're running a windows box. A google search took me to an article http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?t=10257783 which suggests putting output_buffering to On. You'll find a similar comment in http://fr.php.net/configuration

Worth trying?

Definitely worth trying, I'll change it when I get home and have my php book :o

Welo, thanks for clarifying... I thought that there was just miscommunication :).

Thanks guys,

Matt

[Benj]

Yes, the linksdownloads table has a record with the following fields for each 'hit':
linkid, url, username, userid, user IP address, timestamp
There also a userbrowser field, but it's no longer used.

There are some analysis features available under administer/statistics/hits/view hits, where you can get tabulations sorted in certain ways. It's a bit rudimentary.
sweet so that means whats hot could possibly be sorted into maybe whats hot today / this week / over all ;)

[TygerTyger]

I'm having a few problems with the 2.0.6 beta when changing the global names in local_links_init and the file names accordingly.

I've pinned down one cause, in the includes/acmincp/xml file you're not using the globals yet :D. But otherwise there's something else going on somewhere that's having the same effect. For instance, I go to create a new category after installation and click submit and it gives an error saying that local_links_admin.php can't be found instead of using the new global name. Except the category is actually added as it should be. Aside from the error it works fine.

The forum jump menu seems to appear even if you've turned it off in forum permissions/admincp as well.

[AndrewD]

I'm having a few problems with the 2.0.6 beta when changing the global names in local_links_init and the file names accordingly.

I've pinned down one cause, in the includes/acmincp/xml file you're not using the globals yet :D. But otherwise there's something else going on somewhere that's having the same effect. For instance, I go to create a new category after installation and click submit and it gives an error saying that local_links_admin.php can't be found instead of using the new global name. Except the category is actually added as it should be. Aside from the error it works fine.

The forum jump menu seems to appear even if you've turned it off in forum permissions/admincp as well.


Thanks - this was careless of me. One of the defines is wrong.

The forum jump menu should only appear in a few places (i.e. add/edit link, add/edit category). It's a side effect of the way vbulletin and LDM are coded - I will see if it is easy to suppress.

[Lizard King]

Hi Andrew I hav a problem fromupgrading 2.0.5 to 2.0.6. Installation went through perfect but after the installation the only thing i get :

Critical error: different versions of software, templates, phrases and database.
Software: 2.0.6 database: 2.0.5
Cannot continue - ask administrator to correct.

I double check ach step and i am not doing anything wrong. Is there a way to upgrade only the templates ?

[AndrewD]

Hi Andrew I hav a problem fromupgrading 2.0.5 to 2.0.6. Installation went through perfect but after the installation the only thing i get :

Critical error: different versions of software, templates, phrases and database.
Software: 2.0.6 database: 2.0.5
Cannot continue - ask administrator to correct.

I double check ach step and i am not doing anything wrong. Is there a way to upgrade only the templates ?

You're the second to hit this - I don't understand why it happens sometimes.

Just use the product manager to uninstall and reinstall - you won't lose anything.

[Lizard King]

You're the second to hit this - I don't understand why it happens sometimes.

Just use the product manager to uninstall and reinstall - you won't lose anything.

That worked out. Thanks.
I am not sure but maybe because i customized the templates before so before installation we need to revert th templates.

[BeasTboyz]

Re: output_buffering

Andrew, sorry for the late response, I had to leave for a business trip last night after work and didn't have a chance to change it. Luckily the hotel has wireless so I edited my php.ini tonight and ran some tests.

As far as I can tell, my download speeds using the download manager are at around 100-120KBps. This is a significant improvement :D. It's hard to tell here from this hotel with their mediocre connection, and I'm not sure how well a computer downloads when you're watching it on RDC and its uploading a fair bit - so I'm not sure exactly where I'm at with it. Anyhow, the links again are:

speedtest: http://www.observedtrials.net/speedtest/speedtest4.php
regular file download: http://videos.observedtrials.net/coustellier.mpg
LDM file download: http://www.observedtrials.net/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&id=92
php info: http://www.observedtrials.net/info.php

If anyone would care to help me here, I would much appreciate any advice you have. I am a poor coder, but I am have books and google and am willing to dedicate time and trial and error.

Thank you everyone,

Matt

[AndrewD]

Re: output_buffering

Andrew, sorry for the late response, I had to leave for a business trip last night after work and didn't have a chance to change it. Luckily the hotel has wireless so I edited my php.ini tonight and ran some tests.

As far as I can tell, my download speeds using the download manager are at around 100-120KBps. This is a significant improvement :D. It's hard to tell here from this hotel with their mediocre connection, and I'm not sure how well a computer downloads when you're watching it on RDC and its uploading a fair bit - so I'm not sure exactly where I'm at with it. Anyhow, the links again are:

speedtest: http://www.observedtrials.net/speedtest/speedtest4.php
regular file download: http://videos.observedtrials.net/coustellier.mpg
LDM file download: http://www.observedtrials.net/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&id=92
php info: http://www.observedtrials.net/info.php

If anyone would care to help me here, I would much appreciate any advice you have. I am a poor coder, but I am have books and google and am willing to dedicate time and trial and error.

Thank you everyone,

Matt


Matt, it looks as if things are better, but I think they are still not great. Via the script, your video now comes to me at about 53 kB/sec, which is about a two-fold improvement.

I have one suggestion to try in the LDM code. Edit local_links_include.php - look for the line which reads $READ_BUFFER_SIZE = 2048; and try increasing the size, e.g. to 204800 (i.e. a much bigger buffer]. This doesn't make a significant difference on our Linux server but it is worth seeing whether Windows cares.

[BeasTboyz]

Andrew, I believe that has done the trick, a friend at a university said he was getting 650KBps off the server using LDM now. You are the man! Thanks for everything :D.

Matt

[MissKalunji]

how do you upload stuff ?

i dont wanna use it for the links but just for downloads help?

[MissKalunji]

This thing aint working for me

no matter the imput i put on it still says its too larg

[AndrewD]

Andrew, I believe that has done the trick, a friend at a university said he was getting 650KBps off the server using LDM now. You are the man! Thanks for everything :D.

Matt

Great! I can see the difference too - in this hotel, its reaching me at 200 kB/sec, which isn't bad at all.

Did you use the very large value I suggested? - i.e. about quarter of a megabyte?

Good old Bill G.

[AndrewD]

This thing aint working for me


no matter the imput i put on it still says its too larg

Check on these points:

What size and what type of file are you trying to upload?
What is the maximum filesize for this file type set in your main VB/admincp/attachments/extensions and sizes
What values are configured into your php.ini (VB/maintenance/phpinfo) for the following settings: *upload_max_filesize* and *post_max_sizecode*

[auz1111]

I have 2 issues:

1. when a user tries to download something it makes it to about 2 megs and stops.
2. it is not recording the hits when a user clicks to download

any suggestions?

[AndrewD]

I have 2 issues:

1. when a user tries to download something it makes it to about 2 megs and stops.
2. it is not recording the hits when a user clicks to download

any suggestions?

You are probably using all the cpu time allowed for php scripts (typically 30 seconds - maybe you have to increase this)

Where is the download coming from (your own server or somewhere else - expensive) and how do you have it recorded in LDM.

If the file is on your own machine, then are you identifiying it as http://yoursite/file or simply as /file? - the second will be much faster.

Take a look at the section in instructions.txt about speed versus security

On the second, the hit is only recorded when the download completes successfully.

Let me know if these suggestions don't help

[auz1111]

You are probably using all the cpu time allowed for php scripts (typically 30 seconds - maybe you have to increase this)

How would I go about increasing this?

Where is the download coming from (your own server or somewhere else - expensive) and how do you have it recorded in LDM.)

It is coming from my server.

If the file is on your own machine, then are you identifiying it as http://yoursite/file or simply as /file? - the second will be much faster.

ok. I was using http://yoursite/file, but i just changed it to /file? and now it is telling me that the link check failed, but when i click the link next to the "link check failed" text it is going to the correct file. ???

I have local_file_root set to 0

[auz1111]

ok... I changed force_redirect to 1, local_file_root to 1, and moved the files to a directory not in the web directory. One of the files works fine although slow. I have another file with the same ./uploads/file.zip location, but it keeps telling me the link check failed. I have checked the server multiple times and checked the spelling and everything is correct. Any idea why it won't find the file?

[AndrewD]

How would I go about increasing this

Edit the php.ini file


I have local_file_root set to 0

If you cant get to the bottom of this, pm me with details of your board and an account with admin privs and Ill take a look. Mazbe Sunday as Im travelling

On your speed problems, what sort of machine are you using as a server. Windows or Linux and which web server. There are some tweaks we have just sorted out for Windows systems

[BeasTboyz]

Great! I can see the difference too - in this hotel, its reaching me at 200 kB/sec, which isn't bad at all.

Did you use the very large value I suggested? - i.e. about quarter of a megabyte?

Good old Bill G.

Yessir, 204800

Thanks again,

Matt

[Aeolian]

Andrew .. i hav a question...
i like the script a lot... but in my forum i basically will be sharing artists demo music.. so its painful to add media files everytime... is it possible to make a directory listing of specific folder.. and users can download?
Thanx~

[AndrewD]

Andrew .. i hav a question...
i like the script a lot... but in my forum i basically will be sharing artists demo music.. so its painful to add media files everytime... is it possible to make a directory listing of specific folder.. and users can download?
Thanx~

If you take a look at LDM/admin/import and export, see if the Scan Directory feature is what you were looking for - it will basically do a directory search and auto create the entries for you.

[Benj]

*request* this might have been requested before but maybe custom fields for links / downloads ?

[AndrewD]

*request* this might have been requested before but maybe custom fields for links / downloads ?

I think something like this is needed, but I need to think through how to do this cleanly.

Thanks.

[Tradjick]

I am almost finished with customizations, the only thing i can?t figure out is how to have the same "breadcrump" (navigation) from the links directory show up in showthread.php. Is there an easy way around you would consider to me?

Hi Andrew, did you come up with an idea on this?

[AndrewD]

Hi Andrew, did you come up with an idea on this?

Bear with me - I've been travelling and in meetings for the last week and there's a few other things to deal with to get 2.0.6 properly released. I'll try to give you an answer in a few days.

[Neutral Singh]

- To install one of the translations (French, German), *either* upload
/release/product_eirma_ldm_fr.xml or
/release/product_eirma_ldm_de.xml
*or*
install the English version, then run the Language Manager
(admincp->Download/Upload Languages) and upload the relevant file
(phrases_XX.xml) from subdirectory /dev/phrases into the appropriate language.



This instruction somewhat confuses me.

When I go to Language Manager --> Upload Langugage, i am encountered with following option:

--> Overwrite Language : What should i select from drop-down menu? Should i create a new language? Would overwriting language have any implications?

Please guide me.

Regards

[AndrewD]

This instruction somewhat confuses me.

When I go to Language Manager --> Upload Langugage, i am encountered with following option:

--> Overwrite Language : What should i select from drop-down menu? Should i create a new language? Would overwriting language have any implications?

Please guide me.

Regards

If you want just a single language installation of LDM, then install it using one of the three product loaders, i.e. product_eirma_ldm.xml (English), product_eirma_ldm_fr.xml (French) or product_eirma_ldm_de.xml (German)

If you run a multi-language board and you have already installed the main French or German Vbulletin translation, then you can 'add on' the LDM phrases into that language - VBulletin -> Admincp -> Download/Upload Languages -> Upload Language -> Overwrite Language (French/German). This will *include* the additional phrases and will not destroy what was already there.

[Marv]

Thanks for sharing this hack, Andrew.

One question. I´ve already installed LDM in english, tried to switch to german and to import the german-language via the phrase-manager - but it keeps on telling me "This file only contains phrases, but none of the necessary values. It´s not possible to create a new language with this file".
Even with the option "Overwrite" anabled.

Any help aprecciated - any ideas ?

[AndrewD]

Thanks for sharing this hack, Andrew.

One question. I?ve already installed LDM in english, tried to switch to german and to import the german-language via the phrase-manager - but it keeps on telling me "invalid file - file can?t be executed".

Any ideas ?

Which file are you trying to import into the German language? With the language installer, you should use development/phrases/phrases_de.xml. The product installer in release/product-eirma_ldm_de.xml is used if you simply want to install one language (i.e. German).

I've juyst tried this and it seems to work ok to me. Let me know if you still have problems.

[Marv]

Which file are you trying to import into the German language? With the language installer, you should use development/phrases/phrases_de.xml. The product installer in release/product-eirma_ldm_de.xml is used if you simply want to install one language (i.e. German).


Thanks for your fast reply, Andrew.

I did it exactly the way as you described it. But still no go..
May be you?ve got some extra time to join me in the chat room ?

[Marv]

Now I´ve uploaded the product-eirma_ldm_de.xml because I thought may be the english one wouldn´t like the german phrases.xml - but everything as said before, still no go..

[AndrewD]

Now I?ve uploaded the product-eirma_ldm_de.xml because I thought may be the english one wouldn?t like the german phrases.xml - but everything as said before, still no go..

I'm sorry to learn this. If you can PM me with details of your board + an account with admin privs, I'm happy to take a look.

[Aeolian]

If you take a look at LDM/admin/import and export, see if the Scan Directory feature is what you were looking for - it will basically do a directory search and auto create the entries for you.
gee.. i totally missed that option :o

now i am done with setting up the monitor_dir..
but when i do that from impo & expo option.. it shows 0 files listed where as there is a mp3 file in that specific folder...

plz help..
thank you very much!

[AndrewD]

gee.. i totally missed that option :o

now i am done with setting up the monitor_dir..
but when i do that from impo & expo option.. it shows 0 files listed where as there is a mp3 file in that specific folder...

plz help..
thank you very much!

Have you told VB about the mimetypes for mp3 files? The directory scan only lists files with 'recognised' filetypes, i.e. those for which there is an entry in the main vb attachment table - VBulletin/Admincp/Attachments/Extensions and Sizes. If necessary, add mp3 to this table - use Content-type: unknown/unknown as the mimetype

[Tradjick]

Bear with me - I've been travelling and in meetings for the last week and there's a few other things to deal with to get 2.0.6 properly released. I'll try to give you an answer in a few days.

No problem. I?m glad to hear that you?re willing to have a look on this.

[TundraSoul]

There's so much potential with this product, I'm checking this thread everyday for updates.

[AndrewD]

No problem. I?m glad to hear that you?re willing to have a look on this.

Tradjick, please can you try this for size.

It is a plugin - vb admincp/plugin system/download and upload/import plugin definitions.

It patches showthread and catches redirects from LDM so that the navbar shows the original LDM breadcrumbs.

For it to work, you need to set up the links in the form showthread.php?t=nn&catid=mm or showthread.php?p=kkk&catid=mm. The first part (t= or p=) is the normal url to display the thread or post. catid=mm is the LDM category in which you have placed the entry.

If the parameter catid=mm is found, the navbar is rebuilt, otherwise everything is left as it was.

You can surely modify this plugin to work in other situations also.

[fringehead]

Andrew, can you help me with the file path issues I am having? I wish I could use this to allow people to upload videos....

Also do you know a quick way to up the font size? I'm learning a lot with Vbulletin but can't figure this one out.. (it's all variables in the templates :))

Thanks,

Sean

[AndrewD]

Andrew, can you help me with the file path issues I am having? I wish I could use this to allow people to upload videos....

Sean, this is hard for me to help you with, unless I can get access to your server - can you at least PM me a username and password for your site with admin privs? - Can't guarantee, but...

However, you could have problems letting people uplaod videos. How large do you expect these to be? Uploading large files via http posts is not recommended.

Also do you know a quick way to up the font size? I'm learning a lot with Vbulletin but can't figure this one out.. (it's all variables in the templates :))


Most of the LDM displays are constructed using the smallfont class. You can try altering the definition of smallfont (VB/admincp/styles and templates/style manager/main css). If you want to keep the changes limited to LDM, you can create a new style which you only use for LDM displays, and edit smallfont in that. Alternatively, you can edit the LDM templates to use another class (e.g. "specialfont") which you would define in the main css page.

[Tradjick]

It?s working! Merci 1000 fois :) *installed on 2.0.6/

Just one thing: Would it be possible for the plugin to see inwhich category that the link has been clicked. Because most of mylinks have multiple categories, it can be confusing for the navigator if he sees a catogegory in the navbar that he? s never been into.

[AndrewD]

It?s working! Merci 1000 fois :) *installed on 2.0.6/

Just one thing: Would it be possible for the plugin to see inwhich category that the link has been clicked. Because most of mylinks have multiple categories, it can be confusing for the navigator if he sees a catogegory in the navbar that he? s never been into.

I think this will be possible but not with the current 2.0.6 - it will need a small change to the code which will appear in the next upload.

[eva01_]

hmmm i just installed this and am trying to add in an area for downloads for people that have used the Paid Subscriptions, however that forum does not show up in the parent forum....

[AndrewD]

hmmm i just installed this and am trying to add in an area for downloads for people that have used the Paid Subscriptions, however that forum does not show up in the parent forum....

Not quite sure I understand?

[eva01_]

Well i have a forum for people that use the paid subscription in the UserCP. So i try to set up a category and to select the Contributor forum as the "Parent Forum" To only give access to that category to contributors and administrators. However the Contributor forum just doesn't show up in the Parent Forum box.

[AndrewD]

Well i have a forum for people that use the paid subscription in the UserCP. So i try to set up a category and to select the Contributor forum as the "Parent Forum" To only give access to that category to contributors and administrators. However the Contributor forum just doesn't show up in the Parent Forum box.

The Parent Forum box is built using the same Vbulletin code that is used to create the forumjump menus. So the "add link" page that the user sees should include exactly the same forum choices as appear in the forumjump - i.e should depend on the forum and usergroup permission masks. Is there anything special about the protection masks you have applied to the Contributor forum? I haven't tried using paid subscriptions - does this use a different type of mask?

[kadafi_alive]

Andrew, did you manage to get the 'embedded windowsmediaplayer' for streaming to work?

Regards

[AndrewD]

Andrew, did you manage to get the 'embedded windowsmediaplayer' for streaming to work?

Regards

Yes, it works on my system - at least version 2.0.5 does.

[kadafi_alive]

Yes, it works on my system - at least version 2.0.5 does.
Hi Andrew, thank you for the fast reply.

Is there also a way to make it embedded for realplayer?

Regards

[AndrewD]

Hi Andrew, thank you for the fast reply.

Is there also a way to make it embedded for realplayer?

Regards

I think so, but offhand I don't know what the <OBJECT> statement looks like for real media.

for media player, it is as follows:

<OBJECT ID="MediaPlayer" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=100
CLASSID="CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95"
STANDBY="Loading Windows Media Player components..."
TYPE="application/x-oleobject">
<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="$STREAM_SCRIPT.php?action=stream&amp;id=$linkid">
<EMBED TYPE="application/x-mplayer2"
src="$STREAM_SCRIPT.php?action=stream&amp;id=$linkid"
NAME="MediaPlayer"
WIDTH=200
HEIGHT=100>
</EMBED>
</OBJECT>

[kadafi_alive]

I think so, but offhand I don't know what the <OBJECT> statement looks like for real media.

for media player, it is as follows:

<OBJECT ID="MediaPlayer" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=100
CLASSID="CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95"
STANDBY="Loading Windows Media Player components..."
TYPE="application/x-oleobject">
<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="$STREAM_SCRIPT.php?action=stream&amp;id=$linkid">
<EMBED TYPE="application/x-mplayer2"
src="$STREAM_SCRIPT.php?action=stream&amp;id=$linkid"
NAME="MediaPlayer"
WIDTH=200
HEIGHT=100>
</EMBED>
</OBJECT>


Hi,

When I add the object code for realplayer, it displays the windowsmediaplayer alongside with the realplayer. What I want is that it first checks the file, and if it's a realplayer file, it should launch realplayer, if not, then windows.

This what I had for the jukebox created by trafix:


<if condition="$canplay == 1 AND ($fext == "mpg" or $fext == "mpeg" or $fext == "wmv" or $fext == "mp3" or $fext == "swf" or $fext == "asf" or $fext == "wma" or $fext == "avi")">
<center> <object id="MediaPlayer1"
width=$viewwidth height=$viewheight
classid="CLSID:6BF52A52-394A-11d3-B153-00C04F79FAA6"
type="application/x-oleobject">
<param name="URL" value="$playsong">
<embed type="application/x-mplayer2"
name="MediaPlayer"
width=$viewwidth
height=$viewheight
src="$playsong"
showcontrols="1">
</embed>
</object>
</center>
</if>
<if condition="$canplay == 1 AND ($fext == "rm" or $fext == "ra" or $fext == "ram" or $fext == "rt" or $fext == "rp" or $fext == "rv" or $fext == "rmvb" or $fext == "mov")">
<center> <object id="player" classid="clsid:CFCDAA03-8BE4-11cf-B84B-0020AFBBCCFA" width=167 height=36>
<param name="CONTROLS" value="ControlPanel">
<param name="AUTOGOTOURL" value="FALSE">
<param name="CONSOLE" value="radio">
<param name="AUTOSTART" value="TRUE">
<param name="SRC" value="$playsong">
<embed name="player" type="audio/x-pn-realaudio-plugin" height=36 width=167 NOJAVA=true autostart="true" console="one" controls="ControlPanel" src="$playsong"/>
</object>
</embed>
</center>
</if>

Regards

[AndrewD]

Hi,

When I add the object code for realplayer, it displays the windowsmediaplayer alongside with the realplayer. What I want is that it first checks the file, and if it's a realplayer file, it should launch realplayer, if not, then windows.



OK, I'll add this to the list...

[dpkm]

What are the chances this could be made to work with Amykhar's Amazon plugin (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=92444)? - that way users could Amazon book links and I wouldn't have to go back and add the referral ID.

[AndrewD]

What are the chances this could be made to work with Amykhar's Amazon plugin (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=92444)? - that way users could Amazon book links and I wouldn't have to go back and add the referral ID.

Good idea - I've taken a look at Amykhar's code and this should be quite easy to fix, so I will add it to the 'to do' list. Thanks.

My suggestion is that the admin will define some 'on-the-fly' processing rules for links. That way it would be transparent to the user and would also work with Tradjick's request to patch the showthread navbar when creating links to threads and posts.

[EasyTarget]

hey Andrew, just wanted to thank you for supporting this so well and always keeping a good attitude. You seem so willing to help and open to suggestions/feedback, its really refreshing.

[kadafi_alive]

hey Andrew, just wanted to thank you for supporting this so well and always keeping a good attitude. You seem so willing to help and open to suggestions/feedback, its really refreshing.

Ditto!

[kadafi_alive]

Weird,

I have installed the hack on a fresh vbulletin installation with a new database. The media player played the file correctly.

So I tried to upgrade my 3.0.3 database to 3.0.3, installed a fresh vbulletin and added the hack. But now, when I tried to click on a mp3, the windows media player windows does open but it doesn't play. I have tried both version.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me with this Andrew, I am planning to go live with my board after the upgrade.

Thanks in advance

Regards

[AndrewD]

Weird,

I have installed the hack on a fresh vbulletin installation with a new database. The media player played the file correctly.

So I tried to upgrade my 3.0.3 database to 3.0.3, installed a fresh vbulletin and added the hack. But now, when I tried to click on a mp3, the windows media player windows does open but it doesn't play. I have tried both version.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me with this Andrew, I am planning to go live with my board after the upgrade.

Thanks in advance

Regards

I had similar problems and did not really get to the bottom of it. I thought I had fixed the problem in 2.0.6 - are you trying that version or 2.0.5? (I've made further changes in 2.0.7, which is my development version, to include RealAudio)

*Edited* - I've gone through the same process - started with a 3.0.7 database in which the embedded player worked, upgraded VB to 3.5 and LDM to 2.0.5, and indeed the player is broken. I then upgraded LDM to 2.0.6 and everything worked fine again. Somewhere, versions before 2.0.6 were throwing some bad header material at WMP. Can you try again with 2.0.6 and let me know if it works ok.

[kadafi_alive]

I had similar problems and did not really get to the bottom of it. I thought I had fixed the problem in 2.0.6 - are you trying that version or 2.0.5? (I've made further changes in 2.0.7, which is my development version, to include RealAudio)

*Edited* - I've gone through the same process - started with a 3.0.7 database in which the embedded player worked, upgraded VB to 3.5 and LDM to 2.0.5, and indeed the player is broken. I then upgraded LDM to 2.0.6 and everything worked fine again. Somewhere, versions before 2.0.6 were throwing some bad header material at WMP. Can you try again with 2.0.6 and let me know if it works ok.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply

Apparantly, it was my fault. I was testing it with forum disabled. When I enabled the forum for everyone, it worked again

Regards

[kadafi_alive]

Hi Andrew,

Is there a way to reply this in WhoisOnline:

/local_stream.php?action=stream&id=98 Unknown Location

with simply a text

I guess it's a phrase issue.

Thanks in advance

[AndrewD]

Hi Andrew,

Is there a way to reply this in WhoisOnline:

/local_stream.php?action=stream&id=98 Unknown Location

with simply a text

I guess it's a phrase issue.

Thanks in advance

It's a simple change in one of the LDM plugins. See the next post, in a few minutes.

[AndrewD]

** Edited, 1/11 - attachment removed - see second beta in a following post

I attach version 2.0.7 for beta test. I think that this fixes the problems that have been reported with 2.0.6 and earlier, and add some new features. I will welcome reports, as always.

New Features

+ Add/edit link includes option to set a different date/time
+ Streamer handles Real Player as well as Windows Media Player and looks nicer
+ 'Sort links by rating' included
+ Searches are paginated and the advanced search offers a 'sort by' option
+ Mass edit has a 'mass delete links' option
+ Link and category urls can be presented in search engine friendly form
+ A simplified url mod_rewrite functionality is available, see below
+ VBAdvanced interface jumps to link description rather than straight to link
+ By setting *show_hit_parade*=2, a list of most popular hits appears in each category

Bugs Fixed

> syntax of filetype searches clarified/made more flexible
> catbit respects displayorder
> hitparade and vba modules respect the *can_access_link* and *protected_link* settings
> normal forumjumps are hidden if site has turned them off
> *sortby* request works with subcategories as well as links
> installer catches attempts to upgrade before new code has been uploaded
> works correctly when the main files have been renamed

As usual, I recommend that you read instructions.txt and take a database backup before installing or upgrading, just to be on the safe side. Upload the contents of the release/forums directory, then use VB/plugins/products to install the product file in the release directory.

A few remarks:

The *mod_rewrite* functionality is intended to provide the basis for some advanced features, which are only starting to be identified. The first is to deal with Tradjick's request for showthread navbars that look like LDM navbars. Another is to deal with dkpm's request for an Amazon affiliate id rewrite. I have not thought through all the details for Amazon - if someone wants to help me by listing all the urls that Amazon uses, that would be very helpful.

Although I am hoping someday to live a real life (:)), there are a series of ideas that have been suggested for LDM, and I will think about these. I've included a file wishlist.txt in the release - please use this as the basis for any further ideas. Basically, this is what I think you have suggested:

Wish List

+ Provide download limits
- daily bandwidth per user / expressed per usergroup
- or through points generated via UCash mod
- or through points bought from Paypal, etc
- or through points earned by uploading

+ Allow multiple hit parades (e.g. per day, week, month)

+ Allow the admin to limit the forum-based protection mechanism
to a few forums instead of none, one or all

+ Provide some form of keyword association
- perhaps linked to user profile

+ Allow meta-data (i.e. other fields)
- Auto-generate those data from the link when possible

+ XML-based import and export
- Allow category imports to work into an existing database

+ Upgrade the entry forms to WYSIWIG

+ Provide mod_rewrite rules for Amazon affiliates

[Benj]

2.0.7 looks wkd to me one more small request maybe a "uploading please wait" when a file is being uploaded :D cheers

[Marv]

I attach version 2.0.7 for beta test. I think that this fixes the problems that have been reported with 2.0.6 and earlier, and add some new features. I will welcome reports, as always.

Sounds great, Andrew.
Is there a german language file available ?

[AndrewD]

Sounds great, Andrew.
Is there a german language file available ?

Indeed, it's provided both as an installer and as an additional language. Thanks to LeeWicKeD for all the hard work in translating.

[Vtec44]

Andrew, is it possible to modify the template and add category icons? That way, it will be less confusing when categories and links are displaying together. :D

[Vtec44]

Nevermind, I modified the links_catbit template and added a couple of icons. :D

[Benj]

umm andew after looking deeper into 2.0.7 relised that your hit parade thing is cool but not what i ment when i PM'd you to clarifyi kinda ment

sort by hits

overal
hits today
hits this week
hits this month

on a category basis

the hit parade is still cool tho

just thought id clarify that

cheers for all the hard work

[AndrewD]

Nevermind, I modified the links_catbit template and added a couple of icons. :D

Looks good - Mind if I pick this up for the general release?

[Vtec44]

Not at all! :D

[kadafi_alive]

I like the new update.

I have tested the realplayer function and it works, however, when a media is playing, it plays for the first 5 sec, then it reloads and plays again.

[TygerTyger]

Once again Andrew, thank you very much for your stellar support and effort on this Add. It's truly paid off spectacularly well.

I mentioned an issue before whereby renamed files (links.php) etc were still retaining their original names in the links page menus and so on. That seems to have been sorted out, except for the 'Administer' drop-down menu which still refers to local_links_admin after it's been renamed.

[kadafi_alive]

Hi Andrew,

At present, it only updates hit after someone downloads. Is there a way to add hitcount for streaming media?

Much thanks in advance

Regards

[Vtec44]

Andrew,

I modified the links_catbit & links_subcatbit, added an "If" statement so it changes the icon to a different color whenever a new item is added. I'm not sure if these have been implimented with the newer version, I'm still using v2.05. Here's a screen shoot, you're more than welcome to use it in the next versions :D Thanks for all the hardwork, I'm planning to use your mod extensively on my forum.

[AndrewD]

umm andew after looking deeper into 2.0.7 relised that your hit parade thing is cool but not what i ment when i PM'd you to clarifyi kinda ment

sort by hits

overal
hits today
hits this week
hits this month

on a category basis


the hit parade is still cool tho

just thought id clarify that


cheers for all the hard work


OK - so that I'm clear - when people are looking at a category, you want them to be able to sort the list by 'total hits', 'hits today', 'hits this week' and 'hits this month'?

[AndrewD]

Andrew,

I modified the links_catbit & links_subcatbit, added an "If" statement so it changes the icon to a different color whenever a new item is added. I'm not sure if these have been implimented with the newer version, I'm still using v2.05. Here's a screen shoot, you're more than welcome to use it in the next versions :D Thanks for all the hardwork, I'm planning to use your mod extensively on my forum.

Thanks - looks good - these will be included as of the second beta for 2.0.7.

[AndrewD]

Once again Andrew, thank you very much for your stellar support and effort on this Add. It's truly paid off spectacularly well.

I mentioned an issue before whereby renamed files (links.php) etc were still retaining their original names in the links page menus and so on. That seems to have been sorted out, except for the 'Administer' drop-down menu which still refers to local_links_admin after it's been renamed.

Correct - will fix in the second beta.

[AndrewD]

Hi Andrew,

At present, it only updates hit after someone downloads. Is there a way to add hitcount for streaming media?

Much thanks in advance

Regards

Yes, in the second beta for 2.0.7. Thanks for pointing this out.

[kadafi_alive]

Thanks,

I have tried creating a linked subforum for one of the categories, but when i click the linked subforum, it gives me an error page:

I have checked the link and it was:

http://www.domain.com/.php?catid=1

so obviously, it has omitted the "local_links" phrase

regards

[AndrewD]

Thanks,

I have tried creating a linked subforum for one of the categories, but when i click the linked subforum, it gives me an error page:

I have checked the link and it was:

http://www.domain.com/.php?catid=1

so obviously, it has omitted the "local_links" phrase

regards

Confirmed, will be fixed in second beta. You will have to delete and recreate the linked forum, or go into your main VB admin and manually edit the forum redirect to the correct url.

[AndrewD]

2.0.7 looks wkd to me one more small request maybe a "uploading please wait" when a file is being uploaded :D cheers

To be included in second beta.

I feared you wanted a progress meter - these are much harder to get working.

[Benj]

To be included in second beta.

I feared you wanted a progress meter - these are much harder to get working.


hahha yeah i know how hard they are to get working... everyones struggling with them these days.

and yeah andew your post about sorting by hits is totally correct! cheeers :D


benj

[Dark_Wizard]

I'm assuming this supports categories and if so does it support subcategories?

[AndrewD]

I'm assuming this supports categories and if so does it support subcategories?

Naturally...

And you can put an entry in several categories at the same time...

[TundraSoul]

<i>Good job Andrew, I upgraded successfully.</i> I like the ability to edit the link date, and I'm looking forward to beta 2. I couldn't however get the SEO links to work. When I tried it, and clicked on the category link, I was simply taken back to the forums. Note, I'm using vB SEO, so that may have something to do with it.

My favorites from the wishlist: + Provide some form of keyword association
- perhaps linked to user profile

[AndrewD]

I couldn't get the SEO links to work. When I tried it, and clicked on the category link, I was simply taken back to the forums. Note, I'm using vB SEO, so that may have something to do with it.


Sorry to hear this. I don't know about VB SEO. Within Apache, these are the rules you need:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule local_links/links/(.+)/(.+) local_links.php?catid=$1&linkid=$2 [R]
RewriteRule local_links/links/(.+) local_links.php?catid=$1 [R]
RewriteRule local_links/jump/(.+)/(.+) local_links.php?action=jump&id=$1&catid=$2 [R]
RewriteRule local_links/jump/(.+) local_links.php?action=jump&id=$1 [R]

[TundraSoul]

Thanks, I'll gve that a try.

Is it possible to improve the keyword searching? For instance currently if I search for 2000 Toyota Celica, it find every link with any of the words from my search. Instead I would rather find those links with all the words in my search. I think this is called search by phrase.

[AndrewD]

Thanks, I'll gve that a try.

Is it possible to improve the keyword searching? For instance currently if I search for 2000 Toyota Celica, it find every link with any of the words from my search. Instead I would rather find those links with all the words in my search. I think this is called search by phrase.

Put quotation marks around the string. By default, it looks separately for each word - perhaps this is wrong.

*Edited* Alternatively, change *match_using_like* to 1 in LDM's admin/settings page.

By default, LDM uses SQL's 'Boolean Mode' full text searches. This is powerful but has some idiosyncracies. Ditto the alternative SQL 'LIKE' matching.

[bhxtyrant]

Hey Andrew,I ave a quick question.I remember i asked you this a long time ago back when i was using the version of LDM for vBulliten 3.0

I just wanted to ask how to once again remove the "Trawled during scan /file path/" message which is automatically put in when files are added to LDM 2.0.5.Thansk as always!

[AndrewD]

Hey Andrew,I ave a quick question.I remember i asked you this a long time ago back when i was using the version of LDM for vBulliten 3.0

I just wanted to ask how to once again remove the "Trawled during scan /file path/" message which is automatically put in when files are added to LDM 2.0.5.Thansk as always!

It's built using the template links_scantext - just edit that template to say whatever you want.

[bhxtyrant]

Hmm there doesnt seem to be a template called "links_scantext" i only see links_Admin_Scan_one,links_Admin_Scan_start,links_ Admin_Scan_end,links_Admin_Sca n_line.

[AndrewD]

Hmm there doesnt seem to be a template called "links_scantext" i only see links_Admin_Scan_one,links_Admin_Scan_start,links_ Admin_Scan_end,links_Admin_Scan_line.


Sorry, forgot you were using 2.0.5. In 2.0.6, I modified how this phrase was built up to make it easier to change.

Either look for the phrase ll_trawled or edit local_links_admin.php and go to line 1517, which reads
list ($insert_status, $linkid) = insert_link ($vbulletin->userinfo['username'], $vbulletin->userinfo['userid'], $title, $key, '', $vbphrase['ll_trawled'].' '.$dir, $pcatid, $pforum, $statuscheck, $moderate, 0);


Its the sequence $vbphrase['ll_trawled'].' '.$dir that you need to change - be careful that you don't mess the commas

[bhxtyrant]

Thanks man :) i got it now.Guess i should upgrade to the newest version soon,I didn't upgrade yet mainly because i'm waiting for any possible bugs to be worked out and the upload feature isn't something i majorly need as i prefer adding things via FTP :) glad to hear these little things are becoming much easier to edit though.Ease of use is always a good thing.Keep up the awsome work.

[AndrewD]

* Edited* Beta 2 withdrawn - see main post for 2.0.7 RC

Here is the second beta for 2.0.7. It fixes/adds the main points discussed in the last two days:

+ Images in category bits, thanks to VTec44
+ 'Please wait' message displayed after add/edit link, thanks benj
+ 'Sort links by hits in last 30/7/1 days' added, ditto (ouch, was that sql painful...)

bugs fixed
> Admin drop-down menu correctly accesses renamed scripts
> Streamer records 'hits'
> Url in linked forum corrected

I hope there are no serious bugs - I'm going away this weekend and will be pretty busy for three weeks.

[xeon]

Per post #227 in this thread I would assume this works with older 3.0.x installations. Can someone confirm this? Very nice hack that I'd like to use.

[AndrewD]

Per post #227 in this thread I would assume this works with older 3.0.x installations. Can someone confirm this? Very nice hack that I'd like to use.

There is a version for 3.0.x here - fully working, but I'd prefer not to spend time supporting it any longer ;)

The 3.5.0 version has had quite some additional features.

[Benj]

+ 'Sort links by hits in last 30/7/1 days' added, ditto (ouch, was that sql painful...)

andrew your the man! when i get 10 mins ill upload this to my test site thanks alot for your work. whats your paypal account man i wanna donate ( when i get payed :P )

[fringehead]

Thanks for the upgrade and the help Andrew!

Sean

[Benj]

o no not another request lol sorry any way i can call hits by 30/7/1 days via url like ?timespan=30 need this so i can link to a cat like

whats hot in catname today
what hot in catname this week
whats hot in catname this month

if you get me

cheers

[AndrewD]

o no not another request lol sorry any way i can call hits by 30/7/1 days via url like ?timespan=30 need this so i can link to a cat like

whats hot in catname today
what hot in catname this week
whats hot in catname this month

if you get me


cheers

/local_links.php?action=show&sort=30&catlist=1,2,3 for categories with catids 1,2 and 3
/local_links.php?action=show&sort=1&catlist=1 for catid 1
/local_links.php?action=show&sort=7 for all categories

You get the catids by hovering over the category url

Edited - if you have only one category of interest, then you can use instead

/local_links.php?sort=1&catid=1 [nb catid, not catlist and the action=show is omitted]

Then you will also get the proper category header displayed instead of a sort message.

[robihot]

Hello,
First I have to say: Great extension!

I could install 2.0.7 and beside one problem, it is working fine.

- The resized image (thumbnail) is not displayed even with GD2 installed (no problems in VB3.5.0 with thumbs)

Any idea? Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Robi

Change: Problem occurs only with GIF. JPG is working fine :-))

[EasyTarget]

I thought I read something about where you added the option to make the links_linkbit page act as a link to a more in depth file description and download page. I might have just been interpretating something wrong though.
(i'm using the latest beta).

if it can't do that yet, I think it'd be nice to add that option to the administer settings page where you can choose the category selection and linkbit templates. if that option is already in there, I probably just haven't figured out how to use it yet as I haven't really gone through the readme yet.. so disregard if that's the case :p

[AndrewD]

I thought I read something about where you added the option to make the links_linkbit page act as a link to a more in depth file description and download page. I might have just been interpretating something wrong though.
(i'm using the latest beta).

if it can't do that yet, I think it'd be nice to add that option to the administer settings page where you can choose the category selection and linkbit templates. if that option is already in there, I probably just haven't figured out how to use it yet as I haven't really gone through the readme yet.. so disregard if that's the case :p


Thanks - no the option isn't there yet - I half wrote the code on a plane to Berlin then decided to try a different approach - bear with me a while longer as I thinnk it's a good idea.

[AndrewD]

Hello,
First I have to say: Great extension!

I could install 2.0.7 and beside one problem, it is working fine.

- The resized image (thumbnail) is not displayed even with GD2 installed (no problems in VB3.5.0 with thumbs)

Any idea? Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Robi

Change: Problem occurs only with GIF. JPG is working fine :-))

I'm at a bit of a loss - can you give me more information on how you are identifying the images - url, etc?. Attached is a screenshot showing a jpg and two gifs - the first gif is coming from my local machine and the second is coming from a remote web site.

[Benj]

how do you add images like that to tracks ??? looks cool andrew

[AndrewD]

how do you add images like that to tracks ??? looks cool andrew

admin page -> set link_imagesize =100 or so, then add link form gains a new field for the url of an image that will be resized to 100 pixels on largest dimension. Only works if your server has the gd2 lib installed.

Another way is simply to put [img] bbcodes into the link desciption

[robihot]

Hello Andrew,

I tried both, URL and direct path. In both cases the Thumbnail is not displayed/resized if GIF format. Stranghe is, JPG and PNG is working fine (they are located in the same directory).

No clue why this happens...

[AndrewD]

Hello Andrew,

I tried both, URL and direct path. In both cases the Thumbnail is not displayed/resized if GIF format. Stranghe is, JPG and PNG is working fine (they are located in the same directory).

No clue why this happens...

Maybe you can email me one of your gifs. Then I can see if the problem is your end or mine. - ad_rodin at noos.fr

[AndrewD]

I thought I read something about where you added the option to make the links_linkbit page act as a link to a more in depth file description and download page. I might have just been interpretating something wrong though.
(i'm using the latest beta).

if it can't do that yet, I think it'd be nice to add that option to the administer settings page where you can choose the category selection and linkbit templates. if that option is already in there, I probably just haven't figured out how to use it yet as I haven't really gone through the readme yet.. so disregard if that's the case :p

I'm not sure that I really like the look yet, but perhaps you can try this variant on the link_listbit template and let me know if that's what you are wanting to achieve. Bear in mind that with the links collapsed by default, you are relying on your users enabling javascript.

[welo]

I tried both, URL and direct path. In both cases the Thumbnail is not displayed/resized if GIF format. Stranghe is, JPG and PNG is working fine (they are located in the same directory).

Since your physical location isn't displayed, this is only speculation here ... although, it occurs to me the GIF patent hasn't yet expired in all countries. If you (or your server or host) is in a country where this is still the case, the box might not be setup to allow GD-manipulated GIFs. I recall awhile back when the whole GIF patent expiry was taking place, this was an issue of concern with the open source photo galleries.

Just a thought.

[robihot]

Since your physical location isn't displayed, this is only speculation here ... although, it occurs to me the GIF patent hasn't yet expired in all countries. If you (or your server or host) is in a country where this is still the case, the box might not be setup to allow GD-manipulated GIFs. I recall awhile back when the whole GIF patent expiry was taking place, this was an issue of concern with the open source photo galleries.

Just a thought.

Hmmm... My location is Switzerland. But can it be that within VB (as Thumbs if attched to a post) it's working but not in DLM?

I assume, VB is also using GD2 to create the Thumbnail. And the GIF is realy a normal GIF.

[Benj]

I'm not sure that I really like the look yet, but perhaps you can try this variant on the link_listbit template and let me know if that's what you are wanting to achieve. Bear in mind that with the links collapsed by default, you are relying on your users enabling javascript.

i like this template its cool :D

Lovin this product man......

any idea about puttin so called template conditionals in this template to show if any paticualar download has moved up or down the chart. sorry im kinda drunk.

the idea i have is to show like an upward (or downwards) image showin if the paticualar download has moved up or down the hits list regarding its previous position.

for example if download a had 19 hits and b had 17 on day 1
and then
on day to a had 19 and b had 21 then b would have an upward image next to it showing it had gained a place in the hits list


hopes this is reomotly clear as i said im kinda drunk

if its not possible or requires lots more "hard" sql then dw just a drunken idea



cheeers

Benj

[AndrewD]

Hmmm... My location is Switzerland. But can it be that within VB (as Thumbs if attched to a post) it's working but not in DLM?

I assume, VB is also using GD2 to create the Thumbnail. And the GIF is realy a normal GIF.

VB uses the same library but not the same function. As a first guess, lets assume the problem is inside LDM. As I suggested, email me one of your gifs and I'll try to track down the problem.

[EasyTarget]

how do I use/integrate that xml you made? (sorry I'm a noob)

[AndrewD]

how do I use/integrate that xml you made? (sorry I'm a noob)

The xml is a single template, a replacement for the link_listbit template. Just use VB admincp to update the template with these new contents. You can always 'revert' it again later

[robihot]

VB uses the same library but not the same function. As a first guess, lets assume the problem is inside LDM. As I suggested, email me one of your gifs and I'll try to track down the problem.

Hello Edward,
I emailed you an example of the GIF I tried to resize.
PS: The URL is fine, I can see it in the HTML page (of course, otherwise the PNG/JPG would be displayed :nervous: )

Thanks and regards, Robi

[NuclioN]

Great hack but i'm confused with the upload permissions. When my upload dir is forum/uploads how must i specify the *local_file_root* and
*local_file_root_prefix* and further in the settings: upload_dir ?

Also i wonder how you can add an image beside the added link. Tnx in advance.

[AndrewD]

Great hack but i'm confused with the upload permissions. When my upload dir is forum/uploads how must i specify the *local_file_root* and
*local_file_root_prefix* and further in the settings: upload_dir ?

local_file_root: indicates whether files are located in terms of their position on your web site ('web space') or the raw server ('server space')
local_file_root_prefix: force files to be in a particular part of 'web space' or 'server space'
upload_dir: the specific directory in which the uploads are stored, relative to the constraints imposed by the above

Example 1: your upload directory, uploads, is a top-level directory in http://yoursite, ie all uploads will be stored inside http://yoursite/uploads -> set local_file_root to 0, leave local_file_root_prefix blank and set upload_dir to /uploads

Example 2: your upload directory, uploads, is to be kept outside your website so that curious users can't get at it. You want it to be a subdirectory of /data on the the computer which is acting as server. All local documents that you will 'serve' to your user community will also be held in subdirectories of /data: set local_file_root to 1, set local_file_root_profix to /data and set upload_dir to /uploads

Also i wonder how you can add an image beside the added link. Tnx in advance.

Two ways: Either use standard BBcodes [img] within the descriptions or title. Or set link_image_size to a non-zero value, in which case the link entry form will extend to include an additional item, which is the image to accompany the entry. In the second case, your web server must have the GD2 library available.

[NuclioN]

Followed your suggestions but i can't upload anything. Also i can't upload a link icon, not by direct upload and not with an url to an image. :(

[AndrewD]

Followed your suggestions but i can't upload anything. Also i can't upload a link icon, not by direct upload and not with an url to an image. :(

Is your web site available to the public - if so, the easiest way to help is if you send me a PM with an admin userid and password and the site's url, so that I can take a look

[NuclioN]

That's ok, check PM. I also see database errors linked to 'image.pm' but this maybe something else

[Benj]

i like this template its cool :D

Lovin this product man......

any idea about puttin so called template conditionals in this template to show if any paticualar download has moved up or down the chart. sorry im kinda drunk.

the idea i have is to show like an upward (or downwards) image showin if the paticualar download has moved up or down the hits list regarding its previous position.

for example if download a had 19 hits and b had 17 on day 1
and then
on day to a had 19 and b had 21 then b would have an upward image next to it showing it had gained a place in the hits list


hopes this is reomotly clear as i said im kinda drunk

if its not possible or requires lots more "hard" sql then dw just a drunken idea



cheeers

Benj


any thoughts on my drunked thoughts andrew :P

cheers :P

[AndrewD]

any thoughts on my drunked thoughts andrew :P

cheers :P

Yeah, Benj, I've got a full time job of work to do - hang in there man...

[Benj]

hahaha ok sorry im an student with to much time on my hands :P all good dw thought you missed it thats all

[AndrewD]

That's ok, check PM. I also see database errors linked to 'image.pm' but this maybe something else

OK, take a look at your World of Art. I've added images to all your links - three as image urls, one as an upload. I've also uploaded a pdf document.

In order to make things work like this, I had to make two changes to your configuration:

a) change the linkbit - that table linkbit does not show images
b) change your VB attachment size limit for pdfs - it was limited to 20K bytes

I hope everything is self-explanatory

A

[NuclioN]

Woow big tnx AndrewD :) Great job.

[EasyTarget]

The xml is a single template, a replacement for the link_listbit template. Just use VB admincp to update the template with these new contents. You can always 'revert' it again later
thanks, tested it out and that's pretty cool, I wish that ability to hide and show was in a lot of other places in the forum :p

but what I'm actually trying to explain is that when someone is on the link_listbit page when they click on what is now the download/follow link part of it that instead of going to the site or downloading the file it would go to another page in the the LDM which has more information about the file, possibly more pictures, instructions, etc. And on that page is where they can follow a link to download the file/visit the site.

Basically for links I like the way it is now. I can show a small thumbnail and short description then they can click on the link to visit the site and find out more. But for files I'd like it so that when they click on the link they go to a page where I can explain more about the file and offer any support there. This would keep the link_listbit page nice and organized/uncluttered and still allow me to go into more detail about the file.

sorry if I don't make any sense.. I have a hard time explaining what's in my head sometimes :p

[AndrewD]

thanks, tested it out and that's pretty cool, I wish that ability to hide and show was in a lot of other places in the forum :p

but what I'm actually trying to explain is that when someone is on the link_listbit page when they click on what is now the download/follow link part of it that instead of going to the site or downloading the file it would go to another page in the the LDM which has more information about the file, possibly more pictures, instructions, etc. And on that page is where they can follow a link to download the file/visit the site.

Basically for links I like the way it is now. I can show a small thumbnail and short description then they can click on the link to visit the site and find out more. But for files I'd like it so that when they click on the link they go to a page where I can explain more about the file and offer any support there. This would keep the link_listbit page nice and organized/uncluttered and still allow me to go into more detail about the file.

sorry if I don't make any sense.. I have a hard time explaining what's in my head sometimes :p

I think I understand. You're really looking for being able to attach a whole load more 'meta' information about the file. I did this a simple way with categories - you can have the brief and the extended link. I'd prefer not to add an 'ad hoc' solution to this - let me think about the problem for a while, because there's something general to sort out - for example, if the file was an mp3, then you'd like it to read the ID3 tags, if its a picture, maybe the EXIF data, if its a Word document or a pdf, then the document properties, and so on.

[EasyTarget]

I'm just looking to be able to choose whether they can download the file or visit the link straight from the link_listbit template or whether the entries on the link_listbit would link the user to another page in the LDM with more information about the file.

-link_listbit
-->live link + brief description/thumbnail
-->live link + brief description/thumbnail
-->live link + brief description/thumbnail
-alt_link_listbit
-->brief description/thumbnail
--->extensive description/thumbnails + live download link
-->brief description/thumbnail
--->extensive description/thumbnails + live download link

[AndrewD]

I'm just looking to be able to choose whether they can download the file or visit the link straight from the link_listbit template or whether the entries on the link_listbit would link the user to another page in the LDM with more information about the file.

Yes, I understand that - but can you already enter the 'more information' that will appear on another page, or is it something more extended? In other words, are you happy with a main display which does not give all the text, image, etc, that is currently entered - just the title? I'm sorry if I'm missing the point.

[EasyTarget]

ok, sorry, edited my post above.

yes, I can enter all the information I want into the link_listbit setup now, but then the page looks really unorganized because there's no consistency (some have brief descriptions and some have long ones).

here's an example of what I mean using another downloads script (it doesn't have the other features, but is just an example of a template list that links to a file description/download link instead of right to the file).
http://www.troc.us/forum/downloads.php?do=cat&id=11

that's like the link_listbit template but if you click on a file name it doesn't start the download, it goes to a page with more info about the file.