This looks like an extreeeeemly great addition to vB. I just wished i had a reliable memberbase, as i already have much to bid to my members. But they just still won?t show up :(

how do I "CHMOD" my files?

Files and directories on webservers may have three types of permissions:

1) read (`r')
2) write (`w')
3) execute (`x')

Each permission may be `on' or `off' for each of three categories of users:

1) the first digit refers to the file or directory owner
2) the second digit refers to other people in the same group as the owner
3) the third digit refers to all others (the world)

'chmod' or "change mode" is the UNIX way of changing file permissions. Basically CHMOD refers to setting the access privileges for a file, and you use an FTP client. Highlight the file that you want to change permissions for, and right click and select "Properties" or "Permissions" or "CHMOD" or "File Attributes" (depending on which FTP client you are using). Within each set of permissions (you, group, world) there are three permissions you can set: Read - Write - Execute. Therefore when you set the permissions on a file you must take into account 'who' needs access. The chmod command allows you to change the file permissions to allow only specific people to view your files and directories.

This is what CHMOD 755 looks like:

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/8904/chmod7555uy.jpg

Most Perl Scripts should be set to 755. Most HTML files should be set to 644. And most data files that must be written to by a web server should be 666. The standard directory permission should be 755. Directories that must be written to by a web server should be 777. Your home directory should be 700. If you are operating a ~username type server, the public_html directory should be 777. (You may also need to open up the home directory to 755.) (It's typically a bad idea to chmod 777 any file, as it allows the world to replace the program with whatever they'd like).

Setting execute for a directory allows that directory to be read. That is, you can see what's in it. That is, if a user does not have execute permissions for a directory, when they attempt to view the contents of that directory it will return an error and not list the files in that directory.

side note: Any file name that starts with a '.' is invisible to the webserver when a directory list is generated (This is a quick and easy way to hide a file).

here is a quick CHMOD reference:

Number | Permissions
=================================================
0 | None - cannot read or write or execute
1 | Can execute, but cannot read or write
2 | Write-only, cannot read or execute (??)
3 | Writeable/executable
4 | Read-only, cannot write to or execute
5 | Read-only executable, cannot write to
6 | Readable Writeable file, but not executable (ie: text file)
7 | Readable Writeable Executable file - most programs are this

thank you yoyoyoyo you have been extremely helpful and I now have it uploaded and its working. Now im trying to figure out how to change the colors and the names and add catigories

In my vb cp i dont see add new template. This is all I see,

Style Manager
Search in Templates
Replacement Variable Manager
Download / Upload Styles
Find Updated Templates

click on the style manager link, and then in the drop down box on the right hand side where it says "all style options" you will see an option to "Add New Template" under "TEMPLATE OPTIONS"

or you can always just go to:

http://yoursite.com/forum/admincp/template.php?s=&group=&do=add&dostyleid=1

(assuming you are editing style ID #1)

click on the "<< >>" button

When i try to open auction.php i get an error message that says "Warning: main(./includes/init.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in "my directory" on line 21. And I get a fatal error message. but the auction.pl works and the auctions page comes up and everything

You need to change the filepath in the template iframe section to match the filepath to your auction.pl file. Try this.. change the code in the template to look like this:
change the URL to match the URL to your auction.pl file

Ok I just did that but the auction.php file still gives me that same error

OK Ive got it to work but now it just points to a blank page. the reason it didnt work before is because I didnt have it in the forums directory so when it was suppose to point to "global.php" it didnt have the right file path. is it suppose to point to global.php or am i suppose to edit it and have it point to some place else?

the auction.pl file is not supposed to be in the forums directory. It is supposed to be in the cgi folder, as mentioned in the instructions. If you move it to the forum directory, then you need to change the address in the iframe to match your auction.pl file, wherever you move it to. The template is just a header and a footer with an iframe pulling in content. The content is the auction.pl file. If you can see your auction.pl file and you can see the auction.php page display with no auction content then you did not edit the URL in the iframe properly. The auction.php file is supposed to go in your forum root directory, not in your cgi-bin folder.

I dont have a cgi directory in my server because I dont have a cgi_bin so what i did was, upload the auctions.php into my forums directory along with the folder called "auctions" and all of its contents.

That is fine, as long as the script runs. Then your url to your auction.pl file would look something like:Make sure that the file path in the iframe of the template is correct, and that you have CHMOD'ed the auction directory and files properly. The iframe will display whatever you tell it to display. You could change the URL to vb.org, for example, and it would display in the iframe - you need to change it to the URL to your auction.pl file, otherwise it will not display in the iframe.

I dont understand why the auction template file can be the reason why its not showing up. And now i uploaded the cgi-bin folder so the url is mysite.com//cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl in the auction template file.

Are you sure i dont need to edit the auction.php file such as the "require_once('./global.php');" because once its taken out of the forum directory where there is no global.php file i get an error message which says "Warning: main(./global.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in" and line 34 is the line of "require_once('./global.php');"

is that // a typo or is that really how you have it?
The auction.php file should never be taken out of the forum root directory. It is uploaded to your forum root, since it is part of your forum.

Upload the files as follows:

auction.php is uploaded to your forum root directory (the same directory where index.php and newreply.php reside)

the 'auction' directory, and all of it's contents are uploaded to your cgi-bin OR forum root directory.

http://yoursite.com/ <-- your base URL
http://yoursite.com/forum/ <-- your forum directory (this is where your auction.php file goes)
http://yoursite.com/cgi-bin/auction/ <-- your auction directory (where auction.pl resides)
OR
http://yoursite.com/forum/auction/ <-- your auction directory (where auction.pl resides- ONLY if you have no cgi folder, but can still run perl scripts)

The auction.pl file runs independently of the global.php file, so it is not looking for that file, only the auction.php file is looking for the global.php, so make sure you have that in the right directory (your forum folder).

Are you sure i dont need to edit the auction.php file such as the "require_once('./global.php');" because once its taken out of the forum directory where there is no global.php file i get an error message which says "Warning: main(./global.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in" and line 34 is the line of "require_once('./global.php');"

The auction.php file should never be taken out of the forum root directory. It is uploaded to your forum root, since it is part of your forum.

see above post.

ignore that. im going to make sure i have it as you said

OK. I have all the directories set up correctly. When I go to www.mysite.com/forums/auction.php a blank page comes up.

When you say a blank page do you mean totally blank, or does it have the header and footer?

If it is totally blank then you are missing the template and if that is the case then either you didn't actually save it, or you named it something other than auction

If you see the header and footer, with A LOT of blank space or a "FILE NOT FOUND" error message inbetween (but no auction) then you need to make sure that the URL in the iframe reflects the URL to your auction.pl file.

its totally blank

Then, as I said you are missing the template. Blank pages mean no templates, or misnamed templates. What did you name your auction template?

awesome hack, thank you very much.

is it possible to merge it with uttstore hack? is it possible for users to use "ucash" instead of real money??

The auction database is independent of the forum database, so the answer is no unless you used some sort of honor system, or the admin kept track of the auctions closely and manually deducted them from the store accounts.

Please click INSTALL if you liked the hack :D

Here is an option for folks who don't have CGI access:

http://www.cgispy.com/scripts/auction.shtml

They offer free hosting of their version of the EveryAuction script. It doesn't have all of the same features as the one I wrote, but it will work, as long as you don't mind their banner ad on your auction page. You also won't be able to change the style, etc. to match your forum, like you can with the version I wrote, but it will still be an auction.

To use this simply change the URL in the iframe area of the template to match the auction that is hosted at cgispy.com. Then there is no need to worry about uploading the files, CHMOD'ing, etc., yet you can still integrate the auction in to your site. This is obviously much less desirable than keeping the script on your own server, but as a last resort for people who want to use this script, but don't have a server that allows them to use PERL executable scripts, I thought it was a good option.

EDIT: I also just found this page:

http://www.planetscream.com/auction/

simply click on "new page" to start creating your auction site.

There are many other sites that offer free EveryAuction hosting... just search google for "free EveryAuction hosting" and you will find a few more.

Hope this helps :D

NOTE: I do not have any experience with any of these free hosts, nor do I endorse any links in this post. Just trying to help.

icecube0045, I am assuming that you got this straightened out since you stopped asking questions, but in case you didn't...

If you really added your auction template then it should appear in the Style Manager, after you click on "Edit Templates" and you should see an extra template that you added near the top under "custom templates" that is called "auction" and it will be highlighted in red.

If you do not see that template listed there then you did not add it.

If you see it, make sure you spelled it correctly: auction

If you spelled it correctly, make sure that the content of the template matches the template I posted earlier in this thread for you, but be sure to change the URL in the iframe area to match the URL to your auction.pl script.

This hack is really very basic: it has a simple vbulletin powered php page that pulls in the content from a template. That template is an iframe that points to the URL of your auction.pl script.

If you are seeing a blank page then something about your template is not correct.

Nope, I named it auction and I did name it "auction". DO you have aim or something we can speak faster over? I Pmed you my aim name.

http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/8205/vb1zy.jpg

I only added the template to 2 of my skins and I have 5. Could this be the problem?

add the template to all of your styles and see if that helps.. if it is not showing up then that is a good place to look. There is nothing magical about the auction.php page I wrote. It has the exact same elements as your index.php, aside from the templates that it calls.

You named the template "Auction" Change the name to "auction"

It has to be correct- vb is case sensitive. Change the name and I am sure you will see it appear on the auction.php page. :D

I don't do AIM, sorry.

OK, Ive got it in my forum now, Thanks. It's VERY long. How do I make it shorter and change the colors of it such as the background and font colors?

I am very glad that you finally got it worked out! :D When installing modifications you really have to watch out for things like capitalization etc., because it will mess you up every time if you don't.

I mentioned the long page issue and how to change the look and feel a few times already in this thread, and if you read then you will find the answers to those questions earlier in the thread. Please re-read the information I have already provided, especially in the first post of this thread, and if you have any other questions then I will be happy to answer them. We have already had 3 pages devoted to your template issue so far, and not to be rude, but I do not see any point in answering the same questions over and over- it just tends to make a thread get out of hand. I am always happy to answer any questions that have not already been answered thoroughly or to your understanding.

Again- I am glad you got the template issue worked out and I hope that the auction is a benefit to your community.

Is it possible to make a auction skin for each skin on your page?

Yes, but you must have one auction.pl file for each skin, and have each skin point to a different file. Edit each one (between the style tags) to be the same style as your vbulletin skin. You can rename the file with no problem. You can call it auction1.pl, auction2.pl, etc. (or you can name them vbulletindefault_auction.pl it doesn't matter as long as you keep track of which is which) and add different templates to each style, with each one pointing to the proper auction.pl file for that style. Just keep all of the auction.pl files in the same folder and they will all pull data from the same auction database. You must keep them in the same folder as each other, otherwise each style will have different auctions! Also be sure to edit the part of the config area that asks you to define the scripts name.

Great question! thanks for asking- I will add it to the main post.

great mod! just what I have been waiting for! thanks for sharing!

It took less than 5 minutes to install (and I have never dealt with a perl script before) and now I have a full-featured auction in my forum! this is fantastic!

**clicks install**

Please quote code properly. Do not post code unless it is within code tags. This is to keep unlicensed users from using the codes. You have already posted the entire template without code tages and now part of the auction.pl file in public- please do not do that.

Try signing up for the auctions, and if you get mail sent to you then you do not need to change anything. If you do not get mail sent to you try changing it to and see if that works. If it doesn't then contact your server and ask them what you have for a mail host.

I am glad you like it, and I hope that the auction brings many people to your site. It's nice to hear from folks when they have easy installs, also- usually it is the opposite and you only hear from them when they have problems. When someone installs it with no difficulty then I feel I have succeeded. :D

I am sorry, I deleted the post with me putting info out from the files.

Dammit, when I changed the mail server to what you said, I got this error. Even though I change it back, I still get the same error. And yes I did Chmod it.

"Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@mywebsite.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. "