vb.org Archive - Miscellaneous Hacks - Do Contact Us To Thread

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- - Miscellaneous Hacks - Do Contact Us To Thread (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=162537)

Do Contact Us To Thread

-=+ WHAT IS THIS? +=-

Quite simply this product allows for Do Contact Us form submissions to be directed into a new thread of a specified forum. You may optionally control the email notification system too.

-=+ FEATURES +=-

Various aspects of this product are controlled via the AdminCP, such as:-

Ability to turn it on/off.
Pick the forum into which new threads will appear.
Ability to specify a user as the thread starter.
Control the content of new thread titles.
Control the content of post text.
Turn on or off support for Smilies.
Ability to set new threads to Moderated.
Switch off email notification entirely.
Define multi-recipient Email Notifications.

-=+ INSTALLATION +=-

Import the supplied product xml by using the Product Manager of the AdminCP, as below:-

Plugins & Products -> Manage Products -> Add/Import Product

-=+ UPGRADING +=-

You do not need to uninstall the older version of the product.

Import the updated product xml by using the Product Manager of the AdminCP, as below:-

Plugins & Products -> Manage Products -> Add/Import Product

Ensure the option Allow Overwrite is set to Yes on the import screen, prior to clicking Import.

-=+ POST INSTALLATION/UPGRADE +=-

Post installation settings can be found in vBulletin options section:-

vBulletin Options -> TWP - Do Contact Us To Thread

In order for the product to operate certain criteria must be met, as follows:-

Plugin must be enabled. (true by default)
Product must be enabled in the options. (no by default)
A forum must have been picked in the options. (none by default)

If any of the above criteria are not satisfied, the product will NOT operate. Please check these before asking for help.

-=+ WHAT'S NEW IN V1.1 +=-

Cosmetic Fix
It was noted after version 1.0 was released that certain phrase variables being used were defined twice. One for the plugin to use and another for the vbOptions screen. Version 1.1 fixes the issue by renaming each of the phrases defined for the vbOptions screen. An installation script is provided in the product xml to automate the renaming when users upgrade.
Bug Fix and Option Added : Missing Name Replacement
On occasion the sender of the Do Contact Us form forgets fill out the Name field. This option provides a convenient replacement text if the name is empty. This was mistakenly hard-coded in version 1.0. ({no name} by default)
Option Added : Allow Smilies
You can now turn on or off smilies for new messages that come in. (No by default)
Option Added : Moderate New Threads
You can now set new threads to be Moderated upon arrival. This may be useful on boards which have a mixed permissions setup on the Forum, and allows messages to be approved first. (No by default)
Option Added : Override Default Email Sender
By default vBulletin will dutifully send notification emails to the address defined as "Webmaster" and to addresses defined in Contact Us Options (if configured). This setting will stop those emails from being sent. (No by default)
Option Added : Enable Email Notification List
This option will enable or disable the Email Notification List (see below). (No by default)
Option Added : Email Notification List
This setting allows you to define a set of email addresses that you wish to send notifications to on the arrival of new messages. This will work in addition to the default handling of notifications unless you have disabled it via the Override Default Email Sender option. (Empty by default)

-=+ RELEASE HISTORY +=-

v1.1 : 18-Nov-07 : Minor fixes and added options.
v1.0 : 12-Nov-07 : First public realease.
v0.1 : 04-Nov-07 : Internal Test Version.

-=+ THE CREDITS +=-

This product has been developed from an unreleased original plugin by weeno. Many thanks to weeno for permission to use the plugin code (originally posted here) as the basis of this formal release.

-=+ ISSUES +=-

Confirmed as NOT COMPATIBLE with vBulletin 3.7.* Please refer to post#2 for a 3.7 Patch.

-=+ SPECIAL THANKS +=-

Many thanks to everyone who clicked the Nominate For MOTM during November 2007, and for subsequent votes on the MOTM Poll for December. It makes the effort a really worthwhile experience.

Possible Future Updates

Create an option to direct new threads into different forums, depending on the pre-defined subjects available.
Create an option to customize the thread title prefix, depending on whether they are registered users (logged in) or unregistered (guest messages).
Create a configuration to direct messages to either a new thread or email depending on whether they are logged in user or guest.

FAQ

Q: Does this modification replace the email function of the Do Contact Us form?
A: No. Email settings are not touched by this modification. (v1.0)
A: It can be configured to stop or reconfigure email notifications. (v1.1)

PATCH FOR vB 3.7

As noted on the release of vB 3.7 Beta 3 there is a core vBulletin code change that has affected the AdminCP "vBulletin Options" when saving changes. This change means that you cannot save changes made in the vBulletin Options for this modification. Having coded a fix for this it was thought that I would be releasing a seperate version specifically for the new 3.7 line, but with the release of 3.6.9 and 3.6.10 this has been placed on a lower priority. Therefore, I have decided to release a patch for users wishing to use this modification in 3.7. Please find attached to this post the following attachments:

plugins_vb37_patch-twp_docontactus_to_thread.txt
Instructions for the application of the patch.
plugins_vb37_patch-twp_docontactus_to_thread.xml
XML Import file containing 2 replacement plugins.

This is great. Tagged for future install.

Good idea! Installed.

good one thanks - will install later

Niiice mod, very impressive :).

Very nice--I might install later.

very good! installed this

tested... and works great... good job.... installed.... i personally cant think of anything else this hack might need....~~~

Simple but very useful .. like some of my friends :D

Clicked install

very good idea! Great hack mate.

Awsum idea!!! Installed, and running beautifully. Thankyou!

*installed* Nice works !

Nice work

will install it soon

so u mean instead of an email it would create a new thread , right ??

Glad you all like it, many thanks for all the positive responses. :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecho (Post 1381631)

so u mean instead of an email it would create a new thread , right ??

You get a new thread yes, however this product does not interfere with the sending of the email by vBulletin. In fact, the position of the hook I'm using means even if my code fails, the email will already have been sent, so you won't loose the message.

** edit to add **

Quote:

the email will already have been sent

My statement was not quite correct. The hook position I'm using comes a few lines prior to the actual sending of the email by vBulletin. In theory the email will get sent as I'm being careful not to fiddle with any of the built-in variables.

Installed thank you.

installed and a brilliant idea. I will make it so all these messages go only in admin area forums.

In comparison to the old hack this works great, we can even choose to enable/disable functions without any edits into the product.

A new option for this would be to be able to send the email to multiple UserIDs, so instead of the original vboptions config it would be sent to any other users we may want.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by COBRAws (Post 1381784)

A new option for this would be to be able to send the email to multiple UserIDs, so instead of the original vboptions config it would be sent to any other users we may want.

Thanks for the suggestion COBRAws. The email side of the do contact us is a little outside the scope of this particular modification, but I'll take it onboard for a possible extension, for sure. My first thought when I read this was, "why not give the multiple-recipients access to the forum in which the messages will appear", I would assume they would be board staff members. This would save email bandwidth, especially on a busy board.

Many thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlackPoet (Post 1381260)

personally cant think of anything else this hack might need....

Actually that got me thinking, which is probably a bad idea at my age. vBulletin options allow for different pre-defined subjects to be added to the default sendmessage form (vBulletin Options -> Site Name / URL / Contact Details -> Contact Us Options). In turn, these subjects can be configured to send to different recipients (see the Admin Help Popup) so why not define a different forum for each unique subject? Might be useful on a busy board with a few different subjects set up.

The mind boggles... that's one for version 1.1 me thinks.

:up:

This looks like a nice modification. The code has been properly commented, and it seems to be using vBulletin functionality such as the data manager to increase performance and security. Finally no nag text "click install to get support" or "donate to me if you like my small mod" .. I've nominated it for mod of the month. And will most likely use this on my web site.

Thank you so much Floris. :) I couldn't ask for a better summary. :up:

perfect ,

Good idea! Installed.

YmY

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floris (Post 1382160)

I'm hoping I'm not included in that definition. I don't see what's wrong with asking people to click install to get support, or to donate if they like your work. Some very good coders around here do those.

And bump for a great addon.

*Installed quick and easy, works like a charm
Thanks and Kudu's

Great hack! I'm looking for a hack as this one!
I delete my e-mail from Vb options > Contact details and now i receive the messages only on a hidden -only for admins - forum. :)

You have my vote for the mod of the month! ;)

-philos

Really a nice mod what i need for a long time.

When an unregistered user sends message, it appears as a thread but when i click to thread it gives database error message.

Any solution for this problem?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breathex (Post 1383522)

When an unregistered user sends message, it appears as a thread but when i click to thread it gives database error message.

What is the error message?

** edit to add **
Unfortunately you came back to the site almost 2 hours after I originally posted this reply, and you did not respond. Having thought more about your enquiry, I cannot actually say with any certainty that your error has anything to do with this modification. If you can see the thread listed, my modification will have done its job already, and the thread would be accessible as per the normal access rules of your site. Until you respond with more information, I'm unable to help you. I have had no other error reports to date from the 52 installs logged. (Thanks All!)

good modification, thank you for the efforts.

Will not use this product, but here's a suggestion: option to only use "Do Contact Us To Thread" for logged in users. They can then see their messages in the forum (you can set up forum rules to let users only let view threads they created).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThorstenA (Post 1384562)

only use "Do Contact Us To Thread" for logged in users. They can then see their messages in the forum (you can set up forum rules to let users only let view threads they created).

The same thing can be accomplished by creating a special usergroup, or changing forum permissions for logged in users within a specific forum. I cannot see any scenario where a logged in member would need to use a 'contact us' form to post a forum message. Can you cite an example where your proposed option could be used?

Excellent plugin, TW! :up: As ever, it's great, I love it and have it installed on one of my vb sites :)

Hello all,

First of all, many thanks for your tremendous support and positive responses on the release thread. I have now finished extending the product to version 1.1 with some cool new features. Some of the update is based on requests from you guys, so please feel free to upgrade as soon as possible.

I have updated post #1 with the new product xml and added some additional screenshots for your enjoyment.

Once again, many thanks for your support, and you have any problems with the upgrade, please fire me a message on the thread, or in PM if you prefer.

Cheers for now,

TigerWare

Nive product, TigerWare. :)
I have one question. If I reply to the created thread, do I reply to the e-mailer (it send an automatic e-mail reply), or not?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triky (Post 1387734)

Nive product, TigerWare. :)
I have one question. If I reply to the created thread, do I reply to the e-mailer (it send an automatic e-mail reply), or not?

Thanks Triky,

That's a very good question and I have been thinking about this particular aspect myself.

Currently, a reply to the new thread is just that, a reply to the thread only. I may add an option later where a reply to the thread can reply to the original sender address, but for now any outbound communications would have to be done manually.

I understand. Thank you for your fast reply. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triky (Post 1387895)

Thank you for your fast reply. :)

You are welcome. :up:

Phrase Groups Available:

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Page Generation 0.02273 seconds Memory Usage 1,835KB Queries Executed 10 (?)
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Messages: