Links and Downloads Manager

LDM extends VBulletin to manage a library of documents, files and links to other web sites. Documents can be stored on your own web site, stored on your server separate from the web site, uploaded by your user community, or held somewhere else altogether. So you can use LDM to provide your user community with access to your own files and allow them to share files with each other.

12/08/06 - Versions that work with vb36 are available and supported in the VB36 thread. Version 2.2.1, which works with VB 3.5 but not with VB 3.6, remains available here.

Thanks to everyone who has helped with all the design, testing, etc.
Translations are provided (thanks dLutt and LeeWicked) into German, (thanks to Allan) into French, and (thanks to Hugo) into Spanish. Harry1951 has handled the Dutch translation.

Screenshots, Instructions and How to Install

Full details and instructions are available as a Wiki at http://www.eirma.org/wikis/index.php...nloads_Manager

LDM installs as a VBulletin product. There are no modifications required to standard VB code.

Basically - upload php files and run the installer through VB's Product installer. No changes needed to VB code. Remember to BACKUP YOUR DATABASE. By default, LDM prefixes its database tables 'local_'. Edit the configuration file, local_links_init.php, if you need/wish to change this.

LDM can handle an essentially unlimited number of categories and nested subcategories, and an unlimited number of entries (hyperlinks or downloadable files). Each entry can be placed in one or several categories. Categories can have styles. Descriptions and titles can optionally include BBcodes, smilies, images and html, giving the possibility to add images, colouring, etc. File types can be flagged using icons and individual entries can also have associated thumbnail images.

Standards templates are provided for libraries of links, files, documents, and photographs.

Users can offer comments and rate the links/downloads. Each user is allowed one rating and many comments per entry, and can freely edit these if they change their mind.

Permission to use specific features is established via the product's admin page, where the administrator specifies which usergroups can add and edit entries, comment and rate these entries, moderate, etc.

By default, all entries are visible to all users. You can restrict visibility/access to links and categories by using the permissions masks from your board's forums.

Moderation of new entries is available but turned off by default.

Users can report bad links to the relevant moderators/administrators.

Each user can flag links as his/her "Favourites".

Modules are provided for VBAdvanced.

Hooks are provided in suitable places in LDM and sample plugins are included in the release (see extras directory), for example to integrate with ID3 tags in mp3 files, for slideshows, to autocreate new threads in your forums, etc.

Plus much more.

[Slave]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Alright, I'll double check for 2.1.3.

Doh! ..

Just found the "moderate_links" setting on the permissions page was set to 0 ..

Do you have any plans to improve the permissions/settings pages? As they seem to be getting quite big now .. perhaps mention the "moderate_links" setting on the permission page ..

[Langly]

What are the globals for LDM? I'm not sure if your familiar with vbportal or not but it uses a mini-stats box to display various stats about the site (users, posts, downloads, articles, etc.) They said I can change the download count in the mini-stats to reflect the downloads in LDM if I had the globals LDM uses.

[Slave]

Just found a bug in the moderate page in 2.1.0 (now that I've got that setting on ) ..

When an admin goes to moderate a link, you get 4 options ..

Accept Edit Hide Delete

When you click on "Delete" you get the following error ..

"Please confirm your desire to delete this item by checking the "Delete" box"

well .. there was no Delete box

If, however, you click "Edit" you then see the delete box and button, and this then works as advertised ..

[Slave]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Yes, I've been aware of that for some time. The csv export/import is too restrictive. I've begun work on an xml mechanism, which currently works fine for complete databases and needs extending to allow selective imports, including into already-existing databases.

Ahh .. cool .. nice one

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Slave

Just found a bug in the moderate page in 2.1.0 (now that I've got that setting on ) ..

When an admin goes to moderate a link, you get 4 options ..

Accept Edit Hide Delete

When you click on "Delete" you get the following error ..

"Please confirm your desire to delete this item by checking the "Delete" box"

well .. there was no Delete box

If, however, you click "Edit" you then see the delete box and button, and this then works as advertised ..

Wow, you have stronger teeth than a rottweiler. Never lets go. Thanks.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Langly

What are the globals for LDM? I'm not sure if your familiar with vbportal or not but it uses a mini-stats box to display various stats about the site (users, posts, downloads, articles, etc.) They said I can change the download count in the mini-stats to reflect the downloads in LDM if I had the globals LDM uses.

I'm afraid it isn't as simple as that. In order to tell vbportal what to display, LDM needs to read items from the database. This is how the add in for vbadvanced works - it runs a miniscript to scann the database and then place the information into a form that vbadvanced can display.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Langly

Yes it is. good memory

Then maybe the problem is that your new board uses different userids for the usernames than your old one (i.e. testid has the same userid as a real user on your old board).

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Slave

Do you have any plans to improve the permissions/settings pages? As they seem to be getting quite big now .. perhaps mention the "moderate_links" setting on the permission page ..

In 2.1.3 (and 2.1.2) the settings page is broken up into a series of groups for the main functions. So the three moderation settings available in 2.1.3 appear in a group to themselves.

Your report about moderate/delete is fixed in 2.1.3

[Slave]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

In 2.1.3 (and 2.1.2) the settings page is broken up into a series of groups for the main functions. So the three moderation settings available in 2.1.3 appear in a group to themselves.

Your report about moderate/delete is fixed in 2.1.3

Lovely .. thanks

[AndrewD]

The first beta of LDM 2.1.3 is about to be loaded in the first post. This incorporates all the features in the 2.1.2 betas, plus quite a bit more. These are the main changes since 2.1.0, the current official release.

As always, comments and bug reports welcome. I think the code is reliable, but it is always advisable to take a backup before upgrading. I also need help with completing the translations - French, German, Spanish, Dutch. The language files have all the new phrases iserted into them, but they are in English. Thanks.

Changes from 2.1.0 to 2.1.3

+ Bandwidth/File limits

Daily user limits available on file downloads and bandwidth, with options for carry over and new entry credits
When enabled, information on the user's current consumption is given in category headers

+ Categories

Inheritable settings introuced, defining appearance of categories/links and certain permissions (add link)
Open/close option is available within add/edit category
New *cat_cols_display* setting controls # columns in catlist

+ Email notifications when moderation turned on
To moderator when link submitted
To user when accepted

+ Entries
Add/edit link 'display order' option defaults to 'all categories' rather than 'just current'
Only users with *can_moderate_link* permission can change the submission date/review frequency
Default permissions for new links taken from parent category rather than global default_forumid
Users with *can_moderate_link* can change (Ajax-enabled) name of user who submitted entry and date/time submitted. 'Update to current time' checkbox added to Edit Link form
New linkbit available (intended for photolibraries)
Option to display multiple columns across some linkbits
General tidying up of linkbit templates (icons, layout)

+ Featured Sites (=a random selection from selected users' favourites)
featured sites obey access permissions

+ General
Support added for HTTP 206 Partial Download controls - works, e.g. with Flashget

+ Jukebox
QuickTime plugin included in Jukebox

+ Keywords
Entries can have associated keywords, searchable through regular and profile searches, add/edited within add/edit link and within Admin/Categories/Mass Edit

+ Searches
Extensive changes to Advanced Search (Ajax-enabled, keywords, before/after, by user...)
Admins can save and retrieve searches and use them for mass edits

+ Stats displays tidied up and require fewer database reads

+ Thumbnail images
Generated whenever possible during link creation/edit, rather than on the fly.
Thumbnails created using resample algorithm to obtain better image quality
Magifying glass icon added for image enlargement

+ Uploads
File uploads retain their name when downloaded
Uploads of thumbnail images available when uploading enabled

+ User Profile integration
'MySearches' driven by keywords in User Profile
Option to reveal user's recent LDM hits in profile

+ Administration
Page layout tidied up
Categories/Mass Edit: entries paginated; facility to 'expire' entries older than the last N days;
Import and Export: XML export option available implemented; separate 'extras' script provided for xml imports
Keywords: facility to add/remove keywords
Mass Edit: extended to interface with saved searches
Settings: force_accept setting added - downloads only begin after links_agreement template accepted; yes/no radios for appropriate parameters; better information when invalid parameter settings entered
Various new admin settings/permissions added: 'cat_icon' and 'cat_icon_new' - alternative category icons; 'cat_cols_display' and 'link_cols_display' - vary columns of categories/links; 'category_jump_menu' - option to disable the drop down category jump menu; 'can_link_files' - usergroups has permission to add urls (sister to can_upload_files); 'default_style' - style to use for whole LDM board; 'featured_user_favs' and 'featured_sites' - controls over featured sites; 'thumbs_dir' where thumbnails are stored; 'can_save_musicbox' permission defines whether users see the open/save as hyperlink for Jukebox media files

Statistics: Added new options: rebuild thumbs, edit keywords, expiry entries

+ Extras

Forumhome stats box plugin: shows summary stats about LDM database contents (see patch-forumhome)
VBadvanced module: ldm_tot added, giving overall board statistics (links, comments, categories, hits and bytes served)
local_links_importxml script imports complete LDM databases from xml

= bugs fixed
> Category jump menu hides protected categories from user
> Document size redetermined on edit link
> Downloads work correctly when there is a mismatch between filesize recorded in database and actual filesize
(consequence: can no longer give accurate download progress message when downloading off-site files)
> Forum permissions applied correctly when displaying featured sites
> Icon images display correctly on Mac/Safari
> Improved image quality of thumbnails
> Jukebox checks for valid mimetype information
> Improved (much faster) algorithm for building category jump menu
> Moderate/Delete works correctly
> Phrase order in browser title changed to match VB's format
> 'Report bad link' works correctly
> 'Scan' code re-written to behave more consistently
> Unnecessary links removed from the Jukebox display
> Unregistered users offered 'Please register' dialogue when they try to rate links
> VB Phrases used in plugins, admincp and profile intergration