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.

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Wolven

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

and thank you too

Originally Posted by wolven

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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Wolven

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