AboutToday - Bring RSS Feeds and Daily Events to Your Site!

What is AboutToday?

AboutToday provides a central place to bring daily items of interest to your forum visitors. It includes two main components: an RSS Reader System and Local Events database System.

Please NOTE: This mod has been modified for vb ver 3.6.4. It should work on vb ver 3.5.4 and 3.6.x.

1. An RSS Reader system where the admin can enter RSS feeds that will then be displayed on the page. RSS feeds can be set to AUTOMATICALLY create threads or be set so that users can easily create a thread from a feed.. Feeds can be read via fopen or cURL.
   
   
   
   
   
   The RSS Feeds are fully intergrated with vbAdvanced and could actually be placed anywhere you want!!
   
2. A database system that can hold unlimited categories of "AboutToday" events. For example, you could have a history category (like a Today in History) with sub-categories for different eras in history. Or, you could have a daily joke or software tip of the day, etc.
   
   The "Add Event" feature is intended to help you if you want for example - Sports: Today in History. With the vb calendar, you cannot have categories and you are restricted with how far back the dates can go.
   
   
   
   
   So with the "Add Event" feature, you could have a category tree like:
   • Hockey
     • Professional
     • College
     • High School
   • Football
     • American Football
     • The Rest of the World (Soccer)
   • Baseball
   
   with the normal calendar feature, you cannot have categories. And with "Add Event" you can have any date. So, if you want an event like "Jan 1, 132 B.C. - the first ball was invented", you can do that. But, that isn't possible in the normal calendar. Also, the events in "Add Event" are fully searchable.

Installation

Copy the following files to your server in the forums directory:

abouttoday.php
includes/class.csv.php
includes/class_abouttoday.php
includes/cron/cron_abouttoday.php
includes/xml/bitfield_abouttoday.xml
includes/xml/cpnav_abouttoday.xml
admincp/abouttodayadmin.php

From the admincp, import the product file product-abouttoday.xml (Manage Products - Add/Import Product).

REFRESH your admincp window. You should now see a listing in the left column of the admincp for "AboutToday".

Getting Started

NOTE - if this is a new install, a Yahoo RSS Feed and CNN Entertainment Feed have been automatically added to give you a feel for how the product looks.

If you plan to use the RSS Feeds:

1. From the admincp, select AboutToday - RSS Feeds. Add an RSS Feed.
2. From the admincp, select Usergroups - Usergroup Manager. Add permissions so the Administrator group can use the product.
3. From your forum directory, bring up the file abouttoday.php.
4. If you want the feeds to AUTOMATICALLY create threads, go to admincp - abouttoday - settings. There you must set the userid of the account to use to create the thread. Then, edit the RSS Feed with the forumid of where the threads for that feed should be created!

If you plan to create your own "today in history" type of database:

1. From the admincp, select AboutToday - Categories. Add a category.
2. From your forum directory, bring up the file abouttoday.php. "Add" your first event to the category you have created!

Version Status
I've tested this product extensively but ... use this totally at your own risk!

Credits
I learned a lot about how to code this and used a lot of the code from what Ron1n did with ecDownloads. What I've learned from his code while helping to support ecDownloads has been invaluable.

Sites Using this Product
Visit www.armchairgeneral.com to see this product in action.

Click Install!
Please Click Install if you are using this product. Thanks!

[CLKeenan]

Somehow I mustve missed that haha- i do apologize. I'm not usually this ignorant lol

Is there a setting that I need to check to make it increment posts? I just did a forced RSS update and it hasnt updated the post count (there was at least 1 thread post). I'm also assuming that previous threads wont count towards the post count?

[DanGarion]

Hrm,

I upgraded to the new version (actually I uninstalled and then installed the new version). And now when I try to do any of the actions (like get RSS Feed) I get this message (at this link http://www.theprc.com/vb/abouttoday.php?do=rss)


XML error: no element found at line 1

[CyberRanger]

Originally Posted by CLKeenan

Is there a setting that I need to check to make it increment posts? I just did a forced RSS update and it hasnt updated the post count (there was at least 1 thread post). I'm also assuming that previous threads wont count towards the post count?

no setting needed. I just realized I left the new code out of one section where it needed to be. Update coming!:banana:

[CyberRanger]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Hrm,

I upgraded to the new version (actually I uninstalled and then installed the new version). And now when I try to do any of the actions (like get RSS Feed) I get this message (at this link http://www.theprc.com/vb/abouttoday.php?do=rss)


XML error: no element found at line 1

hmmm .... try going into the admincp, edit something for the two feeds that were added at install, then see what you get.

[mmackinnon]

Hey Westpointer

For the update, can i simply upload the new files with overwrite on or does this require something special?

I assume i wont lose my current RSS setup?

[CyberRanger]

grrr.... new 2.0.3 file uploaded. I think only two people had downloaded it. Pleae grab the current file and try again.

Thanks!

[CyberRanger]

Originally Posted by mmackinnon

Hey Westpointer

For the update, can i simply upload the new files with overwrite on or does this require something special?

I assume i wont lose my current RSS setup?

Correct! Just load the new files and let them over-write the old files.

[CLKeenan]

Working perfectly! Thanks again for all your hard work. Can't wait for the next release with the delete threads with no replies function

P.S. It would be cool if there was a sort order function for the way the RSS feeds are displayed

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by westpointer

hmmm .... try going into the admincp, edit something for the two feeds that were added at install, then see what you get.

Well I deleted those ones. Let me start from scratch again.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Well I deleted those ones. Let me start from scratch again.

FYI, I upgraded the newly uploaded 2.0.3 over what I had and that seems to have fixed it.

Thanks man!