Miscellaneous Hacks - Gift Subscriptions

Looks like there was a huge need for a gift subscription hack, so I created one, attached. It allows users to extend or purchase board subscriptions for other users.

This has been implemented and tested on our boards, but it is in EARLY ALPHA! Please provide me with feedback/questions after you implement it.

Should take about 15 minutes to complete.

1. Create 1 plugin
2. Modify 2 templates
3. modify 1 script (payments.php) -- PLEASE backup and save your old script for upgrade purposes.

Let me know how it goes!
~ Jennifer

[jamoss]

User goes to their CONTROL PANEL and then clicks on PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS (which you have to have enabled and set up already).

It defaults to the user's username, but they can enter another member's username as a gift subscription. The rest of the checkout goes through normally.

The recipient is NOT notified. That is up to the gifter or the moderator. Some gifters want to remain anonymous.

[Arachnophiles]

Nice hack, thank you

I think a nice addition would be the ajax type 'auto-fill' feature (ie that found in the PM and search) which finds the correct username as your typing.

Are there plans to modify for vB3.7 ?

Cheers,
Adam

[the Sandman]

Thank you!

[the Sandman]

I think you need to account for a table prefix in the file hack part of the mod.

[Steeler Nation]

Originally Posted by hornstar1337

This is just one of the many things that would really make the subscriptions really great, if vbulletin had it in default.

Thanks for sharing

I agree - this should be a default for vBulletin.

The hack works great.

[jamoss]

Originally Posted by the Sandman

I think you need to account for a table prefix in the file hack part of the mod.

You're right.. I removed it by mistake. Will fix.

[the Sandman]

Originally Posted by jamoss

You're right.. I removed it by mistake. Will fix.

Thanks!

[aakhan136]

Thanks

[jilly]

testing it on 3.5.4 soon

*edit* - gave me an error message on 3.5.4 - I am upgrading to 3.7 in a few weeks - will try again..

Do you know what will happen if the user already has the subscription? Will it be able to tell the user already has it and give the attempted gifter that message? Also would be nice to have the option to be anonymous or not, and send some sort of text message with the gift, either from anonymous or from the real user..

[kether1]

This works well with 3.6.8 patch level2. The only issue I have with it is that when someone enters a typo in the username field or types something like 'happy birthday kether' instead of just 'kether', they get a database error. I tried to figure out how to capture the error and redirect them back to the subscription page to correct the mistake, but I am not a programmer. The problem comes with the userid of the recipient if their name is typed wrong or if it doesn't exist.

My solution would be to send them to a page that automatically redirects back to the subscription page after they had time to read a short messsage that says again: "Please type only the username of the member for which you would like to purchase a gift subscription " Anyone have any way to do that?

-K