Miscellaneous Hacks - Rotating Banner System

With the Rotating Banner System software, you may publish literally anywhere standard banners and advertising, with no restriction but your imagination. Unlike many other products, it allows to show an unlimited amount of banners and advertising, which are randomly shown at the places you choose, and you may refer generically to an Ad by using specific placeholders.

Also the management is straight-forward and simple to use. Forum administrators with maintenance rights may add, edit and delete records from the Administration Control Panel (ACP), one of each representing a banner. After saving the new banner settings, they are immediately visible at your board.

Compatibility: from vBulletin 3.6.5 onwards

By the way, I do also install the hack on your boards, but since I am very, very busy, it may take some time (weeks) until it gets done.


Tutorials:

• How-to create my first banner (Flash).

Updates:

• 2.0.1: Simple click tracker added, HTML help included.
• 2.0.3: Small bug fixes; additional banner list, navigation bar, E-Mail field for banner event notifications and automatic save on scroll setting; absolute URL to rbs_banner.php in order to allow click tracking on non-standard pages; supported languages: English, Italian; Help file clean-up.
• 2.0.5: Small bug fixes; additional details in banner list; email notification for epired banners.
• 2.0.6: vbCMS compatibility bug fix; additional banner lists.
• 2.0.7: Usergroups filter: now it is possible to define a list of usergroups which may show a banner; additional vbCMS compatibility bug fix.
• 2.0.8: Various fixes and most of all, inclusion of the right files: admin_rbs.php, cpnav_rbs.xml
• 2.0.9: Extra comma fix in new record creation.
• 2.1.0: Fix for an occasional banner type selection bug, when the sample banners have been deleted or disabled.
• 2.2.0 (Major upgrade): Up to 10 different banner locations. Requires changes to your existing placeholders in your templates, since a more generic format has been chosen. If you don't need more than 2 different locations, you don't need to upgrade. Changed files: rbs_banner.php, admin_rbs.php
• 2.2.1: Minor bug fix in files: admin_rbs_h_banner_list.php, admin_rbs_v_banner_list.php
• 2.2.1: Hotfix for Max Clicks saving bug.
• 2.2.2: More listings and less files. PDF Help. Separate Italian add-ons and help. Duplicate button.
• 2.2.3: Minor bug fixes. Changed files: product-rbs.xml
• 2.2.4: Flash Banner support (beta). Changed files: product-rbs.xml, rbs_wrapper.swf, admin_rbs.php, English Help.
• 2.2.5: Hotfix for vBulletin 4.0.2 compatibility bug.
• 2.2.6: Checking for installed Flash Wrapper rbs_wrapper.swf; A few English FAQ; Help files. Changed files: product-rbs.xml
• 2.3.0 (Major upgrade): New modules: Delete Expired Banners, Disable Expired Banners; Detail Banner Statistics with unique access key for your customers; Updated help; Changed files: all.
• 2.3.1: Hotfix for missing field in rbs_hist table. Changed files: none, just update product.
• 2.3.2: Added: Unsupported option for setting any number of available positions between 1 and big bang. Fixed: Small bug and speed issues. Removed: Italian translation. Italians may now request support at www.vbulletin.it. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.
• 2.3.3: Fix: Copy selected forum ID's during banner duplication. Changed: start and end hours for new banners are set to 0:00 and 23:59 respectively. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.
• 2.3.4: Option: Send Mail Before. This option allows to schedule expiring banners differently. New variables for emails: $rbs_enddate: This variable holds the formatted banner ending date and time based on the standard formats for date and time in vBulletin settings; $rbs_name: This variable holds the banner name. EMail Notifications option description: Added direct links to the email phrases for quick changes. Changed files: rbs_mail_cron.php.
• 2.4.0 (Major upgrade): Removed: Option to enable or disable mailing. Banners with email addresses to notify are handled. Setting to reset mailing in single banners. Now, if mailing should be repeated, you will have to edit the banner from phpMyAdmin. Added: Order links in lists. The initial state is ordered by ID, as before. By clicking the titles, the other voices can be ordered. Clicking twice inverts the order. This works in all lists. Options to prevent counting and reducing thus a tiny bit of load. A new bunch of demo banners for new installations. Demo banners are locked into database in order to avoid 30% of the questions because of the 'experts' deleting them before trying the product. They can be disabled and modified though. The true experts can delete them after all testing from the database by using phpMyAdmin without side effects. Changes: Phrase for emailing about expiring banners, now also with direct links to the phrases. Demo banners. Our old publisher ID is replaced with the new ones, and old demo banners are updated with the new ones, if found. The functions have been exported to includes/functions_rbs.php. This makes the product code smaller and easier to maintain, and runs faster on sites where caching/acceleration is enabled. Changed Files: all *.php
• 2.4.1: Option Likelihood. This new option adds a weight to banners and allows thus to show one banner more often than another. The default weight is 100%. We also make sure that the final date of the default banners falls into a valid range. Changed files: includes/functions_rbs.php and rbs_stats.php.
• 2.4.2: Workaround for update sequence problems.

Hacks and unsupported add-ons:

• Banner Rotator Widget To CMS
• Rotate banners in-place
• Italian Translation

[tibobdenazareth]

After a couple of days trying and trying ... I DID IT!!! I found out we can't use the same position banners in multiple places. It will stick to only the first position we used it.

For example, if you use banner0@ under the navbar, you have to use another position (banner 1@ or banner3@...) after the first post or every 5 and 10 posts.

Now my next issue ... THE LOGO BANNER!

I NEED to change my static logo image into a rotating banner. I've already created the swf flash file with the exact dimensions of the current logo image. I read that editing header templates would not work. ANY HELP please.

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by tibobdenazareth

After a couple of days trying and trying ... I DID IT!!! I found out we can't use the same position banners in multiple places. It will stick to only the first position we used it.

For example, if you use banner0@ under the navbar, you have to use another position (banner 1@ or banner3@...) after the first post or every 5 and 10 posts.

No, that's incorrect. I use the different banner numbers for different sizes of banner. Then I display those banners wherever I wish.

[tibobdenazareth]

I edited the header template SUCCESSFULLY thanks to y2ksw's previous posts on the subject. THANKS y2ksw.

The only issue was when I use a swf flash file. I searched everywhere and couldn't find a way to have the stand-alone swf file to have a transparent background in Flash CS6 (you can do it with the HTML file, not the swf file). And the swf was hiding all the login info at the logo header.

I had to go back and add 9 or so banners at that position using instead png images. The drawback is people have to refresh or new/click to see a different image. I was hoping the swf was gonna work.

If anybody knows either a way to make the swf stand-alone file have a transparent background, or a way to send the swf logo file in the background of all the login info found in the header template, please let me know.

[tibobdenazareth]

Based on what I've done so far, here's a summary for anybody or especially newbie (like me) looking for a lot of things but doesn't want to go through hundreds of pages of info.

TO PLACE IN THE HEADER ... AS LOGO

Style Manager--> Edit Templates--> header

REPLACE: (from 3rd line)
<vb:if condition="$stylevar['titleimage']"><div><a name="top" href="{vb:link forumhome}" class="logo-image"><img src="{vb:stylevar titleimage}" alt="{vb:rawphrase x_powered_by_vbulletin, {vb:raw vboptions.bbtitle}}" /></a></div></vb:if>

WITH:
<vb:if condition="$stylevar['titleimage']"><div><a name="top" href="{vb:link forumhome}" class="logo-image"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></a></div></vb:if>

NB- There's an issue with the stand-alone swf flash file with no transparent background, covering all the login info found in the header template. Works better with png image files.

Still waiting to see if there's a way to send the swf logo banner file in the background.

------------------------------------

TO PLACE AFTER FIRST POST

Style Manager--> Edit Templates--> Ad location Templates--> ad_showthread_firstpost_sig

Add at the end: <div align="center"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div>

NB- ad_showthread_firstpost_sig places the banner as a SIGNATURE after the first post;
ad_showthread_firstpost_start places the banner inside at the start of the first post
ad_thread_first_post_content places the banner in the content space of the first post (NOT WORKING FOR ME anyway)

-------------------------------------

TO PLACE 2 BANNERS SIDE BY SIDE (Horizontal)

1) Make sure the 2 banner dimensions will fit horizontally without overlapping, based on the total horizontal ad space in the site width. Both at the same position
since they will occupy just one "row" of space together. If you set them at diff position, it will work but this would be a waste of banner position. Instead of
using banners:0@ and banners:0@, use (for example) banners:0@ and banners:1@ [again, this is a waste of position 1]
2) Wherever you are insterting them just write the following code in the appropriate template: <div align="center"><!--@vbbanners:0@--><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div>

-------------------------------------

TO PLACE BANNERS EVERY 5th AND 10th POST

Style Manager--> Edit Templates--> Postbit Templates--> postbit_legacy

Paste the following code at the end:

<vb:if condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND (($post['postcount'] % 15 == 10) OR $post['postcount'] == 10)">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:3@-->
</div>
</div>
<vb:elseif condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND (($post['postcount'] % 15 == 5) OR $post['postcount'] == 5)" />
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:4@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>

NB- This code assumes you have already created at position 3 a banner to be placed after every 10th post and a position 4 banner after every 5th post.
Feel free to adjust according to your banner list settings. You may even include 2 banners at the same position in those codes. See above for instructions.

------------------------------------

Hope that helps.

[zackw]

I don't have time to search all over but has anybody noticed that when you set a date/time for the banners to turn on and off the script will simply change your numbers to something else?

If I try to set:
Start: Dec 1, 00 01
End: Dec 1, 23 59

It changes automatically to
Start: Dec 1, 01 01
End: Dec 2, 00 59

Why? Sometimes I'll change the 00 to 01 hour and then BOTH start and end become 02 hour! Sometimes the start or end date jumps to the next day. This is bugging me!

All I want to do is start the banner at the beginning of the day, and then stop it at the end of the day, but it will not accept this. So I tried to start at beginning of the day and end beginning of the next day, and it won't go any earlier than hour 02!

That's not all. So I finally was able to use Dec 1, 01 01 to Dec 2, 01 01. But then I went to my next banner which is supposed to be Dec 2, 01 01, to Dec 3, 01 01 and it refuses that, instead changing it to hour 02 02!

There is no rhyme or reason here, but it does not seem to ever accept any time I put in there! It changes the hour or the minutes or the day to whatever it wants.

What is going on?

Thanks, I hope to fix this soon as an ad campaign is beginning tomorrow!

UPDATE:

Note, if I simply hit SAVE on a banner over and over without even changing anything, the hours auto increment up and up every time. So in order to get 23:59 I actually have to put in 22:59 so that it will increment to the right time. Since 00 will increment to 01, there is no way to put 00 as my hour.

[tibobdenazareth]

Rathar than editing postbit_legacy AND showthread_firstpost_sig templates, we cand edit postbit_legacy te,plate by adding a third section for after the first post. In that sense, the ad will fall truly AFTER the first post rather than above the signature. Here's the code.

NB- for the mobile version, that's the only way we can get something after the first post since the showthread_firstpost templates do not exist.

<vb:if condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND (($post['postcount'] % 15 == 10) OR $post['postcount'] == 10)">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:3@--><!--@vbbanners:3@-->
</div>
</div>
<vb:elseif condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND (($post['postcount'] % 15 == 5) OR $post['postcount'] == 5)" />
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:2@--><!--@vbbanners:2@-->
</div>
</div>
<vb:elseif condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND $post['postcount'] == 1" />
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:1@--><!--@vbbanners:1@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>

[Maxi62]

Hello
How can the system from version 2.3.1 to the latest 2.4.0 update without loss of data?

[deanattridge]

Originally Posted by tibobdenazareth

Based on what I've done so far, here's a summary for anybody or especially newbie (like me) looking for a lot of things but doesn't want to go through hundreds of pages of info.

TO PLACE IN THE HEADER ... AS LOGO

Style Manager--> Edit Templates--> header

REPLACE: (from 3rd line)
<vb:if condition="$stylevar['titleimage']"><div><a name="top" href="{vb:link forumhome}" class="logo-image"><img src="{vb:stylevar titleimage}" alt="{vb:rawphrase x_powered_by_vbulletin, {vb:raw vboptions.bbtitle}}" /></a></div></vb:if>

WITH:
<vb:if condition="$stylevar['titleimage']"><div><a name="top" href="{vb:link forumhome}" class="logo-image"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></a></div></vb:if>

NB- There's an issue with the stand-alone swf flash file with no transparent background, covering all the login info found in the header template. Works better with png image files.

Still waiting to see if there's a way to send the swf logo banner file in the background.

This post saved me from deleting this mod, to complex for a noob like me who just wanted a rotating Header.

However - Once I do this it seems subsequent images in position 0 list will appear below the navbar instead of at the same place as my first image. Anybody have an idea what I am doing wrong ?

KUDOS !

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by Maxi62

Hello
How can the system from version 2.3.1 to the latest 2.4.0 update without loss of data?

As you would do with any other plugin ... and you would normally make a backup before that, as well

[Desibabu19]

I have been using this hack for more than year. And I am very satisfied.

Recently I found an issue.

If I display the flash file directly, it runs at normal speed. However, under the RBS banner hack, it runs very fast. File is same.

for reference, I have displayed the file in both format. It is Edifice Ad displayed two times.

Page:
http://www.indianrealestateboard.com...e-Other-Cities

First Edifice ad through RBS hack. Second is direct html code.

swf file in use:
http://www.indianrealestateboard.com...s/edifice3.swf

Has any one faced this problem ? What parameters I need to change to make the file to run at normal speed ?