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

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by Volvoholic

Hi, Sounds like a nice mod.

I have been installing and uninstalling a few banner mods with varying level of success.

Before I install, can this mod handle shockwave .swf files?

Thanks in advance.
Volvoholic

It can handle anything you can express in HTML, e.g.

<OBJECT CLASSID="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" WIDTH="1024" HEIGHT="788" CODEBASE="http://active.macromedia.com/flash5/cabs/swflash.cab#version=5,0,0,0">
<PARAM NAME=movie VALUE="cvs01.swf">
<PARAM NAME=play VALUE=true>
<PARAM NAME=loop VALUE=false>
<PARAM NAME=quality VALUE=low>
<EMBED SRC="cvs01.swf" WIDTH=1024 HEIGHT=788 quality=low loop=false TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash">
</EMBED>
</OBJECT>

will load the cvs01.swf file at the banner placeholder when inserted in the Text field.

[Volvoholic]

Volvoholic clicks install

Very powerful mod.

Took me a while to find the Banner Rotator manager (its at the bottom of the menu). HTML coding of the body was easy (some HTML required) but if you have coded Google adsense in your website before or done basic web design, it is a breeze.

For the benfit of other newbies like myself.
I Added <center></center> to make the ad centered by editing the header template (Styles & Templates > Style Manager > Select Edit Templates from dropdown menu > find "header" template > add the placeholder @vbbanners@ as shown in the online guide "snapshots".

Question

1. Which template do I edit to place an ad below the Nav Bar? I had a look in the Navbar template. I just don't have the knowlege to be sure if its tht right template and where in the template to place the placeholder.

2. Is there a way to display banners in the Forum Home and specific forums? (Ok - my bad, I read a few posts above and created two banner id's one for Forum Home and one for specific forum)

In the meantime, thank you Y2KSW for this mod. I LIKE IT !!!!

Volvoholic

[Videx]

Originally Posted by Volvoholic

Which template do I edit to place an ad below the Nav Bar? I had a look in the Navbar template. I just don't have the knowlege to be sure if its tht right template and where in the template to place the placeholder.

Join the club. If the author's earlier answer to me is any indication, don't expect him to tell you (it's beyond the scope of this mod).

My last banner rotator does have insertion instructions, so I figure I can dig those out and use them. But if you're thinking of using the same trick, be warned - that author too wrote like we're already supposed to be familiar with template editing.

What I really can't figure out - doesn't 3.7 have hooks in all the common places already? If so, why do we have to manually edit any templates? I mean, as you follow the instructions I just mentioned, you'll be inserting right smack next to existing hooks. Unless I'm missing something.

Hint: In navbar, look for $ad_location. And, presumably, anywhere you want to put an ad in any template you could do the same.?

[y2ksw]

Search for:
$navbar

Add this below:
<div align="center">@vbbanners@</div><br />

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by Videx

Join the club. If the author's earlier answer to me is any indication, don't expect him to tell you (it's beyond the scope of this mod).

My last banner rotator does have insertion instructions, so I figure I can dig those out and use them. But if you're thinking of using the same trick, be warned - that author too wrote like we're already supposed to be familiar with template editing.

What I really can't figure out - doesn't 3.7 have hooks in all the common places already? If so, why do we have to manually edit any templates? I mean, as you follow the instructions I just mentioned, you'll be inserting right smack next to existing hooks. Unless I'm missing something.

Hint: In navbar, look for $ad_location. And, presumably, anywhere you want to put an ad in any template you could do the same.?

vBulletin attempts to give a hand placing ads, but currently you can fill only a handful of places (style hooks), and by no mean everywhere. Also you need to know how those places are called, and your code needs to be extended each time Jelsoft decides to add a hook somewhere.

Furthermore, you can't use a specifically coded plugin for style hooks in older vbulletin versions. This one (along with other banner systems) runs on 3.6.5 to 3.7.x boards, and does not require a specific style layout.

[shotkey]

Nice job - Finally got this installed and working. What would make this a really good mod would be the ability to display the banners in the ACP like this banner rotator mod does:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...ghlight=banner

[midwestce]

Say I only want to have one banner on the page, but I have 3 or 4 separate banners that I want to rotate on that location, how do I do that? I don't see any settings within the admin area about rotating, etc. Just how many shows before it stops showing. I'll keep looking, but any responses or help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Videx]

Originally Posted by midwestce

Say I only want to have one banner on the page, but I have 3 or 4 separate banners that I want to rotate on that location, how do I do that? I don't see any settings within the admin area about rotating, etc.

This mod rotates all your banners by default. Set up 5 banners, all 5 of them rotate.

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by shotkey

Nice job - Finally got this installed and working. What would make this a really good mod would be the ability to display the banners in the ACP like this banner rotator mod does:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...ghlight=banner

It has worked out over time, that viewing the banner in-place creates more problems than it solves. I will however think about a link and popup window for one of the next releases.

[rcull]

I am just installing this program and while I am working on it I thought I would make a comment while in progress.

I am failing to see a good system for navigating banners. It actually took a bit to realize I could navigate saved banners with the arrows. For whatever reason they didn't seem to work in the proper manner at first.

The point is, I think it would be nice if, after clicking on "Manage Banners" a list of banners would appear that linked to the edit banner pages.:up:

Then, if I am on the right track, it would be nice to be able to change the order that the ads are displayed in, because I am finding that I am building several banners for one advertiser in a row then moving to the next advertiser and fear they may not be a random display.

I realize this system is currently developed for VBulletin, but I would like to use it on other pages too. It may be nice to have a selection in "Forums" which could be used for the banner to respond to. Maybe a tutorial on how to call the script from another page.

It would also be nice to know how to insert the tag so that only certain usergroups get the banner.

<if condition="is_member_of($bbuserinfo, 1,2,3,4,6,8,9,10)">
<div> @vbbanners@ </div>
</if>