WebTemplates v.0.1 (Old Version)

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Attention: This version of webtemplates is obsolete since new version (2.xx) is released as of 30.June.2003.

If you are new user, please visit new hack's thread and install that one, not this version.

This thread is active for discussing migration issues and will be closed in the future.
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Introduction:
Basically this hack allows you create vbulletin powered non-vb pages within vb admin CP and administer them just like vb templates.

Your "webtemplates" reside inside MYSQL and have the same structure as regular vbulletin templates and you edit/modify/delete them inside your Admin CP. You can create as many as you like and display them like:
http://yoursite URL/yourboard URL/show.php?pg=YOUR_WEBTEMPLATE_NAME.

Features of Your WebTemplates:
* You can easily edit/update your non-vb pages from your vb control panel just like vb templates. No need to FTP or smt.
* Simply backup your vbulletin and your entire site (including your webtemplates) is backed up too.
* You can use some vbulletin variables in your non-vb pages, so eg. address your members with their member names in your entire site.
* Your entire web site can mimic your forum's visual interface. All your fonts/colors etc. are kept in your non-vb. pages too. Besides users' style sets apply for your web templates either. So for instance if you have 2 styles, every user will see your webtemplates in the style and colors they are using in the board.
* This hack allows you to specify usergroups/usernames which can or cannot see the page you designed. So your non-vb pages can inherit vb. access permissions. Every webtemplate can have different display permissions for different users/usergroups.
* You can have counters in your pages and show/trace page visits individually for all your pages. Every webtemplate has its own counter.
* You can have "last visitor's name and visit time" in all your pages.
* You can insert fixed header/footer for all your pages.
* The "conditionals" you can set, allow you to design advanced and dynamic web pages, which change themselves according to the conditions you set. For example you can set different texts/page designs IN THE SAME PAGE for different users and every user will only see the text that is addressed to him.

Webtemplates are very easy to create. Just copy paste the HTML code of your page into the webtemplate box, give it a name, click submit and voila, your webtemplate is up and running! By using this method, you can convert your existing non-vb pages into webtemplates with ease too. It is just a matter of copy/paste its HMTML code. Installation of the hack is easy too and the hack will work any version of vbulletin I know.

For Advanced Users: If you want your webtemplates to get data from your database and display it, you have an advanced feature named "webqueries". WebQueries feature allows you to run SQL queries in your MYSQL database and automatically create sorted tables for you which you can add in any WebTemplates. So your non-vb pages can be dynamic and you can have any kind of SQL results (related with vb or not) in any page you want. Webqueries are optional to use and appeals to people with basic SQL knowledge. You can still create webtemplates very easily without using webqueries if you don't know SQL or don't need to query your database in your webtemplate. If you want to play with webqueries, please read and follow instructions CAREFULLY. This hack gives you advanced tools to create powerful and dynamic web pages, so give yourself sometime and learn how to create these pages. I wrote help pages which you can find in your webtemplates section after installation, so please read them carefully and examine sample page's code before pelting me with questions!

If you installed this hack, share your webquery samples in this thread


Fixes and Add-ons:
* If you have than 1 MYSQL databases, webquery section might not work properly. If you encounter any problems related to that issue, apply the small fix in this post.[/COLOR]
* If you want to display your webtemplates in who is online, apply this small hack .
Also there is a small bug with "conditionals" feature of the hack, if you use more than 1 conditional in 1 webtemplate. I guess very few people use this feature but anyway I fixed it in the new release that is in progress..
* If you want your webtemplates search engine friendly and indexed in google or other search engines, read this tip by Piper.

Current version (BETA v.0.1) is NOT actually a beta anymore, it's proven to be working very well in many people's boards and is stable.

I plan to develop this hack. However to enhance it more, I need to change its algortihm which requires rewriting and I wait for VB3 so that the hack will will be competible with VB3 too. That's why development is pending at the moment.


If you install the hack please click install, thank you.

Regards,
Logician //=^))

[Logician]

Originally posted by cono
i was going to wait for the new version, seems real good.
and announcement date yet? its been a little while.

Yes I was working on the new release hard and actually was very close to completion. I have added many new features to the new release too. But then I decided that all the new features of the new release is not very performance-friendly for servers with high trafic.

Instead of giving up the many of the new features, I decided that it would be better to change the entire algorithm of the hack to support all these new features while having a fast performance in all servers. Therefore new release is now pending in my to-do list for a revise in its algorithm&structure and since it's not easy to make an algorithm change, unfortunately I dont have a ETA for the new release.

[ryancooper]

Quick Question. to anyone using Vbportal how do you get the left side to appear in your WEBTEMPLATES

`

[Crinos]

use $themeheader and $themefooter instead of $header and $footer...

If you meant the sidemenus and sideboxes, I don't think it's possible as it's a phpnuke feature rather than vbulletin's, and therefore incompatible with the webtemplate hack...

[ryancooper]

Originally posted by Crinos
use $themeheader and $themefooter instead of $header and $footer...

If you meant the sidemenus and sideboxes, I don't think it's possible as it's a phpnuke feature rather than vbulletin's, and therefore incompatible with the webtemplate hack...

Thank you very much for your quick reply. And yes i did mean the side boxes so I guess i can stop pulling my hair out trying to do it!

Thanks again. . .

[luvjeffrey]

First and foremost, I want to thank logician for such wonderful hack.

This hack is very versatile and can be used to fit many of the design problems I have for my site.

I had been also contemplating whether to try out vbPortal but was reluctant as it involves too much changes and i am afraid will pose upgrade problems in future.

With this hack, I can safely and easily manipulate databases and also more importantly produce dynamic pages that tailor to the users needs.

Once again, I like to give a pat on logician's back. I hope to see your new release soon. Thankz

[Eladesor]

Ive reada this thread and can only find reference to one person who 'fixed' this error but sadly didn't post how

Anyway - when installing my page remains at webtemplates_install.php?p=1

I've checked the instructions / changed the database details ect... (even put the wrong details in to see if anything changed) - but the page never changes ?

Any ideas please - Thanks in advance.

[Logician]

Originally posted by Eladesor
Ive reada this thread and can only find reference to one person who 'fixed' this error but sadly didn't post how

Anyway - when installing my page remains at webtemplates_install.php?p=1

I've checked the instructions / changed the database details ect... (even put the wrong details in to see if anything changed) - but the page never changes ?

Sorry my bad.. I should have updated the installation file for this small bug which occurs in some servers. Here is the fix:

edit "webtemplates_install.php", find:

PHP Code:

settype ($p, "integer"); 


Before that add:

PHP Code:

$p=$HTTP_GET_VARS['p']; 


This should fix the bug in installation.. Let me know if it doesn't work, thx..

[Eladesor]

Logician: No worries - it happens

Thanks for the fix - edited the file and everything worked perfect

Now it's time to play

[ryancooper]

Is there a way to call a php include in the file? I tried
<?php
include 'file.html'
?>
But nothing shwed up

[Logician]

Originally posted by ryancooper
Is there a way to call a php include in the file? I tried
<?php
include 'file.html'
?>
But nothing shwed up

Webtemplates are not parsed for PHP.