Social Group and Album Enhancements - Watermark Generator

Quick Info

This mod adds a watermark to album and attachment images.
The watermark is customizable via image files or specified text.
Processed images are cached and the original files remain untouched, so you can modify or remove the watermark anytime you want.


Features

- Intelligent Caching
- Uses standard vBulletin methods, therefore no file modifications necessary
- Settings-Preview with a sample image in Adminpanel
- Generative plugin behaviour, works with most other mods which use the same hooks or use attachment images elsewhere

Installation

Step 1)

Upload files inside upload directory according to their structure:

> forum root
	> admincp
		+ pl_watermark_admin.php
	> images
		> misc
			+ plwm_sample.jpg
	> includes
		> cron
			+ pl_watermark_cron.php
		> xml
			+ cpnav_plwatermark.xml
		+ pl_watermark_functions.php
		+ pl_watermark_imagemanipulation.php


Step 2)

Import "product-plwatermark.xml" as addon into your vBulletin AdminCP


Step 3)

Navigate in your vBulletin AdminCP to PL Watermark Generator -> Plugin Settings.
Define the settings how you see fit. The options should be self-explanatory, if you need help with certain things, ask in the modification thread.

Changelog

v1.1
- Fixed potential security flaw on certain webserver configurations
- Improved install/updatescript
- (hopefully) fixed the grey-bar bug which occured on certain webserver configurations

v1.0
- Initial Beta Release

Additional Info

The Mod is currently in BETA. This means, that we tested it on a test environment (vb 4.0.x to 4.1.3) but has not yet undergo excessive stress test.
Keep an eye out for updated versions until the final release!
If you encounter any bugs, missing or misplaced features, let us know!

F.A.Q

- I don't see changes in my live images!
> To see changes on the image files you have to clear your browser's cache!
In firefox it's enough to force a fresh reload via STRG+F5 and on other browsers STRG+F5 or SHIFT+F5 should work.
If you don't perform this step, your browser will show the old cached version and maybe the watermark won't show or changes won't apply.

- My png/gif watermark isn't transparent, instead I get a black background!
> PNG-8 is known for having transparency problems, GIF in some cases as well.
Fall back to PNG-24 with Alpha channel (all modern image tools should be able to save as PNG-24)
If you have trouble creating a working png-24 with alpha channel, you can send me a PM with a link to your watermark and I'll convert it to png-24 for you.

- I have trouble with special characters or non-latin charactersets!
> The addon is using standard php functionalities for the text. If for any reason you have trouble with special chars, I suggest using a transparent png-24 with the text from an external image tool instead.

Support / Branding

We provide quality vbulletin software modifications for zero costs. To help our mod to be well-known, a backlink is added to your forum footer by the plugin, where the plugin is used in any way.
You must not remove the copyright/backlink code!
However, if you like to support us, you are allowed to remove the footer note with a small donation (10$ minimum).
If you choose to do so, we'll contact you via the email provided by paypal with instructions on how to remove the footer note.
A link to paypal donation service can be found on the top right area of this post.

Feel free to contact an author of the mod if you have any questions or suggestions.

[demo7up]

the test script, and the product..

[stwan]

This module only works with attached images?

[Disasterpiece]

Originally Posted by stwan

This module only works with attached images?

With all image files, which exist physically on the server and are handed over by the vB attachment system.

[S3Ponline]

Originally Posted by Disasterpiece

With all image files, which exist physically on the server and are handed over by the vB attachment system.

How?s the progress on this going?

Which version of vbulletin are you testing this on?

Nice mod. I look forward to the next update

[Disasterpiece]

How’s the progress on this going?

The plugin hooks into the vbulletin attachment system, before the attachment image gets displayed.
The mod takes the image data either from database or file system according to your vB config, applies the watermark image, caches the image file for next request and prints the image to the screen.

Which version of vbulletin are you testing this on?

Developed from version 4.0.8 to 4.1.3, basically it *should* work for 4.x.x

[nocte]

how about performance? Anyone using this Hack on a big board?

caches the image file for next request

where are the images cached?

When will this mod be stable?

[Disasterpiece]

Originally Posted by nocte

how about performance? Anyone using this Hack on a big board?

This remains to be tested.
The image processing should be quite performant, if you choose a bigger cache size, the images only need to be processed once and can then be viewed 100+ times without the need to re-process them.

Originally Posted by nocte

where are the images cached?

In the file system, you can specify the cache directory yourself.
Idealy, it should remain outside the httpdocs directory.

Originally Posted by nocte

When will this mod be stable?

It is marked as "Beta" because people were reporting behaviour I could not reproduce.
If it works for your configuration, you can consider it "stable".
I suggest to test it in a safe environment with the same webserver configuration and see if all works as intended.

[edgeyveggie]

Whoa I just tried this and now none of my images are visible on my site that were in threads? What happened? How do I fix this?

[WebConnection]

Is there a way that we can set in the option to have the watermark in random position between the four corners of the image(Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, and Bottom Right)?

[Disasterpiece]

Originally Posted by edgeyveggie

Whoa I just tried this and now none of my images are visible on my site that were in threads? What happened? How do I fix this?

This is a usual issue if any kind of errors appear.

Do you see the watermark in the adminCP settings page? Or is there no image at all?
Do you see any warning symbols in the product's settings?

You can PM me your forum data so I can take a look myself. I guess it's just a configuration issue.

Originally Posted by WebConnection

Is there a way that we can set in the option to have the watermark in random position between the four corners of the image(Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, and Bottom Right)?

Not right now. Since images are cached, it wouldn't be a very useful functionality IMHO.