Administrative and Maintenance Tools - Template Modification System

Template Modification System
Description
This modification allows easy management of template modifications.
Hack authors can define the necessary template modifications for their products.
When exporting a product, all template modifications assigned to this product
in MASTER style will be embedded into the product XML and imported on the
end-user vBulletin installation automatically if TMS is available.
Alternatively, it is also possible to create separate XML files for template modifications.
This way, 3rd parties can provide Template-Modification XML files for existing hacks.
Hack authors can also export standard template modification instructions as
textfiles to package them with their hacks, which allows users that do not
have TMS to also install them

In case the author defined modifications do not work (eg. the user uses a custom style),
the users can easily customize the modifications for their style(s).

TMS modified templates transparently, e.g. all Templates can still be modified
manually in style manager - they will appear unchanged there.


System Requirements
This Modification requires MySQL 4.1 or higher - it does not work with MySQL 4.0!
If you use MySQL 4.1 series, MySQL 4.1.10 or higher is required
If you use MySQL 5.0 series, MySQL 5.0.3 or higher is required
TMS 1.2.0 Beta 1 or higher requires vBulletin 4.1.5 or higher

vBulletin Compatibility
Versions up to and including 1.1.5 are compatible with vBulletin 3.6.X, 3.7.X and 3.8.X
Version 1.1.5 is partly compatible with vBulletin 4.0.X and 4.1.X
Version 1.2.0 Beta 1 or higher is compatible with vBulletin 4.1.5 or higher
vBulletin 4.1.11 or higher is currently not fully supported by TMS. If you use this version please apply the following patch: tms_patch120b4.zip

Branding:
Please note that TMS puts a small branding/copyright notice in footer - see readme.txt for further details.

Version History
1.2.0 Beta 4

• Bugfix: Database error when trying to add a template modification (this bug was introduced in TMS 1.2.0 Beta 3)

1.2.0 Beta 3

• Changed: Converted hardcoded text to phrases
• New Feature: Added doubleclick for editing style variables
• Bugfix: Database error when trying to add a template modification with an existing varname to a different style
• Changed: Fixed formatting of templateedits.php
• Bugfix: Fixed erors when manually modifying a template with template modifications

1.2.0 Beta 2

• Bugfix: Fixed errors in style variable editing code

1.2.0 Beta 1

• Changed: Ported to vBulletin 4.1
• New Feature: If an error occurs while trying to compile a template this error is now being disaplayed when trying to save the template modification
• New Feature: Styles variables used in templates can be edited via AJAX from the modify template screen

1.1.5

• Fixed Bug: Fixed incorrect variable type
• New Feature: Box 'Template-Modifications' (shown on editing a template) can now be collapsed/expanded

1.1.4

• Fixed Bug: Fixed HTML error/XSS in Template Modifications Manager

1.1.3

• Fixed Bug: Added missing phrase on ACP home

1.1.1

• Fixed Bug: Fixed Error with conflicting Template Modifications when importing a product
• Fixed Bug: Removed Pre-Selection of processing mode when adding new modifications
• Fixed Bug: Fixed Bug with zlib.output_compression AND vBulletin internal gzip being both turned on
• Fixed Bug: Display search results correctly
• Fixed Bug: Added missing phrase 'varname_x_already_exists'
• New Feature: Automatically rebuild template modifications after vBulletin Upgrade

1.0.0

• Changed: Several files renamed
• Fixed Bug: Fixed incorrect handling of product ids that contain only numbers
• New Feature: Search text can be search in template when editing a Template-Modification in Style Manager
• Changed: Multiple Template-Modifications can be loaded via AJAX
• First Release on vBulletin.org

1.0.0 RC 1

• Fixed Bug: All Bugs reported for Beta 4 have been fixed
• Changed: Display of modified Templates with HTML comments has been modified
• Changed: Debug-Mode is no longer required
• New Feature: It is now possible to export/import style-specific Template-Modifications

1.0.0 Beta 4

• Fixed Bug: All Bugs reported for Beta 3 have been fixed
• Changed: Sorting in Template Modifications Manager has been changed
• New Feature: When adding or editing a Template-Modification, the Template can now be displayed and searched via AJAX
• Changed: When exporting as Text, the original instructions (eg. insert below/above) are retained
• New Feature: It is now possible to test each Template-Modification
• New Feature: Testing improved. It is now being display if a Template is OK after applying a Template Modification
• New Feature: When editing a Template, it is possible to activate/deactvate multiple Template-Modifications
• New Feature: Template-Modifications can now also be exported and tested from withing Product Manager
• New Feature: Function to display a template with all Modifications applied.
  This function can also display embedded comments to make it easier to identify changed parts

1.0.0 Beta 3

• Fixed Bug: All Bugs reported for Beta 2 have been fixed
• New Feature: Simplified adding Template-Modifications by allowing to select how to handle replacement text (eg. replace or insert above/below)
• New Feature: Each Template-Modification can now be disabled
• Changed: Testing Template-Modifications has been reworked:
  Column ordering can now be set through vBulletin Options; column headers are clickable to sort results
  Output has been separated by styles
  It is now possible to test only selcted products
• New Feature: TMS now integrates with 'Style Manager' and 'Product Manager'
• New Feature: The language can be selected when exporting Template-Modifications
• New Feature: Weh TMS gets deactivated, all Template-Modifications will be deactivated too
• New Feature: Display of Template-Modifications while editing a Template in Style Manager has been improved:
  It is now being display if a Template-Modification could be applied
  Template-Modifications can be edited via AJAX

1.0.0 Beta 2
First public Beta

[aharown07]

Originally Posted by flypaper

Have you ever done a template edit for a hack? Find this, replace with that? Find this, enter this below it? etc?

Mostly I've commented out code, pasted in new code, etc. But when I did that in the situation I described above, I still got "Please select the processing mode."
What's that?

[aharown07]

Originally Posted by aharown07

Mostly I've commented out code, pasted in new code, etc. But when I did that in the situation I described above, I still got "Please select the processing mode."
What's that?

I think I figured out what "processing mode" is. It's maybe the blank dropdown that appears on the left side of the Edit Template Modification form above the "Large Edit Box" button? Seems that if I select something there before I click Save, I don't get the error.
But the template doesn't seem to be modified either... at least, when I display it afterwards, it looks the same as it did before.
I'm afraid I'm not finding the form intuitive at all. A step by step guide would sure be helpful.

[fly]

But thats the point, the template itself remains the same, so upgrades happen flawlessly. I'm really not sure how it could be explained better. Maybe you should stick to template edits... :P

[dartho]

TMS (Template Modification System" is a tool for making modifications to existing templates.

Lets say you have a vbulletin template which had the following line in it:

<div>This is the title!</div>

and you wanted to modify this template so that the phrase "This is the title!" was bolded.

You could simple edit the template and add appropriate tags, and viola - it would be done. However, a future version of vbulletin may update that template and then you would need to re-apply the edits.

Using TMS, you can 'Search for Text' <div>This is the title!</div> and choose to 'Replace with Text' <div><strong>This is the title!</strong></div>

and TMS will edit your template for you.

If a future release of vBulletin modifies that template, your edit will remain - if it modifies the section of teh template you have edited, you will be alerted to this and will then be able to easily update your TMS edits.

I have a heavily customised site based on the default style - ALL of it is done with TMS - my last upgrade required zero additional effort other than uploading files and running the upgrade script.

Learn how to use it - you'll be glad you did!

[aharown07]

Thanks for your patience! I think I get it now... but really this time.

You don't really change the templates, you store your changes and TMS applies them as though you changed the template.
So... TMS doesn't actually "modify templates." That's what was tripping me up... I'm just way, way too literal at times (ADHD? autism? Nah... just a nutcase). Seriously though, who would have thought "Template Modification System" was a "system for avoiding actual modifications to templates"?

I definitely see that avoiding actually changing the templates is the advantage though.
So... since I have a number of templates already edited, what I could do now is put those edits in text files temporarily, revert all the templates and then use TMS to faux-modify them. Then, going forward, vBulletin just sees unmodified templates and upgrades them normally while TMS continues applying my "modifications."

A couple questions though: what happens if...
1. My "insert after" string is not unique... will TMS apply my new code more than once?
2. A future template upgrade by vB removes/alters the string I placed my modification in place of/after/before?

[aharown07]

Originally Posted by aharown07

2. A future template upgrade by vB removes/alters the string I placed my modification in place of/after/before?

This one's already been answered... it notifies you at upgrade time.

[Black Tiger]

1.) I'm not sure about that, but if it's not unique, just paste more code in the "search for" window (the upper window) so that it -is- unique. If done that way, you are always sure it only changes the one thing you want changed.

2.) vB upgrade will change nothing of your TMS system. If a template get changed by vBulletin this is what happens:
a.) You upgrade your vbulletin
b.) You login to your admincp
c.) TMS system will doe a check automatically or at least if you refresh your screen once. Then it will see things are changed, you get a list of OK templates which you changed in TMS, but the templates which are change by vBulletin will get a sign that it's not oke, you will get notified.
d.) You check the original vB template for the changed code and change the changed code in your TMS system.
e.) Rerun the template check from TMS and all will be fine.

[lgnd]

Thanks for this great mod! Installed and nominated!

[fly]

Originally Posted by flypaper

Instead of setting a hard limit, I just set it to 'On' and I also tried 128k. When I did that, I got even weirder results: A white page with text, but no templates at all. Since I can't get it working with this latest update, and I can't live without TMS, I have disabled output buffering. If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear em. Thanks!

Okay, even with output buffering disabled, I am unable to add a new style. If you have any time to look at this, I'd really appreciate it. In the meantime, it looks like I can disable the hack, add a new style, and reenable it.

[aharown07]

I think I have the concept now, but some how-to is still eluding me.
I want to change the way the private message quota progress bar displays. I'm told this is in the pm_messagelist template.

So I go to the Template Modifications Manager and select "Add Template Modification" under Default style.
Problem: the Template dropdown doesn't show pm_messagelist as an opition... in fact it only shows a dozen or so templates.
This must have something to do w/what I was discussing earlier... can only modify customized templates? But I got the impression there was no need to create a new style, so not sure where to go next.