Blink PM bar on new PM!

This is a very simple hack, yet I kinda like it.
Don't you just hate it when you write a long PM to someone, send it, and he doesn't even notice it?!

NO MORE!

Install this very easy hack and no one will be able to ignore the PM again.

This is almost just a template hack, but since it does involve editing a file and adding 4 lines of PHP code, it qualifies as a hack.
Sue me.

Anyway, what does this hack do?
Whenever you come to the forum main page, and you have any unread messages (even if they aren't new), the category strip that says "Private Messages" will blink.
Simple, but effective.

To see a demo of this, just send yourself a PM and see what happens. I'm sure you'll like it.

Installing this will take you 2 minutes if not less, it's very very simple.
I also don't expect too many support requests.

Anyway, have fun!

[RoC-RTCWCentral]

Works exactly as stated. I never could get this to work in 2.2.1 but I just upgraded to 2.2.2 and no problems whatsoever. Thanks for a great hack!!

RoC

[1yesfan]

I never got it to work. Got it to change colors when there was a PM, but never blinked.

[Demineo]

This is what my code in forumhome_pmloggedin looks like, and it doesn't work:

<tr id="cat">

<td id="pmBox" bgcolor="{ categorybackcolor}" colspan="6"><a href="private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]" title="Click Here to Open Your Private Messages $inboxname"><normalfont color="#000000"><b>Private Messages</normalfont></b></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#1C5780" align="center" valign="top"><img src="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/images/$lightbulb.gif" alt=""></td>
<td bgcolor="#13486D" colspan="5"><smallfont>
<b>$bbuserinfo[username]</b> - You have $newpm[messages] new message(s) since your last visit.<br>
(You have $unreadpm[messages] unread messages and $allpm[messages] total messages in all your folders.)</smallfont></td>
</tr>
<script language="JavaScript">
<!-- Begin
$pmblink pmBox.bgColor='#1D6AA0';
$pmblink setInterval("Timer()", 500);
$pmblink x=1;
function Timer() { x=1;
set=0;
}
if(x==1 && set==1) {
pmBox.bgColor='{*categorybackcolor*}';
set=1;
if(x==0 && set==1) {
pmBox.bgColor='#336D95';

x=0;
set=0;
}
}
// End -->
</script>

[TELEK]

My board is different, so the PM info is in a welcome-type box, along with a bunch of other stuff, so this wasn't going to work for me. Then I tried editing the code without knowing what the heck I was doing, and I got the text to flash instead of the back of the table. But I didn't really like that, so I set it to make the back of the text flash (style), but then it gives me an error:

Line: 102
Char: 2
Error: Member not found
Code: 0
URL: (I don't think you need this and my board isn't open yet so I don't tell people the URL)

Does the style not work in the Javascript or something?

[Demineo]

And this is what mine looks like:

<tr id="cat">
<td id="pmBox" bgcolor="#336D95" background="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/images/catagory_backing.gif" colspan="6"><a href="private.php?s=$session[sessionhash]" title="Click Here to Open Your Private Messages $inboxname"><normalfont color="#000000"><b>Private Messages</normalfont></b></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#1C5780" align="center" valign="top"><img src="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/images/$lightbulb.gif" alt=""></td>
<td bgcolor="#13486D" colspan="5"><smallfont>
<b>$bbuserinfo[username]</b> - You have $newpm[messages] new message(s) since your last visit.<br>
(You have $unreadpm[messages] unread messages and $allpm[messages] total messages in all your folders.)</smallfont></td>
</tr>
<script language="JavaScript">
<!-- Begin
$pmblink pmBox.bgColor='#1D6AA0';
$pmblink setInterval("Timer()", 500);
$pmblink x=1;
function Timer() { x=1;
set=0;
}
if(x==1 && set==1) {
pmBox.bgColor='#336D95" background="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/images/catagory_backing.gif';
set=1;
if(x==0 && set==1) {
pmBox.bgColor='#336D95';

x=0;
set=0;
}
}
// End -->
</script>

[NYI Fan]

Hi Firefly;
There is a template mod at vB.com that i want to incorporate along with this hack of yours (which i have been using for awhile and LOVE)

Any suggestions for making the 2 peacefully co-exist?

Thanks much (in advance )

[NYI Fan]

I got it working beautifully with yours FF
Thanks anyway!

[Jeroen]

So simple but really cool...

Thanks

[mjames]

I installed, but it isn't blinking. I couldn't have been more careful, either. I even changed:

$pmblink pmBox.bgColor='#8080A6';

to

$pmblink pmBox.bgColor='#FFFFFF';

to see if it would blink, but no change. My boards seem unchanged after this. I tried sending two different PMs to myself, too. Any ideas?

<edit> The color in the first code tag is actually a word that is getting parsed by vB </edit>

[NYI Fan]

Hey Marc;
Are your categorybackcolor and tableheadbgcolor normally the same color?
Snyx posted about a problem with that here

Maybe that will help you?