Integration with vBulletin - vHoist : Garage / Car Showroom

About:

vHoist is a new Virtual Garage plugin that allows your users to share the rides with the rest of your forum!

Our plugin fully integrates into your forum software providing seamless integration without the limits of other plugins with similar features, such as extra SQL querys added to your site.


vHoist Has:

- Multiple Garages for each user

- No Added SQL Query's

- Users Cars listed under their post info

- Full seamless integration into your forum

- Users can share their garages over multiple websites without the need to modify their profiles for each site.

- Anyone that "parks" their car on your website, will provide a backlink to your site for every other site they are on.

- Unlimited Pictures and Rides

- Many new features coming weekly! Facebook plugin, phpbb plugin both in development.

- Will be supporting MOTORCYCLES, ATV's, Boats and much much more!

Sites that are already using vHoist.com:

http://www.GenerationDub.com
http://psaclub.net/forums.php

Install Instructions

1) Download the zip file.

2) Upload vHoist.php into the root directory of your website.

3) Install the product "product_vhoist.xml" (Allow overwrite if you're upgrading) into vBulletin.
[ Plugins & Products ] -> [ Manage Products ] -> Add/Import Product.

4) Visit www.vHoist.com and Register an account. *COMPLETELY FREE*

5) Once logged in, click "Downloads", and redownload the zip file to enable the administration panel. REFRESH this page after download.

6) Add your website to vHoist.com by using the "Site Adminstrator" menu to the left, located under your Member Garage.
* Your site will not be added to vHoist.com until you upload vHoist.php and correctly add your URL to our database.

7) Save the information and Paste the passkey Generated by vHoist.com into your vBulletin vHoist settings.

[ vBulletin Options ] -> [ vBulletin Options ] -> [ vHoist Settings ] -> Website Passkey

8) Adjust your settings in vBulletin for vHoist accordingly.

After you are finished the above, visit your newly installed vHoist on your website. You will see a message saying that you do not currently have any cars parked on your site. Click on "Add / Edit vHoist" and then park your car on your site!

FAQ:

How does the benefit my site?

- There is no "Overhead" added to your site like other plugins, such as vbGarage, because everything takes place on vHoist.com

- Backlinks, an important SEO feature, come from vHoist.com to your site. For example, if one member parks his / her car on multiple websites, you will automatically be back linked from potentially thousands of sites. It's already happening.. http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100390 - This is a VERY important feature and benefit to your site.

- Your users now only have to "Update" their ride on one site, and it propogates to all other sites they have parked too. Now if they have "forgotten" that they came to forum before but parked their ride there, it will be bumped up to the top of the list when they have an update.

- If someone comments from your forum, the user will receive an email saying that someone commented from your forum, and potentially giving you another user to come back to your site! Again, ANOTHER backlink is added on the comment. Here is an example:

http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100000

Here's what a users garage looks like parked on 2 seperate sites!

Site 1 - http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100000

Site 2 - http://psaclub.net/vHoist.php?do=view&gid=100000

Do you get our users information?

We save the UserID, UserName and Email address of users that "Park" a car on your website, so that the user display information will properly show up on your site. This is strictly because users will occasionally have multiple usernames across many forums. Since vHoist.com allows a user to "park" their ride on your site, we need to display their username for your site properly.


For more FAQ's like this, visit: http://www.vhoist.com/FAQ.aspx

Time to install: < 5 Minutes
Template Edits: 0
File Uploads: 1
Products: 1

Has been tested on:

3.6.7
3.6.8
3.7.1
3.8.0

Believed to work on ALL versions from 3.6.0 to 3.8.0, but would like confirmation from users currently using those sites.

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.1]
- Fixed Search not working
- Removed Sponsor Program
- Allowed importing for 3.5.7
- Disabled "member ride" listed under user's name until I can figure out the "slow down" issue
- problem with quotes in user names
- moved related rides to the left instead of right

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.2]
- Added "Random Image" table - show 1 through 10 random garages by your users
- Created a new way to add vHoist to your forum, so you can use a selection box to pick where it goes
- Added "Latest Image" table - show 1 through 10 last edited garages by your users
- Added more extensive options menu
- Added Quick Links Menu
- Fixed "Enable / Disable" Option
- Removed "Members Rides" option under user names until futher testing

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.3]
- Added sorting on title bar of search
- Added some vHoist website functionality
- View users rides from www.vhoist.com/ride/XXXXXX/ where XXX is the ride number.
- Fixed bug for not being able to remove ride

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.4]
- Added User Profiles tab
- Removed this from "beta" since it's been functioning on sites for a few months now
- Added some vHoist website functionality - analytics to be added in next release
- View users profile from www.vhoist.com/id/username/ where XXX is the username on vHoist.com

Known Issues for this release:

- None reported

Other:

This is currently a working public BETA. I will be supporting this daily (well, mostly nightly EST) in this thread and via any problems submitted by email using the contact form on the site, http://www.vhoist.com


*Attention vbGarage Users*

We have been working diligantly on a conversion tool to transfer your current vBGarage users into vHoist.com. The converter is currently in Alpha testing and is not publicly avalible yet.

It is recommend that smaller sites that are using vBGarage start off with a fresh new vHoist account, however, we understand that content is hard to come by and we are working fast to bring this converter to you! If this is stopping you from installing vHoist.com, then please use our contact forum to let us know you are waiting!

....

Cheers .... and .... here goes nothing... this is my first publicly released mod, so if I did this wrong, please forgive me!

[footose]

Some one reported the following error:

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in [path]/vHoist.php on line 67

Warning: file_get_contents(http://www.vHoist.com/vb_GarageListF...tered&vbe=&pk=) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in [path]/vHoist.php on line 67

The fix is as follows:

Open your php.ini file on your server and add:

allow_url_fopen = On

OR if you can override... add this to the top of your vHoist.php file

ini_set('allow_url_fopen', 'on');

[FRANKTHETANK 2]

Originally Posted by footose

Great stuff Rich, glad it's working out! Lots of "Smart" on the site now too

FRANK: No news on the update yet, it will be shortly though, been busy at my real job, but you should go ahead and install, and the upgrade install should be seamless.

I already have it installed and working but just waiting for us to have more control of this on our sites.

[kNeeLy]

3-21-2009

Update:

Still no problems at all...I dont know if its a co-winky-dink or not...but we have seen ALOT more traffic resulting in 1-2 new members a day.

We now have 8-9 rides on our vHoist!!

Nice Mod!!

[rzotz]

How to add the cars to your posts next to your name like in this picture?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attachmen...3&d=1231137614

I do not see a way to get this to work like it was shown in the thread. Thanks.

[rzotz]

I also found a bug. When you go to rate the car, in the user profile, it changes the link like below:

http://www.zsport.org/forumvHoist.ph...iew&gid=100880

When it should be

http://www.zsport.org/forum/vHoist.p...iew&gid=100880

It removes the slash for some reason. Any ideas how to fix?

[jonbaker]

1/4 mile and dyno please ;-)

[footose]

adding 1/4 mile and dyno!

rzotz: i think i fixed the bug for you, however, it looks like you uninstalled it.

[footose]

How to add the cars to your posts next to your name like in this picture?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attac...3&d=1231137614

I do not see a way to get this to work like it was shown in the thread. Thanks.

Unfortunately people were complaining that this was actually slowing their site, so I removed this feature for now. I may put it back in but make it optional.

[footose]

And guys, sorry for the delay. Was doing a launch at work of a new site for the last 2 weeks, but I'm able to answer questions fairly quickly again! Now that vHoist is expanding as far as it is, the questions / comments come in directly to my blackberry if you use the contact form on http://www.vhoist.com and i will respond much much quicker there.

[militarytuners]

This works out great on our forums