Links and Downloads Manager

LDM extends VBulletin to manage a library of documents, files and links to other web sites. Documents can be stored on your own web site, stored on your server separate from the web site, uploaded by your user community, or held somewhere else altogether. So you can use LDM to provide your user community with access to your own files and allow them to share files with each other.

12/08/06 - Versions that work with vb36 are available and supported in the VB36 thread. Version 2.2.1, which works with VB 3.5 but not with VB 3.6, remains available here.

Thanks to everyone who has helped with all the design, testing, etc.
Translations are provided (thanks dLutt and LeeWicked) into German, (thanks to Allan) into French, and (thanks to Hugo) into Spanish. Harry1951 has handled the Dutch translation.

Screenshots, Instructions and How to Install

Full details and instructions are available as a Wiki at http://www.eirma.org/wikis/index.php...nloads_Manager

LDM installs as a VBulletin product. There are no modifications required to standard VB code.

Basically - upload php files and run the installer through VB's Product installer. No changes needed to VB code. Remember to BACKUP YOUR DATABASE. By default, LDM prefixes its database tables 'local_'. Edit the configuration file, local_links_init.php, if you need/wish to change this.

LDM can handle an essentially unlimited number of categories and nested subcategories, and an unlimited number of entries (hyperlinks or downloadable files). Each entry can be placed in one or several categories. Categories can have styles. Descriptions and titles can optionally include BBcodes, smilies, images and html, giving the possibility to add images, colouring, etc. File types can be flagged using icons and individual entries can also have associated thumbnail images.

Standards templates are provided for libraries of links, files, documents, and photographs.

Users can offer comments and rate the links/downloads. Each user is allowed one rating and many comments per entry, and can freely edit these if they change their mind.

Permission to use specific features is established via the product's admin page, where the administrator specifies which usergroups can add and edit entries, comment and rate these entries, moderate, etc.

By default, all entries are visible to all users. You can restrict visibility/access to links and categories by using the permissions masks from your board's forums.

Moderation of new entries is available but turned off by default.

Users can report bad links to the relevant moderators/administrators.

Each user can flag links as his/her "Favourites".

Modules are provided for VBAdvanced.

Hooks are provided in suitable places in LDM and sample plugins are included in the release (see extras directory), for example to integrate with ID3 tags in mp3 files, for slideshows, to autocreate new threads in your forums, etc.

Plus much more.

[Ophelia]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Has someone turned on the debug switch on the admin page?

Yes, it appears that it was turned on.. however, I'm 90% sure I didn't turn it on because it stated "do not change this unless told". I turned it off.. but thought you would like to know that this does happen if it's on for to long.

[elsupremo]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

I'd appreciate comments on the following...

Recent beta versions of LDM include the option to show an 'Accept these terms' page in between requesting a download and actually getting it. The user is taken through an extra form, to which they must answer 'yes'.

This approach breaks down if the user has a third party download manager installed on their PC. The download manager grabs the download request, gets presented with the 'accept me' form, and doesn't know what to do, so ends up delivering a file of html to the user, who is naturally bemused.

I understand the wish to place an agreement between the system and the user, to remind people that the material they are downloading has some value.

Is there another way to handle this, e.g. how about an agreement before entering the category, rather than before trying to download the link, or an agreement that sets a cookie that's valuable for a period of time, etc?

Appreciate your suggestions.

Andrew,
Is there any way of implementing a system where the first time a user visit local_links.php, the form pops up before they can gain access to the downloads area. It then does not ask them again unless they leave the downloads area. Maybe even some kind of cookie that makes it so they only have to accept the first time they enter the downloads area.

Remember I don't know what I am doing, but it's just a suggestion. I like it because I think having a form before every single download is repetitive and disruptive of a client's browsing. I am usually in favor of policies that do not hamper the flow of clients' browsing experience.

Just an idea.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Firestar.chkn

Thanks! seems I missed that one.

I do see the upload_filetypes field, but I do not know in which format to add the two values to. They are added to the attachments table.

Sorry about that - you've found a bug in 2.1.3b3. I'd lost the declaration of a variable in the code that handles the upload_filetypes field - happened while I was 'tidying up'. The field should accept a list of file suffixes separated by commas, e.g. zip, rar

If you want a quick fix, edit local_links_misc.php, find the line

PHP Code:

function update_settings($catid, $settings, &$errors) { 


and change the next line to

PHP Code:

global $db, $mimetype_cache; 


You can just re-upload this file and (yes) the local_links_include.php - these changes do not require reinstallation.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Ophelia

Yes, it appears that it was turned on.. however, I'm 90% sure I didn't turn it on because it stated "do not change this unless told". I turned it off.. but thought you would like to know that this does happen if it's on for to long.

Thanks, I'll see if there's an easy way to trap this.

[Langly]

This is to help others that might want to use LDM to post on the portal like vbportal as a center block. It will display the latest uploads/links submitted. The code is 100% by Nitro at vbportal; I'm just copying it here so others might be able to use it as well.

Add a new php Center block in portalCP
Uses templates: Yes
Name: what you like

PHP Code:

global $db, $vboptions, $vbulletin, $vbphrase, $vbpoptions;

$link_query = $db->query_read("SELECT * 
                FROM " . TABLE_PREFIX . "local_linkslink 
                WHERE linkmoderate = 0 
                ORDER BY linkdate DESC LIMIT 20");

while ($linkinfo = $db->fetch_array($link_query))
{
    $linkname = $linkinfo['linkname'];
    $linkdate = date("d-m-y", $linkinfo['linkdate']);
    $linkuser = $linkinfo['linkusername'];
    $linksize = $linkinfo['linksize']/1000/1000;
    $linkid = $linkinfo['linkid'];
    {
    if ($link_cats = $db->query_read("SELECT local_linkscat.catid, local_linkscat.catname FROM " . TABLE_PREFIX . "local_linkscat
                    LEFT JOIN " . TABLE_PREFIX . "local_linksltoc AS local_linksltoc ON local_linksltoc.catid = local_linkscat.catid 
                    WHERE local_linksltoc.linkid = " . $linkid . ""));

        {
        while ($catinfo = $db->fetch_array($link_cats))

            {
            $linkcatid = $catinfo['catid'];
            $linkcatname = $catinfo['catname'];
            eval('$latestldm_new .= "' . fetch_template('P_ldm_new') . '";');
            }
        }
    }
}

return <<<EOT
<table class="tborder" cellpadding="$stylevar[cellpadding]" cellspacing="$stylevar[cellspacing]" border="0" width="100%" align="center">
<tr align="center">
<td class="thead">&nbsp;</td><td class="thead">Name</td><td class="thead">Date</td><td class="thead">Submitter</td><td class="thead">Filesize</td><td class="thead">Categroy</td></tr>

<tr align="center">
    $latestldm_new
</tr>
</table>
EOT;
$db->free_result($link_query, $link_cats); 


PS ignore the "<?php BEGIN__VBULLETIN__CODE__SNIPPET " portion at the begining theres a bug in vb's php bbcode wrapper which does this its not supposed to be visible


Add a new template P_ldm_new

<tr><td width="20" class="alt1"><img src="$stylevar[imgdir_attach]/attach.gif" alt=""></td><td class="alt1">$linkname<br /><smallfont>Hits: $linkinfo[linkhits]&nbsp;Rating: $linkinfo[totrate]</smallfont></td><td class="alt2">$linkdate</td><td class="alt1">$linkuser</td><td class="alt2">$linksize&nbsp;MB</td><td class="alt1"><a href="$vbpoptions[bbdir]/local_links.php?catid=$linkcatid">$linkcatname</a></td></tr>

To change the amount listed first query "LIMIT 20" change the 20 to what you want

If you want to order by rating or hits first query again the "ORDER BY linkdate" change linkdate to linkhits for hit count or totrate for top rated.

I use it on my site and it works great. Thanks for working on that for me Nitro.

[Langly]

Andrew, any word on having LDM "post" in a forum the latest uploads?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Langly

This is to help others that might want to use LDM to post on the portal like vbportal as a center block. It will display the latest uploads/links submitted. The code is 100% by Nitro at vbportal; I'm just copying it here so others might be able to use it as well.

Thanks, I'll add this to the 'extras' directory with the next release (no support by me).

Be aware that this code does not deal with any of the LDM settings/permissions.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Langly

Andrew, any word on having LDM "post" in a forum the latest uploads?

No, sorry, this has not been an early priority for me.

[Slave]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Slave, OK, I think I have fixed these two problems, code attached. You may have to uninstall then delete the test LDM database (local_links_kill.php), as there will be some corrupt records in your admin table.

BUT - here is the basic difficulty. If you run this code

PHP Code:

$a[-1] = 10;
$a['-1'] = 20;
$a[1] = 50;
$a['1'] = 60;
print_r($a); 


with versions of php before 4.3.3, it will print out 10, 20, 60. If you run it with later verisons it will print out 20,60. In other words, php's handling of negative array indices changed in 2003. I'm trying to find the places in the code where this crops up, but it's not easy. If we can't isolate this pretty quickly, I'll give up, as I am likely to introduce new bugs in the process.

Thanks AndrewD

I'll have a play and let you know how I get on ..

[Slave]

All reported bugs fixed - check!

So far the only thing I can see as a bug is when you go to change the display settings of a cat, the change works but when you go back to edit again it seems to pull the overall default settings and not the settings you have for that cat.

Apart from that I can't see anything else wrong ....... at the moment

I'll keep playing .. and I'd like to say I appreciate the work/time you're putting into this AndrewD .. You're a star!