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.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by shadowdancer36

Was html disabled in this update? I can't seem to get my html to work

As far as I can see on my test site, this works fine. Let me have details.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by berayiwu5

Please bear with this newbie. I want to put a limit on the number of times a video clip can be played. Exactly how should I go about doing this?

Do you mean the number of times each clip can be played in total? [Not yet possible to control] Or per day? [Ditto] Or by a single user? [Ditto] Or do you mean how many clips each user can play a day? [This is controlled on the admin download quotas page]

Originally Posted by berayiwu5

I want to play using an embedded player. Does LDM automatically open an embedded player?

Yes, provided the settings are properly enabled.

Tell me what sort of video clips you want to control this way, and I can explain. If you have difficulties, send me details of your board, with an admin userid and password, and I'm happy to take a look.

[berayiwu5]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Do you mean the number of times each clip can be played in total? [Not yet possible to control] Or per day? [Ditto] Or by a single user? [Ditto] Or do you mean how many clips each user can play a day? [This is controlled on the admin download quotas page]

Yes, provided the settings are properly enabled.

Tell me what sort of video clips you want to control this way, and I can explain. If you have difficulties, send me details of your board, with an admin userid and password, and I'm happy to take a look.

Andrew, thanks so much for offering to help. Yes, eventually, I would like to be able to control the number of times a single user can play, but for now, it works fine if I can control how many clips each user can play per day--preferably also per week. I think you can easily implement the latter--how many times each user can play per week, right?

(The reason why I am asking is that I am setting up an online course with audio/video lectures. Bandwidth is always a concern here. If you have a better suggestion for controlling the playing of audio/viewing clips in that regard, I could definitely use it.)

Mostly for now, I would like to control mp3 audio recordings to be played by Windows Media Player (or Real Player) embedded in posts. What sort of changes should I make? If you can give me detailed instructions, I believe I am up to the task. I singlehandedly set up the vBulletin board myself and installed a number of plugins to date. The only thing I don't know is coding.

Is there a way I can donate in recognition of the effort you put into this? I really appreciate your help.

------------------------------------
Oh, by the way, one more question. MySQL has a limit on the size of attachment, correct? Does LDM works if I choose to put a link like the following into a post:

www.mysite.com/forum/media/file.mp3

instead of uploading it as an attachment, which might be prohibited by MySQL because of its large size?

That is to say, I FTP file.mp3 into the server, instead of uploading it as an attachment. Does LDM work just as well in terms of controlling how many times the file is to be played? If so, how do I go about doing that?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by berayiwu5

Andrew, thanks so much for offering to help. Yes, eventually, I would like to be able to control the number of times a single user can play, but for now, it works fine if I can control how many clips each user can play per day--preferably also per week. I think you can easily implement the latter--how many times each user can play per week, right?

(The reason why I am asking is that I am setting up an online course with audio/video lectures. Bandwidth is always a concern here. If you have a better suggestion for controlling the playing of audio/viewing clips in that regard, I could definitely use it.)

Mostly for now, I would like to control mp3 audio recordings to be played by Windows Media Player (or Real Player) embedded in posts. What sort of changes should I make? If you can give me detailed instructions, I believe I am up to the task. I singlehandedly set up the vBulletin board myself and installed a number of plugins to date. The only thing I don't know is coding.

Is there a way I can donate in recognition of the effort you put into this? I really appreciate your help.

------------------------------------
Oh, by the way, one more question. MySQL has a limit on the size of attachment, correct? Does LDM works if I choose to put a link like the following into a post:

www.mysite.com/forum/media/file.mp3

instead of uploading it as an attachment, which might be prohibited by MySQL because of its large size?

That is to say, I FTP file.mp3 into the server, instead of uploading it as an attachment. Does LDM work just as well in terms of controlling how many times the file is to be played? If so, how do I go about doing that?

Yes, I can explain these points - bear with me until this evening

[Slave]

heh, I'm having a hard time finding any bugs in 2.1.5rc1 AndrewD

In fact I've not found any yet, even on my old PHP ..

One thing that is weird .. I've got a couple of links that refuse to validate via the admin pages ..

http://www.swift-tools.net/Quake/QVM/
http://www.truecombat.com/intro.php

Normally in this situation I'd just click on the links in their normal listings and once LDM detected that I'd got through to the link it would then change the status to normal instead of "Status Unknown" .. this doesn't seem to happen now. Have I missed a setting, or has something changed?

[Slave]

The only other thing that I can see is that "problem" with linked subforums not showing links in sub cats .. I'm guessing you've not looked at that yet

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Slave

The only other thing that I can see is that "problem" with linked subforums not showing links in sub cats .. I'm guessing you've not looked at that yet

I looked at it The challenge is to find a way to solve it which does not make the plug in very expensive to run on large boards. It currently isn't straightforward SQL to locate the entries that are in a category and its children.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Slave

heh, I'm having a hard time finding any bugs in 2.1.5rc1 AndrewD

In fact I've not found any yet, even on my old PHP ..

One thing that is weird .. I've got a couple of links that refuse to validate via the admin pages ..

http://www.swift-tools.net/Quake/QVM/
http://www.truecombat.com/intro.php

Normally in this situation I'd just click on the links in their normal listings and once LDM detected that I'd got through to the link it would then change the status to normal instead of "Status Unknown" .. this doesn't seem to happen now. Have I missed a setting, or has something changed?

I'll try to take a look at this tonight. Thanks. Where would a man be without his Slave.

[Slave]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

I'll try to take a look at this tonight. Thanks. Where would a man be without his Slave.

Well .. I could mention "Full AdminCP integration" .. heh .. but I think you'd have a heart attack ..

[Slave]

Oh .. one thing that's come to mind ..

With the vBa modules .. at the moment it just shows the link and hits, would it be possible to also show the cat for each link?

link ? hits
cat
link ? hits
cat

sort of thing ..

Is it just the case of adding a $ to the links_vbalinks template, or is some editing of the php file required?