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.

[|oR|Greg]

Sigh, I don't know man, but I just uploaded something last night after the upgrade, it didn't retain the name. I downloaded the file, renamed it, re-uploaded it, and it's fine. Such is life. Thanks for the great hack.

As you can see on the site, I use it to it's full potential.

http://www.limmac.org/vb/local_links.php

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by |oR|Greg

Sigh, I don't know man, but I just uploaded something last night after the upgrade, it didn't retain the name. I downloaded the file, renamed it, re-uploaded it, and it's fine. Such is life. Thanks for the great hack.

As you can see on the site, I use it to it's full potential.

http://www.limmac.org/vb/local_links.php

I'm bemused by this. If you find out more, I'll gladly take a look.

[shiva]

I upgraded, though had a couple of problems because of my host. Works fine so far, though auto parsing of links will only work on new posts. (No biggie, just re-add them in)

Where's that setting in admin to allow/prohibit duplicates by default? Too many settings...

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by shiva

I upgraded, though had a couple of problems because of my host. Works fine so far, though auto parsing of links will only work on new posts. (No biggie, just re-add them in)

Where's that setting in admin to allow/prohibit duplicates by default? Too many settings...

LDM/admin/settings/allow_duplicates (bottom of the first group)

[|oR|Greg]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

I'm bemused by this. If you find out more, I'll gladly take a look.

Upon further investigation, my forum halted with javascript errors right after the upgrade as well. I did a reinstallation and now everything is working. Kinda strange, don't know why your hack hosed the javascript for the WYSIWYG editor?

Here's the useless thread I made over at vbulletin.com

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180262

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by |oR|Greg

Upon further investigation, my forum halted with javascript errors right after the upgrade as well. I did a reinstallation and now everything is working. Kinda strange, don't know why your hack hosed the javascript for the WYSIWYG editor?

Here's the useless thread I made over at vbulletin.com

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180262

Greg, I'm happy to try to track down problems, but I can't do much with words like 'hosed'. You described this hack on vbulletin.com as 'a hack that you were suspect of' - maybe you can explain why so that we can get to the bottoms of this?

[|oR|Greg]

I fixed it Andrew, no need to investigate, it was user error on my part. All fixed. Thanks.

[|oR|Greg]

I do have a question though Andrew. I want to start making my own templates to use like the links_linkbit_table, ya know, something that I can select that is my own formatting, but I don't want to overwrite your templates.

I went into Styles & Templates, added a new template with the code I want to use, but it doesn't add it to your Links and Downloads of course, just to the Custom Templates section. How do I use that new template in LDM?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by |oR|Greg

I do have a question though Andrew. I want to start making my own templates to use like the links_linkbit_table, ya know, something that I can select that is my own formatting, but I don't want to overwrite your templates.

I went into Styles & Templates, added a new template with the code I want to use, but it doesn't add it to your Links and Downloads of course, just to the Custom Templates section. How do I use that new template in LDM?

You're wanting to have additional templates, rather than just a different style? Easiest approach would be to create a new style and simply customise one of the linkbit templates in that style, and tell LDM to use the new style for those categories of interest (on the edit category/display settings tab)

If you really want to add additional templates, then this is a straightforward edit to the code. Go into local_links_include.php, and about 250 lines in, you'll find an array declaration as follows:

PHP Code:

$linkbitcache = array(
    "links_linkbit_short" => array("collapse"=>0, "defcol"=>1, "maxcol"=>3, "altbit"=>"links_linkbit"),
    "links_linkbit" => array("collapse"=>"links_linkbit_short", "defcol"=>1, "maxcol"=>1, "altbit"=>"links_linkbit"),
    "links_linkbit_table" => array("collapse"=>"links_linkbit_short", "defcol"=>1, "maxcol"=>2, "altbit"=>"links_linkbit_table"),
    "links_linkbit_photo" => array("collapse"=>0, "defcol"=>$maxpic, "maxcol"=>$maxpic, "altbit"=>"links_linkbit"),
); 


Just add your new template to the end of the array, and it will magically appear on the list of choices.

For example:

PHP Code:

    "mylinks_linkbit_new" => array("collapse"=>"links_linkbit_short", "defcol"=>1, "maxcol"=>1, "altbit"=>"links_linkbit"), 


There are a few lines of comment just above the array, explaining the parameters.

[|oR|Greg]

I'll try with the code you mentioned. However I'm curious as to what you mean about a new style? How do I add a new style to LDM?