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 GrendelKhan{TSU

hmmm.....

future suggestion:

need to make so you can exclude Featured Site from appearing in categories (of choice)....it can be confusing or sometimes...just not appropriate to appear.

You can set the featured_all_categories setting off so that featured sites are drawn from the favourites in the current category. This enables you to have featured sites in some categories and not others, provided the entries are members of those catgeories. If you want to be able to draw a random collection of featured sites from all categories but only display them in some, then I will have to make a small change (I think it involves literally adding two characters to the code...) to make this possible.

[EricaJoy]

Hrm. I installed this but its too much for my needs. Great hack overall but for just a links page (what I need) its overkill.

[AndrewD]

Just to show that there's nothing better to do on an airplane than think about coding...

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

If you have a title with "quotes" in it....the title gets chopped off at the quote when you go back and edit the link.

small bug, fixed on my laptop

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

if bbcode in title... profile bit of "recent hits" ...just show the code not the actual bbcode output (ie: [ b ] instead of actually showing bold type. )

small bug, fixed on my laptop

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

Auto thread creation in forums bugs:
I think it related to this bug: The link is wrong. It lists the wrong category! eg: add link from "whatever" category >> changed category when filling out form (parent category) >> result is that it upload to correct category...but link in new thread created shows file in the original whatever category.

Easy fix, with one provisio - if the entry is placed into more than one category, then the link will always take the user to one of these categories, which I don't think is an issue.

Bear in mind that if you subsequently delete the entry, then the thread and url will still be there and will not work. I can't do anything about that.

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

need some kind of explanation for users. Like update explanation text for choosing a "Parent Forum" when this plugin is install.

Since there is no text or explanation of what is happening from a user perspective.... Users will have NO IDEA where or how the thread is being created when adding links. took me a bit to figure it out actually (granted...I'm a dope a lot of the times but.... so are most users. ).

I've changed it to give a different message, along the lines of 'your entry has been accepted and posted into forum XXX'

By the way, I realised that no autopost should be made if moderation is turned on - that situation needs a little more thought - possibly the autocreate should happen when the moderator accepts the post.

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

an image on the links_linkbit is now broken. dunno why and it wasn't broken before 2.1.6rc2. problem is I can't fix it because I dunno what the image is supposed to be cause the path is weird:
what is that? ugh! to broken images. see attached image.

That looks like someone's avatar is broken/wrong

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

[*]Featured sites need to display same as the template_linkbit format chosen. Don't know if this is intentional, but seems like a bug (forgot to add) kinda thing. I was gunna use the table format, but when I do the featured sites still come out as default linkbit, so it looks weird/inconsistent on the page.

Am adding a template choice in the settings for featured sites and well as standard entries. Both should be selectable.

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

edit link >> expand/collapse buttons in Parent Categories are... misplaced? or not working right? eitherway...when you actually click the expand collapse button...you get craziness. see attached pics.

This is only a problem if you use category selection boxes rather than the menu. It's fixed on my laptop.

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

edit link >> highlight should UNhighlight when choosing new category. it doesn't. makes it seem like both are chosen or the new chosen category "doesn't take". see attached pic

This is built into VBUlletin abd I can't change it without duplicating a chunck of their code. Is it a big issue?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by princessfrozen

Hrm. I installed this but its too much for my needs. Great hack overall but for just a links page (what I need) its overkill.

That's what I thought, but people kep asking for more, more, more

[EricaJoy]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

That's what I thought, but people kep asking for more, more, more

Really if you still have a very first version that doesn't have all the extra stuff, that would be great! I'm administering a site for my friends sorority and I just need a page people can post the links to their chapters to and everybody else can see.

[|oR|Greg]

Originally Posted by princessfrozen

Really if you still have a very first version that doesn't have all the extra stuff, that would be great! I'm administering a site for my friends sorority and I just need a page people can post the links to their chapters to and everybody else can see.

This sounds like a job for my "Thread as Link" Andrew! Get to it! :banana:

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by princessfrozen

Really if you still have a very first version that doesn't have all the extra stuff, that would be great! I'm administering a site for my friends sorority and I just need a page people can post the links to their chapters to and everybody else can see.

The *very* first versions were for VB 3.0, but the early versions for VB 3.5 should still be ok.

[EricaJoy]

thanks so much! i'll handle the rest with template modifications. you are the greatest.

spoke too soon. *sigh* still too much going on, unfortunately. i'll keep looking for something, thanks for your help though.

[|oR|Greg]

Ya know, if you edit the add link template, and set the settings to allow null fields, you very well might have what you're looking for.

[EasyTarget]

princess its pretty easy to use this hack for just the links, and it works great for user submitted links. I don't think you'll find anything to surpass this. If its too much just don't use the other parts. (just set permissions and the link style you want to use once and you won't have to touch it again)