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 testing2

Hi, I have installed this mod and it's really useful. I have a problem though - it takes about 20 seconds to load the front page. All the rest of the pages load without any reduction in speed (1-3 seconds). I have about 150 links added so far and no file uploads.

Does anyone know of a way to speed up the page loading speed of the main page? I tried changing settings for number of most popular links and depth of categories shown but that didn't help.

Thank you.

This surprises me, as the front page uses the same code as the rest. Couple of suggestions
- try setting LDM/admin *show_hit_parade* to zero
- try loading one of the inner pages in LDM directly from a clean browser launch (e.g. point your browser at http://yoursite/local_links.php?catid=1). Is this slow - in other words, is it the first page that is slow or the home page?
- edit your VB includes/config.php and add the following line:

$config['Misc']['debug'] = true;

at the bottom. This adds debugging code to VB, and you will get a timer/database hit record at the bottom of each page, with an 'Explain' link. On your LDM home page, click on 'Explain', and it will tell you where the time is being spent. (On my test board, the home page requires 15 database lookups and 0.1 seconds.)

Send me a PM with your findings and we can try to get to the bottom of this.

[GrendelKhan{TSU]

Originally Posted by EasyTarget

you can use ftp to upload and make an excel sheet to add all the info to the database.It already acts as a photo gallery and has a template already built in for displaying photos (links_linkbit_photos). It works really well imo.

I know it already does ... superficially. but andrew mentioned further development to this end so that's why I got pumped.


also, I know you can use the links_linksbit_photos as well.. .but as far as I can tell... you can't use different linkbits for different categories. I don't want to use that for my links category or say, my files categories... only for the section dedicated to photos....

can I request that as a future feature Andrew? (or is it there and I just missed it?)

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

but as far as I can tell... you can't use different linkbits for different categories. I don't want to use that for my links category or say, my files categories... only for the section dedicated to photos....

Yes you can.

Edit the category (LDM/category/drop down menu)

Three tabs across the top: Category Details, Display Settings, User Group Permissions.

Display Settings and User Group Permissions allow you to override the main admin settings for the current category and by default its children.

So for the category you want to use for photos, go to the Display Settings tab and change template_linkbit

[obmob]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Am also knocked out! - I've taken part in eight conferences and several other workshops in eight countries in the last six weeks, so there hasn't been too much time for coding. Things should quieten down reasonably soon.

oh... very busy, well... i can wait :bunny:
Thanks

[EasyTarget]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Yes you can.

Edit the category (LDM/category/drop down menu)

Three tabs across the top: Category Details, Display Settings, User Group Permissions.

Display Settings and User Group Permissions allow you to override the main admin settings for the current category and by default its children.

So for the category you want to use for photos, go to the Display Settings tab and change template_linkbit

yeah, I must say the flexibility of this hack is awesome. I love that I can display the content in category in many different ways. This allows me to have one style for just links, another for downloads/programs which require more detailed information and a whole other style for showing images.

and I must again personally thank andrew for the cURL support, as I appear to be one of the few, if not the only user, that cannot use the fopen php functions (webhost company www.dreamhost.com has it globally disabled for security purposes).

Originally Posted by obmob

how... can you post an example?

if you open up one of the excel examples/csv files provided in the download (provided in the main folder, 2.2.1) you'll see an example of how to set up the information. Then I think you go to administration, then import/export and choose to import a csv file. (someone correct me if I'm wrong)
You can also set up LDM to automatically scan certain folders/directories for new files and it will add the new files to a category of your choosing.

[obmob]

OO awesome... very useful!!!

BTW... is there any way to rename uploaded files to some sort of chain values... like rename a image from :

imagename.jpg to

sitename.category.imagetitle.by.username.jpg

Where sitename is the site's name
category where it will be uploaded
image title, the title of the image
by... lol the word by
username, the username who uploaded the image

I mean gathering the info included while it's uploaded and show it this way to be well recognized by those who download the file? OO

[boduzapho]

Just installed, looks great, 1 issue thoe, the thumbnail i uploaded to my test item does not show.. anyone know why?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by boduzapho

Just installed, looks great, 1 issue thoe, the thumbnail i uploaded to my test item does not show.. anyone know why?

This is usually because of a mismatch/error between some parameter settings, e.g. the LDM thumbs_dir and your VB homepage url. Which browser are you using? With Firefox, images don't apper at all when there is a problem, but with IE, you get a red cross.

Couple of things to try in order to pin down the problem

- using IE, go to the page where the thumb has been replaced by a red cross, and use a mouse right click then properties to find out what url the browser is trying to load. Relate this to your settings of thumbs_dir and homepage url.

- try clearing the thumbs_dir setting on the LDM admincp. See if the thumbnail appears

[sezmar]

This is a great hack I just love it.

I have a strange problem, yesterday I installed it and it worked fine. Just uploaded some images and a file. So today I go to upload mp3 and it went to a blank screen. Now it goes to blank screens with every file I try to upload. The files will not show up in the LDM system, but when I check the ftp folder they are there. The oly thing I did today was to add the media files in the admincp for attachments.

Any suggestions?

[obmob]

Andrew will hate me soon... is it possible to have a thumbnail size to show in linkbit_short, a medium image to show in linkbit and the original file to be downloaded?

Thanks