New Posting Features - New Thread Button Anywhere

Overview:

With mobile devices becoming more and more prevalent, the average IQ of people finding your site is declining...at a shocking pace. There was a time, not too long ago, before the pestilence of mobile devices and social media, that internet users were tech savvy people using desktop computers and forming complete sentences. Those were good times.

Increasingly, this new generation of internet users lacks the brain power to successfully navigate vBulletin's insuperable labyrinth consisting of "choose forum -> click forum -> click post new thread." To be honest, I don't particularly value such users or want them polluting the site with their pinhead musings, but hey, we've got to remain competitive and this requires dumbing things down a bit for the facebook junkies and iPhone users.

This product allows you do display a large, nearly impossible to miss button, directly below the breadcrumbs (on selected pages) that will make it easier for your users to post new threads. The added element consists of three parts: a message to the user welcoming them and instructing them on how to use the element to start a new thread, a dropdown menu from which they can choose a forum in which they have permission to post new threads (with forum categories in bold red and non-selectable), and a large button they can click once they have selected a forum which loads the newthread form to post a new thread in the forum they selected. You have 8 pre-defined linear gradient schemes (cross-browser compatible) from which to choose for the background color of the button, or you can use your own, with a choice to define separate schemes for each style using your StyleVars.



If a user has not selected a forum, then the tooltip for the button tells them they must choose a forum first. If they click the button anyway, then a popup alert repeats the fact that a forum must be chosen first. Once they select a forum, the tooltip for the button changes to tell them they may click the button to post a new thread in the selected form, and the name and description of the forum they selected is shown to help make certain they have made the correct choice.

They are essentially doing the same thing as if they had gone to a forum and clicked "+ Post New Thread," but now the button isn't carefully hidden behind the curtain of the link to the forum they want.

Everything is fully phrased and stylevars are used wherever applicable.

Updates:

Version 1.01:

• Added custom hook location to "navbar" template in case ads are turned off (previously used a global ad location as a template hook).

Version 1.1:

• Added support for Restrict Posting By Forum
• Added setting to allow for excluding forums from drop-down menu.
• Added setting to allow for left/right orientation of product element.

Version 1.1.5:

• Improved method for adding hook to "navbar" template to be more general.

Version 1.2:

• Forum exclusion now includes child forums.

Version 1.2.1:

• Added support for smaller screens.

Version 1.3:

• Added settings to allow for custom linear gradient on button.

Version 1.4:

• Changed custom color selection to HTML color pickers.
• Added "StyleVars" option to button color to allow for customization per style.

Version 1.5:

• Added support for when DBTech has replaced your "navbar" template.
• Combine plugins for adding custom hook and rending output.

Version 1.6:

• Added 5 more default button color gradients from which to choose.
• Removed need for explicit CSS for default button colors, greatly reducing the size of the template.

Version 1.7:

• Added support for manually placing the new thread button element within your "navbar" template using "{vb:raw markfl_newthreadbutton}".

Version 1.8:

• Fixed bug where forums with no parent and posting allowed were treated as categories.

Version 1.9:

• Adding setting to exclude usergroups from button access.
• Phrased "None Selected" drop-down menu selection.

Version 1.9.1:

• Phrased word "Category" in drop-down menu.

Compatibility:

Tested and working on VB 4.2.x and may work on all 4.x versions of vBulletin.

Backup/Warning:

This product does not alter your database, however it is always good practice to make regular backups and you should make a backup before installing ANY new mod.

As always, products are USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I will provide support and do my best to help but no absolute guarantee is offered.

To Install:

1. Download and extract the attached .zip file.
2. Follow AdminCP -> Plugins & Products -> Manage Products -> Add/Import Product.
3. Click on "Choose File" and browse to the product .xml file that was packaged in the .zip file.
4. Click "Import."
5. You MUST enable the product in the settings before it will function.
6. Configure the remaining settings to your liking. Each setting has a detailed explanation of its use.

Support for this product can be found here:

• MHB - New Thread Button Anywhere
• TAZ - New Thread Button Anywhere

[MarkFL]

Originally Posted by Morrus

I've identified the forum exclusion forgetting: it happens every time the product is updated.

Are you actually updating, or uninstalling the old, then installing the new?

Originally Posted by Morrus

Actually, I'm not sure what's going on. In the attached screenshots you can see that I have a whole load of forums excluded, but some left included. But on the other screenshot, no forums are appearing in the dropdown menu - just "None Selected".

Child forums are included, so if you are selecting all of your categories, then no forums will show up.

[Morrus]

Originally Posted by MarkFL

Are you actually updating, or uninstalling the old, then installing the new?

Updating with overwrite.

Child forums are included, so if you are selecting all of your categories, then no forums will show up.

Sorry; in that case I'm not clear on what I need to be doing to use this correctly.

So I need to individually select all the individual forums I want excluded, but be careful not to select any of the categories?

(Oh, please, please make it work the opposite way around! Select forums to be included. )

[MarkFL]

Originally Posted by Morrus

Updating with overwrite.

Your settings shouldn't change then...they don't change for me if I do an upgrade.

Originally Posted by Morrus

Sorry; in that case I'm not clear on what I need to be doing to use this correctly.

So I need to individually select all the individual forums I want excluded, but be careful not to select any of the categories?

(Oh, please, please make it work the opposite way around! Select forums to be included. )

If you want to exclude an entire category, just select the category. If you only want to exclude certain forums, then select then individually.

I would think most people who wish to exclude forums will only exclude a few...I have to think of the majority here.

[Morrus]

Originally Posted by MarkFL

Your settings shouldn't change then...they don't change for me if I do an upgrade.

I don't know what to tell you.

If you want to exclude an entire category, just select the category. If you only want to exclude certain forums, then select then individually.

I would think most people who wish to exclude forums will only exclude a few...I have to think of the majority here.

Fair enough. I'll check back in a week or two and see where things are at; I can't go through that process with every incremental update.

[Stratis]

Originally Posted by Morrus

I don't know what to tell you.



Fair enough. I'll check back in a week or two and see where things are at; I can't go through that process with every incremental update.

When I make an update, all previous selected forums don't change.
You don't need to set them again.

* You can you use Shift to check all forums and Control to deselect

[MarkFL]

Originally Posted by Morrus

I don't know what to tell you.

Fair enough. I'll check back in a week or two and see where things are at; I can't go through that process with every incremental update.

That has to be some issue on your end...no one else has reported this with any of the 60+ products I have uploaded here so far.

[Morrus]

Originally Posted by MarkFL

That has to be some issue on your end...no one else has reported this with any of the 60+ products I have uploaded here so far.

Like I said, I don't know what to tell you. It doesn't change any of the other settings, just the excluded forums.

[MarkFL]

Update - Version 1.3:

• Added settings to allow for custom linear gradient on button.

[vze2yqtm]

It still won't show

[MarkFL]

Originally Posted by vze2yqtm

It still won't show

Well, as I stated a few posts back, I would have to come to your site with admin access to try to figure out what specific issue there is preventing it from being displayed.