Threaded Forum Views

Threaded Forum Views (Version 1.8)

Threaded Forum Views will allow the user to display an individual forum or search results in a fully threaded manner. To enable this support the user selects Enable from the new Threaded Forum Views section within Edit Options in the User CP. In addition to the Enable/Disable setting the user may also select Compact or Expanded modes as well as the number of characters to be displayed in the thread/post titles.

A minor oversight/bug is corrected by release of 1.1. A class="inlineimg" has been added to the <img> tags in order to make sure the line spacing is proper. The prior releases relied on the fact that the <img> tag was automatically assigned vertical alignment in the main CSS.

A bug involving unregistered users has been fixed with the release of version 1.2.

Version 1.3 corrects a template error.

Version 1.4 is verified to work with RC3 and corrects template name errors.

Version 1.5 is verified to work with RC4 and has some minor cleanup.

Version 1.6 corrects an error when announcements are used. This version also includes updated graphics that perform well with either light or dark backgrounds.

Version 1.7 limits the number of posts displayed in a thread in the Forum Display based on the Thread Age Cutoff. This is of value for active boards where threads can get very long over an extended period of time. No filtering is done on search results at this time. Also included as part of the graphics is an updated "new post" image to match vb3 Gold.

Version 1.7.1 fixes a minor template error dealing with the display of the date & time of the post. The only change from the prior release is to the 'threadedbit' template.

NEW: Version 1.8 supports limiting the number of posts in both Forum Display and in Search Results. Additionally, the code has been modified so that the number of places that depend on the new field names has been reduced. This should help reduce installation errors.

Features:
Functionality controlled via the Users CP.
Supports 2 display modes. Single line or Dual line.
Supports variable title lengths.
Works with the display of forums and search results.
Indicates which posts have been read and which are new.
Indicates which posts have attachments.
Handles Sticky posts - limits the thread to the opening post.
Displayed results may be sorted using the existing tools provided by forumdisplay.php
Tested with vBulletin 3.0.0 GOLD.

Caveats:
Some of the Administrator functions (such as thread maintenance on deleted threads) are not available while in this mode. While doing administrative tasks the Admin should disable Threaded Forum Views.

Feedback & Support:
If you have any problems or questions please post them on vb.org. I will be happy to help in any way I can - though I am definitely no expert at PHP.

Miscellaneous:
This is currently running on my live board.

To update existing users it is necessary to manually run an UPDATE query. I used

UPDATE userfield SET field5='Enable',field6='Compact',field7='30' where field5='';

to set the default values.

Also, a new field has been added to the search parameters. Because of this it is neccessary to erase the existing cached searches. This can be done using the following query

delete from search;

It is also possible to turn Threaded Forum Views on for guest users by setting the appropriate values into the $bbuserinfo fields in sessions.php.

Screen shots and directions for making the necessary modifications to the files and templates are attached as are the 5 new graphics in the ZIP file.

[gmarik]

Thanks, I'll start them installing on a clean version.
It took me 25 min ... I hope this time it will be more luck.

[Bill Thebert]

Time for me to contribute my 2/100 of a buck.

I've been lobbying Jelsoft for two years or more about delivering the OPTION of a threaded display at the forum level (forumdisplay.php). Back in October of 2001, vB developer "Freddie" stated that "threading" was going to be implemented in the next major vB release, which was expected to be out in Q1 of 2002.

Needless to say, it was pretty disappointing to see the half-baked implementation of "threading" [sic] that Jelsoft finally released nearly two years later.

This hack is a godsend. And it's getting better with each incremental release.

I'm not going to argue with anybody about whether "threaded views" are old-fashioned, or whether "flat views" are "better". The objective here is CHOICE. This hack allows vB3.X to finally offer users a CHOICE about how they wish forums to be displayed. And I think we can all agree that "choice = good".

My hat's off to Tom for finishing what Jelsoft only started. This should *definitely* be integrated into the core vB product. Should've been there ages ago. Tom's hack is good. It delivers on its promise. It is well documented, and Tom's support has been both prompt and professional.

Regards,

Bill

[Bill Thebert]

That said, here's my suggestion for v 1.7 of this delightful hack. It originated with some feedback from one of my users.

Currently, threads are always displayed *in their entirety*. This causes some minor problems when someone resurrects an old, long thread. The thread (with 50-100 individual posts or more) pops to the top of the page, and one must scroll down through the ancient material to find the one new post appended at the bottom (or somewhere in the middle).

This is especially problematic if the long thread is "sticky" -- since you ALWAYS have to do this scrolling. And doubly so if you have vB Options set to show sticky threads on ALL pages of a forum -- rather than just on the FIRST page.

I would like to see "Threaded Forum Views 1.7" take the other user-specified display options into account. That is, if I've asked to see only messages "from the last two days", then truncate the threads shown in forumdisplay.php acordingly -- much like WebBBS 5.12 does now. Let "Page 2" show the next two days, and "Page 3" show the two days before that.

I understand that this will cause some longer threads to appear in fragments -- in different locations. But when I click on a specific thread, the WHOLE thread is visible in the "threaded mode" showthread.php from Jelsoft. That provides me access to the parts of the thread that *aren't* on the 2-day forumdisplay.php output.

The biggest strength of WebBBS was in the virtually infinite personal choices it offered to each user in terms of customizing the display according to one's individual preferences. I would like to see "threaded Forum Views" become even more "WebBBS-like" in how it handles threads that span long time periods and many, many messages.

Bill

[tgmorris]

Originally Posted by Bill Thebert

That said, here's my suggestion for v 1.7 of this delightful hack. It originated with some feedback from one of my users.

Currently, threads are always displayed *in their entirety*. This causes some minor problems when someone resurrects an old, long thread. The thread (with 50-100 individual posts or more) pops to the top of the page, and one must scroll down through the ancient material to find the one new post appended at the bottom (or somewhere in the middle).

This is especially problematic if the long thread is "sticky" -- since you ALWAYS have to do this scrolling. And doubly so if you have vB Options set to show sticky threads on ALL pages of a forum -- rather than just on the FIRST page.

I would like to see "Threaded Forum Views 1.7" take the other user-specified display options into account. That is, if I've asked to see only messages "from the last two days", then truncate the threads shown in forumdisplay.php acordingly -- much like WebBBS 5.12 does now. Let "Page 2" show the next two days, and "Page 3" show the two days before that.

I understand that this will cause some longer threads to appear in fragments -- in different locations. But when I click on a specific thread, the WHOLE thread is visible in the "threaded mode" showthread.php from Jelsoft. That provides me access to the parts of the thread that *aren't* on the 2-day forumdisplay.php output.

The biggest strength of WebBBS was in the virtually infinite personal choices it offered to each user in terms of customizing the display according to one's individual preferences. I would like to see "threaded Forum Views" become even more "WebBBS-like" in how it handles threads that span long time periods and many, many messages.

Bill

Let me say that I agree with you 100% on this. That said, it may be beyond my vb and PHP abilities to make these changes. Yet with such changes it would be a really 1st class hack

Since the basic modification was so ridiculously simple to do hopefully Jelsoft will chose to fold it, along with the other changes, in to 3.1.

I'll finish by saying that I do plan to continue thinking about the best way to deal with the existing problems of long threads, etc.

[Bill Thebert]

Originally Posted by tgmorris

Let me say that I agree with you 100% on this. That said, it may be beyond my vb and PHP abilities to make these changes. Yet with such changes it would be a really 1st class hack

Perhaps Darryl Burgdorf's Perl code in WebBBS 5.12 could provide some clues as to the requisite logic?

However limited you feel your abilities are, Tom, mine are infinitely more humble.

Originally Posted by tgmorris

Since the basic modification was so ridiculously simple to do hopefully Jelsoft will chose to fold it, along with the other changes, in to 3.1.

I seriously doubt that Jelsoft will EVER take threaded displays seriously.

EVERY time the issue has been raised, the discussion devolves into a debate about "which view is BETTER". They've never grasped that the issue is CHOICE.

[gmarik]

In 1.6 instructions are updated too or they are as misty as before?

[Bill Thebert]

Originally Posted by gmarik

In 1.6 instructions are updated too or they are as misty as before?

As a vB/PHP hacker, I have to classify myself as "painfully amateur".

v 1.5 documentation was sufficiently clear & precise that even *I* could follow without assistance.

[tgmorris]

Originally Posted by gmarik

In 1.6 instructions are updated too or they are as misty as before?

The instruction (as misty as they may be :cheeky are the same except for the update on the template change. There's also a new set of images that perform better on dark backgrounds.

[Tigerdude]

Originally Posted by tgmorris

The instruction (as misty as they may be :cheeky are the same except for the update on the template change. There's also a new set of images that perform better on dark backgrounds.

I was just getting ready to install this when I noticed on the VBulletin site that GOLD will be released late next week.

I'm going to hold off until GOLD is released and you smart guys know whether or not it works with it. I just follow the instructions.

Thanks again for creating this hack. I kow a lot of people will install it.

[tgmorris]

The files have been updated to allow the user to limit not only the number of threads but also the number of posts based on Thread Age Cutoff dates. The updated files (version 1.7) have also been verified to work with vb3 Gold.