Arrange Sub-Forums in columns

Better alternatives to this hack:

3.6 plugin version by Cybernetec with more options:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=122996

3.5 plugin version by Atakan KOC: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=118935

CSS/templates version by hpwilhelm:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=91299

Ported from 3.0.x.

What it does
This hack arranges sub-forums on the forum home into 2 columns, makeing large lists of sub-forums more presentable. You can see the before/after in the screenshots attached

Note:
1. You need to enable sub-forum display on the forum home from your vB admin panel
2. This hack is for the forum home page, not forum display.

To enable sub-forums on the forum home page
1. Go to your forum Admin panel
2. Click vBulletin Options
3. Select "Forum Listings Display Options" from the drop down list
4. In "Depth of Sub-Forums" replace 0 with 1

Installation
To install, edit the file includes/functions_forumlist.php

1. Find (there are two slightly different lines, differing by a space, the one in question is around line 552)

PHP Code:

    if (!isset($vbulletin->iforumcache["$parentid"]))
    {
        return $output;
    } 


Place this code below it:

PHP Code:

 $output .= "<table width=\"100%\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"center\" ><tr valign=\"top\"> ";
      $cols = 0; 


2. Find

PHP Code:

            if (!empty($output))
            {
                $subforum = $splitter["$canpost"] . $subforum;
            }
            if ($depth < $vbulletin->options['subforumdepth'])
            {
                $output .= construct_subforum_bit($forumid, $cancontainthreads, $subforum, $depthmark . '--', $depth + 1);
            }
        }
    }

    return $output;

} 


Replace with

PHP Code:

                        //sub-forum hack
            if ($depth < $vbulletin->options['subforumdepth'])
                        {
                                $cols++;
                                if ($cols==3)
                                        {
                                        $cols = 1;
                                        $output .=  "</tr><tr>";
                                        }

                        $output .= '<td width="50%">' . construct_subforum_bit($forumid, $cancontainthreads, $subforum, $depthmark . '--', $depth + 1) . "</td>";
                        }
        }
    }

        if ($cols ==1) $output.="<td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table>";
    else $output.="</tr></table>";

        return $output;

}
//end hack 


Template modification (optional)
As this hack will list the sub-forums in a table, the font used is not effected by the <div> tag for subforums, which will cause the default font to be used instead of smallfont.

To use smallfont for sub-forum names, edit the "forumhome_subforumbit_post"

Change (this is the whole template)

 <img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_statusicon]/subforum_$forum[statusicon].gif" alt="" /> <a href="forumdisplay.php?$session[sessionurl]f=$forum[forumid]">$forum[title]</a>

To:

 <img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_statusicon]/subforum_$forum[statusicon].gif" alt="" /> <a href="forumdisplay.php?$session[sessionurl]f=$forum[forumid]"><span class="smallfont">$forum[title]</span></a>

And for those who want to edit or remove the "Sub-forum" word, just remove (or edit, if you just want to change it) "<strong>$vbphrase[subforums]</strong>:" from the "forumhome_forumbit_level2_post" template.

handling of sub-forums.

[rb290]

ummmm how do you even use sub forums ?
a hack for it anywhere for 3.5 ?

[tamarian]

Originally Posted by rb290

ummmm how do you even use sub forums ?
a hack for it anywhere for 3.5 ?

It's a standard feature of vBulletin. When you create a forum, and choose another forum as parent, it becomes a sub-forum.

[davidw]

That was one of the many features of vbulletin that made me want to purchase it. I use subforums extensively.

[pelican]

what's the difference between this and this -> ( https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=91299 )

[tamarian]

Originally Posted by pelican

what's the difference between this and this -> ( https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=91299 )

One uses templates, and one uses code. You'll be fine with either one.

[rb290]

Originally Posted by tamarian

It's a standard feature of vBulletin. When you create a forum, and choose another forum as parent, it becomes a sub-forum.

ya i know how to create sub forums but how do you make it appear on the forums homepage like that up there

[rb290]

nevermind I didnt read a section up there

[shadowdancer36]

I can't get this hack to work..., I feel like an idiot. I followed the directions closely and it seems like the edit to the functions_forumlist.php file causes my site to come up blank.

I see you mention that it COULD be two instances of that code, but I only found one. Is it suppposed to be two?

[tamarian]

Originally Posted by shadowdancer36

I can't get this hack to work..., I feel like an idiot. I followed the directions closely and it seems like the edit to the functions_forumlist.php file causes my site to come up blank.

I see you mention that it COULD be two instances of that code, but I only found one. Is it suppposed to be two?

It's one instance, but there's another close match that tend to confuse people. For this reason I changed the instruction by listing 3 lines block to look for, instead of one line.

[newfun]

How to move this text: Sub-Forums: out?