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 Nam

Thanks Andrew, for helping me with the questions.

I like the Jukebox idea, I don't mind letting people to download as long as the files' location are hidden, which they are.

But I still can't get jukebox to work, when clicking on audio files such as mp3, wma, I'd like the embeded window media in the browser instead of open windown media in window like it is right now (clicking on the link will pop up a embemded window media would be fine too). I'm not sure if LDM already had it and I didn't know how to make it work or it doesn't work that way, if you can give some more clarification that'd be great.

1- You have to set some filetypes via LDM->Admin->Settings->musicbox_filetypes and/or LDM->Admin->Settings->musicbox_filetypes_realplayer. These filetypes must have mimetypes set using the main VB/Admin/Attachments/Extensions and Sizes page (e.g. mp3: Content-type: audio/mpeg)
2- You have to upload the filetype icons that I supply in the release/icon directory, and point LDM->Admin->Settings->file_icons_dir at where you have put those icons
3- You have to authorise some usergroups to use the Jukebox with LDM->Admin->Settings->can_play_musicbox
4- The Jukebox only works on Windows machines. The RealPlayer part has one or two problems with files that are held on someone else's site, e.g. when using cURL rather than allow_url_fopen

When you do all these, the linkbit displays will include an icon just to the left of the main link. When you click that icon, it will launch the embedded jukebox.

If you still have problems, send me a PM with details of your board and an admin account, and I'll take a look.

[nexus851]

problems viewing .SWF and wmv files...

in the Entry after i uploaded the .SWF or .WMV files, there is 2 links.. 1 link is the ICON link and the other is next to it, which is the wording link.. It seems that only ONE of the 2 links will play the file correctly.. My users probably might get confused to which link to use to play the file correctly, is there a way to fix this problem where it'll detect which player will play the file correctly and just use that?????

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by nexus851

problems viewing .SWF and wmv files...

in the Entry after i uploaded the .SWF or .WMV files, there is 2 links.. 1 link is the ICON link and the other is next to it, which is the wording link.. It seems that only ONE of the 2 links will play the file correctly.. My users probably might get confused to which link to use to play the file correctly, is there a way to fix this problem where it'll detect which player will play the file correctly and just use that?????

I've just tested this with a WMV file and things seem to work ok.

I assume that you have done the following:
a) set up a correct mimetype for wmvs in the main VBulletin attachments table (e.g. wmv - Content-type: video/x-ms-wmv)
b) told LDM that wmv files can be played through the internal jukebox (LDM admin, musicbox_filetypes)

The wording link triggers a normal download, so should fire up a stand-alone Windows Media Player.

The icon link triggers the internal Jukebox, which should launch an embedded Windows Media

Any further information on the problem?

[nexus851]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

I've just tested this with a WMV file and things seem to work ok.

I assume that you have done the following:
a) set up a correct mimetype for wmvs in the main VBulletin attachments table (e.g. wmv - Content-type: video/x-ms-wmv)
b) told LDM that wmv files can be played through the internal jukebox (LDM admin, musicbox_filetypes)

The wording link triggers a normal download, so should fire up a stand-alone Windows Media Player.

The icon link triggers the internal Jukebox, which should launch an embedded Windows Media

Any further information on the problem?

ah i see, i forgot to set the mime types for the video files...

so may i ask what are the mime types for:

SWF
ASF
WMV
MOV

and every other video file extension in existence or at least common so i can set it in the attachement menu ... =)

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by nexus851

ah i see, i forgot to set the mime types for the video files...

so may i ask what are the mime types for:

SWF
ASF
WMV
MOV

and every other video file extension in existence or at least common so i can set it in the attachement menu ... =)

You can find these on the internet, e.g. http://www.livezone.com/supportzone/mimetypes.shtml

I gave you the info for wmv's - Content-type: video/x-ms-wmv

[Nam]

Andrew, everything worked perfectly as you told. I'm really appreciate your time to show step-by-step like that. It doesn't get any better with great hack and great support. I just wish that the title link work the same as icon, and there is another link say "download" for clarification's sake. But the majority of people won't need it and it's really a big deal to me. In the future if you consider to add an option in admin that allow to download or not, if no download allowed LDM will be streaming only, it would be great.

One more thing on the download limitation, which you will release in the future.

1. I wonder how it work if I set limit of say, 20 mb a day, and there are 2 files that are 15mb and 15mb, would LDM allow a user to download the first one and not the second one since it's over limit? And what if the user try to open 2 windows at the same time?

2. Is it possible to allow only one download connection per user? That woud make bandwidth limitation easier for you, I guess for number 1 question.

3. Is it possible to limit number of files to download and NOT the bandwidth? Say if there is dedicated music site only, where most music files are 3, 4 mb, it would be better to limit like 5 downloads a day instead of 20mb total in bandwidth.

4. Lastly, just wondering if it's possible to make this limit bandwidth apply not for the whole but just category only.

I hope I'm not asking too many . I know you probably haven't had time to code it yet, but those are suggetions/questions only, in no way I want these and if I do it's not in one release. I just brainstorming some ideas here in case I forget so take anything you like .

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Nam

Andrew, everything worked perfectly as you told. I'm really appreciate your time to show step-by-step like that. It doesn't get any better with great hack and great support. I just wish that the title link work the same as icon, and there is another link say "download" for clarification's sake. But the majority of people won't need it and it's really a big deal to me. In the future if you consider to add an option in admin that allow to download or not, if no download allowed LDM will be streaming only, it would be great.

Thanks - I'll take these ideas into account.

Originally Posted by Nam

One more thing on the download limitation, which you will release in the future.

1. I wonder how it work if I set limit of say, 20 mb a day, and there are 2 files that are 15mb and 15mb, would LDM allow a user to download the first one and not the second one since it's over limit? And what if the user try to open 2 windows at the same time?

2. Is it possible to allow only one download connection per user? That woud make bandwidth limitation easier for you, I guess for number 1 question.

3. Is it possible to limit number of files to download and NOT the bandwidth? Say if there is dedicated music site only, where most music files are 3, 4 mb, it would be better to limit like 5 downloads a day instead of 20mb total in bandwidth.

4. Lastly, just wondering if it's possible to make this limit bandwidth apply not for the whole but just category only.

I hope I'm not asking too many . I know you probably haven't had time to code it yet, but those are suggetions/questions only, in no way I want these and if I do it's not in one release. I just brainstorming some ideas here in case I forget so take anything you like .

I started on this last night, and your suggestions are very helpful.

1) I think the right solution is to allow the user to download until she has exceeded the limit, rather than stopping before the access starts. Also, sometimes one doesn't know the size of the download until it actually takes place.

3) This is a good idea and easy to implement

4) It will be difficult to apply different bandwidth limits per usergroup and per category. One solution might be to have a per-category flag to indicate whether limits apply to the category or not, but a global limits set per-usergroup on actual limits for restricted categories.

[Nam]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

1) I think the right solution is to allow the user to download until she has exceeded the limit, rather than stopping before the access starts. Also, sometimes one doesn't know the size of the download until it actually takes place.

I'm not programer , so if LDM doesn't know the size of file until it completed, what would happen? Say File1, 2 and 3 each has 100MB and my limit is set to 150MB, then?

1. User download file1, after complete, he still has 50MB of bandwidth left, so he continue to download file2, in which if he complete, he would be over the limit 50MB, but since LDM doesn't know, he's allowed to download that file2, then on file3 he can't get it because he already got 200MB, am I correct? If so, I can live with that .

But like I asked before, what if he open all 3 browsers for file1, file 2 and file 3 and download them simutaniously, then he can download all those 3 files since LDM doesn't know the file size yet, this case he over limit a lot more, if my examples are more than 100MB>

2. It's possible to make a small window or somewhere in the corner saying: "You have ???MB of quota/bandwidth left", just for user to keep track of his downloading.

3. Real quick question, how do I change the embeded media window size to 320x240 for wmv files? I tried using admin mime setting and it doesn't work.

[Nam]

Originally Posted by Nam

I just wish that the title link work the same as icon, and there is another link say "download" for clarification's sake. But the majority of people won't need it and it's really a big deal to me. In the future if you consider to add an option in admin that allow to download or not, if no download allowed LDM will be streaming only, it would be great.

After play with LDM for 2 more hours let me quote my own quote and say that this feature is already on the LDM, all I need is to set permission to NOT access link to all group but allow play_music_box. Doing this only the icon is available to play but the title link is not highlight.

But there is a little weird though, there are two download links in the pop-up embeded browser. The first one link to the file and the second one like to site/forums/local_links.php. I'm not sure if Andrew try to say "Home" or what, but I think it's better to remove that download link. Include is the screenshot.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Slave

hmm .. difficult one then

Any chance of a on/off type setting for the 2 ways of doing it? either shows as new or not.

or .. have an updated timestamp column in the db table, so you can show both when a link was first added and the last time it was updated .. therefore allowing you to have an "updated" flag against a link. You could then have a setting to allow you to show these links as new or not on both the links page, as well as the cpms module.

You could also have a couple of settings to choose which colour to show these flags .. ie .. have the "new" text show as red .. and the "updated" text show as yellow (as an example)

Just an idea

Slave, I realise that the edited link (and its category) will be highlighted as new if you change the time stamp to 'now' when you edit. I will add a check box next to the time stamp to make it easy to select 'now'