vB Easy Auction v1.1

vB Easy Auction v1.1
by yoyoyoyo

Don't let the length of this post fool you... this is actually very simple to setup... I just tend to get long-winded at times...

WHAT YOU NEED:

* vBulletin Software (for vBulletin integration - the perl files will work fine without vBulletin)
* Web server account that has CGI capabilities, and will allow you to run executable cgi files.
* Perl 5.6 or better installed on that web server. Contact your server administrator if you are unsure (most servers are running version 5.8.X, so this should not be a problem). If you do not have perl installed then read a little further below about perlsp.
* Access to either Sendmail, BLAT, or Sockets mail. No mail can be sent without at least ONE of the above. If you are using either BLAT or Sockets mail (NT users usually), you will also need access to an SMTP mail server. Contact your server administrator to find out if you do. Note: the SMTP mail server needs to allow the user to send mail without requiring them to log into the server.

OVERVIEW

This will add auctions to your site quickly and easily. Simply edit the auction.pl file and admin.pl files to reflect your server's filepaths, etc., and then upload the files to your server. Create a template and make a couple edits to your vbulletin files to allow navigation to your auctions and that is it! The core of the auction is based on a HEAVILY modified version of EveryAuction Release Version 1.53, and can be further edited or modified to suit your needs, as long as you follow the GNU public license.

SEE POST #1 OF THIS THREAD FOR INSTALL INFO, ETC.

If members of your site are interested in participating in the auctions then they need to register for them also, since this is not integrated with the vBulletin database for security reasons (since people put actual contact info, etc. in their auction registrations).

FEATURES

• a comprehensive, professional user interface that makes navigation simple
• auction classifieds or traditional auction settings
• configuration takes only a few minutes if perl is installed on your system
• colors and tables can be easily changed to match the look and feel of your system
• supports HTML front-ends
• unlimited categories and items
• category listing lists number of open items per category
• item listings list items, closing time, and current bid
• automated e-mail validation registration system keeps non-legitimate users out of your database
• system generated easy-to-remember (and user changeable) passwords sent to users via e-mail
• users must "sign" an agreement upon registration.
• optional non-registration mode allows fast posting or bidding by anyone
• users may update their contact information, password or Registration E-Mail.
• any registered user can post an item using the easy-to-use submission system
• images can be posted along with an item description and starting bid
• supports reserve prices which allow a seller to set a minimum sell price above the minimum bid
• seller determines minimum bid increment and length of the auction
• item preview before an item is actually posted
• each item is given a unique ID number and URL, so sellers can advertise their auctions in newsgroups or via a link
• item display lists bidding history and product information
• displays Closed items in a table with Radio Buttons for Selection
• bidding is easy with the minimum bid price displayed on the item page along with a quick bid form
• sellers can choose the ending time of an auction
• amount of time left in each auction is displayed in the listing
• outbid e-mails automatically sent by the system with a link back to the auction item
• sniper protection: auctions can close a configurable time after the last bid and the designated closing time, or the admin can choose to disable the sniper protection
• integrated search engine allows search by username or keyword
• users can view closed auction history and contact information depending on whether he/she is the buyer, seller, or losing bidder
• auction items may be deleted or updated by the system administrator using a password
• e-mail sent to both high-bidder and seller on auction close
• fast re-posting of items that were not sold
• data file construction allows experienced administrators to add, remove, or edit items or users by simply editing a plain text file
• everything is compressed into a single lightning-fast perl script
• advanced file locking system eliminates the risk of data corruption even during heavy bidding
• separate secure Admin Console
• pagebreaks in listings
• automatically updates the bids on the item display page
• seller can edit an auction if there are no bids.
• auto-prune of old inactive user data (admin specified length of time)
• prevents email registration from the same address more then once
• users must enter valid e-mail addresses when signing up for the auctions.
• enter e-mail addresses twice
• "e-mail auction to friend" option
• view all auctions option

LEGAL NOTICE

Version: vB Easy Auction 1.0
Last update: 07/20/2005

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the GNU General Public License for more details.

modifications and integration with vbulletin
released at vbulletin.org by yoyoyoyo
No additional rights reserved by the author

Matt Hahnfeld DBA EverySoft expressly emphasizes that
this program is *NOT* an official release version of
EveryAuction, and that this program is *NOT* sanctioned
or distributed by Matt Hahnfeld DBA EverySoft.

Dieter Werner expressly emphasizes that
this program is *NOT* an official release version of
eAuction, and that this program is *NOT* sanctioned
or distributed by Dieter Werner.

vB Easy Auction for vBulletin is not affiliated with eBay or jelsoft or any affiliated companies.

The author of this release agrees to these statements absolutely.

VERSION 1.1: Added the optional ability to allow users to create their own auction sites using the easy-auction ezauctgn.zip script.

PLEASE CLICK INSTALL IF YOU FIND THIS USEFUL!

[yoyoyoyo]

Originally Posted by icecube0045

I only added the template to 2 of my skins and I have 5. Could this be the problem?

add the template to all of your styles and see if that helps.. if it is not showing up then that is a good place to look. There is nothing magical about the auction.php page I wrote. It has the exact same elements as your index.php, aside from the templates that it calls.

[yoyoyoyo]

Originally Posted by icecube0045

Nope, I named it auction and I did name it "auction". DO you have aim or something we can speak faster over? I Pmed you my aim name.

You named the template "Auction" Change the name to "auction"

It has to be correct- vb is case sensitive. Change the name and I am sure you will see it appear on the auction.php page.

I don't do AIM, sorry.

[icecube0045]

OK, Ive got it in my forum now, Thanks. It's VERY long. How do I make it shorter and change the colors of it such as the background and font colors?

[yoyoyoyo]

Originally Posted by icecube0045

OK, Ive got it in my forum now, Thanks. It's VERY long. How do I make it shorter and change the colors of it such as the background and font colors?

I am very glad that you finally got it worked out! When installing modifications you really have to watch out for things like capitalization etc., because it will mess you up every time if you don't.

I mentioned the long page issue and how to change the look and feel a few times already in this thread, and if you read then you will find the answers to those questions earlier in the thread. Please re-read the information I have already provided, especially in the first post of this thread, and if you have any other questions then I will be happy to answer them. We have already had 3 pages devoted to your template issue so far, and not to be rude, but I do not see any point in answering the same questions over and over- it just tends to make a thread get out of hand. I am always happy to answer any questions that have not already been answered thoroughly or to your understanding.

Again- I am glad you got the template issue worked out and I hope that the auction is a benefit to your community.

[icecube0045]

Is it possible to make a auction skin for each skin on your page?

[yoyoyoyo]

Originally Posted by icecube0045

Is it possible to make a auction skin for each skin on your page?

Yes, but you must have one auction.pl file for each skin, and have each skin point to a different file. Edit each one (between the style tags) to be the same style as your vbulletin skin. You can rename the file with no problem. You can call it auction1.pl, auction2.pl, etc. (or you can name them vbulletindefault_auction.pl it doesn't matter as long as you keep track of which is which) and add different templates to each style, with each one pointing to the proper auction.pl file for that style. Just keep all of the auction.pl files in the same folder and they will all pull data from the same auction database. You must keep them in the same folder as each other, otherwise each style will have different auctions! Also be sure to edit the part of the config area that asks you to define the scripts name.

Great question! thanks for asking- I will add it to the main post.

[webslugger]

great mod! just what I have been waiting for! thanks for sharing!

It took less than 5 minutes to install (and I have never dealt with a perl script before) and now I have a full-featured auction in my forum! this is fantastic!

**clicks install**

[yoyoyoyo]

Originally Posted by icecube0045

How do I find out this information?

# YOU NEED EITHER A MAIL PROGRAM
# $config{'mailprog'} = '/usr/lib/sendmail -t';
#
# OR YOU NEED A MAIL HOST (SMTP)
# **CHANGE THIS TO SUIT YOUR SERVER**

$config{'mailhost'} = 'localhost';

thanks,
Johmel

Please quote code properly. Do not post code unless it is within code tags. This is to keep unlicensed users from using the codes. You have already posted the entire template without code tages and now part of the auction.pl file in public- please do not do that.

Try signing up for the auctions, and if you get mail sent to you then you do not need to change anything. If you do not get mail sent to you try changing it to

$config{'mailprog'} = '/usr/lib/sendmail -t';

and see if that works. If it doesn't then contact your server and ask them what you have for a mail host.

[yoyoyoyo]

Originally Posted by webslugger

great mod! just what I have been waiting for! thanks for sharing!

It took less than 5 minutes to install (and I have never dealt with a perl script before) and now I have a full-featured auction in my forum! this is fantastic!

**clicks install**

I am glad you like it, and I hope that the auction brings many people to your site. It's nice to hear from folks when they have easy installs, also- usually it is the opposite and you only hear from them when they have problems. When someone installs it with no difficulty then I feel I have succeeded.

[icecube0045]

I am sorry, I deleted the post with me putting info out from the files.

Dammit, when I changed the mail server to what you said, I got this error. Even though I change it back, I still get the same error. And yes I did Chmod it.

"Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@mywebsite.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. "