Forum Display Enhancements - Filter Threads By Post Icon

The 3.5.x version of this hack can be found here.

This hack allows you to click on a post icon, and it will show only the threads with this particular post icon. Once this happens an unfilter button will appear, allowing the user to once again view all threads.

As for WHY someone would want this, here's an answer to that question:

Some forums use the forum icons to convey if a thread has been sufficiently answered or not, or to convey some other meaning. If a poster wants to look for unanswered threads, they could sort by the icon used for the thread.

Think of this as a poor man's thread prefix hack

# of php page edits: 1
# of template edits: 2

Should take less than 5 min to install.

Don't forget to hit INSTALL!

------------------
9-27-06: updated version number, clarified instructions, no actual code change

[SBlueman]

Originally Posted by noonespecial

PHP Code:

$icons = $vbulletin->db->query_read_slave("
        SELECT iconid, iconpath, title, imagecategoryid
        FROM " . TABLE_PREFIX . "icon AS icon
        WHERE imagecategoryid NOT IN (0$badcategories)
        ORDER BY title
    ");

    if (!$vbulletin->db->num_rows($icons))
    {
        return false;
    }

$show['posticons'] = false;

    while ($icon = $vbulletin->db->fetch_array($icons))
    {
    $show['posticons'] = true;
    eval('$posticonbits .="' . fetch_template('topicbits') . '";');        
    } 


That's how I did it with a plugin on forumdisplay_start

Also, how would I implement this? I am not understanding the instructions.

[Strike3ForumsMH]

If a fix could be found for later versions of 3.6x, I too would be very appreciative.

- Reid

[Strike3ForumsMH]

Actually, I got this to work on 3.68. After trying to rework everything and then going to upload, I saw that I simply missed a small file edit in the instructions. D'oh.

Thanks for the cool hack.

- Reid

[Strike3ForumsMH]

Originally Posted by PhinisheDTom

Simple, easy to implement, and it works exactly as advertised. Thanks for your efforts! The only problem, though, is that most of my users keep up with recent activity by using "/search.php?do=getnew", and the hack doesn't work on the search results page. Any ideas about how the search PHP code and template can be modified to allow the threadbit part of the hack to filter search results by post icon?

-Tom

Yeah, I would second this as well. It's really about the only thing wrong with the hack. Does anyone have a fix?

- Reid

[Seiyaboy]

Although people claim it doesn't work for 3.6.7PL1 and up, it works just fine for my vbulletin 3.6.10 forum. Thanks again for this wonderful mod.

[trigatch4]

How about 3.7.X? Wired1... you still around?

[canntoon]

Yeah I'm running 3.7.2 and I would really love to have this working. Are there even any similar alternatives at all? Seems like a common need for forums that nobody else has solved.

[Manhand]

Any update on this please? Would love this for 3.7

[srh]

I could really use this for ver. 3.7.x

Any alternatives?

[boggseric]

This pretty much works in 3.84 PL2. The only part that doesn't work is the unfilter link never shows up. Otherwise this filters the threads just like it is supposed to.


Once I figure out how to get that to work properly I will post the fix. For now you can do this:

On the last step of the instructions it says..

vB AdminCP -> Styles & Templates -> Style Manager -> (Select Style) -> Forum Display Templates -> FORUMDISPLAY

NOTE: there are 2 <if condition="$show['threadicons']"> lines. The 2nd one (that is preceded by <tr>) is the one to replace.


FIND:

<tr>
	<if condition="$show['threadicons']">
		<td class="thead" colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
	<else />
		<td class="thead">&nbsp;</td>
	</if>


REPLACE with:

<tr>
	<if condition="$show['threadicons']">
		<if condition="$picon">
		        <td class="thead" colspan="2"><a href="$noiconurl">Unfilter</a></td>
		<else />
			<td class="thead" colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
		</if>
	<else />
		<td class="thead">&nbsp;</td>
	</if>

I simply changed it to this which ALWAYS displays the unfilter link (which just refreshes the page if they haven't filtered):

	<if condition="$show['threadicons']">
		<if condition="$picon">
		        <td class="thead" colspan="2"><a href="$noiconurl">Unfilter</a></td>
		<else />
			<td class="thead" colspan="2"><a href="$noiconurl">Unfilter</a>&nbsp;</td>
		</if>
	<else />
		<td class="thead">&nbsp;</td>
	</if>

Also note, on that last part of the instructions it mentions <tr>, those weren't in my template so I left that out.