End-User Options - Starred Posts

Overview:

This product is designed to give your users the ability to create/manage a list of starred/favorite posts so they can easily locate them in the future. Some users may have limited time when browsing your site, and wish to earmark posts to which they will want to reply later when they have more time. This product will allow them to tag these posts and easily find them later.

Upon installing the product a new table is added to your database to store the data pertaining to the user lists, and a new column is added to your user table to store the number of posts in each user's list.

Users with permission to use the system will see a star icon in the postbits just above the signature and to the far right that allows them to add the posts to their list. Once a post has been added, a checkmark appears next to the star icon to indicate that that post is already on their list, and if this is clicked the post is removed from the list. The icons have tooltips to indicate what will happen upon clicking them, as do all buttons and checkboxes used by the system.



In the search results and forum thread listings, an icon is shown to users to indicate which threads have posts in their starred list, and the icon has a tooltip indicates how many posts in the thread are in the user's starred list.



Under the "Quick Links" menu, users who have permission to use the system, will find a link titled "My Starred Posts" which will take them to a custom page which displays their starred posts and allow for posts to be removed. Each post has detailed information regarding the post, with links to the forum, thread and to the post itself. There are controls that allow the user to select posts for removal from the list, and to expand the post content so they can review the entire post(s) right there and to reply to the post with a quote. Post content can be expanded/collapsed one a per post basis, or all at once. Each postbit can be collapsed as well.



Users who have a limit imposed on the number of posts in their list will be shown additional information in the redirect messages that tell them how many additional posts they can add to their list. Once a user has added the maximum number of posts in their list, they will no longer see the star icon in the postbits with threads to add posts...they will only see the icon fro removing posts from their list.

In the product settings, you may select the usergroups that have permission to use the system, set a limit to the number of posts a user may have in their list, excempt usergroups from this limit, give limits based on usergroups, and set the persistence of user lists so that users who are inactive for longer than the number of days you have set will have their list removed from the database via a daily cron job. You may also set the maximum height of the elements containing the list of posts, and the post content within each list postbit.



This product is fully phrased, and stylevars are used so that the CSS for the custom page can be customized per style.

Updates:

Version 1.1:

• Added reply button.
• Online location processed.

Version 1.2:

• Fixed issue with postbit star icon not displaying.
• Added icon to threadbits to show users which threads haev posts in the starred list.

Version 1.3:

• Fixed Reply Button height inconsistency issue.
• Added StyleVar for position control of collapse button.
• Fixed issue causing PHP deprecation warning.
• Added support for displaying inline attached images in post content.
• Added support for BBCode For Username HTML Markup [v1.2.1].
• Added support for Abbreviations/Acronyms (MathJax Compatible) [v1.3].

Version 1.3.1:

• Fixed Thread/Post authors in postbits.

Version 1.4:

• Deleted posts removed from the lists of all users.
• Posts moved to areas where users do not have permission to view are removed from the lists of those users.
• User lists are updated when posts/threads are merged.
• Unapproved posts and posts within unapproved threads are removed from the lists of users who are not moderators of the forum in which the affected posts reside.
• Stylevar added for the margins of the postbit icon.

Version 1.5:

• Usernames escaped to avoid db errors.
• Postbit icon now appears at the lower right of the post content element when using legacy postbit, regardless of the post length.
• Postbit icon CSS moved to template.

Version 1.6:

• Added setting to allow for limits per usergroup.

Version 1.6.1:

• Guests shown no permission message if trying to access the external script.

Version 1.6.2:

• Users not part of the allowed usergroups shown no permission message if trying to access the external script.

Compatibility:

Tested and working on VB 4.2.x and may work on all 4.x versions of vBulletin.

Backup/Warning:

This product does alter your database, however it is always good practice to make regular backups and you should make a backup before installing ANY new mod.

As always, products are USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I will provide support and do my best to help but no absolute guarantee is offered.

To Install:

1. Download and extract the attached .zip file.
2. Upload the files from the "upload" folder to your root folder on your server.
3. Follow AdminCP -> Plugins & Products -> Manage Products -> Add/Import Product.
4. Click on "Choose File" and browse to the product .xml file that was packaged in the .zip file.
5. Click "Import."
6. You MUST enable the product in the settings before it will function.
7. Configure the remaining settings to your liking. Each setting has a detailed explanation of its use.

Special acknowledgement goes to the administrators of Christianity Haven for the general idea of this product and for their feedback and testing through all phases of development. :up:

Support for this product can be found here:

• MHB - Starred Posts
• TAZ - Starred Posts

[Snowhog]

Installed. A nice 'New Years' addition to our Forum. :up:

[Snowhog]

As written, this MOD allows selection of Usergroups who can use it, and to select Usergroups who are exempt from the limit. I would like it if I were able to have more control.

I'd like to be able to set limits 'by Usergroup'. Why? We implemented Paid Subscriptions several years back but don't have any incentives for them. This MOD, with that ability, would make a nice 'incentive', allowing us to establish higher limits based on the Paid Subscription level.

[MarkFL]

Originally Posted by Snowhog

As written, this MOD allows selection of Usergroups who can use it, and to select Usergroups who are exempt from the limit. I would like it if I were able to have more control.

I'd like to be able to set limits 'by Usergroup'. Why? We implemented Paid Subscriptions several years back but don't have any incentives for them. This MOD, with that ability, would make a nice 'incentive', allowing us to establish higher limits based on the Paid Subscription level.

I'll add that to my to-do list.

[MarkFL]

Update - Version 1.6:

• Added setting to allow for limits per usergroup.

[I.G.O.T.A.]

Installed on vB 4.2.3 Patch Level 2 and working correctly.

Very nice.

[Snowhog]

I would like very much to be able to 'tag' users so posts they make are automatically included in my Starred Posts. Can that be put on your wish list?

[MarkFL]

Originally Posted by Snowhog

I would like very much to be able to 'tag' users so posts they make are automatically included in my Starred Posts. Can that be put on your wish list?

That isn't really part of the intended purpose of this product, which is to be able to bookmark posts as you read them. You can already search for posts by username.

[Snowhog]

I do understand that, but I think you may understand my wish. Your MOD, as written, requires that you actually click on a post and then mark it as a Starred Post; you are already 'reading' it when you click on it.

I know that I, and others, would love to be able to tag users we want to track, and this MOD, if it were modified to do so, would be perfect for this. It would put posts made by those tagged users in to our Starred Posts. In my way of seeing things, this would be way more useful.

Just my 2-cent observation.

[Snowhog]

...DragonByte Tech's Thread / Post Bookmarking MOD. At least that MOD no longer works at here.

The button and icon (Thread / Post) are present, as well as the clickable entries for them in the user's Settings. But, while in a thread, clicking on either button does not result in the Thread and/or Post being added.

It's an assumption on my part that these two MODs are in conflict, with your's 'breaking' his. Can you confirm? For the moment I've disabled DB Tech's MOD.

[MarkFL]

I don't have that product installed, and I am swamped with other issues right now.