Default Posting Font

This is a very simple hack. In fact it's almost embarrassing to call it a hack.

In a nutshell, this gives your members the ability to select a font face in which all of their messages will appear. This includes not only new messages after they select the font, but also any of their old messages, too, because the font they select is applied to their messages in the postbit template at the time they are viewed.

Installing involves creating a new custom profile field and a modification to the postbit and/or postbit_legacy template(s).

NOTE: If anyone would like to show me how to auto-populate the font selection list with the currently installed fonts, I'd be glad for the tutorial. (As it is now, you have to copy the list of fonts from the style editor into the custom profile field, which works but is not elegant.)

[Snake]

I can't say that's possible but it's a good idea.

[The Wise One]

i sent him what i did for the color. if he doesnt post it by monday morning (1030 am eastern) then ill put up my color mod addition.

[The Wise One]

this is what i did to get the color options. the file is attached.

*Note: this is an add on to the original mod. all i did was replicate the instructions from the original mod and modified where appropriate.

[JJR512]

Originally Posted by NuclioN

I wonder if it is possible to post with fonts that are on the server and not on a member's computer, so it doesn't matter what they choose.

Not really. The problem is that different platforms (Windows, Macintosh, Linux, etc.) have their own sets of fonts. The other part of the problem is that the website tells the member's internet browser what font to use, so the font has to be on the member's computer.

From the point of view of your question, the only way to guarantee font compatibility would be to make each of the fonts that are optional on your message board be downloadable from your site. However, you then have to deal with legal and licensing issues, as they are not all free. My preferred font, for example, is Palatino Linotype, which is part of the standard font options available in vBulletin. This font is copyright Microsoft and has been included with Windows since either ME or 2000. I don't think you can legally distribute it.

[akanevsky]

In this list of yours, there shouldn't be any fonts that are not universal and that cannot be found on some of the computers out there...

[JJR512]

Originally Posted by Dark Visor

In this list of yours, there shouldn't be any fonts that are not universal and that cannot be found on some of the computers out there...

I understand that. But please remember that this list is not "mine"; rather, it is the list provided by vBulletin itself. My instructions say to copy the list of fonts from the style settings. This is the list of fonts that a user can select from the message editor when posting a message.

Anyone installing this hack is free to modify the list of fonts available to the user to select in his/her usercp. You can remove some names, you can add other names. Just remember that there are very few truly universal fonts, and not everything in the list may be available to everyone. But that same warning applies to the fonts you have available to users to select from the message editor when they're composing a message. If there's a font you don't want to be available to be in a post, you should remove that font name from your style settings; therefore, when you copy that list into this hack, that font won't be available there, either.

[Snake]

Any update on this one so far?

[akanevsky]

it is the list provided by vBulletin itself.

Oh.. Sorry.
[high]* akanevsky goes to file a complaint with Jelsoft [/high]

[JJR512]

Originally Posted by Aftermath

Any update on this one so far?

If you're referring to the colors request, see post #23 above.

[JJR512]

Originally Posted by Dark Visor

Oh.. Sorry.
[high]* Dark Visor goes to file a complaint with Jelsoft [/high]

...On the other hand, if you can show me how to get the font selection list part of my hack to automatically polulate with the same list of installed fonts for the style, I'd be very interested to see that. This way, when installing the hack, one wouldn't have to copy the list, one would only have to install the hack. Also if the font list was ever changed, the font selection list part of the hack would also change, too. As it is now, if you remove fonts or add fonts to the board itself, you'd have to make those same changes to the settings for the custom profile field.