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DJ's Dynamic Tab Content for Postbit_Legacy · **Released**: 07-01-2008

**As with most template edits, this modification is not version specific and will work on any vBulletin for vB3. You can find the vB4 version here.**

Ever felt your postbit_legacy template was just too long? Or maybe you'd like to add more content to your postbit_legacy, but you don't like the cluttered look or extended length of the post, especially when most posts are only a handful of sentences? Almost every decent modification here on vB.org has the option to add a link or a display to your postbit templates, and you've likely struggled, as I have, to come up with just the info you want to display, likely excluding things you thought would look real nice, but just couldn't justify the room for.

Now I've seen several good modifications that address this problem, and all of them are pretty nice. I've seen everything from a drop-down menu that displays the content, to a box that can be opened and closed just underneath the avatar. All of them are practical in their own way, and here's one more way that I worked out using a script from Dynamic Drive's website called Tab Content Script. This cleaned up my postbit_legacy just the way I wanted, and let me add even more content then I would have originally intended. It also allowed me to organize content in whatever manner I wished. I love it and I think you will too.

Screenshots

Live Demo
Click any of the grey dots beneath the user's avatars.

Difficulty: Intermediate
A few things you should know before moving forward. The instructions for this mod are not your standard template modification instructions. It's going to presume that you've edited your postbit_legacy template before and that you're somewhat familiar with its content, with HTML and how to wrap <if condition=""> conditionals. So it's not going to be a "look for this line of code, add this under it" kind of traditional tutorial. What I'm going to do is show you the basic code, how to implement it and then let you do with it what you want. That is, after all, the reason I came up with mod in first place, and I know everyone wont have the same postbit content and/or will want to set theirs up differently.

With that said, knowledge of how to modify your templates and basic HTML coding is something every vBulletin administrator should have. I'm not a coder. I'm a complete hack. But I know enough to take some of the wealth of code snippets available on the web and attempt to use them in new and inventive ways. Administrating a vB forum is that much more satisfying as a result.

Installation
To add this to your forum requires you to upload some files, make one edit to your headinclude template and one to your postbit_legacy template. If you don't know what postbit_legacy does, it's the template that controls the look of your posts when you've chosen to have avatars and user information appear to the left hand side of your posts. If you don't use that look for your forum, but instead use the one where avatars appear above your posts, then that means you use the postbit template, and this modification wasn't designed to look right on that template. (Though we have had a few users give it a try.)

Step 1.
First things first. After downloading the Dynamic Tab Content for Postbit_Legacy.zip file, extract the contents and upload the postbit_tabs folder in your forum's root directory (Your forum root is the folder you have physically installed vBulletin in, which means that for some folks, this isn't the same thing as your site root.)

Step 2.
Right click and download this JavaScript file from the Dynamic Drive website: tabcontent.js (You can also download it from this page.) Upload it to the postbit_tabs folder you just added to your website.

Step 3.
Now to edit your headinclude template. Go to Admin CP >>> Styles & Templates >>> Style Manager >>> <<>> >>> headinclude.

Add the following block of code to the very bottom. Remember to keep the copyright intact for legal use.

Code:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="$vboptions[bburl]/postbit_tabs/tabcontent.css" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="$vboptions[bburl]/postbit_tabs/tabcontent.js">
/***********************************************
* Tab Content script v2.2- ? Dynamic Drive DHTML code library (www.dynamicdrive.com)
* This notice MUST stay intact for legal use
* Visit Dynamic Drive at http://www.dynamicdrive.com/ for full source code
***********************************************/
</script>

Step 4.
Now to access your postbit_legacy template, go to Admin CP >>> Styles & Templates >>> Style Manager >>> <<>> >>> Postbit Templates >>> postbit_legacy.

From here, your going to add a basic set of code from which you can then customize it. You can pretty much add it anywhere in the template, but most likely your going to want to add it just below the avatar. If that's the case, your avatar code is most likely going to look something like this:

PHP Code:


			
<if condition="$show['avatar']">

    <div class="smallfont">

     &nbsp;<br /><a href="member.php?$session[sessionurl]u=$post[userid]"><img src="$post[avatarurl]" $post[avwidth] $post[avheight] alt="<phrase 1="$post[username]">$vbphrase[xs_avatar]</phrase>" border="0" /></a>

    </div>

   </if>

Below that add this basic set of code. This block of code will be your physical tab content.

PHP Code:


			
<!-- BEGIN POSTBIT TABS -->

<div id="postbittabs$post[postid]" class="djdot">

 

<ul>

<li><span title="View Tab 1"><a href="#" rel="tab1$post[postid]" id="selected$post[postid]">&nbsp;</a></span></li>

<li><span title="View Tab 2"><a href="#" rel="tab2$post[postid]">&nbsp;</a></span></li>

<li><span title="View Tab 3"><a href="#" rel="tab3$post[postid]">&nbsp;</a></span></li>

<li><span title="View Tab 4"><a href="#" rel="tab4$post[postid]">&nbsp;</a></span></li>

<li><span title="View Tab 5"><a href="#" rel="tab5$post[postid]">&nbsp;</a></span></li>

</ul>

 

<br style="clear: left" />

 

</div>

 

<div class="smallfont">

 

<!--TAB 1 CONTENT -->

<div id="tab1$post[postid]" class="tabcontent">

 

<div class="info">Tab 1 Content:Block A</div>

<div class="info">Tab 1 Content:Block B</div>

<div class="info">Tab 1 Content:Block C</div>

 

</div>

 

<!-- TAB 2 CONTENT -->

<div id="tab2$post[postid]" class="tabcontent">

 

<div class="info">Tab 2 Content:Block A</div>

<div class="info">Tab 2 Content:Block B</div>

<div class="info">Tab 2 Content:Block C</div>

<div class="info">Tab 2 Content:Block D</div>

 

</div>

 

<!-- TAB 3 CONTENT -->

<div id="tab3$post[postid]" class="tabcontent">

 

<div class="info">Tab 3 Content:Block A</div>

<div class="info">Tab 3 Content:Block B</div>

<div class="info">Tab 3 Content:Block C</div>

<div class="info">Tab 3 Content:Block D</div>

<div class="info">Tab 3 Content:Block E</div>

<div class="info">Tab 3 Content:Block F</div>

 

</div>

 

<!-- TAB 4 CONTENT -->

<div id="tab4$post[postid]" class="tabcontent">

 

<div class="info">Tab 4 Content:Block A</div>

<div class="info">Tab 4 Content:Block B</div>

<div class="info">Tab 4 Content:Block C</div>

 

</div>

 

<!-- TAB 5 CONTENT -->

<div id="tab5$post[postid]" class="tabcontent">

 

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block A</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block B</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block C</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block D</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block E</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block F</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block G</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block H</div>

<div class="info">Tab 5 Content:Block I</div>

 

</div>

 

</div>

 

 

<script type="text/javascript">

var mytabs=new ddtabcontent("postbittabs$post[postid]")

mytabs.setpersist(false)

mytabs.setselectedClassTarget("link")

mytabs.init()

</script>

 

<!-- END POSTBIT TABS -->

Now go to your forum and see if your tabs are displaying properly and your not getting any errors. You should have five dot tabs that display five different sets of information when clicked.

Final Steps
Now comes the hard part. Now you have to decide what you want to put in those places called Tab 1 Content:Block A, etc. This is where knowledge of your postbit_legacy template comes into play. Your now going to move whatever content you want in the respective tabs from their current location into the tabs. This is entirely up to you, but you can use my forum as a starting point. The following posts also have some tips to help you along the way.

Post 2 has a Basic Breakdown of what the tabs do, a tutorial on how to add more tabs, default snippets of code that you can move into the tabs containers as well some snippets from common hacks.

Post 3 has some links to other sites that have implemented this hack to give you an idea of what can be done with it. And it has some additional images to use in place of the default dots.

Post 5 has Frequently Asked Questions for most problems you would encounter.

Known Bugs
There is one minor issue with the tabs that only occurs when using the AJAX quick reply and inline editing. Actually it's two issues, but I've only seen one or the other on my live site vs. my demo board. In one instance, the entire content of all your tabs displays all at once when posting/editing using AJAX. This is not a huge deal, as the only person who sees it do that is the person doing the posting/editing. And it will return to normal anytime he reloads or refreshes the page. The other instance is when after posting/editing through AJAX, no tab content appears, except the dot tabs. This is also not a huge deal as the same thing will happen here too; only the poster sees it and it will look normal anytime he returns or reloads the page. I think it's a minor trade off for the sleek look it gives your forum the rest of the time.

Upgrade Instructions
For those using the 1.00 version of this modification, please see this post for upgrade instructions.

PoetJA-1975 · #92 07-27-2008, 11:48 PM

ha! I don't know what the hell I'd think if I got the Wanker of the Week award LOL
It's nice actually and makes for a better Community experience I'm sure
I've thought about installing the Topic of the Week/Month modification on JPiC actually - And seeing how well a similar thing has worked on your Forum has definitely impressed me

Jacquii.

TimberFloorAu · #93 07-28-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoetJA-1975

ha! I don't know what the hell I'd think if I got the Wanker of the Week award LOL
It's nice actually and makes for a better Community experience I'm sure
I've thought about installing the Topic of the Week/Month modification on JPiC actually - And seeing how well a similar thing has worked on your Forum has definitely impressed me

Jacquii.

Appreciate your feedback, thanks

The TOTW mod is great, albeit there are still some buggy issues, but nothing to get concerned over.

The coder is a dream to work with, and a more helpful guy you couldnt wish for.

Its certainly very popular amongst our members.

My take is to get people involved with the community spirit, everything else should then hopefully slot into place.

Ste

Chadi · #94 07-29-2008, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ljusya

I have problems with members logging out too
I solved it!!!
in postbit disable function mytabs.setpersist set is mytabs.setpersist(false)

So, are you saying you changed it to false or to *set* it to false? I can't tell if the original OP's post was edited to show this change.

Digital Jedi · #95 07-29-2008, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimberFloorAu

Gday mate.

Our users currently browse with:

IE
IE7
FF
FF2
FF2
Safari

Are these the users that were specifically having the login problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadi

So, are you saying you changed it to false or to *set* it to false? I can't tell if the original OP's post was edited to show this change.

I haven't yet changed it. It's currently set to true, which is intended to remember the last tab clicked on during the same browser session. It's not an all important function and I'm sure most can do without it. I'm don't see why that would have any affect on login, but I'm testing it on my forum to see if anyone reports any differences before making any edits.

RedTrinity · #96 07-29-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadi

So, are you saying you changed it to false or to *set* it to false? I can't tell if the original OP's post was edited to show this change.

I didn't understand these instructions either. It would be great if they could be provided more clearly, as I know our forum is having the logging out issue as well whilst this script is implemented.

Cheers

K4GAP · #97 07-29-2008, 12:55 PM

I'm not going to bother making excuses for my inability to fill in all the last parts. Is there a filled out example with most of the commonly used links that I can just copy? Everything else is installed and the dots are showing they just don't have anything linked to them.

Digital Jedi · #98 07-29-2008, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GamerGirl27

I didn't understand these instructions either. It would be great if they could be provided more clearly, as I know our forum is having the logging out issue as well whilst this script is implemented.

Cheers

Just look for this line:

Code:

 
mytabs.setpersist(true)

Change true to false and then see if your users stop having their login issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryT

I'm not going to bother making excuses for my inability to fill in all the last parts. Is there a filled out example with most of the commonly used links that I can just copy? Everything else is installed and the dots are showing they just don't have anything linked to them.

It's really going to depend on what modifications your forum uses. Not everyone uses the same hacks, and everyone's Custom Profile Fields will have different ID numbers, so even a "common" example might have lines of code that you'd have to remove, which would basically mean you'd have to learn the same requirements, only backwards.

It's not really that bad once you wrap your head around it, and I'd recommend taking a look at the default examples I gave in Post 2 and try a couple of sets on your own. I've commented each section in the postbit code so you could find each tab easily, and after that it's just a matter of pasting the examples in the tabs you want them in.

OcR Envy · #99 07-29-2008, 03:49 PM

Upon doing some xhtml validating today your code came back errored. The issue is with the ids on divs. You can not have an id or class starting with a number. A simple change to place the post number at the end and a javascript edit and it was valid.

id="$post[postid]postbittabs
changes too
id="postbittabs$post[postid]

and

var mytabs=new ddtabcontent("$post[postid]postbittabs")
to
var mytabs=new ddtabcontent("postbittabs$post[postid]")

Digital Jedi · #**100** 07-29-2008, 07:20 PM

Thank you OcR. I always planned to include instructions on how to make the code XHTML valid for those interested on the next update. The first launch was just to simplify it to most users.

K4GAP · #**101** 07-29-2008, 08:24 PM

Would it be out of place for me to ask if someone could fill in the final link section of this mod for me. I have it installed and the dots are showing, I just don't have them linked. I would be willing to pay for the service. Or, give credit with a link back. I am just sooo lost when it comes to code and as simple as it appears to be, I'm totally lost. All I want is for the links to point to on site regular stuff, nothing elaborate.

Admin: Forgive me if this type post is forbidden, if so let me know.

My site: Public Warriors

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