Integration with vBulletin - vHoist : Garage / Car Showroom

About:

vHoist is a new Virtual Garage plugin that allows your users to share the rides with the rest of your forum!

Our plugin fully integrates into your forum software providing seamless integration without the limits of other plugins with similar features, such as extra SQL querys added to your site.


vHoist Has:

- Multiple Garages for each user

- No Added SQL Query's

- Users Cars listed under their post info

- Full seamless integration into your forum

- Users can share their garages over multiple websites without the need to modify their profiles for each site.

- Anyone that "parks" their car on your website, will provide a backlink to your site for every other site they are on.

- Unlimited Pictures and Rides

- Many new features coming weekly! Facebook plugin, phpbb plugin both in development.

- Will be supporting MOTORCYCLES, ATV's, Boats and much much more!

Sites that are already using vHoist.com:

http://www.GenerationDub.com
http://psaclub.net/forums.php

Install Instructions

1) Download the zip file.

2) Upload vHoist.php into the root directory of your website.

3) Install the product "product_vhoist.xml" (Allow overwrite if you're upgrading) into vBulletin.
[ Plugins & Products ] -> [ Manage Products ] -> Add/Import Product.

4) Visit www.vHoist.com and Register an account. *COMPLETELY FREE*

5) Once logged in, click "Downloads", and redownload the zip file to enable the administration panel. REFRESH this page after download.

6) Add your website to vHoist.com by using the "Site Adminstrator" menu to the left, located under your Member Garage.
* Your site will not be added to vHoist.com until you upload vHoist.php and correctly add your URL to our database.

7) Save the information and Paste the passkey Generated by vHoist.com into your vBulletin vHoist settings.

[ vBulletin Options ] -> [ vBulletin Options ] -> [ vHoist Settings ] -> Website Passkey

8) Adjust your settings in vBulletin for vHoist accordingly.

After you are finished the above, visit your newly installed vHoist on your website. You will see a message saying that you do not currently have any cars parked on your site. Click on "Add / Edit vHoist" and then park your car on your site!

FAQ:

How does the benefit my site?

- There is no "Overhead" added to your site like other plugins, such as vbGarage, because everything takes place on vHoist.com

- Backlinks, an important SEO feature, come from vHoist.com to your site. For example, if one member parks his / her car on multiple websites, you will automatically be back linked from potentially thousands of sites. It's already happening.. http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100390 - This is a VERY important feature and benefit to your site.

- Your users now only have to "Update" their ride on one site, and it propogates to all other sites they have parked too. Now if they have "forgotten" that they came to forum before but parked their ride there, it will be bumped up to the top of the list when they have an update.

- If someone comments from your forum, the user will receive an email saying that someone commented from your forum, and potentially giving you another user to come back to your site! Again, ANOTHER backlink is added on the comment. Here is an example:

http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100000

Here's what a users garage looks like parked on 2 seperate sites!

Site 1 - http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100000

Site 2 - http://psaclub.net/vHoist.php?do=view&gid=100000

Do you get our users information?

We save the UserID, UserName and Email address of users that "Park" a car on your website, so that the user display information will properly show up on your site. This is strictly because users will occasionally have multiple usernames across many forums. Since vHoist.com allows a user to "park" their ride on your site, we need to display their username for your site properly.


For more FAQ's like this, visit: http://www.vhoist.com/FAQ.aspx

Time to install: < 5 Minutes
Template Edits: 0
File Uploads: 1
Products: 1

Has been tested on:

3.6.7
3.6.8
3.7.1
3.8.0

Believed to work on ALL versions from 3.6.0 to 3.8.0, but would like confirmation from users currently using those sites.

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.1]
- Fixed Search not working
- Removed Sponsor Program
- Allowed importing for 3.5.7
- Disabled "member ride" listed under user's name until I can figure out the "slow down" issue
- problem with quotes in user names
- moved related rides to the left instead of right

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.2]
- Added "Random Image" table - show 1 through 10 random garages by your users
- Created a new way to add vHoist to your forum, so you can use a selection box to pick where it goes
- Added "Latest Image" table - show 1 through 10 last edited garages by your users
- Added more extensive options menu
- Added Quick Links Menu
- Fixed "Enable / Disable" Option
- Removed "Members Rides" option under user names until futher testing

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.3]
- Added sorting on title bar of search
- Added some vHoist website functionality
- View users rides from www.vhoist.com/ride/XXXXXX/ where XXX is the ride number.
- Fixed bug for not being able to remove ride

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.4]
- Added User Profiles tab
- Removed this from "beta" since it's been functioning on sites for a few months now
- Added some vHoist website functionality - analytics to be added in next release
- View users profile from www.vhoist.com/id/username/ where XXX is the username on vHoist.com

Known Issues for this release:

- None reported

Other:

This is currently a working public BETA. I will be supporting this daily (well, mostly nightly EST) in this thread and via any problems submitted by email using the contact form on the site, http://www.vhoist.com


*Attention vbGarage Users*

We have been working diligantly on a conversion tool to transfer your current vBGarage users into vHoist.com. The converter is currently in Alpha testing and is not publicly avalible yet.

It is recommend that smaller sites that are using vBGarage start off with a fresh new vHoist account, however, we understand that content is hard to come by and we are working fast to bring this converter to you! If this is stopping you from installing vHoist.com, then please use our contact forum to let us know you are waiting!

....

Cheers .... and .... here goes nothing... this is my first publicly released mod, so if I did this wrong, please forgive me!

[footose]

^^ You should beable to disable all of the vhoist options in the main vbulletin settings

Vbulletin Optiosn -> vBuletin Options -> vHoist.

Just disable whatever you don't want to be displayed. If something is not working, let me know ASAP.

I hear ya about the jacked styles. On some custom boards it happens. I'm still working on the ability for you guys to customize the styles, which will be out soon ( i know i promised but i haven't had time recently ).. but soon.

Pm me personally and ill drop you my email / phone number and walk you through any problems!

cheers.

[357Magnum]

Oh ok, missed that! Most of the other mods just have a "Do not display" option in the drop down menu instead of a separate yes or no thing.

Also, do you have an email or something for categories/makes/models if they are not in there? One of my members already noticed there isn't a Suzuki Hayabusa/GSXR1300 option. lol

And, is there anyway to make my site only display users Motorcycles? I would really rather not have a bunch of car pics at the top of my MC site

Sorry for all the questions/requests. Just really like what you have going here! and if it all works out how I am hoping, it should help us out tremendously.

[357Magnum]

oh and one last thing. Anyway to make the user automatically park their bike to the site them came from to register?? I noticed one of my guys registered but forgot to Park it so its not showing up on our site.

[footose]

Oh ok, missed that! Most of the other mods just have a "Do not display" option in the drop down menu instead of a separate yes or no thing.

Sorry, I'm new to the whole vbulletin aspect of this, so I didnt' know what the "standard" was. I'm glad you figured it out though.

Also, do you have an email or something for categories/makes/models if they are not in there? One of my members already noticed there isn't a Suzuki Hayabusa/GSXR1300 option. lol

Yup, if you select "not listed" a box will pop up that you can request whatever you need to be added. I usually add them right away, on the weekend its usually a few hours, and I always respond with an email to the user saying their make / model has been added. I just purchased a blackberry and designed an interface that will let me add them right away, so next week it should be only a few minutes to add whatever someone requests. I usually add the entire lineup from the manufacture (particularly for cars), but sometimes it's difficult for bikes because there are so many. i have been leaving it on a request basis as of now.

And, is there anyway to make my site only display users Motorcycles? I would really rather not have a bunch of car pics at the top of my MC site

This has been requested and is on my 'features list' - it's pretty high priority, so you will see it added shortly.

Anyway to make the user automatically park their bike to the site them came from to register?? I noticed one of my guys registered but forgot to Park it so its not showing up on our site.

I will add this for the next release for you.

Sorry for all the questions/requests. Just really like what you have going here! and if it all works out how I am hoping, it should help us out tremendously.

No problem, keep all the questions / comments coming! That's the only way i can improve it Cheers.

[FRANKTHETANK 2]

I'm sorry but no matter what I do I can't get the passkey. I know I'm doing it right but the passkey just won't work for me.

[357Magnum]

dunno why it started doing this all of a sudden

http://www.devil-riders.com/vb/vHoist.php

didnt change anything on my end. just thought id let you know..

and frank...I dunno what to tell u man. make sure it is in your vb folder? not the "website root" like the directions say. and when you do get a passcode to come up DONT hit save again or itll give you a new one and the one you just copied wont work anymore lol

[footose]

Sorry about the late reply, I was away for the weekend.

I believe the error is because one of the user names on your site is throughing an error. I'm fixing it right now.

FRANK: Is your forum marked as private? Do you have to login in order to view pages?

If so, set it up so that it is not private, get the passkey and then mark it as private again. This is usually why people have problems getting the key.

[footose]

Magnum: you should be all good to go now. Again, sorry about that. Has never happened before.

[FRANKTHETANK 2]

The site I'm doing it on isn't on my profile. It's a local site for car clubs. I haven't released it yet and I really don't want to. But my username on vbhoist is soulweaver and my email is hannekenj@yahoo.com. Maybe you can look into it from there.

[357Magnum]

No worries.

So more thoughts/concerns for ya.

I am kind of worried about something that is so integrated into my site but I have absolutely zero control over other than turning it off and on. For instance, someone posts a pic that is aginst our rules, there is nothing I can do about it. Another local forum signs up and spams their image all over. People have photos in general that are against what I would like on the site.. Like I want just bikes. No people, no funny pics, just bikes..and people riding them is fine also i guess. But right now I got people that don't know how to follow the BIKES ONLY rule and there is not a thing I can do about it.

So i dunno if that makes sense but i hope so lol