Links and Downloads Manager

LDM extends VBulletin to manage a library of documents, files and links to other web sites. Documents can be stored on your own web site, stored on your server separate from the web site, uploaded by your user community, or held somewhere else altogether. So you can use LDM to provide your user community with access to your own files and allow them to share files with each other.

12/08/06 - Versions that work with vb36 are available and supported in the VB36 thread. Version 2.2.1, which works with VB 3.5 but not with VB 3.6, remains available here.

Thanks to everyone who has helped with all the design, testing, etc.
Translations are provided (thanks dLutt and LeeWicked) into German, (thanks to Allan) into French, and (thanks to Hugo) into Spanish. Harry1951 has handled the Dutch translation.

Screenshots, Instructions and How to Install

Full details and instructions are available as a Wiki at http://www.eirma.org/wikis/index.php...nloads_Manager

LDM installs as a VBulletin product. There are no modifications required to standard VB code.

Basically - upload php files and run the installer through VB's Product installer. No changes needed to VB code. Remember to BACKUP YOUR DATABASE. By default, LDM prefixes its database tables 'local_'. Edit the configuration file, local_links_init.php, if you need/wish to change this.

LDM can handle an essentially unlimited number of categories and nested subcategories, and an unlimited number of entries (hyperlinks or downloadable files). Each entry can be placed in one or several categories. Categories can have styles. Descriptions and titles can optionally include BBcodes, smilies, images and html, giving the possibility to add images, colouring, etc. File types can be flagged using icons and individual entries can also have associated thumbnail images.

Standards templates are provided for libraries of links, files, documents, and photographs.

Users can offer comments and rate the links/downloads. Each user is allowed one rating and many comments per entry, and can freely edit these if they change their mind.

Permission to use specific features is established via the product's admin page, where the administrator specifies which usergroups can add and edit entries, comment and rate these entries, moderate, etc.

By default, all entries are visible to all users. You can restrict visibility/access to links and categories by using the permissions masks from your board's forums.

Moderation of new entries is available but turned off by default.

Users can report bad links to the relevant moderators/administrators.

Each user can flag links as his/her "Favourites".

Modules are provided for VBAdvanced.

Hooks are provided in suitable places in LDM and sample plugins are included in the release (see extras directory), for example to integrate with ID3 tags in mp3 files, for slideshows, to autocreate new threads in your forums, etc.

Plus much more.

[Boofo]

Won't we lose our links doing it that way?

[WhisperPntr]

This is an amazing hack Andrew. If in the future I make changes to this code, ie an addon or port to function with another code, would you mind my asking permission to release modifications? All credit for the original hack would be yours btw and any modifications will be documented.

And thanks for being such a good sport handling the questions It makes me wonder if you work full time as a customer service rep...though on that note most of them don't have the same charm and capability you've shown.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Boofo

Won't we lose our links doing it that way?

The upgrade should work properly - I don't understand why Ltlcoder had difficulties.

However, uninstalling and reinstalling is also ok, as the database tables are not deleted during uninstallation. (There's another script to run if you really want to kill LDM.)

If you are concerned, best idea is always to back up the local_xx tables before running an upgrade.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by WhisperPntr

If in the future I make changes to this code, ie an addon or port to function with another code, would you mind my asking permission to release modifications? All credit for the original hack would be yours btw and any modifications will be documented.

Please feel free. My only concern would be if we started having separate streams of code that have to be kept in sync - we'd need to be careful how this was managed.

[welo]

For the first time since installing this I visited my style manager to make a few template tweaks, to discover LDM has added all its templates alphabetically to the main forum templates list rather than to a "Custom templates" set. If you insist on going ahead with this method could you at least subcategorize the LDM templates so they can be collapsed? Adding no less than 40 links_ templates to the main display is cumbersome at best.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by welo

For the first time since installing this I visited my style manager to make a few template tweaks, to discover LDM has added all its templates alphabetically to the main forum templates list rather than to a "Custom templates" set. If you insist on going ahead with this method could you at least subcategorize the LDM templates so they can be collapsed? Adding no less than 40 links_ templates to the main display is cumbersome at best.

Welo, yes, will do - it's been a matter of gradually working out how everything in VB35 works, so that everything slots in smoothly.

[AndrewD]

Having made a quick check on Welo's suggestion, the best way to group these templates is through a plugin attached to template_groups:

PHP Code:

$only['links_'] = 'Links and Database Manager'; 


I will include this in the release, but - Welo - you might like to check that this works for you.

[Boofo]

Will the apostrophe fix for the db name be in the new version, also?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Boofo

Will the apostrophe fix for the db name be in the new version, also?

It's already in 2.0.3, a few posts up. Should be ok - maybe you can give it a try?

[Boofo]

No problem, sir.

Do I need to upload files is all then?