Major Additions - GRPS: Groups Commune 2.0.x

Welcome ladies and gentleman, this is the release thread for GRPS, an interactive groups commune. I hope you enjoy this release and i sincerely hope it provides everything to your community in which you're looking for.

What is it?
It's a groups commune. The original idea is that forums with lots and lots of forums on the front-page suck, as a result i thought most of the conversation was rather obscure in regards to what the forums were trying to achieve, so it'd be nice to have that all going on elsewhere, not detracting away from the content and stopping your front-page from looking like a car crash.

Features?

• Groups Home
  
  • Groups Activity List
    
    • Newest Groups
      
    • Most Popular Groups
      
    • Largest Groups
      
  • Category List
    
  • Group Search by Title
    
  • Group Sort by Alphabetical Title, Categories, Member Count
    
    
  • Users can create groups
    
  • Admin switch to moderate groups or not
    
    • Admin CP access to moderation panel
      
• Groups Page
  
  • Posts since last visit notification
    
  • Group Info
    
    • Group Leader shown with avatar
      
    • Category
      
    • Type
      
      • Groups can be listed as public, private or hidden
        
    • Start Date
      
    • Member count
      
    • Post count
      
  • Group Desciption
    
    • Shows group title
      
    • Shows random image
      
    • Shows group information set by group leader
      
  • Groups Thread List (Forum)
    
    • Status Icon
      
    • Title
      
      • Threads use postbit as per the forums
        
    • Thread Author with avatar and time that the thread was started
      
    • Last reply with avatar, username and time that the last reply was posted
      
    • Post New Thread Button
      
      • Groups Members can create threads
        
  • Newest Members
    
    • Shows five newest members
      
    • Link to view all members
      
      • Shows all members of the group
        
  • Group Options
    
    • Users can join/leave groups
      
      • PM Notification for group leaders upon join requests (when moderation enabled).
        
      • PM Notification for of acceptance or refusal.
        
    • Users can send invites to other users via PM
      
• Groups Thread
  
  • Groups Info Box (see above for more info)
    
  • Group Description box (see above for more info)
    
  • Newest Members List (see above for more info)
    
  • List of groups posts using forums postbit
    
  • Pagination using native vBulletin pagination
    
  • Group Leader/Moderation Options
    
    • Open/Close Thread
      
    • Stick Thread
      
    • Delete Thread
      
  • Users have the ability to report posts
    
  • Moderators have the ability to view IP and host.
    
• Group Leader Options
  
  • Groups Management
    
    • WYSIWYG Editor
      
    • Reason for editing box
      
    • Group Options
      
      • Private Posts
        
      • Only group leader can make threads
        
      • Moderate Members
        
      • Show group text edit details
        
      • Hide group image on group pages
        
      • Hidden Group
        
        • This option is only available to admins
          
  • Group Members Moderation
    
    • Ability to accept or deny new members
      
• Postbit Integration
  
  • View Users Groups
    
• User Control Panel (Integration)
  
  • List of groups appears in usercp in order of the last post
    
• Administrator Options
  
  • vBulletin Options
    
    • Turn groups on or off
      
    • Groups Limit Per User
      
    • Posts Per Page (threads)
      
    • Check Forum Activity Posts
      
    • Check Forum Activity Time
      
    • Number of Random Images
      
    • Turn email notification of new groups on/off
      
  • Usergroup Options
    
    • Can view groups
      
    • Can create groups
      
    • Can join groups
      
    • Can post messages in groups
      
    • Can edit messages in groups
      
    • Can delete messages posted in groups
      
    • Numbers of groups usergroup can join limited
      
    • Can moderate groups
      
      • See above for more info
        
    • Can view IP Addresses
      
  • Category Editor
    
    • Edit
      
      • Edit cat id (please not this can ef up your show)
        
      • Edit cat title
        
      • Edit cat description
        
    • Add
      
      • New Cat Title And Description
        
  • Groups Editor
    
    • Search for group by id
      
      • Edit
        
        • Title
          
        • Desciption
          
        • Categoryid
          
        • Group leader id
          
        • Private Posts
          
        • Moderate Members
          
        • Hidden group
          

Special Thanks to harry1951, without his help testing and his recommendations, this would've never ended up the way it did.

Honestly, i can't think of anything else, if you appreciate the work gone into this mod, please donate (in GBP) (right click open in new window)

Hopefully you all appreciate that i just relaunched my site and rather than soak up the atmosphere there or go out drinking i came to release this tonight.

Screens below, rest to your right

Please note this mod does work with 3.5.x

PLEASE DO NOT JOIN MY SITE IN A BID TO PLAY WITH IT OR HAVE A LOOK AT IT FURTHER, MY SITE IS SOMETHING I VALUE FOR BEING SOMEWHERE I CAN CHILL AT, IT'S NOT A TEST SUITE OR DEMO!

Bug Fixes

• Groups v2.0.0 RC1b.zip: fix regarding incorrect table prefixes in index.php and editpost.php
• Groups v2.0.0 RC2.zip: fix regarding incorrect table prefixes in functions_grps.php and class_grps.php. also fix regarding installation instructions.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC3.zip: fix regarding inability to get to create groups page. updated simplified instructions, sadly still not cool html ones and also added ability to delete groups, delete categories and of course the menu options to get to these.
  • Groups v2.0.0 RC3b.zip: fix regarding joining and leaving group depreciated function error added uninstaller to the zip at http://www.yoursite.com/groups/tools...p?do=uninstall
  • Groups v2.0.0 RC3c.zip: fix regarding edit being stated as 70's on group stages, requires re-installtion of the plugin only.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC4.zip: various bug fixes and new general setting, please reupload all files and then reinstall the product.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC5.zip: bug fixes regarding fixing links to forums being broken and forcing redirects for create group outcomes.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC6.zip: various bug fixes including table prefixes in admincp, invitations system now features in-line erroneous username fall-back and clean up regarding broken images in viewthread.php
• Groups v2.0.0 RC7.zip: bug fixes including missing phrases and missing 'noavatar.gif for group leader on groups info.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC8.zip: various bug fixes including missing phrases, smilies not working. new function to turn of new group moderation. form now working on print_no_permission page (thanks Adrian) and something else i forgot.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC9.zip: fixes two spelling mistakes, moves viewthread.php string_replacements to admincp and simplifies the installer experience. (yeah i thought there'd be more to it too).
  • Groups v2.0.0 RC9b.zip: re-fixes two spelling mistakes, fixes a viewthread.php string_replacement via the admincp and turns the default random image count down to that of which is provided.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC10.zip: optimises some of the code, cuts down on queries in exchange for additional joins and now forces compatibility in groups/viewthread.php with vBulletin options. also adds new option in admincp in order to make usercp listing work better out of the box.
• Groups v2.0.0 RC11.zip: fixes a problem with avatars not displaying correctly in thread listing and also optimises the code in membership.php
• Groups v2.0.0.zip: adds and array_merge to the code and smilie popup fixed. now features hooks for plug-in 'easability'. uCS integration moved to external plugin too.
• Groups v2.0.1.zip: removes one hook, fixes problem with membership.php, fixes problem editgroup.php not remembering options and fixes avatar problem.
• Groups v2.0.2.zip: various bug fixes (like missing pagenavs, more elegant removal of reputation button and infraction button and php notices), one or two new features (like intuitive page titles) and now fully phrased.
• Groups v2.0.3.zip: bug fix regarding now being able to select categories. includes a new feature which is basically pagination for the thread listings.
• Groups v2.0.4.zip: bug fix regarding not being able to moderate group memberships.
• Groups v2.0.5.zip: bug fix regarding those introduced via 2.0.4, new features such as double post prevention disable, admins can override privacy settings, usergroup permission text more intuitive and end-user usability increased with modification to threadbit on groups.php. group leaders can now kick users from there groups.
• Groups v2.0.6.zip: bug fix including report, missing edit button and other misc small bugs, new features such as disable hidden groups, allow mods to see private groups, and resign from group handing off to another user.
• Groups v2.0.7.zip: bug fix including fixing post counts, thread goto's and fatal php errors.
• Groups v2.0.8.zip: bug fix regarding inability to delete posts, problem with editing posts and other misc errors.
• Groups v2.0.9.zip: various bug fixes including wywiwyg error, admin cp error and redirect/goto errors.
  • Groups v2.0.9b.zip: fixes problem with upgrade4.php
• Groups v2.0.10.zip: various bug fixes including acknowledging renamed modcp and admincp dir's also adds option regarding removing of posts at group exit/kick.
• Groups v2.0.11.zip: various bug fixes including security/privacy fixes.
• Groups v2.0.12.zip: permission bug fixed.
• Groups v2.0.13.zip: various bug fixes including ability to ignore members in groups and newreply bug.

[vgevolution]

hambil: I agree that the install instructions aren't perfect, but I'm not the one who said,

"I've looked in the product.xml, and everywhere else".

I called you out on your blatant exaggeration, simple as that. It was obvious you didn't look in all the files. Instead, you came here complaining about "how this has been installed 204 times" (error and all) and "this problem was pointed out 8 months ago" (that was fixed 13 minutes later, wasn't even the problem anyway).

That was awfully troll-like, and I took a defensive stance for some reason. I think the fact that you're a coder made it worse, since I'm sure you wouldn't like it if someone went into your product threads and started tossing around innuendo.

Despite that, I do apologize for being abrasive. I'm normally calmer than that. I would prefer that we all contribute constructive criticism to our favorite hacks, not go around bashing each other. I should have taken the high road and just answered your veiled question. I can admit when I've let my emotions get the better of me. I must remember to let my inner-Vulcan out during times like this. My bad. Being human sucks sometimes.

I guess I still answered your question, however rudely.

At least during the course of this pointless argument you did point out a valid flaw in the install instruction's logic, so hopefully sabe will fix it soon. Some good came out of this after all.

I'm not holding a grudge. You were abrasive, I was abrasive in response. You had your say. I've had my say, and admitted I was rude and apologized for that. Thus, I have nothing further to add regarding this. No need to drag this thread down. My apologies to those reading this as well. Let's get back to making suggestions and improving this mod.

Peace, Out.

[hambil]

Originally Posted by vgevolution

You were abrasive

I don't intend to be, but I'm told I come across that way in email or online at times. I think I was just frustrated. Again, I apologize also. Thanks for being a sport

[vgevolution]

I saw this request was posted a long time ago, but not since. I'm wondering if anyone is still having trouble with, or doesn't like the way breadcrumbs work with GRPS, and would like to know how to change it to work like vBulletin's standard (my preference for viewthread.php):

WebsiteHome --> GroupsHome --> CategoryName --> GroupName
|
-->Function, Thread, Post, Edit, Moderate, etc.

Instead of this (the GRPS default for viewthread.php):

GroupsHome --> CategoryName --> GroupName
|
-->Function, Thread, Post, Edit, Moderate, etc.

If so, please let me know. The first crumb method shown is vBulletin-style crumb. The second method is more of a stand-alone crumb, as GRPS is meant to run mostly outside of vBulletin forums other than sharing the user database.

To maintain consistency throughout my site and the other hacks I have running, I had to modify the crumbs in GRPS to work more like the standard bread crumbs of vBulletin. This involves some minor edits to the php files' navbits. If anyone's interested, I'll send you a step-by-step. Obviously the steps would need to be repeated after every patch of GRPS, so if there's no interest, I'll understand. I've been testing it for a week now with no strange behavior, so I'm pretty sure it'll work for anyone.

I don't know if sabret00the would want me to post how to do it here or as an "addon", since this isn't a fix to a bug, but a change to a function that works as he intended.

sabret00the: any objections to me posting instructions on how to change the breadcrumbs to work like vBulletin crumbs here? Any chance of making this an option in v3.0 for those of us who want an integrated breadcrumb? It doesn't look like it would be hard to code the conditional.

Anyway, I'm too tired to write it up tonight (3am!!), so g'nite!

hambil: Yep, no problem. I'm an irritable ol' coot sometimes too, especially when I get sleepy.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by WDZaphod

Hi!
Is there a wishlist existing already for Version3?

whatever you'd like to see in version three, just post in here and it'll be considered.

vgrevolution: go ahead:

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by Endurer

No, I do not have any products/modifications installed that have anything to do with custom styles, and yes, It's happening within viewthread.php only.

I'll PM you the URL to the group now.

PS: Group description parses img vbcode but viewthread.php doesn't and instead displays the direct link to the image.

can you tell me if this fixes your style overwrite problems please.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by vgevolution

This is a different error. It's not the Leader Icon not showing up error. That's a path problem. The integration of vBadvanced wrapped around GRPS causes this error. I was just wondering if anyone else ran into it and had a fix. Essentially the function fetch_avatar_url() that generates the leader icon returns "Array" instead of the correct URL string when vBa is active. I've asked the same question in the vBa forums, looking for a solution. If I find one, I'll post it here as well.

EDIT: Oops, I quoted the wrong error (malformed avatar in postbit), but my error still isn't solved with post #2's suggestions. On a side note, I have another hack which has the same error, VB Image Host.

do you still have this error?

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by vgevolution

I'm unable to use vBadvanced 3.0's integrate function on either browse.php or groups.php.

browse.php generates the following error:

PHP Fatal error:  Cannot redeclare fetch_avatar_url() (previously declared in /ideletedmypath/forums/includes/functions_user.php:259) in /ideletedmypath/forums/includes/functions_grps.php on line 32

It seems to be related to this line, specifically the "OR" part:

if (!function_exists('fetch_avatar_url') OR THIS_SCRIPT != 'groupshome')

I think it needs to use a different method to determine whether to pull the function without using the "OR" statement. By using vBa's integration code, the THIS_SCRIPT variable seems to allow the function to be called again. A nested if seems to work, but I'm not the expert on this code.

Now then, groups.php creates a blank page with no error related to the vBa integration.

This is all I see inside the generated html:

<!-- END TEMPLATE: navbar -->
<table class="page" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr valign="top">
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: footer -->

I assume that something in the groups.php is unique that clears out the variables used by vBa so it thinks there's no content to insert.

Here's is the adv_portal template, and you can that there are three if statements that display content in three columns. I think those variables are lost, which would cause the error:

<table align="center" class="page" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">
	<tr valign="top">
		<if condition="$show['left_column']">
			<td width="$vba_style[portal_leftcolwidth]"<if condition="$show['center_column'] OR $show['right_column']"> style="padding-right: $vba_style[portal_colspacing]px"</if>>
				$home[leftblocks]
			</td>
		</if>
		<if condition="$show['center_column']">
			<td valign="top">
				$home[centerblocks]
			</td>
		</if>
		<if condition="$show['right_column']">
			<td valign="top" width="$vba_style[portal_rightcolwidth]"<if condition="$show['center_column'] OR $show['left_column']"> style="padding-left: $vba_style[portal_colspacing]px"</if>>
				$home[rightblocks]
			</td>
		</if>
	</tr>
</table>

Whew! I do, however, get this error in my error.log file with groups.php all the time, whether I'm using vBa or not:

script '/ideletedmypath/groups/cron.php' not found or unable to stat

It looks like the path to /ideletedmypath/forums/cron.php gets lost somewhere.

Any ideas?

I feel like I'm close to wrapping up my initial development and this is holding me up, so any help would be appreciated.

EDIT:

invitation.php, membership.php and viewmembers.php have the same blank page output as groups.php when vBa 3.0 integration is used.


EDIT: Blank page fix for vBa 3.0 Integration

I was able to solve the problem with groups.php, invitation.php, membership.php and viewmembers.php and vBa 3.0 Integration by adding the following line into the "PRE-CACHE TEMPLATES and DATA" area near the top of each affected script:

// get special data templates from the datastore
$specialtemplates = array();

I also moved the "get special phrase groups" code to the top of that "section" so they would mirror the layout of the other working php files.

EDIT: Possible fix for PHP Fatal error: Cannot redeclare fetch_avatar_url()

I think the nested if statement is working as a fix for the php fatal error from the functions_grps.php file:

I changed this:

if (!function_exists('fetch_avatar_url') OR THIS_SCRIPT != 'groupshome')
{
... some code ...
}

to this:

if (!function_exists('fetch_avatar_url'))
{
if (THIS_SCRIPT != 'groupshome')
{
... some code ...
}
}

So far, everything seems to be working. I may have been able to change the OR to an AND to achieve a similar effect. I'm still rusty.

i cut down the need for modification by renaming the function.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by CHIPIT195

I have my forums on a subdomain (myforums.mysite.com)...
However, the forums are in a sub-directory (myforums.mysite.com/forums/)

The groups are installed at myforums.mysite.com/groups/

The links are showing the forums root... (ie: the create group link is myforums.mysite.com/forums/?do=creategroup, when it should be myforums.mysite.com/groups/?do=creategroup )

How do I fix this?

are you running any seo mods?

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by Merriweather

Sabre ~ Just checking in to see where you're at with the new version. Really hoping email notifications of group posts and checking user group permissions and removing them from groups if their permissions change is in the near future.

working on the latter now and the former is in place in principal at the current moment in time.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by Yours Truly

Everything is going smooth except the navbar pointing to the wrong links but i can sort them.

Only thing that isn't working right is the group tools on the GRPS navbar dropdown isn't working. I click it then it just does nothing.

Any ideas?

is it not working on any of the pages?