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.

[GrendelKhan{TSU]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

The files should all be uploaded into exactly the directories supplied in the addon, and then the plugin xml shouold be imported. Once that's done - at least with Firefox and IE6 - the magnifying glass behaves differently. It's a test towards extending the photo album features of LDM.

hmm... did that.

uploaded entire "lightbox-icon" folder to forums root:

so....
www. mysite. com/forums/lightbox-icon

just to be safe I even uploaded to images folder:
www. mysite. com/forums/images/lightbox-icon

I even uploaded the contents of the lightbot folder to icons folder...

but still nothing. or I'm not seeing what its supposed to do.

feel free to check....
http://www.clantsu.org/forums/local_links.php?catid=4

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

different question..
I have two boards. is it possible to import/transfer LDM files/links from one to the other?

Yes - if you want to do a complete transfer - use the xml export facility (LDM/admin/import and export) then the xml import addin

I intended at some stage to modify these to allow partial exports/imports, i.e to allow people to easily integrate sublibraries. I haven't got round to this yet.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

feel free to check....
http://www.clantsu.org/forums/local_links.php?catid=4

I see what you mean. Interesting thing is, when I dump the html source for that page onto my server, and point my browser at it, the plugin works fine. Will check further

[GrendelKhan{TSU]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

I see what you mean. Interesting thing is, when I dump the html source for that page onto my server, and point my browser at it, the plugin works fine. Will check further

thanks! let me know what you find out. I'm just happy that I wasn't imagining it or doing something totally stupid (entirely likely ).

It's a test towards extending the photo album features of LDM.

waitaminute!!

this just sunk in... that would be awesome.

this could take out all the galleries in one swoop! dang it.. now you making me wonder if I shoulda have installed a gallery. :/ grrrr. anyway...sounds very exciting. just remember that all the best photo galleries have bulk upload features.



also if you are going for multiple functionality (already acts as a video library, download center, and links directory and now maybe photo gallery? )....
we are going to need to be able to choose different postbit displays for each category. (I'd love that NOW.) cause links and files and videos and photos need to be displayed much differently.... what works for one...doesn't really work for the others (again, I have this trouble now. :/)

just my2cents.

keep up the incredible work.

[Alfa1]

My forum has 608 files attached to various threads. I'd like to review them and add those I approve to LDM. Is there an easy way to do this?

[EasyTarget]

Originally Posted by GrendelKhan{TSU

just remember that all the best photo galleries have bulk upload features.

you can use ftp to upload and make an excel sheet to add all the info to the database.

also if you are going for multiple functionality (already acts as a video library, download center, and links directory and now maybe photo gallery? )....we are going to need to be able to choose different postbit displays for each category. (I'd love that NOW.) cause links and files and videos and photos need to be displayed much differently.... what works for one...doesn't really work for the others (again, I have this trouble now. :/)

It already acts as a photo gallery and has a template already built in for displaying photos (links_linkbit_photos). It works really well imo.

[obmob]

Originally Posted by EasyTarget

you can use ftp to upload and make an excel sheet to add all the info to the database.

:surprised: how... can you post an example? ^^

u.u no support for me this weekend, still stucked and can't start uploading.
Help, Andrew, Help! :knockedout:

[testing2]

Hi, I have installed this mod and it's really useful. I have a problem though - it takes about 20 seconds to load the front page. All the rest of the pages load without any reduction in speed (1-3 seconds). I have about 150 links added so far and no file uploads.

Does anyone know of a way to speed up the page loading speed of the main page? I tried changing settings for number of most popular links and depth of categories shown but that didn't help.

Thank you.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Alfa1

My forum has 608 files attached to various threads. I'd like to review them and add those I approve to LDM. Is there an easy way to do this?

This has been on the wish list for some time - transfer/add attachments to LDM (in fact it was my original reason for starting this project!). When I get more than a few minutes, I will probably do an add on for this.

Question: files can be 'attached' in several ways:
a) as VB attachments, held in the database
b) as VB attachments, held in the filestore
c) using the 'url' BBcode
etc
Which are you referring to?

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by obmob

u.u no support for me this weekend, still stucked and can't start uploading.
Help, Andrew, Help! :knockedout:

Am also knocked out! - I've taken part in eight conferences and several other workshops in eight countries in the last six weeks, so there hasn't been too much time for coding. Things should quieten down reasonably soon.