Compose External Javascript

vB Compose External v. 1.0.3 (Updated)

This hack provides an easy way to generate JS-Code for the Javascript syndication system on vB 3. It has been tested with VB 3.0.0 RC 1 and higher.

Features:

• Complete control of the HTML-code before, after and in between the links to the threads
• Possibility to enter a maximum-value for the count of threads to be displayed by the administrator
• Users can choose more than one forum to be displayed
• Users can choose how many threads to be displayed
• Users can choose how many characters in the thread title should appear (new in version 1.0.1)
• Users can choose from three pre-made styles (new in version 1.0.3)
• Integration into forumdisplay and navbar-templates (new in version 1.0.4)
• Complete integration in the look and feel of vB 3
• Phrase-compatibility

Plans for future versions:

• Option to choose the forums from a pulldown-men?
• Option to add it to the forum-tools (in order to be able to have the JS-Script created for this specific forum)
• Options for creating the URLs for XML- and RSS-feeds
• Adding new features when external.php will be updated with new features

These are the instructions how to install it:

• New templates: 1
• Templates to be changed: 2
• PHP-files to be added: 1
• Phrases to be added: 23

Step 1:
Insert the phrases using the XML-files. There are phrases for some languages. You can of course translate them to other languages using the phrase-system. If you do so, please send me the XML-files for these translations. I will add them to this ZIP. Right now there are:

• German
• English

Please be sure to save the language in the phrase system BEFORE you do so!

Step 2:
Upload the file composeexternal.php in the root of your forum.
Upload the files in the folder /images/composeexternal/ on the server.


Step 3:
Add a new template with the name "composeexternal" and add the content of composeexternal_template.txt (in this zip) to it.

Step 4:
Search for the following code on template forumdisplay:

 
 	    	<div><img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_button]/subscribe.gif" alt="$vbphrase[view_parent_forum]" vspace="1" /> <a href="forumdisplay.php?$session[sessionurl]f=$foruminfo[parentid]">$vbphrase[view_parent_forum]</a></div>
 		</div>
 	</td>
 	<!-- / forum tools -->

Replace with the following code:

 
 	    	<div><img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_button]/subscribe.gif" alt="$vbphrase[view_parent_forum]" vspace="1" /> <a href="forumdisplay.php?$session[sessionurl]f=$foruminfo[parentid]">$vbphrase[view_parent_forum]</a></div>
 		</div>
 		    <div><img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_button]/subscribe.gif" alt="$vbphrase[composeexternal_categorystrip]" vspace="1" /> <a href="composeexternal.php?$session[sessionurl]do=composecode&amp;f=$foruminfo[forumid]">$vbphrase[composeexternal_categorystrip]</a></div>
 
 	</td>
 	<!-- / forum tools -->

Search for:

 
 	<if condition="$show['adminoptions']">

Add above:

 
 	<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="composeexternal.php?$session[sessionurl]do=composecode&amp;f=$foruminfo[forumid]">$vbphrase[composeexternal_categorystrip]</a></td></tr>

Step 5:

Search for the following code on template navbar:

   		<if condition="$show['wollink']"><tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="online.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[whos_online]</a></td></tr></if>

Add below:

 		<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="composeexternal.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[composeexternal_categorystrip]</a></td></tr>

Credits go to Ypsfanpage.de - a user of our forum. He coded the initial php-file. I ported it to the VB-system and created the php-file and the template.

See the screen-shots below, how it works, or visit our testsite.

Version-History
v. 1.0.0 - Initial release
v. 1.0.1 - Added character-limitation
v. 1.0.2 - Got rid of a small bug, occuring in MSIE, happened when there where too less threads, genereal optimization of the code
v. 1.0.3 - Added three pre-made templates
v. 1.0.4 - Added support for forumdisplay-template and navbar-template

Please click on install, when you choose to use this hack

[dede1]

very nice

[Bernd Glasstett]

Originally Posted by eva2000

nice script you got there

seems what ever is generated when used on a web site generates a javascript error in IE 6.0.2800.1106

  Error: 'threads[...].title' null or not an object
  Code: 0

Ok, this bug is confirmed. Problem will be: There is no way using the Javascript to verify, whether there are as much threads in this forum or not, because this would require a database-query. What would be possible is making such a query before the script generates the code. If there that much threads -> go on. If not, get the number of threads and use this as a value for maximum-threads.

BUT: This would not help, if after the creation of the JS-code, there would be less threads (through deletion) than priorly confirmed in the forum. So... we need to find a way to eliminate the JS-error, rather than making a workaround in the PHP-file. I might have an idea, but will look into it tomorrow err - today, as it is already 01:46 a.m. here in Germany

Interesting: Mozilla doesn't have problems with the Javascript. Oh well... MSIE ... Nah, I don't say more

[gldtn]

Had no javascript errors here with Monzilla and neither with I.E. There is only one thing bugging me.. the delay to update the threads.. I get new threads in the forum but sometimes it don't even updates it for some reason.

[Bernd Glasstett]

This might be because ot the JS being cached. Adding the following code to your Header might help:

 <meta NAME="revisit-after" CONTENT="0 days">
 <meta http-equiv="expires" content="0">
 <meta HTTP-EQUIV="Pragma" CONTENT="no-cache">

[gldtn]

+K for you, too bad Karma is not turned on in this forum :/. Its working flawless now, thanks to you..

Oh.. one more question, not sure if this is possible due to the limitation on the external.php, but is there a way to get the topics to update when there is a new reply to it.. rather than only when a new topic is posted?

[Bernd Glasstett]

At this moment this is not possible and would require hacking the external.php - but comes time, comes solution

[Bernd Glasstett]

Here we go: On our new developing system, my co-coder Ypsfanpage.de optimized the code, redrucing some clutter and got rid of the bug in the JS on MSIE. So here we go with version 1.0.2

Work is in progress for the following features (which will then be version 1.0.3):
- Having some predefined styles at hand - for the ones who have problems coding

[Bernd Glasstett]

Now, version 1.0.3 is online. We added three pre-defined styles - which you can change on composeexternal.php if you wish. The download is now bigger and containing previews of the pre-defined styles.

Work is in progress for the following feature (which will be in version 1.0.4):
- Adding the possibility to generate the code for a specific forum changing forumdisplay-template and adding a new point to the forum-tools popup-menu.

[Bernd Glasstett]

Latest installment: version 1.0.4, which offers direct support of forumdisplay and navbar-templates, giving you instructions how to integrate it in these templates. We had to change our template and the php-file a bit, so please redownload the package.

The next release will be a while away, as we are now working on the conversion of our big production-board. But the support of course continues and should there be any bugs, we will eliminate them of course

[eva2000]

for some reason i keep getting 'threads.. is undefinied' on first load of page but if i hit ctrl+F1 it loads the threads on external page ? i.e. at http://animeboards.com/showthread.php?t=55535 the 3 example sites i used all don't show threads on first load only on refresh