Add-On Releases - Custom Tag Cloud in vbAdvanced, Forum Home & Related Pages

Download the latest version that supports social groups clouds here: 2.5 Version (VB 3.8 required)

Forum VBA Custom Tag Cloud
This mod adds 6 features to VB?s tag cloud:

1. It allows you to display the tag cloud in forum related pages in any location you want. You can display tag clouds in forumhome, forumdisplay, and showthread, and hook it to any $template_hook or HTML comment. Instead of installing 3 different mods to accomplish this, you can install this mod to do all 3. Plus you can specify if you want to not display the tag cloud in certain pages.

2. It allows you to show the tag cloud in your site?s home page in any location you want if you have vbAdvanced installed (optional).

3. When viewing forumdisplay or showthread (pages listing threads or posts), you can specify custom styles for tags that belong to the active forum or thread being viewed so that users will know which tags are relevant to that forum or thread.

4. It allows you to specify preferred tags that you want to have custom styles so that they will be noticed more. For example, if your site just started a forum about cars with tags like ?Lexus? ?Infinity?, you can specify those tags as preferred to draw attention to the new forum.

5. The tag cloud resides in a collapsible box and has a legend for the custom styles.

6. When viewing a thread (in showthread), this mod will move the thread?s tag box below the tag cloud. The tag box and tag cloud are different: the tag box shows tags specific to its thread, whereas the tag cloud shows tags from all threads. Currently, the tag box is shown at the very bottom of the thread, which can be easily ignored by readers. Moving it next to the tag cloud will make the tag box more visible.

Installation
1. Download the product xml file. Go to Manage Products > Add/Import Product, upload that xml file, set ?allow overwrite? to yes, and click Import.

2. Go to VB Options > Forum VBA Tag Clouds to set the locations of the tag cloud (default is below the navbar) and custom tag styles.

3. Optional: to display the tag cloud in vbAdvanced, go to VBA CMPS > Default Settings > Main Options > add to ?Portal Output Global Variables?:

tag_cloud

.
Update:
Reimport the new product xml file and allow overwrite.
See the 2nd post for a screenshot and template hook selection tips.

Versions:

  1.0.0/ 1.0.1 Initial Release.
  2.0.0 New Features:
  Auto templating ? allows setting the location of the tag cloud anywhere on the page.
  Tag cloud resides in a collapsible box and has a legend for the custom styles.
  Tags that belong to the active forum or thread being viewed can have custom styles.
  Added option to set preferred tags that will have custom styles to get them noticed more.
  2.0.2 Optimized memory usage.
  2.0.5 Optimized code to create tag links. Created preselected hooks for forumhome.
  2.1.0 Fixed a potential conflict with other mods.

Notes:
1. I read all posts for this mod so feel free to post any comments or suggestions.
2. You will be notified by e-mail for future updates if you click ?Marked as Installed.? If you find this mod useful, remember to click ?Nominate for MOTM.?

MAKE SURE TO CLICK INSTALL

[Shaheen]

nice Mod but one more option will make it best thats choose the place

[iPodHacking.com]

I'd love to see it be made able to collapse. Other than that, it works great! Thanks

[vbboarder]

Just Updated to 2.0: ALL feature requests were implemented!
2.0.0 New Features: See the 2nd post for a screenshot and template hook selection tips.
Auto templating – allows setting the location of the tag cloud anywhere on the page.
Tag cloud resides in a collapsible box and has a legend for the custom styles.
Tags that belong to the active forum or thread being viewed can have custom styles.
Added option to set preferred tags that will have custom styles to get them noticed more.

Update:
Reimport the new product xml file and allow overwrite.
Go to VB Options > Forum VBA Tag Clouds to set the locations of the tag cloud (default is below the navbar) and custom tag styles.

Note: if you enable the “Customize Active Tags?” option, then this mod will add 1 query to forumdisplay & showthread pages only. Tag clouds in vbAdvanced and forumhome should still have 0 queries if caching is enabled.

[Mondi]

Probably 9/10 already addressed somewhere - but - how do I put this mod into a CMPS Module?

Can someone point me either into the right direction 'by example' here, or to a tut. somewhere posted previously...

Sorry - haven't gotten my head around that one yet so help would be marvellously appreciated.

Cheers.

[vbboarder]

To display the tag cloud in vbAdvanced, go to VBA CMPS -> Default Settings -> Main Options -> add to “Portal Output Global Variables”:

tag_cloud

[Ted Clore]

I've done this and it isn't there. There must be something missing!?!

Can you give us a walk through for VBa CPMS?

IOW, there is no module.php so that a module can be made and put on a page where you want it.

[vbboarder]

Originally Posted by vbboarder

To display the tag cloud in vbAdvanced, go to VBA CMPS -> Default Settings -> Main Options -> add to ?Portal Output Global Variables?: tag_cloud

I don't know how else to elaborate than what's quoted above. The tag cloud works fine for myself and other users. Are you using CMPS version 3.0.1 dated 4-24-08?

There is no module.php file - it's unneccessary. If you want custom placement of the tag cloud in CMPS pages, you use template hooking (with $template_hook or HTML comments) in VB Options -> Forum VBA Tag Clouds (read the 2nd post for further instructions), OR add a CMPS template module: go to VBA CMPS > Add Module > Template Module > and add to the Template Content box:

<div>$tag_cloud</div>

.
Note that if adding "tag_cloud" to the Portal Output Global Variables in CMPS does not work for you, then adding a CMPS template module will also most likely not work for you. In that case, somehow your CMPS installation is messed up.

[vbboarder]

Just Updated to version 2.0.2 - optimized memory usage of this mod.

[vbboarder]

Just tested this mod in VB 3.8.0-beta1 with no problems - all features work fine.

[transparent]

Nice hack...

How do I get the tag cloud to display right above the "What's going on" section at the bottom of the FORUMHOME page? For my board having it right under the navbar is not visually appealing.

Thank you!