DevBox Work - Online Users Today, Latest Threads, Top Posters, Newest Members

This is another one of my 'all in one' hacks, this time without the 'latest posts' part.

Features

• Turn on/off each option. An individual setting
• Alter the amount of rows to retrieve (ie. only get 10 recent threads)
• Easy access to used SQL queries, so advanced users can alter the SQL to get extra information.
• Uses phrase system
• Fully customizable templates
• Latest Threads can be from only forums you specify, or from forums that the current user has permission to see. Deleted threads are not shown.
• Online Users Today shows invisible marks to those who can see them, and shows open/close tag (ie. admins are bold and italic).
• Dates uses vbdate function, which uses your date string in vboptions
• Installer for phrases and templates!
• + more

Support
I can offer limited support for this hack. I wrote it for my forum, and its workin' pretty good. If you find any problems, post'em here and I might find some time to help you out. Just back up all your data before you apply anything, as goes with all hacks!

Demo
Online demo (with some template edits, I might add!): http://www.DevBoxForums.com

Notes
I didn't have the time to edit the default templates, so I don't think it's too pleasing out-of-the-box. If someone would like to spice it up a notch and submit it here, I'd be glad to include it in the actual package.

Installation
Upload devbox_work.php to your forum root path, as well as the devbox_install directory. Navigate your browser to devbox_install/install.php and follow onscreen instructions. You will need your database username and password simply for authentication to start the installer.

Should I install this hack? Is it buggy? Etc
I've been making the installer for a little while and I must've run it at least a dozen times throughout and I haven't had any errors. But thats only me. Before people can install it for themselves and see how it goes, I can't say much.

Troubleshooting / Common Problems
If you end up running the phrase step or template step more then once, you'll probably get mysql errors complaining about duplicate entries. You can go in phpMyAdmin into the phrase/template tables, sort by the primary key so oldest is first, and delete all the devbox related rows.


Template Variables
Since this hack is obviously lacking some default-template looks, I thought I'd go over all of the variables you can use. If you want more, you'll have to edit the SQL queries under 'Section 2'. All variables are accessed through the $data array. Example: $data[threadid]

• Latest Threads
  • threadid - The ThreadID. Used in URL's mostly
  • title - Thread title
  • replycount - The number of replies the thread has
  • views - The number of views the thread has
  • lastposter - The username of the last poster
  • posterusername - The username of the thread starter
  • posteruserid - The UserID of the thread starter
  • forumid - The ForumID of the the forum the thread resides in
  • forumtitle - The forum name the thread resides in
• Newest Members
  
  
  • userid - The UserID of the member. Usually used in URL's
  • username - The username of the member
  • date - The readable joindate of the user. If for some reason you wanted the timestamp, use joindate
  • posts - The number of posts this member has
  • opentag/closetag - The open/close HTML tags for this member. (ie. Admins are generally bold and italic)
• Top Posters
  
  
  • userid - See above
  • username - See above
  • posts - See above
  • opentag/closetag - See above
• Online Today
  
  
  • userid - See above
  • username - See above
  • invisible - The invisible mark shown next to invisible users. Set to '*' to members that are hidden users, and set to '' (nothing) to those who are not. Note: Hidden users are only shown on the list if the user viewing the page has permission to see them.
  • opentag/closetag - See above

Attachments

• devbox_work.zip contains all the files neede
• installer.gif is a screenshot of the install script

[WoodiE]

Chroder - Any update on getting the directions out for making this display on the right side of the page instead of the bottom?

[apokphp]

I combined this hack with a better sidebar hack from vbulletintemplates.com and the Xstats hack from here (just for the most recent posts).

I installed the other sidebar (which only adds the sidebar on the forumhome, and nowhere else -- unlike this hack), and then copied the code for stats into the "custom cell space" that the other sidebar hack comes with. It was easy. You can check out the results here: www.onlinedebate.net/forums/

I still had to install this hack, but not the templates. Also, the devbox_work.php file still won't work as it is supposed to, so you'll have to modify that via ftp manually. As you can see, the result is fine.

[paulomt1]

Originally Posted by Chroder

Out-of-the-box, yes. You'll have to modify the templates on your own if you want it to look like mine (On the side, that is). If I have time I'll write an addon that will make the side bar.

I will wait for it, since I don't like the box at bottom.

[apokphp]

....see post #32.

[Henry-RS]

Originally Posted by apokphp

....see post #32.

What other sidebar are you talking about?

[apokphp]

<a href="http://www.vbulletintemplates.com/mods/showthread.php?t=6478&highlight=sidebar" target="_blank">http://www.vbulletintemplates.com/mo...hlight=sidebar</a>

For those who only want a sidebar on the FORUMHOME, not all pages.

[paulomt1]

Originally Posted by apokphp

http://www.vbulletintemplates.com/mo...hlight=sidebar

For those who only want a sidebar on the FORUMHOME, not all pages.

Yes, but I need register first for I can download it, I will not register only for download this hack, I'm still waiting...

[apokphp]

...not getting the solution to your problem because you do not want to register on a site? The "problem" must not be that big of a problem afterall.

btw, vbulletintemplates has a lot of members/hackers who participate here at vb.org. It has several mods/hacks/styles for vb. I suppose I can understand about having to register, but IMO, it's a very small price to pay, and it is a legitimate reason to register (they don't want just anyone leeching files).

Also, the support on this particular hack, is non-existent. Me thinketh you'll be in for a very long wait (if the author even gets around to updating it)...meanwhile...those who did just a little extra work...have this hack looking and functioning perfectly (with the sidebar).

[paulomt1]

Why should i register in another forum that was part of vbulletin.com, 1 registry is not enough?
What is the interest of having a lot of registered people only for static’s, sorry I don't understand.
I can't find nothing useful in this forum that is worth registering for.

The screenshot of this hack should have box's at bottom so that people could see exacly how it looks like. It shouldn't be as it is because when people install this hack they don't see what they were expecting.

Thanks for your help anyway ;-)

[apokphp]

Oh, I agree that this installed hack misleads many people (but I don't think the author did it on purpose). I also agree, that any "official" vbulletin site, ought to be setup to use 1 login. But I don't think that is possible due to using different db's. The resources/size would cause a lot of lag I believe.

That being said, there are SOME who really think that the way the author of this hack has it setup on his board, is great, and we want it now. For those who really do want this, there IS a way to do it, and do it now w/o waiting. That way just requires a 30 second registration and a combination of 2 hacks.

Like I said...I offer this solution to only to those who really do want this hack right away because it really is, a great looking, great working feature to the forum.