Portal Software - WebTemplates 3.7.x: VB Integrated CMS (Content Management System)

(This hack is for vb version 3.7.x & 3.8.x ONLY. For vb 3.6.x, 3.5.x, 3.0.x and 2.x see my profile for relevant threads.)

"WebTemplates" is a vBulletin integrated Content Management System which allows you to create vb integrated "HTML" pages in your vb admin cp very easily. The pages can inherit your vbulletin skin/style, can recognize logged-in user, can be applied permissions per user or usergroup basis, can keep visit logs, hit counts and do many more.

VB4 version Update (9.9.2010): Please find 4.x version of WebTemplates4.x in its own thread.


WEBTEMPLATES 3.7.x BASIC FEATURES:

• Very Easy Installation : Webtemplates can be installed to your board without modifying even a single vbulletin file. It is coded as a vb product and can be imported very easily.
• Apply VB Permissions: You can ban any webtemplate to any user or usergroups easily. So for instance you can design a webtemplate which only members can see while guests can not, or only user A can not see etc.
• Page Counter : Each webtemplate has a built-in counter and you can display page count to your visitors and you can edit it or turn it OFF/ON per webtemplate basis.
• Visitor Logging&Tracking : You can track certain users' (by usergroup or userid) webtemplate visits to see who visited a webtemplate and when. This is configurable per webtemplate basis.
• Site Contributers (Editor) Support : You can grant editing permissions for certain users or usergroups for your webtemplates individually and they will be able to update these webtemplates using their own editor interface. vB's WYSIWYG editor is supported in Editor interface.
• Page Browsers & Who is Online Display: Webtemplates can display who is browsing that webtemplate while visitor is reading them (like default forum browse display of vbulletin). Webtemplate visits can also be monitored in who is online page.
• Header/Footer Inclusion : Webtemplates can automatically use headers/footers (your default vb header/footer or custom ones)
• Help Documents : The script comes with an extensive help document.
• Admin Panel in Webtemplates : Your webtemplates can include an "admin panel" displayed to only admins and by using them you can access many details and stats of your page while you are browsing them.
• SEO friendly URLs: You can make webtemplate URLs seo friendly in vb settings (Requires apache server).
• XML Import/Export : XML Import/Export feature allows you to backup your webtemplates and use other hack users webtemplates in your board.

ADVANCED FEATURES FOR ADVANCED USERS:

• Webquery Feature : With advanced "webquery" feature you can create dynamic webtemplates which include database query results. For instance you can easily add "last 10 threads forum X", "most active users list" etc. to your webtemplates with default webqueries that comes with installation or you can create your custom webqueries with basic SQL knowledge.
• Multi Parsing : Webtemplates can parse PHP or HTML or TEXT (=smilie/img tags/bbcode parsing like vb posts). This means you can design a page just like vb posts (TEXT parsing), standart HTML (HTML parsing) or even in PHP (PHP parsing).
• PHPINCLUDE per webtemplate : Every webtemplate has its own "phpinclude" field which you can run PHP codes before loading the Webtemplate
• Theme Support : Webtemplates support "themes" which are parent webtemplates which include child webtemplates in them. For instance if you have 20 similiar pages which uses the same visual look, you can make a single theme for all of them, then just insert their content into this theme. If you change theme later, all 20 pages' visual will change automatically.
• Conditionals : Webtemplates supports VB3 template conditionals so you can design webtemplates which change their display under different conditions.
• Default variables : You can use/display certain variables in your webtemplates like username of the visitor, visitor email address, last visit time, page creation time, page last edit time, Last visitor name, last visit time etc.

Sample WebTemplates from Sites using this hack:
(Some 3.5 and some are 3.0 versions but WebTemplate look and feel didn't change much so both will give you the idea.)

http://www.worldwideknights.com/view_mission.htm
http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/view.php?pg=aboutus
http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/view_guidelines.htm
http://www.worldwideknights.com/view_info.htm
http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/view_books.htm
http://www.worldwideknights.com/view_spread.htm
http://www3.fertilethoughts.com/forums/view.php?pg=acronyms
http://www.makeuptalk.com/forums/view.php?pg=makeuptalk-newsletter
http://www.bklab.com (entire site is designed with Webtemplates only)
(Actually this hack is one of the most popular vb hacks so it is used by hundreds -if not thousands- of vbulletin sites and you can easily find them if you go to google and search "Logician's WebTemplates" WITH quotation marks)

3.5 version Admin CP screenshot attached to this post. 3.0.x screenshots (here and here) also still applies for this version.

If you use the hack, clicking here will make sure you'll know about updates&bug fixes. It will also help me understand how many people is using the hack so please click the install button if you use it. Thank you..

About this 3.7.xx Version: This 3.7.xx version is same as previous 3.6.x version. 3.6.x version was already working in vbulletin 3.7.x except a few minor bugs and these bugs are fixed in this version to make it dedicated solely to vbulletin 3.7.x. Please see "what's new" in the next post for more details.

Version Updates:
29.July.2008 - > Version 3.7.00
* Hack 3.7.00 is released.

[Shanj]

I think I have finally worked out a way to make a personalised entry / specialised welcome page per usergroup for my site, using Logician's top quality mod and with a bit of his advice as well.

(Actually with Logician's powerful controls it could also target key individual users with a custom entry / welcome page as well as targeting usergroups.)

No messing with the login process, no secondary complications of being timed out and forced to return to the entry page when logging in again.

Also when giving the URL for entry to anyone in an email/ by phone/ visible on a webpage, in a letter or advert, the welcome page URL can be kept very simple and easy to remember.

The welcome page can provide any information, links, guides as relevant to e.g. very new user/ veteran user/ mods/ various needs for usergroups.

Using Logician's admin cp editor by pasting in a complex page from your own editor,
OR using the "Edit this page" Logician webeditor to make a simple page of information and links, it's not a big deal to create the welcome page you want.


1. I make a perfectly ordinary html page.
I'll call this the false welcome page.

This must NOT be a Logician Webtemplate.
Best to place it outside the vbulletin folder.

Its URL is something like

www.mysite.com/welcome

To get this ultra simple URL make a directory named

welcome

containing an index.html page. This is the false welcome page.

This URL is very easy for you to publicise and for your people and new possible people to remember.

www.mysite.com/welcome

is much more user friendly than either the forumhome (if it's in a subdirectory) or a webtemplate page. It's quick and simple to
- give out on the phone,
-- offer in an email, email signature
- include in a letter/ letter heasding, leaflet, or advert

- and perhaps most important it's easily remembered.
For me with international travelling users that's key as they can remember it wherever they are.

2. But the false welcome page - the index.html page inside the welcome directory
has nothing in it except a standard redirect to one of Logician's cool webtemplates - which because it is powerful has its characteristically more complex URL.

Redirect is done like this.
Put this code between the <HEAD> and </HEAD> tags of the index page in the "welcome" directory.

<meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.mysite.com/view.php?pg=test ">

www.mysite.com/view.php?pg=test">

the target for the redirect, is one of Logician's sample webtemplates which will be the TRUE welcome page.
Yours will replace mysite.com and also the name of the webtemplate on the end showing as "test."

3. Because the user is being redirected to a page INTERNAL to VBulletin the standard VB login interface HAS to appear.
The user logs in.
or registers, if you accept open registration.

4. They then arrive at the TRUE welcome page.
For them it's just
- use the very simple URL to the false welcome page (the ordinary html page)
- Login or register
- Arrive at the TRUE welcome page.

4A. The webtemplate on arrival, the TRUE welcome page, obviously has a link to the forumhome either in its navbar (if using the VB header) and optionally in a side menu.
(I recommend Ultimate Side Columns for use with Logician's Webtemplates)

It should also have a prominent link to the TRUE welcome page so users can get back to it for information, guides, links to frequently used areas, the stuff you put together to suit THEIR needs.

5. The TRUE welcome page is one single longish page, set to be accessible to ALL usergroups you want to use this method of entry.
Set that access for this page, in Logician's webtemplates admincp.

(You may also want some usergroups to just use the standard forumhome which you publicise to those types of user. Perhaps having a personalised welcome page is best for your newcomers? or useful as a privilege level gift.)

6. The TRUE welcome page/ webtemplate has sections that are different for different usergroups.
Welcome for very new users,
higher level content for veterans,
stuff for mods,
specifics for various usergroups.

Logician's online editor feature also supports a collaborative page maintained with colleagues, fellow mods, family wetc though this would probably mean a simpler page unless the collaborators are all coders!

These usergroup access controls are created by php conditionals as Logician showed earlier on this thread:

<if condition="$bbuserinfo[usergroupid] == 6">
this content displays only to administrator
</if>
<if condition="$bbuserinfo[usergroupid] == 2">
this content displays only to registered member
</if> 

There is also php conditional code like this to target an individual user, or bar one otherwise allowed by their usergroup.

.................................................. ...

TO SUMMARISE

Use a false welcome page \directory-named-welcome\index.html
index.html redirects to the TRUE webtemplate welcome (Logician's webtemploate)
the TRUE webtemplate welcome is set in Logician's admin cp to all usergroups you want to have a welcome/ entry page
it has php conditionals to offer customised stuff to a) usergroups b) key individuals or bar same.

Phew! Thank you Logician for helping me so much on the way. I hope this little piece of work is not out of place here.

[Shanj]

Can I make a quick edit section possible like this?

First template is independent, no VB header or footer, set to HTML.
Second template has ONLY text content and URL to image only.

First template has code in one of its table cells (a column) that inserts the content of the second template.

What do I put in the selected table cell, in the first template to make it insert the second template?

My aim is that I open just the SECOND template via its URL,
click Edit this page
and change the typed text in it. Save.
This updates this section in the FIRST template within the table cell.

........................

If this is not good please suggest a way to insert
a) plain text paragraphs and b) an image link
into a specific part of a webtemplate
using the webeditor
without opening and editing the whole webtemplate in the webeditor.

This is because it's a long and complicated webtemplate so i want a way to have a quick update section.

Thank you lots.

[jimfries]

Love the mod Logician! Very well done.

I've also recently updated my site to 4.0.1, and was curious if you have given any plans on upgrading this to the latest versions?

[Shanj]

Originally Posted by jimfries

Love the mod Logician! Very well done.

I've also recently updated my site to 4.0.1, and was curious if you have given any plans on upgrading this to the latest versions?

Yes s/he said that 4.0 will be done but isn't giving us a date yet.

Logician are you he or she? Just so's I can be properly courteous after all these years!

[Logician]

Originally Posted by Shanj

Logician are you he or she?

he

[Shanj]

Originally Posted by Logician

he

This is like hide n seek in the WOODS - you peep out from behind a ruddy bush and squeak

"he"

after 51 hours silence pre-cisely -

- then another 3 hours silence!

How can you be so cruel? Take pity on me Sir Logician. At least tell me if you can give me code to do this:

What do I put in the selected table cell, in the first template to make it insert the text in a second template?

I've been checking every couple of hours just for one word from you - that you can do this yes/no?

Seriously being able to insert text from template B into a table cell in template A, using the webeditor on template B, plus start/end tags in the table cell in template A -
this would complete being able to ignore all those cms/ portal things. They don't give me the fine degree of control on layout or content that your genius does.

[Logician]

Originally Posted by Shanj

Can I make a quick edit section possible like this?

First template is independent, no VB header or footer, set to HTML.
Second template has ONLY text content and URL to image only.

First template has code in one of its table cells (a column) that inserts the content of the second template.

What do I put in the selected table cell, in the first template to make it insert the second template?

My aim is that I open just the SECOND template via its URL,
click Edit this page
and change the typed text in it. Save.
This updates this section in the FIRST template within the table cell.

........................

If this is not good please suggest a way to insert
a) plain text paragraphs and b) an image link
into a specific part of a webtemplate
using the webeditor
without opening and editing the whole webtemplate in the webeditor.

This is because it's a long and complicated webtemplate so i want a way to have a quick update section.



Thank you lots.

Create 2 webtemplates as you imagined:
a) HTML webtemplate (will be parent)
b) Text Webtemplate (will be a child element in parent)

Then use iframe code in HTML webtemplate to display text webtemplate in it.

Give editor rights to text webtemplate to any user/usergroup you like and they can now edit text content with WYSIWYG editor without dealing with HTML content of the parent.

[Shanj]

Thank you kindly Logician. I just woke up and found your lovely reply.

I was beginning to wonder what that iframe stuff was that came up on this thread sometimes. Should have looked it up. I did that now.

In the parent webtemplate I put

<iframe src ="http:/www.mysite.com/forums/view_child.htm"      width="100%" height=""></iframe>

100% width is controlled by the parent table cell.

Hmm. Just as a final flourish it would be nice to archive the previous item in an accessible way to the user. Little bit like a blog.
Let's see ...
# Parent webtemplate (html) has iframe for updating info+pic item. This links to child1 (text).
At the bottom of this iframed column (table cell) AFTER the iframe is a link to child2 (text) archive page labelled "More." Placing after iframe ensures that editing the iframe content doesn't blitz this link!

# Open both child1 and child2 in separate windows.
Webedit (text): Cut item 1 text+pic from child1.
Webedit (text): Paste it into child2 archive page.
This is not narrow column, but full width centre content. So can hold quite a few before pagination necessary.

# Webedit (text): Paste or type new item into child1.

# Child1 (pic+text) updated appears in the iframe on parent.
Child2 displays archived items full page spread.

If anyone can see better shortcut on the archiving please tell me.

Or would I be better finding a simple blog and inserting it in the iframe?
No - not for me because all I want is to update a news/ info/ announcement item. No comments etc. But i would like to have the older items archived for users to read.

[ryancooper]

Can someone help me with a web query that will insert the latest 5 threads with title x in them? I want to be able to put a query on every page that says: here are the latest five threads about <subject>

Thanks!

[Gn_Snake]

Originally Posted by Logician

I can't promise when but yes, eventually it will be ported to vb4.

Yeahhhhh :up:
I hope as soon as possible is the best mod ever