Integration with vBulletin - vHoist : Garage / Car Showroom

About:

vHoist is a new Virtual Garage plugin that allows your users to share the rides with the rest of your forum!

Our plugin fully integrates into your forum software providing seamless integration without the limits of other plugins with similar features, such as extra SQL querys added to your site.


vHoist Has:

- Multiple Garages for each user

- No Added SQL Query's

- Users Cars listed under their post info

- Full seamless integration into your forum

- Users can share their garages over multiple websites without the need to modify their profiles for each site.

- Anyone that "parks" their car on your website, will provide a backlink to your site for every other site they are on.

- Unlimited Pictures and Rides

- Many new features coming weekly! Facebook plugin, phpbb plugin both in development.

- Will be supporting MOTORCYCLES, ATV's, Boats and much much more!

Sites that are already using vHoist.com:

http://www.GenerationDub.com
http://psaclub.net/forums.php

Install Instructions

1) Download the zip file.

2) Upload vHoist.php into the root directory of your website.

3) Install the product "product_vhoist.xml" (Allow overwrite if you're upgrading) into vBulletin.
[ Plugins & Products ] -> [ Manage Products ] -> Add/Import Product.

4) Visit www.vHoist.com and Register an account. *COMPLETELY FREE*

5) Once logged in, click "Downloads", and redownload the zip file to enable the administration panel. REFRESH this page after download.

6) Add your website to vHoist.com by using the "Site Adminstrator" menu to the left, located under your Member Garage.
* Your site will not be added to vHoist.com until you upload vHoist.php and correctly add your URL to our database.

7) Save the information and Paste the passkey Generated by vHoist.com into your vBulletin vHoist settings.

[ vBulletin Options ] -> [ vBulletin Options ] -> [ vHoist Settings ] -> Website Passkey

8) Adjust your settings in vBulletin for vHoist accordingly.

After you are finished the above, visit your newly installed vHoist on your website. You will see a message saying that you do not currently have any cars parked on your site. Click on "Add / Edit vHoist" and then park your car on your site!

FAQ:

How does the benefit my site?

- There is no "Overhead" added to your site like other plugins, such as vbGarage, because everything takes place on vHoist.com

- Backlinks, an important SEO feature, come from vHoist.com to your site. For example, if one member parks his / her car on multiple websites, you will automatically be back linked from potentially thousands of sites. It's already happening.. http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100390 - This is a VERY important feature and benefit to your site.

- Your users now only have to "Update" their ride on one site, and it propogates to all other sites they have parked too. Now if they have "forgotten" that they came to forum before but parked their ride there, it will be bumped up to the top of the list when they have an update.

- If someone comments from your forum, the user will receive an email saying that someone commented from your forum, and potentially giving you another user to come back to your site! Again, ANOTHER backlink is added on the comment. Here is an example:

http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100000

Here's what a users garage looks like parked on 2 seperate sites!

Site 1 - http://forums.generationdub.com/vHoi...iew&gid=100000

Site 2 - http://psaclub.net/vHoist.php?do=view&gid=100000

Do you get our users information?

We save the UserID, UserName and Email address of users that "Park" a car on your website, so that the user display information will properly show up on your site. This is strictly because users will occasionally have multiple usernames across many forums. Since vHoist.com allows a user to "park" their ride on your site, we need to display their username for your site properly.


For more FAQ's like this, visit: http://www.vhoist.com/FAQ.aspx

Time to install: < 5 Minutes
Template Edits: 0
File Uploads: 1
Products: 1

Has been tested on:

3.6.7
3.6.8
3.7.1
3.8.0

Believed to work on ALL versions from 3.6.0 to 3.8.0, but would like confirmation from users currently using those sites.

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.1]
- Fixed Search not working
- Removed Sponsor Program
- Allowed importing for 3.5.7
- Disabled "member ride" listed under user's name until I can figure out the "slow down" issue
- problem with quotes in user names
- moved related rides to the left instead of right

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.2]
- Added "Random Image" table - show 1 through 10 random garages by your users
- Created a new way to add vHoist to your forum, so you can use a selection box to pick where it goes
- Added "Latest Image" table - show 1 through 10 last edited garages by your users
- Added more extensive options menu
- Added Quick Links Menu
- Fixed "Enable / Disable" Option
- Removed "Members Rides" option under user names until futher testing

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.3]
- Added sorting on title bar of search
- Added some vHoist website functionality
- View users rides from www.vhoist.com/ride/XXXXXX/ where XXX is the ride number.
- Fixed bug for not being able to remove ride

product / vhoist.php files - [1.0.0.4]
- Added User Profiles tab
- Removed this from "beta" since it's been functioning on sites for a few months now
- Added some vHoist website functionality - analytics to be added in next release
- View users profile from www.vhoist.com/id/username/ where XXX is the username on vHoist.com

Known Issues for this release:

- None reported

Other:

This is currently a working public BETA. I will be supporting this daily (well, mostly nightly EST) in this thread and via any problems submitted by email using the contact form on the site, http://www.vhoist.com


*Attention vbGarage Users*

We have been working diligantly on a conversion tool to transfer your current vBGarage users into vHoist.com. The converter is currently in Alpha testing and is not publicly avalible yet.

It is recommend that smaller sites that are using vBGarage start off with a fresh new vHoist account, however, we understand that content is hard to come by and we are working fast to bring this converter to you! If this is stopping you from installing vHoist.com, then please use our contact forum to let us know you are waiting!

....

Cheers .... and .... here goes nothing... this is my first publicly released mod, so if I did this wrong, please forgive me!

[footose]

Hmm! Strange,

I'm running 3.7.1, and these sites are running these versions.

3.5.7
3.6.8
3.7.1
3.8.0

I'm guessing it's something directly related to your forum. If you give me the URL, I can probably debug it Also, upload vHoist.php (it shouldn't effect the rest of your site), that will give me a better idea of whats going on.

[freni32]

Originally Posted by footose

Hmm! Strange,

I'm running 3.7.1, and these sites are running these versions.

3.5.7
3.6.8
3.7.1
3.8.0

I'm guessing it's something directly related to your forum. If you give me the URL, I can probably debug it Also, upload vHoist.php (it shouldn't effect the rest of your site), that will give me a better idea of whats going on.

Don't want to upload it, shuts down my forums. I think it has something to do with the options on selecting the category ID, if I select a category ID 1 it puts it in my forums & the top and works fine, however as soon as I go to the site and upload pictures of my car my entire forum shuts down?

However if I put say category ID 500 that doesnt exist it doesnt show up on my forums at all and my forum runs fine...but you still cant see the category on where to go to the garage at?
Site is: http://www.Radar-Detector-Reviews.Net

[footose]

If you upload vHoist.php, it shouldn't effect your site as long as you turn off ALL of the plugin's that are associated with the install (there are three of them)..., that way I can diagnose what's happening. I'll download 3.7.0 tonight and do some testing to make sure.

In the short term, what you can actually do is just make a "link forum" and link it to vHoist.php. You won't see pictuers on the main forum, but it acts the same.

Add me to MSN (if you have it) .. maybe you can help me hscanlancom ( A2t) hotmail.com

[nazguluk]

Can you add the following;

smart

Roadster Coupé, Roadster, Crossblade, City Coupé, City Cabriolet, fortwo, fortwo Cabriolet

And could you advise how many sites have signed up, i.e. will smartmaniacs be in the 50 without advertising?

[footose]

I've added the above, and yes you're fine, as long as you are continuily running vHoist plugin throughout the beta period so that I can debug the system properly. This is the whole reason I'm kind of getting rid of the advertising. You help me, I help you sorta deal But if you just installed to get the "space" and you aren't actively using the plugin (i check) then... ..meh.. ill remember that :P lol

[nazguluk]

I have removed it for a couple of days, we're updating styles and integration. I tried to add a vehicle as a test and the pictures would not upload, so the vehicle was not available in the garage? If you can help with that then I'll drop it back in

We're an active forum with 000's of members and a high loyalty rate, so looking forward to using this in anger!

[nazguluk]

OK, it's back on the test system now, and working - kind of.

Still having issues with uploading images, but one I uploaded earlier has finally appeared?

[footose]

Some of the image problems were my fault, some permissions on my server changed and messed some things up. It should be good now, so check it out. (images wise)

If it doesn't work (still), let me know exactly what you are uploading, or send the file itself to my email, admin (a.t) vhoist.com and I will try to determine whats wrong!

Thanks for checking out! If your dev forum is online, link me in a PM as well and I can check it out!

I've actually designed a "new way" that will fix the styling problems and give this more options so that it doesn't effect anything major on peoples sites.. since i really only accounted for the default syling, i didn't realize how many people had totally modded forums.

[footose]

bump..still working on some new features.

[nazguluk]

You have PM