Major Additions - Email Integration (New threads/replies by email)

This mod is based off of the Mail Reply modification by Colin F to which I have obtained permission to rewrite and release.

This modification allows you to mimic email lists such as yahoo groups through your forums!

After installing this modification you will have new settings in your forum manager where for each forum you can enable this modification and setup a separate email address to use for each forum that you have this enabled for.

Just like how there is a separate email address for each yahoo group.

After doing so, members can subscribe to each forum that this mod is enabled for to receive notifications for new threads and replies.

Any posts in that forum, will be sent to them via email. (Example email attached below). The users can then reply to that email (which will then be processed and posted to the forums through the cron job that runs every 10 minutes), or they can send a new email to the email address and a brand new thread will be created!

Essentially mimicing an email list! Suddenly those users that hate forums, can still be dragged into the conversations and help keep the forum's activity level up!


BUGS!
These are the known bugs to date:

• Confirmed bug that email processing does not handle Japanese characters.

Unsupported Items
These are the items that are not currently supported:

• Some custom bbcode modifications will not display like they do on the forums in the html emails. Like glow, and the table mod.

TO UPGRADE

• Please see the file in the zip for upgrading!! If your upgrading from version 2.3.X you will need to reverse some file edits that are no longer nessecary!

NEW INSTALL

• See instructions in the zip file.

VERSION HISTORY!
(See the file in the zip for a complete history!)

• 2.6 Release
  • Bug Fixes
    • Joining an unmoderated public group will now auto subscribe you per the usergroup settings.
    • NO CONFLICTS with Instant Thread Subscription! See details in below post.
  • New Stuff
    • User Option Allow Auto Subscribe - This is an admin allowable, user option that let's the user choose to not be auto subscribed.
    • User Option not receive own posts - A new user option that lets them select to NOT receive their own posts via email.
    • Editted the phrase for the Auto Subscription script to tell people what to do if there are no listings.
    • Added error checks when saving a usergroup for if auto subscriptioin is entered with a forumid for a forum that does not have email integration enabled and also checks that the usergroup you are saing is entered in the forum manager as allowed to use email integration.
• 2.6.1 Release (BETA VERSION)
  • Hot Fix
    • It appears I was unseting a variable too soon. I've corrected this and it has resolved the issue with multiple posted replies on my test server.

Most of these will be slow to make it in til I know I've got the code to handle just about every type of email we could receive But in anycase, here are the ideas for future versions!

• End User Option to subscribe to just receive new thread emails, or receive all new thread & reply emails (current version does all new threads & replies).

Thanks to RedTyger, Bob Denny, Ed Kohwley and Chris McKeever for their additions and assistance with portions of this code.

Huge thanks also goes to the many individuals that have helped test various incarnations of this mod.

MAD PROPS TO: cgmckeever for a great quoting regex for the old format, and all the mods at www.4winmobile.com for helping test version 2.4 prior to release!!

You guys rock!

Please feel free to donate to my continued work on this modification!! It let's me spend more time on it!
Make a Donation!

Version 2.6 will work with both 3.6.8 and 3.7!

The #.X versions are the solid tested versions.

The #.X.X versions are the beta versions. New features and bug fixes will be worked in there and then when I have a solid version it'll be released as the next #.X

Thank you!!

~ Cyricx

[Cyricx]

Originally Posted by Dontom

One more thing,
if someone adds image code to his email it is not getting displayed correct.

e.g. contained in the email (minus spaces):

[img ]http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/images/ibc/ibclogo_ececec.gif[/img ]

in a forumpost it looks like:

[img ][url='http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/images/ibc/ibclogo_ececec.gif[/img ]']http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/images/ibc/ibclogo_ececec.gif[/img ][/URL ]

Any advice?

I'll contact you off forums to get a copy of that email to see if I can determine why it did it, and to resolve it

Originally Posted by snoopy5

Hi

I am a little bit confused. Where is the difference between this script above and this one?:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...=169247&page=2


I am very interested in this hack. I only need a slight modification. I would be willing to pay for this.

I need this mailinglist functionality depending on the usergroup. I do not want that every user can use this feature, only premium members and Moderators shall be allowed to use this feature.

Would that be possible?

Thanks in advance

Right now.. no difference in the two mods. As I get things all debugged, I'll begin working on the 3.7 version more and then these two will separate quite a bit.

This is very possible and I'll plan it in for the next version. Right now it allows you to restrict who can reply via email, but ti doesn't restrict who can subscribe to instant email notifications.

Let me check out some of these bugs and get them cleaned up and I'll code that in for the next version as well

Sorry for my delay in responding snoopy. As I mentioned, I spent the last week beating a motherboard and cpu that didn't want to get along against the wall... O the joys of build your own system

Originally Posted by yotsume

Now all this hack needs is a simple way for the admin to be able to subscribe groups of users to a specific forum or thread they want to from the admin panel.

This is almost a great hack just one very important key feature missing still! Besides users being able to subscribe... admins need to be able to do this as well from their end!

PLEASE ADD THIS ASAP!

Any chance this hack will work on vb3.6.4?

That is already in!

After installation, go to the usergroup manager and turn on auto notification and enter in the forumids you want to set that usergroup to automatically be subscribed to instant notification for. Then under Usergroups is "Auto Subscriptions", or under the heading of "Email Integration" is another link to "Auto Subscriptions".

As far as 3.6.4, I have not tested it on that, though I do not forsee any issues with this not working with 3.6.4. Logically, it should work for any of the 3.6x versions though it has not been tested.

Originally Posted by abrecher

By default it seems that users are subscribed via text email instead of HTML. How can I change that without forcing all of them to use HTML ?

So you want users to get html emails. But they can go into their UserCP and select to receive text messages if they want?

To do that you'll need to change the default value of the field in the usertable.

Go to your Admincp -> Maintence -> Execute SQL Query ->

If you use a table prefix like vb3_ run this query and replace vb3_ with your table prefix.

ALTER TABLE `vb3_user` CHANGE `ei_format` `ei_format` INT( 3 ) NOT NULL DEFAULT '1';

If you do NOT use a table prefix then run this query:

ALTER TABLE `user` CHANGE `ei_format` `ei_format` INT( 3 ) NOT NULL DEFAULT '1';

[snoopy5]

Originally Posted by Cyricx

....Right now it allows you to restrict who can reply via email, but ti doesn't restrict who can subscribe to instant email notifications.

...

After installation, go to the usergroup manager and turn on auto notification and enter in the forumids you want to set that usergroup to automatically be subscribed to instant notification for. Then under Usergroups is "Auto Subscriptions", or under the heading of "Email Integration" is another link to "Auto Subscriptions".

mmmhh. Maybe I misunderstood this, but for me it sounds like this is already in it.

If you compare the first part of your answer and the second part (marked in red), it seems that it is already the case, that I can set it up in ACP that i.e. only premium members get instant e-mail notification incl. the reply functionality and no other usergroup will have both features.

Or did I misundertand here something?

[Tralala]

I'm back. As promised a few months ago, I've now successfully moved my forum to a new host, with the express desire of being compatible with this plugin. Now that the move is complete, I've caught up in this thread, I've installed the add-on, and am configuring it.

1) The first thing I've noticed is that the forums under "Edit Forum Subscriptions" don't respect the settings I have in AdminCP's Forum Manager, specifically "Forum is Open" and "Forum is Active." I have some sub-forums that are set to be CLOSED and/or INACTIVE, and yet they still show up in Registered Users' "Edit Forum Subscriptions" settings. My feeling is that if these sub-forum names are not viewable to them in the regular forum, they shouldn't be viewable in that setting, either. Was this an oversight or am I missing something?

2) Until I enabled this for at least one forum, I didn't see "Instant notification" show up as an option in the pulldown menu. Although "Set all Instant" is a button at the bottom. So it was confusing.



If no forums have Instant Notification enabled, that button shouldn't be there, I don't think.


3) This is not showing up for users on "Edit Options:"

Added ability for users to select the email format they would like. Plain Text or HTML, this is on the end users "Edit Options" page.

How can I get this feature?


I'll provide more feedback as I tinker...

[Cyricx]

Originally Posted by snoopy5

mmmhh. Maybe I misunderstood this, but for me it sounds like this is already in it.

If you compare the first part of your answer and the second part (marked in red), it seems that it is already the case, that I can set it up in ACP that i.e. only premium members get instant e-mail notification incl. the reply functionality and no other usergroup will have both features.

Or did I misundertand here something?

Kinda..

There are two different points that the usergroups can be checked. When subscribing to receive the updates (no check beyond forum permissions at this time) and when emails are being processed from the list (controlled by the array of usergroups added in the forum manager).

Right now this modification will allow anyone that you have as allowed to view a forum, to setup for instant notification emails.

However, only the usergroups you allow can reply via email.

I'm going to work some fixes to make that same list of usergroups apply both ways. So that only those you allow to reply via email are the same ones that are only allowed to subscribe to get instant email notifications. It'll be in the next bug fix version as I feel this is a bug that it doesn't cover that already

Originally Posted by Tralala

1) The first thing I've noticed is that the forums under "Edit Forum Subscriptions" don't respect the settings I have in AdminCP's Forum Manager, specifically "Forum is Open" and "Forum is Active." I have some sub-forums that are set to be CLOSED and/or INACTIVE, and yet they still show up in Registered Users' "Edit Forum Subscriptions" settings. My feeling is that if these sub-forum names are not viewable to them in the regular forum, they shouldn't be viewable in that setting, either. Was this an oversight or am I missing something?

Bug! *grumble* hehe I'll work on some fixes for this too!

Originally Posted by Tralala

2) Until I enabled this for at least one forum, I didn't see "Instant notification" show up as an option in the pulldown menu. Although "Set all Instant" is a button at the bottom. So it was confusing.



If no forums have Instant Notification enabled, that button shouldn't be there, I don't think.

Great point! I'll work on this as well!

Originally Posted by Tralala

3) This is not showing up for users on "Edit Options:"

How can I get this feature?

What specifically are you referring to that is not showing up under edit options?


Keep the bug finds comin guys!!! I've only got a handful of testers prior to release so alot of times they will miss the minor things.

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by Cyricx

What specifically are you referring to that is not showing up under edit options?

The ability for users to select the email format they would like. (Plain Text or HTML)
I am not seeing that at all in UserCP -> Edit Options.



Also, minor niggle, but on the "Edit Forum Subscriptions" page, why must "Instant Notification by Email is available for this forum!" appear in bold underneath every single (eligible) forum? Why not just have a concise description at the top, which adds "Only some forums have Instant Notification available" or instead, put an asterisk next to the eligible ones, with the "Instant Notification by Email is available for this forum" explanation at the bottom. It's cluttered and confusing the current way (IMHO)

[Cyricx]

in the admincp under Vbulletin Options -> Vbulletin Options -> Email Integration Settings

You have set "User's can select format?" to No.

Set it to Yes to allow users to select then it will show up

[Cyricx]

How's this?

O and yes... if you do not have access to subscribe to instant email notification for any forums the set all instant and that phrase will not show up

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by Cyricx

in the admincp under Vbulletin Options -> Vbulletin Options -> Email Integration Settings

You have set "User's can select format?" to No.

Set it to Yes to allow users to select then it will show up

It was already set to YES, but I'm still not seeing it.

[Cyricx]

Perhaps you haven't updated your templates.

In the newer versions I believe 3.6.8+, not completely certain which, but they added template hooks.

Check your modifyoptions template for

$template_hook[usercp_options_messaging]

The plugin looks for that and adds the template modification in to save you all from doing template edits

[Cyricx]

Originally Posted by mashby

I'm probably just missing something, but where do you edit the "Rejection Template"? I want to change what the bounce back e-mail says to someone who's not authorized to send an e-mail and I can't seem to find where that is.

Thanks!

I'm sorry... I completely missed replying to this. Only found it as I was doing a once over to make sure I had caught all the reported bugs in the newest version I've got ready to roll out.

Anyway -

If your looking for ANY of the email error messages just go to your Admincp -> Languages & Phrases -> Search in Phrases

As the text to search for enter: ei_error
Select to search in Phrase Variable name only.

You'll then see a list of all of the email subject and body messages for any of the errors.

The one your specifically after is: ei_error_nopermission


Hope this helps!!