Auto Post Google Alerts

I will no longer be supporting this hack as 3.6.x supports feeds, making this hack obsolete.

This hack will automatically post to a forum of your choice, as a user of your choice, any Google alert received. In fact, it should work for any alert service.

If you do not know what Google Alerts are, see this page:

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Requirements:

A POP email box to receive Google Alerts.

Install is simple. Upload the PHP file, install the product, define the settings in adminCP, test, and set up a scheduled task in the adminCP then:

Click Install

You can limit who can post alerts by restricting domains allowed to email the POP box. I advise you use a secret, previously unused POP box/email address. Any mail in the POP box that is not in the domain list is deleted, otherwise it is posted.

I will offer support as I can here, or in the forum at my website at www.worldwidecreations.com

This modification is FREE of charge, but if you wish to reward me for my work, and encourage future modifications by me, please donate below:

[sandalwood]

hey, i can't seem to get your script to send any packets at all. all the settings are correct, however it just doesn't try to connect to the pop server at all. i am watching with a sniffer.

[sandalwood]

Originally Posted by rmd708

I got it to work by commenting out this line:
# echo 'Loading Directly.<P>';

WTF... THIS WORKED.

i don't understand how commenting that line can make the difference between even making the pop3 connection at all but THANK YOU rmd708! :banana:

[dilbert]

Originally Posted by sandalwood

WTF... THIS WORKED.

i don't understand how commenting that line can make the difference between even making the pop3 connection at all but THANK YOU rmd708! :banana:

Hmm, didn't work for me, I edited it out and have this error:
Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded in D:\inetpub\bloodbanktalk\forum\includes\class_core .php on line 2967

Jafo, are you still supporting this mod?
Thanks,
Cliff

[dilbert]

OK, so I got it to work. It's pretty cool.
My problem is I created a new forum just for these alerts. Then when you are at the forum homepage, it says that forum has 0 posts, so no one will know they are there.
Can it be changed to have these count?

Thanks,
Cliff

[ldove]

Originally Posted by dilbert

OK, so I got it to work. It's pretty cool.
My problem is I created a new forum just for these alerts. Then when you are at the forum homepage, it says that forum has 0 posts, so no one will know they are there.
Can it be changed to have these count?

Thanks,
Cliff

How'd you resolve it. It sounds like we may have similar setups for the backend.

Thanks,

[H@K@N]

Awesome hack, clicks install ...

And how do i create a cron for this ? Just copy vbox.php > includes/cron and create the cron ?

th@nks

[TheMusicMan]

Hi

I installed this plug-in but am trying to use it in a slightly different manner than originally intended. I am after a hack/plugin that would allow me (Admin) to be able to send an email to a specified address which then creates a new thread on my forums in a specified forumID with the email subject being the title of the thread.

So, I installed this and it does work - up to a point - but I need some advice if this is OK please as it isn't working as I want it to.

I set the userID, the forumID and the pop mail account details in the AdminCP, and then sent an email to it. The thread does indeed get created and posted by the userID in the specified forum, the email subject is mapped to the thread title, but none of the content of the email gets entered as the content of the thread.

All I see in the thread is: Sent from myemail@address.com

How can I make this so that the content of the text in the email gets mapped to the message text of the thread that is created...? or should this already occur?

Thanks.

[TheMusicMan]

Update:

To all those asking the same question I did (sorry... without looking through the thread first!!) as in the email content not being mapped through to the thread content... the answer is simple.

Make sure you send the email in Plain Text format. The vBox.php file filters out all html code and even after this, if the format of the email is of HTML type, it uses an if else statement to show the senders email address as the content rather than the content of the email.

Hope this helps...

[valentine]

If, when I try to run this from the scheduled tasks CP, absolutely nothing happens, what is the likely cause?

I know that the settings are right in VB Options, because its set up the same as MailWasher, which I use to filter out my spam. So, mailwasher can see that the email is sitting there on the server, but the script doesn't actually appear to run.

If I change the POP server to something like 'notthishost', then I get an error like below

Warning: imap_open(): Couldn't open stream {notthishost:110/pop3/tls/novalidate-cert} in /vbox.php on line 24

Warning: imap_num_msg(): supplied argument is not a valid imap resource in /vbox.php on line 26
done processed 0 of mails

Done

so I know the script is there and working - but it doesn't appear to be. So this'd make me think my settings are wrong... but I'm certain they're not!

Anyone? Seems like a useful script but I don't want to waste much more time on it than I have done already.

[H@K@N]

Originally Posted by dilbert

OK, so I got it to work. It's pretty cool.
My problem is I created a new forum just for these alerts. Then when you are at the forum homepage, it says that forum has 0 posts, so no one will know they are there.
Can it be changed to have these count?

Thanks,
Cliff

same Issue here, any Solution for this ?


gr33tz