PM Auto Reply

So, a little something this time I had on my mind for quite a while now....

PM Auto-Reply MOD by ---==> HELLCAT <==---
This adds an "auto responder" to the PMs.

When enabled, everytime you get sent a PM the sender is automatically returned a PM containing a predefined message (editable in options).
To tell the sender you're offline for a while and answer should be expected sometime later or such....

Features:

• Adds an auto responder (auto reply) option to the PMs
• Can be turned ON and OFF in useroptions
• A date can optionally be specified between automated replies are sent
• Another user can optionally be specified to whom a copy of the recieved PM is forwarded to
• Admin can specify usergroups not allowed to use the auto responder

Installation:

• Import the product .XML
• One tiny template edit:
  Open template "modifyoptions " (in "Modify Useroptions" group) and FIND THIS:
  

  $customfields[messaging]

  AFTER it, ADD:
  

  $pmautoreply_option

  Save the template.

Done, and enjoy!

The admin option for excluding usergroups is in "vBulletin Options" -> "Private Messaging Options" at the bottom: "Exclude usergroups from using the PM auto reply feature"

I intentionally didn't do it with usergroup permissions since that would require a .XML file to be uploaded and I wanted to stay this as a single product/plugin file

[hint]I'd also like something like this on vb.org [/hint]

[noj75]

Thanks very much for this.

Clicked install.

[Hellcat]

Originally Posted by vau7

Sure, i dont make a sense that the PM is everytime resend to a user who has already got it.

Ah, you're talking about something on a "per user" level?
Hmm.... that would need quite some db overhead....

If you have an eMail autoresponder, you also get the reply everytime you send something there.
Once the other(s) know you're not there, they should know it doesn't make sense to send more PMs for a while

Well, I'll think about this, if and how it can be done without too much overhead....

[bada_bing]

Originally Posted by Hellcat

I read a lot about 3.5.3 issues, but no details.
What exact issues are there with 3.5.3 that are not present on the others?



Sounds like a nice addition.
[high]* bada_bing puts on ToDo
[/high]



Yes



You mean like a sort of "auto deactivate" after the first auto-replied PM?

Hellcat,

Would love if you can fix the issue with 3.5.3 . Basically if I add any groups to exclude this hack in admincp then the back options in usercp no longer exists but if I allow all usergroups to use this hack then the options for this hack will show up in usercp.

Can you please fix this???

[Hellcat]

Originally Posted by bada_bing

Hellcat,

Would love if you can fix the issue with 3.5.3 . Basically if I add any groups to exclude this hack in admincp then the back options in usercp no longer exists but if I allow all usergroups to use this hack then the options for this hack will show up in usercp.

Can you please fix this???

I've rewritten the code for checking the usergroups.
Try the new version if it's working now.

Also doublecheck that the template edit has been made and there's no typo.

[bada_bing]

Originally Posted by Hellcat

I've rewritten the code for checking the usergroups.
Try the new version if it's working now.

Also doublecheck that the template edit has been made and there's no typo.

Hellcat,

I installed the latest version and it works..Thank You Thank You...

[Chris Blount]

Nice hack! Thanks so much and great work!

[freedom2support]

Originally Posted by Hellcat

UPDATE

- Fixed the {name} replacement bug
- Added optional receiver of automatically forwarded PM (the original PM sent can be forwarded to a third person)

Thanks for fixing that bug

** Installs on live site **

[user02934123123]

Dear all,

Notification that there is a serious bug when using this hack on 3.6 (as of release candidate 1), not in its performance in its own right, but in the form of a fatal error it causes in other parts of vB when installed and enabled.

Namely, having PM AutoReply 1.25 installed on vB 3.6 rc 1 causes a serious error in the user self-registration process. Read fuller details in vB 3.6 bug report 498 (it's not actually a vB bug, but I reported it there before we were able to determine it was being caused by this plugin).

Read that bug report for the full details. In short, having this hack installed causes the verification process for registrations to result in a 'fatal error' when a new user follows the registration link in their verification e-mail. The hack also causes the problem of new registration welcome PMs (a new feature in 3.6) not appearing in unread/total PM counts (as per bug 497).

The long and short of this is that PM AutoReply really should be entirely uninstalled on vB 3.6, or at the very least fully disabled in AdminCP > Plugins & Products > Manage Products, as it causes these rather serious registration errors that system moderators / admins are likely not to see first-hand (unless you routinely register for test accounts on your own system, to see how things are working).

NB: This has been an excellent hack on vB 3.5.x -- one of those I have enjoyed most and found most useful. I'm hopeful its author will release a vB 3.6 native version soon so we can get back to using it!

[mrmike]

Great mod! Thanx.. Clicking install

[workplaybiz]

Is there any way you can adapt this to send an auto-responder sequence via e-mail? I really need to send a series of follow ups to users who opt-in to recieve them when they register for my site. How would I update the admin cp so that I can send an e-mail every day or every week for a set number of weeks and then just send them messages as neccassary?

Thanks,
John