Links and Files Database

The VB3.0 version is no longer supported although there have been no reported problems for some time

See here for the VB 3.6 version of this hack, which is now the supported version. This version currently also works with VB 3.5
See here for the VB 3.5 thread for this hack.

What's new in v1.60?

Option to display associated thumbnail images
Option to accept/not accept new entries if these already exists in database
Code for mass edits (accessed via admincp) tidied up
VB phrasing completed
Includes a full French and a partial German translation (thanks to cclaerhout, Allan and LeeWicKeD), handled properly by installation script.
Various bugs fixed and tested against php4 and php5:
Better database validation (on startup/in admincp: links with invalid associated forumids, categories with invalid parentids)
Alternative linkbit templates provided (default uses a fieldset, the other is the old-style table row)
Alternative category selection templates (pull down menu/list of checkboxes),
Star rating displayed using standard VB stars rather than in text form
Series of minor bug fixes
See file change.txt in zip file

What it is/does

- Provides a searchable database of weblinks and/or downloadable files, for example manuals, music files, pictures, etc.
- Integrates within VBulletin, without requiring any code changes.
- Transparently handles links and file downloads. (If you want to provide downloads from your own site, you need a separate tool to upload these files. This hack does not and will not include a file uploader.)
- Provides unlimited nested categories.
- Each link/file can be a member of multiple categories.
- Link and category title and descriptions can use all BBCODEs, giving the possibility to add images, colouring, etc, as you wish
- Viewing/access permissions controlled using VBulletin forum system
- Users can rate links, in a similar manner to VB thread rating.
- File downloads are semi-leechproof, i.e. the user does not see where the file is stored and can only access the link if she has access to the associated forum.
- Audio files playable via Windows Media Player can be offered as a jukebox .
- Tracks who downloads what
- Validates links on entry/editing, and provides admin facility to validate the entire database.

Installation/upgrading instructions

Read instructions.txt in the zip file. Installation script works out whether to install or upgrade.

To upgrade from an earlier release of this hack, simply re-run the installation script. If you modified the templates in the top styles, you will lose these modifications unless you back up and re-edit.

PLEASE BACK UP YOUR DATABASE

See also

For screen shots, see attachments.

Tested with

VBulletin 3.0 and higher
PHP 4.1.1 and 4.3.4, should work with all 4.x versions, seems ok with 5.0.4
MySQL 4.0.
Reported ok with MySQL 4.1 but not exhaustively tested

Credits

Initially inspired by drkFusion's vb2 hack "vb Link Directory" v.2 and discussion about v.3 on Vbulletin.org. This is a complete rewrite with many more features. Every credit to the VBulletin folks for providing the infrastructure and to those on vbulletin.org who have helped with testing.

Integrations/Conversions

Natch has written extensions to integrate this hack with VBindex and VBAdvanced.

For convenience, this hack includes fully integrates with, but does not install, his VBIndex hack - i.e. the required template and code are provided, and the admin panel handles the configuration settings. Please refer to his thread for instructions.

Integration with VBadvanced is described in thread 1319 at vbadvanced.com.

The zip file includes a script and instructions for converting from vbLinks v2 (see thread 44551

[CHIngs]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

I'll put this on the wishlist.
thanks

thanx for considering it for future versions. But I was kinda looking for a instant solution. I just need some starters, like database table should be made and some starters. I know its very similar to how the hits work. I tried it and it was saving time and stuff in the database but it was not disallowing downloads if a user click on the links below 60 seconds. I think partly because the hits system works on PER-FILE basis, I was kinda trying making it work globally, for all files.

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by CHIngs

thanx for considering it for future versions. But I was kinda looking for a instant solution. I just need some starters, like database table should be made and some starters. I know its very similar to how the hits work. I tried it and it was saving time and stuff in the database but it was not disallowing downloads if a user click on the links below 60 seconds. I think partly because the hits system works on PER-FILE basis, I was kinda trying making it work globally, for all files.

What you've seen in the code is to disallow double recording of a hit in the database if the user clicks the same link twice in quick succession - I found that we were recording multiple hits if people got tired or were trigger happy.

If you're looking to prohibit multiple hits, then you have to put some similar code in another place. Go down to the lines that read

PHP Code:

if ($_REQUEST['action'] == "jump" or $_REQUEST['action'] == "stream") {

    $time = TIMENOW;
    unset($url); 


and add something like:

PHP Code:

    $jumplink = $DB_site->query("
        SELECT * FROM ".THIS_TABLE."linksdownloads
        WHERE userid='$userid' 
        ORDER BY usertime DESC
        LIMIT 1
        ");
    while ($jump=$DB_site->fetch_array($jumplink)) {
        if ($time-$jump['usertime']) < YOUR_LIMIT) {
            eval(print_standard_error('You will have to wait...',0));
            exit;
        }
        exit;
    } 


[Slave]

Hi Andrew ..

I think I've found a bug ..

I was in the process of adding a few more links to my site when I noticed something ..

I'd added 2 new links to the 2nd subcat within a main cat and when looking at the front page the subcat I'd added the links to was bold within the Description area .. but so were all the subcats after it in the same cat and I'd not added anything in those subcats. I clicked on the main cat link and the list of subcats were correct on that page with only the 2nd subcat showing bold as it should. I went back to the front page and all the others were still bold ..

Is there a missing close bold tag in the code?

[Slave]

Sussed it ..

In the links_subcatbit template the closing bold tag is < b > instead of < / b >

[AndrewD]

Originally Posted by Slave

Sussed it ..

In the links_subcatbit template the closing bold tag is < b > instead of < / b >

Thanks...

[havefun]

thanks slave

[CHIngs]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

What you've seen in the code is to disallow double recording of a hit in the database if the user clicks the same link twice in quick succession - I found that we were recording multiple hits if people got tired or were trigger happy.

If you're looking to prohibit multiple hits, then you have to put some similar code in another place. Go down to the lines that read

PHP Code:

if ($_REQUEST['action'] == "jump" or $_REQUEST['action'] == "stream") {

    $time = TIMENOW;
    unset($url); 


and add something like:

PHP Code:

    $jumplink = $DB_site->query("
        SELECT * FROM ".THIS_TABLE."linksdownloads
        WHERE userid='$userid' 
        ORDER BY usertime DESC
        LIMIT 1
        ");
    while ($jump=$DB_site->fetch_array($jumplink)) {
        if ($time-$jump['usertime']) < YOUR_LIMIT) {
            eval(print_standard_error('You will have to wait...',0));
            exit;
        }
        exit;
    } 


all that code is giving me is a BLANK page. I replaced YOUR_LIMIT with 60 for 60 seconds, that didnt work.

[AndrewD]

** 1.56 beta withdrawn ** We found a bug which hits only some users and produces invisible categories.

Attached, find the first beta for release 1.56. This is a 'tidying up' release, completing (I hope) the phrasing throughout the main and admin scripts. It also adds a few features that have been requested recently:

- (Slave) addlink script accepts optional url=, name=, description= parameters to allow scripted new link creation
- (Chings) optional admin timeout parameter added to prevent multiple hits in quick succession
- (Lizard King) two choices for the linkbit template, selected on the admin page. The new template uses a fieldset layout.

The main changes from 1.55b are in the admin script, giving better insight into category/forum associations and allowing you to download a csv file of hits when cleaning up the database. There are also two options for how category selection is handled within the addlink script (the existing pulldown menus and a fully expanded set of checkboxes).

The choice of template for linkbit and addlink are specified on the admin page.

I am separately uploading partially translated French and German xml phrase files. I'd be grateful if someone would go through these and translate the remaining English phrases (of course for any other languages too).

As always with a beta, bug reports appreciated

[Lizard King]

Upgraded from 1.55 to 1.56 and faced no problem. Everything is working good under 3.0.7 Thanks for the new layout Andrew

[Slave]

Just upgraded ..

I'm getting a mysql error when trying to get to the following link ..

http://www.domain.com/local_links_ad...set=categories (Category Structure)

Database error in vBulletin 3.0.3:

Invalid SQL:
SELECT forumid, forumpermissions
FROM forumpermission
WHERE usergroupid = 1
AND forumid IN()

mysql error: You have an error in your SQL syntax. Check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ')' at line 4

mysql error number: 1064

Date: Tuesday 29th of March 2005 12:07:37 PM
Script: http://www.domain.com/local_links_ad...set=categories
Referer: http://www.domain.com/local_links_ad...set=statistics
Username: Slave