Alternate Quote Layout (plus explanation for new stylers)

Some people really don't like the quote layout that vBulletin uses: it's drab, it's overused, and overall, it's pretty boring to look at. This isn't a huge change: it's really almost not a mod at all. It just changes the layout a bit, so your users have something different than all the other forumgoers in the world.

I made this for www.artisansenigma.com, since I thought it would help streamline the look of the site. If you like it, please click Install! This is my first-ever vBulletin mod!

---

Installation:

This is really easy, and it can't backfire on you. In your ACP, go to the bar Styles & Templates, and click on the sub-option Style Manager. Expand the templates for the style you want to use, and find the one called bbcode_quote. Replace the entire contents of that template with the below code:

_________________________________________________________
<p><p>
<strong>$vbphrase[quote]:</strong>
<p><p>
<if condition="$show['username']">
                <phrase 1="$username">$vbphrase[originally_posted_by_x]</phrase>:
<p><i>$message</i>
<p><p>
                
            <else />
                <p><p><i>$message</i>
            </if><p><p>
_________________________________________________________

What this is doing (for new stylers): Basically, this starts off by inserting a line above the quoted area. Next, it calls the phrase vBulletin uses for quotes, and puts it in strong font. After that, it uses a conditional: if the quote refers to another person:

[quote=XXXXXX]

Then it adds your Originally_Posted_By_X phrase in there. Otherwise, it doesn't. Finally, it displays the message quotes, in italics.

As I said, it's barely a hack, and it's pretty simplified. I got the idea from Something Awful, which uses a similar template for quoting. Soon, however, I'll be adding a few other quote templates to this mod, so you have a bunch to pick from.

Hope you enjoy! ^_^

[ronoxQ]

Reserved for future use, if any.

If you have any other quote-related mods that you don't want disturbed by my hack, post links to them here, and I'll add a workaround to this mod!

[moonclamp]

Do you know if there is a way to set this for private messages only?

I'd like to change my PM inbox view to look more like it would if you were reading email.

[ronoxQ]

Originally Posted by moonclamp

Do you know if there is a way to set this for private messages only?

I'd like to change my PM inbox view to look more like it would if you were reading email.

Hi, moonclamp! You can't just apply this mod as-is for that: the quote template is used everywhere, not just in one place. However, I'll look into it: I'm sure there's a template you can change for this, and I'll try to find out what it is for you.

[moonclamp]

Thank you.

As far as I can see there is just the one template, but maybe a new template can be created and used somehow?

[ronoxQ]

Originally Posted by moonclamp

Thank you.

As far as I can see there is just the one template, but maybe a new template can be created and used somehow?

Well, my strategy would be to edit the template involving responses to PMs. If you replace the "Quote Message" section in that template with something like the code I used for this modification, it should work.

However, that doesn't affect any quotes added manually by the user, unfortunately...

[Stagehandspace]

Add

<br />

to the end of above code otherwise the reply is inline with the bottom line (thats what I found anyway)

[TheInsaneManiac]

Originally Posted by moonclamp

Do you know if there is a way to set this for private messages only?

I'd like to change my PM inbox view to look more like it would if you were reading email.

Sorry to bump, I find this topic useful and wanted to contribute. Here is the code you are looking for:

<if condition="THIS_SCRIPT=='private'">
_________________________________________________________
<p><p>
<strong>$vbphrase[quote]:</strong>
<p><p>
<if condition="$show['username']">
                <phrase 1="$username">$vbphrase[originally_posted_by_x]</phrase>:
<p><i>$message</i>
<p><p>
                
            <else />
                <p><p><i>$message</i>
            </if><p><p>
_________________________________________________________
<br />
<else />
<div style="margin:20px; margin-top:5px; <if condition="$show['iewidthfix']">width: 100%;</if>">
	<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px">$vbphrase[quote]:</div>
	<table cellpadding="$stylevar[cellpadding]" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%">
	<tr>
		<td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset">
			<if condition="$show['username']">
				<div>
					<phrase 1="$username">$vbphrase[originally_posted_by_x]</phrase>
					<if condition="$postid"><a href="showthread.php?$session[sessionurl]p=$postid#post$postid" rel="nofollow"><img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_button]/viewpost.gif" border="0" alt="$vbphrase[view_post]" /></a></if>
				</div>
				<div style="font-style:italic">$message</div>
			<else />
				$message
			</if>
		</td>
	</tr>
	</table>
</div>
</if>