Add-On Releases - Feature Threads

Feature Threads
By Adrian at Dreamit.co.uk
Tested on 3.6.1.

Note: This modification is v0.10, It seems to be working fine.
To see why it's not V1, scroll down to the Q&A.

About:
Feature Threads allows you to "Feature a thread", and that thread will then appear on the forumhome.

It's a very useful mod' to get those important, special threads noticed.

Installation:

Download Feature_threads.zip.

• Upload feature.php and unfeature.php to your forums root folder.
• Import product_feature.xml.

Template Edits:
Open Forumhome Templates > FORUMHOME
Find:

<!-- main -->

Add after:

$feature_threads

Save.

Open Showthread Templates > SHOWTHREAD
Find:

	<tr>
		<td class="thead">$vbphrase[thread_tools]<a name="goto_threadtools"></a></td>
	</tr>

Add after:

<tr>
		<td class="vbmenu_option"><img class="inlineimg" src="$stylevar[imgdir_button]/subscribe.gif" 

alt="Feature Thread" /> $feature_status
<input type="hidden" value="$threadinfo[threadid]" name="tid"></td>
	</tr>

Save.

Done.

Easy to install.

Q&A
1. Why is it V0.10?
Well, when i started this mod', i had some good ideas with it, and i started to loose intrest after a while.

I got the "base" made, so i thought, "why not release it?"
So, i have. If i get enough installs, or a positive response to the mod', i will glady spend more time, adding the features i wanted.

2. Oooh...What new features?
Not too many features...things such as...

Featured Thread ordering

• Order by thread date
• Order by by date featured
• Order by amount of replies
• Custom ordering

The ability to show the featured threads on the forumhome, or on everypage.

Ability to show what information is displayed in the features thread box.

Yeh, these are pritty easy to do, i just don't have the dedication i need to make them, like i said, if i get a good response, expect to see them soon.

3. How many usergroups...?
The option, that allows you to choose certain usergroups to access this mod', is limited to 12 different usergroups.

Not because i'm being mean, i just did the usergroup permission, in my code useing explode and arrays.

Don't ask why, i just did. : /
That will be improved when/if V1 is released.

Changelog
0.10 - Release.

0.11 - Set default value on "Show x" option to 4, to stop confusion with mysql_errors

0.12 - Edited Enable/Disable option from Radio buttons, to a simple Yes / No boolean to avoid errors.

---

If you installed this modification, please click install.

Thanks.

Adrian

[smsmasters]

Wow, nice, I will try it now!

[Allan]

Good idea

[smsmasters]

Works great with 3.6.2

Check it out here: http://www.smsmasters.co.uk/forum/

[smsmasters]

Just wondering, where are the featured thread descriptions stored and how do I edit the templates for this hack? I want to align the text in the box.

[Snake]

Sounds interesting. I'll check it out soon...

[Adrian.]

Originally Posted by smsmasters

Just wondering, where are the featured thread descriptions stored and how do I edit the templates for this hack? I want to align the text in the box.

Where are they sorted? Do you mean stored?

The featured descriptions are saved in a row called "ftdescriptions" in the "thread" table.

To edit the templates for the box, the HTML is in the plugin, called "Feature."
If you are going to edit the template via the Plugin code, remember not to add a " in your HTML, ' are fine.

Adrian

[kushal]

How does this compare to favourite mod. Even though it being good mod, it confuses me More...which one to use.

[smsmasters]

Originally Posted by Adrian.

Where are they sorted? Do you mean stored?

The featured descriptions are saved in a row called "ftdescriptions" in the "thread" table.

To edit the templates for the box, the HTML is in the plugin, called "Feature."
If you are going to edit the template via the Plugin code, remember not to add a " in your HTML, ' are fine.

Adrian

Thank you very much!

[Adrian.]

Originally Posted by kushal

How does this compare to favourite mod. Even though it being good mod, it confuses me More...which one to use.

Well, they are two different sort of modifications.

vB Favorites will let you "favorite" the thread, and will show up in your User CP to you...

Feature threads lets you, feature a thread, which then gets displayed on the forumhome page, for everyone to see...it's just to make important threads stand out.

Adrian