Show Thread Enhancements - Basic QR Intergraton (2D Barcodes) for VB Threads (QR Pages by BOP5)

Brought to you by BirdOPrey5 / Qapla.com

This isn't a polished mod, its purpose is to bring 2D Barcode (QR Code) integration to vBulletin. I will be marking it unsupported as I do not recommend users without some basic HTML or coding experience attempt to use the mod. I will NOT be answering basic setup questions. Instructions for the manual template edits are included in the zip. you may use them if you wish but I strongly suggest you work on a custom solution.

This mod will allow a uniqe QR Code to be generated and displayed for every thread on your forum.

Users with Android, iPhone, and other advanced phones can easily scan these QR Codes and share links with friends via email, text, and other social networking platforms.

The QR generation is handled by a free open-source project called phpqrcode which has its own GNU Lesser General Public License.

I have created the vBulletin interface needed to generate codes for individal threads.

The mod will check if the QR Code has already be generated for a thread and if so will simply display the png file previously created. If this is the first time someone has viewed the thread (since installing this mod) it will generate and save the QR Code for future use.

All QR Codes are stored in .png format in a new folder called /images/qr/ which you must create and must be writable. (chmd 755 is usually sufficient but if you have problems go to 777).

A utility included in the Admin CP settings will allow you to delete all these images if necessary.

Other Admin CP settings include the ability to set the size, quality, and border size around the QR Code.

What isn't finished is the best way to intergrate this onto your SHOWTHREAD pages. I have instrctions for a manual template edit that will give you a basic "bar" that you can mouse-over and get the full image to pop-up over the rest of your page.

I am aware this isn't an ideal setup but I am more of a coder than a designer. If anyone has some suggestions (with code) for a better implementation I am open to suggestions.

This mod could be expanded to show QR Codes on all pages, not just threads, but until a better way is found to display the code on the page I didn't bother.

Server Load- In general the mod only generates a code on the first view of the thread- this will usually be when a new thread is first submitted so in the long run I don't anticipate any major server load by this mod. However if you have a very large and very busy forum you can expect a temporary increased load after installation as members visit hundreds of threads which have never had a QR Code generated before. This increased load should decrease after the surge of new generations end.

Disk Usage - The smaller the QR Code you generate the smaller the file size per image. In my experience the average size of each QR code png file was 600 bytes. This would mean about 586 KB per 1,000 threads or 58 Megabytes for 100,000 threads. You can extrapolate from there.

Please Mark as Installed if you use this.

[BirdOPrey5]

Reserved.

[yahooooh]

can be only show in specific style?
i want to use it only for mobile style

[Brandon Sheley]

nice idea, to bad google is killing off the QR codes

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by yahooooh

can be only show in specific style?
i want to use it only for mobile style

Since it is a manual template edit it won't show in any style you don't make the edit.

Originally Posted by Brandon Sheley

nice idea, to bad google is killing off the QR codes

How do you mean?

edit- seems over hyped - http://socialwayne.com/2011/04/12/go...ng-ideas-will/ - Google didn't invent them and it cannot kill them.

[Brandon Sheley]

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

How do you mean?

edit- seems over hyped - http://socialwayne.com/2011/04/12/go...ng-ideas-will/ - Google didn't invent them and it cannot kill them.

I didn't say google invented them but QR codes are "fading" out, no mistake about that.
Google also removed them from their Google places as well as other applications they support.

Still nice mod and thanks for sharing

[htscpl]

I'm a little late to the party but Qr codes don't seem to be going away. I am seeing more and more of them everyday. Retailers seem to be hitching a ride to get people to visit their websites.
One question, can this mode be changed to show only certain threads or in certain forums and not all ?

[BirdOPrey5]

You could easily add a template conditional around the code you put in SHOWTHREAD to limit seeing the QR code to specific forums.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=231525

[Simon Lloyd]

Hi BOP5, i have a minor issue, i have installed this mod and it's great, however, i have a floating div for my navbar (not using the navbar template but header), the trouble is your bar shows on top of the floating div so im unable to select any of the dropdown options that fall below it, is there any way to either send it to the back or use something like HoverIntent that jquery uses, this means it has to be hovered for a preset time before it displays?

[BirdOPrey5]

Simon,

I'm not a styling expert but look-up on Google "z-index" with CSS and see if that helps.