UBB.Developers Forums UBB.threads 6 V6 Modifications Forum Design Integration Finished-[6.5] Integrated Index Page (IIP) 5.5

Mod Name / Version: Integrated Index Page (IIP) 5.5

Description:

Working Under: UBB.Threads 6.5

Mod Status: Finished

Any pre-requisites: UBB.Threads version 6.5

Author(s): JustDave

Date: 05/24/04

Credits: JoshPet & scroungr for updates and enhancements

Files Altered: ubbt_registerednav.tmpl and ubbt_unregisterednav.tmpl to add an "Entrance Page" link to your menu bar.

New Files: index.php and entire /pals directory of scripts

Database Altered: New Database table, w3t_IIPcache to store cached data

Info/Instructions: Q: What is it?
A: It's an addon for UBB.threads 6.5 that will pull various information out of the forum for display as your main home page.

Q: What version of UBB.Threads does it work with?
A: This only works with UBB.Threads version 6.5. For a version of IIP to work with 6.4 or lower, use IIP 5.4.x (located in a separate thread in this forum).

Q: What are the features?
A: The following information is displayed:

1. News Display - A configurable number of news/article posts and from different boards can be displayed down the center in the same fassion as the popular *nuke portals. Past news/articles can also be displayed along the right hand column (only).

2. Upcoming Events - This will display upcoming events from UBB.Threads's Calendar. (Pal Box by JoshPet)

3. Birthdays - This will display today's birthdays, and optionally the birthday's for the month. (Pal Box by JoshPet)

4. Top Rated Posts - This will display a list of X number of top rated posts in the past 24 hours.

5. Current Threads - This will display a list of new threads posted in the past 24 hours.

6. Top Posters - This will display a list of the top X number of posters.

7. Last Seen - This will display a list of members who have visited the forum most recently. This is not completely accurate because depending on what they are doing at the site their 'laston' information isn't always recorded. You can optionally add a code snippet that is included to your ubbt.inc.php file to make tracking updates instantaneous.

8. Short Stats - This will display various statistical information such as Total Users, Total Posts and New Users in the last 24hrs, 7days, 31 days.
Short Stats will also display "max online" information including how many and when.

9. Profile Spotlight - This will display a random profile listing username, location, hobbies and bio with a link to the full profile. You can specify required fields to be filled in before the user's profile is displayed.
Username has replaced Name (real name) in previous versions.

10. Quick Search - This will display a seach box that will allow for a quick search of the forums using the standard search default values. (Updated by JoshPet to work with UBB.Threads 6.5)

11. Login/Status - This will display a login box or your current status including the number of private messages stored and links to edit your profile and display properties and email subscripitons. Unregistered or users not logged in will see the login box. Logged in users will see their status box.

12. Online - This box displays the number of registered and unregistered users online in the last XX minutes (as defined in your UBB.Threads config file). It will also list the usernames of the registered users. Usernames in bold italic text are invisible. (only admins see them)
You can set a maximum number of names to display and once that limit is reached a link to the "Who's Online" page will be included so users can view the full list.

13. Hot Topic - When a post reaches X number of replies it is displayed in this box with a flaming .gif

14. Menu - This box has various links to other features of IIP.

15. View Polls - This generates a list of X number of poll posts per page with links to the post and board.

16. File Attachments - This generates a list of X number of file attachments per page. There are also sorting options to display only the files specified such as .txt or .zip files.
An attachment specific search feature has been added allowing the search for specific words or from specific boards.

17. New Member - This will display a message welcoming the most recent member. This will only be displayed for X number of days.

18. Recommend Us - This will display a short form for visitors to fill out and recommend the site to their friends.
Mail sent includes an updated header to ensure acceptance by your host. This header includes using the sender's name and email in the "from" section. When the email is recieved by the recipient the sender's name appears in the "from" area and not their email address. (hope that made sense)

19. Call Us Home - IE specific, will not (or should not) display for browsers other than IE. This will allow visitors to set the site as their home page.

20. Add to Favorites - IE specific, will not (and again should not) display for browsers other than IE. This will allow visitors to add the site to their favorites folder. Netscape users will see the "Press CNTRL-D to Bookmark" notice.

21. Shout Box - This displays "shouts" (quick, small postings) from guests or members in the order they were made. Admins can easily delete shouts that are offensive. The shout box does use the .threads nickname/language filters also to suppress such postings. You can optionally set this to refresh for members only or for everyone.

22. Profile Index - This displays members profiles in a sorted list. The profiles are searchable. Boolean (AND, OR, NOT) and wildcard * searches are allowed. This makes finding specific members easier than ever.

23. Cache Table - Information can be automaticly stored and updated in intervals to increase page generation times. Depending on setup, this can cut the number of queries used to generate a page by as much as 50% and large sites will see a considerable speed increase with generation times.

24. Configure Panel - IIP settings can be controlled via browser and allow for easy setup and managment of the features listed above.

25. Standards Compliant - IIP is XHTML 1.0 Transitional compliant and should render well in standards compliant browsers. This basicly means that the display should look the same from one standards compliant browser to the next.

26. Custom pal boxes have been added. You can edit the boxes and include what ever content and code you want to display and then manage their placement and display from IIP's configure panel.


Notes:

Information displayed is based on group access. If the viewer doesn't have access to your "staff" board IIP will not pull information from that board to generate the display. Larger sites can use the option "force public" to make IIP display only public viewable information which allows for more of IIP's features to use cache to speed page generation times up.

The more features you use the longer it takes to generate the page. If you don't need or want a specific feature, turn it off.

Instructions:

Download the attached file and unzip to a location of your choice. Follow the instructions (SETUP.txt) located inside the "pals" folder that was contained in the zip file. Please see the IIP FAQ (second post in this thread) if you have any questions BEFORE posting/asking for help.

UPGRADE Instructions:
Upload the index.php file. Adjust the path at the top of the script as needed. Upload the contents of the /pals directory. Note you don't need to overwrite any custom pal boxes you use, or your configpal.php settings file.
Edit the configuration file using the configuration link at the bottom, and complete any new options.

Note: IIP 5.5 now uses the table wrappers that came standard with .threads 6.2 and later.



[:"red"]What has been changed/updated?
JustDave is a bit tied up right now, and I know many of you, like myself, will need an updated IIP to work with UBB.Threads version 6.4.

IIP and Integrated Index Page remains the brain child and copyright Dave Lozier (JustDave) www.chattersonline.com. Myself and scroungr have simply done a bit of tweaking to make it compatible and created a few new pal boxes which I have included.

In no way can I take credit for this. Also, I updated this out of a need to do so for myself and/or my paying clients. I am posting it here as a courtesy to you. I can take no responsibility for it's use and can only provide support for it as I have time and for the parts that I understand (as I didn't write it all). I have fixed a few bugs. [/]

Here's what changed in version 5.5:

• Fixed a bug in showdaypal.php which allows you to click on a topic event
• Updated all scripts to work with UBB.Threads version 6.5
  

[:"red"]Again, I can only offer limited supoort for all of this, and most likely can't take feature requests. I'm posting what I've done on this as a courtesy for those who needs it. [/]



Disclaimer: Please backup every file that you intend to modify.
If the modification modifies the database, it's a good idea to backup your database before doing so.

Note: If you modify your UBB.Threads code, you may be giving up your right for "official" support from Infopop.If you need official support, you'll need to restore unmodified files.

IIP FAQ -

Having trouble getting IIP instaled or configured?
Read these FAQ's first. If you question isn't answered, then post it to this thread.


OK - I got it running but it says "Index Closed - we are currently updating this page...". What have I done wrong?
It shows like that until you configure it. Scroll to the very bottom and click on the copyright IIP link (IIP 5.4 by David Lozier ©2003). That'll take you to the configure panel.




I click on the Copyright link and I go to ChattersOnline.
First, make sure you are logged in as Admin. Then, in your config file, make sure your cookies are set site wide. The cookie path should be "/".



There is no configpal.php in my zip!
The first time you run the IIP config panel, it will get created for you. If you are upgrading, your settings will be updated from your current configpal.php file. Make sure the permissions on the /pals directory allow you to write to it. Try 777 for best results.




When I edit my config for IIP, my changes don't get saved! OR I get "Warning: fopen blah blah blah Permission Denied"
Try looking at the permissions of the /pals/configpal.php. The file should be 666. If that doesn't work, try 777. You might also need to adjust the permissions of the 'pals' directory to 777 as well.




My Entrance link looks like this: ]http://www.mydomain.com//index.php?Cat=?[/b]
Check both the config panel in IIP and your config file in threads for a trailing slash. Remove it, and you should be all set.




[b]When configuring IIP, can you turn off specific components like the Shot Box and have that part not display?
Yes, you can configure and arrange all the pal boxes just as you wish from the IIP config panel. You can choose to not display any boxes you wish.




The index page doesn't seem to change or show the most current information.
If you are running with the "force public" option, you are caching (storing) some of the information used. This makes it faster and uses less queries. When you are caching information, the information only updates every so often, as configured in your IIP setup.
As an admin, you can click on the little green circular arrow in the menu pal, that will refresh the cache and update all the pal boxes.



My private forums are showing up on my front page!!!
Fear not...your private info is still secret. If you are not using the caching abilities (force public) then all access will be based on the user groups. You are seeing that info because you can see those forums normally. A regular user will see only the forums they are supposed to.



I don't want unregistered users to be able to post in the shoutbox.
You can set the option to members only under the shoutbox section of the configure panel.



How do I edit the custom boxes?
Inside your pals directory, edit the files custombox1pal.php, custombox2pal.php, etc.. As needed.



I edited my custom pal boxes and now I am getting a parse error!
If you are including HTML links inside the PHP files, you must be sure to comment out the quote marks (by placing a \ before them), or else they will break the string.

For example.... To insert a graphic in your pal box.... You would need to change this:
<img src="http://www.mydomain.com/image/picture.jpg" alt="Picture" border="0" />

To this:

<img src="http://www.mydomain.com/image/picture.jpg" alt="Picture" border="0" />

You need to insert the \ before each quote in the HTML you will insert. Don't add the \ to any quotes that are already in there.



Sometimes my News gets "cut off" or stops short.
Try turning off the "strip HTML" options for the newspal settings.



My Random Profile doesn't seem to be that random. It kind of just ends up displaying a few users.
When you setup the Random profile, you have the option to require certain fields. Don't check too many of those boxes. It's best to pick a field or two. If you are too strict and require too many fields to be complete, then there won't be that many profiles to choose from in the random rotation.




I have my Hot Topic cache set to 10 minutes and 5 replies. I have refreshed my cache, but it still will not show up as a hot topic.
If the main thread was posted more than 24 hours it will not show up no matter how many replies it gets. Hot Topic only looks at threads posted in the last 24 hours.




Why do certain user's names show up bold and italic under last seen?
Because they are invisible users. You are seeing them because you are an Admin.



My Shout box has trouble conforming to the width of the column. Sometimes I have to scroll left and right.
Usually this is because a user has entered a very long shout without any spaces and it doesn't wrap, thus stretches things out. Just simply delete the shout by clicking the little "X" next to it, and it should go back to normal.




The news pal doesn't seem to list the posts in the order that they are in my forum.
The display is based on the main post of the thread, not replies. If you have dateslip on in your forums, then they will be ordered by the date of the most recent post. This setting does not affect IIP.




How can I add links to the menu on IIP?
To add stuff to the Menu box, you need to edit /pals/menupal.php.

Look for the last line:
echo "$tableEnd</td></tr>$tbclose<br />";

Just ABOVE it.... you can add stuff like this:
echo "$rowStart<a href="http:www.whatever.com/mypage.html">My Page</a>$rowEnd2";

You can add as many lines like this as you wish, to add them to the menu box.

It is important to ensure that for each " (quote mark) which occurs inside of 'echo " "; has a \ in front of it, so it doesn't break the string.

ohhh.. thank you for the update

Now we just need 6.5 to go along with it!

Merci

gonna smack Josh he keeps throwing in the old pollpal which takes the settings from the main config instead of the one that has seperate controls in IIP admin panel....

Doah - you should have mod ability here - since nobody has downloaded it yet - can you fix it and re-upload it? Thanks.

yeah I need to update it I will remove it til tomorrow

okay updated. Saw they movied main.inc.php into an includes directory? and also the languages which came off the cookie prefs are now coming off the myprefs?

Exactly.

this is great thanks

On my beta site it won't let me create the shoutboxpal

this is the error

The requested URL /ubbthreads/admin/createboard.php was not found on this server.

yes the createboard.php no longer exists....its now called createforum.php

Umm btw the shoutbox create databse is in IIP.modifydatabase.php and has nada to do with the createboard.php?

Actually - good point. I've discovered you don't really need to even create the board - so this whole step can come out. The board isn't needed - as shouts get inserted into the post table with that board keyword - but it doesn't need to exist in the Boards table.

So skippit for now, I'll remove it in the next version.

Thanks Josh... if I want >>> echo "$rowStart<a href="http:www.whatever.com/mypage.html">My Page</a>$rowEnd2"; content to open in a new window what do I add to this?

Cheers!

>>> echo "$rowStart<a href="http:www.whatever.com/mypage.html" target="_blank">My Page</a>$rowEnd2";

Should do it

Thanks man!

I am probably going to buy UBB.Threads tomorrow. But, I have one question about IIP. Can you have multiple IIPs? Like one in something like http://www.mysite.com/pictures/ ? Or is it limited to one IIP per install of .Threads?

well it can be worked up so that you could have one in http://www.mysite.com one in http://www.mysite.com/pictures/ one in http://www.mysite.com/scamartist one in http://www.mysite.com/pigglywiggly but you would need to change base values in all scripts and really work it up.

"http://www.mysite.com/scamartist"

lmao!

[]scroungr said:
well it can be worked up so that you could have one in http://www.mysite.com one in http://www.mysite.com/pictures/ one in http://www.mysite.com/scamartist one in http://www.mysite.com/pigglywiggly but you would need to change base values in all scripts and really work it up. [/]ouch. That kinda scares me - but I hope I can figure it out. (changing base values, that is)

I am running Threads 6.5b1 and the lastest version of IIP and this is what I'm seeing in my mysql log files every day.

[]Mon, Jun 07 2004 14:12:16 -0700
205.188.116.195 Script: - Line:
SELECT B_CalDay, B_CalMonth, B_CalYear, B_Subject, B_Body
FROM w3t_Posts
WHERE (`B_Board` = 'chatterarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'children' OR `B_Board` = 'classicarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'companiearchives' OR `B_Board` = 'computerarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'driversarchive' OR `B_Board` = 'driverside' OR `B_Board` = 'hobbyarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'hobbyhouse' OR `B_Board` = 'iraqwar' OR `B_Board` = 'journals' OR `B_Board` = 'membios' OR `B_Board` = 'misctruckarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'ooarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'roadhouse' OR `B_Board` = 'roadhousearchives' OR `B_Board` = 'rookielane' OR `B_Board` = 'spousearchives' OR `B_Board` = 'taxesarchives' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB11' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB12' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB18' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB19' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB2' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB20' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB21' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB3' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB4' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB5' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB6' OR `B_Board` = 'UBB7') AND () AND B_CalDay >= 7 AND B_CalMonth = 6 AND B_CalYear = 2004
ORDER BY B_CalDay ASC
- 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 ') AND B_CalDay >= 7 AND B_CalMonth = 6 AND B_CalYear = 2004 [/]

Any ideas?

well it would help if we could tell which script.. could be the calendar.. the eventspal.. etc...

Yes it would, but I don't have a clue, that's why I posted here...

This has been happening every since the upgrade to 6.5b1. I just reloaded all my PAL files and a new index.php file just to make sure and it's still giving me this error. I'm thinking it might be the calendar. I've disabled the calendar so we will see what happens next.

okay cool try to narrow it down to one particular box and let me know thanx

[]scroungr said:
okay cool try to narrow it down to one particular box and let me know thanx [/]

It appears to be the calendar box. Since I disabled it nothing has shown up in my mysql error log.

did you hack the calendar? cause that wexact query doesn't show up in the IIP calendar nor even th4e calendar non-IIP which is the same except the IIP one only shows 1 month... the closest is the

nah thats not coming from the calendar but from the eventspal

my guess would be it has an empty $calgroupquery

after this line in there

$calgroupquery .= ") AND";

try setting it to

$calgroupquery ="";

and see what happens.. my guess is you have something amiss in there

better yet in the admin for IIP set this

Should admins/mods see all dates? 0=yes 1=no

to 1 and see if any affect.

Answer to your first question, did I hack the calendar. Nope, it's a virgin install with no modifications at all. After I run some errands I'll try and do those few things you asked.

[]scroungr said:
better yet in the admin for IIP set this

Should admins/mods see all dates? 0=yes 1=no

to 1 and see if any affect. [/]

This is the way I've been running it from the start. Also, I've enabled the calendar again to see if the errors start appearing.

When I click on a date with an event on the calendar, here is the error I get.

[]Warning: main(../main.inc.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/truckersro/domains/truckersroad.org/public_html/ubbt/pals/showdaypal.php on line 23

Fatal error: main(): Failed opening required '../main.inc.php' (include_path='.:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/truckersro/domains/truckersroad.org/public_html/ubbt/pals/showdaypal.php on line 23 [/]

Considering the main.inc.php file is now in the includes folder, could this have something to do with the errors?

could be make sure allmain.inc.php are set to the includes directory. I should be updating the control panel and will upload a new zip by weeks start

Ever since I disabled and enabled the calendar box I've not been able to reproduce the errors. Go figure. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know if they pop up again.

Still no errors, so I'm guessing that just disabling and enabling the calendar must have reset something to the correct paths? Strange, but at least it's working now.

please don't forget to make this change in the index.php (and calendarpal.php)

this:
list($tbopen,$tbclose) = $html -> table_wrapper();

needs to be this:
list($tbopen,$tbclose) = $html -> table_wrapper("full");

at least, it did on my site... if it's not fixed, all three columns (and I run a fixed-width site (800 pixels)) show up as 800 pixels apiece!! not good!

there was a change in the table_wrapper() funtion with this upgrade.