Compact Headers 2.0, or CH2, is a little template modification that removes the logo image from your UBB™, and it streamlines the rest of the top portion of your UBB™ to make it smaller and more aesthetically pleasing.

CH2 is a complete rewrite of the original Compact Headers hack. There are two main behind-the-scenes differences between CH2 and the original Compact Headers (CH1). Namely, CH2 has been built entirely for UBB™ 6.1.0, and it's also been coded to be (hopefully) XHTML validated, for excellent cross-browser compatibility. And of course, though CH2 does look similar to its predecessor in terms of what the end-user sees, there are quite a few differences in that area as well. Almost all upper elements of pages have been incorporated into CH2 - this means anything that would normally appear between the logo and the main body of the page. Those changes are too numerous to list the particulars here, so you'll just have to look for yourself. CH2 is also even more compact than CH1 - the whole upper area of your UBB now contains no more than three lines of text (provided you don't have exteremely long forum or topic names, etc.). CH2 also goes a long way toward complete standardization - where several templates in CH1 got their own table implementation, *all* templates in CH2 now reference the $StandardTitleTable variable and only vary from each other in the name or extra information in the bottom row. Because this hack contains complete template files, installing it normally will overwrite any hacking you've already done to the standard templates. As such, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you start out with a clean board and install the CH2 templates before installing anything else!!

Very special thanks to Allen Ayres for letting me use his XHTML-based templates as a starting point for CH2. Also, massive amounts of crazy ninja love to him for porting CH2 up to UBB™ 6.1.0.3!!!

Here are the links I'm sure you'll be interested in...

Demo: http://www.se7enet.com/site/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi
Downoad: https://www.ubbdev.com/columns/Skorpion/mods.html
NOTE: You must be a valid license holder before you can enter the main download page.

Please let me know of any bugs or problems you find. Thanks!

---Skorpion

[ 12-04-2001 11:15 AM: Message edited by: Jamin ]

[ 12-17-2001 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Jamin ]

Great job!

I hate doubleposts!

[ August 25, 2001: Message edited by: LK ]

Great work skorp!

looks great as always skorp

[ August 26, 2001: Message edited by: Bookie - ]

Great job Skorp!

The only thing I changed on my test board so far is adding a align="center" to the tables that do not use the $TBT variable in public_topic_page.pl (the time format text was further left than the other tables) and public_login.pl (the lost password and register text was doing the same thing)

Glad you put them over the XHTML templates too VERY NICE!!!!!!

I believe that would warrant it's own modification and a seperate thread...

Skorp, the last bug was fixed in the xhtml templates, you might wanna update your files with it, it was only one changed sub routine in public_common.pl.

lol - What? Maybe I should have mentioned that this was after I installed the compact headers

Allen: I'm updating the .zip as I write this. Thanks for the heads up.

Freakscene: I may be just misunderstanding you, but I don't think those are part of the scope of CH... All CH-encompassing tables that are meant to have borders use $TBT or an exact replica of the HTML in question. And I am leaving all non-CH related portions of the tables completely alone, for ease of compatibility with other hacks.

---Skorpion

Hey Skorp,

I don't know what the deal was. May have been something else I did. I put the Compact Headers into a fresh install of the UBB and those sections were noticibly over to the left. The table width was set to 95% @ the time...

After I put the center tags in those 2 tables it was corrected.

If I am the only one that got this, it is obviously something I did

Anyway, corrected whatever the heck I did and I am enjoying the new sleek Templates

Thanks Skorp!

Hey Skorp!

Well I installed your lastest version, and I might have a litte bug. I have installed and uninstalled this to make sure.

Everything works fine until you make a post. You get to the page where it thanks you for posting, but the board just stops there. You have to click on the hyper link to take you back. From that page it won't even try automaticly bring you back. The new thread is processed fine, but the auto return won't work. Any ideas?

By the way this is the only modification I've made to my board. Using 6.1.0 Beta 1.4.

*** I just took out my custom header. That changed things a little. Auto forward works now, but the new topic or replies donot refresh upon return. To view the new topic or post for that forum you have to manually refresh. Hmm.

[ September 07, 2001: Message edited by: MrBill ]

Yeah i noticed this. Your transition in public_common.pl is #.
It takes way too long to transition, so... should i un# these?

#$_[0] =~ s/&/&/g;
#$direct_to = qq!!;

or do you have a better solution. Other than that, it's a great hack!

[ September 07, 2001: Message edited by: raiyan ]

Im hacking a board to get good at hacking until version 6.1 full comes out....and i made this hack today and then came here and someone told me it was odne and now that i see this here im dissapointed that i spent so much time on it today..lol but it was prolly good for me...here please tell me if my board is looking ok www.magic-gamers.com is my site and my board is http://mgamers.pthunited.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi

Um, this hack is for 6.1.0 beta. Not UBB 6.0x...

MrBill y Raiyan, mm, I never commented anything out, that I remember anyway. But there they are, just the same. Yes, afaik they should be uncommented, so go ahead and do it on your boards. I'll update the .zip emminently. Thanks guys.

DexZero, I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say. But I get broken server errors for both of those addresses, so, um... pants!

---Skorpion

those # are supposed to be in there... qasic re-wrote the sub transition to kill the last remaining bugs. The actual amount of time it takes to transition should be the same, unless you are getting some javascript errors. eh, are ye? and what browser are ye using on your site?

I was using ie 5.0. I just reloaded the old public_common.pl and it seems to working alright and transitions are the same.

the next/prev icons just kinda hang there mabey they need to be moved or takein out heh

Now, I want to leave early and go home and work on this hack... But i can't..

I love this hack Skorp.. You da man!!

lol..

This one outta beta?

Er, nope... It hasn't even been updated since PB1.4...

As soon as I get my computer back and a little extra time, I'll update it for 6.1.0.2 and call it good. AFAIK there aren't any major bugs, so it's just a matter of updating it that will make it pretty much final.

---Skorpion

A lot of the changes are just one line in each file.

Wow, great work really!

Allan, you should take matters into your own hands It sounds like Skorpion's gonna take his sweet ass time finishing it. Just kidding, but seriously Im DYING to get this hack!

Thanks

Wowzers..gonna check it out Skorp! Thanks alot!

I have a version of it *running* on se7enet (6.1.0 Release). I accomplished it essentially by using UEdit's Replace In Files, replacing $CGIURL/ultimatebb.cgi? with $ULTIMATEBB?. And it *works*, well enough. But of course I don't know if it was the *correct* thing to do.

CH2 is very close to the top of my Jamin's Boonboard O' Doom, Desolation, & Destruction, written prominently in bright blue marker. And like Allen said (and I can already attest to, without really looking at it), most of the changes are only one line per file. So it shouldn't take that long.

Everyone who wants this, pray I get my computer back soon. Once I do, you'll have your hack!

---Skorpion

Yippie! Tanks Skorp

Alright folks, Allen has been kind enough to port this up to 6.1.0.3, and you can see it in action at this very site! Everyone give major props to him for doing that!! As such, (since I know Allen won't use a mod here that's not) I'm dubbing this 2.0.0 Final. Completion is a beautiful thing.

So, to recap, the pandas are winning the race, and CH2 Final has been released for 6.1.0.3!

---Skorpion

w00t! i noticed it frist thing when i loged on, thanks AA, thanks skorp

found a problem with them :/, not really a big problem but if a topic name is long like this one it dosent wrap and even at my reso makes u scroll tot he right to see the rest of the header. not a problem just something u might wanna know heh, also why is java not working on dev?

I am gonna install this and then make all my template mods again in a little bit this hack just looks that good.

danke Tim... if you install these, please check the javascript in the instant graemlins, I think it's just something I did in the cgi files, but could be the the javascript in the instant smilies. Thanks.

np

Allen it is in the templates there is something wronge with it handling javascript it totaly murders my javascript menu that i made. It also does not let the smilies work.

Allen it is in the templates there is something wronge with it handling javascript it totaly murders my javascript menu that i made. It also does not let the smilies work. I have traced the problem that is killing my java menu back to public_common. I am not shure what in there is killing it but as soon as that file is uploaded it starts screwing my javascript menu up. So i have been forced to remove this hack for now.

JS error fixed... please download this file to replace the one you have:

https://ubbdev.com/public_common.txt

You may wanna update the zip Skorpion.. sorry

let me try again then.

Allen i am gonna try to track down what is messing up my javascript menu could you help me track this down in public_common since you know this hack better than me???

Allen i am removing this hack for now.

Does your menu use 'onload' in the body tag?

yes it has onload in one of the included java pages that it uses.

K, I updated the zip Allen. I wasn't really paying attention to most of that conversation, but, um, yeah... Muchas gracias.

---Skorpion

Allen do you know what is cuasing my problem???

probably the onload for the menu's are conflicting with the onload for the transition pages. That would be in sub transition in public_common.pl

well it is messed up on all the pages tho.

Will you help me fix this problem???

Allen i found the problem i was using beyond compare to see the differences between the original and this version and was doing line converts back to the original so that i could fint he problem and it worked. The problem was the following line.
i deleted it and my menu started working perfectly so i am happy about that.

Now i get to run ch200

Another bug in this hack. This hack gets rid of UBBFreind on the topic page if you have it on.

Hangs on transitions becuase of the body onload in the transition so i reverted the transition timing methodway back to the original way so now it refreshes correctly

Is everybody dead???

public_register_page.pl and public_register_page_kid.pl need to be updated they have not been updated to with the new header so you have a messed up page with 2 login things. I made a fix that uses the standard_table_title but it says Login or register after you are not logged in but that doesn't look that bad on the register page.

Thanks for the bug reports, Tim. I'll be getting these fixed shortly. I expect my computer to arrive within days (thank God) and will get to them as soon as I have it back.

Oh, btw, the UBBFriend exclusion is intentional, partly because I don't use/like it myself, and mostly because I couldn't find any good place to put it inside the table. $MainButtons was considered, but it stretched that line out to insane lengths, especially when combined with other hacks like calendar/memberlist. And leaving it floating outside the table would go against the principle of CH. Feel free to hack it in yourself, but I have no plans of putting it back into the "official" code.

---Skorpion

yes i made some mods to it already and have added that.

a question:

im currently runnin 6.1.0.2 (im assumin its close enuf to '.3' to work). but, i have who's online installed -- which appears, uneditted, above my forums right now, in its own table just below the "login" box area.

i know on your boards, skorp, you moved the who's online bit to the bottom, in the compact footers area (a seperate, individual hack i wish y'had ) ....

but... whut'll happen with my who's online, after i pump in CH 2.0? will i lose it?

what would be a quick(est) way to add it as the bottom row in the CH table?

Once you put CH on, WoL will no longer show on your boards with the stock CH templates, but it's really easy to add back in. Just follow the WoL install directions for public_forum_summary.pl and public_forum_page.pl to add the line back in wherever you want it.

---Skorpion

so, just rehack those two files, as stated in the WOL thing?

...sweeeet...

hmm... im now realizin it'll be a lot more than just altering my who's online. ... this's really meant to attach to a completely hack-free board, eh?

do you happen to have a retroactive way to hack this? (just telling you what to change or add in your current files, instead of proactive replacement files). at least for the "popular" files, like public summary and page (?)

Sorry, I don't. Since Infopop is allowing full template distribution, I had no plans at all of even having an "instructions only" version, so there isn't a changelog of any sort. The best thing I can tell you to do, if you really do require something like that, is get Beyond Compare, and compare Allen's normal XHTML templates to my CH2 templates and find the changes yourself. That would be the best, if not only way to use instruction-based hacking instead of the whole template files.

Yes, these were really meant to use as a starting point on a clean board.

---Skorpion

Why do you have to login in to download it? It is not fair for the free version not to try and use it on their sites.

There's no such thing as a "free version" of UBB. There's a "demo" that destroys itself after a thousand page views, so you can't use it on a live site. And altering the demo is illegal anyway. And if you obtained a free copy of the full version, that's illegal too.

And if that's the case, yes, it is fair for me to require login. I paid $200 just to get my copy of UBB, dumped another $100 into membership extensions, and have put many many hours of work into my hack. What's unfair is for some ****eating warez retard to get a pirated copy of a program that most of us paid good money for, as well as get access to good hacks that we developers are really proud of.

Now, if you don't mind, I'd prefer this thread not get polluted by anymore mention of warez and turn into a flamefest, so here's advance notice that any further replies about warez or complaints about my required login will be deleted on sight.

---Skorpion

heheheheh... thanks for the laugh, I can start my day now

hmm...

ok, few probs:

1) as stated before, the long post name extends the header table, instead of holding a pre-determined width and wrapping. (fixed, perhaps, with a set TD width, removing, if possible, the "nowrap," and aligning that side "right" ??)

2) on the topic page, the "moderated by:" and "show topics from" sections are appearing in the top table, between the "new topic" and "forum home >>," instead of appearing below them, in the top line of the post table, like here at ubbdev

3) on the forum summary, my "Registered Members" appears on top of (instead of left of) the "newest member" bit.

imma try to reinstall this... mebbe i did something wrong (tho i did do it from a clean 6.1.0.3)

ok, i fixed prob #3 (i forgot to upload the hacked forum summary.cgi).

the other two remain.

i also dont get the "show all topics, 10 days, etc" option at all, im realizing, rather, the "page 1,2,3, etc" option

and there appears to be a purdy large gap between the CH table and the posting table.

we have long topic titles here too, so I had to adapt it here and there... I can post a couple of templates we have if you want.. it's just moving stuff around Post what you need to see we have..

i guess i was pretty much looking for the version of compact headers that appears here, at ubbdev (which i'd then tweak further, of course, but this'd be a great starting point).

so, if you have the templates or whatever for these CH, give, GIVE!

doesnt havta be php accelerated, or suited for xhtml, or aided with kung-fu grip, or even sidelined with pneumonia. just needs to look purdy.

what id like to do is upload all the CH template files, except forum summary and topic page, and manually add the CH code to that myself (if possible... which it prolly isnt, but, damnit, ill try!), because of the other various hacks and modifications i already have on me' forums.

Skorpion, I never said I had a "warez" version. I had the demo version to try it and see if I liked it. I never knew you couldn't edit the demo.

It says that in nice shiny letters before you're allowed to download it. It may behoove you to actually read licensing agreements on occasion. Did you know you're not allowed to create porn sites or trash-talk Microsoft with Frontpage 2002?

So anyway, sorry for jumping down your throat. As far as seeing it in action, just take a look here for a slightly customized version or at Se7enet for the normal one.

---Skorpion

Hey Skorp, I have a question.

I'd LOVE to have compaxt headers on my board, but after upgrading to UBB 6.1.0 I installed a LOT of hacks. Many of these updated or modified templates. If I install CH, I will lost them all. Is there a way I add CH without overwriting my templates? Could I use Beyond Compare? Or would it be possible for you to document a way of doing it so that I could manually make the change on four or five commonly viewed templates.

---Skorpion

already asked, already answered, my friend. (pgs 2-3 in heeyah).

Yeah, I'm sorry, I shoulda read everything before asking.

Many apologies.

I recently installed CH200 on a 6.1.0.3 board with many hacks already installed (chat, memberlist, whos online, hypercells, polls, anchor, avatar, upload, etc.)

I did the beyond compare method, and just changed my existing templates, but I think I've screwed myself.

The polls dont seem to be working, just a blank page shows up now after submitting a new poll. the url has "&"s instead of ";"s in it. If I hit refresh, the poll shows up, but just the question, "view results" doesnt display graphs anymore.

Right now, Im not sure what to do. I am thinking of starting all over again from a fresh 6.1.0.3 board and installing ch200 first. But this obviously would be a HUGE step backwards. I've put in countless hours installing all these hacks.

I guess this is what I get for not backing up

As I have said several times, this is best used on a clean board.

---Jamin

Okay just a couple questions. One thing where did the daily threads link go to?

also if you add any categoryies like chat statistics etc they are automatically centered instead of being placed left. I know some HTML so I got everything on my test board working for the most part except one half of the statistics column. Is there an easier way to make this compatable to adding hacks?

http://www.reeftalk.com/test/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

[ 12-05-2001 11:15 AM: Message edited by: omegatron ]

First question: There's a certain acronym I could use here, but I won't. Suffice it to say, if you'd followed the directions in the readme, the active topics link would still be there.

Second question: What you do with other hacks is your business. CH2 and it's XHTML base make major changes to every public template file, and as such it is not particularly friendly with the point-and-click, instant gratification hacking style most people use. If you want it to cooperate with your other hacks, it's up to you to make it work.

---Jamin

Can someone repost this mod.....seems the links are dead!

yes please

Read the about post in this forum. I am hosting this on my server till his stuff is all fixed.

Some one please ****ing upload this file..thanx

Someone please refrain from swearing and learn correct grammar.

https://www.ubbdev.com/columns/Skorpion/mods.html

---Jamin

The demo link http://www.se7enet.com/site/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi dont work!

quote:

---

Originally posted by newbieadmin:
The demo link http://www.se7enet.com/site/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi dont work!

---

Yeah, tell me about it! If I could fix it, I would. I'm stuck in hosting hell right now though (how many times do I have to explain this?!), so it will just have to wait till either my new host fixes their bloody control panel or till hell freezes over, both of which have about equal chances of happening any time soon.

It's demo'd here at UBBDev, if you're looking for just a demo. Allen did some modifications to it, but you'll get the basic idea.

---Jamin