To Upgrade, or not to Upgrade.

[TheHolo.Net]

Most of this will be Greek to most of you but here is the explanation of the new vBulletin version upgrades and enhancements. I’ll mention to you that the most noticeable ones for you the posters will be the “Users Viewing forum”, which is similar to Who’s online, but only displays those users within a forum.

This upgrade is completely optional and is not something we are required to do, but I thought I would share this with all of you to see and express your opinions before I go ahead with the actual upgrade. I myself see no downsides to this upgrade, but may be overlooking something, which you are all welcome to point out to me. Well, honestly, there is one small downside for me and that includes some of the “hacks”, additions I have already added to our existing software making some of the small little changes here and there, most of which I can reapply after the upgrade.

There is one hack that is being re-written for this upgrade that I am anxious to have because I like it’s behavior better than the addition vBulletin made to the actual source code. That hack is the “Mark Forum Read” feature/hack. With the hack the way it is, it uses an actual database file that tracks your times visited per forum and uses that database entry when you mark a forum read. VBulletin’s version uses a cookie in your web browser. The hack version of “Mark forums Read” also provides the ability to mark a forum read from the main(front) page, which is something that I personally have become addicted to. I’m a big fan of having multiple ways to do the same thing.

The author of the “Mark Forum Read” hack is currently in the process of updating it for this newest version and when it is released is when I intend to upgrade, unless anyone here is able to find enough flaws or problems with the new additions or features to warrant us not doing it.

Important Note: The links to bugs contained in this list are at the vBulletin support site which is intended for licensed customers only. If you wish to make a comment there, please contact either myself or Nupraptor so that it can be done so according to their rules of conduct.

On to the official release notes(note: Many of these features only apply to Administrators, but some apply to users as well):

Template Changes - Will not replace current custom template modifications<ul>

whosonlinebit - added missing $userinfo[hidden] to display * next to invisible users for administrators
standardredirect - rewrote javascript to deal with slight bug that can prevent the page being linked-to from fully refreshing its content
usercp,searchresults,searchresults_threadonly - added forumjump
memberlist - added $letterbits for search-by-letter
memberlistbit - now uses postbit_search template for search button
forumrules - Cosmetic ONLY change to forumrules
whosonline - Added legend for Admin/Mod highlighting.
newpoll - added bits for multiple choice polling
forumhome_logincode - Added link to showgroups.php
forumhome_logoutcode - Added link to showgroups.php
lostpw, email_lostpw, emailsubject_lostpw, redirect_lostpw - new support for encrypted passwords and new lost password routine
forumjump - Added Who's Online to forumjump
whosonline - Added ForumJump
newreply - added $threadratingoption
all templates including &lt;input type="image" src="{<u></u>imagesfolder}/go.gif... - altered all to remove [Go] button image and replaced with $gobutton variable
showthread - added $ratingdisplay
forumdisplay_newpostlink - added 'mark forum as read' link
[/list]

New templates<ul>

register_avatar - Avatar html used at registration if you have avatars enabled AND assigned 1 or more to 0 posts
register_avatarbit - html that makes up the select statement of the avatar combobox.
registeradult/registercoppa - added javascript that loads the currently selected avatar if the user returns to the form by pressing the back button. Add the placeholder for the Avatar selection at registration.
memberlist_letter,memberlist_letterselected - letter templates for memberlist search-by-letter
error_canlistself - Error template displayed when someone tries to add themself to the buddy/ignore list.
error_movesameforum - Error template displayed when someone tries to move a thread to it's current forum
whosonline_legend - Who's Online Legend
polloption_multiple - Multiple Poll options
showmoderators - Main page of Show Mods/Admins
showmods_adminbit - Admins Bits
showmods_bit - Main bit
showmods_forumbit - Forum Listing Cell
forumdisplay_loggedinuser - Userbit for the logged in users
forumdisplay_loggedinusers - text describing the logged in users
error_resetexpired, error_resetbadid, email_resetpw, emailsubject_resetpw, error_resetpw - new lost password routine
redirect_markreadforum
newreply_ratethread
gobutton - template to hold the [Go] button for all &lt;select&gt; style mini-forms in the vB pages
showthread_ratingdisplay - displays thread rating within showthread
[/list]

You can view the new templates from in the control panel by clicking on the 'view original' next to your custom template.

Changelog

Bug Fixes<ul>

online.php - Added a couple instances (adding forum subscription, deleteing subscribed threads, deleting subscribed forum). Fixed issue with users with canviewothers set to false being able to see thread titles.
admin/user.php - Fixed bug with [edit user] link on PM Stats in admin control panel
fixed bug when admin clicks 'user options' on the user profile page to view a user's details
can't add your self to the ignore/buddy list, can't add an admin/mod to ignore via their profile link
can't move a thread to it's current forum
various security issues
fixed problem with " in one of the options in upgrade from 1.1.6 ( http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...&threadid=30918 (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30918) )
fixed problem with 'require unique email' giving errors at the wrong time ( http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...&threadid=18046 (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18046) )
fixed problem with attachments being deleted when a cloned thread is deleted ( http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...&threadid=26151 (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26151) )
fixed bug with .info email addresses not being auto-parsed ( http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...=&postid=192098 (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=192098) )
fixed bug with updating last post time for a forum
fixed bug where signatures and avatars were displayed in private messages regardless of user preference
numerous template typos etc fixed (see this thread (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24027) for specifics)
[/list]

Enhancements<ul>

new more secure method for lost password routines
more secure routine for verifying email address
usercp and search results now show the forumjump menu
ability to sort users by email address in control panel
userid displayed in admin cp -&gt; edit user
ability to click on a letter in the member list
'search' link not displayed in memberlist if user has no posts
server load and number of online users appear in the admin CP
if only one user is found in admin cp search, then show the edit page for that user straight away
Ability to enable highlighting of Admin/Moderator names on the Logged in Users and Who's Online.
Multiple Choice Polls (thanks to Firefly)
Option to update all user's posts counts to the correct total via the CP counters. Does not count forums which are set to not count posts.
Showgroups Page, groups can be configured to appear per usergroup [ showgroups.php ]
SQL Optimization on showthread, the option to disable/enable displaying the user's online status is no longer needed as there is no penalty for doing so
See who is browsing specific forums with you! Can be disabled in the CP. Only adds 1 query to forumdisplay.php
Mutt's Javascript for find, preview, copy in template editing
mark read per forum
getnew/getdaily per forum
Highlighting / formatting of admin/mod/super names on Who's Online ($loggedinusers and separate page)
Added Who's Online to forumjump\
Optimized the mass move/mass prune threads Admin functions
new gobutton template for easy global customization of [Go] buttons on popup menus
home page of moderator control panel now has similar layout and features to admin panel
Thread rating now displayed on the showthread page as well as forumdisplay.
Forum-search on forumdisplay
[/list]

[TheHolo.Net]

I’ll list the hacks that have been made to our current software, so you will know the additional features we already have, and for easy reference for me. Some of these hacks may not be able to be reapplied if they do not work with the version, but most should. (The “Mark Forum Read” hack is too extensive to reapply to the upgraded version without changes that is certain)

<ul>
“Send To Forum After Posting” – Checkbox in your reply screen and an option in your control panel that allows you to be sent directly to the forum after making a new post or new topic, instead of the default reloading of the topic.
”Users Chose Their Own Date Format” – an option with your control panel that allows you to customize the display of dates.
”Thread Start Date & Time” – In the “Started By” column on the topic list display, I have inserted the Date the topic was started. I removed the start time since it looked too cluttered.
”Style Set Display” – The text link above your avatars(placement dependant on your choice of style set) that displays which style set you are using.
”Mark Forum Read” – Links within each forum and on the main index that allow the user to turn off new post indicators on a per forum level
”Hide IP logged Icon from unauthorized users” - A completely cosmetic hack to remove needless clutter from users posts. Needless because users are unable to look up other user’s Ip addresses.
”Add Ability to run MySQL queries from within Admin control Panel” – Strictly an administrator function, very handy for adding hacks that require the creation of new tables or modification of current ones.
”Pageview counter using MySQL table” – The feature that shows our page view hits at the bottom of every page.
[/list]

[Morgan Evanar]

Well, how long did your hacks take to impliment, and maybe you could save the code for a quick restore?

[TheHolo.Net]

The majority of the hacks I listed, excluding the “Mark forum Read” one, only take a few minutes each to add. “Mark Forum Read” took about an hour or two the first time, but may be easier the second time around due to familiarity or maybe even the possibility of its being simplified to some extent in the new version release.

Of course I plan to do and keep backups. :)

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Well, it looks impressive :lol but for me its O_o

Thanks for all the hard work ... board just keeps getting betta and betta

[Sanis Prent]

O_o O_o O_o O_o O_o O_o O_o O_o O_o O_o

This is why I don't push the buttons!

[TheHolo.Net]

I have an update on the new "Mark Forum Read" hack for the new version, 2.2.0. The author is considering and will most likely include the ability to make the links to mark the forums read here inside the forum, actually send you back to the "Parent" forum after use. Which means the links will behave like the ones on ezboard forums, sending you up a level(normally to the main index) when clicking one of them and marking all topics read within the forum you clicked it. :)

[Mhalbrecht Dalarsco]

I am normaly against Hacks, but in the case of the Forums, I am all for them.
Only upgrade when the hacks are ready.
Though it isn't so hard if you have the host for the forum.
Just a little HTML or Java or Vavascript can go a long way when it comes to editing a source code.
I could probably do it in an hour or less, if I had the Source code to work with.

[Morgan Evanar]

*coughs*

[TheHolo.Net]

Originally posted by Mhalbrecht Dalarsco
Just a little HTML or Java or Vavascript can go a long way when it comes to editing a source code.Oh how I wish it were as simple as a little HTML or Javascript, instead I get to learn new fun things called PHP and MySQL coding.

[TheHolo.Net]

I have just completed adding another hack to our bulletin board software. I have yet to view it under all styles and suspect it may not be extra pretty viewed with some of them, but I like having it.

"vBstats"

You can find it by clicking the link at the bottom of each page, for more detailed statistics, or follow this link (http://www.swforums.net/forum/vbstats.php).

[Champion of the Force]

I'm using the Basic - Dark theme and it looks pretty good. Maybe some colours can be changed up but its perfectly viewable. :)

[TheHolo.Net]

After a full day’s thought, I think I am going to sit on this upgrade and not do it at this time. There aren’t enough new features that I consider worthy of my having to go through the upgrade process and all it would entail. I think that I, as well as all of you are pretty pleased with the board as is right now. :)

[TheHolo.Net]

I just added another hack to the software.

vBpad - Your personal notepad! (v1.0)

Some users may find this handy if they are interupted in the middle of writing a post and have to leave their work PC or whatnot. You can copy your post into vBpad and it will be saved there until you remove it.

There are two places to access the vBpad, both within your control panel.

On this page:
http://www.swforums.net/forum/usercp.php?s=
You can copy the contents of the vBpad and then paste them anywhere else you may need.

On this page:
http://www.swforums.net/forum/member2.php?s=&action=notepad
You can edit, delete, or add notes. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Wow, those look/sound good. I'm curious though, how does the Stats one work...? In paticular, the section for Referrals. Its got me confused. Is that for recruiting? And if so, how?

[TheHolo.Net]

There is a help link that leads you to a section of the FAQ with the information.

http://www.swforums.net/forum/misc.php?s=&action=faq&page=2#referrals

[Lilaena De'Ville]

*gasp* You mean....we're actually supposed to read the FAQ!? :) Thanks for the link, Swfans.net!

[TheHolo.Net]

I was asking the same question you were when I saw that within the stats. At the time I found that the referral feature was not enabled, but since the stats included that, I went ahead and turned it on. Maybe some posters can use the incentive of being on a "top" list, to steer some members SWFans way. :)

Your welcome. :rollin

[TheHolo.Net]

I added yet another hack. :D

Colored Online User Hack

It lists Admins, and Moderators online, as different colors from others, making it easier for new members to identify a staff member incase contact needs to be made quickly. :)

[TheHolo.Net]

I have added another small hack that includes a new link on the Forum Index(Front Page). You may notice the “Clear Session” link now present near the “Log Out | Mark All Forums Read” links at the bottom right of the forum listings.

The “Clear Session” hack will allow a user to remove their name from displaying in Who’s Online, without the normal 15 minutes of idle time. It is a lazy person’s “Log Out’. It removes your name from Who’s Online, but when you return(depending on your preference settings) will not require you to log back in.

NOTE: This currently only applies to the "Default" family of style sets.

[TheHolo.Net]

Now that I understand the Online Status within posts function, I have re-enabled it. If you have chosen to be invisible, it will display you as Offline, when you are visiting the boards, otherwise your status will be Online if you are logged in and browsing.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I like that one. The online/offline one. :cool

[TheHolo.Net]

I have added another hack that displays subforums on the Forum Index(front page) and I have also modified the behavior of Mark Individual forums Read links, so that you are sent back to the Index after using them. :)

[TheHolo.Net]

I added a very small hack that counts posts and places a link in them as the post number, to the specific post. :)

Points to the top right

It only exists in the Default family of styles right now.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:mischief I'm using the Ep II style, and I can see it.

[TheHolo.Net]

Sith, Ep II, Imperial, Rebel, and the Shipyard styles are all within the Default family. :)

[Champion of the Force]

That can be our marketing campaign. :)


Star Wars themes - part of the Default family

I'm glad most of this hasn't been applied to the Basic/Text themes though - just leave it in the Default themes for those who want it. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Oh...I thought the default ones were the Color ones. My bad. :uhoh

[Champion of the Force]

I thought the default ones were the Color ones.
:: looks at style names ::

Hmmmm, the naming is a bit confusing. Apparently all the Default and SW themes use the same template, but the SW themes don't have the Default label on them.

Maybe we should rename the default template Star Wars and use that as the title of all themes using the template?

ie.

Star Wars - Default
Star Wars - Green
Star Wars - Yellow
....
...
...
Star Wars - Sith
Star Wars - Episode 2

etc etc.

That way we have our themes in 3 categories:

1. Text based - text only. Little to no graphics whatsoever.
2. Basic - uses vBulletin standard layout. Minimal amount of graphics.
3. Star Wars (the Default template) - board standard with all available options.

What do you think Mr SWFans? :)

[TheHolo.Net]

I should have mentioned it before, that they were part of that family. Its because they are all using the same templates(vBulletin technical term) that actually build the structure of each f the different screens. The colors and images are different, but the layouts are all the same in the Default family.

Not a bad idea Davwj. :)

[Sean Piett]

That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the drive to suffer the slings and arrows of outdated options, or to take up upgrades against a sea of boredom. And by opposing; end it? To lag; to tire; no more.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Well, *I* think its a bad idea. :p

[TheHolo.Net]

I am announcing a small hack/template modification….yes another one. :p

I just added a new field to the navigation bar in the user control panel. If you have a look, you will see a field labeled “Avatar”. Save yourself a click when you want to change your Avatar picture, and it also makes things a little easier on the new folks. :)