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Split Forum Mod

Started by dougiefresh, May 27, 2014, 07:55:49 AM

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jjqualls

Hello and thanks for the mod and all the updates! I believe it is just what I was looking for, but I haven't got it working yet to be sure. My website is new and there's no other mods on it yet except this one, so I can do whatever I need with it. I am a rookie so it might just be my fault, but I have it installed, 2 subforums created, a couple categories made with a couple boards in each just for testing purposes, but I can't find out how to actually access any boards on the sub forums. When I create the subforums it puts a default index page, and all that page does is point back to my primary forum. I don't see any way to actually access the boards that were created in the subforums, and nothing else is created in the subforum folder (not sure if there's supposed to be), it's still just the index page that points back to the primary forum.

dougiefresh

There are two bugs in Load.php that result in the subforum not loading properly and I've already fixed these errors for version 1.5.

dougiefresh

Uploaded v1.5 - Auguest 3rd, 2014
o Fixed the subforum URL detection code that resulted in board doesn't exist errors....
o Fixed Manage Boards UI so that boards aren't hidden when entering Manage Boards UI...
o Updated package-info.xml so that it redirects to clears the SMF file cache
o Modified Simple Portal code to support subforums selection for blocks.

skeletonkiss

Quote from: dougiefresh on August 03, 2014, 01:21:43 PM
@DoctorVox: I've figured out why that is happened.  It'll be fixed with the next version.

@skeletonkiss: I've got new code working within the Simple Portal code that will allow you to select which subforum or subforums you want a particular block on.  Attached is a picture....

Is there not a way to put it, where it says 'Display options' and 'display on portal, forum, etc, is there not a way to make forum1, forum2? My biggest issue is that the blocks I have set to show on my forum index but not the rest of my board, are showing on both my actual board index, and the one the shows my sub forum from this mod. So essentially, I suppose what I am asking is to trick simpleportal into thinking the new sub forum has its own unique index page, and only show blocks on that, and also to be able to -exclude- the blocks showing on the main forum index from showing on the sub forum.

Basically like saying the sub forum has its own index.php instead of obviously drawing from the one the actual board has?

jjqualls

Ok my problem was just my rookie mistake, thanks for the mod!

DoctorVox

Board is now working perfectly. Thank you.

jjqualls

Any way to easily copy subforum boards from 1 subforum to the others? Wanting to do several subforums, but the initial boards will be the same for each one and was just hoping I didn't have to do the same thing for each one.

dougiefresh

Quote from: jjqualls on August 03, 2014, 09:30:39 PM
Any way to easily copy subforum boards from 1 subforum to the others? Wanting to do several subforums, but the initial boards will be the same for each one and was just hoping I didn't have to do the same thing for each one.
Nope.  There aren't any mods to copy a board as it is, so anything I do will for this have to be from scratch....

If you're looking to simply make an alias to a single in one category in each of the subforum, then Alias Boards might work for ya.....

Quote from: skeletonkiss on August 03, 2014, 08:16:41 PM
Is there not a way to put it, where it says 'Display options' and 'display on portal, forum, etc, is there not a way to make forum1, forum2? My biggest issue is that the blocks I have set to show on my forum index but not the rest of my board, are showing on both my actual board index, and the one the shows my sub forum from this mod. So essentially, I suppose what I am asking is to trick simpleportal into thinking the new sub forum has its own unique index page, and only show blocks on that, and also to be able to -exclude- the blocks showing on the main forum index from showing on the sub forum.

Basically like saying the sub forum has its own index.php instead of obviously drawing from the one the actual board has?
I dunno....  It would have to be something like what I already did, but that code is obviously not right for the job.....  Upgrading from v1.5 to v1.6 will remove the changes I made to the Simple Portal mod and will be replaced with something else....

skeletonkiss

Okay, so from what I can see looking at the stuff SP changes, the 'forum' function leads to the boardindex.


'forum' => array('BoardIndex.php', 'BoardIndex'),
'portal' => array('PortalMain.php', 'sportal_main'),


So what I'm wondering is how your mod handles the board index? Since it -appears- as if the newly created forums have their own, yet it seems like they just kind of use the original boardindex? Would there be a way to create a second board index, then, so the forum your mod creates could be, for example, boardindex2, and could be added in to that mod, and then you could select forum1, or forum2? Thats what I want. Basically another board index page that would be what you see when you load the forum your mod creates.

Hj Ahmad Rasyid Hj Ismail

I guess the BoardIndex is still the same. The mod is only trying to limit/control access via each forum so that each forum is seen as having different contents than the other(s). I have tried this mod but couldn't appreciate its functions very well.

You may also try subforums mod which do almost the same but via domain / subdomain only (it is its limitation). But subforums mod is ready to work together with PortaMX portal without any problems since both were developed by the same developer / mod author.

Since this mod is in its version 1.5, I may try it again sometimes soon. Will comment again later.

dougiefresh

Quote from: dougiefresh on August 04, 2014, 03:48:00 PM
I dunno....  It would have to be something like what I already did, but that code is obviously not right for the job.....  Upgrading from v1.5 to v1.6 will remove the changes I made to the Simple Portal mod and will be replaced with something else....
I did some more investigate into how Simple Portal works, and the source code is mostly correct, but the template code needs replaced, as it doesn't fit the requested "needs" of the forum.  I guess I'm also going to have to insert the SP mod database install code directly into my mod, so that I can create new blocks for new subforums.....

Regarding how the blocks function, I discovered that it uses functions from SSI.php.  So in version 1.6, the functions relating to the boards and topics have been modified to work within the specified subforum.  This will allow the portal page blocks to show correct information regarding the subforums....

dougiefresh

Quote from: skeletonkiss on August 04, 2014, 04:31:23 PM
So what I'm wondering is how your mod handles the board index?
Quote from: ahrasis on August 04, 2014, 05:04:54 PM
I guess the BoardIndex is still the same. The mod is only trying to limit/control access via each forum so that each forum is seen as having different contents than the other(s).
This mod adds pieces to each query involving the categories/boards/topics/messages so that only those categories/boards/topics/messages belonging to that subforum are shown. 

Quote from: skeletonkiss on August 04, 2014, 04:31:23 PM
Since it -appears- as if the newly created forums have their own, yet it seems like they just kind of use the original boardindex?
You are correct.  They all use the original boardindex.

Quote from: skeletonkiss on August 04, 2014, 04:31:23 PM
Would there be a way to create a second board index, then, so the forum your mod creates could be, for example, boardindex2, and could be added in to that mod, and then you could select forum1, or forum2? Thats what I want. Basically another board index page that would be what you see when you load the forum your mod creates.
That's not really how this mod is designed to work.  Each subforum is in own folder, and has it's own index.php, which it includes back to the primary forum's index.php.  That doesn't mean that I couldn't add another action (aka: boardindex2), but it would probably be difficult to properly implement such an action, given the way that the forum actions and boards and topics parameters are implemented.....

Quote from: ahrasis on August 04, 2014, 05:04:54 PM
You may also try subforums mod which do almost the same but via domain / subdomain only (it is its limitation).
This mod is a bit more flexible, as a subforum can be anywhere on the server.  You could create a separate domain and assign it to a subforum; or create subdomains and assign it to a subforum.  Each subforum resides in it's own folder, so it would be easy to use cPanel (or some other server management tools) to do what you want..... or not  ;D

Quote from: ahrasis on August 04, 2014, 05:04:54 PM
But subforums mod is ready to work together with PortaMX portal without any problems since both were developed by the same developer / mod author.
...

dougiefresh

Quote from: jjqualls on August 03, 2014, 09:30:39 PM
Any way to easily copy subforum boards from 1 subforum to the others? Wanting to do several subforums, but the initial boards will be the same for each one and was just hoping I didn't have to do the same thing for each one.
Regarding this topic, I started a discussion regarding cloning a board here.  I have since decided not to pursue implementation of this idea, for many of the reasons listed in that topic.....  Now, if only the board information was needed to be duplicated (no content), then that is feasible.  But topics, messages, attachments, etc.....  I'm gonna have to say no to....

Hj Ahmad Rasyid Hj Ismail

Actualy, you don't copy board. Instead you control by allow / deny access to it from multiple forum that you have/created. One forum can share category(ies) with others or not.

At least that is how Subforums mod do it. Forum A can have category A, B & C. Forum B also can have category A but may be with D & E. Forum C may have B, C & D. They definitely can freely share among forums.

dougiefresh

Quote from: ahrasis on August 07, 2014, 04:19:59 PM
Actualy, you don't copy board. Instead you control by allow / deny access to it from multiple forum that you have/created. One forum can share category(ies) with others or not.

At least that is how Subforums mod do it. Forum A can have category A, B & C. Forum B also can have category A but may be with D & E. Forum C may have B, C & D. They definitely can freely share among forums.
Unfortunately, that's not the way this mod is set up....  I would have to go back and alter SOOOO many queries to make that work for this mod...  Can it be done?  Heck, yeah!  Will it?  I dunno.....  :-\

Hj Ahmad Rasyid Hj Ismail

I know what you did as I installed your mod and went through its codes. I have seen few coders / mod authors doing this before and due to that I have submitted my ideas and requested feline to do exactly as what I've wanted which are based on goosemoose / orstio old mod (by bridging smf with old joomla / mambo). Else, subforums mod also could have suffered a major re-write if this going to be achieved at its later stage of coding.

dougiefresh

#56
I will see what I can do for version 2.0.  Version 1.6 will probably be the last of the 1.x series (unless more bugs are found and reported).  The upgrade files are just getting too unwieldy to maintain and this will difficult to implement via upgrade files, so everything will get integrated into the main file(s)....

For version 1.6, I've done some major rewriting of the Edit Boards UI, which got started before skeletonkiss made his/her request.  It has taken up a lot of my time getting it to work and I'm ready to implement a tabbed system for the Simple Portal blocks.  That way, everything for each subforum will be listed and managed separately....

EDIT: Major changes to SSI.php also made their way into version 1.6, as Simple Portal wasn't reporting things regarding boards, topics, categories, etc correctly....

jjqualls

Few questions here.

1. For some reason when I create a new subforum, in the setting "SubForum Web Address (URL):" the default is "example...forum/forum5". But I'm not wanting the folder or url to be named example...forum/forum5 but I want it example...forum/birds. Even if I change it the folder birds still doesn't exist and it still creates the folder forum5, then my subforum is still at example...forum/forum5/index.php

2. Any way to clear unused subforum id numbers and names? While messing around trying to fix the above I have created and deleted several testing subforums. When creating a new subforum now using the default subforum id, I get an error "The specified subforum ID has already been used. Please select another ID number." Then if I go back and try to just pick another subforum ID I get a blank "an error has occurred" message, and basically that subforum name becomes unusable.

3. Should you have to log in to each subforum seperately or will the session carry over to the others? Currently I am logged into 2 of them, but the third one wants to make me log in again?

I am a rookie and have been messing with this all day so the problems very well might be of my own work...

dougiefresh

Quote from: jjqualls on August 10, 2014, 04:03:06 PM
1. For some reason when I create a new subforum, in the setting "SubForum Web Address (URL):" the default is "example...forum/forum5". But I'm not wanting the folder or url to be named example...forum/forum5 but I want it example...forum/birds. Even if I change it the folder birds still doesn't exist and it still creates the folder forum5, then my subforum is still at example...forum/forum5/index.php

2. Any way to clear unused subforum id numbers and names? While messing around trying to fix the above I have created and deleted several testing subforums. When creating a new subforum now using the default subforum id, I get an error "The specified subforum ID has already been used. Please select another ID number." Then if I go back and try to just pick another subforum ID I get a blank "an error has occurred" message, and basically that subforum name becomes unusable.
I had to fix a few things in the Sources files, but it's been fixed for version 1.6.

Quote from: jjqualls on August 10, 2014, 04:03:06 PM
3. Should you have to log in to each subforum seperately or will the session carry over to the others? Currently I am logged into 2 of them, but the third one wants to make me log in again?
I would think that you would have to log in to all 3 subforums individually....

dougiefresh

Uploaded v1.6 - Auguest 11th, 2014
o Modified Create Subforum functions to properly create new subforums without conflicts
o Modified Manage Boards UI so that when changing subforum and/or category, category and board list now changes.
o Fixed browser compatibility issue with revised Manage Category UI.
o Addition of a tabbed interface for Simple Portal block listing template.
o Rewrite of Simple Portal template modifications introduced in version 1.5.
o Added tab system to Blocks listing UI to make it easier to put seperate blocks in subforums.
o Modified several SSI functions so that they return results for only that subforum.

This solves all reported problems and hopefully produces no more bugs  :P

Off-topic: It should be noted that the upgrade file for v1.6 is actually almost 1.5x larger than the install.xml file itself....  If that tells you how much I changed.....  It also should be noted that the installer uses both install.xml and upgrade_1.6.xml during a normal non-upgrade installation....

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