how to make an auto Smiley Pack

[Oneith]

Hi, I think some people made smiley packages that once the files are uploaded on FTP the images get uploaded automatically & gets "Code" without using the "Add Smiley" if that is possible i need some help on how to make it automatically upload all the info it needs so that when it's uploaded i don't have to add smiley and add codes for it, hope to get a reply asap, thanks.

[Arantor]

Well, smiley packs of old would use the same list of smiley codes that SMF comes with out of the box, with no additional codes or choices, and just have different images for that.

The smiley pack system isn't clever enough to pre-set all the codes you'd need as well.

[Oneith]

i saw someone using "Thumbs.db" i don't know if that is what makes it upload it automatically or what it does.

[Arantor]

Thumbs.db is absolutely nothing to do with it - it's a file made by Windows to store thumbnails of images in a folder. I guarantee you SMF does not know what to do with this.

[Oneith]

so this way is totally impossible? and SMF can't even make something like this?

[Arantor]

Oh, it can be done but to do exactly what you're talking about - where you preset new codes and everything in a smiley pack - is really very advanced stuff and to my knowledge no-one has ever produced such a smiley pack that installs and sets up new smileys with new codes.

SMF normally works on the smiley set system - like it comes installed - where you have a pre-set list of codes and you just add new images fitting those codes. That's auto-installable from the package manager, and indeed quite a number of packs already exist to do this, but they use the same set list of codes and filenames as the default set.

If I understand you correctly and you want to make a new smiley set that includes *different* and *new* codes to the ones shipped in SMF by default, it cannot make this without considerable knowledge of package creation including manually modifying stuff in the database to configure it.

[Gwenwyfar]

Don't smiley packs get installed like a mod? Can't you add functions and other needed steps in there? From what I saw, many smiley packs don't even do you the favor of adding the images, they just upload it and you still need to check the new images (and name them) manually. Basically, they save you the trouble of using FTP.

(I was actually looking for a way to do the same thing, so if you don't mind me chiming in the topic here )

[Arantor]

Not even that, most smiley packs just are a set of images to create a new smiley set (new images, same codes)

Yes, they're technically a mod package but no one I ever saw did anything with them to create new codes etc during installation.

Mind you, the entire smiley set concept is a relic now.

[Gwenwyfar]

If something can be built, it could serve as a template for anyone using smiley sets. Also, we do need two official ones because of the smileys removed from 2.1.

I don't see why, other than the general lack of decent smileys on the mod site (and I guess many forums don't mind just sticking to the default ones).

[Arantor]

Because the minute you turn on customised smileys, the set system suddenly gives you a massive headache.

If you have customised smileys, you end up uploading the custom smileys to every set because no one makes multiple variations of the same smileys.

The basis for the system was to have light and dark variants of the same smileys for when we couldn't have alpha transparency as standard. Or, maybe if you had multiple themes that were different colours (e.g. a red theme and a green theme), you could have smileys to match.

However, no one ever really used it and the one compelling use case (the light/dark) is mostly redundant now we have good transparency support.

Sets work if you never vary what might be in a set.

[Gwenwyfar]

Oh right, I was thinking more about adding custom smileys themselves. And if you get a new set it's likely because you are not going to use the default, or you don't want it installed over default. Which actually brings another issue, since that's exactly what you may want (install over another one or over default).

Even though I can see why you'd want different sets enabled in some cases (like we do even here), it's so much effort for a little thing that, yeah, it's bound to be rarely used Even for animated ones you no longer have to use gifs so not even that holds it anymore in needing variations of the same set.

[Arantor]

See, adding individual smileys from a package first requires making sure customised smileys are even on, then installing the image you're adding into every single set currently installed, even before adding the code to the database.

The only reason multiple sets are in use here is because it was historically a feature of SMF, not because it had any historical use beyond showcasing the feature here.

I'd encourage ditching multiple set support at some point and then making it easier to bulk import smileys. I know I already did this in my own environment, but I don't have the same limitations as SMF does.

[Illori]

sounds like this would in the end make this process much easier https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Add_a_smiley_set

too bad most likely we cant do that in SMF 2.1.

[Arantor]

Make it easier? I'm suggesting to remove it entirely

[Illori]

that makes it much easier

[Arantor]

It's not like I haven't investigated the effort required for that...

[wintstar]

This has already been discussed on github Issue #2985

My suggestion was once seen in other forum systems. With SMF you don't have the free choice to insert your own smileys in an easy way. I added about 100 own smileys in 2.1 Beta4. I was busy for a while. Would be nicer if it were easier and there were no predefined smileys.

[Kindred]

I disagree.

predefined smilies belong.

I do agree with Arantor that allowing switchable sets of smilies is of questionable use these days...

As stated in that github thread, I disagree with your assertion, wintstar.

[Arantor]

The problem is that whether you agree or not, your rivals do agree with that mentality and will leave SMF behind if not super careful.

I think I might be able to ge away with not including all the emoji by way of the fact that I have a targeted niche user base. I am not so convinced that a general purpose platform can afford to ignore what its users evidently seem to want. (Emoji is huge in Slack for example)

[Gwenwyfar]

Do we even need an option to enable custom smileys? It doesn't make a lot of sense to have one either.

It would probably also be a good idea to add "disabled" smiley status, to also cover a few uses of multiple sets.

And yes, the interface needs to be redone, but so do many others in SMF.

[Arantor]

Good luck arguing for removing something as trivial as that option (no, you don't need it)

How does 'disabled' status solve the uses of multiple sets?

[Gwenwyfar]

"Some" of them. Maybe seasonal smilies or others you switch between and don't want to delete. Plus it's a nice feature without requesting you to delete a smiley, if you want to leave it around for whatever reason.

[wintstar]

In my opinion it would be enough to remove the function "Smiley Pack". Upload smileys individually and save them in the database and do not bind them to any packages. And use a language file for the tooltip text. Then it is multi-lingual.

[wintstar]

i saw someone using "Thumbs.db" i don't know if that is what makes it upload it automatically or what it does.

You mean a Pak file. In phpBB smileys are installed using this file.
https://file.org/extension/pak