Christian Bullock » Tutorials

Adding Commas to your forum’s Stats

Christian — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:46:36 +0000

Ever looked at the Stats of your phpBB forum, only to find instead of finding a nice structured number there’s just a long string of numbers? Sure 596849 still means 596,849 , but which would you rather look at? And more importantly – which would you rather your guests saw? Since it’s been a while since my last tutorial, I thought I’d share how a few simple edits can make a huge difference to the appearance of your board.

For example:

Files to Edit

index.php

search.php

viewforum.php

viewtopic.php

/includes/functions_display.php

/language/en/common.php

Open: /language/en/common.php

Find:

	'TOTAL_POSTS_OTHER'	=> 'Total posts %d',
	'TOTAL_POSTS_ZERO'	=> 'Total posts 0',
	'TOPIC_REPORTED'	=> 'This topic has been reported',
	'TOTAL_TOPICS_OTHER'=> 'Total topics %d',
	'TOTAL_TOPICS_ZERO'	=> 'Total topics 0',
	'TOTAL_USERS_OTHER'	=> 'Total members %d',

Replace with:

	'TOTAL_POSTS_OTHER'	=> 'Total posts %s',
	'TOTAL_POSTS_ZERO'	=> 'Total posts 0',
	'TOPIC_REPORTED'	=> 'This topic has been reported',
	'TOTAL_TOPICS_OTHER'=> 'Total topics %s',
	'TOTAL_TOPICS_ZERO'	=> 'Total topics 0',
	'TOTAL_USERS_OTHER'	=> 'Total members %s',

NOTE: This is the most important step as it allows the language file to accept non-integer paramaters. Failure to complete this step will mean this tweak won’t work no matter what edits you make to other files – for example instead of seeing “12,500″ you’ll just see “12″.

Open: index.php

Find:

	'TOTAL_POSTS'	=> sprintf($user->lang[$l_total_post_s], $total_posts),
	'TOTAL_TOPICS'	=> sprintf($user->lang[$l_total_topic_s], $total_topics),
	'TOTAL_USERS'	=> sprintf($user->lang[$l_total_user_s], $total_users),

Replace with:

	'TOTAL_POSTS'	=> sprintf($user->lang[$l_total_post_s], number_format($total_posts)),
	'TOTAL_TOPICS'	=> sprintf($user->lang[$l_total_topic_s], number_format($total_topics)),
	'TOTAL_USERS'	=> sprintf($user->lang[$l_total_user_s], number_format($total_users)),

This will add commas to the stats you see at the bottom of the index page. Simply by wrapping number_format() around each string tells phpBB that it is in fact an actual number, as opposed to a count of entries in a database.

Open: /includes/functions_display.php

Find:

			'TOPICS'				=> $row['forum_topics'],

Replace with:

			'TOPICS'				=> number_format($row['forum_topics']),

Find:

		$post_click_count = ($row['forum_type'] != FORUM_LINK || $row['forum_flags'] & FORUM_FLAG_LINK_TRACK) ? $row['forum_posts'] : '';

Replace with:

		$post_click_count = ($row['forum_type'] != FORUM_LINK || $row['forum_flags'] & FORUM_FLAG_LINK_TRACK) ? number_format($row['forum_posts']) : '';

This adds commas to the “Topics” and “Posts” counts on the index page.

Open: viewforum.php

Find:

			'REPLIES'			=> $replies,
			'VIEWS'				=> $row['topic_views'],

Replace with:

			'REPLIES'			=> number_format($replies),
			'VIEWS'				=> number_format($row['topic_views']),

This adds commas to the “Replies” and “Views” counts on the viewforum page (the page you land on immediately after clicking a forum name on the index page).

Open: viewtopic.php

Find:

				'posts'			=> $row['user_posts'],

Replace with:

				'posts'			=> number_format($row['user_posts']),

This will add commas into your users’ post counts.

Open: search.php

Find:

				'TOPIC_REPLIES'		=> $replies,
				'TOPIC_VIEWS'		=> $row['topic_views'],

Replace with:

				'TOPIC_REPLIES'		=> number_format($replies),
				'TOPIC_VIEWS'		=> number_format($row['topic_views']),

This adds commas to the “Replies” and “Views” count whilst looking at search results. This also adds commas to the results seen on the “View your posts” page etc.

You can perform as few or as many as these edits as you like. Please get in touch if you see an error, wish to contribute something, have a question or anything else.

Index & Profile Links in New Window

Christian — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:14:13 +0000

One of the features I love in phpBB3 is the ability to add a link to to the index page, appearing as though it’s actually a forum. And to add to that, you can add a description, track the number of times its been clicked and even choose which members / groups can see it. Unfortunately though, the link opens in the same window, meaning when a member or guest follows the link they’re taken away from your forum – hardly the result you were looking for, right?

By applying this small tweak, users who click the link will see it open in a new tab, or in a new window if their browser doesn’t support tabs.

Prosilver Using Subsilver2?

Open: /styles/prosilver/template/forumlist_body.html

Find:

{forumrow.FORUM_NAME}

Replace with:

target="_blank">{forumrow.FORUM_NAME}

The same problem also occurs whilst viewing a topic. A user who has entered a link into the “Website:” field of the User Control Panel will have a small globe icon displayed next to each of their posts. As you may have guessed, this also opens in the current window. To fix this:

Open: /styles/prosilver/template/viewtopic_body.html

Find:

{L_WEBSITE}

Replace with:

{L_WEBSITE}

The problem still persists in two other locations. Firstly whilst viewing a user’s profile and secondly whilst viewing the member list.

Open: /styles/prosilver/template/memberlist_view.html

Find:

{L_WEBSITE}:
 {U_WWW}

Replace with:

{L_WEBSITE}:
 {U_WWW}

and finally Open: /styles/prosilver/template/memberlist_body.html

Find:

{memberrow.U_SHORT_WWW}
{memberrow.LOCATION}

Replace with:

{memberrow.U_SHORT_WWW}
{memberrow.LOCATION}

Clear your template & browser cache.

Subsilver2
Open: /styles/subsilver2/template/forumlist_body.html

Find:

{forumrow.FORUM_NAME}

Replace with:

{forumrow.FORUM_NAME}

The problem also occurs If a user has entered a link into the “Website:” field of the User Control Panel. Although it won’t show a link next to their posts, it still appears when viewing their profile or the memberlist.

Open: /styles/subsilver2/template/memberlist_view.html

Find:

{U_WWW}

Replace with:

{U_WWW}

Open: /styles/subsilver2/template/memberlist_body.html

Find:

 {WWW_IMG}

Replace with:

 {WWW_IMG}

Refresh your template & browser cache.

Fixed width Subsilver2

Christian — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:28:10 +0000

Fixed-width boards are becoming increasingly popular, and there’s nothing to suggest that will change. Users who are familiar with the phpBB Community will know just how many times people have asked the question “How to I center-align my board?”. In December 2007 a former Styles Team member (thatbitextra) posted an Article giving the code to make prosilver fixed width. Although to this day, there hasn’t really been a clear guide explaining how to accomplish the same effect with Subsilver2. Well, look no further.

Open: /styles/subsilver2/theme/stylesheet.css

Find:

.username-coloured {
	font-weight: bold;
}

Below, Add:

#wrap {
	width: 900px; /* Choose width here. */
	margin: 0 auto;
}

Open: /styles/subsilver2/template/overall_header.html

Find:

Below, Add:

Open: /styles/subsilver2/template/overall_footer.html

Find:

Before, Add:

Refresh Subsilver2’s template cache and your browser cache to see the changes.

Subsilver2 Profiles on Right

Christian — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:18:54 +0000

One of the biggest shocks when phpBB 3.0x was released was that poster’s avatars were displayed on the right hand side whilst the actual message was displayed on the left. At first this didn’t really go down well, although as time passed it caught on and thousands of boards still adopt the unique layout.

Several Forum Owners have been in touch to ask how they can switch avatars to the right on Subsilver2 (as they are on the left by default). The following steps will explain how to do just that.

Note: If you want to skip straight past the manual edits, the modified viewtopic_body.html file can be downloaded at the end of this post.

Open: /styles/subsilver2/template/viewtopic_body.html

Find:

	
		
			{L_AUTHOR}
			{L_MESSAGE}

Replace with:

	
		
			{L_MESSAGE}
			{L_AUTHOR}

Find:


				
				 style="color: {postrow.POST_AUTHOR_COLOUR}">{postrow.POST_AUTHOR}
			
			
				
				
				
					
				
					 {L_POST_SUBJECT}: {postrow.POST_SUBJECT}
{postrow.MINI_POST_IMG}{postrow.MINI_POST_IMG}{L_POSTED}: {postrow.POST_DATE}

Replace with:


				
				
				
					
				
					 {L_POST_SUBJECT}: {postrow.POST_SUBJECT}
{postrow.MINI_POST_IMG}{postrow.MINI_POST_IMG}{L_POSTED}: {postrow.POST_DATE} 
				
				
			
            
				
				 style="color: {postrow.POST_AUTHOR_COLOUR}">{postrow.POST_AUTHOR}

Find:


				
			
				
					{postrow.ONLINE_IMG}
				
			
			
				
					{postrow.RANK_TITLE}
				
			
			
				
					{postrow.RANK_IMG}
				
			
			
				
					{postrow.POSTER_AVATAR}
				
			
			
				
					
				
			
				

				
					
{L_JOINED}: {postrow.POSTER_JOINED}
					
{L_POSTS}: {postrow.POSTER_POSTS}
					
{L_LOCATION}: {postrow.POSTER_FROM}

					
						
						
{postrow.PROFILE_FIELD1_NAME}: {postrow.PROFILE_FIELD1_VALUE}
					

					
						
{postrow.custom_fields.PROFILE_FIELD_NAME}: {postrow.custom_fields.PROFILE_FIELD_VALUE}
					
				

			
			
				
				
					
					
						
						
							{UNAPPROVED_IMG} {L_POST_UNAPPROVED}
  {REPORTED_IMG} {L_POST_REPORTED}
						
						

						

					

						{postrow.MESSAGE}

					
						



						
						
							{L_ATTACHMENTS}: 
						
						
							
								 {postrow.attachment.DISPLAY_ATTACHMENT}
							
						
						
					

					
						

{L_DOWNLOAD_NOTICE}
					
					
						
_________________
{postrow.SIGNATURE}
					

					
						
							


							
							
								{postrow.EDITED_MESSAGE}
							
							
								{postrow.EDIT_REASON}
							
							
						
							


							{postrow.EDITED_MESSAGE}
						
					

					
						

{postrow.BUMPED_MESSAGE}
					

					



						
						
							
							
								{REPORT_IMG} 
								{INFO_IMG} 
								{WARN_IMG} 
								{DELETE_IMG}

Replace with:


				
				
					
					
						
						
							{UNAPPROVED_IMG} {L_POST_UNAPPROVED}
  {REPORTED_IMG} {L_POST_REPORTED}
						
						

						

					

						{postrow.MESSAGE}

					
						



						
						
							{L_ATTACHMENTS}: 
						
						
							
								 {postrow.attachment.DISPLAY_ATTACHMENT}
							
						
						
					

					
						

{L_DOWNLOAD_NOTICE}
					
					
						
_________________
{postrow.SIGNATURE}
					

					
						
							


							
							
								{postrow.EDITED_MESSAGE}
							
							
								{postrow.EDIT_REASON}
							
							
						
							


							{postrow.EDITED_MESSAGE}
						
					

					
						

{postrow.BUMPED_MESSAGE}
					

					



						
						
							
							
								{REPORT_IMG} 
								{INFO_IMG} 
								{WARN_IMG} 
								{DELETE_IMG} 
							
							
						
						
					
				
				
			
            
				
			
				
					{postrow.ONLINE_IMG}
				
			
			
				
					{postrow.RANK_TITLE}
				
			
			
				
					{postrow.RANK_IMG}
				
			
			
				
					{postrow.POSTER_AVATAR}
				
			
			
				
					
				
			
				

				
					
{L_JOINED}: {postrow.POSTER_JOINED}
					
{L_POSTS}: {postrow.POSTER_POSTS}
					
{L_LOCATION}: {postrow.POSTER_FROM}

					
						
						
{postrow.PROFILE_FIELD1_NAME}: {postrow.PROFILE_FIELD1_VALUE}
					

					
						
{postrow.custom_fields.PROFILE_FIELD_NAME}: {postrow.custom_fields.PROFILE_FIELD_VALUE}

Find:

{L_BACK_TO_TOP}
			 {PROFILE_IMG}  {PM_IMG}  {EMAIL_IMG}  
 {EDIT_IMG}  {QUOTE_IMG}

Replace with:

 {PROFILE_IMG}  {PM_IMG}  {EMAIL_IMG}  
 {EDIT_IMG}  {QUOTE_IMG}   
            {L_BACK_TO_TOP}

Save/Upload Modified File and refresh template cache:
Admin Panel => Styles Tab => Style Components => Templates => Subsilver2 => Refresh

Download: viewtopic_body.html

Simple phpBB3 Remote Login

Christian — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:13:28 +0000

If your Forum is accompanied by a Website, you’ll probably know it can be a challenge to guide your guests towards the board. Over the past few years I’ve seen countless members ask how their users can log in to the forums from the Website. As far as tutorials go there aren’t a great deal of them around, and the ones that are around usually go one step too far and use complicated PHP scripts to integrate the session etc.

However, it’s possible to use a simple HTML code to log the members in and redirect them to your board:


	
             Username:  

             Password:

Just copy & paste it straight into your HTML Website. Simple as that. Ensure the path to ucp.php is correct and away you go. Your users will be automatically directed to your board’s index page.