Hello!
I have a general - hopefully easy - question I'd like to clarify before I try to do something serious with Tiny Portal. Here it is: Is it possible to easily turn on and off a Tiny Portal through a setting in a configuration file when needed?
I'd like to install a SMF board with a theme that has a Tiny Portal already integrated, but until I know more about how to work with Tiny Portal I'd like to have the option to turn it off for the users. Would this require going through all the code of various PHP files (I see there are lots of references), or can it be done easier? I see in the readme file of Tiny Portal for example that you have to add several passages manually once you want to add it to a theme, so I was wondering if you'd need to remove them all again to deactivate Tiny Portal. Or is it even a matter of adjusting that simply through the updated SMF control panel?
Any advice on this would be appreciated!
Artimidor
If you have TP installed on a smf Forum, you don't have to (turn-it-off) - and you can't -- with a TP Theme with Up shrinks, you simply collapse + / - both right & /left side Blocks.. and you then have a regular smf Forum..just let your members know how to collapse and Expand the side blocks..with the /left/right blocks collapsed you could say TP is "(turned-off)" ... :)
Yep, I've seen that you can expand and collapse it with a link within the theme.
However, you obviously cannot completely disable it temporarily so that users cannot expand it or see that someone is working on this part until it's finished - without having to completely remove all the references in various PHP files, right?
Or could it be accomplished to start the Forum with a shrinked Tiny Portal (is there a setting?) and disable the expand link temporarily? That would have the same effect I assume.
Artimidor
Artimidor the best way to play and learn TP (also any other mod for SMF) is have a test install in your PC or another directory in your server.
This way you will have the freedom to work as you want, overcome possible problems without interrupting your site' s operation and install it in your forum when you will feel ready about it.
In theory, it' s technicalyy possible to have a frontpage showning only forum and have all the blocks with admin only permissions until decided if and what to display.
Agridoc's last suggestion is very good..just make all blocks admin-only, and turn off dl manager + frontapge go directly to forum. Then you can experiment with it and turn them on again later on. Of course the copyright will give away things though.. :)
I haven't added a "turn it all off" option simply becuase there seemed there was no need for it.
Or as suggested before, it can be a theme related instance. All theme creators need is an example code to use. I'm a little too php dense to figure it out.
Theme Option: admin > current theme > enable/disable TP.
Another possible way to investigate, is to have an admin only board and use a TP theme only on that board. TP will not show up on non TP themes.
Ya, you could have 2 versions of the same theme. Normal and TP installed. That's the easiest way to do it until some theme designers add that options to turn TP on/off in theme settings.
Just make the default what you want everyone to use.
I see no need to do something like having two themes installed. If you turn on the option to "display forum" on the front page, then disable all the blocks you won't even notice TP is there. Mean while you're still using a TP theme so you can test things as an admin before you go live to the rest of the members.
Preferably though, I would just use a test install on another forum instead of my live site.
Okeydokey, thanks for the help everyone ^-^
I guess I should go ahead and install the theme and play around with the suggested things, it should be possible methinks to get the effect one or way or another ::)
Artimidor
Okeydokey, made some progresss - and Tiny Portal definitely is a keeper, so congrats to everyone who has worked on making it real ;D :up:
Now comes another question:
I intend to have the Tiny Portal blocks all integrated, but would like that the user first reads up on everything to know what these are good for. So he/she should be able to turn them on or off whenever he/she chooses. Besides the Message Board is being displayed with a frame, so it might get cluttered with the Tiny Portal stuff shown on startup.
The intention therefore is that when the new user enters the board and isn't registered yet, the Tiny Portal blocks should be closed. However, with a click on the expand links on top to the left and right one should be able to view them. This way you can configure how to view the blocks yourself (left or right ones open or not etc.), but the display of the site is in general simple (displaying only the Forum) until you discover these features - and whether you turn it on or off is up to you.
I've had a look what you can do with the control panel. Well, there are for example settings like "Use left bar" or "Use right bar" and "Hide bar when in forum" - the problem is, that you can untick "Use left bar" and the expand link disappears completely, and if you hide the bars in the Forum, the open links are gone as well. So, in short:
How can Tiny Portal be shown in closed state on startup with the expand links on top still being shown? Maybe it's simple to accomplish and I just haven't seen it. - But maybe any of you guys knows more ;)
It doesn't have such an option yet. It would essentially be a setting that would have them closed at startup, until a member open them, then its user settings.
This will not make it into v0.9.5 but maybe for v1.0.
I guess it would really be an appreciated option, letting the users first get accustomed to the Forum and then discover the new features.
BTW: There's another problem related to that issue, which you might already be aware of: If you enter a community as a guest (because you haven't registered yet) and collapse the already shown Tiny Portal, the next thread you view as a guest brings the Portal miraculously back. That's quite annoying at times because the user might think the board is bugged or something. So if the Portal could be collapsed or disabled before registering you wouldn't have that problem (or diminish it at least).
you can set your members to user groups and give them a little bit at a time.
something like 20-30 posts = a upgraded user group = a block
then you dont need to worry about cookies
or make a FAQ section with lots of pictures :P
everyone loves pictures to learn from
Quote from: Artimidor on July 16, 2006, 06:54:46 PMIf you enter a community as a guest (because you haven't registered yet) and collapse the already shown Tiny Portal, the next thread you view as a guest brings the Portal miraculously back. That's quite annoying at times because the user might think the board is bugged or something. So if the Portal could be collapsed or disabled before registering you wouldn't have that problem (or diminish it at least).
I had this request too, it might be added in the next version. Bloc has shown interest on this issue.
If you run a site where most members are not very able with PCs you must be very careful with changes. Even a more experienced user will stick after some time to what he has used to in a site he visits frequently.
Yeah, don't tell me... I'm just about to switch to a completely new message board, you know.. And people who have used the old ones (we have 2) for, well, 6 years or so now perhaps think... :idiot2: (nice smiley BTW)
So you know, I try to keep things as simple as possible for the regular users ;)
Guests not saving the upshrinked state will be in. Though not in v0.9.5.
(hm, the list for v1.0 is already beginning to be quite long lol :) )
Quote from: Bloc on July 17, 2006, 11:17:14 AM
(hm, the list for v1.0 is already beginning to be quite long lol :) )
you do what you can and we all bow to you for that
Agridoc, you said : ...the best way to play and learn TP (also any other mod for SMF) is have a test install in your PC or another directory in your server...
Well from somone that started life with an XT and 250ko of RAM, I'm afraid to say that I don't know how to set up a test install on my PC - this would be very useful, could you instruct please?
Well, I started with a TI-99/4A and 16Kb RAM :laugh:
You must have Apache, PHP and MySQL in your PC. One good way is XAMPP
http://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/
I prefer the zip file.
Play a bit with it and you will see that it is like to install in your server. Instead of FTP you use a file manager to copy ("upload") the files to the directories.
Thanks Agridoc :up:
I'd like to know if its possible to disable TP for one theme but have it active in another?
I have a regular theme and a mobile one.
I'd like to disable TP for the mobile one because TP does not work in mobile.
This is something that Bloc is working on.
There was a topic/post sometime ago, where a member done this, but sorry I just cant find it, or remember the members name :( hopefully one of the other team will remember and post here, sorry this not much help really!