vBadvanced Forums  

Installation Upgrading F.A.Q. Help & Support


vBadvanced CMPS (Content Management & Portal System)
Introduction
vBadvanced CMPS (Content Management & Portal System) is an advanced portal / content management system that will allow you to easily include different elements from your vBulletin message board on your web site's homepage, or other pages. It's module system makes it very easy to add custom modules without modifying any files. It also allows you to easily create and manage new pages in which you can customize almost every default setting, plus it is very easy to integrate with other vBulletin pages and hacks. Everything is completely template based and fully integrated with vBulletin as well, so it is very easy to customize and change everything through your Admin CP.
Features:

Main Features:
  • Over 100 default settings making almost every aspect of the product easy to customize through your vBulletin Admin CP.
  • Easily create and manage your site's content and add new pages via the Admin CP.
  • Page types include Module only, BB Code, Template, HTML File, and PHP file pages. This array makes things easy for the beginner and gives the advanced coder the tools they need.
  • Easily add an unlimited number of new modules without hacking any vBulletin or vBadvanced files.
  • Module types include BB Code, Template, and PHP file modules. Perfect for the beginner or the advanced coder.
  • Control access to each module or page with usergroup permissions.
  • Quick Permissions Editor that allows you to quickly and easily change these permission settings in all pages and modules at once.
  • Ability to use vBulletin's WYSIWYG post editor for BB code pages and modules.
  • Integration or "wrapping" the CMPS around your vBulletin forum pages can be done through the Admin CP with no file modifications required.
  • Easily change the look of each page with options to move or activate modules on a per-page basis.
  • Ability to set a different value for each module's settings on a per-page basis.
  • Easily copy module layouts from one page to others.
  • Ability to completely customize the look by adding new columns or "locations" for modules to appear in the Admin CP.
  • Upload / Download Module interface that makes adding a new module as simple as uploading a file through your browser.
  • Completely template based making every aspect easy to customize.
  • Over 50 hook locations making things easy for developers to customize without modifying the files.
  • Fully phrased to support the vBulletin language system.
  • Install file that will make all database queries and templates for you in seconds.
  • Un-installs in seconds.
  • Tested and stable with vBulletin 3.6.0+
  • Optimized to make sure your site runs at full speed.
  • 100% validated XHTML 1.0 compliance
  • And Much more!

Included Modules:
  • Site Navigation
    A navigation module allowing your users to easily navigate your CMPS pages and the rest of your web site.
  • Welcome Block
    Creates a login box for members to log into your site on the homepage, or shows logged in users their avatar, last visit, private message info, reputation info, and rank (all of which may be enabled/disabled).
  • News
    Pick specific threads, or just select a forum to pull posts from and have these posts displayed as news articles on your CMPS page. Additional options to show attachments, avatars, icons, ratings, images, HTML, and more in your news posts.
  • News Archive
    A condensed version of older news posts. Includes options to control the number of archived posts to show.
  • Latest Topics
    Show the latest threads started in your forum. Additional options to set the number of threads to display, pick specific threads or forums to pull threads from, show a preview of the first post, ratings, icons, last post info, and more.
  • Current Poll
    Show a poll and allow users to vote and see the results on your homepage.
  • Buddy List
    Show the user's buddy list for members who are logged in.
  • Online Users
    Shows a list of active users, including the stats for your 'most users ever online'.
  • Stats
    Shows statistics such as total members, threads, posts, top poster, and newest member.
  • Today's Birthdays
    Shows all members with a birthday today, along with their age and a link to their profile.
  • Mini Calendar
    Shows a mini calendar with links to days with scheduled events and/or birthdays from the calendar you select.
  • Search
    Search box to allow users to quickly search your forums.
  • Quick Moderation
    Shows the number of posts, threads, users, attachments, and calendar events awaiting moderation for users that have permission to moderate these items.

Other 3rd party modules available in the vBadvanced Forums.
Help & Support
Before asking for support Please check the vBadvanced F.A.Q. Forum!
If you have any problems or questions that are not covered in the F.A.Q. please post them at vbadvanced.com in the appropriate support forum. We will be more than happy to help in any way we can if the request for help is made there.
Anyone trying to contact a staff member via e-mail, private message, or any other means will be ignored.
Copyright
This software is © 2003 - 2007 vBadvanced.com.
All copyright notes in the software itself must remain unchanged unless you have purchased a Branding Free license.
This software is NOT to be re-distributed in any way or placed on any other web site for download.
For a complete and current list of Terms & Conditions, please see the download page. By downloading this software, you are agreeing to all Terms and Conditions listed on that page.


Installation Instructions
Step 1 - File Modifications
Note: If you intend to use this software in the same directory as your vBulletin forum and plan to upload the cmps_index.php file to your vBulletin forum's directory (ex: /forum/cmps_index.php) then you may skip this step.

In your cmps_index.php file:

Open your cmps_index.php file in this folder and find:
$forumpath = '';
Add the full path to your forum on your server between the '' marks here.

Not sure how to find your path?

Step 2 - Upload Files
Upload the new vBadvanced CMPS files to the directories listed below. Note that this guide assumes your vBulletin files are in a folder called 'forum'. If vBulletin is uploaded elsewhere or the folder is named something different, you will need to upload the folders and files in the 'forum' folder with this package to whatever folder your vBulletin files reside in.

Note: Be sure to upload the /forum/images and /forum/cpstyles folders and their contents in Binary mode and the other files in ASCII mode.
root directory
(usually public_html or htdocs)
cmps_index.php (you will probably rename this file to index.php once everything is set up)
forum/admincp vbacmps_install.php
vba_cmps_admin.php
forum/clientscript vba_cmps_admin.js
forum/cpstyles vba_cp_logo.gif
forum/includes vba_adminfunctions_cmps.php
vba_cmps_global.php
vba_cmps_include_bottom.php
vba_cmps_include_template.php
vba_cmps_include_top.php
forum/includes/xml cpnav_vbacmps.xml
hooks_vbacmps.xml
forum/images/misc noavatar.gif
vba_cp.gif
vba_cp_collapsed.gif
forum/modules Upload this folder and all of it's contents into your vBulletin {forum} folder.


Now you will need to chmod the /forum/modules folder to 777:
Step 3 - Run the Install File
The last step is to run the installation file. This file may be run from your browser by going to http://yoursite.com/forum/admincp/vbacmps_install.php.
This file will make all necessary changes to your database and install the modules, templates, phrases, settings, and etc for you. Once the file is done, go to your Admin CP and you will see a new group of options called "vBadvanced CMPS". This is where you will modify the settings, add/edit modules, and add/edit new pages.

Note that you will find the main page of your CMPS wherever you uploaded your cmps_index.php file to.

For more information on how to use your new product, please see the User's Manual available at vbadvanced.com.


Help & Support
Before asking for support Please check the vBadvanced F.A.Q. Forum!
If you have any problems or questions that are not covered in the F.A.Q. please post them at vbadvanced.com in the appropriate support forum. We will be more than happy to help in any way we can if the request for help is made there.
Anyone trying to contact a staff member via e-mail, private message, or any other means will be ignored.


Frequently Asked Questions
Q.I'm not sure how to find the path to my forums.
A.Look in the "Extras" folder that came with your download for a file called 'forumpath.php'.

Upload that file to your server into your 'forums' folder where you have vBulletin installed, go to it in your browser, and it should print out the correct path to your forums.

Copy that path, paste it over what you currently have for your path in cmps_index.php file, and re-upload that file.
Other problems?

Please check the vBadvanced F.A.Q. Forum.


Upgrading
Upgrading from vBa CMPS v2.x
If you have made the changes from the vBadvanced Users Manual here to integrate your other vBulletin files/hacks, you will need to remove 2 of these changes as this is now done via plugins. Otherwise, you may continue to "Final Steps" section below.

First, open your /forum/global.php file. Find the code below, and remove it. 
if (defined('VBA_PORTAL'))
{
	require_once('./includes/vba_cmps_include_template.php');
}


Next, open your forum/includes/functions.php file. Search the file for 'VBA_PORTAL'. You should find some code that is similar to the code below, but may be slightly different depending on when the code was added. This code should be removed as well. 
	if (defined('VBA_PORTAL') AND !defined('SKIP_OUTPUT') AND !defined('NOPMPOPUP') AND THIS_SCRIPT != 'adv_index')
	{
		define('SKIP_OUTPUT', true);

		global $home;

		print_portal_output($home, $vartext);
	}


Save these two files and be sure to upload them when you upload the rest of the files for the CMPS.

Note that it is not necessary to remove the code from other individual files that you have integrated.
Final Steps (Upgrading from vBadvanced CMPS 3.x)
  1. If you have not already, ensure that you are running vBulletin 3.6+.
  2. As with any program, you should always backup your database before upgrading.
  3. Upload all of the new vBadvanced CMPS files in this package over your existing ones, with the exception of the cmps_index.php file (Click here for a list of files).
  4. Go to the install file in your browser by going to http://yoursite.com/forum/admincp/vbacmps_install.php. Once there, select the option to upgrade.