Review Forum
With XThreads, we can create all kinds of forums. Here is a set up for a review forum. I used it for books, but you can use it for games or whatever
My set up uses:
4 Custom thread fields
an optional plug in to show latest reviews as images on Portal and Forumdisplay
PHP in Templates / Complex Templates
Thread Tooltip Preview
and
a .css edit.
1. First, we will create a field for the Author:
Create a Custom Thread Field with these settings:
* Title: Author
* Key: book_author
* Description: Name of Author - format is first name followed by Last name. Separate multiple authors with a | character
* Applicable Forums: 'select a forum '
* Input Field Type: Textbox
* Maximum Text Length: 200
Modify it as you wish. It is the maximum characters for the description.
* Field Input Width: 40
* Editable by / Required Field?: Everyone (Required)
* Display Parsing: Plain Text
* Display Format: <strong>Author</strong> : {VALUE}
* Allow multiple values for this field: no
* Text Mask Filter: ^.*$
2. Now, we will set up a filter for our categories:
Create a Custom Thread Field with these settings:
* Title: Book Genre
* Key: bookcat
* Description: Pick the genre for your book - you can have multiples.
* Applicable Forums: 'select the forum in point 1'
* Input Field Type: Checkboxes
* Values List
* Editable by / Required Field?: Everyone (Required)
* Display Order: 2
To display the Genre, later, we need put {$GLOBALS['threadfields']['bookcat']} variable into our template.
* Allow Filtering: Yes
* Display Format:
* Multiple Value Delimiter:
* Formatting Map List:
3. Then, we will create a Reviewers Rating Bar for our book review:
Create a Custom Thread Field with these settings:
* Title: Reviewers Book Score
* Key: book_rating
* Description: Give the book a rating out of 10
* Applicable Forums: 'select the forum in point 1 or 2'
* Input Field Type: ListBox
* Values List
* Field Input Width: 40
* Field Input Height: 1
* Editable by / Required Field?: Everyone (Required)
* Display Order: 3
To display the rating, later, we need put {$GLOBALS['threadfields']['book_rating']} variable into our template.
* Allow Filtering: Yes
* Only accept uploaded images: No
* Blank Replacement Value:
* Display Format
* Allow multiple values for this field: no
IMPORTANT: You need the .css edits in the code below. Add them at the end of your global css stylesheet
My thanks to RateU for the original Profile Forum Xthreads example which is where I lifted the above code from
4. Now, we will create a screenshot for our Book Review:
Create a Custom Thread Field with these settings:
* Title: Book Jacket
* Key: book_jacket
* Description: Please post a picture of the book jacket
* Applicable Forums: 'select the forum in point 1 or 2'
* Input Field Type: File
* Valid File Extensions: gif|png|jpg|jpeg
Modify it as you wish.
* Maximum File Size: 1048576
Modify it as you wish. Like the title says, it is a maximum image file size (in bytes) that can be uploaded.
* Editable by / Required Field?: Everyone (Required)
* Display Order: 4
* Only Accept Image Files: Yes
* Minimum Image Dimensions: 160x120
* Image Thumbnail Generation: 88x66|160x120|240x180|320x240|480x360|640x480
* Display Format:
To display this formatting list, we need put {$GLOBALS['threadfields']['book_jacket']} variable later in our template.
5. Now, XThreads Options in Forum settings (the forum in the settings 1, 2, 3 and 4 above):
* Template Prefix: book_
* Show first post on every showthread page: Yes
* Thread Grouping : 0
* Enable XThreads' Inline Forum Search: Yes
* Override Threads Per Page: 2
* Force Postbit Layout: Force Horizontal Postbit
6. Create new templates in Global Templates:
* Template Name: book_forumdisplay
* Template Content:
Please Note: This template contains the book picture that you can see on the screen shot (picture is included in extra content attachment). You will need to edit the location of the picture. Edit line 23.
* Template Name: book_forumdisplay_threadlist
* Template Content:
* Template Name: book_forumdisplay_thread
* Template Content:
* Template Name: book_postbit
* Template Content:
Please note: there is some fancy pants stuff going on in here; I have a link to a "Guest Avatar" to keep the layout looking nice. In this template it is called guestfish.gif and is stored in the images/avatars. See the line below. if you choose not to add this function then you will get the text guest instead of the mini avatar.
* Template Name: book_postbit_first
* Template Content:
* Template Name: book_showthread
* Template Content:
* Template Name: book_showthread_noreplies
* Template Content:
Extra Content:
PHP in Templates / Complex Templates (required). You can get the plug in HERE
Picture for the books panel (optional - you can use your own picture or an ad block)
Plug in for the gallery display (optional) This plugin was created by RateU , updated for Xthreads by ZingaBurga and is shared by me. This plugin has NOT been reviewed by ZB.
EDIT. Further in this thread RateU points out that this particular plug in does run a global query which is not really necessary. If this is a concern for you, dont take the plugin.
.css edits (required for the ratings bar) add at the end of your global .css
Screenshots:
1. User creates a thread:
2. User views the post:
3. Thread List:
Or you can view it on a live forum: http://www.leefish.nl/mybb/forumdisplay.php?fid=16