Add-On Request: DiscussionImage

MySchizoBuddy

the more i think about it the more complicated it becomes. Inline images doesn't embed a img tag it embed a [Image_2] string in the comments, so i cannot use inline images it will have to manually entered img tag for it to work. or use a WYSIWYG to enter the image. that will publish a img tag and then my i can use it.

MySchizoBuddy

this is what I have so far


U enter an image tag like this <img src="http://localhost/vanilla/extensions/InlineImages/image.php?AttachmentID=2" />
If u want the ability to choose which image becomes the discussion image, then u will have to specify an id="DiscussionImage". that will make it hard for the users to add. no one likes to add ids or classes, nor do they know how. PLus can bbcode add ids or classes.

the way i have right now is that it picks the very first image. drawback being that the image might be a smiley or other none important image.
Look for an image size. if isn't a tiny smiley then make it the discussion image, if it is then find the next one in line. this will make things slower.

WYSIWYG have the ability to add ids and classes so they are on the clear.
restricting which category will have display image will make things after

Now i'm seeing the logic behind Wanderer mockup. now it makes sense to do it the way wanderer suggested.

I can always add the display image in the database, which will make things lot faster. right now It pulls the images from the first comment on the fly, which can get slow if u have lot of images in the first comment

icouto

@Schizo: thank you for all your work! It's looking fantastic already! :-) I will tell you exactly how I am planning on using this. I am going to be setting up a website for a local animal rescue service. They need each animal to be listed on the website, and for the list to be searchable. Although the vast majority of animals are dogs, there are also quite a few cats, and a few others, ranging from ferrets to horses. The front page of the site should be a long list of all animals available for adoption (with a picture). That is what made me think of perhaps using Vanilla. Instead of 'discussions', their site would have 'listings' (each listing would be about a single animal). The 'categories' would be like "dog - large", "dog - medium", "dog - small", etc., making it easier for visitors to 'filter' the list, and see only the type of animal they are looking for. Once the visitor sees a listing that looks interesting, they would click on it, and get further details. The users who will be entering the details about the dogs are the foster carers. Almost all of them are *not* technically savvy at all - most of them never having had their own web page. Having to manually upload images, and then hand-code an image tag might be a bit beyond their capacity. I really have to keep things *absolutely* simple for them. Most listings will only have 1 picture. If adding pictures to the comments is an easy enough process, the carers may be more inclined to add more pictures. This is why I thought, that being able to assign a 'default picture' to a discussion would be a great solution. It really would make it simple - specially if using an interface like the one proposed by Wanderer. If the savvier users want to add *extra* pictures afterwards, they could do it using one of the other extensions that allow them to post pictures inline (perhaps like FCKEditor). Nevertheless, a *very* simple facility for adding a single 'default' pic - with thumbnails showing in the discussion list - is what I really need!

MySchizoBuddy

i made it even more easy.
there is a text filed where u add the url of the image. click save and ur done. you can have any number of pictures in ur comments, just pick the best one and enter it below


Now since they do not even have a website how will they be uploading these images.
plus as an extension I have to make it for general audience as well. people who want bit more flexibility.

u should make it a two step process
1) Upload images of your pet. You can upload as many as you feel like
attachment with inline images

2) Pick the best picture and enter its ID below. This image will appear on the front page
Discussion image extension

will ur users be using a wysiwyg or no. I need to know, cause FCKeditor has uploading capabilities as well, then u won't need attacchment and inline images for ur project.

Plus u should simplify ur discussions list perhaps make it a two column grid layout.
this is turning into Zenphoto. :S

eventually i will end up with the interface by Wanderer.

Wanderer

Please don't make it dependent on FCKeditor or any other editor.

Posted: Saturday, 14 April 2007 at 1:22PM

MySchizoBuddy

I wanted to search the textarea for images, and then let u pick the one u want from a list. getting inside the textarea is WYSIWUG dependent. but not by much

MySchizoBuddy

ok I guess with what I have so far, its ready for testing, and if people find it hard to use then we can go back and look at it again. it doesn't have any documentation, or settings page. Its just for testing that the front end works. If satisfied then I will create a small backend, where u can change the preferences. This testing version. Do not use it on production systems.

MySchizoBuddy

Download it here http://web.omnidrive.com/APIServer/public/0pAxaUIFdalV8jwZuTHR6OvM/DiscussionImage.zip

icouto

@Schizo: thank you for all your work! I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner - 'been sick and away from computer... They will have a website, yes - and this will probably be the first website most of them have ever had. I just wanted to emphasise to you, how inexperienced the users are. I will probably be using FCKEditor, yes, as this makes the whole process of formatting the posting, as well as adding inline pictures, a lot more intuitive for the user. Having to manually upload a picture using an ftp client, then having to type in a URL, may be a bit too much for my users. A better solution might be if they could just click an 'upload' button, and select a picture from their hd. I thought a lot about Wanderer's selection method, and I think that this method would be great for sites where the pictures do not reach too high a number, and do not change very often. For this site, however, soon the pictures will number hundreds, and within a year or so, maybe a thousand or more. So, if the users had to select a picture they've uploaded by scrolling through a list of thumbnails, it would quicly become too difficult (specially considering that they will all be doggie thumbnails). Last of all: what is the procedure for changing, and deleting, the discussion picture? Because I was ill for quite a few days, I now have a pile of work waiting for me, so I won't be able to test what you've done so far for at least 3 or 4 days. I hope this is ok with you! Once again, thank you for all your great work on this!

MySchizoBuddy

remove the url and save the discussion and it will be deleted. fckeditor has templates features. u should create one, so ur users can select the template and fill in the stuff

Sacha Sapra

Hi

I was looking for exactly this kind of extension.

A small image/icon (same size as the user icon) would definietely look best. Acctually I would like it exactly same as the Category Icon Addon. Just a small icon on the left side of the title (exatly same as the user icon is left to the username). This icon should appear on the discussions overview page and on the discussion page. Ofcourse it would be great if the user who opens the discussion could upload the icon straight to the server and this icon would get scaled to the correct icon size (same way the Account Pictures Addon does it.

But I'm sure this would mean a lot of work ...

Minisweeper

How's this extension going? Looks good at a quick-glance. Is it being properly released?

MySchizoBuddy

cannot release untested code.No one bother to give this a shot. So i'm not releasing unless someone tests it and reports bug.

Sacha Sapra

No one ready to test it?

rayk

Hey, I was looking for this type of extension today. I've seen vBulletin with similar one (conceptart.org/forums and http://forums.cgsociety.org/ ) . Gonna test this when I work with my forum next time. I can see this being very helpful for those who want to make an art focused forum. My request so far would be to line them up before thread title and as square thumbs.

Wanderer

I'll test it! (As long as it does not display version numbers!)

Posted: Wednesday, 27 June 2007 at 7:41AM

jimw

I can test it, too.

rayk

testing the extension, can't seem to make the image show up via ID. How is the id meant to be added? ID=x ? IDx? x?

Other wise,
- Would like the image to be before the topic title (make the extension insert the image before the title tag?), could be a php edit option for this? (look at http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=133)
- Ability for the extension to work with Discussion Overview extension.

Apart from that great extension! Haven't encounter any problems yet.

rayk

Umm... bump? Is anyone still working on this? I really need this extension

MySchizoBuddy

I'm restarting this extension right now.
I will be changing it from what you see above. the Discussion page won't have a discussion layout but rather a gallery layout.
Looking at gallery demo sites to see how galleries are presented.