[Module] Customizable RSS feed module

[Tom M]

Thanks Tom...I'll give that a try. Does deleting the module remove the info in the database, or am I going to need to go it to the database to do that?In my case I needed to do some manual deletion but that was on my development db. Deleting the module is supposed to delete all the stuff related to it, except for the php file and the templates. However if you have multiple copies of the module it doesn't currently seem to do that - which is where one of the problem seems to be. After deleting all the copies of the module I had to go in and manually take car of stuff. You can see what tables are used by looking in the vBa admincp app in the doremovemodule section.

I'm also considering showing a full entry rather than just the description. What would the code be for that?Not sure what you mean here. The description that shows by default is the full description that's in the feed unless it's modified by the Data Modification code. You can always look directly at the cached version of the feed to see what's in it ;)

[Jake25]

Quick question.

First, love the hack.

Now, if I want this on more than one template (users have the option to change from three different ones) I'm assuming I just re-upload the rssfeed.module, and set it for another template??

Here.
www.jake25.com (it's defaulted to "classic" style) and I want to set it up for the silver/red 2 black.


Cheers, Jake

[Our Sponsors]

[Tom M]

Actually, it's no different than any other module. However you have the others set up to show in all styles then that's what needs to be done with this. The only reason to copy the basic module is if you want an additional rss feed displayed.

[Jake25]

Hmm, not sure how to do that. Upon installation, it asks what template you want it installed on.

If I knew what parts of the "classic" template was changed, I'd just copy over to the other two. Any ideas?

I'm thinking the only way to do that, would be to re-install the module, and when it asks what template I want it displayed on, to choice one of the others.


EDIT...

Never mind. Put one as parent, and whichever will follow.

[Our Sponsors]

[da prez]

thanks works like a charm.

however from reading it seems that you should put how to add additional modules in first post.

but dumb it down a little :D

[Thiefer]

Is there any way to make it scroll the news articles or does it have to be in a list?

[Tom M]

Is there any way to make it scroll the news articles or does it have to be in a list?It's currently designed to be a list. You could always edit the adv_portal_rss template, place the list portion in a fixed height <div> and let that scroll by using overflow:auto.

Perhaps I'll make that an option in a future release.

[Thiefer]

You think you could give me a little more of n example. I do not see where it states the list in that template. So I am unable to force its size:(

[Tom M]

You think you could give me a little more of n example. I do not see where it states the list in that template. So I am unable to force its size:(What I did as a quick'n dirty test was add the bit in red
<tr>
<td>
<div style="height: 400px; overflow: auto;">
<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">

$rssbits

</table>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
It works but messes with the table cell widths a bit so it would need some tweaking. It should get you started though.

[Thiefer]

where would I put the overflow:auto? Sorry I just have never done this before

Edit, I can't get this to work at all. Everytime I change something it breaks everything.

[Tom M]

where would I put the overflow:auto? Sorry I just have never done this beforeIf you cut/paste the bit in red that I posted into the adv_portal_rss template it will add a scrollbar. From there you can begin to modify things to try it out.

[x[sliver]]

thanks for the wonderful add-on! The update corrects all the weird problem 1.0 only showing feeds randomly ;). This one is so clean too

thanks!

[Thiefer]

It did everyting nicely but it still will not scroll automatically

This is the code I have
<div style="height: 300px; overflow:auto;">
<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"><tr><td>
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="$stylevar[cellpadding]" cellspacing="$stylevar[cellspacing]" class="tborder" width="100%">
<tr>
<td class="tcat">
<span class="smallfont"><strong>$vba_options[portal_blockbullet] <a href="$rss_channel[LINK]">$rss_channel[TITLE]</a></strong>
</span>
</td>
</tr>
$rssbits
<if condition="$rss_channel[COPYRIGHT]">
<tr>
<td class="tfoot" align="center">
<span class="smallfont"><a href="$rss_channel[LINK]">$rss_channel[COPYRIGHT]</a></span>
</td>
</tr>
</if>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>

[Tom M]

The <div> needs to be like I showed in my example as you only want the bit inside the module (the actual feed data) to scroll.

[Thiefer]

With the code how it is it is setup correctly without auto scrolling
see take a look at my site (http://www.sportszonefanatics.com/index.php)

[Tom M]

An updated version of this module has been placed in the first post.

1/4/2006
1. Added support for having the feed area scrollable. This adds two new options to the module and also contains a revised adv_portal_rss template.

If you don't require scrollable support there's no need to download this update.

[Thiefer]

I still can't get it to auto scroll, but oh well.

[Tom M]

I still can't get it to auto scroll, but oh well.You *may* need to uninstall all earlier versions and manually delete some table entries to get the update to work properly. I'm still waiting to hear back if Brian has been able to reproduce the problem I've seen.

In the meantime, I'll be happy to take a look at things for you if you'd like. PM me if you'd like help in doing this.

[archimedes]

I just added this modules, but nothing happens.
No error message, nothing.

I last used lastRSS with fsockopen - fopen doesn' t work at my server.

Could this be the problem?

[Tom M]

I just added this modules, but nothing happens.
No error message, nothing.

I last used lastRSS with fsockopen - fopen doesn' t work at my server.

Could this be the problem?What is the url of the feed you are trying to use?

Is the module marked as Active?

If the fopen() failed you should get an error message.

[archimedes]

I tried www.fscklog.com/atom.xml and the external.php?type=rss2 of my forums.

[Tom M]

I tried www.fscklog.com/atom.xml and the external.php?type=rss2 of my forums.The layout of that feed doesn't match what the applications is looking for and so the content gets bypassed.

The app is looking for a format like

<content>
<items>
<item>
item related stuff
</item>
<item>
next item related stuff
</item>
</items>
</channel>

You could probably modifiy the php file to process the format that being looked at w/o too much trouble and save it as a different version.

[archimedes]

Take a look at http://www.heise.de/newsticker/heise.rdf
this feed also doesn't work...

[Tom M]

Take a look at http://www.heise.de/newsticker/heise.rdf
this feed also doesn't work...If you examine the feed you'll see that it also doesn't meet the requirements.

You can read about file formats here (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss) and here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol)).

Basically, the application supports the RSS 2.* branch and not the RSS 1.* formats.

[archimedes]

Can you give me a feed to test if the feeder works?

[Tom M]

Can you give me a feed to test if the feeder works?The sample files referred to on this page (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss#sampleFiles) all work for me.

[Val]

I just did a new install of vb3.5 along with cmps2.0. Everything installs fine, but I can't get anything on the frontpage. I am using the following URLs from your recommendation: My directory is chmod to 777. Any ideas?

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov
http://rss.cnn.com/rss/cnn_topstories.rss

[Tom M]

I just did a new install of vb3.5 along with cmps2.0. Everything installs fine, but I can't get anything on the frontpage. I am using the following URLs from your recommendation: My directory is chmod to 777. Any ideas?

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov
http://rss.cnn.com/rss/cnn_topstories.rssNot much to go on here. The first link points to a web page that says the site is no longer supported and the 2nd one comes up fine for me.

Have you made sure that the module is marked as Active and that it's selected on the page you are using?

[Val]

Tom,

Thanks for the reply. I have checked that the module is listed as active, and have even chmod' my directories to 777.

Here are my specs:

/home/affna/org/html/rsscache
All active boxes are checked

I've even tried uninstalling/reinstalling the module. Anymore ideas? Thanks again for your help/hardwork.

Val

[Judge Ruckus]

Ok this is all very new to me.

I have uploaded the the feeds.moduel via admincp > CMPS

I get this here:
Fatal error: file_put_contents cannot write in file. in /modules/rss_cmps2.php on line 125

What does it mean?

[Tom M]

I get this here:
Fatal error: file_put_contents cannot write in file. in /modules/rss_cmps2.php on line 125

What does it mean?It means the directory that is being used for the cache isn't allowing 'writes' which means it likely hasn't been CHMOD'd to 777 (or that your host doesn't allow 777 directories).

[Judge Ruckus]

It means the directory that is being used for the cache isn't allowing 'writes' which means it likely hasn't been CHMOD'd to 777 (or that your host doesn't allow 777 directories).
Ok I have used some things for the site that needs CHMOD 777, never messed with it so I assume it is ok on the server.

All I did was upload the moduel, is there anything else I should try?

Thanks for being so helpful with this!

[Tom M]

All I did was upload the moduel, is there anything else I should try?Does that mean you also set up the options that the module needs (i.e. feed url, number of items to display, etc.)?

What feed are you trying to use?

[Judge Ruckus]

Does that mean you also set up the options that the module needs (i.e. feed url, number of items to display, etc.)?

What feed are you trying to use?
Yep I just did that and I am using the following feed.

http://media-cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/gems/tech/rss2sample.xml

EDIT:

OK I do not know this field - This is the location of the cache directory (e.g. /home/yourdir/cache)

[Tom M]

OK I do not know this field - This is the location of the cache directory (e.g. /home/yourdir/cache)This is where you will decide the cache file(s) are stored. It should be outside your web space but, obviously, inside your directory structure.

You can get an idea of where this should be by looking at the directory path used in the chdir() that's in the CMPS index file. You then need to create a directory somewhere in that structure and CHMOD it 777.

Hope this helps.

[Judge Ruckus]

This is where you will decide the cache file(s) are stored. It should be outside your web space but, obviously, inside your directory structure.

You can get an idea of where this should be by looking at the directory path used in the chdir() that's in the CMPS index file. You then need to create a directory somewhere in that structure and CHMOD it 777.

Hope this helps.

I have tried:

/home/planetqu/public_html/cecilcountyx/cache
~ and
/home/planetqu/public_html/cecilcountyx/forums/cache

But no luck BUT I didnt CHMOD it, what is CHMODing?

[Tom M]

But no luck BUT I didnt CHMOD it, what is CHMODing?That's a big question. The easiest answer is to point you to a tutorial (http://catcode.com/teachmod/) on the subject.

You may change the permissions either by logging in via telnet/ssh or by using Cpanel or whatever access your host allows.

[Judge Ruckus]

Working great now!

Thank you for your help Tom :)

[topaz]

I have vb 3.5.3 with vb cmps 2.0 and installed this mod.
But it don't works.
I chmod'ed directory with 777 and located it on RSS Feed Options
Cache File Duration is 1 minute.
I use this feed: http://www.gamespot.com/misc/rss/gamespot_updates_news.xml
And i don't see any changes on my portal page. (module is active)...
?..

[Tom M]

Without more information I can't tell what's wrong as the feed works fine on my site. I'd suggest you double check all of your settings. Did the cached copy of the feed get written to the directory OK? If it did and it's not showing on your site then perhaps you didn't enable it to display on the page you're testing with - just a thought.

BTW - There's no reason to set the cache file duration that low.

[Tom M]

For those that might be interested there's now a version of this that works in the directly in the forums w/o vBa. You can find it here (http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=105328) at vb.org.

[keith70]

Ok added the module, but nothing at all shows up on my page.

No error messages, no new table, nothing.

Does fopen have to be enabled for this to work, cause my host provider dosnt allow fopen.

[alicat]

It was working for me...shows about 0% of the time now rather than 70%...i thought something funny was goin on my index page...then i noticed the module hasnt been shown for ages, maybe since 3.5.3

[Tom M]

Ok added the module, but nothing at all shows up on my page.

No error messages, no new table, nothing.

Does fopen have to be enabled for this to work, cause my host provider dosnt allow fopen.Yes, the module makes use of fopen() to read the feed as well as the cached files.

[Tom M]

It was working for me...shows about 0% of the time now rather than 70%...i thought something funny was goin on my index page...then i noticed the module hasnt been shown for ages, maybe since 3.5.3I'll be happy to look at things for you if you like. If so please PM me with access info.

[keith70]

Tom M:

Do you have AIM?

Also shouldnt I get a new "Module/Table box" on the index page even if fopen is now working?

Anyother suggestions?

[Tom M]

Nope. No AIM.

You won't get a module box displayed if there's no content to display.

The first thing to check is to make sure the cache directory actually has a copy of the feed in it.

[topaz]

again me :-/
my cache dir is empty.
I asked my server admin to enable fopen() remote url support in php.ini but script still dont' works..
/me confused...

[alicat]

I'll be happy to look at things for you if you like. If so please PM me with access info.

Thanku Tom, my site is offline for now but i'll let you know when back

-A

[Monolith]

Hi Tom,

Excellent mod. Im having a little trouble trying to modify the default feed layout, but thats just my own newbishness! Thanks for being so helpful and for continuing to support this mod, its very much appreciated. :)