vBa Dynamics Now Publicly Available!

[Brian]

vBadvanced is proud to announce the public release of it's newest product, vBadvanced Dynamics! (fka Blogicles) As many of you may already know, vBa Dynamics has been in it's beta testing stages for several months. Thanks to our beta testers help finding bugs and feature suggestions, we feel that the product is stable and ready for public release.

Designed with versatility in mind, vBadvanced Dynamics is a highly configurable, multi-purpose product that can be used to catalog and display a database of just about anything. From articles, file sharing, user blogs, a simple categorized list of recipes, and just about everything in between. Features include an advanced module system, unlimited categories, attachment uploads, ratings, custom fields, over 50 usergroup permissions, user favorites, e-mail subscriptions, SEO friendly URLs, and much more with over 225 configuration settings. Have more than one use in mind? It's optional and unique "Multiple Instance" licensing option makes it easy to install multiple copies on the same web site that are completely independent from one another.

For a full list of features, links to demos, or to order the software, please see the vBadvanced Dynamics products page (http://vbadvanced.com/products.php?do=productinfo&p=7).

[bing11]

thank you, I want it now

[eJM]

A fitting name, Brian. It looks absolutely dynamic. I placed the order via PayPal and am looking forward to replacing another product with this one. You are a true craftsman. Thanks for your hard work.

Jim

[Brian]

Thanks Jim. I'm just glad that I finally figured out something better and more fitting than "Blogicles". ;)

[TTG]

You beat vbulletin with their blog release and I've just purchased vBa Dynamics after comparing the two.
Congratulations Brian, great product.

[gamerscms]

I am going to get this in a few weeks just need to learn how to use vbcms first lol then once im used to using it then i will upgrade.

great work Brian

[Raze]

Good work Brian! I still need to read up on it more, but some of the features sound very cool. :)

Regarding the user groups - is this like where members can start their own 'groups' and then choose which other members can 'join' them? (ie moderate join requests?) A bit like a very very small community, sub community if you like. There is software that does this on other platforms and if vB Dynamics has it too that would be excellent! If not or if it is similar, please could you update it to allow users that control? I can locate the link of the other software if you want to take a look.

Another question... could this be used to powere a yellow pages type directory? If so I'll buy it right now! lol

I also suggest a 'possible uses' thread as it might help people see the different ways in which they might be able to use it.

In the meantime I'll play through the demo and probably come back with more questions!

:cool:

[garcia vega]

great work. I am going to compare this one to vbulletins before I buy

[Brian]

Regarding the user groups - is this like where members can start their own 'groups' and then choose which other members can 'join' them? (ie moderate join requests?) A bit like a very very small community, sub community if you like. There is software that does this on other platforms and if vB Dynamics has it too that would be excellent! If not or if it is similar, please could you update it to allow users that control? I can locate the link of the other software if you want to take a look.
vBa Dynamics does not have anything like that really. I was thinking vBulletin already had something similar with it's usergroup and join request functions, though I haven't really used those features... Is that not about how they work?
If there's a good system in that other sofware and you can dig up the link I'll be glad to take a look and see if they have some features that could be worked into our product.


Another question... could this be used to powere a yellow pages type directory? If so I'll buy it right now! lol
Yup, I would think the product could be an ideal solution for something like a yellow pages directory using it's custom fields and such.

I also suggest a 'possible uses' thread as it might help people see the different ways in which they might be able to use it.
After it's installed a few more places and I have some time to compile a list, I do plan to try to get some example sites and uses listed.

In the meantime I'll play through the demo and probably come back with more questions!

:cool:
Just let me know if/when you have any others. :)

[MRGTB]

Does this require vbulletin forum to be installed, or is a stand alone product

[bridges]

Does this require vbulletin forum to be installed, or is a stand alone product
Yes you need Vbulletin installed.

[ant0nio]

Thank you for all your hard work Brian. You are truly talented!:)

[Delw]

Does this run like an addon with your forums or is it a completely separate.
for example if I have a established forum is this an add on like gallery, vbarcade vbadvance etc.? or does it change your whole forum to the vba dynamics format?
on one of my boards they are looking for a blog type software ( like this one)

[eJM]

is this an add on like gallery, vbarcade vbadvance etc.?

The simplistic answer is, yes. You can learn more about it here --> http://www.vbadvanced.com/products.php

[Delw]

From the description I couldnt really tell, I been reaidng that link since its been online.
Does anyone have one up and running yet ona forum I would like to see it, cause if this works like I think I have few boards that will get it.

[dilldogs]

I like the looks of the product, but In my opinion it would be something that is not needed and just something else to jam up a server.
Now I am not saying it is something others wouldn't use but I am happy with the cmps from here.

[Brian]

From the description I couldnt really tell, I been reaidng that link since its been online.
Does anyone have one up and running yet ona forum I would like to see it, cause if this works like I think I have few boards that will get it.

Did you see the 3 different demos from the product page? Those should be pretty good examples with a lot of options enabled. Unfortunately those are the only examples I can give as others might not like me linking to their sites.

[nymyth]

This maybe a stupid question but, is this a more suped up version of vbadvanced or another product altogether?

[Brian]

It's another product all together. It does have basically the same module system as the CMPS though.

[Dr. Bantham]

...can be used to catalog and display a database of just about anything*. From articles, file sharing, user blogs, a simple categorized list of recipes, and just about everything in between.I am interested in this concept of database flexibility. I have been looking for a method of presenting a detailed author bibliography and hope this might be the answer. I want book pages featuring cover scans and a high number of custom database fields detailing the book specifics and story content. Having a separate keyed story database which is cross-referenced would be ideal. I am attaching an HTML representation which is similar to my goal, though it is not database driven and has no connection to the VB system and styles. Is this feasible? How complicated a task would it be?

[smackLAN]

I noticed this is still listed as a Beta version Brian...is that correct?

[Brian]

Dr. Bantham - I think the product would give you all of the tools you need to create something very close to that with it's custom fields and such, but would require a bit of work customizing some templates to achieve that layout. If you are fluent in HTML (or have someone that is to help) though, I'm sure we could steer you in the right direction in creating it. The only part that may not be feasible without hacking the PHP files would be having the front cover in one column and the back cover in the other since the attachments are printed together. If it wouldn't be a problem to list them one after the other in the same column though, everything else should just be a matter of re-formatting a template.

smackLAN - I could have swore I updated that. :/ Thanks for pointing that out though, it's acutally v1.0 RC1.

[HenrikHansen]

Another question... could this be used to powere a yellow pages type directory? If so I'll buy it right now! lol


Use the vbadvanced links directory instead for this, which is one
of best available scripts for this, it can be set up in many ways and
also continuosly checks the validation of your links.
If you end up with a large site, you cannot live without this feature.

[Ramses]

I need to say before some times I did a short look into this I was not too much expressed about this script. But now finally I think this is a very cool script you've done Brian, congrats, especially the custom fields and the search possibilities are very impressive.
I think this could be well used as a review system too?

[Brian]

Use the vbadvanced links directory instead for this, which is one
of best available scripts for this, it can be set up in many ways and
also continuosly checks the validation of your links.
If you end up with a large site, you cannot live without this feature.
If you're including links with all or most listings, and you expect to have more than just a few, then vBa Links may be the better solution. I think more of phone numbers and general info in a yellow pages type directory though, in which case vBa Dynamics may be the better solution.

I need to say before some times I did a short look into this I was not too much expressed about this script. But now finally I think this is a very cool script you've done Brian, congrats, especially the custom fields and the search possibilities are very impressive.
I think this could be well used as a review system too?
Thanks. :)
Yes, the product could definitely be used for reviews and pretty much anything similar.

[Raze]

I forgot about vBa links... I guess it's back as an option now as I'll be using a custom script to call the data and whichever I go for, either vba Links of Dynamics it will be used as the database 'back end'.

Not all listings will have a link, but I guess most will. Not all listings will have a telephone number, or address details. Some might prefer just to list their links. I especially like the bit where it checks reciprocal links!

Is there a brand-free option? Although I might not need that if the end user pages will be using custom scripts to display the data instead..

I guess I could use the vba Links for the directory - and I'm sure I'll be able to fins a use for Dynamics, especially if you can sort out the 'groups' as per the PM I sent you... did you get a chance to read through it yet Brian?

Also, with regards to the yellow pages/link directory, which would you suggest? vBa links or dynamics?

Cheers

[Brian]

Yes, a branding free option is availble for any of our products for $49.99 each.
As for which to use... If you need the link checking functions, reciprocal link checks, or anything like that, then vBa Links would be the way to go. The only slight issue might be that vBa Links does require a URL with all submissions by default. I know I've posted instructions on how to remove that check before though, so if you go with vBa Links and can't find that thread, let me know and I'll dig it up.
vBa Dynamics also inlcudes a few more advanced features that vBa Links does not though. That includes the module system (though integrating vBa Links and vBa CMPS could acheive similar results), attachments, members' categories (where each submission to that category is automatically placed in a "sub-category" named after the author), RSS feeds, and etc. So, if you need any of those features, and it would be worth giving up the reciprocal link checking and such to get them, then vBa Dynamics might be the better choice.

Oh, and I have not really had a chance to look at the link you've sent me yet. I have copied it and put it on my to-do list to look into some more once I have a bit of free time though.

[Raze]

Thanks Brian,

Looks like vBa links will be the better one for my directory as I don't need the other features (for the directory) that vBa D offers.

Just a couple of questions:

does vBa links offer SEF urls too?
Can it show results 'randomly'? (so it's fair on all the links)
Can people search by custom fields?

They're not entirely important but would be a plus, also as I am using a custom script to show the data would it be ok to ask you for help with the queries? (They will probably be relatively simple for you, as they're not trying to do anything spectactular just call data from the vBa links database).

Glad there is a how to on being able to allow non-link entries too :)

re vba D, if you can get the functionality of that link I sent you (groups) I have three sites that I would buy a licence for! :cool:

The only other question is, can either vBa Links, or dynamics be installed in a sub-directory? eg. vba.mysite.com ?

Cheers.

[Brian]

Currently there is not an option for spider friendly URL's within vBa Links. That will be included with the next major release, but that may be a few months down the line right now.
You can order links when browsing categories by just about any field (title, date posted, last post, views, replies, rating), but there is not an option to order them randomly. Random ordering in MySQL is generally server intensive, plus it could probably get very confusing if you were browsing a category, clicked a link, and then went back to see that they were in a different order.
You can search by custom fields, though it's not quite as advanced as the options in vBa Dynamics. The main difference is with pre-set options in select fields... In vBa Dynamics, the search page will list those fields a little differently and give you a select box where you can limit results to a specific choice. vBa Links does not inlcude that ability yet and will only allow you to search for text in any type of custom fields.
And yes, either product may be installed on a sub-domain as long as your server is setup to allow files from that subdomain to access your vBulletin folder.

[Raze]

Is there anyway you could add the link checking module to vBa D? Seems like the best one to go for and is the only feature missing that I require. Would be handy for me as it would mean learning vba D, which may help give me ideas of what other interesting ways I could use it..

Ps the Link checking bit in vba links, what does it check for exactly? just one link? Can it be set to check for some exact html? (some of my banners are copy and paste html banners).

[DJFriar]

A quick licensing question:

Would one license be enough to run a production server and a beta server or would I have to buy the multiple license version for that?

[Raze]

I think it would depend on whether it was live or not - if it's behind a password protected directory JUST for staff to test things out - I guess ok. But wait to hear from Brian first.

[DJFriar]

I think it would depend on whether it was live or not - if it's behind a password protected directory JUST for staff to test things out - I guess ok. But wait to hear from Brian first.

Yes, it would be myself and i have 3 vounteers that would be helping me test and script. It would be protected and not advertised/linked to. Basically it'd be beta.mysite.com/forum

[Brian]

Yes, as long as the testing site is not publicly accessible, then that is fine.

[Raze]

Is there anyway you could add the link checking module to vBa D? Seems like the best one to go for and is the only feature missing that I require. Would be handy for me as it would mean learning vba D, which may help give me ideas of what other interesting ways I could use it..

Ps the Link checking bit in vba links, what does it check for exactly? just one link? Can it be set to check for some exact html? (some of my banners are copy and paste html banners).

Just in case you missed it Brian.

Also you said:

And yes, either product may be installed on a sub-domain as long as your server is setup to allow files from that subdomain to access your vBulletin folder.

What does that involve exactly? Is there any security risk in this set up?

Cheers

[Brian]

Sorry about that. Guess I didn't think to check the first page to make sure I hadn't missed anything. It wouldn't really be an easy task to add the functions in the links directory to vBa Dynamics though. Many of the new features that are in vBa Dynamics (spider friendly URL's, better custom field searching, etc) that can be applied to vBa Links will be with the next big release though.

The reciprocal link checking functions will search for the URL you specify, and make sure that it is contained within an <a href=""> tag.

What does that involve exactly? Is there any security risk in this set up?
I'm not entirely sure what the server settings are, so that part would be something you would need to ask your host about if you have problems. Assuming you use the CMPS, there's an easy way you could test things with that... First, create a new sub-domain. Then grab a copy of the cmps_index.php, make sure the $forumpath variable is set correctly, and then upload the file to your sub-domain. Then pull up the file in your browser and see if it works. If so, then your server is setup to where it will allow other vBa products to work on sub-domains. If it doesn't work, let me know and I *may* be able to help you get around it without your host having to change anything.

[Raze]

Ah k thanks. Do you have any idea when the next big release of vba links will come out? I can prob wait a bit :)

Also, is there any chance you can morph it to more like a yellow pages type directory? That is something really lacking right now, loads of people are using 3rd party directory scripts as there's no vB ones out there. Or perhaps bring out a slightly different version ;) call it vba yell :p the main feature we'd need is to be able to seperate paying entries and free ones, where the paying ones are listed before the free ones. Randomly is a must - as it's the only fair way to do it. If it is tied into usergroups then we can use vBs subscriptions to work the payment side :cool:

Btw my posts have gone more towards vbs links now so please fee free to split the thread if you wish.

[Raze]

I have a question re vbA dynamics too... is it possible to post an entry in more than one category? (eg like how you can in vb's own blog script)

Another vba D question... is it possible to include fields/check boxes for replies too? Then perhaps keep a running total at the bottom as well? (similar to how polls work on vb right now)

Eg:

Main item:

What do you think about vba D?

I love it!
I like it
I hate it!

Would you buy it?

Yes!
Maybe
no!

What other product would you use it with? (click as many as applicable)

vba links
gallery
none

etc etc

That would make it very versatile and could be used for a whole range of things, eg product reviews :D

Although the above example would mean that the OP creates the 'surveys' - we could have just standard ones that are the same for evyerhting and use them as product reviews - so could still be very useful. Then we just create a new 'thread' for each product in that category (as they'll share the same questions).

[Brian]

Sorry, but I'm not really sure when the next vBa Links release will be right now. We're concentrating on getting vBa Dynamics and CMPS to to their 'gold' releases right now, and then work will begin on vBa Links again. It's hard to tell how long that might take at this point though.

vBa Dynamics does not allow posting into multiple categories right now. We may add the ability for that in a future release though.
Custom fields are available when submitting entries, but not with replies.

[Raze]

Thanks for the help Brian.

I think I'll go with vba Links for the directory, and hang on for vba Dynamics for when you hopefully, get around to doing that groups thing :D I'll keep a look out for a 'here's how I use vba Dynamics' thread tho as it might just give me some ideas on how to use it :lol:

[yanono]

I read in another place, that there is some users who use vba Dynamics and vba CMPS together, so have anyone of you done this, or do you encourage this way or not, besides in case that you will use both which you one of them you want to appear before as an interface vba Dynamics or vba CMPS

I hope that you will reply me please.
thanks

[bridges]

I read in another place, that there is some users who use vba Dynamics and vba CMPS together, so have anyone of you done this, or do you encourage this way or not, besides in case that you will use both which you one of them you want to appear before as an interface vba Dynamics or vba CMPS

I hope that you will reply me please.
thanksvba CMPS is used for your home page, it grabs content from you forum and vba Dynamics. This would be the main url. Then your forums will sit at,
.com/forum.

vba Dynamics can be used for blogs, articles, reviews, etc. If you have this set up to run as a blog then the blog will sit at,
.com/blog

[yanono]

vba CMPS is used for your home page, it grabs content from you forum and vba Dynamics. This would be the main url. Then your forums will sit at,
.com/forum.

vba Dynamics can be used for blogs, articles, reviews, etc. If you have this set up to run as a blog then the blog will sit at,
.com/blog

Thanks Bridges, honestly you provided helpful information

[Carlos X]

I am a bit intriqued by this product.

I hope subdomains aren't affected by this "multiple instances" rule.

[Brian]

No, the multiple instance licensing option is not affected by sub-domains. All instances just have to be installed to the same domain and copy of vBulletin.

[Raze]

Another question about vBa D..

I know it can output SEF urls, but if I use a custom script/page to call vba Dynamics data (basic mysql queries, eg latest threads/entries), will I be able to call the SEF url info too?

[Brian]

As long as you include the vba_dyna_functions.php file in your custom code, you can use a simple function to call the URL.
fetch_entry_url($entry);
echo $entry['url'];

[Raze]

Hi Brian, sent you a PM about this. Cheers.

[Raze]

Another question.... is it possible to set up a section with drop down choices for it's pages, and then when a use goes to create a page it takes info from that persons profile and automatically applies it to the fields? (letting them change it if they want to?). Not an important one but could be handy for what I had in mind.

PS please don't forget my PM Brian!

[Brian]

Replied to your PM. ;)

If you're familiar with PHP a little then I'm sure it would be possible to pre-fill custom fields based on a user's profile info. It would require creating a custom plugin to set the values and such though.