New Folding Sigs - EVERYONE must update!

[Lincoln]

I'm scrapping our current signature system... finally. I've made a far better one, and everyone is going to need to redo their signatures using the new generator. Old ones will be disabled in the next 48 hours or so.


Where this came from

I've been working on this for (literally) three years off and on. It was my first major PHP project, and I started it over about 3 times. What you're seeing is about 1/5 my original goals because I was entirely too ambitious. The rest has been hacked out and put on a back burner for later. :) If it hadn't been for my ongoing tinkering on this I never could've tackled the front page last fall.

Lasse (lsevald) coded our original sig stats on Icrontic and the current sigs are heavily based off that with a quite a bit of his original code. This new system was dreamed up through conversations with him back in the day and plenty of advice as I was getting started - much appreciated :cool:


Why we're switching
So I can disable javascript on the forums - it's a huge security hole
To speed up the forums (I hope)
So I can enable AJAX (you'll see - it's really slick)
More flexibility in what we can do with signatures



How it works (I hope)

Make a signature with the new generator (http://www.short-media.com/leo/generator/) (take some time and check the instructions - don't be afraid to play in the code on this one!). Everyone gets two signature "slots". Save the sig in one of those slots, then put [folding_sig1] for slot 1 and [folding_sig2] for slot 2 in your signature. It won't appear on a preview - it only shows up in threads at the moment.

That's it! The system updates all the sigs automatically at 5am and 5pm EST.



And please... be patient if something goes screwy :o I've been fighting this thing every inch of the way for the last three days to make it finally work. It's complicated as hell (custom VB plugin, 2 scheduled tasks, custom hook, 8 custom VB database fields, 5 scripts, and a whole roll of duct tape).

Cheers! :cheers:

[Kentigern]

Hi
Just tried to use the new sig generator and got this

Short-Media Integrated Stats System
Signature Generator
You must be logged into the Short-Media forum to use the generator!

SYSTEM DISABLED

Please advise - Thanks :)

[dragonV8]

Hi
Just tried to use the new sig generator and got this



Please advise - Thanks :)

I just tried it (without knowing what i'm doing) and got in/out without any probs. Maybe it was updating sigs when you tried??

[Kentigern]

I tried it again and got the same screen - refreshed using F5 - still the same

I can get a preview in the box but at the bottom of the form there are no save/submit buttons

[QCH]

Second sig is not displaying...

[Kentigern]

Oh dear - I'm still a non-person :sad2:

[GHoosdum]

Nice new generator. I'm all over that!

[CB]

Few things to note:


There are only two options for a person who wants to have their SMx rig in the same sig as their primary username. Even the 'plain text' option doesnt do it.
The 'plain text' option doesn't have a choice to make it one line instead of three.
None of the graphics that do show the SMx rig look right with a name that is longer than just the number of the rig.
As Q pointed out, Sig 2 seems to be invisible.

[Lincoln]

Kentigern, you need to be cookied for it to work. Make sure when you login to the forum you click the "remember me" box or it won't work :) The system needs to be able to authenticate who's using it. Sorry that it's a little ambiguous, I forgot some people don't use the cookie.

I probably b0rked sig 2 :( I'll have a look, sorry. :-/


There are only two options for a person who wants to have their SMx rig in the same sig as their primary username. Even the 'plain text' option doesnt do it.That's true, but you could make a new one if you're desperate for options.
The 'plain text' option doesn't have a choice to make it one line instead of three. That's true too, but all you need to do is delete the line breaks.
None of the graphics that do show the SMx rig look right with a name that is longer than just the number of the rig.Except the huge one where you could write a novel on the sig if you wanted.

[Kentigern]

Thanks Matt :) Didn't realize about the remember me - thought it was for remembering password & log in.

[Sledgehammer70]

Sweet, good work Matt :)

[profdlp]

Looks nice, Keebsie. :)

At least, I'm sure it will once I go back and read the directions and see what I did wrong. :p

[Lincoln]

OK, I fixed 3 bugs.


Sig 2 should work now.
SMx stats weren't going through right. You can either redo SMx sigs or wait (they'll fix themselves at 5pm).
Font sizes weren't being respected by the forum because of a difference in how the forum read it vs. how the generator read it. It should work fine now :)


Let me know if you see any other issues!

[edcentric]

Now I need to find the HTML for Dummies
Good work Matt.

[Lincoln]

Now I need to find the HTML for Dummies
Good work Matt.

Thanks :)

I tried to make it so that you could still have a pretty sweet sig without needing to manipulate the code. If anyone needs some help customizing their signature, I'm more than happy to assist :)

[Gargoyle]

I got the SMx sig to work by selecting it as the main user, and putting it in slot 2. After I set up my own in slot 1, that is.

[Lincoln]

I got the SMx sig to work by selecting it as the main user, and putting it in slot 2. After I set up my own in slot 1, that is.
Was this before or after I said I'd fixed it? That was a bit ambiguous as to whether it's currently working :o

Putting it in as the main user is, of course, always an option just as before if you don't want it on an SMx background :)

[Gargoyle]

Was this before or after I said I'd fixed it? That was a bit ambiguous as to whether it's currently working :o

Putting it in as the main user is, of course, always an option just as before if you don't want it on an SMx background :)

Oh, actually I haven't tried the other way since you've fixed it. I'll give it a shot real quick.

[Gargoyle]

Choosing IC_11 as my SMx rig didn't seem to affect anything. Am I supposed to add data tags manually to the Tweaking menu? If so, I'm thinking setting an SMx rig to slot 2 is easier.

[Lincoln]

Choosing IC_11 as my SMx rig didn't seem to affect anything. Am I supposed to add data tags manually to the Tweaking menu? If so, I'm thinking setting an SMx rig to slot 2 is easier.
Choosing an SMx rig only affects something if you choose a signature with "SMx" in the title - the others don't use SMx tags anywhere ;) Don't worry about it, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't discovered my fix to have failed.

[Gargoyle]

Choosing an SMx rig only affects something if you choose a signature with "SMx" in the title - the others don't use SMx tags anywhere ;) Don't worry about it, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't discovered my fix to have failed.

Gotcha :D. I just realized the point of having both set at once was for sigs that have room for both. I'm a little slow on the uptake :buck:

[witenoiz]

WOW!! :celebrate Mr. General came to my rescue. Thanks Matt ;) Jack

[Winga]

Aaahhhrrr a lot of us seems to have borked out sigs :eek:
Is it SM or have we just screwed up a simple procedure :p

[Lincoln]

Aaahhhrrr a lot of us seems to have borked out sigs :eek:
Is it SM or have we just screwed up a simple procedure :p

Please see post 1 :p Old sigs are now broken - I'll killing any that I see. You need to get a new one using the new generator in post 1 :)

[SPIKE09]

been there done that now stats and sigless :bigggrin: :bigggrin: had them for a day so I am happy:cool2:

[Lincoln]

been there done that now stats and sigless :bigggrin: :bigggrin: had them for a day so I am happy:cool2:

This is a whole different system mate - I just put it online today ;) Sorry about the timing :o

[Gargoyle]

Keebs, you may be on top of this already, but I noticed my two sigs have different usernames (as they should), but are both reflecting the stats for SM11.

* Gargoyle cracks whip.

been there done that now stats and sigless :bigggrin: :bigggrin: had them for a day so I am happy:cool2:

If it's any consolation, the new system is pretty sweet. We've got a lot more options now than before :thumbsup:

[profdlp]

...I noticed my two sigs have different usernames (as they should), but are both reflecting the stats for SM11...

I had the same problem. For your personal sig, leave the SMx stuff blank. :)

[nonstop301]

The instructions in the new signature generator are straightforward enough but I don't see the Submit Signature button and at the top it tells me System Disabled even though I have logged in to make the changes :)

I must be missing something simple :)

[Kentigern]

See page 1 post 9 re kentigern

[Lincoln]

The instructions in the new signature generator are straightforward enough but I don't see the Submit Signature button and at the top it tells me System Disabled even though I have logged in to make the changes :)

I must be missing something simple :)
You need to have "Remember me" checked when you log in to the forums. That creates a cookie, which is what the generator needs to authenticate who you are :)

[SPIKE09]

This is a whole different system mate - I just put it online today ;) Sorry about the timing :o
I know followed the new sig generator and it didn't work, wouldn't think I was a forum moderator for the UK's only weekly Computer mag.:shakehead ah well I have broken more sigs than enough.:bigggrin:

[Gargoyle]

I had the same problem. For your personal sig, leave the SMx stuff blank. :)

Gracias! :thumbsup:

[Lincoln]

I know followed the new sig generator and it didn't work, wouldn't think I was a forum moderator for the UK's only weekly Computer mag.:shakehead ah well I have broken more sigs than enough.:bigggrin:
It says in two or three places that you need to put the [folding_sig1] tag in your signature when you're done for it to work ;) I've added it. :cheers:

[Lincoln]

@ Prof & Garg - Well I THINK I fixed the problem, but with you guys passing around ghetto fixes I can't tell if it worked or not :p Let me know if you see something like that again. :)

[Gargoyle]

@ Prof & Garg - Well I THINK I fixed the problem, but with you guys passing around ghetto fixes I can't tell if it worked or not :p

So says the guy who keeps duct tape in his PHP toolbox :p

[Straight_Man]

Let's see if I did it right in Keeb's new generator...

Thanks Keebs for decreasing security holes also.

[csimon]

test ...I get nothing at all.

[nonstop301]

See page 1 post 9 re kentigern

You need to have "Remember me" checked when you log in to the forums. That creates a cookie, which is what the generator needs to authenticate who you are

Thanks for the help Kentigern and General :)

It's working nicely now

By the way, one more thing that should be noted is that you should only use Internet Explorer to get the new signature done with the new generator :)

[profdlp]

So says the guy who keeps duct tape in his PHP toolbox :p
That's telling him! :D

[Lincoln]

By the way one more thing that should be noted is that you should only Internet Explorer to get the new signature done :)

That's not true; I work only in Firefox personally. What led you to say this?

[nonstop301]

I didn't try Firefox General but with Netscape I couldn't get it to show that I was logged in when I selected Remember me. With Internet Explorer there wasn't a problem :)
I only assumed Firefox might present a similar difficulty

[Lincoln]

test ...I get nothing at all.
Could you try it again and let me know exactly what you did and what happened? I'm looking in the database; no code got entered for you :-/

[Lincoln]

with Netscape I couldn't get it to show that I was logged in when I selected Remember me. Oh, OK. I don't generally test in Netscape; I don't even have it on my system :-/

[nonstop301]

No worries :)

The main thing is it's working nicely and most people have Internet Explorer and Firefox so they will not run into any big problems when they follow the directions :)

[SPIKE09]

It says in two or three places that you need to put the [folding_sig1] tag in your signature when you're done for it to work ;) I've added it. :cheers: Thanks and didn't notice the obvious mentions might need to cut down on the caffeine.:confused:

[csimon]

Could you try it again and let me know exactly what you did and what happened? I'm looking in the database; no code got entered for you :-/

edit:\ I see what I did wrong now ...I had the page break on a seperate line and that must have made it all wonkers.

Thanks Keebs! :csimon:

[fatcat]

test...this just a test...if this had been a real emergencies...General Keebs would not be here...he would be far far away...most likely mexico...with profdlp...and alot of tequilla...this is just a test...

>edit...guess im not the sharpest spoon the drawer...i dont get it...do i just put [folding_sig1] and [folding_sig2] in my signature and it works?

[Lincoln]

Yes, and it was working, except the "Show Signature" box was un-ticked on that post for some reason :)

[fatcat]

Yes, and it was working, except the "Show Signature" box was un-ticked on that post for some reason :)

weird...cool that is works now thanx...

[Gargoyle]

Or [folding_sig1][folding_sig2] if you want to remove the line break.

[fatcat]

Or [folding_sig1][folding_sig2] if you want to remove the line break.

i luv this place!

[troll]

Very Nice! Good Job!

[DogSoldier]

Sig test

[Clutch]

Test

[Clutch]

Test2

[QCH]

That's weird... When a user changed his sig, it changed it for all his posts. Why does Clutch's not appear in one then show up in another?

[Gargoyle]

Looks like his sig is turned off in the first post. I don't see the short line that's usually above a sig.

[primesuspect]

The "show signature" box was unchecked for his first post.

[edcentric]

Ok, created sig
added [folding_sig1]
made sure that sig display was on
I get nothing
What did I miss?

[gtghm]

sig test

[Lincoln]

DogSoldier and ed - something broke when you tried to submit your signature (there's nothing in the database for you). Could you try again and send me/post the code if it doesn't work again? Sorry, not sure what's causing that to happen for some people. :-/

I think for Clutch what happened is the forum defaults to not showing a signature if you don't have one at the time of posting...

[Lincoln]

sig test
gt, you need to use the [folding_sig1] and [folding_sig2] tags after you submit them into the respective slots :) I noticed there was code copied into your signature so I removed it, and replaced it with a [folding_sig2] tag because I see you submitted one into slot 2. Cheers :)

[checkmate]

It looks good but when is it gonna' be back up?

[Lincoln]

It looks good but when is it gonna' be back up?I don't follow. It is up. Old = gone. New = on.

[Clutch]

I think I got it fixed. I forgot to add the new tags in my sig field so they were not showing up. Looks like all is good, great work Matt.

[Winga]

checkmate you have to go into user CP - Edit Signature and delete the existing code in that box. All you got to type in there now is [folding_sig1] or [folding_sig2] or both depending on how you saved it in the Sig Generator.

[Donut]

General,

For some reason the submit sig button on the sig generator page was not showing up for me in Firefox. I went into IE. and all was well. I slowly managed to fix my sig. (operator errors on my part :buck:)

Is the error on my end or yours?

[Lincoln]

General,

For some reason the submit sig button on the sig generator page was not showing up for me in Firefox. I went into IE. and all was well. I slowly managed to fix my sig. (operator errors on my part :buck:)

Is the error on my end or yours?
Are you cookied on the forum (checked "Remember me" when you signed in) on Firefox?

[Donut]

Are you cookied on the forum (checked "Remember me" when you signed in) on Firefox?

Yep, I'm to lazy to log in every time.:)

I just tried again, the boxes are displayed for sig1 and sig2, it just doesn't want to display the "submit" button

[Lincoln]

Yep, I'm to lazy to log in every time.:)

I just tried again, the boxes are displayed for sig1 and sig2, it just doesn't want to display the "submit" button
Are you getting the notice at the top about needing to be logged in?

[Donut]

Thanks, my dumb.

Looks like if I clicked on your link on page one of this thread I wasn't "remembered". When I logged in again all was well.

Sorry General, looks like operator error on my part again.:banghead:

[Lincoln]

No problem :)

[EyesOnly]

sig test

edit
yep that looks great. :)

[IAstudent]

I set up a sig last night and put [folding_sig1] in my signature box, but still nothing this morning. Did something break along the way? :confused:

[GHoosdum]

Try it again. I had to submit my sig through the generator after I put the [folding_sig1] tag in my signature box in order for it to update properly. Maybe it was just a third time's the charm kind of thing...

[IAstudent]

Erm still nothing. I went through the sig generator again and made sure [folding_sig1] was in my signature. I know they're working on getting the bugs out, though. I'll give it another try.

[jmoney3457]

so after I create sig and press submit signature button it will automatically add it 2 my sig? EDIT: my sig appears to not be working keebs:(

[Lincoln]

Erm still nothing. I went through the sig generator again and made sure [folding_sig1] was in my signature. I know they're working on getting the bugs out, though. I'll give it another try.
No no... put the [folding_sig1] in your forum signature using the control panel (http://www.short-media.com/forum/profile.php?do=editsignature). In the generator, submit whatever code is generated by the options you select :)

so after I create sig and press submit signature button it will automatically add it 2 my sig? EDIT: my sig appears to not be working keebs:(
You need to add the tag to your signature. I've added it for you now.

[jmoney3457]

oh ok thanks keebs, so you have to copy/paste it before pressing submit signature button?

[Lincoln]

No, you simply need to type [folding_sig1] in your sig.

[jmoney3457]

No, you simply need to type [folding_sig1] in your sig.

oh ok, i'm sorry keebs I didn't follow you at first, I'm an idiot:rolleyes2
EDIT: why is it like almost showing double in my sig? like half of another sig below the 1st 1 ?

[Lincoln]

IE uses an incorrect Box Model for calculating padding, spacing, and height/width in tables, which I forgot about while making some of the sigs. :-/ I'll fix it soon, sorry.

[jmoney3457]

no probs keebs;) also, are we going to be able to preview our sigs in our CP yet? *as in is that in the plan of fixes*?:D

[Lincoln]

no probs keebs;) also, are we going to be able to preview our sigs in our CP yet? *as in is that in the plan of fixes*?:D

Theoretically, but to be perfectly honest I have no idea where that chunk of code is at the moment.

[jmoney3457]

no problem:) just as long as the box thing is fixed and stuff all is good..coz it looks weird haha;) again GREAT JOB on all of the sigs/forums everything your a coding GOD!:D

[IAstudent]

Looks like my sig's working purdy now *happy dance* :D

[jmoney3457]

was wondering the status of fix for the dual image in the sig box keebs:) no hurry just curious;)

[profdlp]

I'm wondering, too. Especially since I have no idea what you guys are talking about. :crazy:

(I don't see it, whatever it is.) :p

[DogSoldier]

About the uhm, err... "box model" thing. I think my sig looks just fine, but I use IE and have noticed most everyone's sigs are a lil cattywumpus.. does this mean that to everyone else, my sig looks weird while theirs looks normal?

[Lincoln]

@Prof - It's an IE problem.

@DogSoldier - The problem is only noticeable if you use cellspacing, which your sig doesn't. You'd see it if it were off.

[jmoney3457]

I'm wondering, too. Especially since I have no idea what you guys are talking about. :crazy:

(I don't see it, whatever it is.) :p

here's what I mean prof..circled in red:D this is from IE..supposeduly FF users don't have this..something to do with incorrect coding keebs said and he's going to fix it! yay keebs:)http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7821/untitledyi9.th.png (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitledyi9.png)

[profdlp]

Ahhh. I see. :)

[dragonV8]

My last attempt to get SM27 to pick up data. Jonshandbrake works fine, just SM27 is still a blank sig.:(

I have re-read the instructions(again) and really can't see what i am doing wrong.:scratch:
Maybe i'll just stick to mining. At least i'm not out of my depth.

*edit*: looks like it still won't work. I'll go with "NO" sigs. Problem fixed.

[Lincoln]

Err, well, both sigs you have work fine at the moment... I can't lend a hand if there's nothing there to lend a hand with. :-/

[dragonV8]

Matt, both sigs show up, except SM27 has no data in it. I played around with the basic settings, but nothing i try works. Just now i got 2 Jonshandbrakes. Since computing is not natural to me (self taught only), i cannot figure what i'm doing wrong.

It doesn't matter anyhow. Got bigger things to worry about since i'm flying back to work this arvo. I'll just go with NO sig till i re-read the instructions again for the umpteenth time, when i get back next week.

Thanks for replying.

[Crypto]

Maybe i'll just stick to mining. At least i'm not out of my depth.


:bigggrin: :bigggrin: :bigggrin:

or is your mine open cast? I saw a big one at Kalgoorlie about 5 years back.

Sorry - off topic. ;)

[Gargoyle]

Matt, both sigs show up, except SM27 has no data in it. I played around with the basic settings, but nothing i try works.

You may have already tried this, but have you tried setting SM27 to sig 2? I couldn't get the SM rig set with my user name to work last time I tried, so I just bypassed the issue.

[TheGr81]

Test

*lost*

Umm... You keep mentioning adding [folding_sig1] to the signature. It seems wherever I put it, it just shows that text next to the picture (in the preview).

Oh I think I got it. It should appear when it updates at 5:00, am I right?

[Lincoln]

No, it should appear immediately. I see you've properly added it to your forum sig, but it looks like nothing went in the database. Try adding it again.

There seems to be some bug where it can get lost the first time for some reason :-/ This keeps happening to people.

[TheGr81]

Ok, worked that time. Thanks, and good job! :cheers:

[chipatkinson]

trying my sig...hope it works

[chipatkinson]

trying again....sig box says sig 1....