vBulletin LTS

Edit Templates On Fly - A step towards easy-to-install modifications
Mod Version: 1.0.0, by Milad

Description:
This will enable modifications writers to edit templates on fly, to make there modifications as easy-to-install as possible. It consists of some functions, which had been written to ease template edits, without any actual editing from the webmasters side,

Installation:
Just import the XML file as a product.
Click install to receive updates and support.

Documentation:
All functions are declared in the hook init_startup, with Execution Order of 1, to be the first plug-in which is being executed in the whole scripts.

Current version contains the following functions:

• insert_to_template
  
  Inserts something to a template.
  
  
  • return: nothing
  
  void insert_to_template (string $templatename, string $location, string $addition, [mixed $position = 'after'])
  
  
  • string $templatename: The template name to modify (ex: header, footer etc.).
  • string $location: A unique text in the template, where you want to insert your addition. If this text is not unique then the addition will be joined to all instances.
  • string $addition: The addition.
  • mixed $position: has two possible values, after (The default one): to insert the addition after the location, before: to insert the addition before the location.
  
  
• delete_from_template
  
  Deletes something from a template.
  
  
  • return: nothing
  
  void delete_from_template (string $templatename, string $texttodelete)
  
  
  • string $templatename: The template name to delete from (ex: header, footer etc.).
  • string $texttodelete: A unique text in the template to be deleted. If this text is not unique then all instances will be deleted.
  
  
• replace_in_template
  
  Replaces a text in a template.
  
  
  • return: nothing
  
  void replace_in_template (string $templatename, string $texttofind, string $texttoreplace)
  
  
  • string $templatename: The template name to replace in (ex: header, footer etc.).
  • string $texttofind: A unique text in the template to replace. If this text is not unique then all instances will be replaced.
  • string $texttoreplace: The replacing text.
  
  
• print_template
  
  Print a template in the browser, this helps you to see the working content of a template which is different from what do you see in the templates editor, so you can choose the proper text from a template.
  
  
  • return: nothing, but it prints the template in the browser
  
  void print_template (string $templatename)
  
  
  • string $templatename: The template name to print in the browser (ex: header, footer etc.).

Restrictions:

• You can't modify a template after it had been fetched by fetch_template function.
• Because no template is cached before the hook global_start, using those functions in following hooks makes nonsense:
  • init_startup
  • style_fetch
  • cache_templates

Examples:

• Add an image to the header:
  
  PHP Code:

  replace_in_template('header', '&nbsp;', '<img src="bla bla bla" alt="" border="0" />'); 

• Insert a template inside another template, this will reduce the number of eval()s leading to better performance.
  
  PHP Code:

  insert_to_template('FORUMHOME', '<!-- logged-in users -->', $vbulletin->templatecache['sometemplate'], 'before'); 

  Of course the template (sometemplate) must be already cashed.
  
  
• Replace the index.php in the header with ./
  
  PHP Code:

  replace_in_template('header', 'href=\"" . $GLOBALS[\'vbulletin\']->options[\'forumhome\'] . ".php" . $GLOBALS[\'vbulletin\']->session->vars[\'sessionurl_q\'] . "\"', 'href=\"./" . $GLOBALS[\'vbulletin\']->session->vars[\'sessionurl_q\'] . "\"'); 


Notes for coders:
Feel free to use those functions in your mods, and please don't forget to add a dependency for this product (edit_templates_onfly). This will guarantee that every user of your mod will install this modification, so your mod will function properly, this mod will be a centralized method to edit templates, a method which is subject to be developed well, so you can't copy those functions in your mods.
Your suggestions and participations are welcomed.

Change log:

• April, 19 2007, Initial release 1.0.0, functions: insert_to_template, delete_from_template, replace_in_template and print_template.

Credits:
The first person whom I saw uses this method to edit templates is Zero Tolerance in his vBShout mod, I learned it there.