Georgia
This document is meant as a guide for the more advanced blocks of Icy Phoenix. It is also based on Icy Phoenix 1.2.18.45 Beta 1 and the future release.
- ads [Ads]
- album [Album]
- dyn menu [Dynamic Menu]
- news [News]
- forum attach [Advanced News]
- forum list [Forum List]
- news archive [News Archive]
- news posters [News Posters]
- rss [RSS]
BOLD - New Icy Phoenix Blocks
- ads [Ads]
The ads [Ads] block is brand new to Icy Phoenix. Advertisements are a great way to help generate a little extra cash from your website. Luckily, Icy Phoenix has a block that will help present your advertisements professionally. Choose your ad format: horizontal, vertical, or box. You can even select the size you'll need: small, medium, or large.
Let's setup an ads [Ads] block.
Create a new block on any page of your website. Choose a title for your new block that is unique as this will help minimize confusion. Position your block wherever you would like your ads to be presented. Set the status of the block to enabled so the block will be shown to your users. The block file we want to use is ads [Ads]. Select who the block will be viewed by: All, Guests Only, Registered Users, Moderators, Administrators. After selecting who can see the block, you'll need to make a few more choices in the creation of this block. The next four options are for showing the border, showing the titlebar, localizing the titlebar, and showing the background. These options have no effect on the function of this block. Localizing the titlebar will use the standard title of the block instead of the unique name you supplied in the first step.
You can now set some more specific permissions by selecting usergroups that are allowed to view the block. After you have finished these setup steps, click Submit and you'll be taken to a new screen with a few more options.
Depending on the size of your advertisements, you'll need to select the proper size allotment. Use your best judgment when choosing the correct size and keep in mind you'll be able to change this later if you need to. You have a few options of sizes: (H = Horizontal, V = Vertical, B = Box, 1 = Small, 2 = Medium, 3 = Large).
Head back to the page you created your ads [Ads] block on and take note of the line you are asked to edit. An example of this is included and underlined in this picture.
We need to edit $banner_h_l_all in lang_main_ads.php. Open language/your_language/lang_main_ads.php and search for:
$banner_h_l_all[] = 'Insert here your banner code... edit <b>$banner_h_l_all</b> in <b>lang_main_ads.php</b>';
In-line FIND and REPLACE with your advertisement HTML code:
Insert here your banner code... edit <b>$banner_h_l_all</b> in <b>lang_main_ads.php</b>
After making the appropriate changes, upload the changed file to your server and your new block will be complete. Repeat the above steps for different block sizes and positions.
Need ads?
Try:
Google AdSense
AdBrite
- album [Album]
Using the album [Album] block allows you to present photos/images uploaded to your photo gallery on any page of your website. You are able to present your block in vertical or horizontal fashion. Create a new block the same way as you normally would, but change the block file to album [Album].
- Category To Retrieve Pics From - Depending on your photo album setup, you'll need to select which categories you would like pictures to be pulled from. (You can find the category ID's by hovering your mouse over an album category in your album.) (Your category ID is the number at the end of the link: http://MYWEBSITE.com/album_cat.php?cat_id=1.)
- Number Of Images To Display - Select how many images you would like to display in this block.
- Number Of Rows - Select how many rows of pictures you would like shown.
- Number of Columns - Select how many columns you would like shown.
- Random Or Newest Pics - Do you want random pictures or the newest pictures to be shown to your members?
- Display From What Categories - Should pictures be displayed from public categories or from public and personal categories?
I created a horizontal album block by: displaying three pictures, using one row and three columns, displaying newest pictures, and showing pictures from public categories.
- Category To Retrieve Pics From - Depending on your photo album setup, you'll need to select which categories you would like pictures to be pulled from. (You can find the category ID's by hovering your mouse over an album category in your album.) (Your category ID is the number at the end of the link: http://MYWEBSITE.com/album_cat.php?cat_id=1.)
- dyn menu [Dynamic Menu]
Using the dyn menu [Dynamic Menu] block allows you to choose which menu items you would like presented to your users. Editing a dynamic menu has never been easier as you'll notice some new functionality. You can now click and drag your menu items into the order you want them displayed.
A dynamic menu is a menu of links that you choose to show to your users. The difference between a dynamic menu and using the SiteMap [nav_links] is a SiteMap includes ALL links to the various pages in your Icy Phoenix by default. You can, however, edit this SiteMap to include only the links you want by editing your-theme/nav_quick_links.tpl.
This menu should already have a default dynamic menu created. You have the choice of editing this default dynamic menu or creating a new dynamic menu. To create a new dynamic menu, click Create A New Menu Block at the bottom of the Dynamic Menu screen.
Giving the new Dynamic Menu a unique Menu Name helps to differenciate between all the possible menus you may create. The Language Var can be changed in the drop down menu to title the menu for you. If you'd like to just use the Menu Name you created, leave the default No Lang Var (use the specified name) option as is. There is an option to type in a description of the menu you are creating. When finished here, click Submit. The new Dynamic Menu should show on the next screen:
Now the new Dynamic Menu needs some categories and links. The new menu that was created should show below the Main Links menu and is boxed in red in the picture to the right. Click Edit next to the new Dynamic Menu. The following screen should now show:
Categories are needed to house the links created for the menu. To create a new category, click Create A New Category. A new screen will show more fields for us to enter information into.
The Name of the new category can be anything. Take a look around other websites that use Icy Phoenix as their CMS solution to get a better understanding of how to categorize your dynamic menu. The name I've assigned to this test category is MENU. Next, choose which Language Var you would like to use. As before when creating the new dynamic menu, you can leave this set to the default setting of: No Lang Var (use the specified name) to use the Name of the category instead. Set the Status of the category to enabled if the category is intended to be seen by everyone; disabled if the category should not be active. Select an Icon for this category or use the Standard Icon option to show the default template icon for the category. Add more icons to your liking by uploading the new icons to /images/menu/ or specify a URL to the icon in the empty field below the drop down menu.
Entering a unique Category Description is useful when glancing through many created dynamic menus as you don't have to sift through menus with descriptions that look alike. Lastly, decide who can see this category by selecting the Permission: All, Guests Only, Registered Members, Moderators, or Administrators. When finished with all these settings, click Submit. Repeat this process until you have created all the categories you'll need for your dynamic menu.
Now to Create A New Link in the dynamic menu. Click Create A New Link in the Dynamic Menu screen.
Choose the Category in the drop down box the new link should be listed under. Again, be as descriptive as possible when typing in the Link Name. By now, selecting the best fit of Language Var for your use should be easy to choose. Set the Status of this new link to be displayed by enabling or disabling. Type the URL Of The Link in the empty field below Status. If the new link points to a page within your Icy Phoenix, use shorthand by entering /pageofYOURurl.php. If the new link is External, choose yes for the next option. If the page is located inside your Icy Phoenix, choose no. Just as an Icon should be chosen for a category, choose an icon or use the Standard Icon for this field. Use a unique Link Description. Don't forget setting the correct Permission level for this link in the drop down box at the bottom. After setting the correct Permission, click Submit. Repeat this process until you have created all the links you would like in the dynamic menu.
Pay close attention to the ID, the number to the left of your Dynamic Menu, as you'll need this ID when creating the Dynamic Menu block in your Icy Phoenix.
- news [News]
The news [News] block is a good way to show specific topics/posts as news items on your index page.
- First, go to ACP -> News -> News Configuration and enable news posting.
- Start creating a block on the index page as you normally would, but be sure the block file used is news [News].
- After customizing the options on the first screen, click Submit to head to the next step in setting up the news [News] block.
- Number Of News To Display - How many news postings would you like displayed on your index page?
- Random Or Newest News - Would you like random or newest news to be displayed?
- Length Of News - 250 characters is the default, but if you'd like all text in the specific topic to be displayed, enter the number zero. Click Submit when you are finished editing these three fields.
To show your news on the front page, create/edit a topic you would like to post on the index page. You'll need to select News as the news category, found under POST TOPIC AS and above MESSAGE BODY.
- First, go to ACP -> News -> News Configuration and enable news posting.
- forum attach [Advanced News]
The forum attach [Advanced News] block is sometimes confused as the news [News] block because they essentially have the same function; to show topics/posts on your index page. The forum attach [Advanced News] block is more customizable and has more functionality than the standard news block. Some people use the forum attach [Advanced News] block as a blog type system.
Let's setup this block on our index page.
- Be sure news posting is enabled in ACP -> News -> News Configuration.
- Create the block like you would normally create a new block, but be sure the block file is forum attach [Advanced News].
- After customizing the options on the first screen, click Submit.
- Number Of Posts - How many posts would you like displayed on the index page?
- Length Of Posts - Just like the news [News] block, 250 characters is the default, but enter the number zero for all characters to be displayed within the block.
- Post Forum ID's - Which forums would you like to pull news from? Hover your mouse over the forum you'd like to present on the index page and remember the ID number found at the end of the link. This number will need to be entered in this field.
- Ignore Auth View Permission - By enabling this, forums view permissions will be ignored (this is important if you want to use hidden forums with NONE as view permission).
- Recent Or Random - Would you like recent or random topics to be shown?
- All Topics Or Only Marked - By selecting ALL TOPICS, all topics will be shown. Selecting SHOW IN HOME PAGE will require you to tick the box in the specific forum topic you'd like displayed on your page. You can find this check box under the Message Body field in posts.
- Retrieve Single Post - By selecting YES, only one post will be shown in this block.
- Posts ID - Enter a specific post ID to be displayed.
- Get ID From Address - Enabling this will get the ID directly from address (post_id=XXX).
- Click Submit when you are finished editing these fields.
- Be sure news posting is enabled in ACP -> News -> News Configuration.
- forum list [Forum List]
The forum list [Forum List] block is pretty straight forward, but many people underestimate it's usefulness. Try spotlighting and featuring some specific forums on your index page and make it easier for your users to access these popular forums.
Create the forum list [Forum List] block as you normally would a new block, but make sure the block file is set to forum list [Forum List]. List which categories you'd like to display on your index page. In my picture, I displayed all my forum categories just for testing purposes.
- news archive [News Archive]
The bloggers are going to love this advanced block. It can be a little intimidating to use at first, but once the bloggers set it up, it'll be an invaluable feature. This block allows you to store each article you post as news in an archive that enables your visitors quick and easy access to your articles. Your visitors can search your articles by category or by month and year. If you are looking for blog software, look no further than Icy Phoenix. We'll explain how to set this block up!
First, create a new block on the page you wish the news archive [News Archive] block to be presented. Set this block up with the settings you wish, but make sure you have news archive [News Archive] selected as the block file. After you click Submit, you'll see a new screen with a few options:
- Show Archive Or Categories? - The Archive view shows months/years in the block. The Categories view shows the actual category names and images you have pre-selected in your ACP -> News -> News Categories.
- News Image Width - This setting is set to 100% by default. Change this setting to change the image width that best fits your needs.
After you have accepted these settings by clicking Submit, go to the page you added this block to and see if the look and feel is what you desired. Feel free to go back and change the settings in this block to fit your needs!
- Show Archive Or Categories? - The Archive view shows months/years in the block. The Categories view shows the actual category names and images you have pre-selected in your ACP -> News -> News Categories.
- news posters [News Posters]
The news posters [News Posters] block is a new block in this version of Icy Phoenix. This block allows you to put a block on any page of your site featuring all the contributors to your news postings. The block includes the news poster's username, avatar (if desired), when the user joined, location, various search options, and contact information. Many contributors will like this special recognition.
- rss [RSS]
Do you know of a website that peaks your communities interest? Does this website have RSS feeds? If it does, you are in luck because the rss [RSS] block will allow you to present the feeds of that website on your site. You have several options including: horizontal or vertical positions and static or scrolling effects. Keep your community informed by adding this block!
