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Membership Database Linked to Member List?
I need a Membership Database with at least the following fields.
I'd like to link changes in Member Name and email in the
Membership Database to the same fields in the Vanilla Forum
so that a change in one database automatically updates the other.
Any suggestions, please?
Member Name
Member DOB
Member Spouse
Member Spouse DOB
Member email
Member address
Member phone
Spouse phone
Child1 name
Child1 DOB
Child2 name
Child2 DOB
Child3 name
Child3 DOB
Child4 name
Child4 DOB
Child5 name
Child5 DOB
Child6 name
Child6 DOB
Child7 name
Child7 DOB
Child8 name
Child8 DOB
Child9 name
Child9 DOB
0
Comments
one way is to add an id to your membership database that is the same as the userid in the user table.
you can see a list of names and ids in user table with phpmyadmin or with the plugin
http://vanillaforums.org/addon/memberslistenh-plugin
then you would have
user table userid ------- userid membership database table
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
I have access to MySql via Bluehost so creating a linked database via phpmyadmin seems doable.
We also need a calendar - do you know if anyone has taken a look at this old PHP/MySql project?
alpho011.hubpages.com/hub/Simple-Event-calendar-PHP--MySQL
If the bugs could be worked out (it has been revisited for 4-years) it would seem to be a good match to naturally-available resources.
It would also seem possible to use
vanillaforums.org/addon/memberslistenh-plugin
to link Discussion Categories to events on the Calendar - or perhaps create a special type of Event-specific Conversation for the Calendar (In such an Event-specific Conversation everyone is initially subscribed then Members could choose to opt-out of the Conversation if they had no interest in any specific event or events).
WDYT?
Additional Calendars via PhP & MySql:
One of two that are more recent and appear doable:
php.about.com/od/finishedphp1/ss/php_calendar.htm
The other project that seems somewhat current and complete:
dreamincode.net/forums/topic/87835-event-tracking-calendar/
And maybe a whole different method here:
https://tutsplus.com/tutorial/how-to-build-a-beautiful-calendar-widget/
WDYT?
I'm willing to put in some time but this is all well outside my skill-set.
I'm wondering that there is no calendar plugin right now, for I think a calendar is a natural addition to a forum. If you want to use an event calendar, than there are two approaches: use an existing script and integrate it in vanilla or create a new addon for vanilla.
When your time and skill is limited, you will have faster results by implementing another script. The links you've provided are tutorials and no stable scripts. Here is a relativly simple solution and this is a quite complex one
To get the perfectly integrated calendar, though, you'll have to write your own plugin. And I think it would be a natural addition if you just use a normal discussion as a starting point. Imagine all discussions in a special category are events: if you post a discussion in this category, the title would be the short description and the discussion text would be the long description. You would have to add some fields which make it to an event. At least "Date" and maybe "Time". But you could also add text fields like "location" or any other information which is of interest for your community.
If you use discussions in a special category as events, people can subscribe to this category, they can bookmark discussions, you can admin the access rights with roles as you are used to, so that you could allow users to create events to, or allow it just for mods - you can do anything you did before because you are using vanillas core features!
I think it wouldn't be too hard to create a plugin like this.
1. create a supporting table with the fields you've chosen: EventID, DiscussionID, EventDate, EventTime, EventLocation, etc. (easy)
2. Hook into new discussion and show input fields for your additional fields (advanced)
3. Hook into edit discussion (if you've mastered 2., than this should be no problem)
4. Hook into show discussion (easy)
5. Create an additional page with a big calendar or just a module for the side panel or a list view of all events - whatever you want to have for your forum (I am really bad and unwilling when it comes to interface building, so I'd call this not "easy" but "challenging")
You can always use existing plugins as "blueprints".
1. Look for plugins that create additional tables.
2., 3. I do not know about any plugin that add input fields to discussions so you might have to ask the community for help if you get stuck with that, but I'm convinced you'll get a lot of valuable help here.
4. There are some plugins that show additional info in discussions, so you'll find a sample for that in plugins
5. You could use one of the tutorials you've linked to above as an inspiration and there is a plugin to show extra pages and a lot of examples for side panel modules in the plugin section
You could extend a plugin like that with a [***Participate!***] button, but that will make it far more complex. But maybe creating an event calender plugin gives you a taste of developing with the Garden framework ;-)
Wow, I am less than a week into Vanilla (and in reality css and HTML5 - our teen son says I am pre-HTML4) and you have confidence that I can accomplish this?
I'd like to think so, but ... I would likely drive the entire volunteer support system crazy in the process ... have you seen the mess I've made so far? ;-)
I am willing to discuss a modest donation to someone who is confident in their ability to successfully bring both the calendar and database projects to completion.
I am willing to be their code-mule and app-tester.
Our little group needs these elements, as I gather from searches many others do as well, and I have some future Vanilla Forum-based projects I am contemplating which will also need them.
Is peregrine or vrijvlinder or someone else the right person to talk to privately?
not me - no need to private message me. Generally for coding, I get returns of pennies per hour, in this forum. I am not taking on any more projects, unless it is community supported by at least 10-20 members who pledge to contribute and specify amounts and have integrity enough to donate what they pledge (not be misconstrued with anything that happened in my latest plugin, which was my choice).
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
So that I understand - what sort of funding would justify the investment of time?
We are strapped here with one son starting college and a daughter transferring to a private school from homeschool.
Give the number of requests for a calendar and a database associated with Vanilla it's odd that the big bosses have not offered to fund those plug-ins - they would take Vanilla to a new level.
what sort of funding would justify the investment of time?
for me, as i said - 10-20 contributors pledging exact amount and then I would decide If I were going to do it. I don't waste energy doing quotes, invoices, and other shoestring stipulations (not to say you did this). but right now I don't have 40 or more hours of free time to develop, debug and support, or even try to figure out specs.
several tips if you want something done...
But you could try posting what you would pledge and maybe someone will take you up on it.
several plugins have been initiated this way. Usually money talks and if like-minded people have the same interest, you might get someone to do it.
Also, sometimes, people do it just because they want to for free. but the best way to get results is to post some mock images of what you are looking for and some specs, be flexible and not rigid in your expectations, and you might get what you want.
Ball-park amorphous, intangible specs, lack of images and moving targets usually return zilch!
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
@DavidColburn It sounds like maybe you want jsConnect and Profile Extender, maybe the API too.
peregrine:
A Calendar something like this would be nice - with many fewer extra-features initially:
wordpress.org/plugins/localendar-for-wordpress/
Right now I can pledge $100. (as a matter of Biblical-Christian integrity I'd never break such a pledge), plus my time, to the degree to which that would be useful at all. (It's possible I could double that to $200.)
Lincoln:
Would the purpose of jsConnect vanillaforums.com/blog/help/implementing-jsconnect-single-signon-on/ be to link a PhP/MySql database to the Vanilla Forum Member Database?
@DavidColburn
re:calendar
I think you would have a better results at getting what you want done by someone.
if you post images of the vanilla forum with arrows pointing to where you want to click and what you want to display.
Take screenshots and post what you want as mock-ups - circle what you want clicked and show what you want displayed where.. Generally when people point to ballpark ideas without specs and no images and it doesn't seem to happen. For me personally posting a link to some other site is more effort then I want to expend You may think your reply is good as far as specs, but it doesn't really answer what I suggested. anyway, that is what I usually need., i don't know how other developers respond, but you certainly can make it easier if you define things with the least amount of features and specs you can deal with.
But, as for me I don't have much free time to devote to it for at least two months.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
Calendaring is far, far more complicated than it sounds.
I assume the database of users already has its own login somewhere, yes? If so, set up single sign-on between them, and you can use that to keep the user data in sync between the two systems.
We have been using Yahoogroups but I'm moving everything to Vanilla.
Building a database on Bluehost should be trivial, same host as our Vanilla-based Forum, but I'm unfamiliar with how to link to the Vanilla-based Forum.
We'd use the Member Name as the common key and also link email. The goal is that when one is added, deleted, or changed in either they are changed in the other.
Our Secretary-Treasurer is the keeper of the database of members in good standing while I will maintain the Forum for the near-term.
Could we use WebCalendar? (Bluehost offers it via MojoMarketplace.)
If read this correctly a Web link/URL may be inserted into a date:
webcalendar.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/webcalendar/webcalendar/docs/WebCalendar-Functions.html
Would that not provide for integration between the Forum & Calendar such that a Discussion or Conversation would be tied to the Calendar?
You still haven't provided what you want to do via sample screen shots and what you want to happen. It's still an amorphous in the air thing, until you show some screen shots of what you want to do with respect to vanilla. You can post links until the sun loses its energy but they still won't help until you say what you want to do and post some screenshots of vanilla with examples of buttons or links of sample ideas of what you want to happen.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
If we go with WebCalendar ...
Nothing in Vanilla but a Calendar button linked to the external WebCalendar URL.
Nothing new in WebCalendar - just use existing link-mechanism (pasted-in URL) to related
Discussions/Conversations in Vanilla.
Hyper-simple, like me. :-)
Note: Users will have to manually copy & paste the Vanilla Discussion/Conversation URL into the Calendar.
It's primitive but simple and quick to implement. Since it's a small group & only a few will control the Calendar it can work.
WDYT?
Assuming the stands for "What do you think?"
I would use the Custom Pages addon and just embed the WebCalendar upcoming page.
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so, you've solved it. install it and add button where you want.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
Since you have such a new forum and you are asking millions of questions (which is no problem), and you are willing to put energy into it . I would move to vanilla 2.1 or greater if it were me. Not that it's going to solve your problem... but .... But that's just something for you to ponder.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.