Would like to Add a Forum or Message Board

Freeway
1

Hi folks. Is there third party software/add on’s / anything that would allow me to add a Forum or Message board (not sure if they would be considered the same thing) into my Freeway Express built web site? I would upgrade to Pro if this would help me achieve this goal – please, any suggestions or comments welcome. Everyone always apologizes about now for asking what has surely been asked before so let me say, sorry about that! I did find the topic on FreewayTalk doing searches but these discussions took place years ago. Many thanks, Marcos

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Vanilla http://vanillaforums.org is a very well-designed 3rd Party forum application that’s definitely worth a look. I’m not familiar with FW Express so I can’t say how easily it can be integrated but it should be no problem with Pro.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

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add a Forum or Message board

What exactly do you want to do with it - do you need a fully fledged forum.

A bit more info about your requirements would help.

David

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Good question, David, let me clarify. What I would like to do is create a site where people can post (in categories for events in my particular city) lodging possibilities that they would be willing to provide (short or long). For example, a home owner in New Orleans, a few weeks before Mardi Gras could post “I have an extra bedroom that I could rent for $25 a night for the week of Mardi Gras. If interested, please contact Jane @ 555-5555”. People posting lodging options and contact info I guess is what I’m after. If I could have a re-directed email built in response (like Craig’s does when responding to an ad where one doesn’t have to include one’s actual email), more’s the better. Thank you. Marcos

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Have a look at http://www.phpjabbers.com/php-scripts.php

They might have something that you could work with - they are known to have good support and a few of the guys here use some of their scripts.

D

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Thanks DeltaDave. phpjabbers would more or less do the job. But the idea of incorporating php scripts into my freeway pages is intimidating, especially for someone who has enjoyed the incredibly relative simplicity of building web sites with Freeway software. Are there any php experts out there who could lend some starting guidance? Also, I might look for web hosting site that already specializes in real estate templates (any leads here would be greatly appreciated, too). When I started my stock photography site (www.austinstockphotography) I tried to build the entire thing with Freeway and quickly found out it was impossible. Discovered Zenfolio and went that way instead and have been very pleased. Thanks for all your help! Marcos

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Are there any php experts out there who could lend some starting guidance?

If you choose a script from phpjabbers then all the support is there already.

It is good that you realise that there are limitations to what you can do - especially with Express - but by choosing a canned script the hard work is already done for you.

It is more important that you have a very clear idea of what you want your site to do and that you make sure the script will meet your needs - present and future.

It might be worth your while outlining your needs as far as you can and drop phpjabbers an email asking their advice. They are known for adding/customising features for specific needs.

D

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I think one of the scripts from phpjabbers is just what I’m looking for. However, I can’t seem to find any information on whether a script from phpjabbers would work on my FW Express 5.5 (or would I have to upgrade to Pro?). Some basic instruction on getting the script to work would be helpful, too (it seems it’s just a copy, paste step). However, would still appreciate it if a kind, knowledgeable person would give me a basic intro to the steps involved. Best, Marcos

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You can add code into Express in the same way that you can Pro.

However it is what goes around your code that may be more critical.

Once you have decided on the script then I am sure that we can help you integrate it into FW - but until we know what it is and how it works it is difficult to be specific.

D

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Dave, it’s the following script that I would like to purchase and install into a godaddy hosted website (php won’t be a problem):

Must I purchase it before you can do the following?

“but until we know what it is and how it works it is difficult to be specific.”

Thank you! Marcos

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it’s the following script that I would like to purchase and install into a godaddy hosted website (php won’t be a problem):

Those words send shivers through me. “godaddy hosted website (php won’t be a problem)”

If there is any host where you are going to have problems with a script like this it is GD!

D

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Besides 'jabbers offer a free install service so it will be apparent pretty quickly if it will work on GD.

My advice - get 'jabbers to do the install and then we take it from there - it is only $69.

And dont forget 'jabbers do a BOGOF deal - so pick yourself out another script that you think you might use at a later date and get it for FREE

D

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Dave, the kind folks at Jabbers checked my hosting web site and declared it ok for one of their scripts. But if I wanted to do the install, would I just create an html box and insert the script? I asked them that and this was the response:

"Please note that Vacation rental script uses php code for front-end integration. This means that you can insert it on php pages only. If you need to insert it on an html page this can be done only with iframe code pointing to an external php page on which you have inserted the front-end listing.

The php pages are the same as the html pages, they jsut need to be with extension .php. To convert an html page to a php page you just need to rename it (from pagename.html to pagename.php)."

Advise please. Thanks much! Marcos

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As they said, to use this, you would need to change the filename of your page from .html to .php. You can do this directly in Freeway. Navigate to the page where you wish to use this script, and in the Inspector, change the filename from whatever.html to whatever.php. Freeway will update any links to this page automatically, you won’t lose any links. What you will lose is any search engine traffic you may have built up to that page. If that’s a concern, let us know – there’s a simple fix using an .htaccess file in the same directory to update the search engines without losing any of that credibility.

Then, you would not just add the code to an ordinary HTML box – you must use a Markup Item (or an instance of the Crowbar Action) to add the code. An HTML box would convert any of the special characters needed for the PHP code to be evaluated by the server into their “safe” HTML-encoded versions. (An ampersand becomes &, for example.) Some of the code might need to be added to the very top of the page, before any other code is written. For that, you would use the Page / HTML Markup dialog, switching to the Before HTML section before you paste.

Walter

On Nov 5, 2013, at 9:21 AM, Marcos Gonzalez wrote:

Dave, the kind folks at Jabbers checked my hosting web site and declared it ok for one of their scripts. But if I wanted to do the install, would I just create an html box and insert the script? I asked them that and this was the response:

"Please note that Vacation rental script uses php code for front-end integration. This means that you can insert it on php pages only. If you need to insert it on an html page this can be done only with iframe code pointing to an external php page on which you have inserted the front-end listing.

The php pages are the same as the html pages, they jsut need to be with extension .php. To convert an html page to a php page you just need to rename it (from pagename.html to pagename.php)."

Advise please. Thanks much! Marcos

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