This is a simple Splash Screen to modify / amend for use on your PHPNuke site, simply upload the contents of the http folder to your PHPNuke install directory and then visit yoursite.com it should load yoursite.com/index.html first as an entrance screen.

It is currently styled with a flash movie and is 100% XHTML and CSS compliance.

Download Demo Splash Screen (link opens in new window / No registration required)

1) Make a backup (OMG)

Anytime you change something you need to make a backup of the original.  I prefer to put my backups on my server or on my storage drive.  You need to keep these backups for more than a few days.  My standard policy is to keep a backup for at least a month.  Why?  You might see a problem later down the road or your members might notice it before you do.  BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!!!  So important, but your gonna learn this one the hard way like everyone always does.

2) $display_errors = true;

Much like the post thumb I used for this tutorial, you can see only half of the page is loading.  If that user would turn on $display_errors in the config.php they might know what is causing that.  Display errors is part of phpnuke’s way of handling the built in error reporting functions that come with PHP.

The PHP errors which are normally returned can be quite helpful to a developer who is trying to debug a script, indicating such things as the function or file that failed, the PHP file it failed in, and the line number which the failure occurred in. This is all information that can be exploited. It is not uncommon for a php developer to use show_source(), highlight_string(), or highlight_file() as a debugging measure, but in a live site, this can expose hidden variables, unchecked syntax, and other dangerous information. Especially dangerous is running code from known sources with built-in debugging handlers, or using common debugging techniques. If the attacker can determine what general technique you are using, they may try to brute-force a page, by sending various common debugging strings:

Source: PHP->Error Reporting

Off

$display_errors = false;

On

$display_errors = true;

Noob Note: For Evolution and Evo Extreme, the errors are recorded in the admin section.

Turning this on only when you have an issue will give you more insight into what the underlying problem is and it is definitely the first step you want to take into debugging a problem with phpnuke.

3) Error Logs

Error Logs are becoming more and more common in phpnuke.  An error log is basically a file somewhere on the server (most of the time) that records any errors that phpnuke produces.  You may need to consult with the author of whatever script / theme your using to find out the location of the log or if one exist.

Noob Note: If you have cpanel or something like it.  You may find an error logs icon that will display some errors recorded by your server.  I will not go into too much detail about this, but they can be helpful in finding all sorts of problems.

4) Re-Upload or Re-Install

If you just installed a mod and $display_errors is reporting no error, the next step is to double check you have all the files uploaded in the right place.  Many many times, to fix someone’s problem all I do is re-upload the files.  I never know if they are really missing one, but it never hurts to check.

Noob Note: I always backup the config.php so I can just re-upload it again quickly since it has the database connection information.  It is a pain in the butt to look that up again and re-enter it.  It saves time.

If it is a completely new installation I will run the installer again or re-load the .sql.  I wrote a tutorial on loading .sql files through phpmyadmin that might help you with that.  A fresh install might reveal an error you missed before and especially if you still have $display_errors set to true.

5) Tips for Forum Mods

When a coder converts or writes a forum mod, They usually write it for one distribution (ex: raven nuke).  It is tough work to convert that mod for some distributions like phpnuke evolution extreme.  What you the user doesn’t realize is that sometimes they are not that much different.  You sort of have to use your ingenuity and if you have backed everything up this will not be a problem if you go wrong.

For Instance this is part of the ribbon forums mod for Clan Roster…

In standard phpnuke or Raven Nuke  I tell you to find

$template->assign_block_vars('postrow', array(

In Evo or Evo Extreme  the code is actually

$template->assign_block_vars('postrow',array_merge( array(

You can see how the two are similar, but slightly different.  You can solve this problem by only searching for part of the variable.  This skill takes some practice and like I said, backup everything..

6) Ask the Developer for Support

Many times you can find the developer of a mod / theme by just looking at the top of an actual file.  For instance,

/********************************************************/
/* Theme Designed and coded by                          */
/* Clan Themes (admin@clanthemes.com)                          */
/* http://www.clanthemes.com                            */
/********************************************************/

Provide your damn url.  I know your all secretive about some huge project that is going to explode on to the web, but a picture is worth a thousand words.  It is gonna be the first question I ask you anyways.

One of the biggest challenges even for me is learning to debug problems.  You need to gather all the intel you can before ever thinking of asking for support.  Why?  Developers have a life too…  If you come to me with a detailed problem, the likely hood of finding the answer is great.  If I have to walk you through the above 5 steps first it is possibly going to take awhile.  The more information you can provide, the faster we can solve the problem.

If you can’t find support for a mod, you might want to try asking on different sites only after you have exhausting all efforts to bother the developer.  A developer is going to know more about that mod than anyone else or so they think.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Where are all my current Php Nuke Blocks located?

All of your existing blocks are located in your blocks folder just below your nuke root. So if your nuke root directory is public_html then the path to blocks folder is public_html/blocks. This is standard for every distribution or fork of nuke I have ever seen. When you create a new block it should be placed in your blocks folder or else you will not be able to add it via the nuke admin panel.

Block File Names

Php nuke blocks have a particular naming schema they use to identify themselves as blocks. They use block-your_name.php, broken down block- is the prefix and anything the rest uses underscores in replacement for spaces. This format is used so php nuke can list them for you in the admin section. That list I am referring too is the drop down you see when you are adding a new block.

This is how that list is formed and why the naming schema is so important.

$blocksdir = dir("blocks");
 $blockslist = '';
 while($func=$blocksdir->read()) {
 if(substr($func, 0, 6) == "block-") {
 $blockslist .= "$func ";
 }
 }
 closedir($blocksdir->handle);
 $blockslist = explode(" ", $blockslist);
 sort($blockslist);
 for ($i=0; $i < sizeof($blockslist); $i++) {
 if($blockslist[$i]!="") {
 $bl = ereg_replace("block-","",$blockslist[$i]);
 $bl = ereg_replace(".php","",$bl);
 $bl = ereg_replace("_"," ",$bl);
 echo "<option value=\"$blockslist[$i]\" ";
 if ($blockfile == $blockslist[$i]) { echo 'selected="selected"'; }
 echo ">$bl</option>\n";
 }
 }

Noob Note: I would avoid using any type of punctuation or special characters when deciding your block filename. Best practice would be to simply use underscores ( _ ) to identify a space. (ex: block-New_Block.php)

The above code pretty much says that if the block isn’t already active and being used, put it in this list of available or new blocks that can be added. So if you want your title in the list to show up as “New Block“, then your actual block filename is block-New_Block.php. If your naming schema is correct and it exist in your blocks folder, you should be all set here.

Coding Syntax

So I have created a file on my desktop named block-New_Block.php and I have opened it in my text editor of choice, UltraEdit. I suggest not using windows notepad for editing scripts as it sometimes interrupts code differently or removes needed characters upon saving. Your better off using a high end editor like notepad++ or UltraEdit. If all your ever going to do is create blocks, then something free like notepad++ should do.

I use a standard snippet for each block I create because it saves a lot of time and I don’t have to remember all that syntax everytime I want to toss an image into a new block. My snippet looks like this.

<?php
if ( !defined('BLOCK_FILE') ) {
 Header("Location: ../index.php");
 die();
}
//Require Mainfile (once means don't if its already included/required)
require_once 'mainfile.php';
//Set Your Globals
global $db, $prefix;
//Start Content
$content  =  'my content';
$content .= 'my content continued';
$content .= 'my content continued again';
//End Content
?>

I am going to break that down into sections so we can discuss what each part does. The first line of course is the opening statement <?php.

Noob Note: Do not use shorthand here as your script might not work and it is just a bad php practice. When I stay shorthand I am referring to using <? instead of <?php. <?php is the correct way of doing things.

Lines 2-5 of the above block snippet are a security check to reassure that this an actual block file for php nuke. The catch here is for some distributions like Nuke Evolution, it can be different. The best way to figure out what you should use is to grab the block-Modules.php file from your blocks folder and duplicate the security check. I believe this all started with ChatServ Patches, but don’t quote me on it. So lines 2-5 for you might be different from mine depending on what distribution or patch level your using.

Line 6 & 7 are the inclusion of mainfile.php which contains the majority of the nuke functions. I have set it to require_once just as a good practice to make sure we didn’t conflict with another module / block. It is a good practice.

//Require Mainfile (once means don't if its already included/required)
require_once 'mainfile.php';

Next is the globals, if your going to be pulling something from the database or using functions from mainfile.php you will need some of these. I have only included the main two so we can use the database. Some other basic ones are $user, $admin, $nukeurl, and $cookie.

//Set Your Globals
global $db, $prefix;

Last, but surely not least is the inclusion of the $content string. One php concept you need to understand about building blocks is string operators and string concatenation. Basically, it is how to join two string instances together. I call it continuation, but whatever floats you.

You will notice below how this technique is used to continue a string.

//Start Content
$content  =  'my content';
$content .= 'my content continued';
$content .= 'my content continued again';
//End Content

As you can see we continue the $content string by using $content .= . You don’t have to concatenate with the $content either you can use a different string name. However at the end of the block $content must be used. See below.

<?php
if ( !defined('BLOCK_FILE') ) {
 Header("Location: ../index.php");
 die();
}
//Require Mainfile (once means don't if its already included/required)
require_once 'mainfile.php';
//Set Your Globals
global $db, $prefix;
//Custom Variable
$myblock  =  'my content';
$myblock .= 'my content continued';
$myblock .= 'my content continued again';
//End Custom Variable

//Define Custom Variable as $content
$content = $myblock;
?>

Your code can be a simple or complex as you wish to make it, but those are the very basics to creating your own phpnuke blocks from scratch.

Trick for Beginners

Another decent trick I used when I first started creating blocks that my good friend Ped taught me so many years ago was this one.

<?php
if ( !defined('BLOCK_FILE') ) {
 Header("Location: ../index.php");
 die();
}
//Require Mainfile (once means don't if its already included/required)
require_once 'mainfile.php';
//Set Your Globals
global $db, $prefix;
//Start Content
?>
<!-- Close Php Tag -->
<!-- Paste Html or Javascript Content Here-->
<!-- Now Open the Php Tag again -->
<?php
$content  =  'You can include more php content here';
$content .= 'and here';
$content .= 'or here';
//End Content
?>

This technique allows you to combine html or javascript with php very easily. I found most useful when I ran across 3rd party websites that required me to include some javascript they provided. I don’t suggest becoming addicted to using that method, because it has its limitations. However, as a beginner your end goal is most likely to just get it working.

Uploading and Activating your Php Nuke Block

I sort of feel I don’t need to go into this in much detail if you have gotten this far. Basically, your gonna upload the nuke block to your blocks folder and activate it (or add new) through that drop down we discussed in the beginning of the tutorial via the nuke blocks admin panel.

If you are confused by any of this you should watch Dread’s Phpnuke Block Break Down Video Tutorial.

Thanks for reading and I hope it will be as useful to you as it has been to me.

To get started Open /includes/bbcode.php

Find

// Remove our padding..
 $ret = substr($ret, 1);

After Add

//Floppy's Underline and Bold Phnuke Forums Post Hack (www.clanthemes.com)
 $ret = preg_replace('#<a(.*?)</a>#','<strong><u><a$1</a></u></strong>',$ret);
//Floppy's Nofollow External Links for Phpnuke Forums Hack (www.clanthemes.com)
$your_domain = 'clanthemes.com';//Change this to your domain
preg_match_all('#href=&quot;((http://www.|http://|www.)(.*?))&quot;#',$ret,$matches);
foreach($matches[0] as $link){
 if(stristr($link, $your_domain) == false){
 $ret = str_replace($link, $link.' rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;', $ret);
 }
}

Once again, only the nofollow tag is added to external links that do not match your set domain in the code above.  If you want to remove that portion you can just eliminate the below code from the mod.

//Floppy's Nofollow External Links for Phpnuke Forums Hack (www.clanthemes.com)
 $your_domain = 'clanthemes.com';//Change this to your domain
 preg_match_all('#href="((http://www.|http://|www.)(.*?))"#',$ret,$matches);
 foreach($matches[0] as $link){
 if(stristr($link, $your_domain) == false){
 $ret = str_replace($link, $link.' rel="nofollow"', $ret);
 }
}

Just put your new edited bbcode.php file back in place on your server to complete the hack.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Most likely in your current theme’s theme.php file you will find a function called themearticle. Below is an example, but yours may not look exactly like it.

function themearticle ($aid, $informant, $datetime, $title, $thetext, $topic, $topicname, $topicimage, $topictext, $notes) {  //montego - added $notes for RavenNuke
 global $admin, $sid, $tipath, $index;

On a new line after the global call add

//Floppy's Underline and Bold Phnuke News Hack (www.clanthemes.com)
 $thetext = preg_replace('#<a(.*?)</a>#','<strong><u><a$1</a></u></strong>',$thetext);
 //Floppy's Nofollow External Links for Phpnuke News Hack (www.clanthemes.com)
 $your_domain = 'clanthemes.com';//Change this to your domain
 preg_match_all('#href="((http://www.|http://|www.)(.*?))"#',$thetext,$matches);
 foreach($matches[0] as $link){
 if(stristr($link, $your_domain) == false){
 $thetext = str_replace($link, $link.' rel="nofollow" target="_blank"', $thetext);
 }
 }

Save and Upload.  You should be done. If you don’t want it to be nofollow you can remove rel=”nofollow” from the below line.

 $thetext = str_replace($link, $link.' rel="nofollow" target="_blank"', $thetext);

The same goes for opening in a new window. If you don’t want it to be bold or underline you can modify this line.

 $thetext = preg_replace('#<a(.*?)</a>#','<strong><u><a$1</a></u></strong>',$thetext);

Noob Note: Only external links will be nofollow.  If you set your domain correctly all of your links will be followed by search engines.

Example:http://www.clanthemes.com/article398-operation-flashpoint-2-theme-released.html

Working with .SQL Files

Your going to run across some mods that are released with a .sql file containing the necessary tables to store information.  Working with these are simple.

The Contents

If you were to open a .sql file you would probably see something like the below.

--
-- Table structure for table `nuke_sf_slider`
--

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `nuke_sf_slider` (
`slid` int(11) NOT NULL auto_increment,
`title` varchar(255) default NULL,
`longdesc` varchar(255) default NULL,
`shortdesc` varchar(255) default NULL,
`url` varchar(255) default NULL,
`image` varchar(255) default NULL,
PRIMARY KEY  (`slid`)
) ENGINE=MyISAM

It is not a very optimized example, but it serves the purpose.

Insertion Method #1 (Pasting)

The first method is simply pasting the code from within the .sql file you received.  How you ask?  In PhpMyAdmin, select the database you wish to insert the queries/tables into by clicking on it in the far left sidebar.

After clicking your desired database, you want to hit the SQL tab located at the top in the right hand side panel.

As you can see I have already pasted the contents from the .sql file.  The last step is to hit GO down in the bottom left hand corner.

Noob Note: You can also paste the commented text into the query box because the engine will just ignore any commented text.  Commented text looks like this  – - Commented Text.  Basically, it is always prefixed with dashes.

If you get an error after you hit GO you should recheck your steps and contact the author if error can not be resolved.

Insertion Method #2 (Uploading)

After you have selected your desired database, you need to find the Import Tab located at the very top on the right hand side panel.

Next you are going to click browse and select your .sql file.  The last step is to hit GO in the bottom left hand corner.  You should be done and if you have specific questions about a .sql file you should ask the author.

]]> http://www.phpnukedownloads.com/inserting-sql-through-phpmyadmin/feed/ 1 http://www.phpnukedownloads.com/google-api-block/ http://www.phpnukedownloads.com/google-api-block/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:34:25 +0000 Ped http://www.phpnukedownloads.com/?p=213 http://www.phpnukedownloads.com/wp-content/themes/wooituts/inc/timthumb.php?src=/ The Google AJAX Search API lets you put Google Search in your web pages with JavaScript. You can embed a simple, dynamic search box and display search results in your own web pages or use the results in innovative, programmatic ways.

Using an AJAX API Key

The Google AJAX Search API lets you put Google Search in your web pages with JavaScript. You do not need a key to use this API. Using a key in your application/site is completely optional. However, it is useful to have one. Here is why – when a key is present, if we detect any problem or issue that involves your application/site, with a key in hand, we will attempt to contact you. If we do not have a key, we have no way to contact you should something go wrong.

If you are ready, go ahead and sign up for an API key

What will this block do?

The Google Ajax Search block is coded specifically for PHPNuke and will show in real time what you type in the search box and reveal search results in real time as soon as you start typing it will start pulling in results for the letters and words you type. It is designed so it will search Google and another site of your choice.

Preview it working

This is a short screen cast of the block in action on a local server.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Installation

• If you want the option to search from yoursite as well as Google, then you will need a Google API key which is free and can be obtained from the Google API site.
• Once you have the API key, open the block called block-Ajax_Google_Search.php and enter your API key in the $key variable at the top.
• Whilst you have the block open you may also see a variable called $themecolor this is for your themes colour so the stlye css matches, if you use a dark theme set the variable to true and if you use a light theme set it to false
• If you do not want people to search from yoursite then you can skip the first step and leave the API key alone (you do not need an API key for it to work)

Troubleshooting

• The block by default is set to a fixed width of 180 pixels, if your PHPNuke blocks are not as wide as 180 pixels and you find the block pushing them apart you can rectify this by opening the 2 .css files in the includes folder in a decent text editor (CTRL+F to search a file) for 180 and change it to your desired width (there are 3 references in each .css sheet)

Want to learn more?

If you want to lean more about the Google Ajax API and what add-ons you can make, then head on over the the Google Ajax API site.

Download the PHPNuke Source Code

You can download the Google Ajax API PHPNuke Block (no registration required)

Today I am going to show you how to unban yourself manually in just a few short steps. When sentinel bans you from your website it happens in two places.

1. The database table (nuke_nsnst_blocked_ips)
2. The .htaccess in your nuke root

1. Your Ip

The very first thing we need to do is find out what you IP, because that is your social security number for the internet.  If you don’t know it off the top of your head you can use a free service like whatsmyip.org

2. Lets remove your IP from the Database

I can not really guide you through getting to phpmyadmin or your similar too, because everyone’s could be different.  If your host is using cpanel you can find it in the main menu or under the mysql database icon.

Once your in phpmyadmin and you have selected your nuke database.  You need to find the nuke_nsnst_blocked_ips table.

Unban Yourself from Nuke Sentinel

Once you have found the nuke_nsnst_blocked_ips table you want to click the browse icon just to the right of the table name.

Noob Note: The main goal here is just to browse the contents of the nsnst_blocked_ips table.  You can scroll the far left pane to find the table name faster, but at the end of the day we just want to see the contents of the table.

After you can see the contents of the nuke_nsnst_blocked_ips table, we want to sort them so we can find your IP faster.  What you want to do is sort the table contents by Date (descending) since you were one of the last entries.

Unban Yourself from Nuke Sentinel

After the page reloads, your IP should be listed somewhere very close to the top.  All you have to do is click the red x icon to delete that record from the database.  Now lets remove your IP from the .htaccess.

3. Removing Your Ip from the .hatccess

Using your ftp software download your .htaccess from your nuke root to your desktop.  Using some type of editor (notepad plus if you have nothing else)  open the .htaccess you just downloaded.  Down towards the very bottom you are going to find a very long list of ip of addresses.  Yours should be one of the last few at the bottom of that list.

Noob Note: Depending on well you setup your sentinel in the first place.  You might not have to do this step.  If you sentinel is setup properly though it should be required to remove your ip from the .htaccess.

deny from 127.0.0.1

Save and Reupload your .htaccess with your IP removed.  You should be able to access your site again now.  If you can not review the above steps again.

4. Preventing Nuke Sentinel from Banning the Admin

Preventing this from happening again is pretty easy.  Basically the only thing your gonna do is add your IP to the protected range list.

In your nuke sentinel admin section click Protected Range Menu -> Add Protected Range

Unban Yourself from Nuke Sentinel

All you have to do is select your country and add the proper ranges for your IP.  If your IP was 127.0.0.1, then your ranges would look like 127.0.0.0 to 127.0.0.1.

That is all there is too it.