NOTE: This is in beta mode. This post is only open for beta testers -- thank you.

Name: Invite Users 1.0

Description: This invites users to the archive, cross-referencing the e-mail address to the authors table, and an "invites" table, with the result that an e-mail should only recieve one invite (no matter how times they are invited). Also includes action logging, e-mail logging, and the ability to turn the function off.

Requirements: eFiction 3.0+

Mod History: 2009-04-25: bug-checking of alpha; development.
2009-06-11: added ban feature

Difficulty: Easy (basic knowledge of PHP needed)

Notes:
- While this mod can be done without customisation, it is encouraged and recommended you do. By default: guests are able to invite users, and action and admin logging are set to true.
- All text are based in the constants in the language file; you will need a very basic level of PHP to edit these. The invitation e-mail sent out, and the invitation page information is very basic (and isn't entirely persuading!), ergo it is highly recommended you change the following constants: _INVITEEMAIL and _INVITEHEADER; as always, remember to backslash (\) your double quotes!

Involved:
- languages/en.php
- invite.php (new)
- database modification (creating a table)

NOTE: I suggest you read the FAQ before you install, because I include some useful tips, hints and suggestions for installation!

FAQ and Help:

1. I would rather contain everything file related in invite.php:
   This basically means you don't want to edit languages/en.php every time you upgrade -- you just want to be able to upgrade and not worry about the invite function. (i.e. For lazy people -- like me -- and/or if you have a translated eFic.) Well, this is rather simple! On step 2, simply don't put it in the languages file, and instead copy and paste it in the invite.php page after include("includes/emailer.php");.


2. Can I change the table name to fanfiction_invites?
   Sure! This will just require you to make a database modification: RENAME TABLE `TABLEPREFIXinvites` TO `TABLEPREFIXfanfiction_invites`; (changing TABLEPREFIX to your table prefix), and to modify the invite.php file. Simply find `" . TABLEPREFIX . "invites` and replace with `" . TABLEPREFIX . "fanfiction_invites`.


3. I have two installations conjoined with one author table: how can I make it so I have one invite table?
   Generally, you should only have one invite table per author table, so if you have two installations and one author table, then you'll want one invite table. It sounds simple, but if you try the installation, it won't work because each installation will want to have its own invitation page. Solution? Manually editing invite.php! Simply install this script once and then grab the table name. In your invite.php page, simply find all instances of " . TABLEPREFIX . " and change it to the actual table prefix (or delete it). This is because the TABLEPREFIX is a constant which changes from eFic to eFic: you'll need to hardcode the invites table name in.


4. How do I edit customise _INVITEEMAIL and _INVITEHEADER?
   The constants are scripted in like this: define("CONSTANT", "content here");. Customising the constant simply means changing the information in "content here".


5. How do I add the invite page as a link to my eFiction?
   Log in to your administration panel, and click on "Page Links" and then "Add New Link" (admin.php?action=links&new=1). The information should be, for example:
   Name: invitepage
   Text of Link: Invite
   Link URL: invite.php
   Depending on the minimum level required to invite users, you may also wish to change Link Access Level to reflect this.


6. How do I block certain users from inviting?
   (More concise instructions will be added if someone asks me to.)
   
   Create a new array: $invite['banned'] = array(""); and insert all the member UIDs you wish to ban from inviting. Then add !in_array(USERUID, $invite['banned']) with the list of arguments to show the invitation page. This is not fool-proof: you will obviously have to set the feature to member-only and have a measure to stop duplicate accounts. (Alternatively, you could change this to match against IPs instead.)

Instructions:

These instructions are written for people who are either experienced with modding eFiction, and/or have knowledge of PHP and MySQL. If you have any queries or require any clarification, please comment on this post.

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