Dynamic BYOND Signature Framework in Tutorials & Snippets

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ID:49414
 
Oct 16 2008, 4:52 pm
Keywords: graphics, utility




Make your own dynamic signatures just by filling out a form. Or, if you're a power user, read on!

***

A little while back I released a small, but useful system that allowed people to show information about their BYOND location and online status as well as their member avatar if they had one.

I got quite a good response out of this and quite a few requests to see how it worked. I decided it would probably benefit plenty of people, and BYOND itself if I let as many people use this system however they felt it fit into their needs. Admittedly, the original system was kind of hacky and a bit messy as I was really just learning how to do some of the things I was doing, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to rewrite it with as much simplicity and functionality as possible for the end user.

The end result of this effort was a nice little framework package written in PHP that allows you to generate images containing the information obtained from the BYOND website, with around 40 different customizable variables you can create any number of images based on exactly what you need. Whether it be showing your status on a website, or using it as a forum signature, this framework will let you customize it to fit in anywhere you want it to. You do need to know a little bit of PHP but I wrote it to be easy for anyone to pick up.

The provided documentation and example PHP file tell you exactly what you need to know to get started, and in no time you'll be producing your very own dynamic images.

You do need the GD library installed on your server to use this system. Most hosting services with PHP support include GD library support. If not, you should contact your host, they should be able to get you setup (if they allow it, of course). You'll also need the fopen() for URL's enabled on your server, which allows for the system to obtain things from the BYOND site like information and images.

I hope to see some pretty cool thing come from this system, and if you have any suggestions or comments just drop them here and I'll see what I can do.

Link to the framework website: http://signature.ncomproductions.com/framework

Link to the framework in action: http://signature.ncomproductions.com
(Note: This interface will be getting quite a few updates over the next week or two, expect far more options and goodies soon!)
#1 Oct 16 2008, 5:51 pm
Very nice.
#2 Oct 17 2008, 3:54 am
I got an error on page :(
#3 Oct 17 2008, 5:41 am
Yeah, every forums i've tried to use it on besides BYOND I get an error: Cannot use IMG tags in a dynamic link. Or something like that, though you probably explained how to fix that.
#4 Oct 17 2008, 6:50 am
Bakasensei wrote:
Yeah, every forums i've tried to use it on besides BYOND I get an error: Cannot use IMG tags in a dynamic link. Or something like that, though you probably explained how to fix that.

That's the website administrators choice. Sometimes they don't like people using dynamic signatures. Any really major website probably wont allow it.
#5 Oct 17 2008, 8:18 am
Tiberath wrote:
Any really major website probably wont allow it.

Most forums should allow it.
I know phpbb3, visual bulletin, and a bunch of others have usually worked with this type of thing. You get dynamic images for xfire, WoW armouries, all sorts of stuff.

Those are basically the only use anyway.
#6 Oct 17 2008, 8:49 am
The forum admin can decide whether or not to allow images in signatures.
#7 Oct 17 2008, 8:50 am
Armiris wrote:
The forum admin can decide whether or not to allow images in signatures.

That's not the problem.

Most any forum will let you put an image in your signature anyway.
Of course there are some forums that simply do not need them, so they aren't included, but on most forums people will expect to be able to put an image or something in their signature.
#8 Oct 17 2008, 8:58 am
The reason many forums don't allow for dynamic images is because they can't determine how large the image is actually going to be using traditional methods. Unfortunately there's not really a whole lot that can be done about that, sorry.
#9 Oct 17 2008, 10:48 am
Very nice work, I like it a lot. Looks like there is no need for me to continue mine :(

#10 Oct 17 2008, 12:18 pm
I think they're awesome.
#11 Oct 18 2008, 12:03 am
Just a note; I'm looking into a way of making the images seem less dynamic to outside forums. I'll probably provide a link that doesn't take any HTTP arguments (which I believe is what sets off the forum's protection triggers). The downside to this is that it'll only be able to show the default image or at the most, a very limited version.
#12 Oct 18 2008, 8:59 am
Could you use mod_rewrite to make the arguments look like subdirectories? Maybe something like:

ncomproductions.com/banners/Airjoe/blue/avatar/border/ banner.png

#13 Oct 18 2008, 1:59 pm
That's what the plan was, unfortunately there's simply far too many variables to account for, displaying the signature URL would eat all of the avaliable signature characters up (since there's usually a limit) I have some plans though.
#14 Oct 20 2008, 3:41 am
You liar, Nadrew. You've never seen me in Chatters! I have my info set to hidden, so the most you'll get from my key is "offline".
#15 Oct 20 2008, 2:23 pm
I can see your location :)
#16 Oct 20 2008, 7:50 pm
Maybe with the previous version of it, but the latest version doesn't rely on what information you've made avaliable on your member page -- only how your pager is set.
#17 Nov 8 2008, 10:34 pm
Just a note to anyone who's used this or wants to use it. I've updated the way URLs are formed from http://signature.ncomproductions.com -- it should now allow for usage on MOST forums that it previously didn't work on. But some forums do still prevent them from working and there's not really much more I can do about it.
#18 Nov 9 2008, 5:08 am
Out of curiosity, what can we use this for?
#19 Nov 9 2008, 5:10 am
Yash 69 wrote:
Out of curiosity, what can we use this for?

Signatures for forums, images on your own website. Pretty much anything you want to place it on. With exception to spam, you use these for spam messages and we'll probably be forced to gut you.
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