Bug Unable to adjust image size and disable message bar

[Z71Psycho]

We have been unable to find the location to adjust image display size for images being displayed in the slider. AS you can see from the images I attached above shows how images are being displayed pulled from the set forum. The slider has to have some control over the size of the image otherwise it would be worthless. Problem is I have yet to locate the area to adjust these settings.

I also have a couple of red arrows pointing at the message bar. Where is the setting to disable that option, and all others options that have to do with that feature?

And most all sliders have small icons/button images that when selected allow you to go back and preview the image. So if there is 8 images loaded in the slider, there will be 8 small icons/buttons that stay on the slider so that you can reference the image at anytime.

 

[bszopi]

Currently, there is no option to "control" the size of the image. It will take the image and increase its width to equal the width of the slider. The next major version will hopefully improve this, but there will still only be so much I can do, as images posted by users may not be ideal in aspect ratio for a particular slider size. For instance, if you setup the slider to display an image in portrait mode good, how do images in landscape mode look, and vice versa. The next version I am planning on basically "faking" the image size by placing the image onto a background sized per the slider, which will result in blank space on the sides or top/bottom of the image so that the entire (or majority) of the original image shows.

The only way to disable the message bar is to create a custom content item, insert a title and image, but no content. This will result in a banner only (which is what I am understanding you want).

Navigation controls will also be coming in the next major version.

Hopefully that answers your questions.

 

[bszopi]

I released while I was sleeping that I hadn't answered all of your questions... All of the settings for the content area (message bar) can be found in the StyleVars. Just do a filter/search for StyleVars containing vbslider.

 

[Z71Psycho]

I released while I was sleeping that I hadn't answered all of your questions... All of the settings for the content area (message bar) can be found in the StyleVars. Just do a filter/search for StyleVars containing vbslider.

Yes I have been through all the StyleVars for the vBslider. That's why I had hoped there was some other options available by template edits or something.

I have to be honest here and say this mod is very far from being in a Pro Version status. I'm sure it's a matter of what your interpretation of the mod is over mine. But in this case Pro Version is very misleading. With this being a dragonbyte technology mod I expected better. Or at least better functioning and more complete. I paid $54.95 for a mod at this stage that probably would be better priced at $14.95. Keep in mind I'm somebody that has paid for the mod and simply speaking my mind. Unlike those on vb.org downloading a free version.

When might this mod get updated? I also don't mind if I had to pay a little extra to get this mod to function better and not as useless.

Btw, I use this mod with vBadvance as well. As you know that in itself is another subject. It would be nice to see a little more attention to detail. As it is now you have to reference the Forum Options part in the vBslider admincp settings.

Other then that, this is a very nice mod. A few tweaks and it will be the go-to mod for those wanting a image slider mod to use somewhere on their vB website.

 

[bszopi]

I appreciate you criticism, as it makes me want to improve the mod even more. With that said, let me comment on a couple things. First, I plan on working on an updated version in the very near future. Unfortunately, I can not provide any timeline as to when it will be done. I would like to have it done within the next month or 2 (like several here, I am a part time coder, so my normal day job and family typically come first), but it really just depends. It could be sooner, or it could be later. There is plenty that needs to be overhauled to make it a more function mod.

Secondly, I think what we are planning with the image manipulation will be a first in content sliders, not just in vB, but across the board. Most content sliders I have looked at (and have have looked at dozens, if not over 100), you must size you images to fit the slider, or size the slider to fit a relatively standard image size. I have never seen a slider which can take any image, ranging from 20x20px to 1920x1200px to 300x800px, and have them all look decent inside of the same container. Its just not going to be possible without image manipulation, which I am hoping to accomplish with this next version with the use of the GD Library.

With that said, I am sorry that it currently does not fit your needs, but I hope that in the near future, it will meet and hopefully surpass them.

Brad via Tapatalk

 

[Z71Psycho]

I appreciate you criticism, as it makes me want to improve the mod even more. With that said, let me comment on a couple things. First, I plan on working on an updated version in the very near future. Unfortunately, I can not provide any timeline as to when it will be done. I would like to have it done within the next month or 2 (like several here, I am a part time coder, so my normal day job and family typically come first), but it really just depends. It could be sooner, or it could be later. There is plenty that needs to be overhauled to make it a more function mod.

Secondly, I think what we are planning with the image manipulation will be a first in content sliders, not just in vB, but across the board. Most content sliders I have looked at (and have have looked at dozens, if not over 100), you must size you images to fit the slider, or size the slider to fit a relatively standard image size. I have never seen a slider which can take any image, ranging from 20x20px to 1920x1200px to 300x800px, and have them all look decent inside of the same container. Its just not going to be possible without image manipulation, which I am hoping to accomplish with this next version with the use of the GD Library.

With that said, I am sorry that it currently does not fit your needs, but I hope that in the near future, it will meet and hopefully surpass them.

Brad via Tapatalk

Actually my goal was to motivate you to improve it, especially before many others take a dive and pay for it and later find out it is pretty much generic. I had been using a different slider mod found on vb.org that had become broken when a new admin I had hired enabled your slider mod while the other was still enabled. After enabling your slider mod the new admin was messing around with the css trying to cheat the image display sizes. I simply ask if he thought we could get a little further if I bought the pro version. He said lets try it. I ended up installing it myself thus attempting to tweak it out. Thats when I discovered how much the mod lacked, which lead me to posting here for help.

As I say what mostly confused me was the fact that in most cases dragonbyte tech usually puts out decent products for vBulletin. I guess this explain why I trusted not needing to dig into researching the mod before paying the money. It also surprises me you don't have others helping you with such mods. I have hired a half dozen or more people over the last few years and I have ran into 3-4 that say that have had some involvement with projects they have worked on with dragonbyte.

I will more then likely pay someone to build a decent slider. I find it kind of hard to believe someone hasn't already done one by now. And if they have, I have yet to locate it. Btw, If I pay someone they generally can put something together rather soon cause they probably use someone elses code for the different parts of the mod. Where as if you do it, you would build it to sell it and would have to use your own code which as you know would have a longer process.

Let me ask you, as your image slider is currently setup, what size should the images be to display their best? And is there some place in the mod that I can manually change the display sizes?

 

[bszopi]

Let me ask you, as your image slider is currently setup, what size should the images be to display their best? And is there some place in the mod that I can manually change the display sizes?

For images to display their best, size them 12px smaller than the size you pick for the slider itself via the StyleVars (dbtech_vbslider_[forum/cms]_height and dbtech_vbslider_[forum/cms]_maxwidth). So if you had the slider set for a height of 250px and width of 900px, then your ideal image size is 238px tall by 888px wide. Of course, you will run into issues when users have lower resolution monitors and the slider becomes narrower in order to fit their screen. In this case, the image width will still fit inside the slider, but you will end up with blank areas above and below the image (depending on browsers - IIRC, some versions of IE will place the image at the top of the slider and the blank space at the bottom).

Unfortunately, even with my plan to fix the image issue in the next version by manipulating the image size and saving it out, I do not feel that this is something I will be able to fix. I highly doubt most people will want the server generating images on the fly for every user, especially busy sites or sites on shared hosting.

 

[Cosmic]

Actually my goal was to motivate you to improve it, especially before many others take a dive and pay for it and later find out it is pretty much generic. I had been using a different slider mod found on vb.org that had become broken when a new admin I had hired enabled your slider mod while the other was still enabled. After enabling your slider mod the new admin was messing around with the css trying to cheat the image display sizes. I simply ask if he thought we could get a little further if I bought the pro version. He said lets try it. I ended up installing it myself thus attempting to tweak it out. Thats when I discovered how much the mod lacked, which lead me to posting here for help.

As I say what mostly confused me was the fact that in most cases dragonbyte tech usually puts out decent products for vBulletin. I guess this explain why I trusted not needing to dig into researching the mod before paying the money. It also surprises me you don't have others helping you with such mods. I have hired a half dozen or more people over the last few years and I have ran into 3-4 that say that have had some involvement with projects they have worked on with dragonbyte.

I will more then likely pay someone to build a decent slider. I find it kind of hard to believe someone hasn't already done one by now. And if they have, I have yet to locate it. Btw, If I pay someone they generally can put something together rather soon cause they probably use someone elses code for the different parts of the mod. Where as if you do it, you would build it to sell it and would have to use your own code which as you know would have a longer process.

Let me ask you, as your image slider is currently setup, what size should the images be to display their best? And is there some place in the mod that I can manually change the display sizes?

Heya,

If i'm reading your post correctly then i'm sorry to say that most, if not all, of those people will have been lying. To the best of my recollection we only have 2 former coders, one of whom doesn't do custom/vbulletin work anymore (Deceptor) and David, who was let go as he was unable to commit the time required to create and support products up to our standard.

Generally if someone is claiming to have worked with us, it'd be a good idea to check - a lot of people will no doubt lie to try to get work off of the back of our name and it sounds like you may have been misled and could have benefited from doing some basic background checking.

Regarding the slider - the majority of the feedback on it has been positive, and we go out of our way to ensure people know what they are buying. As well as offering a Lite demo version we also have a pre-sales questions forum with an average response time of a couple of hours. In addition we even have portions of the terms and conditions set aside to covering instances such as this:

The customer acknowledges that the Software has not been developed to meet the customer's individual requirements, and that it is therefore the customer's responsibility to ensure that the facilities and functions of the Software meet the customer's requirements prior to purchase.

We do everything we can think of that is possible to ensure people are not misled and are able to find out/ask about a products feature prior to putting their money down on it, but we know we're not perfect and there may be things we could be doing that we aren't, so we are always on the lookout for good suggestions on how to improve.

It's generally not a good idea to just assume *any* product will do exactly what you want it to - different people have different idea of what is an essential or necessary feature.

If there's anything else you think we should be doing beyond offering a Lite version with 70%+ of the features included, having sections of our Terms & Conditions telling people it is their responsibility to make sure the product does everything they want *before* they buy, having a box indicating the customer has tried the Lite version out and having a well-monitored pre-sales forum in order to help customers or potential customers we would appreciate the feedback.

Just wanted to pop in and thank you for your feedback and give you the heads up on those coders really - i'll leave you in Brad's capable hands when it comes to what is/isn't possible or planned for the slider

Cosmic

 

[Z71Psycho]

Heya,

If i'm reading your post correctly then i'm sorry to say that most, if not all, of those people will have been lying. To the best of my recollection we only have 2 former coders, one of whom doesn't do custom/vbulletin work anymore (Deceptor) and David, who was let go as he was unable to commit the time required to create and support products up to our standard.

Generally if someone is claiming to have worked with us, it'd be a good idea to check - a lot of people will no doubt lie to try to get work off of the back of our name and it sounds like you may have been misled and could have benefited from doing some basic background checking.

Regarding the slider - the majority of the feedback on it has been positive, and we go out of our way to ensure people know what they are buying. As well as offering a Lite demo version we also have a pre-sales questions forum with an average response time of a couple of hours. In addition we even have portions of the terms and conditions set aside to covering instances such as this:



We do everything we can think of that is possible to ensure people are not misled and are able to find out/ask about a products feature prior to putting their money down on it, but we know we're not perfect and there may be things we could be doing that we aren't, so we are always on the lookout for good suggestions on how to improve.

It's generally not a good idea to just assume *any* product will do exactly what you want it to - different people have different idea of what is an essential or necessary feature.

If there's anything else you think we should be doing beyond offering a Lite version with 70%+ of the features included, having sections of our Terms & Conditions telling people it is their responsibility to make sure the product does everything they want *before* they buy, having a box indicating the customer has tried the Lite version out and having a well-monitored pre-sales forum in order to help customers or potential customers we would appreciate the feedback.

Just wanted to pop in and thank you for your feedback and give you the heads up on those coders really - i'll leave you in Brad's capable hands when it comes to what is/isn't possible or planned for the slider

Cosmic

I think you are right about it not being someone from your camp. Now that I think of it and look back some I'm pretty sure it was digitalpoint. But regardless it wasn't dragonbyte. Either way what was said from me wasn't negative. Or at least I don't think having extra people on hand to help with projects is negative.

I also think you yourself may have me confused with someone else as well. Not sure why you thought you needed to point out about lite demo version, terms and conditions, and well-monitored pre-sales forum with me unless you were self promoting? It's not like I asked for any kind of a refund. I did mentioned what I paid along with what I felt it was worth in it's current state.

Btw, when I mention being mislead it's about referring to the mod as Pro version.

 

[Cosmic]

I think you are right about it not being someone from your camp. Now that I think of it and look back some I'm pretty sure it was digitalpoint. But regardless it wasn't dragonbyte. Either way what was said from me wasn't negative. Or at least I don't think having extra people on hand to help with projects is negative.

I also think you yourself may have me confused with someone else as well. Not sure why you thought you needed to point out about lite demo version, terms and conditions, and well-monitored pre-sales forum with me unless you were self promoting? It's not like I asked for any kind of a refund. I did mentioned what I paid along with what I felt it was worth in it's current state.

Btw, when I mention being mislead it's about referring to the mod as Pro version.

I mentioned it because I was letting you know what we do at the moment to try to make sure people have all the info they might need etc, because I'm genuinely interested if you feel there's anything else we could do/could have done to have made the information clearer for you before your purchase.

Sorry you feel misled about the pro tag, I think that comes down to what you see as important/vital features compared to what other people do as much as anything - the mod had an extended updating period where roughly 90% of the requested features were put in, the ones you mention weren't highly requested - generally if something should be a standard feature and it's missing, that's the point everyone will let us know.

I know some of what you're looking for (e.g the controls for users) are coming in the next version, but it sounds like some of what you're requesting is impossible/impractical (a server resizing images on the fly using GD would kill it for instance). Hopefully as the product is updated you'll find it more useful though - one of the benefits of our products is that over time we continue to add more and more features to products

Again, thanks for the feedback and if you have any more i'd be more than happy to hear it.

Cosmic

 

[twolegit]

Well I'll pipe in for a second as a very happy customer of DBTech and say I for one installed the light (or free version) of the slider prior to buying the pro version as I do with all my mods and is a good idea as you should see what you're getting will fit your site prior to paying money!

Now I'll go on a little more and say I love the pro version of the silder and so do my members as it fits exactly what we are trying to accomplish! you on the other hand have said it was misleading as a pro version.....at no time are you mislead here at DBTech and for you to randomly through out $14.95 as a value on a mod that someone has spent hours on coding is sad and uncalled for even as a pro version buyer!

DBTech Rocks!

 

[skol]

I think as mentioned through the thread,and I purchased the pro version 3 months ago.Is how you use it.In 3 months I've never had to ask any questions?Reason being I purchased it to do a job and it does exactly what I wanted it to do..It does everything thats said on the tin.But again I use it in a different way and for a different reason which fits my site exactly..