Topic: Staff List Block - Ordering?

[artica_james]

Hey,

I am using SMF 2.0 RC3 with SimplePortal 2.3.2

The website is www.supremealliedcommanders.co.uk

I want to change the order of the staff in the staff list block by their ID number or username.

How can i do this?

I took a look at this http://simpleportal.net/index.php?topic=2110.msg14032;topicseen#msg14032 but this was ordering by registration date/descending. I would like it ordered manually by their member ID number like so (9,1,4) etc

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks
James

[ccbtimewiz]

Those edits are for SMF 1.1, however.

Do you want their ID, or their name?

[artica_james]

I want their usernames to be ordered by their member ID. 
Thanks

[AngelinaBelle]

SimplePortal doesn't have a way to do that, out of the box.
You will need to customize the code.
 
Here's how you can begin:
From the file PortalBLocks.php, take a copy of function sp_staff
Copy it into a custom php block and rename it to function sp_staff_custom or whatever you want to call it.
 
At the bottom, after the function's closing bracker (}), call the function
 

Code: [Select]

$parms = array (
'id_order' => '9,1,4'
);
sp_staff_custom($parms,0,false);

When you have finished fixing up the function, you can, of course, replace sp_staff in PortalBlocks.php with your custom function.
 
Just to get you started, here's a suggestion:

Code: (find) [Select]

else
  $local_mods = array();


Code: (replace) [Select]

else
  $local_mods = array();
 
 $idorder = explode(',',$parameters['idorder']);
 $orderById = ! ( empty($idorder) || empty($parameters['idorder'] );


[artica_james]

Thanks. I tried this method however i get a parse syntax error after replacing:
 

Code: [Select]

else
  $local_mods = array();
With
 

Code: [Select]

else
  $local_mods = array();
 $idorder = explode(',',$parameters['idorder']);
 $orderById = ! ( empty($idorder) || empty($parameters['idorder'] );
* I am quite new to PHP but am picking it up as go*

Thanks
James

[AngelinaBelle]

I'm afraid the code suggestions I made are going to be quite bad that way.
 
I tried that snippet 1 line at a time, narrowed it down to the second line, and finally saw that parentheses didn't match.

Code: [Select]

$orderById = ! ( empty($idorder) || empty($parameters['idorder'] ) );
I should have used a programmer's editor to help me avoid that that, instead of just typing off the top of my head. Notepad++ and many other free editors help with braces matching.

[artica_james]

Thanks again. However i am still having a couple of problems for some reason.

I have followed the instructions you gave me accordingly and used the code you gave me replacing where necessary however either the order doesn't change when the code is present or i get a parse error in the staff block.

Your help is much appreciated.

Many Thanks
James 

[AngelinaBelle]

I am sorry that I do not have the time to follow my own suggestions and develop a custom-ordered list block for you at this time.
 
If you are interested in pursuing this yourself, my advice is to change only 1 line at a time, check it for parse errors and bugs, and then add another line.
 
You may find it convenient to do your editing in an editor that gives you line numbers, then copy the entire contents into the block you are using to test the code.  That will make it easier to find a bad line.
 
Since you are new to php, I'll give you my understanding of the sp_staff block and what I've suggested for the sp_staff_custom function.
 
* sp_staff creates an array $staff.  Each element of this array has a key that is a combination of the user type and the user id. ( $type . '-' . $userid )
* after $staff is populated, the php function ksort is used to sort the array by its keys.  That puts admins first, ordered by userid, etc.
 
* in sp_staff_custom, I have suggested adding a parameter -- a text string containing several userids separated by commas
* This text string is then turned into an array using the php function explode
* This array is used to construct keys in $staff.
  + for users on the "special order" list, the key will start with '0' instead of 1, 2, or 3, which will put all of these users at the beginning of the list.
  + for users not on the "special order" list, the key to $staff will be as it is in sp_staff
* So, when ksort is used to reorder $staff, all the "special order" userids should wind up first, and in the order you listed them.
 
If you've never done programming before, you could learn a lot quickly.
Good Luck!

[artica_james]

Ok no problem. Thanks for all your help, it's been much appreciated. I will now try and get this thing to work haha.

Thanks Again
James