Looking for an attachment? I'm seeking a way to list attachments by forum or such, but for now here is a listing of all the attachments to posts in threads including links to the posts.

http://Elsmar.com/level2/Attachments-List.html

Note that the page linked to is almost 900K so it will be very slowwwww to load on a dialup.

I updated the file today. These files are available to all Registered users and all other forum user groups.

Marc,

This is an incredible resource. Thank you.


Greg B

I recently went into the USER CP 'Attachments' File and viewed all of the files and photos that I had uploaded and I was amazed at what was downloaded the most. Here are the top Four:

http://elsmar.com/Forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=708 from April 2003. This dealt with the correlation between Safety, Environment and Quality in that they are all protection devices. Safety protects people and plant, Environment protects People and the planet and Quality protects the Product. It works well in our company and we have the poster in lots of places. It has been downloaded 73 times.

http://elsmar.com/Forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=709 April 2003. This deals with culture and is pretty self explanatory. We do what we do in our life because of our surroundings. This is my personal favourite and we use it in ALL inductions and to get the quality message across. It has been downloaded 74 times.

http://elsmar.com/Forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=810 May 2003. This is a presentation I did after we found a need to introduce our staff to the Process Approach. It has gone over fairly well at work but they still want ME to write everything for them. This has been downloaded the most at 131 times. So I hope someone is getting better use out of it than me.

http://elsmar.com/Forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1343 Sep 2003. This was the second highest download and is another powerpoint presentation dealing with Why we choose quality and is mainly used for introducing the workforce to the QMS. It has been downloaded 83 times

I would like to see what people have downloaded of yours. I was astounded to find out I had uploaded so much material and that so many people were using it (after all that is why I post it). I like feedback and I don't mind others using my stuff as I usually found it somewhere else or was helped by someone else. I had some cartoons in the Numour thread that had a few downloads yet I had some material that I thought was important (probably more than the stuff above) and yet they were lucky to have 10 hits. Is this because people are not reading all of the posts in a thread or that they are concentratin gonly on one area of the Forum???

Food for thought.

Greg B

Marc old buddy you gotta get a life :lol: How much time did you put into this list? I have spent literallly hours looking for a particular attachment and you have shortened the time considerably for future work.

Thanks pal :applause: .

Greg B - you didn't have to delete your post. You can 'undelete' it if you like. I don't mind you folks discussing attachments. I just wanted to pull the threads together in case anyone wasn't aware of the list. Some folks don't frequent threads in this forum.

In fact, some discussion would be beneficial. What files are really good and worth a look?

A serious gap in this software is a way for people to see what attachments there are and, basically, the stuff on the list such as who posted it, how many times downloaded, etc. The list is from a view I - as an administrator - can get. I *hope* to find a way to put in a link where users can get the same view.

Personally I'd like a way to view attachments by forum and am looking at a way to hack that in.

Atul - you're the software person - any ideas? If you need to see the files I can send you a copy to look at and set up on a test board.

There is something like this for forums with photos - it's basically a scrapbook like addition. But I haven't seen it done for attachments to posts.

So - for now, about once a month I'll update the list. Yes - it does take some time. I have to copy the source from my browser, paste it into BBEdit, clean it up (actually it's a 'view' for me to 'manage' attachments which has delete links and such that I have to remove), import it into Excel so I can easily number the files and sort by name, export it from Excel and then clean THAT file up including fixing all the links and then posting the file. I don't mind spending the time and in part is why I started charging to access attachments in March 2003. Not specifically to make that list, but my time to maintain the site, in addition to the server costs then and related issues, made it sensible.

Luckily the advertising is working well - which is why I opened up access to post attachments in the business forums to every registered user - no contribution required. I never wanted to charge, but the site doesn't self maintain as it did a few years back. So - visit an advertiser now and again and see what they have to offer and things like the 'Monthly List' will continue until I find a way to let users do a listing themselves. I don't see that on vBulletin's list of 'to incorporate' features for the next version (heck - this one's not even 'gold' yet).

Excellent resource!!

There are a lot of attachments to threads here. No doubt about it!

Atul - you're the software person - any ideas? If you need to see the files I can send you a copy to look at and set up on a test board.
OK, I'll take a look. I was wondering if it's possible to fire an SQL to get the whole list at one go. (I tried, but found I'm not authorized to..)

When did you try? Just now? I have your permissions set to access 'tools'.

What's the query and I can try.

The answer is yes - if you know mysql I'm sure a query could be run. But - can you design a query which returns: A link to each file, a link to the profile of the person who uploaded the file, and a link to the post and the thread its in? I assume such a query can be designed because I get something similar as output from the script which runs in the control panel for administering them. But structuring a query like that is way beyond whart I know at this point.

I tried just 5 minutes before I posted the above. From Import & Maintenance -> Execute SQL Query in the adminCP. But it says 'you are not authorized to execute SQL queries'. I thought this utility would let me choose the fields from all the tables through some UI. I'd need to know the database structure for creating the query. Then I can try to generate a query. I'm sure the Attachment Manager in adminCP is running a similar query inside.

Take a quick look at:

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60403

I'll PM you some info on the database structure.

I was wondering if it's possible to fire an SQL to get the whole list at one go.
What's the query, Atul? Let me know and I'll try it from my end.

Sorry, but I haven't been able to setup MySQL here yet. :( If you can configure the 'Execute Query' privilege, I will try on-line. I promise to use only the "SELECT" type queries - no DELETEs or UPDATEs.

Give me a day.

I noticed the added privileges...but this is what I am seeing when I click on 'Execute SQL Query' :
-----------------------------------
Elsmar Cove Forum System Message

You are not authorized to execute SQL queries
[Go Back]
-----------------------------------

Hmmmm. OK. I've given you all the access I know of off hand - I'm thinking I may have to go into the preferences file and add you there or something. I'll look at that today.

I've also found two 'hacks' which give listings but they're rudimentary. I'll look at them again today and see if I can use one temporarily. I would really like anyone at any time to be able to pull up a list of all attachments.

Most of you have noticed the attachments listing page having changed to a database query solution so even the newest files are part of the listing. I think this is the best I'm going to have for a while. Actually, other than a Sort By Date I like it a lot.

While I would like a Search feature, if you, for example, ask for a listing of all documents and select 1500 entries per page, all the files will be on one page where you can use your browser 'Search this Page' to search the listing.

Remember, when uploading an attachment, please use the 'best' name possible so people can tell what's in the file. A file name like 'document.doc' doesn't help anyone find information.