Smilies Improved? Maybe!

Hello Munuvians!

I have a better way to do the smilies on our sites. Here goes:

1. Open up your Edit Templates and go all the way down to:

Create new template module

Click that, of course, and then copy and paste this into the Module Body. Just right-click in the box and select all:

<MTMacroDefine name="happy" string=":)"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="sad" string=":("><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_sad.gif" alt=":("><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="happy2" string=":-)"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="grin" string=":D"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":D"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="razz1" string=":p"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif" alt=":p"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="razz2" string=":-p"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif" alt=":-p"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="razz3" string=":P"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif" alt=":P"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="razz4" string=":-P"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif" alt=":-P"><br /> </MTMacroDefine><br /> <MTMacroDefine name="wink" string=";)"><br /> <img src="http://www.mu.nu/Forums/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif" alt=";)"><br /> </MTMacroDefine>

(I decided ascii was too much to learn real quick like :-) )

2. Still with me? Good! In the box at the main top called Template Name type in:

macros

or whatever you want to call it. Make sure if you name it something different to change it in the tag near the end of this!

save and DO NOT REBUILD!

Yet.

3. Now we need to go into each template you want the smilies to appear and add some code to each one.

I'd add the coding to these:

Main Index
Individual Entries
Comment Listing
Comment Preview

and you'll add this to each template:

A. At the top right before the tag </head> add this to it:

<MTInclude module="macros">

Hint: If you named the template way above something else, change macros in this tag to that something else you wrote ;-)

OK! Moving on. Wrap the part of code you want your smilies to appear in like this:
<MTMacroApply> </MTMacroApply>

I wrapped the entire part of the body in it, but I may find this to be wrong later. No problems thus far, however. Do this for each template you want smilies to appear, and then REBUILD! Smile, you have smilies!

Advantages for doing this instead of just doing what Pixy mentioned earlier comes down to ease of adding new smilies, or editing and changing the ones already listed. The cool thing about macros is that whatever you want to add is easy to do.

Let's say you want to make a Darth Vader smiley? Here's all I changed:

<MTMacroDefine name="vader" string=":vader:"><br /> <img src="http://www.patriot-paradox.com/smiles/vader.gif" alt=";)"><br /> </MTMacroDefine>

Posted by Nick Queen at November 18, 2004 04:51 PM