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    Language:	English
    Platform:	Joomla! CMS (separate versions for J15 and J16)
    Author:	Joel Lipman (aka Joe)
    License:	GNU/GPL http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html

    Created:	13/07/2010
    Modified:	12/03/2012
    Version:    1.5.4.x

    Tested on:
	Joomla v1.5.19, v1.5.22, 1.5.23, 1.6.0, 1.6.3, 1.7.0, 1.7.1, 1.7.2, 2.5.2
	PHP v5.2.8 & MySQL v5.1.30

    Requires:
	Linux/Windows Host
       	cURL

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Script Function:
Designed to suit as many joomla sites as possible. NO programming required and hardly any CSS. I've made this to install automatically, get all its content and images automatically and then it uses local data from there on. Free Thumbnail Services, effects and colors are now handled by the Module parameters.

This extension will display a top 10 chart of your weblinks in a module on your Joomla website. As long as the weblink is published and approved, it will display. The default is to list 5 but you can set as many as you like. It is intended to work out-of-the-box with minimal setup (like the rest of my extensions - lazy Joe).

If you don't have pictures of the websites you link to, this module can generate these (by retrieving from a specified service - and then stores these to not keep downloading them) or I have a downloadable standalone program (search my site for "JWT") that will also do the job.

I've simplified the process so this version allows any "Administrator" or "Super User" (or Specified Joomla! Group(s)) to generate the thumbnails on-the-fly with just a click of a button. Did I mention this is all OpenSource and FREE?

Installation:

1) Install this module ZIP using your Joomla! CMS extension manager.
2) Go to "Content" > "Media Manager" > Create a folder for your thumbnails.
3) Go to "Extensions" > "Module Manager" > Click on module to publish/customize it.
	3a) Specify the images folder as the one you created in step 2.
	3b) Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "NO"
	3c) Specify a group which can generate thumbnails and use the service.
4) Login to front-end as a user belonging to the group specified in 3c.
5) Keep refreshing the page until all thumbnails have been generated.
	5a) Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "YES"
	5b) Logout
NB: Thumbnails will first appear blue as the service downloads/queues them.

Adding a weblink:

1. Add your Joomla! weblink as per usual
2. Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "NO"
3. Login to the front-end of your website as an authorized service group user (as specified in the module parameter)
4. View a page that displays this module.
5. Keep refreshing the module until the correct thumbnail is generated.
6. Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "YES"
7. Logout

Refreshing displayed thumbnails:

1. Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "NO"
2. Login to your Joomla! website front-end as an authorized service group user (as specified in the module parameter).
3. View a page that displays this module.
4. Keep refreshing the module until the correct thumbnail is generated.
5. Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "YES"
6. Logout

[SUGGESTION] Refreshing all thumbnails without showing your website visitors:

1. Create a Joomla page with a copy of this module (restricted to "Special Users"?).
2. Customize the module to display all your links.
3. Login to your Joomla! website front-end as an authorized service group user (as specified in the module parameter).
4. View the page that displays this new module.
5. Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "NO"
6. Keep refreshing the module until all thumbnails are generated.
7. Switch "STOP Thumbnail Service" to "YES"
8. Disable the page / Logout

No Thumbnail Yet?
If the thumbnail hasn't been generated and you have opted to display thumbnails, then a placeholder indicating a missing image will display. You can create a "no_thumbnail_yet" image (if you have selected thumbnails to be PNG then this has to be a "no_thumbnail_yet.png" file, if you have selected BMP then this has to be a "no_thumbnail_yet.bmp" file). Save it to the images folder which keeps all your other thumbnails for this module.

No Semi-Transparency Effect?
Not obvious but to switch this off, the parameter "Semi-Transparent Effect" has to equal 1. If you put a fraction of 1, eg. 0.5, this will result in the thumbnail having 50% opacity to start with when the page loads; when you hover the mouse cursor over it the thumbnail will regain 100% opacity.

Target Window: Rokbox?
Demo'd on my personal website because I am using a RocketTheme template but this should work if you have RocketTheme's RokBox Extension installed. It simply opens an external link in a "lightbox" which is a pretty cool effect, see the front page of www.joellipman.com and click on one of my "recent weblinks" for a demo.

Semi-Transparency and Rounded Corners not Working?
The "Rounded Corners" effect on the thumbnails and popups are CSS3 driven. These will only really display properly in browsers that support CSS3 (Chrome, Firefox 3.5+, Safari 4+, MS Internet Explorer 9+). Other users should just see a straight angle corner. Semi-Transparency uses a CSS3 Opacity feature (works in pre-mentioned browsers as well as Opera 10+).

Administrators or Super Users to generate thumbnails?
The authorized group to generate new thumbnails USED TO BE Administrators or Super Admins/Users. Due to several requests, the module has been modified to accommodate any Joomla! group (specified in the parameters). It is NOT RECOMMENDED to set this to normal users as this will use up your entitlement to FREE prints extremely quickly. The "STOP Thumbnail Service" parameter was created to be economical to both your server and the free service. Use this wisely and you could get away with generating a million images for FREE!

Error on first install?
If you get something like the following error after upgrading/installing this module:
Warning: in_array() [function.in-array]: Wrong datatype for second argument in /public_html/modules/mod_quicklistweblinks/helper.php on line 214
This is because you have not selected a thumbnail "service group" authorized to generate new thumbnails in the module parameters. Set these and it should go away.

Upgrading?
This module is set to upgrade on install or something like that. I have not got the upgrade server for J16 working yet but soon. Also there's no need to delete a previous version of this module, just download the updated one, and install as per usual.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. All images in the folder for the weblinks have to be of the same file type (eg. BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, or TIF). The program I had made to take the screenshots made them all the same type which is probably why I made the module think all thumbnails were equal. The module specifies the size of the image.
   
   
2. The module keeps generating website thumbnail preview images on TWO conditions: 1) you are logged in to the front-end of the Joomla! website as an authorized "service group" user (as specified in the module parameter) 2) the parameter "STOP Thumbnail Generation" is set to "NO". (Important! remember to switch this to YES when you have updated all your thumbnails as each thumbnail is one entitlement of the first 100,000 for free. After that there may be a charge or images may come back watermarked/unavailable).
   
   
3. The module only generates website thumbnail preview images for the weblinks that are currently displaying in the module. If your Joomla! website is still in development or you can afford to go a bit crazy, let the module display all your weblinks and then login to front-end as an administrator to generate ALL the thumbnails. Then customize and reduce the number of listed weblinks to what you want. Or set up a module which only the authorized "service group" has access to (Special?).
   
   

Joes Website Thumbnailer (JWT) (optional and still FREE)
If you want a better quality thumbnail, you can use my JWT program to generate one. It was created to support this Joomla! module. For batch processing (automated processing of a list of website addresses), it needs a text file with content in similar format to:

http://www.joellipman.com/|1
http://www.google.co.uk | 2
http://www.anotherwebsite.com/with_a_complex_address/?option=com_content&id=1 |6

The pipe character "|" tells the program that the first part is the address to take a picture of and the second part is what filename to give it. For Joomla!, that "1" is the ID of the weblink in the Joomla! database. Don't include the file type extension as you specify this in the "Output Thumbnail File Type" options of the program and it adds it to the filename automatically.

The program will confirm, process the whole list, then confirm again. It would generate using the example above and on default settings: 1.bmp, 2.bmp, 6.bmp.

More documentation or help for this program can be found on Joes Website Thumbnailer page @ Joel Lipman .Com

Free Website Thumbnail Services
Thumbnail Services will give you a limited number of free thumbnail generations. About 100,000 on average which is more than enough for our Joomla! website (unless you're reinventing the wheel by making a Joomla! Google Directory). Let's say I have about 340 weblinks, refreshing the page over 30 minutes while the thumbnails queue and get refreshed, this caused about 1,000 thumbnail generation requests. Which you'll agree is economical for both the service and your own server.

Services to use:

• Wimg.ca (unknown number of FREE prints - Tested: Add [http://wimg.ca/])
• BrowserShots.org (unknown number of FREE prints - OpenSource)
• ShrinkTheWeb.com (limited to 250,000 FREE prints)
• WebSnapr.com (limited to 100,000 and requires Signup - NO GO)
• Thumbalizr.com (limited to 200,000 FREE prints and requires Signup - NO GO)
• iWebTool.com (free image prints with linkback - not Chrome compatible)
• Thumboo.com (Signup required - NO GO)
• WebShotsPro.com (Not FREE but website allows 1 thumbnail free - :c)
• ThumbShots.org (unknown number of FREE prints - Tested: Add [http://open.thumbshots.org/image.pxf?url=])
• FreeWebsiteThumbnails.com (says "FREE" - Tested: Add [http://img.freewebsitethumbnails.com/?u=])

So what to do with all of these? Well sometimes a service can be busy, maybe you're near your limit for FREE thumbnails. No problem! This module only makes a request when you enable it to refresh all thumbnails (and login as admin). If you have a million links then hopefully, you can switch to each service as it becomes available and do them all for FREE!

Sites using this module:
Using this module? Feel free to write in and I'll add your site. I'm not looking for a link back just for examples of sites that have used it to demonstrate to others:

• Alverarium the Beehive
• Bucher Ringerwölfe
• Urban Nyche
• Advaita Space
• Margie Mersky Custom Designs Inc by Aunt in the Attic
• Yoga at the End of the World
• Treasures of Oz
• Griffid Digital Surveillance Systems

If you change your mind, again write in and I'll remove it from this list :c)

ChangeLog for Joes Quicklist Weblinks:
In Development and for Registered members => Version 2 Beta

v? (?)
- Parameter: Allow Core Hack for Weblinks Component (One-Off).
- Fix Bug: Update Server for J16-J17 Modules?.
- Option to specify multiple categories
- Option to specify use Windows server (imagegrabscreen) or Linux (3rd-party services)

v2.1.0 (?)
- Release to public.

v2.0.9 BETA (02/10/2011)
- Release to joellipman.com members.

v2.0.8 BETA (11/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Parameter: Navigation Font: Webdings Server-side (uses @font-face)
- Parameters: Grid Mode - pagination, auto-scroll.
- Modified Parameter: renamed "STOP Thumbnail Generation" to "Enable Service" (switch round yes no)
- Enhancement: Cross-browser coding / optimization / commenting
- Release: for BETA testers.

v2.0.7 BETA (03/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Parameter: Transition Duration
- Parameter: Navigation Font: Normal, Webdings Client-side
- Parameters: Grid Mode - sortable, column details, pagination, auto-scroll.
- Parameters: Overwrite Old Images / Old Image Age (in days - uses filemtime)
- Fixed Bug: Now allows for multiple instances of showcase modules.

v2.0.6 BETA (03/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Enhancement: Combined Grid and Showcase for pagination and auto-scroll

v2.0.5 BETA (03/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Parameters: Grid Mode - sortable, column details, headings, text width.

v2.0.4 BETA (23/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Parameter: Slideshow Mode (by Ryan Florence v2.1) or Grid Mode.
- Parameter: Enable Navigation Buttons.
- Parameter: Mootools Transitions - None / ...specific... / Random.
- Parameters: Module Width / Height / Font-size Override.
- Parameters: Show Descriptions / Images/ Dates / Hits.
- Parameters: Get Titles + Descriptions (Local / Remote)
- Parameters: CSS3 Text Effects - rotate, shadow, gradient, size override.
- Parameters: CSS3 Image Effects - reflection, shadow, rounded, transparency.
- Fixed Bug: Parameter initialization and class array correction (by Miguel Isasmendi)
- Fun Bug: Debug mode shows number of seconds this module adds.

v2.0.3 BETA (21/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Optimizing code

v2.0.2 BETA (21/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Converted hard code to joomla parameters

v2.0.1 BETA (03/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Code Overhaul: Use J16 core Mootools
- Code Overhaul: Removed all CSS Popup related parameters
- Parameter: Hits Prefix Text in popup
- Parameter: Date Prefix Text in popup
- Parameter: Popup Trigger: Weblink Thumbnail or Text
- Parameter: Description Font-size (Proportion to Title)
- Enhancement: Optimized and reduced code.
- Enhancement: Made popup span tag exclusive.
- Enhancement: Date is now "created" date.
- Enhancement: Included span tags for individual elements.
- Enhancement: Using div layers instead of tables.
- Fixed Bug: Switched CSS ID tag to CLASS for W3C Validation.
- Fixed Bug: Now allows description inline with popup (strips HTML).
- Fixed Bug: Removed duplicate slash in weblink href.

Released to public:

v1.5.4.4 (12/03/2012) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: Category Parameter now chooses only weblink categories.
- Fixed Bug: Module CSS Class Suffix now works (was not enclosed properly)

v1.5.4.3 (25/11/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: Weblinks links now goes to link via Joomla component.

v1.5.4.2 (04/11/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: Category selects from user prefix (was gh165 prefix)

v1.5.4.1 (04/11/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY!
- Enhancement: Version 1.5.4 ported to Joomla 1.5.x websites.
- Fixed Bug: Category selects from user prefix (was gh165 prefix)

v1.5.4
- Parameter: Custom Order by ID
- Parameter: Include Sub-Categories (up to 2 levels deep) of specified category
- Fixed Bug: Removed 50% specification
- Fixed Bug: Corrected "trigger popup" text translation.

v1.5.3.4 (30/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: More variables now defined

v1.5.3.3 (29/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: Undefined variables now defined

v1.5.3.2 (26/09/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: H3 css module class suffix now works.
- Fixed Bug: db->namequote function removed for new Joomla sites.
- Fixed Bug: Removed duplicate slash in weblink href.

v1.5.3 (03/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Parameter: Description Font-size (Proportion to Title)
- Enhancement: Optimized and reduced code.
- Enhancement: Made popup span tag exclusive.
- Enhancement: Included span tags for individual elements.
- Fixed Bug: Switched CSS ID tag to CLASS for W3C Validation.
- Fixed Bug: Now allows description inline with poup (strips HTML).
- Fixed Bug: Removed duplicate slash in weblink href.

v1.5.2 (03/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Fixed Bug: Authorized Service Group (No support for gid in J16 )

v1.5.1 (01/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Removed the word "Hits" from popup and inline
- Re-uploaded because RokDownloads isn't working properly (again...)

v1.5.0 (01/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Upgraded v1.4.3 for use with Joomla 1.6.x+ websites
- Thumbnail Service group restricted to 1 (Multiple support in J16?)
- Update Server added
- Tweaks to make it work in Joomla 1.6.x

v1.4.4 (01/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY!
- Removed the word "Hits" from popup and inline
- Re-uploaded because RokDownloads isn't working properly (again...)

v1.4.3 (01/08/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY!
- Parameter: Enable MouseOver Popups
- Parameter: Display Descriptions: no, alongside, popup, both
- Parameter: Display Images: no, alongside, popup, both
- Parameter: Display Date: no, alongside, popup, both
- Parameter: Display Hit Counter: no, alongside, popup, both
- Parameter: Specify Group(s) which can refresh thumbnails
- Parameter: Description Length
- Parameter: Image Rounded Corners (latest browsers only)
- Parameter: Image Border Color
- Parameter: Image Border Color on Hover
- Parameter: Image Border Width
- Parameter: Image Starting Opacity
- Parameter: Popup Rounded Corners (latest browsers only)
- Parameter: Popup Text Color
- Parameter: Popup Border Color
- Parameter: Popup Background Color
- Parameter: Popup Offset X (relative to link)
- Parameter: Popup Offset Y (relative to link)
- Modify Parameter: Added Ordering: Random
- Modify Parameter: Added Service: freewebsitethumbnails
- Modify Parameter: Added Service: thumbshots
- Modify Parameter: Added Opens In: Rokbox (only works if installed)
- Modify Parameter: Category: List Only weblink categories
- Removed Parameter: Cache (uses local images if service is switched off)
- Removed Parameter: Inline Images
- Removed Parameter: Force No Borders
- Removed Parameter: Display rank
- Enhancement: Model handles database and library variables, Views controls the HTML layout
- And tweaks so I have as little to setup on each website :c)

v1.4.2 (25/07/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY! - PERSONAL EDITION
- Rounded corners, hover border, styling mostly
- For use by my own personal site
- Hardcoded features of version 1.4.3 (ie. not parameters)

v1.4.1 (25/07/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.23 OR OLDER ONLY!
- Downgraded version 1.4 to work with Joomla! CMS v1.5.x
- CSS tweaks to table
- Parameter: Enable Thumbnail Service (allows admin to not generate images)
- Parameter: Select Thumbnail Service (allows me to add)

v1.4 (25/07/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Retrieves website thumbnails on the fly or uses local images if they exist.
  (Note: This retrieves thumbnail from a service and stores this on your server)
- Warning: Images will reset if you specify a different image type (default is PNG)
  (eg. PNG to JPG -> means module has to re-download thumbnails into JPG format)
- Fixed Bug: Weblink hit counter now works through Joomla! CMS

v1.3.1 (03/07/2011) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.5.X ONLY!
- Modified code to work with Joomla! CMS versions 1.5.x
- Removed parameter: Use Access Levels (does not exist in J15)

v1.3 (03/07/2011 - 182 downloads) - FOR JOOMLA VERSIONS 1.6.X OR GREATER ONLY!
- Restructured to MVC model for Joomla! CMS.
- All params prefixed with JQW to avoid conflicts.
- Parameter: Use preview images (name format is LinkID.fileExtension where LinkID is the 'id' of the weblink).
- Parameter: Display preview images inline or on mouseover.
- Parameter: Number of links to include images.
- Parameter: Number of links to include description.
- Parameter: Specify source folder for images.
- Parameter: Specify image type for thumbnails.
- Parameter: Specify Weblink Category
- Parameter: Use access levels (so if restricted to "Registered" only members will see the link)
- Parameter: Use cache mode
- Parameter: Debug Mode
- Parameter: Powered By
- Parameter: Thumbnail Display Width
- Parameter: Thumbnail Display Height
- Parameter: Force no underlines
- Parameter: Force no image borders
- Debug mode also displays list of urls (for creating text file to be used by JWT program).

v1.2 (27/06/2011)
- Upgraded to work on Joomla 1.6 websites

v1.1 (14/07/2010)
- Added GNU/GPL Information as requested by Joomla.Org

v1.0 (12/07/2010)
- Parameter: Module Class Suffix as per standard
- Parameter: Specify number of links to display
- Parameter: Order by Hits, Date, Title, URL
- Parameter: Ordering order (Ascending or Descending)
- Parameter: Open in NEW window or open in SAME window
- Parameter: Display nothing, date or hits alongside each link
- Parameter: Date format if specified date for alongside data.
- Parameter: Display rank (1,2,3...) in the list.

License Details:
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses.


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