Chapter 39. Adding Third-Party Blocks

Unlike third-party add-on modules, which often require more extensive installation procedures (as in copying files and running a script to set up the database), installing a third-party block is usually just a matter of copying a file. One file. No, really, I mean it: one file. You copy it to your site's Blocks folder. That makes the block available on the drop-down list for new blocks, just as if the new block was built right into PHP-Nuke. Nothing could be easier.

That said, this topic is suddenly looking a bit short. I mean, "copy the file and you're done" is easy, but it doesn't help you actually find third-party blocks, now, does it? One place to start looking is at www.phpnuke.org, where they have an entire news topic devoted to add-ons and blocks. You can visit www.phpnuke.org/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=41 for the latest add-ons (which includes blocks), or www.phpnuke.org/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=43 for the latest blocks. People tend to post new blocks under both categories, so check them both out.

Many third-party blocks connect to external Web services to bring new content to your site, such as the Unsigned Band Web Releases Random Artist block, which displays random unsigned bands on your Web site (great for a music site). You can view the block at www.unsignedbandweb.com/blocks/randomartistblock.jpg. Other neat blocks include these:

• A Google search block at www.globaleshop.biz/gsearch.zip makes Google searching accessible from your Web site.

• The Flash-based main menu block at http://kenetix.net/ is more configurable than PHP-Nuke's built-in Modules block. This includes additional files you have to copy into the Admin folder of your site, giving you a new administration module from which you configure the new main menu.

• Yet another Google blockthere are tons of thesethe one at www.sergids.com/inici/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=2&newlang=english has some nice features, including customization.

• If you want your blocks to be collapsible, allowing your users to click a block to hide or show it, check out www.truden.com/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownloaddetails&lid=164&.

• The block at www.nukelancers.com/modules.php?name=Downloads enables your Web site to offer multilingual translation services to your users, using AltaVista's translation service.

• Remind your users to keep their antivirus software updated; blocks for various antivirus applications are available at www.cms.lxirc.net/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownloaddetails&lid=1279&ttitle=RAV_Anti_Virus_Block#dldetails and www.irc.lxirc.net/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_zop=viewdownload&cid=14.

• Display the top five posters in your Forums module in a cool scrolling block, at www.prime1now.com/downloads-cat3.html.

• Encourage users to use their journals by listing the titles of the most recent journal entries. This is a conspicuously missing block from PHP-Nuke, which provides built-in blocks related to most other modules. See www.indodigest.com/indonesia-news-346.html.

The links I've provided here are to the file downloads themselves; you may be asked to register for a free user account on these authors' Web sites before you'll be able to download anything. Most also provide a preview of the block so that you can see what it looks like prior to downloading; read the download description for these details.