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Last Updated on Thursday, 10 June 2010 04:27
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Published on Sunday, 09 May 2010 00:00
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Written by The Joomoo Dude
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Hits: 198
The Joomoo Rating extension consists of a component and two plugins that allow users to
rate content articles and gallery images on a scale of one to ten.
The rating appears as a series of ten bars, similar to the bars on a cell
phone that show the strength of the signal.
The extension also includes a Fixed Rating plugin, so that webmasters can turn off voting for an article while still keeping it visually consistent with other articles.
Features
The JoomooRating extension contains PHP and Javascript code that:
- Provides users the ability to rate an article or joomoogallery image.
- Has backend functionality giving webmasters complete control over:
- Which articles and images can be rated
- How the rating bars appear: color, background, and hover bump
- What the rating rates: Agreeability, Likability, Believability, etc.
- Where the rating appears
- What the various levels mean
- A fixed rating plugin, for cases when the rating is a "done deal"
- This is useful, for example, when the rating is irrelevant due to the
nature of the article or image, or the type of rating
- Also useful in cases when the webmaster wants to close voting
for some reason but wants to preserve the average rating
Joomooo Rating Plugin: Basic Backend Parameters
The Joomoo Rating Plugin allows webmasters to set two groups of parameters in the backend. The basic parameters allow webmasters to specify whether ratings should be allowed for all articles or only articles that have a placeholder.
The basic parameters also allow webmasters to specify how the rating bars should appear, where they should appear, and whether anonymous users can rate an article.
Following is a complete list of the basic parameters webmasters can set for the Plugin in the back end, along with the options available for each:
- all_articles
- Show rating for all articles or use placeholder for specific articles?
Options: All articles or Use placeholder
- rating_label
- Description of rating
Text field
- rating_bar_color
- Color of rating bars
Options: Black, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, or White
- rating_bar_background
- Color - or lack thereof - used for background of rating bars
Options: Black, Transparent, or White
- where_in_article
- Where to show article rating - used only when article has no placeholder
Options: Above article or Below article
- where_on_gallery_page
- Where to show gallery image rating - used when description has no placeholder
Options: Above image, Below image, or Below description
- hover_width_bump
- Number of pixels to add to bar width when user hovers mouse over it
Options: Range from 1 to 15 pixels
- ajax_or_full
- Use ajax or full request to save and delete comments?
Options: Use Ajax request only, Use Full request only, or Allow Either
- allow_anonymous
- Allow users who aren't logged in to vote on articles and gallery images?
Options: OK or Disallow
- max_consecutive_ratings
- Max times user can vote on a article or gallery image between page loads
Options: Range from 1 to 20, or Unlimited
Joomooo Rating Plugin: Advanced Backend Parameters
The Joomoo Rating Plugin also allows webmasters to set advanced parameters in the backend.
These parameters all specify the text that is displayed when the user hovers his or her mouse over one of the bars, so they know how the system interprets their vote.
Following is a complete list of the advanced parameters webmasters can set for the Plugin in the back end, along with the options available for each:
- rating_description_1
- Description of rating value 1 - Text Field
- rating_description_2
- Description of rating value 2 - Text Field
- rating_description_3
- Description of rating value 3 - Text Field
- rating_description_4
- Description of rating value 4 - Text Field
- rating_description_5
- Description of rating value 5 - Text Field
- rating_description_6
- Description of rating value 6 - Text Field
- rating_description_7
- Description of rating value 7 - Text Field
- rating_description_8
- Description of rating value 8 - Text Field
- rating_description_9
- Description of rating value 9 - Text Field
- rating_description_10
- Description of rating value 10 - Text Field
Joomooo Fixed Rating Plugin: Basic Backend Parameters
The Joomoo Fixed Rating Plugin allows webmasters to set parameters in the back end that control how the rating bars appear and the text that is displayed.
Following is a complete list of the advanced parameters webmasters can set for the Plugin in the back end, along with the options available for each:
- rating_label
- Description of rating.
Text Field
- rating_subtitle
- Default text to appear beneath rating bars. Overridable in placeholder.
Text Field
- rating_value
- Default rating value for all articles and gallery images using this plugin.
Overridable in placeholder.
Options: Range from 1 to 10
- rating_bar_color
- Color of rating bars. Idea: choose black or white because these are inactive
Options: Black, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, or White
- rating_bar_background
- Color - or lack thereof - used for background of rating bars
Options: Black, Transparent, or White
Database Columns
Following are the columns in the jos_joomoorating table:
| Field | Type | Description |
| id | int(11) unsigned | Standard joomla primary key |
| contentid | int(11) | Foreign key: jos_content |
| galleryimageid | int(11) | Foreign key: jos_joomoogallery |
| vote_count | int(11) | Number of votes |
| vote_total | int(11) | Total rating value of all votes |
| timestamp | timestamp | Date and time stamp |
