Click to hide avatar - removal?

[hellmo]

New user here. A question: Is there a way or perhaps a code that removes the avatars on the main forum where all the topics are headed. I know you can click to hide them, but i want to remove them permanently and for all viewers. Or a way to remove just the last posts avatar.

Thanks for any help!

/Hellmo

[GregChapman]

It should be possible, but will take some hacking of the NAML code as there is no simple switch available in the ordinary Admin controls.

Note that you lose information by hiding the avatars, because they also let you know who is currently on-line (the small green ball that overlays the avatar).

Is it just a space saving device you are looking for because of where your forum is embedded? There may be other options if that is the reason.

[hellmo]

Hi Greg!

In the first place it's a matter of "cleaning up" the layout. I feel a bit lost with the avatar images all around. I personally dont care much of who's online. Off course it's kind of fun seeing other people at the same time but not as important as "a clean look" of the forum.. AND it will load faster without the avatars. So if you could please help me out i would be very grateful :)

/hellmo

Ps. I cant show you the forum at the moment as it's not online yet, i am fixing a framed layout, and trying to find a good, simple and free host.

[GregChapman]

hellmo wrote

In the first place it's a matter of "cleaning up" the layout... AND it will load faster without the avatars.

Only marginally. The default large avatar is only 5Kb and the typical user uploaded one under 10kb. Small default avatars are less than 1Kb.

I cant show you the forum at the moment as it's not online yet, i am fixing a framed layout, and trying to find a good, simple and free host.

I don't like the sound of a "framed layout". Sounds very 1990s, but that discussion is not appropriate here!

Removing avatars will require the editing of NAML code. I am not an expert and anything I suggest would have to be done entirely at your own risk. I've done a couple of minor edits on my test forum which remove avatars from some of the places that they appear. It would be up to you to find the rest that affect your forum and make further edits.

Have you experimented with editing the code behind a Nabble application. Do you think it's something you wish to play with? If so I could point you in the right direction, but it would be up to you to complete the task.

[hellmo]

GregChapman wrote

Have you experimented with editing the code behind a Nabble application. Do you think it's something you wish to play with? If so I could point you in the right direction, but it would be up to you to complete the task.

No, i dont really know where to edit codes or html at a Nabble forum, so you tell :)
I could try some of my own at a very basic level.

So you mean that frames is 90's, havent thought about it that way, but i really like framed websites, gets me a feeling of never getting lost :)

[GregChapman]

hellmo wrote

No, i dont really know where to edit codes or html at a Nabble forum, so you tell :)

I've been playing and it seems a little easier than I thought. First you need to get into the NAML editing screens, then search for the macro (i.e. a unit within the program) to be edited then make the change and save it. If you manage the example below, come back for the rest.

1. Go to a forum page displaying a post with the standard "large avatar".

2. Click the link at the bottom right "See how NAML generates this page"
(This moves you to a screen displaying the code behind the page the "classic_forum_topic" macro. This contains links to other parts of the code, so to save navigating through it all, let's just search for the macro we want.)

3. Click the "Gear wheel" to the left of the Macro name and select "Search macros" from the menu that appears.
(The Search screen appears.)

4. Enter "classic_row_with_big_avatar" (without the quotes) into the search box and click the "Search " button. A single result should appear. Click its link.
(The "classic_row_with_big_avatar" code screen appears.)

5. Click the "Override this macro" button.
(A second (coloured) copy of the code appears.)

6. Scroll to Lines 25-27 and replace the code there with this:

<n.comment.>
	<td class="classic-author shaded-bg-color rounded-bottom">
		<n.classic_big_avatar_cell/>
	</td>
</n.comment.>

so it becomes Lines 25-29.
(Essentially, we are just saying turn this code into comment which is not executed. It's slightly safer than deleting the original code.)

7. click the "Save  changes" button.
(The job is done!)

Click the forum title link at the top left of the screen and then visit any post and you should find the large avatar gone.

If successful come back for more.

So you mean that frames is 90's, havent thought about it that way, but i really like framed websites, gets me a feeling of never getting lost :)

Frames as an HTML technique was deprecated with the publication of HTML4 in 1997. That doesn't mean you can't have static menus and scrolling content if that is what you are thinking of when you talk of "frames". Click on my avatar and send me an email. This is off-topic for this forum.

[hellmo]

Thanks, Greg!

Seems like great things can be done at this forums. Hm, maybe i wasn't specific enough, you know i dont have problems with the avatar at the posting pages, think it looks great. I want to remove those avatars on the main page where all the topics are headed.



All those removed if possible :)

[GregChapman]

I recognised that you wanted those gone as well, but the posting page one struck me as the most intrusive and is by far the biggest. You were complaining about download time. With the small avatar few people will bother to upload one and then you only have to download the default one once and then it gets rendered from the browser's cache every time it's needed. You're talking a few micro-seconds delay for that.

For the avatars you wish to see gone you'll need to comment out the following lines from the following two macros:

topics_column Lines: 23-25

<td valign="top" style="border:none">
    <n.owner.avatar size="small" group="A"/>
</td>

The above control the topic avatars you have ringed (plus all those "N"s of course. They're a poster's avatar as well).

last_post_column Lines: 32-34

<td style="padding:0;vertical-align:top;border:none;">
    <n.owner.avatar size="small" group="B"/>
</td>

The above control the most recent post avatars you have ringed.

But that will leave you with a corrupt display because of the show/hide graphics on the heading bar, so comment out the following as well:

topics_column  Lines: 7-9

<td style="width:22px;border:none">
    <n.avatar_control group="A"/>
</td>

The above control the appearance of the "show/hide" graphic on the column heading.

last_post_column Lines: 9-11

<td style="width:22px;border:none">
    <n.avatar_control group="B"/>
</td>

The above control the appearance of the "show/hide" graphic on the most recent post column heading.

I guess you could also search out the section in the personal settings that allows you to upload an avatar, but I haven't bothered to search for that macro. Though without doing so I guess you might get a query from a curious user.

[hellmo]

Thanks for helping, Greg, i will try this out tomorrow, starting to get late here in Sweden, past midnight.

Best,
Hellmo

[GregChapman]

And here in the UK!

[hellmo]

Hi again,  i feel that im no good at this. Example, did search "last_post_column" and it ended up with macro from 52 to 108. No way to edit the lines 9-11 nor 32-34. Other searches ended up the same way, what am i doing wrong?

[GregChapman]

You stopped reading at Step 4. Don't forget the following steps...

5. Click the "Override this macro" button.
(A second (coloured) copy of the code appears.)

6. Scroll to Lines 25-27 and replace the code there with this:

Obviously, you'll need to substitute the required line numbers for those in the example above.

There's Step 7 to save it all, as well.

[hellmo]

Thanks a million for helping me out, Greg! I am no pro at the html language, so it took a while for me to find out what it was to be added in the html list. But i got it, and now those avatars is gone :)

I am not quite shure if i am going to leave the avatars at the posting, i mean it is still fun to see who's posting so, i better leave it there.

Here my (non framed ;D ) basic forum http://progocean.32190.n6.nabble.com/

It's about progressive rock and it's not quite finnished yet, html issues! A white ghost bar at the top of the forum screen for example. Some link buttons on the left side has to be done.