Can Inc_Classifieds Only Show Categories with Ads?

[GateKeeper]

I was curious if the inc_classifieds module is capable of only showing categories that have active/current ads, rather than showing all categories? The entire display is perfect, but I just want to limit the categories to those that have ads (and of course list the parents so there's a path to them).

[Chuck S]

Well you could try adding something like this in bold

Content visible to verified customers only.

[GateKeeper]

I tried that, but it appears that even if you can narrow the select statement (and I believe what you suggest works), the routine below it still does something with each category anyway and the whole thing gets confused and returns a bunch of blank rows, one for every category that doesn't have an ad. The blank rows down't have the category names either (implying they aren't in the results array), just the status "Never". I suspect it must have something to do with either the permissions array defined earlier in the routine or something, but it takes a lot longer to execute, too, when the query statement is written as such. I think it's close, but some other aspect of the routine is still evaluating all of the categories and printing them out, without their names.
I appreciate your effort and realize that this is probably bordering on a hack, but thought it might be simple enough that others might be keen on reading. If you have any other ideas, I'll be happy to test them out.
Thanks again,
-GateKeeper

[GateKeeper]

Here's a link to the results based on the modified query.
http://www.timesharegateway.com/foru...hp?page=promo1

Scroll towards the bottom.

[Chuck S]

Try also adding this in bold

Content visible to verified customers only.

[GateKeeper]

That puts the whole thing out of commission.
http://www.timesharegateway.com/foru...hp?page=promo1

BTW:
Not sure if this was intended, but I noticed that the URL built to go to the categories in inc_classifieds uses showcat.php and not index.php. I would think that with the index.php being a cleaner solution for categories with no ads, that this might be a better choice. Then again, it might be developer's choice.

[GateKeeper]

Same line of code, just further down in the script:

// Which folder do we display
$boardfolder = "nonewposts.gif";
if ( $numnew > 0 || ($UserID == 0 && $showphotos > 0) ) {
$boardfolder = "newposts.gif";
}

if ( $numproducts == 0 ) continue;

$pp_cat_list .= <<<PPPRINT

<tr align="center">
<td class="alt2"><img src="images/statusicon/forum_old.gif" alt="" border="0" /></td>
<td class="alt1Active" align="left">
<div><a href="$class_path/index.php?cat=$CatID"><strong>$Title</strong></a></div>
<div class="smallfont">$Description</div>
</td>

[GateKeeper]

I forgot to say "thank you"!
Thank you! This is great for a site with a lot of categories, too. Maybe an option for a future version..."Show only categories with ads? Yes/No" in configuration section.
Much obliged.
-GateKeeper

[GateKeeper]

So I wonder if there is a quick way to do the same thing with a variation of the function catrow() that would yield the same results, i.e. showing the index hierarchy of only categories with ads?
The inc_classifieds was pretty straight forward, but the function catrow looks like it is at least 4 times as long.
I copied catrow() function section to a new section in pp_inc.php and named it catrowads() for lack of anything better to name it. Now if I just knew how to tweak it to do everthing it does, but only for categories with ads.

[GateKeeper]

Using a separate template for this process (copy categories.tmpl to whatever)
Change:

for ( $x=0; $x < $cats['catcount']; $x++ ) {
if ( $cats['dodetails'][$x] == 1 ) {

To:

for ( $x=0; $x < $cats['catcount']; $x++ ) {
if ( $cats['numproducts'][$x] < 1 )
continue;
if ( $cats['dodetails'][$x] == 1 ) {

[GateKeeper]

This is turning out to be a very significant find. There have been a number of discussions about how to work with sites with a large number of categories. The two lines of code here in the categories.tmpl file along with some conditional code to determine whether the lines should be active or not, could alleviate a lot of problems for these sites.
Coupled this with a user selectable option located conveniently on the index.php or showcat.php page(s) would make this a very powerful enhancement.
Note the difference in the results of these two links:
http://www.timesharegateway.com/auct...ex.php/cat/128
and
http://www.timesharegateway.com/auct...ns.php/cat/128
Althought the script name is different, they are exact copies of each other, but call a different template (for now).
The difference in the two templates are simply

if ( $cats['numproducts'][$x] < 1 )
continue;

just below

for ( $x=0; $x < $cats['catcount']; $x++ ) {

as the categories.tmpl file begins its run to display the categories. The display as you will see is significantly different between the two.

With a user selectable flag (checkbox and suitable text e.g. "Show all Categories") on the template itself, and perhaps a javascript URL that activates when a change occurs in the checkbox, a user could easily acitivate the view to show all categories or only categories with ads with a single click.

Add a variable to the language file for the text of the checkbox and you have a universal solution for sites with large numbers of categories.